This just makes me sick:
Crowd Rallies for Ten Commandments Judge
Sun Aug 17, 8:51 AM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!
By BOB JOHNSON, Associated Press WriterMONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore told thousands of supporters that he would be guilty of treason if he didn't fight to keep a monument of the Ten Commandments in the rotunda of the state judicial building.
Drawing cheers and shouts of "amen" at a rally Saturday, Moore said his crusade to keep the 5,300-pound monument was not about bolstering his own political career, as some have claimed.
"Let's get this straight. It's about the acknowledgment of God," Moore said in front of the Alabama Capitol.
About the acknowledgment of which god? Oh, you mean the god that wrote this:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
It is quite obvious that the Ten Commandments monument is promoting a specific god - The Judaeo-Christian god. This is in direct violation of the principle of separation of church and state. I'm sure Justice Moore wouldn't be as excited about defending a monument of the Hindu Vedas. I think it's quite arrogant how Christian Fundamentalists seem to believe that they are the only religion in America. As if this country were built on Christian Fundamentalist values.
Buses and vans from as far away as California brought Moore supporters to Montgomery for an enthusiastic rally on a hot and muggy morning. Evangelist Jerry Falwell and former presidential candidate Alan Keyes (news - web sites) were among a half-dozen speakers urging the crowd to take back America from what Keyes described as the "unruly courts."
You can be pretty sure a person is a loony if Jerry Falwell is supporting him.
The rally was organized after U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson in Montgomery ordered Moore to remove the monument from the judicial building by Wednesday. Thompson and a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (news - web sites) have ruled that the monument is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by government.
Not just any religion or god - the Christian religion and god.
Police would not estimate the size of the crowd, which appeared to be several thousand people, possibly as many as 10,000.
That's a lot of nuts in one area!
Falwell said Moore is right to defy Thompson's order if he believes he is obeying God.
"Civil disobedience is the right of all men when we believe breaking man's law is needed to preserve God's law," Falwell said.
Which god's law? Oh, yeah, your god's law... as if your religion and god is the only one out there. This is as unamerican as it gets.
Evelyn Bradley of Norwalk, Calif., said she made the trip because "the Ten Commandments is the most precious and most important thing in my life right now."
LOL! The Ten Commandments are the most precious and important thing in his life??? This guy obviously lacks any sense. And which Ten Commandments are so precious to him? Does he realize there are multiple versions of the Ten Commandments in the Bible? Probably not.
Let's take a look at the popular version of the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20:2-17 and see what is so damn special about them:
1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall
have no other gods before Me.
So this guy is really stoked about the Judeo-Christian god who murdered millions of people in the Old Testament. He's really excited about the xenophobic message which states that all other religions, gods and ways of life are not acceptable. That's the great American attitude we're all striving for!
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image -
any likeness of anything that is in Heaven above,
orthat is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water
under the earth; you shall not bow down to them
nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathersupon
the children to the third and fourth generations of
those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands,
to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Seems to me this Judge is practically worshiping this monument - a carved image. He's breaking the very commandment he's defending. Still, though, nothing of great wisdom here. Nothing yet that would make me believe the Ten Commandments could be the "most precious and most important thing" in anyone's life!
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in
vain.
Which god? Oh, yeah Jehovah (and Justice Moore doesn't see how this promotes one religion or god over another?) Nothing precious yet.
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
Wow! Great advice from god. Does Justic Moore even do this? If not, then why does he think this commandment is so special - a foundation of our justice system?
5. Honor your father and your mother, that your days
may be long upon the land which the Lord your
God is giving you.
Good advice, but it's pretty obvious. Not of 'god' quality. Anyway, some mothers and fathers don't deserve to be honored, and honoring your parents does not guarantee long life. Nothing precious yet.
6. You shall not murder.
This is a good commandment, but it's nothing you don't see in every other culture in the world and in history. Unfortunately, the god who authored this commandment could not even keep it.
7. You shall not commit adultry.
The government should stay out of our bedrooms. This is not what American justice is about.
8. You shall not steal.
Yay! Another good one. So far we have two decent commandments! Though, there is nothing here to tell me it was authored by god... this is pretty much what we call common knowledge.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your
neighbor.
Agreed, but why not get at something more fundamental, such as "do not lie"? This commandment is unnecessarily narrow-minded. Even the drafters of the US Constitution did a better job of coming up with general principles rather than narrowly defined rules. How can a document authored by man be superior to one authored by god?
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; You
shall not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his male
servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his
donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.
This is as unamerican as it gets. Coveting is what keeps our economy going. Keep the government out of what goes on in our heads. Only actions, such as stealing, should be legislated and have any room in our justice system. Nothing precious here.
So out of Ten Commandments, there were actually two that were any good. And they were just common sense! I didn't see anything in there that could be seen as the "most precious and most important thing" in any rational person's life! Now back to the article:
"No judge has the right to tell us we can't post them," said Bradley, 73.
Actually, he does. This is one of those 'foundations of the US Justice system' that you supposedly care about.
After the rally hundreds of people walked several blocks to the judicial building, where they lined up to view the monument inside. Some debated with about 35 atheists holding a counterprotest across the street.
"Personally I believe in science and reason and the only way you can have freedom of religion is to have separation of church and state," said Todd Kinley, a research scientist from Huntsville participating in the counterprotest.
Yay! Some reason amongst these fundamentalist loonies.
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