fayfreethinkers.com

Freethinkers, state settle lawsuit
Posted by Max Brantley on Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 4:31 PM

A SOLSTICE DISPLAY



The Arkansas Society of Freethinkers and Secretary of State Charlie Daniels today filed a proposed settlement of the society's lawsuit over the state's initial refusal to allow it to erect a winter solstice display along with the Christmas decorations at the Capitol. A judge earlier had ordered that the display be allowed during the holiday season.

In the settlement, the state agrees to a constitutional violation, says it will provide equal access to the Freethinkers in the future and says it will pay more than $25,000 in attorney fees to the ACLU cooperating attorneys who brought the case.

Here's the proposed consent decree PDF, which a judge must approve.

Arkansas Times

More money spent on lawsuits....just because people can't keep their "beliefs" to themselves....

Oh, but way to go freethinkers:)

This is really good news by the way because it sets precedent. If other places in the state want to put religious stuff on their state property they better let other groups do it because if they don't and it goes to court, not only will they waste their time and money, they will lose and they will pay the other side for the trouble of teaching them the lesson.

WAY TO GO Arkansas Society of Freethinkers!

Woo! I was happy when I heard about this. Go Freethinkers!

And it gets better.

First, read about this nut in Beebe Arkansas:

Beebe mayor has God's back
Won't apologize for giving Creator his due.
by Doug Smith
Arkansas Times

Here's the main excerpt:

The June issue of a city-government newsletter contains a rambling message from Mayor [of Beebe] Mike Robertson. He says:

"Government has taken a very high profile in the everyday lives of citizens and businesses — too much in some areas. In the last few weeks there has been more than one movement to limit our freedom of prayer and the pledge of allegiance to our God and country. A federal judge recently ruled National Prayer Day as unconstitutional and the ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union, has locally challenged North Little Rock City Council meetings unconstitutional for allowing a prayer to God and pledge to the flag as opening to their meeting. It is my opinion and the Beebe City Council's that government leaders must pray to God as the true leader of the nation and that a nation cannot exist if they are not one nation under God trusting in God as the leader. It is my opinion government has allowed non-believers far too many liberties taking God out of our daily lives. As mayor of this city I will continue to open our meeting with a prayer and a pledge to our country – one nation under God.

"Please remember in the coming November election for leaders of this nation to elect only those who will stand firm doing the will of God and not their will. If placing God or the simple mentioning of his holy name in this newsletter is offensive to some; so be it. I do not and will not apologize, ever, for giving him the praise he is due for all that he has done for our blessed country. Not now, not ever in the future, should we turn our backs to our creator."

I posted this in the comment thread (it contains the good news)

It's unfortunate that some Christians try to use the power of the state to impose their religion on everyone else. If God is all powerful you wouldn't think he would need the help of the government. And the founding fathers agreed.

As to the cost of this, yes, it can cost. Consider this recent example in Stigler Oklahoma:

***
An appeals court ruled Monday [June 9, 2010] that a Ten Commandments monument at the county courthouse in Stigler violates the Constitution because its primary effect is to endorse a religion.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 in a challenge to the monument brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma and by a county resident.

This will cost $199,000 for the property taxpayers for Haskell County because the County Commissioners violated the commandment of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Editors at the Tulsa World said it best in the opinion article, "Expensive Justice:"

Our Constitution guarantees that all citizens — Christians, Jews, Muslims, atheists and all others — can turn to their government and expect creed-blind treatment. Building idols to a particular brand of a particular church is an obvious message to anyone outside that faith: Your rights are valued less here.

It's un-American, it's just plain wrong and as the Haskell County case proves once again, it's expensive."

http://oklahomacitizen.org/2010/08/13/t ... ristianity

More on this win in Oklahoma here:

Ten Commandments monument endorses Christianity
August 13, 2010 - 7:49 pm by Lawrence Roth

Authoritarian Christians in the Oklahoma Congress want to mark public property at the Capital with the smell of Christianity.

They lose and it's gonna cost them two hundred thousand bucks for the lesson.

July Tulsa World link

That's my alma matter right there:) It's a rather tough place to grow up when deep down you know you don't believe. Thank GOD Donald Ward is not still the gov. Don't get me wrong, I am sure he was a fine governor. It's just I like the guy, and I wasn't sure if this was going to be HIM....I would have died a little inside...

Here's their monument.

Can you find the misspelled word?

These are fundies we are dealing with you know.



Better picture:

Darrel wrote:Here's their monument.

Can you find the misspelled word?

DOUG
And #10, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house" is just wrong.

The list purports to summarize the Exodus 20 set of commandments (there are several different sets in the Bible).

Exodus 20:17 has:
17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

So to summarize it as only applying to the house is leaving out ALL of the neighbor's other possessions. (Note how the wife and servants are considered possessions.)

Here it is getting moved away:



They moved it seventy five feet, to get it on private property.

These guys, in a poor county, spent (wasted) TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS to try and have their government endorse their religion. It must be very important to them. Why is their god so weak that he needs a puny human government to endorse him? And then, why is he is so weak he gets whooped by the ACLU? Maybe the ACLU has iron chariots!

"And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron." (Judges 1:19)

***
Ten Commandments Monument In Stigler Moved Next Door

Posted: Mar 17, 2010 7:55 AM CDT
Updated: Mar 17, 2010 4:30 PM CDT

Haskell County's Ten Commandments Monument Gets New Home

A hole in the courthouse lawn is all that remains of the monument.
By Craig Day, The News On 6

STIGLER, OK -- There are new developments in a much debated Ten Commandments controversy. With court challenges and appeals exhausted, the Ten Commandments monument outside the Haskell County courthouse in Stigler had to be moved.

Now, the monument has a new home, and it isn't far from where the courthouse controversy began.

With a crew of five, and heavy equipment, the Ten Commandments controversy is lifted in Stigler.

"It's good to get it over with," said Weldon Key, one of the men moving the monument.

The relocation also lifts Haskell County's heavy weight of being at the center of the separation of church and state issue.

"There will be a lot of people here that pay attention to it," said Stigler resident Danny Rhoads.

After six years outside the Haskell County courthouse, and now through the federal court process, the monument was moved. The court says it was an unconstitutional endorsement of religion.

The monument was placed at the courthouse in 2004, but a federal appeals court ruled it is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. The U.S. Supreme Court recently refused to hear an appeal of the appeals court ruling.

Related story: 3/2/2010 Stigler Residents Divided On Decision To Move 10 Commandments Monument

"I hate that it happened the way it happened, but I still do think this is a good location - a very visible location," Key said.

It isn't going far, only about 75 feet away, but far enough to satisfy critics and the courts, and to distance the community from the controversy.

"I think it will kind of settle the community down," said monument mover Weldon Key. "It's something that nobody wanted except a few, and again it's moved to a good location and it's still in the courthouse range."

The 4,000-pound granite monument now sits outside the American Legion building. It's private property on the corner of the same block as the courthouse.

"I think it's a good location, good visible location," he said.

Now the next step in the long process, is just for the concrete to set, but the matter is settled. A new home for the monument means a new beginning for people weary of the arguing from both sides of the divisive issue.

"Now we don't have to read it in the paper no more," said Danny Rhoads, Stigler resident.

Muskogee Marble and Granite Company donated its services to move the monument."


http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=12154623

Darrel wrote: Can you find the misspelled word?

adultry