So Help Me God

California atheist Michael Newdow (famous for suing to take the God reference out of the Pledge of Allegiance) has joined with a gang of fellow atheists, The American Humanist Association, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and other atheist groups to sue Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts as well as several other government officials responsible for sponsoring the upcoming presidential inauguration to bar them from bringing up God during the ceremony. The inaugural oath of office is laid out in the U.S. Constitution, but since we have this pesky thing called the separation of church and state, there's no reference to God in it. Only since 1933 has the phrase "so help me God" been added to the oath, but it's still not officially sanctioned. This lawsuit specifically seeks to ban Chief Justice Roberts from adding the phrase himself, since that would constitute a state endorsement of religion. But, of course, Obama will be free to name check the Lord if he so chooses. In other words, Obama will most likely say the thing anyway, so this lawsuit is really a waste of time and money. A more worthwhile effort might be spent toward explaining just what the hell "so help me God" is supposed to mean. Is it a plea for God's help in fulfilling your oath? In which case, is upholding the Constitution really so hard as to require help from the Almighty? More details here.