Movers Haul Away Ten Commandments in Montgomery

FOXNews.com ^ | Wednesday, August 27, 2003

[NWO Slave]

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A chorus of demonstrators joined an irate man in screaming "Put it back!" Wednesday morning after a monument of the Ten Commandments was wheeled away from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building.

"Get your hands off our God, God haters!" yelled the wildly gesturing, red-faced man who initiated the chanting.

Workers used a dolly to move the 5,280-pound granite marker from the rotunda to another, undisclosed place in the courthouse building.

Meanwhile, a Wednesday afternoon hearing to consider a lawsuit to keep the monument in the rotunda was canceled.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in Mobile on behalf of a Christian radio talk show host and a pastor, says forced removal of the monument would violate the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion.

Christian Defense Coalition Director Patrick Mahoney told the crowd of demonstrators that he wasn't told where the monument had been taken.

Because of its size and weight, the marker was presumably moved to another location on the ground floor of the building.

Mahoney said the monument would not be covered, and that he would be allowed inside to see it once it was moved. Mahoney said he was informed of the plans by building manager Graham George.

Mahoney didn't know whether the monument's new location would be accessible to the public.

The federal court had said the monument could be in a private place in the building but not in the highly visible spot in the rotunda directly across from the building's entrance.

Protest organizers asked the crowd outside not to rush the building or do anything else except pray. Some people seemed to be listening, with dozens kneeling, bowing or lying face-down in prayer in front of the judicial building and on the steps before and after the monument's removal.

The marker was wheeled away in a matter of minutes.

A federal judge in Montgomery ruled last year that the monument, which Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore (search) installed two years ago, violates the Constitution's ban on government promotion of religion and ordered its removal by Aug. 20. The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to hear Moore's appeal.

But Moore refused to comply. Eight associate justices voted Aug. 21 to remove the monument, and Moore was suspended the next day.

Attorney General Bill Pryor, defending the associate justices, filed a motion Tuesday afternoon to dismiss the latest lawsuit, saying the Mobile court lacks jurisdiction and the complaint lacks merit.

About 150 monument supporters marched on Pryor's office Tuesday, demanding he resign for supporting the associate justices' decision. Seven representatives were allowed inside to meet with Pryor's chief deputy for about 20 minutes. The rest remained outside, chanting, "Resign now! Resign now!"

Gatherings of pro-monument demonstrators outside the judicial building have grown each day in the past week to at times number in the hundreds.

People seeking removal of the monument from its public site had said they were grateful that it was finally being moved, a week after the deadline set by a federal judge.

"This is a tremendous victory for the rule of law and respect for religious diversity," the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said before the monument was rolled out of the rotunda. "Perhaps Roy Moore will soon leave the bench and move into the pulpit, which he seems better suited for."

Lynne's organization was among groups suing to remove Moore's monument, which he installed without telling the other eight Supreme Court justices.

Demonstrators promised to keep up their protests of the removal.

"If it takes 75 years to reclaim this land for righteousness, God find us and our children and our children's children ready," said the Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the national clergy council.

Affirmative Action Judge Opposing Judge Roy Moore

[AmericanInTokyo]

But by publicly (here) 'representing', like it or not, atheism due to your posts, one can clearly extrapolate that you are not necessarily 'non' God, you are actually 'anti-God'. Again, based on the tone and substance of your earlier posts in this thread. Are you from a separate 'stream' of atheistic thought? PS did you just ammend your personal page to reflect those viewpoints? It seems you added some material on just now (perhaps I am mistaken). Thank you.

[keats5]

Athieism is religion, too- and apparently the only permitted official religion.

[Ingtar]

Seems like we should have less poor. We don't. In Alabam this is a good thing. Alabama is one of the few states less with a regressive tax system, ie. the poor pay a higher percentage of their incomes then the wealthy. Alabama needs a lot of poor to subsidize the rich.

Then, by all means, if we must have an income tax make everyone in the State pay the same percentage of their income. No loopholes. No deductions. If the decided rate is 10%, then everyone should pay 10% Not a rate of 0% on the poor and 40% on the rich.

[clintonh8r]

Why should taxes "provide for the poor", especially when the taxes that are already supposed to "provide for the poor" are largely wasted?

[halfdome]

That's not what I said. Many people are saying that the ten commandments are the basis of our laws. And in our society, it is not illegal to break the commandments, with the exceptions of killing and stealing.

And if you're trying to say that I'm encouraging adultery, coveting your neighbor's goods, etc., then you're just twisting my words. I don't condone those actions, but they are not illegal in our country. What countries have laws against adultery, keeping false idols, etc? Why, it's the repressive Muslim regimes that enforce those types of laws.

I guess I see where you're coming from as well.

[AndrewC]

Alabama is one of the few states less with a regressive tax system, ie. the poor pay a higher percentage of their incomes then the wealthy. Alabama needs a lot of poor to subsidize the rich.

So the solution is to raise taxes?

[RoughDobermann]

No, but scary as the thought is, that just might very well be next

I think that is quite a stretch...

[babyface00]

Alabama needs a lot of poor to subsidize the rich

Subsidize the rich? That would imply that the rich are receiving more from the government in benefits than they are paying in taxes. Do you have figures to indicate this is so?

[talleyman]

It is obvious that we need a constitutional amendment to inform activist judges that atheism is not the official religion of the U.S. - and we need to impeach them.

"What do you call a lawyer with an IQ of 50?"

"Your honor."

[Melas]

But there must be the pre-existence of the object of your disbelief, correct, for you to disbelieve it? Correct? Otherwise, how do you explain the concrete manifestation, even if in an epistomological mode, of God or gods who is/are to be disbelieved?

You're argument is fatally flawed. For example: I do not believe in Thor, does it logically follow that Thor exists? I do not believe in elves, does it logically follow that there must be the pre-existence of elves? No, of course not.

Or if you insist, to put in epistemological terms that jive with the "everything is known" philosophical BS, yes atheists believe in gods, but not tangible gods. Rather, gods of the imagination, the sole product of the mind of man.

[drjimmy]

Why is it that we Americans have to kow-tow to people who come from foreign countries who tell US they are bothered by OUR religious beliefs and symbols and that WE have to refrain or remove our symbols while THEY get to practice their religion in front of OUR face?
Who are these people from foreign countries that supposedly forced the removal of the monument? And which foreign religion is being practiced in front of your face now that the monument has been moved from the lobby of the Alabama state courthouse?

[talleyman]

which foreign religion is being practiced in front of your face now that the monument has been moved from the lobby of the Alabama state courthouse?

Atheism.

[vikingcelt]

"The rest of the commandments are more like laws the Taliban would enforce." Oh really?" "Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother." "Do Not Bear False Withness Against Thy Neighbor." And others. These are laws the Taliban would enforce? Are you INSANE?

[Havoc]

Somehow, I get the feeling that quote is made up.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Hey. Pssst. Check this out:

Cervantes wrote a book about Don Quixote a long time ago. Don Quixote would attack windmills as if they were his enemies. Of course a windmill is nobody's enemy. If what the Atheist believes is REALLY his belief, then he would leave people like those in Alabama or Christian/deist Freepers alone. After all, if God did not exist, He and His followers would be no enemy to the Atheist. They would just be deluded people. Therefore IF the Atheist REALLY believes there is no God and the fool attacks a Christian, then he has the Don Quixote Syndrome because the Christian is not his enemy. Nevertheless, God is real and THAT is why Atheists have all these organizations and debates to "prove" that God does not exist, or get riled up over the Ten Commandments. If Atheists (see, I even 'upper cased it to be fair) would just be true to what they purport to believe, then you wouldn't have the 'Don Quixote Syndrome'.

[vikingcelt]

"Nobody cares one bit. You can have your church if you can get enough folks to keep to open. Nobody cares."

Well, Godless Atheist, I pity you. Your "nobody cares" is sad because lots of people care way more than you will ever know. Your arrogance is astounding.

[RoughDobermann]

Atheism.

What nonsense. The absense of religion is not atheism. And, last time I checked, no one's bibles are being taken away from them and no one is being prohibited from practicing their faith at home or in their church.