Saturday, August 23, 2003
I have been following the Roy Moore Ten Commandments story for some time now. Yesterday I was happy to learn that Mr. Moore has been suspended pending an inquiry.
Roy Moore has said that he is unable to remove his monument in good conscience. If that is the case, then Roy Moore must resign. He has not done so yet. It sounds like this inquiry board will resign him forcefully, and it won't be a moment too soon for me. I have been waiting to see Roy Moore out of office since before he came into office.
Larry Darby, Alabama State Director for American Atheists, has worked very hard keeping people informed of issues in Alabama. I appreciate his efforts and congratulate him on his success in helping to correct the abuses in the state.
Roy Moore should not be in office because he is not there to do his job. He is there for religious grandstanding and proselytizing. He wants to evangelize, not to rule based on the law. It is amazing that someone in so high an office can be so utterly wrong about our government.
Roy Moore was elected to office by the will of the Alabama people, but that does not give him the right to thumb his nose at the Constitution. If the people of Alabama elected Roy Moore for that purpose, then they should be educated on the proper role of government. Governmental evangelism is going to require far more than an Alabama statewide election ... it will require repeal of the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Regardless of how religious they are, no matter how strongly they feel Jesus is on their side, I just don't think the voters of Alabama can swing that kind of repeal.
In any case, the Alabama voters are being used and misguided. They are being fed misinformation, told their rights are being taken away. This is a lie. Private citizens are always free to worship how they choose, and to post their commandments on their own properties. They are not free to use the government as their personal tool to preach to the population as a whole. That is all this issue is about. It isn't even about getting religion out of the public square. It is about getting the establishment of religion out of the governmental square.
I am glad to see that the remaining Alabama Supreme Court Justices have sense enough to recognize and curb a religious extremist like Roy Moore. He should not have been elected in the first place, and I am looking forward to his dismissal. It is amazing how many prayers have gone up in support of Moore, yet he continues to lose appeal after appeal.
I suppose that either god is not on Moore's side, or there is no god after all. I think it's the latter.
Roy Moore has said that he is unable to remove his monument in good conscience. If that is the case, then Roy Moore must resign. He has not done so yet. It sounds like this inquiry board will resign him forcefully, and it won't be a moment too soon for me. I have been waiting to see Roy Moore out of office since before he came into office.
Larry Darby, Alabama State Director for American Atheists, has worked very hard keeping people informed of issues in Alabama. I appreciate his efforts and congratulate him on his success in helping to correct the abuses in the state.
Roy Moore should not be in office because he is not there to do his job. He is there for religious grandstanding and proselytizing. He wants to evangelize, not to rule based on the law. It is amazing that someone in so high an office can be so utterly wrong about our government.
Roy Moore was elected to office by the will of the Alabama people, but that does not give him the right to thumb his nose at the Constitution. If the people of Alabama elected Roy Moore for that purpose, then they should be educated on the proper role of government. Governmental evangelism is going to require far more than an Alabama statewide election ... it will require repeal of the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Regardless of how religious they are, no matter how strongly they feel Jesus is on their side, I just don't think the voters of Alabama can swing that kind of repeal.
In any case, the Alabama voters are being used and misguided. They are being fed misinformation, told their rights are being taken away. This is a lie. Private citizens are always free to worship how they choose, and to post their commandments on their own properties. They are not free to use the government as their personal tool to preach to the population as a whole. That is all this issue is about. It isn't even about getting religion out of the public square. It is about getting the establishment of religion out of the governmental square.
I am glad to see that the remaining Alabama Supreme Court Justices have sense enough to recognize and curb a religious extremist like Roy Moore. He should not have been elected in the first place, and I am looking forward to his dismissal. It is amazing how many prayers have gone up in support of Moore, yet he continues to lose appeal after appeal.
I suppose that either god is not on Moore's side, or there is no god after all. I think it's the latter.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
This is the new OhioAtheists.org blog. Welcome! I'm Michael Allen, Ohio State Director for American Atheists. I'll be using this blog to post thoughts and news on Atheism and State/Church issues from around Ohio and around the country.
I am in the process of re-formatting the main OhioAtheists web site, so check back soon!
E-mail: I am in the process of re-formatting the main OhioAtheists web site, so check back soon!
