Daily Breeze Reports on "In God We Trust"

Here's another report to review from the Daily Breeze, this time about the passage of "In God We Trust" to be posted on the main dais of the city council chambers.

Torrance’s Council Chambers will soon have “In God We Trust” emblazoned above the dais.

This is wonderful. I wanted to see this happen, as did other people in the city of Torrance.

The City Council last week narrowly decided to put the motto in its chambers, despite no members of the public being present during the vote and one opposing councilman arguing the decision was made without transparency. The vote was 4 to 3.

The words will go on the wood paneling above the dais.

“The intention was to unite, though some may disagree,” said George Chen, who first suggested the idea and said he wanted the council to trust a higher power, even if it’s not God. “We’re here to serve the community, not to make a name for ourselves.”

It is a unifying motto, to reflect the national character. A couple of people in the city who oppose it, they are a bunch of vapid atheists, nothing more. Their offended feelings should not dictate what the rest of us want.

But Councilman Tim Goodrich railed against the idea, saying the council moved too fast on the item and didn’t receive enough public input.

Nonsense. Timmy was just throwing a sop to his fellow regressive, leftist supports, many of whom belong to Black Lives (Don't) Matter.

“I’m absolutely appalled at what my colleagues are doing up here,” he said. “Ramming it down our throats — your colleagues’ throats — and the public’s throats.”

It was not rammed down anyone's throats. An agenda item was returned to the city council three months ago.

Chen first brought up the motto during the panel’s March 19 meeting, after he and his colleagues received an email from a nonprofit called In God We Trust America, which works to get the logo put in local government buildings across the country.

During the meeting, several residents spoke against installing the motto in chambers – and only one supported the move.

There were other comments from the public, submitted in writing. What a crock.

Still, the council voted – also 4 to 3 – to have staff draw up designs.

Good for them. Here are some of the designs submitted to the city council:

Staffers came back on Tuesday, May 14, with several suggestions. Ultimately, the council went with their colleague Mike Griffiths’ suggestion to emblazon it on the wood paneling.

This wood paneling is situated above the city council dais. It's a perfect place to place the National Motto.

Griffiths said he was inspired during a trip to Washington D.C., when he saw “In God We Trust” above the podium on which the speaker of the House of Representatives sits.

“It made me feel really strong. It made me feel really patriotic,” Griffiths told the Daily Breeze. “And if it’s good enough for the house chamber in D.C., then it’s good enough for Torrance.”

Amen to that!

But the public wasn’t in the council chambers when the vote happened.

The room had been cleared earlier in the evening, following disruptions from protesters. The meeting was televised, but only city staffers and media were allowed in the chambers.

How telling! The Daily Breeze did not bother to mention that it was Black Lives (Don't) Matter which shut down the city council meeting on May 14th, 2019.

It was Milton Herring, the black city councilman, who called out BL(D)M for insisting on shutting down the meeting and preventing the city from conducting its business. 

Mayor Patrick Furey – who along with Goodrich and Councilman Geoff Rizzo – voted against the item, urged his colleagues to push the decision to the next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, May 21.

I am really glad that the council majority refused to be bullied by the BL(D)M protesters. This a double victory for me as a Torrance resident and as an American.

Chen, Griffiths, and Councilmen Milton Herring and Aurelio Mattucci voted for it.

I am proud to relate that I voted for each of these men! So proud of my city of Torrance!

Tim "Flag-Burning, Anti-American" Goodrich Whines About "In God We Trust" in Torrance City Council Chambers

Torrance City Councilman Tim Goodrich has been a blight on our city council chambers since the moment he was elected, since the moment he ran for office.

This guy wanted to fly the American Flag high for everyone to see, when he ran for office. He loved playing up his veteran status. He wanted everyone to see him as a loving, patriotic Torrance homebody.

The truth is quite different, even sinister.

The truth is that he was anti-war flag burner shortly after the Iraq war, and he hoped that everyone would conveniently forget about it. He lambasted the the military and attack our country's leaders.

On top of that, he's not from Torrance. He's a carpet-bagger from Buffalo, New York, and the Democratic Party put him in this seat in the vain hopes that he could be a politician who would move up the ranks into Congress and perhaps one day run for President.

Now, he's just an embittered progressive who can't anything done that he wants to accomplish.

A pro-Torrance majority has taken back the reins of power on the Torrance City Council.

And as of May 14, 2019, the Torrance City Council will have "In God We Trust" posted on the front of the chambers.

Now, how did Touchy Timmy respond to this?

He whined, he belly-ached about the lack of transparency. Really? This from the guy who was trying to force Community Choice Aggregation onto the city of Torrance, who refused to provide the requisite details on the program.

This is the same Tim Goodrich which didn't tell anyone about his anti-war, anti-American, progressive, Left-wing past!

And he was appalled -- APPALLED, I tell you -- that the city of Torrance would recognize our country's national motto inside our city council chambers.

APPALLED!

Here is his official email whining to the public:

I’m proud to say that during my last 5 years on the City Council, we have always operated with transparency and the best interest of the public in mind. That is, until this past Tuesday night. It brings me no joy to write this email, but I was witness to an unprecedented lack of transparency and I’m sharing it with you because, as the quote above says, the best way to stop it from happening again is to make sure people are aware of it.

Oh please, Timmy. Give it a rest!

It started two months ago when Councilmembers George Chen, Milton Herring, Aurelio Mattucci, and Mike Griffiths voted 4-3 to place the words “In God We Trust” on the wall behind the Council dais after receiving an email from a woman in Bakersfield (I've never heard a Torrance resident ask for this). 

That's because Timmy ignored their interest in doing this. Timmy isn't interested in requests from people whom he does not agree with.

Despite their proclamation that this was a “unifying issue”, it proved to be a very divisive issue. Not only was it brought just days after a religious extremist killed dozens of Muslims in New Zealand, but an overwhelming majority of the public spoke in opposition (including the South Coast Interfaith Council, an organization representing dozens of faiths), and a compromise solution put forward by Councilmember Rizzo, Mayor Furey, and myself was rejected out of hand. Additionally, per longstanding precedent (ie, the recent City Hall front entrance redesign), we urged this item to be referred to the appropriate committee to allow for further public input on the design and placement, but this too was rejected.

Making decisions is often going to be divisive, Being decisive means that you will may be divisive. It's part of leadership. You should know that, Timmy, having served in the military.

When the item came back for discussion regarding design and placement of the wording this past Tuesday, I argued that the item should be delayed by one week because we were conducting business without the public present (due to an unrelated incident just minutes earlier that led to four arrests), but that too was rejected out of hand. I still don’t understand the urgency to move this item forward without any public participation, but the same four Councilmembers voted to move forward and approved an expenditure of almost $2,000 for this item.

"Due to an unrelated incident"  -- wow, is that what you think of the Black Lives (Don't) Matter Hate group?

The issue here is not one of religion (I’m a baptized and confirmed brother of a pastor), its one of transparency and I feel that the standard the residents of Torrance have come to expect was not lived up to.

Yes, Timmy, the issue is religion. You don't want God to have any audience or recognition in the city council chambers or anywhere else in our country. You are an atheistic, narrow-minded bigot, nothing more.

Making sure we listen to the public and operate transparently is what has set Torrance apart from other cities in the past and I will continue to make sure we act as transparently as possible going forward. I hope that you will continue to be involved in our City and I encourage you to be in touch with us at any time on matters of interest to you. Our email addresses can be found here: https://www.torranceca.gov/government/city-council

Don't Worry, Timmy, we are still very much invested in what is happening in our city.

That's why the city council is more responsive to the concerns of the city, and why good things are finally happening in the city of Torrance.

Torrance Forward!

Torrance Councilmember Tim Goodrich

www.timgoodrich.com/

Torrance Councilmember Tim Goodrich · 3031 Torrance Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503,

Torrance City Council: Place "In God We Trust" in City Council Chambers

Dear Torrance City Council:

As an opening statement, I am submitting this letter in part to serve as an invitation to as many Torrance residents as possible, encouraging them to write to you to communicate their support for Agenda item 9C, as well as to attend the May 14, 2019 city council meeting.

The meeting takes place:

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

7:00pm

Torrance City Council

3031 Torrance Blvd, 

Torrance, CA 90503

It is with great joy that I write to you in full favor of the National Motto being placed and posted in the Torrance City Council chambers.

$2,000 is a small amount to dispense in order to recognize the fundamental principles and founding elements of our country, culture, and community.

The United States is a great country because we are One Nation Under God. If we forget that, we will become one nation gone under, as President Ronald Reagan declared.

This central, civilizing element, the basic recognition that every human being came from One Creator, is essential for ensuring unity in cities, countries, and across our country, regardless of how individuals express or understand God.

For those who believe (falsely) that there is no God, the impact of our National Motto in our city council chambers is a de minimus nuisance (cf ELK GROVE UNIFIED SCHOOL DIST. V. NEWDOW (02-1624) 542 U.S. 1 (2004)) for that small segment of the population. The offense of a minority should not overshadow or push aside the foundational truth that the United States was founded on Judeo-Christian principles.

Further objections will argue that there is a wall of separation between church and state in the United States Constitution. That is a long-propagated falsehood, based on a misinterpreted statement written by President Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut. Jefferson's letter affirmed exactly what the First Amendment assured -- that the state could not establish a religion, specifically a denomination or practice of faith.

Not once did the Framers intend for a recognition of God, a Deity, Providence, to be removed from the public square. Not once. In fact, the famed agnostic and editorial columnist Charles Krauthammer had written that "civic religion" is completely in order with keeping the traditions and rights of individuals within our constitutional republic. The presentation of our national motto, In God We Trust, as displayed in a public building does not constitute an establishment of a particular religion or sect.

Moreover, the Declaration of Independence, the founding charter of our nation, mentions God four times.

First, God is mentioned at the outset of the document:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Second, God is referenced as the source and dispensation of man's natural rights, thus ensuring a complete and justified limitation on the power of the state:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Third, God is referenced as the final authority of mankind, thus exceeding the rights and privileges of any other ruler, including King George the Third:

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States;

Last of all, God is referenced as the final and supreme protector of mankind and the nations of the world, a full statement affirming that the Founding Fathers recognized that God did move in the affairs of men, and was not some static eternal constant who had set the world in motion, then withdrew and simply watched the proceedings of men:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

The United States Constitution also references God and His Providence.

In the Preamble:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The word "blessings of liberty" explicitly references a divine origin.

In Article One, Section 8, as part of the enumerated powers granted to Congress:

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

Per the "Lectures on Law" by James Wilson, one of the Framers of the Constitution and signers of the Declaration of Independence, "The law of nature, when applied to states or political societies, receives a new name, that of the law of nations."

James Wilson drew this insight from a French political scientist, Emer de Vattel, who wrote: "[T]he law of nations is the law of nature applied to states or nations."

The law of nature originates from and therefore specifies the existence of God and His presence in the establishment of the United States Constitution.

At the end of the Constitution, we find the date for the document set thus:

Done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independence of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,

The mention of "Year of our Lord" clearly recognizes not only the Deity, but Christ the Savior.

Furthermore, God is explicitly mentioned in every state constitution, including California's!

"We, the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure and perpetuate its blessings, do establish this Constitution."

Once again, I am submitting this letter and this invitation to as many Torrance residents as possible, encouraging them to write to you to communicate their support for agenda item 9C as well as to attend the May 14, 2019 city council meeting.

The meeting takes place:

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

7:00pm

Torrance City Council

3031 Torrance Blvd, 

Torrance, CA 90503

The Torrance City Council should feel the support of the residents of the community as well as the general public.

Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Arthur Christopher Schaper