Sharon
10-07-2009, 12:34 AM
I just think this is so ridiculous!!! Our wonderful ACLU at work again!
In 1934, WWI Veterans erected a monument to honor their comrades who had died in battle. The ACLU now wants to tear it down, and all public memorials like it, because of its religious imagery.
After WWI many U.S. soldiers moved to the Californian desert to find physical and emotional healing. In 1934, they erected a memorial to honor their fallen comrades, a single white cross, - a symbol used around the world to memorialize those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
The site for the memorial was chosen because at a certain time of day, the sun casts a shadow on the rock which resembles a WWI doughboy. For more than 75 years, the memorial has stood as a reminder that there were those who fought and died for our freedoms. But sadly today, the ACLU and a federal judge in California, want to tear it down. In fact, the judge has ordered the memorial covered from view while the case is on appeal. Please join us in saying "donttearmedown." We think Americans should honor their war heroes and the freedoms they so valiantly protect; and we're taking our case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court this fall. Please join us in this battle, go to www.donttearmedown.com.
The Mojave Desert Memorial Cross has stood proudly for over 75 years, honoring our American war dead. Or it was until the ACLU stepped in and got a judge to rule the memorial to World War I veterans unconstitutional. They covered the cross with a bag, and when that didn't work, they boarded it up in a plywood box. Now, they're threatening to tear down this national monument because they don't believe America should have religious imagery anywhere on public property.
Here's some history:
1934 The VFW erects the cross and plaque to remember fallen service members at Sunrise Rock in Mojave Desert.
1999 National Park Service (NPS) denies a request to erect a Buddhist statue near the cross and indicates intention to remove the cross.
2001 Congress prohibits NPS from spending federal funds to remove the cross. Frank Buono, former NPS employee, files suit claiming an Establishment Clause violation.
2002 Congress designates the cross and surrounding property as a "national memorial commemorating United States participation in World War I and honoring American veterans of that war." Congress also agrees to give the VFW one acre of property on which the cross sits in exchange for five acres of privately-owned land elsewhere in the Mojave Desert Preserve.
July 2002 The District Court rules cross is unconstitutional and must be removed.
Sept. 2002 Congress again passes a bill ordering the NPS to transfer the land surrounding the cross to the VFW.
2004 The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agrees with district court that the cross must be removed.
2005 The District Court enforces a permanent injunction against the cross.
2007 The Ninth Circuit rules that Congress cannot cure an Establishment Clause violation by transferring land.
2008 The Ninth Circuit refuses to hear the case again.
2009 The Supreme Court agrees to hear the case. The Supreme Court will hear the case on October 7, 2009; cross is covered with a plywood box.
In 1934, WWI Veterans erected a monument to honor their comrades who had died in battle. The ACLU now wants to tear it down, and all public memorials like it, because of its religious imagery.
After WWI many U.S. soldiers moved to the Californian desert to find physical and emotional healing. In 1934, they erected a memorial to honor their fallen comrades, a single white cross, - a symbol used around the world to memorialize those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
The site for the memorial was chosen because at a certain time of day, the sun casts a shadow on the rock which resembles a WWI doughboy. For more than 75 years, the memorial has stood as a reminder that there were those who fought and died for our freedoms. But sadly today, the ACLU and a federal judge in California, want to tear it down. In fact, the judge has ordered the memorial covered from view while the case is on appeal. Please join us in saying "donttearmedown." We think Americans should honor their war heroes and the freedoms they so valiantly protect; and we're taking our case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court this fall. Please join us in this battle, go to www.donttearmedown.com.
The Mojave Desert Memorial Cross has stood proudly for over 75 years, honoring our American war dead. Or it was until the ACLU stepped in and got a judge to rule the memorial to World War I veterans unconstitutional. They covered the cross with a bag, and when that didn't work, they boarded it up in a plywood box. Now, they're threatening to tear down this national monument because they don't believe America should have religious imagery anywhere on public property.
Here's some history:
1934 The VFW erects the cross and plaque to remember fallen service members at Sunrise Rock in Mojave Desert.
1999 National Park Service (NPS) denies a request to erect a Buddhist statue near the cross and indicates intention to remove the cross.
2001 Congress prohibits NPS from spending federal funds to remove the cross. Frank Buono, former NPS employee, files suit claiming an Establishment Clause violation.
2002 Congress designates the cross and surrounding property as a "national memorial commemorating United States participation in World War I and honoring American veterans of that war." Congress also agrees to give the VFW one acre of property on which the cross sits in exchange for five acres of privately-owned land elsewhere in the Mojave Desert Preserve.
July 2002 The District Court rules cross is unconstitutional and must be removed.
Sept. 2002 Congress again passes a bill ordering the NPS to transfer the land surrounding the cross to the VFW.
2004 The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agrees with district court that the cross must be removed.
2005 The District Court enforces a permanent injunction against the cross.
2007 The Ninth Circuit rules that Congress cannot cure an Establishment Clause violation by transferring land.
2008 The Ninth Circuit refuses to hear the case again.
2009 The Supreme Court agrees to hear the case. The Supreme Court will hear the case on October 7, 2009; cross is covered with a plywood box.