(Email I got from the ACLJ)

Since the very first Presidential Inauguration of George Washington, EVERY single American President has been free to ask God’s Divine guidance and wisdom in running our beloved nation ... until now.

California atheist Michael A. Newdow has filed a federal lawsuit to prohibit prayer in the Inaugural swearing-in ceremony on January 20th!

He is suing President George W. Bush in a blatant attack on our country’s cherished heritage, religious foundation, and personal freedoms.

Arguments in federal court are scheduled for this Thursday, and the President is inaugurated next week! Please immediately help the American Center for Law and Justice protect this sacred tradition of prayer by giving a secure online gift today.

The ACLJ’s legislative and legal teams are already working to protect this vital part of your nation’s heritage.

* We have filed a brief with the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia in the case supporting Inaugural Prayer.
* We are launching a nationwide petition campaign to encourage Senate members (who control the Inaugural Ceremony) to stand firm on this critical issue.
* I am personally talking with Senators and members of their staff every day about this issue.

Newdow is the man who fought to remove the phrase “under God” from our Pledge of Allegiance. Now Newdow is at it again.

What’s next? Stripping the Capitol of religious works of art ... religious inscriptions in the Capitol complex ... and prayer rooms in House and Senate office buildings?

Newdow actually claims that permitting any prayer by clergy at the Presidential Inauguration “is an offense of the highest magnitude.”

His claim is unfounded and inaccurate for several reasons -

1. Newdow already lost his claim in court that Inaugural Prayer violates the United States Constitution when he attacked the President for allowing the Reverend Franklin Graham to pray at his 2001 Inauguration.

2. The Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in “Marsh v. Chambers” requires this court to affirm the district court’s dismissal of Newdow’s complaint. In this case, the high court concluded that the “opening of sessions of legislative and other deliberative public bodies with prayer is deeply embedded in the history and tradition of this country.”