Community Corner

5 Things to Know Today: Dec. 29

Here are five facts to start your day.

Welcome to "5 Things You Need to Know Today," a daily Patch feature that provides five quick tidbits of information in one spot. Here they are:

  1. Did you know this week marked the anniversary of the United States' Pledge of Allegiance? The pledge was originally written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a socialist and Baptist minister. It was formally adopted as our pledge by Congress in 1942.
  2. In its original form, the pledge said "I pledge allegiance to my flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." It has been changed twice. The first change came in 1923, when "my flag" was switched to "the flag of the United States of America." It was changed again in 1954 for anti-communist reasons to add the now controversial "under God" phrase, according to the Independence Hall Association's USHistory.Org.
  3. In 2002, a parent challenged the constitutionality of making students recite the pledge because of the "under God" phrase. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed in Newdow v. U.S. Congress "the text of the official Pledge, codified in federal law, impermissibly takes a position with respect to the purely religious question of the existence and identity of God;" however, the Sumpreme Court overturned the reading—not on the basis of violating the first amendment, but because it found the parent did not have primary custody of the child and thus did not have standing to take the case to the federal court system.
  4. And, as always, Moorpark's lowest price per gallon for regular gas is $3.57, according to GasBuddy.com. Find it at the Alliance station at 50 W. Los Angeles Ave.
  5. The National Weather Service is predicting a high near 76 and a low near 51 degrees.


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