Posted on 11/30/2008 6:46:48 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
The huge cross near Ponchatoula's downtown locomotive won't be covered with blazing white bulbs for this year's Christmas Lights Festival.
Instead, a second bar has been added to display banners advertising citywide events.
(Excerpt) Read more at wwl.com ...
That sounds reasonable to me
"The First Amendment declares that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The Fourteenth Amendment has rendered the legislatures of the states as incompetent as Congress to enact such laws. The constitutional inhibition of legislation on the subject of religion has a double aspect." --Mr. Justice Roberts, Cantwell v. State of Connecticut 1940. http://tinyurl.com/38a87cAs evidenced by his statement above, Justice Roberts didn't do his homework concerning the 14th Amendment. This is because Bingham had clarified to Congress, both before and after the ratification of the 14th A., that the 14th A. was not intended to take away any state powers. See for yourself.
"The adoption of the proposed amendment will take from the States no rights (emphasis added) that belong to the States." --John Bingham, Appendix to the Congressional Globe http://tinyurl.com/2rfc5dAnd to make matters worse, Justice Black later used Justice Roberts' peversion of the 14th A. to misrepresent Jefferson's "wall of separation". More specifially, Justice Black ignored that Jefferson had acknowledged that the Founders had written the 1st and 10th Amendments in part to reserve government power to regulate religion uniquely to the states. In fact, Jefferson did so on at least three occasions. See for yourself."No right (emphasis added) reserved by the Constitution to the States should be impaired..." --John Bingham, Appendix to the Congressional Globe http://tinyurl.com/2qglzy
"Do gentlemen say that by so legislating we would strike down the rights of the State? God forbid. I believe our dual system of government essential to our national existance." --John Bingham, Appendix to the Congressional Globe http://tinyurl.com/y3ne4n
"3. Resolved that it is true as a general principle and is also expressly declared by one of the amendments to the constitution that the powers not delegated to the US. by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively or to the people: and that no power over the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or freedom of the press being delegated to the US. by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, all lawful powers respecting the same did of right remain, & were reserved, to the states or the people..." --Thomas Jefferson, Kentucky Resolutions, 1798. http://tinyurl.com/oozooAs a side note, the 10th A. protected powers of the states are now limited by the honest interpretation of the 14th A., as opposed to the perversions of that amendment by corrupt majority justices. And speaking of 14th A. protections, the city in question should respect the following words of Jefferson with respect to local taxpayers, in my opinion, even though they are not constitutional law."In matters of religion, I have considered that its free exercise is placed by the Constitution independent of the powers of the general government. I have therefore undertaken on no occasion to prescribe the religious exercises suited to it; but have left them as the Constitution found them, under the direction and discipline of State or Church authorities acknowledged by the several religious societies." --Thomas Jefferson: 2nd Inaugural Address, 1805. ME 3:378 http://tinyurl.com/jmpm3
"I consider the government of the United States as interdicted by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions, their doctrines, discipline, or exercises. This results not only from the provision that no law shall be made respecting the establishment or free exercise of religion, but from that also which reserves to the states the powers not delegated to the United States. Certainly, no power to prescribe any religious exercise or to assume authority in religious discipline has been delegated to the General Government. It must then rest with the states, as far as it can be in any human authority." --Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Miller, 1808. http://tinyurl.com/nkdu7
"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." --Thomas Jefferson: Bill for Religious Freedom, 1779. Papers 2:545 http://www.religioustolerance.org/virg_bil.htm
Here is my suggestion: Instead of the cross this year put a much larger display that says that the ACLU is an anti-american front group for communist interests. That way the display is protected as political speech. We all know the ACLU protects that right?
If not, then the ACLU will lose.
No Federal court in the United States has any jurisdiction to rule on the subject of state-based religion or religious expression. None whatsoever. Any Federal ruling on the subject can be simply ignored (nullified) as an un-Constitutional violation of the 1st and 10th Amendments.
Only if it violates LA law is there a legal issue.
two cross-bars? it’s a lorraine cross! take that aclu!
Your quote is not from the second amendment. It is a misquote of the second clause of the first.
Alternative suggestion: Arrange a "meeting" between the ACLU lawyer and "Old Blue Eyes", the disquietingly large alligator that dwells in a covered pool in the middle of the town. Repeat as needed.
The ACLU dirtbags were going after Thibodaux just a month or two ago. I'm going to email the group that's helping that city about this case.
THIBODAUX Todays Thibodeauxville festival has become the reluctant subject of a legal battle as a religious-rights group announced it will challenge the American Civil Liberties Unions attempt to end what it calls the promotion of the Christian faith at city events.The Alliance Defense Fund, a national conservative-Christian nonprofit, said Friday that it would offer the city free legal defense against the ACLUs charge that the city has violated the U.S. Constitution by promoting Christian music and dance at the arts, crafts and music festival.
Michael Johnson, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, said the ACLUs threat is baseless and that there is certainly no legal concern with the festivals live musical entertainment, which is provided free of charge by a variety of local and regional artists.
The ACLU has increasingly made sport of bullying public officials throughout the state of Louisiana, Johnson said.
Think that folks should email the mayor and tell him what folks throughout the US think about the ACLU. The the ACLU treats to sue, then I see that as some sort of intimidation. Seems illegal to me, but I'm no lawyer.
I lived in "downtown" Ponchatoula for 15 years. Such a beautiful town, and their Christmas light display is wonderful. I hate to see a strong conservative town bow to the ACLU.
The mayor's email addy can be found here.
treats=threats
This is not an isolated incident, by the way. There was a recent thread about the ACLU sticking its nose into a holiday-season event down in Thibodaux, LA.
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