Free Republic

MONTGOMERY, Ala.--Most politicians would kill for--or spend millions of dollars to acquire--the name recognition Roy Moore has in Alabama. Not necessarily the kind of name recognition, mind you. Just the level. That's because here, and across the country, he's known not just as Roy Moore, but as "Roy Moore, Ten Commandments Judge"--the Southern Baptist-cum-chief justice of Alabama who defied a federal court order to remove his 2 1/2-ton monument to the Commandments from the state courthouse, and lost his job as a result. It's a moniker that wins him automatic support in some quarters, and deafens ears before he even...

Reason disputed for monument By Sheila K. Stogsdill The Oklahoman MUSKOGEE - A Stigler resident testified Tuesday that religion in the form of a Ten Commandments monument has no business on government property. "The Ten Commandments have nothing to do with our law," said Sharon Nichols, an American Civil Liberties Union member and self-described naturalist. "The Ten Commandments is a historical document with limited significance to Haskell County." Nichols said she was offended by the monument, erected on the Haskell County Courthouse lawn, because she is not a Christian. She also testified she was offended by the words "In God...

STIGLER, Okla. - The 8-foot granite slab planted in the Haskell County courthouse lawn makes the Ten Commandments easy to read and hard to miss from the state highway that doubles as this town's main thoroughfare. The monument, erected with private money in 2004 with the county's approval, doesn't stop traffic and courthouse visitors on a recent morning barely gave it a glance.

In this ABC made-for-TV production of "The Ten Commandments" we have a new Moses, ethnically and religiously cleansed. As played by Dougray Scott, Moses has been homogenized, pasteurized, sanitized, and dry-cleaned so as not to offend any race, religion, or creed. This Moses is not Hebrew, and in fact he's not anything but multi-cultural. Along both parts of this series that ran Monday and Tuesday, April 10 and 11, the word "Hebrew" never came up, neither attached to him or to his people, yes, the Hebrews. The best this fat-free, low-calorie script could do was refer to Moses as a...

Poll: Riley builds big lead over Moore Sunday, April 16, 2006 By BILL BARROW Capital Bureau MONTGOMERY -- Gov. Bob Riley has stormed to a 44-point lead over challenger Roy Moore in the battle for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, according to a new statewide survey. The Press-Register/University of South Alabama poll showed Riley with 64 percent support of self-identified Republican primary voters. Moore, the ousted Alabama Supreme Court chief justice, had 20 percent. The findings indicate that the Republican contest is becoming a cakewalk for the incumbent with seven weeks left until the June 6 vote. "These poll results suggest...

Dougray Scott, currently the star of NBC's Heist and most famous as the villain of Mission: Impossible 2, trots out much scowling anger and sulking angst in the lead role. This is Method Moses. Tonight, back from his conference with the burning bush and heading toward Egypt, he stumbles over a rock and mutters, "You'd think if this is what He wanted He'd make the going a little easier." Tomorrow, he furrows his brow and frets, " 'I am who I am.' What does that mean? Why give me a riddle to solve?" And while he struggles with his faith,...

"I was really impressed with [DeMille's version] when I saw it as a young boy, because it was such a wonderful cinematic extravaganza ... Just because there has been this huge, colossal canvas painted with one man's vision doesn't mean we can't retell it."

Director Robert Dornhelm is painfully aware that there may be a large audience out there eagerly waiting to hate his new version of "The Ten Commandments," premiering Monday and Tuesday, April 10-11, on ABC. After all, the story of Moses leading the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt has been told before, and unforgettably, by Hollywood showman Cecil B. DeMille in his ultralavish 1956 production starring Charlton Heston as Moses. Adapted from a variety of religious novels, that earlier version introduced a number of extraneous characters and story lines to the biblical account, yet a fair number of fans today regard...

On Wed,March 22, there will be a hearing in Essex County Court in Massachusetts, which could result in the banning of a book by Fathers rights(Pro-Family) activist, Kevin Thompson. Kevin Thompson has been fighting a long and lonely battle in the Essex Probate and Family Court to try to be able to be a father to his son. Several months ago, the court impounded the records of the trial and Judge DeGangi has recently granted a restraining order forbidding Kevin from distributing his book, EXPOSING THE CORRUPTION IN THE MASSACHUSETTS FAMILY COURTS.

On March 21st, Paramount will be releasing a 50th anniversary DVD set of Cecil B. DeMille's legendary classic, The Ten Commandments - and frankly, the timing couldn't be any better. Why, you may ask? How could a 50 year-old epic from Hollywood's Golden Age still be 'relevant' today? I'll answer that question below - but let's first take a look back at this glorious and important film. The Ten Commandments happens to be the fifth highest-grossing film of all time, adjusted for inflation. When the film was released in 1956, theater tickets cost 50 cents - and the film still...

Movie is commemorated with a DVD edition. Hollywood’s Past and the Bible’s History haunt us this week as Cecil B. DeMille’s classic renditions of The Ten Commandments are re-released in a collector’s DVD edition. This year is the 50th Anniversary of the second version, the one in which Charlton Heston leads the Exodus. Syndicated radio host and movie critic, Michael Medved says its “it’s amazing how well the movie has held up.” And with a chuckle fondly offers his own opinion. “The Ten Commandments is one of the most endearing and important bad movies ever made. But the movie works.”...

NASHVILLE - Public buildings could display the Ten Commandments and other historical documents under a proposal introduced in the General Assembly. The measure sponsored by Rep. Matthew Hill, R-Jonesborough, and Sen. Rusty Crowe, R-Johnson City, would allow replicas of "historically significant" documents - including religious ones - to be displayed. As for the Ten Commandments in particular, Crowe said they should be permitted "for the historical perspective, for the religious principles that form the basis of our country." In its sharply divided 5-4 ruling last year, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of displaying the Ten Commandments on government...

FRANKFORT - The Senate gave its blessings yesterday to a bill that would allow schools and local governments to post the Ten Commandments as part of historical displays and put a Ten Commandments monument on Capitol grounds. With no debate, the Senate voted 37-1 for House Bill 277 that contains the proposals. Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, D-Lexington, cast the only vote against the bill, questioning whether it is constitutional. "We are wasting time and taxpayers' money in passing these laws that are going to be challenged in the court," he said. "If all of these folks spent a little more time...

ATLANTA - An election-year flurry of religion-based proposals are cruising through Georgia's Legislature this season - even as critics say they may land the state in court for tinkering with the line between church and state. A push to teach the Bible in public schools, a renewed take on displaying the Ten Commandments at courthouses and even a measure ensuring government employees and students can say "Merry Christmas" without repercussions have won support from members of both parties. All three measures have passed at least one chamber of the Legislature by overwhelming votes. National civil rights groups, though, say they've...

Not since Moses smashed the original tablets on Mount Sinai have the Ten Commandments fallen on such hard times; the Decalogue is as welcome today in a public school classroom as former Chief Justice Roy Moore at an ACLU picnic. Deemed insensitive to Buddhists and Zoroastrians, insulting to atheists, offensive to secularists, and irrelevant to the irreligious, the Ten Commandments have been declared by several American legal tribunals to be harmful when viewed in the public light. With a run of more than three millennia, perhaps it's time to retire the Big Ten and agree on a more universal, up-to-date,...

Not since Berlin, 1989, has a big wall taken such a big fall. This time, it was the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit that blew the trumpet, effectively collapsing the false construct of the so-called “wall of separation between church and state” that for more than 50 years has been the cornerstone of the American Civil Liberties Union’s anti-religion agenda. This wasn’t one the ACLU saw coming. Their case—a suit to prevent Mercer County, Kentucky, officials from including a copy of the Ten Commandments in their display of historically significant documents—seemed tight enough, especially since the U.S....

estern Area Republican Club of Jefferson County, Alabama ******Judge Roy Moore to be our next speaker ****** Candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, the Honorable Roy Moore, will be our speaker at our January 16th, 2006 meeting at 11:30 A.M., at the Home Plate Diner, 2780 Allison-Bonnett Memorial Drive in Hueytown. Visitors are welcome, and no reservations are needed. This is an opportunity to meet and hear Judge Moore, and to buy the book "So Help Me God" and have it autographed for you. There will be no other form of fund-raising at this meeting.We will have an...

In the wake of major decisions on public display of the Ten Commandments, the American Civil Liberties Union is asking a federal court to order removal of a Tennessee courthouse exhibit. "The posting of the Ten Commandments sends the message that only certain believers can receive justice at the courthouse," said Hedy Weinberg, executive director of ACLU of Tennessee. The ACLU filed the motion yesterday in U.S. District Court. Weinberg said "residents should not be made to feel like second class citizens because they do not hold the prevailing religious beliefs promoted by the county government." The display in Rutherford...

Sometimes it’s hard to find a ray of light in the American judicial system but once in a while the sun comes shining through. In a shocking display of clarity and common sense, a federal appeals court judge ruled last month that the Ten Commandments may remain on a wall in a Mercer County, Kentucky courthouse. The case concerned a display entitled, “Foundations of American Law and Government,” which, in addition to the Commandments, also includes; the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Preamble to the Kentucky Constitution, the Magna Carta, the Star-Spangled Banner, Lady...

Sometimes it's hard to find a ray of light in the American judicial system, but once in a while the sun comes shining through. In a shocking display of clarity and common sense, a federal appeals court judge ruled last month that the Ten Commandments may remain on a wall in a Mercer County, Kentucky courthouse. The case concerned a display entitled, "Foundations of American Law and Government," which, in addition to the Commandments, also includes; the Mayflower Compact, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Preamble to the Kentucky Constitution, the Magna Carta, the Star-Spangled Banner, Lady...