An Ohio school was asked by the American Civil Liberties Union to put an end to punishing a student refusing to stand and receive the Pledge of Allegiance. Roxanne Westover, 17, says that she is an atheist and considers the pledge to be more religious than patriotic.

Because Westover refused to participate in the reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance, she says she was sent to the principal's office at Hubbard High School several times.

On Tuesday, the ACLU wrote to school district officials arguing that students have right not to say the pledge as a matter of free speech.

Superintendent Richard Buchenic says that he told the ACLU that the matter has been "dealt with."

Carrie Davis, ACLU of Ohio staff counsel, says that Hubbard High School intends to follow a district policy that states students are not required to recite the pledge.

That's not very Christian-like, now is it? Nevertheless, a few religious zealots have taken their dislike of U.S. President Barack Obama to a new level - bumper stickers and t-shirts which command viewers to pray for the president's death. Of course they don't come right out and print "Pray for our President to die". Instead, the perpetrators take a far more cowardly approach, utilizing the slogan "Pray for Obama - Psalm 109:8".

If you take the time to look up Psalm 109:8, you'll notice right off that it is not a happy and cheerful passage. Psalm 109 is better known as "A Cry for Vengeance". Psalm 109:8 specifically reads:

"Let his days be few; and let another take his office."

While that verse does not specifically mention death or harm to the leader in question, read on and you will see that Psalm 109 has a far more sinister message.

6 Appoint [a] an evil man [b] to oppose him;
let an accuser [c] stand at his right hand.

7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty,
and may his prayers condemn him.

8 May his days be few;
may another take his place of leadership.

9 May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.

If you hadn't heard of Facebook or Twitter in 2008, you most certainly did in 2009 with the boom in social networking that has taken place this year. Everyone from college students to your mother has joined. In light of this cultural phenomenon, it's not surprising that the folks at the New Oxford American Dictionary have choosen "unfriend" as their new word of the year.

A post on the Oxford University Press website made the announcement:

"Every year the New Oxford American Dictionary prepares for the holidays by making its biggest announcement of the year. This announcement is usually applauded by some and derided by others and the ongoing conversation it sparks is always a lot of fun, so I encourage you to let us know what you think in the comments. Without further ado, the 2009 Word of the Year is: unfriend."

So the word "unfriend" will now appear in the New Oxford American Dictionary, and its official definition will read as follows:

unfriend – verb – To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking site such as Facebook.

As in, “I decided to unfriend my roommate on Facebook after we had a fight.”

Photo: Richard Heene's mug shot.

The Heene family pulled on the heartstrings of American last month when it was reported that their young son had climbed into a homemade hotair balloon that became untethered and floated over the skies of Colorado. After hours of news coverage and worrying, it turned out the whole thing was a ruse. The boy was found in the attic of the family's home, and later let it slip on TV that the whole thing was a stunt. Naturally, the law enforcement officials, rescue teams, and TV viewing audience who were caught up in the whole stunt wanted the Heene family to pay for their mistake.

Father Richard Heene turned himself in Thursday and was released on $5,000 bond. His lawyer claims that he will plead guilty to felony charges. His wife, Mayumi Hene will plead guilty to false reporting to authorities, which is a misdemeanor.

Charges were officially filed against the Heenes on Thursday, which is why Richard turned himself in.

Two months ago, Jacksonville was threatened with cancellation of its 2009 Veterans Day parade after the city council cut the parade’s funding. Only a firestorm of protests from the Florida city’s residents restored the parade.

Jacksonville is not alone. Similar stories about cancellations or threatened cancellations erupted in newspapers across the nation this year. New York, Pennsylvania and California city officials cut back on observances of the holiday, citing waning interest and declining participation.

Veterans Day is in fact a peculiar holiday. Many public schools, colleges and universities remain open - even with thousands of veterans sitting in their classrooms. Businesses operate normally. State and local governments are not required to close. Such signs of business as usual give city officials what they believe is reason to cut funds for Veterans Day events. Some even shamelessly request veterans’ organizations to cover the costs of police and sanitation workers’ overtime. Such municipalities say appropriations are better spent on holiday events and parades that make money.

On Friday, the Labor Department revealed the latest jobs report and the picture was not pretty. Their broadest measure of unemployment and underemployment has reached its highest level in decades, and if their statistics went back so far, it would most certainly be at its highest level since the Great Depression.

One out of every six workers, or 17.5%, were unemployed or underemployed in October 2009. The previous record high was set in December 1982 at 17.1%. WIthout an end in site to our economic woes, the figures could go even higher in the coming months.

That 17.5% figure includes the officiall unemployed, which are those who have looked for work in the last four weeks. It also includes discouraged workers who have looked in the past year, and millions of part-time workers wanting to be full-time.

The official jobless rate is at 10.2% for October, and remains lower than the early 80's peak at 10.8%. But again, this latest figure continues the upward trend, and isup from 9.8% in September 2009. It is highest in those states which had big housing bubles, such as Arizona and California, and those with large manufacturing sectors, including Ohio, South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Oregon.

A mass shooting at Fort Hood on Thursday has thus far resulted in the deaths of twelve individuals and as many as 31 wounded. Officials confirmed that three shooters were involved. One has been killed and the other two have been apprehended.

A spokesman for the Army at the Pentagon said the shootings began around 1:30pm. The first of the two shootings took place at a personnel and medical processing center called a Soldier Rating and Processing Center, which handles administrative details for soldiers. The second shooting incident took place at a theater on the base, the Howze Theatre.

All three shooters were said to be US military soldiers. The suspects were in military uniform. The shooter-at-large had a high-powered sniper rifle. Officials have not yet confirmed whether those killed and injured were civilians or military personnel.

Following the attack, the base has been locked down. The Fort Hood website has posted an alert reading "Effective immediately Fort Hood is closed". The site also says, "This is not a Drill. It is an Emergency Situation." and indicates that units at the base have been ordered to account for all personnel. The FBI is also sending agents to the scene.

In a big departure from the policies of the George W. Bush era, the Justice Department issued a new policy memo to prosecutors on Monday telling them that pot-smoking patients and their sanctioned suppliers should not be targeted for federal prosecution in states that permit medical marijuana. In the 3-page legal memo, federal prosecutors are told it is not a good use of their time to arrest those who use or provide medical marijuana in strict compliance with state law.

The guidelines issued by the Justice Department, however, make it quite clear that federal agents can and will go after those who's marijuana distribution goes beyond what is permitted under state law, and those who use medical marijuana as a cover for other crimes.

Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

"It will not be a priority to use federal resources to prosecute patients with serious illnesses or their caregivers who are complying with state laws on medical marijuana, but we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compliance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal."

The sheriff's department and child protection services are taking a much closer look at the Heenes family after their six-year-old son said that they had pulled the now-infamous balloon stunt "for a show."

At a press conference Saturday morning, Sheriff Jim Alderen said:

"I would say this not a typical American family. They engeage in behaviors a lot of us don't. Obviously, it's very different family dynamics than most of us experience."

The 6-year-old was interviewed on television, and said that he had stayed in hiding because he thought they were "doing this for a show." This remark has raised quite a bit of interest and gives some creedence to the possibility of the entire thing being a hoax.

Alderen continued:

"We want to reinterview them, clarify that, and put that to rest."

If it turns out that the balloon incident was in fact a hoax, Alderen assures that justice will be sought:

"If this turns out to be a false report, we certainly would seek criminal restitution. But we would have to be convinced, and it would have to be proven in court, not just based on speculation."

"If this is determined to be a hoax, the only thing we really have is making a false report to authorities, which is a misdemeanor."

Health insurance coverage denials know no age limit. Alex Lange, a four month old baby from Colorado, was recently denied insurance after he was deemed to be too fat for his age.

At 25-inches long and 17lbs., Alex is above average. Alex's father Bernie Lange and his wife Kelli say that their insurance went up 40% when he was born. So when they went to shop for better premiums, they were shocked to learn that the size of their baby matter.

An insurance underwriter for Rocky Mountain Health Plans simply wrote, "Your baby is too fat."

Alex born at a healthy 8 1/4 pounds. He boasts quite a healthy appetite, which is why he has been packing on the pounds. For a baby of his age at his weight and height, he ranks in the 99th percentile.

Bernie, a part-time news anchor for KKCO-TV in Grand Junction, CO said:

"We can't put him on the Atkins diet or on a treadmill."

Kelli added: "He's healthy in our eyes. It's like we're being punished."

Dr. Douglas Speedie, director of Rocky Mountain Health Plans, explained:

"We do it because everybody else in the industry does it."