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Oh, my G&emdash; er, goodness, what's next?

Now that the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Ohio's official state motto &emdash; ''With God, all things are possible'' &emdash; violates the U.S. Constitution as a government endorsement of religion, we are left to ponder ... How will our state government be able to operate without a slogan?

As you may recall from the front-page story, a panel of the federal court sided with the American Civil Liberties Union, which contended that the words had no secular purpose and appeared to be a government endorsement of the Christian religion.

Ohio took the motto in 1959 from the Bible, specifically Matthew 19:26, which quotes Jesus Christ.

Of course, the state can appeal the decision. In the meantime, we've decided to suggest some temporary replacements:

* "By golly, anything can happen."

Anyone who has experienced Ohio weather knows that to be true. But then, weather and other natural occurrences have been referred to as acts of God, so maybe that saying isn't kosher (if we can mix religious metaphors).

* "With that deity mentioned on the back of the dollar bill, all things are possible."

Since U.S. currency apparently still can use the phrase "IN GOD WE TRUST" on the green side, maybe we can get by with an indirect, secondary reference for the time being. Perhaps because the slogan is written in capital letters, the court isn't sure if it refers to the God or just a god.

Of course, some people seem to worship money more than anything. Which leads us to another potential state motto, one which we think may be a keeper:

"With enough tax renevue, all things are possible."

Now that is something our government leaders apparently believe.