Posted on 02/29/2004 12:53:37 PM PST by FBD
By Steve Duin of the Oregonian
02/29/04
Maybe it was the timing. "The Passion of the Christ" is so much in the news. And it was against the backdrop of that depiction of real persecution and unforgettable suffering that Roy S. Moore swept through town.
You remember Roy. While an Alabama circuit judge in 1997, Moore ignored a court order to remove the Ten Commandments from the wall behind his bench.
Owing to the publicity of that stand, Moore was elected chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court three years later . . . and subsequently ousted from the post when he refused to remove a 5,280-pound granite block inscribed with those very commandments from the courthouse lobby.
The toll of that righteous stand? Infamy? Poverty? Dishonor?
Heavens, no. How about celebrity and speakers' fees. How about Saturday's "Profile in Courage" award from the Constitution Party of Oregon.
Maybe it was the timing. "The Passion" is so much in the news. You might say we've lowered the bar on what passes for sacrifice and paying a price for one's beliefs.
More than 500 folks paid $40 to celebrate Moore at a banquet at the Airport Holiday Inn. I'm not sure when I crossed the twilight zone or hopped the invisible fence that separates the world I know from the Constitution Party's alternative universe, but I knew I'd arrived when I heard the first "Amen" chorus at Moore's pre-banquet "press" conference.
When Lon Mabon -- who was present, of course -- was hailed as a hero. When several "reporters" futilely begged Moore to endorse an amendment to the Constitution banning same-sex marriage. ("You can't amend the Constitution for every moral deficit," he replied.)
When Moore explained his political theology in terms of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and a snappy conversation between Alice of Wonderland fame and Humpty Dumpty.
I'm afraid I can't do that theology justice. Neither can Washington nor Jefferson, which is why Moore kept interrupting the Founding Fathers to apologize that they wrote and spoke in what "sounds like a foreign language."
But I think the theory goes that our rights come from a creator God and government draws its power from us. Thus, society, the state or the courts have no right to suggest that we can't acknowledge God, whether we are inside the closets into which Jesus orders us to pray, or parading through courthouses and classrooms.
Moore's message was well received in a room where the ACLU lawyers representing Planned Parenthood were described as "Satan's servants." Where foam blocks labeled "Department of Education," "Open Borders and Amnesty," "Printing Press Money," and, yes, even the "U.S. Patriot Act" were tossed into the Trash Can of History.
Where Bob Ekstrom, state chairman of the Constitution Party, said, "Justice Moore finds himself in the middle of the white-hot heat," and I turned around, looking for the klieg lights.
Did I say well received? I meant to say "celebrated." And once again, maybe it was the timing. I still live in the strange place where evangelicals celebrate two things and two things only: Jesus and new arrivals at the foot of his cross.
Those hoopin' and hollerin' for Roy S. Moore under the banner of "Life, Liberty and Limited Government" have a different mind-set.
I saw some dear friends in the crowd at this curious crossroads of the Bible and the Constitution. Although it's hard to understand why they -- or anyone else, for that matter -- are seeking justice or consolation in the world of politics, it's easy to wish them peace of mind and the freedom to worship and to believe what they want.
But when I left the room and once again traversed the twilight zone, I wondered how much freedom they would accord those who, with an equal passion, choose to believe otherwise.
Steve Duin: 503-221-8597; Steveduin@aol.com; 1320 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201
And if you happen to be conservative, refusing to obey a federal court order will get you shot at sunrise, unlike liberals (SF Mayor, for example) who are CELEBRATED for ignoring such orders.
I might be a bit more on Moore's side if he wasn't out there milking his "fame" for all it's worth.
Alabama will point to the Defense of Marriage Act, and, I predict, the Supreme Court will throw it out.
What would Moore do then, when his own state will be FORCED to accept gay marriages, even if they don't want to?
It won't matter what Alabama decides. The 14th amendment will force Alabama to accept these gay marriages, even if they don't perform any themselves.
By the way, COEXERJ145, you are aware that the Ten Commandments is on the walls of the Supreme Court, yes?
Alan Keyes speech defending Chief Justice Roy Moore
And there will be those who will come against these brave folks, and they'll point the finger and they'll say, "We went to the federal judge, and the federal judge said to take it down," and they'll stand and look them in the eye and say, "We're going to keep it up."
And they'll say, "You lawbreakers! You violators!" But tell me. Which do you think is higher? A federal judge's ruling that has no foundation in law or constitution, or the Constitution of the United States, clear on the face of it?
When the federal judges follow the law, when the federal judges respect the Constitution, then they represent the majesty of law. When the federal judges disregard the Constitution, they speak for no law, they speak for no one but themselves.
And when they seek to impose their personal whims upon the states and the representatives of the people of the states, they are not imposing law, they are imposing dictatorship!
And on this day, above all, as we commemorate those who died at the beginning of our fight against the dictatorship of terror, let us remember that there are battlefields far flung across this globe, white crosses growing row on row of Americans who died in the fight against dictatorship on far-flung battlefields. If they died abroad, you can bet that we will stand firm here!
The federal judges, the federal courts have usurped the right and power of the people explicitly granted to them by the Constitution. But let us think a little further: how have they used this usurpation? To what end have they practiced this abuse?
To the end of driving prayer from our public schools! To the end of banishing the acknowledgment of God from festivals and our games and all our gatherings as a people! To the end of making sure that from one end of this land to another, there would be imposed a regime of atheism at every level of our public life!
But I'll tell you. Is it a coincidence that since this usurpation began, we have seen a rising tide of violence and crime and drug abuse in our schools? That since this usurpation began, we have watched the disintegration of our family life and the destruction of our sexual mores? That since this usurpation began, we have paid billions and billions on the crime problems and the health problems that result from the moral disintegration of our country?
For decades, we have paid the price!
And following the wisdom of our Founders--who said that we should not, for light or transient causes, call into question those in authority over us--we have borne it with patience, we have paid the bills, we have paid the billions in taxes. In spite of all the consequences that we could see, we have suffered while evils were sufferable.
But now they come against us to tear from the very walls of our courthouses those laws and commandments which we have so tried to instill into the hearts of our children! And before the very face of those children we have instructed in this law, they wish us to stand by while contempt is shown for the law of God, which is the basis of all moral discipline and true self-government!
I think it is clear: we must tell it to the courts, and we must tell it to our representatives, "Yes, we are a patient and long-suffering people. Yes, we will suffer while evils are sufferable. But this evil is intolerable, and we will suffer it no more!"
Now, I think that I would be a little worried about the consequences of all this, if I didn't have a pretty secure knowledge that our Founders were, contrary to the propaganda of a lot of the left-wingers and other people, our Founders we actually very prudent, very wise individuals--prudent and wise enough to have put together a Constitution that has not only stood the test of time, but includes elements within it that address contingencies that, at their time, they probably thought were unimaginable.
And I think one of the contingencies they thought was unimaginable was the idea of a federal judge getting everybody to tear the Ten Commandments off the walls of the courthouse. I mean, you could tell how it never occurred to the founding generation this would be a problem. If it had, I don't think that they would have etched the Ten Commandments in stone up there at the Supreme Court of the United States. You can't get 'em off without effacing the building. I doubt they would have put it together that way.
I also think that they couldn't imagine it--they wouldn't have put a wonderful quote from Leviticus 25:10, "Proclaim liberty throughout the land, and to all the inhabitants thereof." They wouldn't have etched it in the middle of the Liberty Bell, knowing that you could only get it out with a blowtorch!
It never occurred to them that this free people would ever suffer the indignity of an assault that denied our right to speak the name of God Almighty!
It never occurred to them--but nonetheless, they did provide us with a remedy.
And it's a wonder to me that, over the course of the last several decades, so many people who pretend to be lawyers and to know all about this and that, they stand before the American people acting as if the ultimate authority on everything constitutional is the Supreme Court. You realize, don't you, that just from a simple logical point of view, this couldn't possibly be true. First, because we all know (I think we still learn it in school) that we have three branches of government--the legislative, the executive, and the judicial--and under the Constitution of the United States, they are three equal branches.
Now, it doesn't take too much sense, does it, to realize, if I make a contract with you that says we're equal partners, and then there's a clause in there that says that you get to interpret it and I don't, who's the superior partner: me or you?
So, it doesn't make any sense. If the Supreme Court actually stood all by itself, interpreting the Constitution according to its whim, we wouldn't have three equal branches of government, we'd have a dictatorship of the judges!
And not only was this not intended, it was explicitly warned against by Jefferson, by Adams, by Madison. They held up the danger of such judicial tyranny in order to make sure that down through all the generations of this country's history, we would be warned against such abuses...."
Moore is peacefully drawing attention to the harsh and arbitrary rulings of the federal courts on religion.
I dont understand why that bothers people.
No one is entitled to ignore a law or a lawful court order just because they think it is wrong.
So9
Judge Moore lost his job.
But, what's Moore going to say when Massachusetts allows gay marriage, then goes to Alabama and demands that Alabama recognize the marriage?
Alabama can point out that acts repugnant to constitutional principles are void.. -- There is no delegated power to force political/religious marriage concepts upon other States.
Alabama will point to the Defense of Marriage Act, and, I predict, the Supreme Court will throw it out.
Then Alabama refuses to obey the USSC on the same grounds.
What would Moore do then, when his own state will be FORCED to accept gay marriages, even if they don't want to?
How would this 'enforcement' take place? Could the feds arrest the Government of Alabama?
It won't matter what Alabama decides. The 14th amendment will force Alabama to accept these gay marriages, even if they don't perform any themselves.
Ludicrous. The feds would cave as long as Alabama did not use their powers to violate the rights of individual Alabama or US citizens.
Irrelevant.
If a Federal Judge orders you to do something, you have three choices, do it, file an appeal and win, or be in Criminal Contempt of Court.
If you simply ignore laws or court orders you think are wrong, you are no better than the Gay Marriage Criminals.
So9
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