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Justices to decide if vets can be honored with cross
Washington Times ^ | May 25, 2009 | Audrey Hudson

Posted on 05/25/2009 7:06:02 AM PDT by La Lydia

...but it will be up to the Supreme Court to make a final determination as to whether a 7-foot cross remains standing in a California desert to memorialize war veterans. The cross was first erected in 1934 in what is now the federally protected Mojave Desert Preserve by a group of veterans...

w Veterans today say this war memorial and others like it across the country that use religious symbols are under attack by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)...>p>

But the civil liberties group says the cross is offensive to Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim and other non-Christian veterans....

"If the plaintiff is so offended that he might possibly come across this cross someday, will the plaintiff be offended when he drives by Arlington Cemetery?"said Jim Sims, senior vice president of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.....

Today, the cross remains standing, but is encased in a plywood box, hidden from view in the vast desert....

The veterans groups and their lawyers say such a decision would go beyond that, and would have repercussions not just on war memorials, but on roadside memorials that dot highways to mark fatal car crashes around the nation...

According to the National Clergy Council, which plans to file an amicus brief on behalf of the veterans, as many as 140,000 memorials marked by the cross could be affected nationwide - a figure at which the ACLU spokesman scoffed...

"It amazes me that veterans groups that fought shoulder to shoulder with Jews and Buddhists and Muslims, for them to think something is appropriate to recognize as the common sacrifice of every religion by choosing a symbol that Jesus is the Son of God, is very selfish or oblivious," Mr. Eliasberg said.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: aclu; christianity; constitution; cross; lawsuit; mojavedesert; pagans; veterans
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I wonder how many Buddhists and Muslims fought in World War I as American soldiers? And I wonder how many drive 160 miles out into the desert to be offended by a cross. At the link there is a photo of the cross encased in a plywood box that is very disturbing. So this is what it has come to. The ACLU will not be happy until Christianity is scrubbed from American life.
1 posted on 05/25/2009 7:06:02 AM PDT by La Lydia
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To: La Lydia
“The ACLU will not be happy until Christianity is scrubbed from American life.”

As confirmed communists, it is part of their manifesto to eliminate all religion. Statists cannot have the populace putting their faith in anything/anyone but the State. The people must look to Big Brother for everything, even and especially...

hope.

2 posted on 05/25/2009 7:09:00 AM PDT by Ghost of Philip Marlowe (The most dangerous fascists are those with a warm smile and soothing voice.)
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To: La Lydia

Buddhists?


3 posted on 05/25/2009 7:09:57 AM PDT by svcw (The prerequisite for receiving the grace of God ... is knowing you need it.)
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To: La Lydia
“But the civil liberties group says the cross is offensive to Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim and other non-Christian veterans...”

And, yes, you make a good point.

The ACLU should not be able to bring such a case unless there is an actual plaintiff. When/if such a plaintiff is found, then it can go to court, where a judge should say, displaying the cross is a free exercise of religion. No, you can't take the Cross down. Yes, you can also display the religious symbols of other religions so that their adherents will not be offended.

THAT is how the 1st Amendment SHOULD work (”shall pass no law abridging...”).

4 posted on 05/25/2009 7:11:16 AM PDT by Ghost of Philip Marlowe (The most dangerous fascists are those with a warm smile and soothing voice.)
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To: La Lydia
There are things and places that should be left alone and this is one of them....If some clown is offended by them... well, they don't have to go there, they can always go somewhere else.


5 posted on 05/25/2009 7:12:16 AM PDT by darkwing104 (Lets get dangerous)
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To: La Lydia
How has it come to this?

If they desecrate one heroes grave then there should be blood in the streets.

Their blood, our streets.

6 posted on 05/25/2009 7:12:39 AM PDT by mick (Central Banker Capitalism is NOT Free Enterprise)
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To: La Lydia

Anyone who challenges things like this is nothing more than a hater, pure and simple. There’s no other explanation. It’s not about the Constitution, that’s just a means to cover the hate.


7 posted on 05/25/2009 7:12:50 AM PDT by A_Former_Democrat
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To: La Lydia

This land was stolen from California by illegal act of congress and must be returned forthwith. Holding breath.


8 posted on 05/25/2009 7:14:27 AM PDT by Tax Government
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To: La Lydia

Is it possible to get these lawyers disbarred?


9 posted on 05/25/2009 7:14:30 AM PDT by pnh102 (Regarding liberalism, always attribute to malice what you think can be explained by stupidity. - Me)
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To: A_Former_Democrat
It's the literal thumb in your eye.....the backlash must be harsh, harsh enough to give them pause to ever attempt to control the faithful again.

The NRA seems to have drawn liberal blood...blood that they remember.... The faithful must do the same.

10 posted on 05/25/2009 7:19:07 AM PDT by cbkaty (I may not always post...but I am always here......)
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To: La Lydia
...why the US GOVERNMENT funds the ACLU with our tax dollars is beyond me. It would seem that the tax payers deserve much more......
11 posted on 05/25/2009 7:21:11 AM PDT by Doogle (USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated))
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To: La Lydia

OK, hold off on the brickbats for a minute:

If this is a federally protected desert/wilderness area, why should anyone be allowed to build any monument there? Isn’t the idea to protect nature from the encroachments of man?

Seems to me the issue shouldn’t be Christianity vs. whatever else, but rather nature vs. pollution.

I’m a devout Christian, but I don’t need to see crosses everywhere to remind me of that or to keep my faith strong. Sometimes we get too caught up in external, physical symbols, but we fail to model the teachings of the One they are supposed to represent.

And building a box around the monument is just plain stupid.

I think this is a case where everybody is wrong.


12 posted on 05/25/2009 7:21:33 AM PDT by Jedidah ("Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana)
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To: La Lydia

Offended?Nothing more than a communist organization.Pure and simple.


13 posted on 05/25/2009 7:23:46 AM PDT by HANG THE EXPENSE (Life is tough.It's even tougher when you're stupid.)
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To: mick

Hear,hear.


14 posted on 05/25/2009 7:24:31 AM PDT by HANG THE EXPENSE (Life is tough.It's even tougher when you're stupid.)
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To: Jedidah

I do believe the cross was there before the land became federally protected.


15 posted on 05/25/2009 7:24:33 AM PDT by digger48
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To: Jedidah

The cross was put up long before the preserve was created. In 2002, Congress designated the cross a “national memorial commemorating United States participation in World War I and honoring American veterans of that war.


16 posted on 05/25/2009 7:25:18 AM PDT by La Lydia
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To: La Lydia

*****Today, the cross remains standing, but is encased in a plywood box, hidden from view in the vast desert*****

The height of ignorance.

How stupid is this.
Mr. Eliasberg says that “It amazes me that veterans groups that fought shoulder to shoulder with Jews and Buddhists and Muslims, for them to think something is appropriate to recognize as the common sacrifice of every religion by choosing a symbol that Jesus is the Son of God, is very selfish or oblivious,”

What amazes me is that Mr. Eliasberg a man who has evidently fought alongside no one should be the judge of what was appropriate in 1934 for these men to have placed in the desert. Why should anyone be offended by a cross in the desert? Anyone offended by it is obviously an idiot.

Why should a cross in the desert offend anyone any more that a cross on a church. If I came upon a Star of David in the desert it would not offend me. This guy and anyone like him who is offended is a sick bigot, who needs a mental adjustment .

ACLU should be listed as a terrorist organisation.


17 posted on 05/25/2009 7:25:35 AM PDT by Venturer
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To: pnh102
Is it possible to get these lawyers disbarred?

Are you kidding? Have you ever tried to get a lawyer away from the BAR? Oh.. you meant a different kind of bar.

18 posted on 05/25/2009 7:25:59 AM PDT by SandRat (Duty, Honor, Country! What else needs said?)
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To: La Lydia; digger48

In which case, it should be given historical status and maintained as-is.


19 posted on 05/25/2009 7:26:07 AM PDT by Jedidah ("Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana)
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To: La Lydia
Today, the cross remains standing, but is encased in a plywood box, hidden from view in the vast desert....

Remove the cover,if replaced, remove again, repeat...

20 posted on 05/25/2009 7:26:09 AM PDT by BARLF
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