On 2 Jun 2004, at 9:04 pm, iaamoac wrote:
In the sort of move that only The Fool could love, the ACLU has recently succeeded in purging references to the role of the Spanish Missions ins settling California in the Seal of the City of Los Angeles.
After all, we all know that the City of Los Angeles was a virtual theocracy under the current Seal.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-seal2jun02,1,561000.story? coll=la-home-local
That would be the 'American Civil Liberties Union' John, not the 'Atheist Civil Liberties Union'.
From the article:
" The cross — along with a cow, a tuna fish, a Spanish galleon, the Hollywood Bowl and the Goddess Pomona cradling an armful of fruit — has adorned the county seal since 1957. The American Civil Liberties Union argued that the official insignia, which appears on everything from county vehicles and meeting rooms to employee badges and telephone books, was unconstitutional because it reflects "an impermissible endorsement of Christianity by the county government" and is a violation of the 1st Amendment.
...
But a review of the transcript from a 1956 Board of Supervisors meeting reveals that, at the time, the cross was intended as a religious symbol. After some speakers joked about what they considered an emaciated cow, Kenneth Hahn praised the seal for depicting "the cultural and educational and the religious life of this county."
Even then, the inclusion of the cross offended some residents. One Beverly Hills man, Burton Zipser, wrote to the Board of Supervisors: "It is fundamental to the American way of life that the state and the church are separated. If we do not permit any references in our educational institutions, let us not give token approval through our government bodies."
Federal courts have, on more than one occasion, found the use of a cross in a government seal unconstitutional. Among those told to remove crosses in the 1990s were Bernalillo County in New Mexico, and the cities of Rolling Meadows and Zion in Illinois."
This seems like a completely clear-cut violation, and the ACLU is just doing what it says in its charter.
"The mission of the ACLU is to preserve all of these protections and guarantees:
• Your First Amendment rights-freedom of speech, association and assembly. Freedom of the press, and freedom of religion supported by the strict separation of church and state.
• Your right to equal protection under the law - equal treatment regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin.
• Your right to due process - fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake.
• Your right to privacy - freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs."
-- William T Goodall Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web : http://www.wtgab.demon.co.uk Blog : http://radio.weblogs.com/0111221/
"There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in
Tennessee -- that says, fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again."
-George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002
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