Prayer for Relief

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In this legal pleading,http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0624041pump1.html, page 9 is entitled "Prayer for Relief". Isn't it about time they came up with some better wording? Best regards,Spehro Pefhany"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" (Email Removed) Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

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[nq:1]In this legal pleading, http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0624041pump1.html, page 9 is entitled "Prayer for Relief". Isn't it about time they came up with some better wording?[/nq]
Why, pray? A charming example of the way the ancient and honorable legal tradition preserves old words, and a reminder that "to pray" was not always a religious activity.
Does it do any harm? Do you think it violates the separation of Church and State?
M-W still lists that meaning of "prayer" without indicating it is archaic:
b : an earnest request or wish

Best - Donna Richoux

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[nq:2]In this legal pleading, http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0624041pump1.html, page 9 is entitled "Prayer for Relief". Isn't it about time they came up with some better wording?[/nq]
[nq:1]Why, pray? A charming example of the way the ancient and honorable legal tradition preserves old words, and a reminder that "to pray" was not always a religious activity. Does it do any harm?[/nq]
It emphasizes the gap in power between the supplicant and the Court, and has echoes of class discrimination. Charming like a minstrel show. http://www.stephen-foster-songs.de/Amsong59.htm
[nq:1]Do you think it violates the separation of Church and State?[/nq]
I don't think so, as it clearly has no religious implications, unlike swearing in.
[nq:1]M-W still lists that meaning of "prayer" without indicating it is archaic: b : an earnest request or wish[/nq]
AH4 lists that meaning with the example "Her prayer for rain was granted at last". They also give the legal meaning. Outside of the set phrase "Pray tell", and the legal meaning, I don't think it's used very often at all in reference to a living person or an organization. Possibly somone will immediately present a counter-example, but I can't think of one.
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward" (Email Removed) Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

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If an MP wants to initiate the procedure by which the House of Commons can annul a statutory instrument, he puts down, not a motion, or a resolution, but a prayer. The traditional wording of petitions also uses "pray".

Don Aitken
Mail to the addresses given in the headers is no longer being read. To mail me, substitute "clara.co.uk" for "freeuk.com".

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[nq:1]In this legal pleading, http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0624041pump1.html, page 9 is entitled "Prayer for Relief". Isn't it about time they came up with some better wording?[/nq]
Wherefore, prithee?

John Dean
Oxford

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[nq:2]Why, pray? A charming example of the way the ancient ... not always a religious activity. Does it do any harm?[/nq]
[nq:1]It emphasizes the gap in power between the supplicant and the Court, and has echoes of class discrimination. Charming like a minstrel show. http://www.stephen-foster-songs.de/Amsong59.htm[/nq]
The petitioner here is the State of Oklahoma. Maybe not quite a superpower, but hardly the downtrodden victim you seem to allege.

Not really sure how Stephen Foster is relevant here. To be sure, much of his music is offensive to modern sensibilities, but his biographer defends Foster from claims of overt racism in
http://www.pitt.edu/utimes/issues/29/051597/13.html.

Jesse F. Hughes
"I post for many reasons and there's no reason to think that I'll stop." James S. Harris

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[nq:2]It emphasizes the gap in power between the supplicant and the Court, and has echoes of class discrimination. Charming like a minstrel show. http://www.stephen-foster-songs.de/Amsong59.htm[/nq]
[nq:1]The petitioner here is the State of Oklahoma. Maybe not quite a superpower, but hardly the downtrodden victim you seem ... of his music is offensive to modern sensibilities, but his biographer defends Foster from claims of overt racism in http://www.pitt.edu/utimes/issues/29/051597/13.html.[/nq]
And "Zip ****" is not even a Stephen Foster song. Spehro just happened to find the song at a site with that URL.
Not that I'm tacitly accepting that "minstrel show" is the epitome of all evil, either.

Best - Donna Richoux

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[nq:2]The petitioner here is the State of Oklahoma. Maybe not ... biographer defends Foster from claims of overt racism in http://www.pitt.edu/utimes/issues/29/051597/13.html.[/nq]
[nq:1]And "Zip ****" is not even a Stephen Foster song. Spehro just happened to find the song at a site with that URL. Not that I'm tacitly accepting that "minstrel show" is the epitome of all evil, either.[/nq]
In the spirit of full disclosure: I own a minstrel show CD. An Emmett Miller CD. The music is mostly great, the skits offensive but sometimes humorous if one neglects the racist elements. I'm not always sure how to interpret the liner notes insistence the Miller had a great affection for African Americans, but it's pretty clear that he was influenced by Black music long before Elvis (so was Bob Wills, who famously rode horseback some twenty-odd miles to see Bessie Smith, if memory serves).

Jesse F. Hughes
"(Mathematical) society has evolved far enough away from mainstream society that it has become rogue, and now is willing to push its needs against that of the majority." James S. Harris

Prayer for Relief

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