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Champions the defense of our God-given Natural Rights, as enumerated in the U.S. Constitution

Church-Goers and Torture By Britt E. Towery

 
Church-Goers and Torture By Britt E. Towery
 

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"Though the British tortured enemy captives during the American Revolution, Gen. George Washington would not do it, thereby distinguishing this country by its humanity."

—Arthur Schlesinger, American historian
      
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/washington/01schlesinger.html

"Torture brings Americans down to the level of the people who torture. It is not only immoral, but illegal."


Source:

Church-goers and torture
Britt E. Towery, Jr., Free-lance writer,
retired Baptist pastor and missionary.
(BlogSpot: Along the Way Columns, 05/07/2009)

http://britt-towery.blogspot.com/2009/05/church-goers-and-torture.html

Article Reference:

"Matthew quotes Jesus as saying ‘Turn the other cheek. Do not repay evil for evil. Go the second mile.  Love your enemies. ...May God have mercy on our souls for not being clear that we are following the Lord of Love, the Creator of the Universe, and not expedient political policy."


Source:

54% of Weekly Church Attenders Believe Torture is OK
(WordPress: Chuck Warnock - Confessions of a Small-Church Pastor, 04/30/2009)

http://chuckwarnockblog.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/54-of-weekly-church-attenders-believe-torture-is-ok


"What is this thing called 'Christianity' in this country, Lord Jesus? Does it have anything to do with you? It seems a strangely Americanized thing, a disastrously domesticated faith toward which people can nod their heads in loyalty as long as it doesn’t conflict with their full participation in whatever this country feels like it wants to do."

—David Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University
      http
://www2.mercer.edu/Theology/About/David+P.+Gushee.htm

Source:

Opinion: A Christian's lament over the Pew torture poll     
By David Gushee (Associated Baptist Press, 05/05/2009)

http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4052&Itemid

 

Articles:

Moral Relativism: A Little Torture is Just Fine?
By Jeff Schweitzer (HuffingtonPost, April 28, 2009)

[ Dr. Schweitzer served at the White
House during the Clinton Administration
as Assistant Director for International Affairs
in the Office of Science and Technology Policy ]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-schweitzer/moral-relativism-a-little_b_191568.html

Faith Leaders Call Torture Immoral
Clerics Call For Campaign To Take Opposition To Congressmen
By Frances Grady Taylor
(CommonDreams, Hartford Courant, 09/20/2006)

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0920-03.htm

The Abolition of Torture By Andrew Sullivan
(The New Republic Journal, 12/19/2005)

http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=a4e8a176-9c0c-4f26-ae58-8ef750a566b0

 

Research:

ACAT-USA / Action by Christians Against Torture (USA)
http://acatusa.org

Evangelicals for Human Rights (EHR)
http://www.evangelicalsforhumanrights.org

National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT)
http://www.nrcat.org

The Religious Dimensions of the Torture Debate
(Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life,
04/29/2009 - Updated 05/07/2009)

http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=156

Washington's Crossing By David Hackett Fischer
Oxford University Press US, 2006
[ Read: Google Books Preview - Chapter: The Fall of New York
- Hard Choices - pg 276 - George Washington's Instructions
on the treatment of Hessians captives at Trenton ]

http://books.google.com/books?id=STcoJP7esp4C
.

13th Amendment Issue - Mandatory Volunteerism


13th Amendment Issue - Mandatory Volunteerism

"Mandatory national service, which would require young people to do government-mandated work...is pretty clearly involuntary servitude under any reasonable definition of the word,"
 
—Ilya Somin, Assistant Professor at George Mason University School of Law
     Somin on Mandatory National Service 01/23/2009

      
http://www.law.gmu.edu/news/2009/somin_national_service
 
"Charities and nonprofits ....across the country provide needed services to Americans in a way that government never could. The Democrat-led Conference Committee made a mistake in striking my common sense, bipartisan amendment. ...People do not donate to charities for a tax break, but reducing the deduction will certainly decrease the amount of money available to the charities, nonprofits, and religious organizations that are doing such great work in the face of economic hardship. The Democrat leadership in Congress has prepared a budget that clearly sends the wrong message to those who serve individuals in need, and to those who rely on charitable giving."
 
—John Thune,  U.S. Senator  [R, SD]

 
Source:
 
Thune Amendment Protecting Charitable
Deduction Stripped from Democrat Budget
John Thune United States Senator
South Dakota, April 29, 2009 
[H.R. 1388]

TinyURL:
http://tinyurl.com/den5gx / TinyURL Preview: http://preview.tinyurl.com/den5gx

 
"Senator John Thune applauded today's 94 to 3 vote on his amendment to the Democrat budget that would protect the full federal income tax deduction for charitable giving. President Obama's budget framework had proposed reducing the deduction, which would result in less charitable giving nationwide."

 
Source:
 
Senate Passes Thune Amendment to
Protect Deduction for Charitable Giving
John Thune United States Senator
South Dakota, April 2, 2009
[ H.R. 1388 ]

TinyURL: http://tinyurl.com/cjqadn / TinyURL Preview: http://preview.tinyurl.com/cjqadn

 
"National service programs would also bring churches and traditional charitable organizations under the heel of government...

 
Source:
 
Obama Signs Sweeping National Service Bill
By Thomas R. Eddlem (New American Magazine, 04/22/2009)

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/election/1030
 
At Uncle Sam's Service
By Patrick Krey (New American Magazine, 01/23/2009)

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/election/709
 
Any Volunteers for National Service? 
By Patrick Krey (New American Magazine, 01/22/2009)

http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/election/708

 
"GIVE Act, H.R. 1388 ....massively expands the National Service Corporation and allocates to it billions of dollars, and one executive for the program now says it will allow for the 'managing' of up to 8 or 9 million people."

 
Source:
 
New law to 'manage' 8 million 'volunteers'
Obama signs huge expansion of youth brigades legislation
By Bob Unruh (WorldNetDaily, 04/21/2009)

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=95674
 
 
"The Declaration... lists 'liberty' as an unalienable right conferred by 'the Creator'...the president and the Congress need to be reminded that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution declares: 'Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude … shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.'"

 
Source:
 
Onward, mandatory soldiers!
By Michael P. Ackley
(WorldNetDaily, 04/13/2009)
[ HR 1444 / HR 1388 ]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php/index.php?pageId=94751

 
"HR 1388, the “Serve America Act” is cloaked in feel-good rhetoric and supposedly noble goals, but it is nothing more than another Washington power-grab..."

 
Source:
 
Promoting Statism in the Name of Service -  Part 1
Redstate, posted by hogan, 03/25/2009 - Serve America Act HR 1388

http://www.redstate.com/hogan/2009/03/25/promoting-statism-in-the-name-of-service
 
National Service - Soviet Style - Part II
Redstate, posted by hogan, 03/25/2009 - Serve America Act HR 1388

http://www.redstate.com/hogan/2009/03/25/national-service-soviet-style-part-ii-in-a-series-that-you-cant-possibly-make-up
 
 
"National service, in some form, has been endorsed by every U.S. president since George Bush the Elder. But none has promoted it as insistently as Barack Obama."
 
 
Source:
 
National Service" and Conscription: A Question of Ownership
By William Norman Grigg (Campaign For Liberty, 02/11/2009)

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=11
 
Campaign For Liberty
Mission: to promote and defend the great American principles
of individual liberty, constitutional government ...

http://www.campaignforliberty.com
 
 
Listen:
 
Worldview Matters with Brannon Howse: Obama's volunteerism
Brannon Howse, President ofWorldview Weekend

 
Watch:
 
Raw Video: Obama Signs National Service Bill
YouTube: AssociatedPress, April  '09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw7efheujxA

DeMint Expresses Concern About the GIVE Act
YouTube: SenJimDeMint, April '09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lJp4-QwHZA
 
Senator John Thune Introduces
Charitable Giving Amendment
YouTube: JohnThune, March 2009
[H.R. 1388]

http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnThune
 
 
Research:
 
Remarks by The President
At Signing of The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act
Office of the Press Secrectary, Apr. 21, 2009

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-at-Signing-of-the-Edward-M-Kennedy-Serve-America-Act/
 
GovTrack: H.R. 1388: Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act
bill entitled "The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act,
an Act to reauthorize and reform the national service laws.
Apr 21, 2009: Became Public Law No: 111-13.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1388
 
Open Congress: H.R.1388 - Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act
(formally the Generations Invigorating
Volunteerism and Education (GIVE) Act)
Sponsor: Rep. Carolyn McCarthy [D, NY-4]
Bill Has Become Law, April 21, 2009

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1388/show
 
GovTrack: H.R. 1444 - Congressional Commission on Civic Service Act
To establish the Congressional Commission on
Civic Service to study methods of improving and promoting volunteerism
and national service, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. James McDermott [D-WA]

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1444
 
Open Congress: H.R. 1444 - Congressional Commission on Civic Service Act
Sponsor Rep. James McDermott [D, WA-7]
Introduced March 11, 2009

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h1444/show

 
Related Truth Point Post:
 
Ron Paul on the 13th Amendment - Involuntary Servitude...the Draft
[ Read: Ron Paul Statement in Opposition to HR 1388 - National Service, '09
also Legislation focuses on individual liberty (Americorps program), '97

http://truthpoint.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!3E1C89D2FC2BD759!3497.entry
.
 

Research - U.S. National Motto History - 'In God We Trust'

 
Research - United States National Motto History - 'In God We Trust'
 
 
U.S. Code: Title 36, Patriotic Societies and Observances
Chapter 3 - National Anthem, Motto...
(United States Code Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Official site from the US House of Representatives)

http://uscode.house.gov/download/pls/36C3.txt
 
U.S. Treasury:  History of "In God We Trust"
U.S. Department of the Treasury - Fact Sheet

http://www.ustreas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.shtml
 
U.S Mint: Timeline of the United States Mint
U.S. Department of the Treasury

http://www.usmint.gov/historianscorner/index.cfm?action=timeline
 
This Day In History: July 30, 1956
President Eisenhower signs “In God We Trust” into law - P.L. 84-140

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=799
 
Secretary Salmon P. Chase Responsible for
"In God We Trust" on Coins/Currency
(Christian Coalition of America, 2008)

http://www.cc.org/blog/secretary_salmon_p_chase_responsible_quotin_god_we_trustquot_coinscurrency
 
Restoring America: Understanding the Design
and Symbolism of the U.S. One Dollar Bill

http://www.restoringamerica.org/the_dollar_bill.htm
 
Arkansas Memory Project by Aaron Martin: "In God We Trust"
Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences

http://asms.k12.ar.us/armem/martin/index.htm
 
ACLJ: A Legislative History of the National Motto
American Center for Law and Justice

http://www.aclj.org/News/Read.aspx?ID=489
 
'In God We Trust’ Celebrates 50 Years
Our national motto’s history spans some 150 years.
By Sarah Kuziomko (Concerned Women for America, 2006)

http://www.cwfa.org/articles/11011/CWA/misc/index.htm
 
Star Spangled Presidents
By Helen Kampion (Our White House,
National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance)

http://www.ourwhitehouse.org/starspangled.html
 
The Star-Spangled Banner
(BlogSpot: Fourth of July History and Traditions, '07)
[ National Anthem Congressional resolution
March 3 1931 (46 Stat. 1508, codified at 36 USC §301) ]

http://historyindependenceday.blogspot.com/2007/12/star-spangled-banner.html
 
Home of the Brave 'Star-Spangled Banner'
(WordPress: What's New at the Internet Archive, '09)

http://internetarchive.wordpress.com/2009/03/03/home-of-the-brave

 
Related Post:
 
Truth Point: 1st Amendment - U.S. National Motto History - 'In God We Trust'
http://truthpoint.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!3E1C89D2FC2BD759!3413.entry
.
 

Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009

 
Data Retention (European Commission Directive) Regulations 2009
 
 
"The Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009 require service providers to retain details of user internet access, email and internet telephony for 12 months."

 
Source:
 
Internet data-retention law comes into force
Tom Espiner ZDNet.co.uk (April 6,2009)

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,1000000085,39637592,00.htm

 
"This Mandatory Data Retention is regardless of whether an Internet Service Provider or Telecommunications Company has any business need for this data any more , and which would therefore have been destroyed or anonymised under the Principles of Data Protection under the Data Protection Act. This data is not data identified as being useful for a particular targeted criminal investigation, but is mass surveillance snooping on the vast majority of the 450 million innocent people in the European Union."

 
Source:
 
The Data Retention (EC Directive) Regulations 2009
Come Into force on 6th April 2009
By wtwuon (Spy Blog - SpyBlog.org.uk, March 16, 2009)

TinyURL
:
http://tinyurl.com/cly4w4 / TinyURL Preview: http://preview.tinyurl.com/cly4w4
 
 
Susan Hall, ICT and media partner at law firm Cobbetts LLP - UK "...believes that these measures will have little discernable impact on the fight against terrorism, as the criminals involved will just find ways of bypassing the checks by using other people's unsecured Wi-Fi connections, hotspots or pay-as-you-go 3G modems."
 
 
Source:
 
EU Data Retention Directive provokes widespread condemnation
Critics speak out against law forcing ISPs
to record every email and SMS from 15 March
By Ian Williams (vnunet.com, March 13, 2009)

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2238499/concerns-eu-retention-directive
 
 
Research:
 
Statewatch Observatory - UK
The surveillance of telecommunications in the EU
Under mandatory data retention a record will
be kept of everyone's phone-calls, e-mails, mobile
phone calls (including location) and internet usage

http://www.statewatch.org/eu-data-retention.htm
 
Digital Rights Ireland 'Data Retention'
Republic of Ireland - a civil liberties group
http://www.digitalrights.ie/category/data-retention
 
European Digital Rights: Campaign - Privacy 'No Voluntary Data Retention;
Civil liberties groups La Quadrature du Net, European Digital Rights (EDRi),
AK Vorrat, and Netzpolitik.org are urging the European Parliament to heed
advice given by the European Data Protection Supervisor Peter Hustinx and
scrap plans dubbed "voluntary data retention".

http://www.edri.org/campaigns/no-voluntary-data-retention
 
European Digital Rights (EDRi)
Defends civil rights in the information society
privacy and civil rights organisations have EDRI membership

http://www.edri.org
 
AK Vorrat: 5-Minute Overview: German Data Retention Law
Stoppt den Überwachungswahn!
[ English]

http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/content/view/301/79/lang,en
 
AK Vorrat - Stoppt den Überwachungswahn! [ English ]
Arbeitskreis Vorratsdatenspeicherung
German Working Group on Data Retention
an association of civil rights campaigners

http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/lang,en/
 
Communiqué: No Data Retention By coordination
Human Rights 21- France, Oct, 13, 2008
[ Bable Fish web page translation - French to English

<
http://www.humanrights21.org/?p=77> ]
[ retention of the data of EC Européenne Union /
France LCEN Law for Confidence in the Digital economy ]

TinyURL:
http://tinyurl.com/cwustq  / TinyURL Preview: http://preview.tinyurl.com/cwustq
 
 
Watch:
 
NetzpolitikTV 025: Data Retention in Europe
(Google Video, Oct 2007)
[English]
[ NetzpolitikTV-Interview Rikke Frank Joergensen of Digital Rights Denmark
and European Digital Rights explains danger of data retention in europe
Digital Rights (Copenhagen, Denmark) is a vivil organisation
aimed at raising awareness of rights in the digital world
]

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=The+Data+Retention+EC+Directive+Regulations
.
 

1st Amendment Case - Salazar v. Buono - Mojave Desert Cross

 
1st Amendment U.S. Supreme Case Salazar v. Buono
Mojave Cross Veterans Memorial
 
 
"The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether an 8-foot cross in the Mojave National Preserve is an unconstitutional governmental endorsement of religion."
 
Read:
 
On The Docket U.S. Supreme Court News: Salazar v. Buono
[ In Feb. 2009 - the Supreme Court accepted the case for review.
The court will hear oral arguments in the fall. ]
http://onthedocket.org/cases/2008/salazar-v-buono
 
 
Source:
 
Justices agree to hear Mojave Desert cross case (Feb. 23, 2009)
Case Reference: Salazar v. Buono
On The Docket U.S. Supreme Court News

http://onthedocket.org/articles/2009/02/23/justices-agree-hear-mojave-desert-cross-case-feb-23-2009

 
Read:
 
9th Circuit Court of Appeals '08: Buono v. Kempthorne - No. 05-55852
(WordPress: Ninth Circuit Opinions, Civil against the United States, 05/14/2008)

http://www.ninthcircuitopinions.com/2008/05/14/buono-v-kempthorne-2
 
9th Circuit Court of Appeals '07: Buono v. Kempthorne - No. 05-55852
(WordPress: Ninth Circuit Opinions, Civil against the United States, 09/06/2007)

http://www.ninthcircuitopinions.com/2007/09/06/buono-v-kempthorne
 
08': In the Supreme Court of the United States  No. 08-472
Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior,
et al., Petitioners v. Frank Buono
On Petition for a writ of certiorari
to the United States Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circuit
Petition For A Writ of Certiorari
Gregory G. Garre Solicitor General Counsel of Record
Ronald J. Tenpas Assistant Attorney General
Daryl Josseffer Assistant to the Solicitor General
Kathryn E. Kovacs Attorney Department of Justice
DAVID L Bernhardt Solicitor Department of the Interior Washington, D.C.
(United States Department of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General)

http://www.usdoj.gov/osg/briefs/2008/2pet/7pet/2008-0472.pet.aa.html
 
April 2007: United States Court of Appeals For The Ninth Circuit
Frank Bunon, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Dirk Kempthorn, Secretary of
the Interior, in his official capacity; Jonathan B, Jarvis, Regional Director,
Pacific West Region, National Park Service, Department of the Interior,
in his official capacity; Dennis Schramm, Superintendent, Mojave National
Prevere, National Park Sevice, Department of thr Interior,
in his official capacity, Defendants-Appellants
No. 05-55852   D.C. No.   CV-01-00216-RT
Order Amending Opinion and Amended Opinion
Appeal from the United States District Court 
for the Central District of California
Robert J. Timlin, Senior Judge, Persiding
[ Argued and Submitted April 9, 2007 --- Pasadena, California
Dirk Kempthorne is substituted for his predecessor Gail Norton
as Secretary of the Department of the Interior. Dennis Schramn
is substituted for his predecessor Mary Martin as the Superintendent
of the Mojave National Preserve.  *** Fed. R. App. P. 43(c)(2). 549 3***]

[Google html version - Findlaw
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/data2/circs/9th/0555852P.pdf/]
TinyURL
http://tinyurl.com/d9h4ge / TinyURL Preview: http://preview.tinyurl.com/d9h4ge
 
 
 
“The ACLU and 9th Circuit Court seem determined to remove a war memorial that has been in place for over 75 years ... This is another example of the judiciary over-stepping its authority by attempting to usurp and thwart the legislative process.... The ACLU will not be satisfied with the removal of this one memorial... If the [ Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial ] Ninth Circuit’s decision is allowed to stand, countless other similar veterans memorials will be endangered.”
 
—Glen Gardner, Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander
      http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=4673
 
 
"In 1934, the VFW erected a small wooden cross and plaque in what is now the Mojave National Preserve...The memorial was struck down by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals as a violation of the US Constitution, prompting the government to cover the memorial with a large plywood box."

 
Source:
 
VFW Hopes Supreme Court Saves Mojave Desert Salazar v. Buono
(Veterans of Foreign Wars - News, 02/27/2009)
[ U.S. Supreme Court announced 2009 it will hear case regarding
Mojave Desert Cross, veterans’ memorial erected by VFW in 1934.]

http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.newsDtl&did=4939&tok=1
 
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States
Mission is to "honor the dead by helping the
living' through veterans' service, community service,
national security and a strong national defense.

http://www.vfw.org

 
"The Supreme Court announced [ 02/2009 ] that it will hear the case [Salazar v. Buono] regarding the Mojave Desert cross ...The American Legion and other veterans groups said the 9th Circuit's ruling could trigger legal challenges to the display of crosses at Arlington National Cemetery and elsewhere."

 
Source:
 
Supreme Court to Hear Mojave Desert Cross case
(American Legion Online Update, 02/26/2009)

http://www.legion.org/onlineupdate/2519/supreme-court-hear-mojave-desert-cross-case
 
 
The Mojave Desert Cross "... right now is covered in plywood, so no one can see it...it's our hope that we can get a victory here and the plywood will be removed, and we can get back to honoring our veterans..."
 
Kelly Shackelford, Chief Counsel of the Liberty Legal Institute


2009  "The Supreme Court announced today that it will hear the case regarding the Mojave Desert Cross ... In...2008, Liberty Legal Institute filed an amicus brief asking for certiorari on behalf of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW), The American Legion, the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of California, and American Ex-Prisoners of War (AXPOW).
 
The VFW erected the memorial and originally owned the land on which the memorial sits, and had donated it to the government in 1934. The ACLU sued for removal of the veterans' memorial on the grounds that it is unconstitutional, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed and ordered the memorial and cross dismantled. ... The fate of the Mojave Desert Cross is just one of the trends of hostility toward veterans' memorials."

 
Read:
 
No. 08-472 In the Supreme Court of the United States
Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of the Interior, et al.,
Petitioners, v. Franks Buono
On Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari
To The United States Court Of Appeals
For The Ninth Circuit
Brief Amici Curiae of Veterans of
Foreign Wars of the United States;
The American Legion; Military Order of the Purple Heart;
Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of California;
American Ex-Prisoners of War in Support of Petitioners
(Liberty Legal Institute - PDF)

<
http://libertylegal.org/Img/LLI%20amici%20brief.pdf/>

 
Source:
 
U.S. Supreme Court Accepts Mojave Desert Cross Case
Veterans Hope Court Saves War Memorial
(PRNewswire-USNewswire,
[ redOrbit ] Liberty Legal Institute, 02/23/2009)

http://news.prnewswire.com/ViewContent.aspx?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/02-23-2009/0004976857
 
Liberty Legal Institute
Protecting religious freedoms and First Amendment
rights for individuals, groups and churches

http://www.libertylegal.org
 
 
"The Salazar v. Buono (Mojave Cross Veterans Memorial) Supreme Court Case "...could reshape the doctrine of separation of church and state... In the last two decades, the justices have been closely divided on whether religious symbols...can be displayed on public property."
 
 
Source:
 
Supreme Court to hear Mojave Cross Case Dedicated to Fallen Soldiers
By David G. Savage (Veterans Today Network - Special Report, 02/24/2009)

http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4956
 
 
"Supporters of the [ Mojave Cross Veterans Memorial ] -- including the VFW, the American Legion and other veterans’ groups -- argue in a brief that a decision allowing removal of the cross would endanger other religious symbols on federal property, such as grave markers in national cemeteries." 
 
 
Source:
 
Supreme Court agrees to hear case involving cross on federal land
By Robert Marus (Associated Baptist Press, 02/23/2009)

http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3868&Itemid=53
 
 
"War veteran organizations are watching the Mojave case and the Utah [ Pleasant Grove City v. Summum - 10 Commandments monument ] case closely, believing they could impact war memorials nationwide."

 
Source:
 
U.S. Supreme Court to hear war memorial cross case
By Staff (Baptist Messenger of Oklahoma, 02/23/2009)

http://www.baptistmessenger.com/story/946CA89B7E916A5592F9FDA889A2F8E8
 
 
"...The Mojave Desert WWI Veterans Memorial Case in California is a very dangerous precedent: There are 9,000 Crosses and  Stars of David at Normandy Beach. There are 22 National Cemeteries with veterans at rest beneath religious symbols."
 
 
Source:
 
American Legion PERA 2007 Speech [PDF]
[ Veterans’ Memorials, Boy Scouts, Public Seals, and Other
Public Expressions of Religion Protection Act of 2007 ]
[Google html versions of document
<
http://www.legion.org/documents/legion/word/pera_speech.doc/>]
(
http://www.legion.org/documents/legion/word/pera_speech.doc)
TinyURL: http://tinyurl.com/cmv9mp / TinyURL Preview: http://preview.tinyurl.com/cmv9mp
 
 
"... The First Amendment...says Congress shall pass no law ‘prohibiting the free exercise’ of religion. The cross is an important symbol to millions of veterans, some of whom had to make the ultimate sacrifice for this nation. ...Today’s lawyers and judges are outlawing the values and religious symbols that the Founding Fathers revered and proclaimed as the very foundation of the American republic...Today it’s a memorial. Tomorrow, these same judges can order the removal of crosses on veterans gravestones, the dismissal of military chaplains and the closure of base chapels.”

Marty Conatser, American Legion National Commander (2007-08)

 
Source:
 
American Legion Blasts 9th Circuit's Cross Ban
(OURVOICE, American Legion, 09/10/2007)
[ Mojave Desert veterans memorial the beginning
 
 
"In the Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial Case, a solitary cross, erected on a rock outcrop 11 miles off the road in the desert  by veterans in 1934 to honor World War I veterans, has been declared to be an unconstitutional violation of the Establishment Clause because in 1994 it was incorporated into the Mojave Desert Preserve.
 
Although Congress passed legislation originally sponsored by Rep. Jerry Lewis, my Representative in California, to transfer the one-acre Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial to private parties, veterans, in exchange for five acres of private land, the Federal judge, on motion of the ACLU, nullified the act of Congress, finding its action violates the Establishment Clause, and ordered the Executive Branch to tear down the  Cross. That case is on appeal. ...and all veterans' memorials -- deserve to be defended, and The American Legion is ready and able to do so."
 
—Mr. Rees Lloyd, Commander of Dist. 21, American Legion Department of California, '06

 
Source:
 
Statement of Rees LLoyd, Commander
District 21, Department of California
The American Legion - Before The Subcommittee
of The Constitution, Civil Rights, And Property Rights
Committee on The Judiciary - United States Senate
on S. 3696, Veternas Memorial, Boy Scouts, Pubic Seals And Other
Public Expressions Of Religion Act of 2006 ('PERA') Aug. 2, 2006

http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=2030&wit_id=5796
 
 
“It is a terrible shame that the Ninth Circuit has determined that it is not possible to honor our veterans if the shape of the memorial happens to be a cross, and that a historic monument placed by veterans has no legal standing when attacked by  the ACLU...The court’s support of this attack on memorials could have serious consequences for the thousands of monuments to veterans at our historic battlefields across the nation.”
 
 
 
Source:
 
Ninth Circuit Erred in Attacking Mojave
Cross Veterans Memorial, Lewis Believes
(Congressman Jerry Lewis
California's 41st District, 09/07/2007)

http://www.house.gov/jerrylewis/september72007.html
 
 
“The agenda of one person claiming to be ‘offended’ shouldn’t diminish the sacrifice made by America’s veterans and their families ... Crosses on veterans’ memorials have been under attack, despite claims to the contrary by the ACLU and others.  One only needs to look to what’s happened with the memorials at Mt. Soledad and in the Mojave Desert to see this. The statements made by atheist groups that they will go after more crosses if the ACLU’s legal efforts are successful further expose this reality.”
 
—Doug Napier, Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel

 
"The Veterans of Foreign Wars erected the first Mojave Desert Cross atop Sunrise Rock in 1934 as a memorial to World War I veterans, maintaining and replacing the cross as needed since then. When the memorial became the subject of legal battles, government officials covered the cross with boards."
 
 
“The secularists’ attempt to dismantle this [ Mojave Desert Cross ] memorial adds injury to insult toward those who have lost family or friends during World War I ....”
 
—Joe Infranco, Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel

 
Read:
 
In the United States Court of Appeals
for the Ninth Circut - No. 05-55852 
Frank Buono, Plaintiff-Appellee, v.
Gail Norton, Secretary of the Interior,
et al., Defendant-Appellants,
On Appeal,  from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
Brief Amicus Curiae of the National Legal Foundation
in support of the Appellants urging reversal
[ Alliance Defense Fund funded friend-of-the-court brief
for The National Legal Foundation asserting that the
land transfer was a proper legal remedy to save World War I
memorial, located on public land in Mojave Desert. The
land transfer is the subject of a hearing in U.S. Court
of Appeals for 9th Circuit ]
[ ADF PDF ]

(
http://www.telladf.org/UserDocs/KempthorneAmicus.pdf/)

 
Source:
 
ADF to 9th Circuit: Mojave land transfer was legal, uncover that cross
Land transfer ordered by Congress to save cross subject of hearing Monday
(Alliance Defense Fund, April 09, 2007)

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4067
 
National Legal Foundation
Christian public interest law firm
dedicated to the preservation of America's
freedom and constitutional rights.

http://www.nlf.net
 
Alliance Defense Fund
Dedicated women and men fighting for religious freedom,
the sanctity of human life, and marriage and the family

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org

 
".... returning veterans of World War I emigrated to the desert for their health, and possibly for some solitude after the trials of war.  A group of these veterans erected a cross and a sign that read: 'The Cross. Erected in memory of the dead of all wars.'  The cross was erected by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Death Valley Chapter, the year was 1934...."
 
[ *** The Cross, Erected in Memory of the 'Dead of All Wars'  'Erected 1934 by Members of Veterans of Fore[ig]n Wars / Foregin [sic Wars, Death Valley post 2884 *** ]
 
 
Source:
 
Faith Under Fire in the Desert: Desert Christ Park / Mojave Cross
(Sun Runner, Magazine of California Desert Life & Culture 2006/2007)
http://www.thesunrunner.com/Stories/Faith_Under_Fire_in_the_Desert/faith_under_fire_in_the_desert.html
 
 
"ACLU sued .. to have it [ Mojave Desert World War I Veterans Memorial Cross ] removed."
 
Read:
 
"...there is a need for Americans, the 'We the People' of the Declaration of Independence, to stop acting as sheep before lawyers sitting as judges who are usurping the powers of the legislative and executive branches, and are sucking freedom and democracy from our republican form of government."
 
—Rees Lloyd, former American Civil Liberties Union attorney
 
Judicial Voodoo VS. The Cross
By Rees Lloyd (WorldNetDaily, 04/15/2005)
[ Mojave Desert Veterans Memorial Cross ]

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43799

 
"... court's...opinion (... notes that one of the plaintiffs represented himself to be a sherpa who wanted to install a Bhuddist monument while also noting that he is a 'devout Catholic' who doesn't live anywhere near the cross and is merely offended by the knowledge that it exists)..."
 
[ "In May 1999, a Buddhist monk attempted to receive permission to construct a stupa on the site. Citing their eventual intention to remove the cross, the park denied the monk's request." --- Footnote 257: Mary G. Martin letter to Sherpa San Harold Horpa, 05/27/1999 <http://www.nps.gov/archive/moja/adminhist/adhin.htm>
 
From Neglected Space To Protected Place:An Administrative History of Mojave National Preserve
by Eric Charles Nystrom, March 2003, Chapter Six: Park Management and Admistration
Prepared for: United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Mojave National Preserve
 
 
[ "...ACLU filed complaint March 2001, on behalf of plaintiff Frank Buono, former assistant superintendent of the Mojave Preserve ...Oct. 2001, ACLU filed an amended complaint joining as plaintiff Alan Schwartz, Jewish war veteran. ... controversy surrounding the cross surfaced in 1999, when the [ National Park Service ] NPS received a letter from an individual who identified himself as 'Sherpa San Harold Horpa' of Jensen, Utah. ...who sent letter under alias 'Sherpa San Harold Horpa' ... also known to Buono as Herman R. Hoops ('Hoops'), retired NPS employee and longtime acquaintance of Buono."
 
ACLU's disinformation exposed
By Rees Lloyd (WorldNetDaily, 09/22/2006

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52087
 ]
 
 
Read:
 
United States District Court for Central District of California
Frank Buono & Allen Schwartz, Plaintiffs v.
Gale Norton, John Reynolds, & Mary Martin, Defendants.
Case No. EDCV 01-216 RT (SGLx)
Order 1) Granting Plaintiffs Frank Buono's
and Allen Schwartz's Motion for Summary
Judgment and;  2) Denying Defendants Gale Norton's,
John Reynolds's, and Mary Martin's motion
for
summary judgment ***court, Judge Robert J. Timlin***
[ CourtZero - PDF ]

(
http://www.courtzero.org/mojavecrossopinion.pdf/)

 
Watch:
 
Mojave Cross - CourtZero
YouTube: thepoliticalpitbull

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8EVAb-vxWE

 
Source:
 
The Forbidden Mojave Desert Cross
(Blogspot CourtZero, 11/28/2006)

http://letthemenforceit.blogspot.com/2006/11/forbidden-mojave-desert-cross.html

 
Articles:
 
Another Cross in Limbo Awaiting Court Decision
By Nathan Burchfiel (Cybercast News Service, 04/25/2007)
[ California Mojave Desert Cross  War Memorial ]

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/Content/Article.aspx?rsrcid=7409
 
High Noon at Sunrise Rock By Christopher Levenick
(Wall Street Journal, posted on
American Enterprise Institute, 05/27/2005)
[ In 1934 J. Riley Bembry and fellow WW I veterans
erected the Mojave cross in honor of fallen comrades ]

http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.22588,filter.all/pub_detail.asp
 
 
Research:
 
Conservapedia Buono v. Kempthorne
http://www.conservapedia.com/Buono_v._Kempthorne
 
House Report 108-283 - Making Appropriations
For The Department Of Defense For The Fiscal Year
Ending September 30, 2004, And For Other Purposed
(Library of Congress, Thomas)
[ SEC. 8121 - Mojave National Preserve national memorial ]

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/?&sid=cp108c3F0O&refer=&r_n=hr283.108&db_id=108&item=&sel=TOC_153458
 
 
Related Truth Point Posts:
 
1st Amendment Case - Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial Cross
http://truthpoint.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!3E1C89D2FC2BD759!3501.entry
 
1st Amendment: 10 Commandments Monument Case - Pleasant Grove City v. Summum
http://truthpoint.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!3E1C89D2FC2BD759!3410.entry
.
 
 
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