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

[Chancellor Palpatine]

The United Way devotes about that for fundraising - and that is a secular organization. Churches should do much better - of course, Evangelicals are well known for having hangers on raking off in the name of Jesus. Besides, the figure I gave is misleading - the true situation is actually much worse. According to Coral Ridge's own (admittedly shallow) reporting to the ECFA, their brick and mortar church in Ft. Lauderdale brings in nearly 20 million, with 750K devoted to fundraising - which is around 4%, and much more appropriate. However, it is much more profitable on the televangelism side - because they bring in 38 million, of which 3 million is devoted to fundraising - something atrocious, around 7.8 percent.

Its theft of the widow's mite, plain and simple - and all done in the name of Jesus.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Yeeeeee-haw. Screaming middle aged men, yelling in the name of Christ.

Cretins.

[PleaseNoMore]

Good Morning! :o)

Actually this is not a negative. Think about it.

[PleaseNoMore]

She never witnessed his PRIVATE devotions. Now tell me, are there some things that you do privately that asren't witnessed by others?

[keats5]

How do we really know you're RoughDoberman? Please authenticate yourself.

[Boxsford]

lol! I suppose there are plenty others--maybe there should be awards handed out.

[Byron_the_Aussie]

..one cannot continue to scream and yell at that volume for that length of time without risking injury to one's vocal cords...

Let him worry about his vocal chords, CP. It's obvious he feels this protest is worth risking them. Cheers, By

[Byron_the_Aussie]

..Screaming middle aged men, yelling in the name of Christ. Cretins...

They're protesting, OPH. Some of them are our fellow Freepers.

If you're going to keep this up, it might be a good idea to reserve your next screen name?

[Byron_the_Aussie]

...To: RoughDobermann How do we really know you're RoughDoberman? Please authenticate yourself...

You're not suggesting there could be more than one, are you? :)

[Chancellor Palpatine]

So what? They're wrong.

You never have answered me, BTW. What time is it there in Australia?

[Catspaw]

I doubt if he knew what risks he was taking with his vocal chords while he was screaming and yelling yesterday. I can tell you he knows how he strained his vocal chords today. If he can talk, it's in a croaking whisper.

[Byron_the_Aussie]

..what time is it there in Australia?...

Lemme ask you one first, Chancey.

What's with the new tagline? Offending people with your inane posts wasn't enough?

[Byron_the_Aussie]

..if he can talk, it's in a croaking whisper...

I'm sure he feels it was worth it, CP.

Christians remember One who suffered a lot more than that, for His faith. Cheers, By

[kegler4]

" BWAAAAH...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

Believers in atheism are some of the most dogmatic, bossy, controlling people I've ever seen. Bible-pounding hyper-Christians and even true believers of Islam pale by comparison."

I see. So this is your definition of a religion? If you're dogmatic, bossy, and controlling, then you're involved in a religion?

BTW, I'm not an atheist.

[jimt]

Now, that's some twisted logic.
Facts are facts, even if some disbelieve the facts.
If I don't believe a tree is a tree, it's still a tree. .My disbelief doesn't turn the tree into an opinion.

If I believe (or say I KNOW) the tooth fairy leaves money under pillows, that doesn't make it a fact. It's an OPINION.

[jwalsh07]

Heck Catspaw, I figure that was either you Luggy, Sink, or Dog Gone gone to Montgomery to make my side look bad. :-}

[Catspaw]

Heck Catspaw, I figure that was either you Luggy, Sink, or Dog Gone gone to Montgomery to make my side look bad. :-}

LOL! We'll be going through Montgomery this winter on our way to Gulf Shores, but there ain't no way I'm going south in the summer without AC :-))

I can tell ya from experience that he's waking up today with no voice or just a croak, his voice cracking like he was around 13 (you know--When Hormones Attack).

[F16Fighter]

"RD must be from deep in the heart of Missoura."

LOL -- Waaay deep...

Keep it rollin', Big John.

[Devil_Anse]

I never said you were an atheist.

Bossy, dogmatic, etc., is how atheists and others with certain agendas always seek to portray any person who openly admits to having a religious practice, or faith in God--especially those who claim Christianity.

You may think you are dealing with a "bible-thumper" or a hyper-religious person, but you are not. I am neither.

While it is not hard to see the excesses of some religious persons, it just happens that I have been repelled by atheists in a way that I was never repelled by "bible-thumpers". I find atheists to be particularly smug-acting, but one can see that many of them really don't know what to believe/not believe--they just take delight in rebelling in the face of what they think is a repressive authority (organized religion).

I stopped getting an excessive thrill from rebelling against "authority", about the time I stopped being a teenager.

And I won't even go into Madelyn Murray O'Hair--a disgusting, avaricious, fraud. I assume you already know that she was no heroine.