Mr. Bush, Tear Down That Cross
On a hill in San Diego
Stands a monument to our losses;
A tribute to our wartime dead
Like many other crosses.
Against a tranquil azure sky,
This cross has borne the years,
It’s spreading shadow falling
Upon graves that bear our tears.
For decades no one’s questioned
This pale tribute to our slain,
Until angry Libs at ACLU,
Decided to complain;
And seek a federal order
From robed fools in Sodom town,
That this offensive Christian symbol
Must forthwith be torn down.
To everything’s a season,
A time for birth and dying,
A time, too, for love of country
To fall victim to Liberal lying;
A time for those of any faith,
Those heartfelt, frank believers,
To be ridiculed and rejected
By hollow harsh deceivers;
But there is a time as well
When truth must sure prevail,
When our hearts sense basic truth,
Causing fools like these to fail.
And stand we must against these fools,
Or it will be our gravest loss,
If these fools succeed when they demand,
Mr. Bush, tear down that cross.
The Left’s has ne’er forgotten
how Ronald Reagan brought their fall
When with his words he changed the world
by tearing down their wall.
Russ Vaughn 5 11 06
Judge orders San Diego cross removed
Gives city 90 days in case brought by ACLU-backed atheist
Posted: May 3, 2006
6:29 p.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
Mt. Soledad cross and veterans memorial above San Diego (soledadmemorial.com) |
Ruling
on a 15-year-old ACLU case, a federal judge today ordered the city of
San Diego to remove a mountain-top cross within 90 days or face a fine
of $5,000 a day.
U.S.
District Judge Gordon Thompson said, "It is now time, and perhaps long
overdue, for this court to enforce its initial permanent injunction
forbidding the presence of the Mount Soledad cross on city property,"
the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Thompson
ruled in 1991 the Mount Soledad cross violates the so-called
"separation of church and state" but the case has remained in courts
and become an issue of public policy for more than a decade.
ACLU lawyer James McElroy believes San Diego officials finally will give up their fight.
"I don't think the city has its heart in taking more action," he said, according to the paper.
A city lawyer argued during the hour-long court hearing today that citizens had voted for transfer of the land under the cross.
Proposition
A, passed by 75 percent in July, called for the city to donate the
cross to the federal government as the centerpiece of a veterans
memorial.
The
ballot initiative came about after the city refused to donate the cross
and memorial to the federal government. A group called San Diegans for the Mount Soledad National War Memorial took just 23 days to gather 105,000 signatures.
In a ruling now on appeal, however, a Superior Court judge found the transfer unconstitutional.
The Union-Tribune said the group behind the public vote on transfer likely will appeal Thompson's decision.
The
29-foot cross has stood on Mount Soledad as the center of a war
memorial on city land since 1954. The first cross on the site was built
in 1913.
A
bill authorizing the federal government to take over the memorial was
authored by Republican U.S. Reps. Duncan Hunter and Randy Cunningham.
President Bush signed the bill into law in December.
Responding
to today's ruling, Mayor Jerry Sanders said he would recommend the city
council and city attorney take action to save the cross.
The
battle began in 1989 when Phillip Paulsen, an atheist, filed suit, and
a court ordered the city to remove the cross. In 1998, the city sold
the property to the Mt. Soledad War Memorial Association, which again
was challenged in court. The sale originally was upheld but later ruled
unconstitutional by the full panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
in San Francisco and remanded back to district court to work out a
remedy.
During
its brief period of ownership, the Memorial Association made
significant improvements, including extensive landscaping and the
addition of more than 3,000 plaques honoring military veterans.
This cross and memorial is a San Diego fixture and it is unconscienable, in my opinion, what the ACLU is trying to accomplish. Here is the latest:
LAW OF THE LAND
Bush urged to save San Diego cross
Citizen campaign asks for executive order to annex land
Posted: May 10, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
A campaign
is under way to save the Mount Soledad cross in Southern California by
urging President Bush to sign an executive order transferring the land
to the National Park Service.
As WorldNetDaily reported last week,
U.S. District Judge Gordon Thompson ordered the city of San Diego to
remove the mountain-top cross within 90 days or face a fine of $5,000 a
day.
Thompson
ruled in 1991 the cross violates the so-called "separation of church
and state," but the case has remained in courts and become an issue of
public policy.
The American Family Association is asking citizens to send an e-mail to the president to effectively take "the case out of Judge Thompson's hands."
"If
Judge Thompson's order stands, it could eventually mean the removal of
every cross in every state and federal cemetery," the AFA declares.
Mt. Soledad cross and veterans memorial above San Diego (soledadmemorial.com) |
The
battle began in 1989 when Phillip Paulsen, an atheist, filed suit, and
a court ordered the city to remove the cross. In 1998, the city sold
the property to the Mt. Soledad War Memorial Association, which again
was challenged in court. The sale originally was upheld but later ruled
unconstitutional by the full panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
in San Francisco and remanded back to district court to work out a
remedy.
Meanwhile, a California state lawmaker is introducing a bill to protect symbols of American heritage that have a religious aspect.
The
Defense of Veterans Memorials Act would be the first state legislation
of its kind, mirroring the federal Public Expression of Religion Act,
introduced in the House last year, which would remove from judges the
authority to award attorney fees, or damages to groups such as the
ACLU.
The
sponsor of the bill, Republican Sen. Jim Battin, says cities across the
nation have been strong-armed into removing religious symbols from
their city seals, law enforcement emblems and city property because
they can't afford to defend themselves.
Battin's
bill failed in committee yesterday on a party-line vote of 1-3, with
one Republican voting yes and one absent. Three Democrats voted no.
"Unanimous
reconsideration has been granted to bill," Battin communication
director Gordon J. Hinkle told WND. "This means bill is not technically
dead but headed in that direction."
Earlier in the day, an Assembly version of the bill was heard in committee, but not without controversy.
According
to Rees Lloyd, an attorney who testified in favor of the bill on behalf
of the American Legion, Democrats on the panel walked out of the room
as he and another Legion representative began to speak – only to return
later to vote no on the bill.
"Speaking
personally, I view it is an insult not just to the Legion, but to all
veterans, and I will not forget it," Lloyd told WND.
Previous stories:
Lawmaker denounces cross removal
Judge orders San Diego cross removed
San Diego to appeal cross decision
San Diegans vote to save cross
Judge denies atheist's bid in cross case
ACLU threatens talk-show hosts over cross
Voters to decide on historic cross
Congress gets into ACLU cross brouhaha
Vet sues to save mountaintop cross
COMMENTS ENCOURAGED
THE AIM OF EDUCATION IS TO TEACH US HOW TO THINK, NOT WHAT TO THINK.
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