There's a little brouhaha happening here in one of our local Atlanta suburbs. In Marietta, Georgia (just north of Atlanta), the city council is worried about police officers being sworn in with the phrase "so help me God." Yes, folks .. this is what they are worried about. The oath of office for city police officers to swear to uphold the law includes the phrase "so help me God" and now the city council wants it changed.

A councilman by the name of Van Pearlberg (I went to law school with this guy) is the one floating the idea of a change. He says he doesn't have a personal objection to the phrase, but "as the city's deputy assistant district attorney, he had encountered problems with individuals doing so in legal proceedings." He also says that there could be problems if a police recruit is an atheist or not religious. The police department has never received a complaint about the oath.

Meanwhile, the city attorney has been instructed to come up with an alternative oath that does not include God.

Would someone please find this guy something constructive to do?