| TEN COMMANDMENTS SHOWDOWN TONIGHT by WorldNetDaily, August 20, 2003 |
| Defenders of "Ten Commandments judge" Roy Moore are preparing a midnight vigil at the deadline tonight for the federal court order requiring him to remove his monument from the Alabama state judicial building. Yesterday, a federal appeals court declined Moore's request to lift the order. The Alabama chief justice had asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider its decision until the U.S. Supreme Court can rule on a petition by Moore to intervene. As WorldNetDaily reported; U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson issued an ultimatum to Moore Aug. 5 to remove the washing machine-sized granite monument inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Alabama could face a fine of about $5,000 for each day the testimonial remains beyond Thompson's deadline tonight. Thompson has said Moore could move the monument to a less public site, such as the chief justice's office. Moore lost an appeal July 1 at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld Thompson's earlier ruling that the monument, due to its placement in the rotunda of the Judicial Building, was a violation of the establishment clause of the Constitution's First Amendment. The original suit was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Another group that filed suit against Moore, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, contends the judge set up the confrontation with the federal courts to advance his political agenda. Thompson wrote in his order that Moore, "for seemingly 'extra-judicial' reasons known only to him, intentionally created the scenario from which he now contends ... he should be extricated ... . The court will not be a party to any extra-judicial machinations of the Chief Justice." A Washington, D.C.-based activist group defending the chief justice, the Christian Defense Coalition, said it will hold a rally at 7:30 tonight at the Alabama Supreme Court, followed by a prayer vigil on the steps of the court building at 12:01 a.m. About 4,000 people, including Rev. Jerry Falwell, attended a rally Saturday in Montgomery to support Moore and the display. Among Moore's supporters are Jewish rabbis, but a fellow Southern Baptist leader contends the chief justice has gone too far. Southern Babtist church-state specialist Richard Land believes Moore's display is constitutional, but opposes his methods, reported Baptist Press, a denominational news service. "However much sympathy I may have for Judge Moore's beliefs and convictions about the Ten Commandments and the role they have played in Western civilization and American jurisprudence, I am dismayed at the prospect of a judge defying a court order," said Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. "One of the foundational principles of American law is that we believe in the rule of law," he told Baptist Press. However, Rabbi Yehuda Levin, who claims to represent 1,000 rabbis and 750,000 Orthodox Jews in two national organizations, showed his support for Moore in a ceremony on the judicial building steps Friday, the Birmingham News reported. The rabbi blessed the judge with a prayer and presented him with an embroidery bearing the Ten Commandments. "May the Author of the Decalogue give you the strength and the fortitude to be successful in your righteous struggle and be an effective leader in the public arena for years to come," Levin told Moore, according to the Birmingham paper. Levin said he represents the Rabbinical Alliance of America and the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada. The rabbi said he was embarrassed one of the lawyers suing to have the Ten Commandments removed, Stephen Glassroth, is Jewish, the paper reported. "This to many people throughout America represents Judaism," Levin said, according to the Birmingham daily. "G-D forbid. That's why I'm here." Glassroth filed a complaint Thursday with the Judicial Inquiry Commission, which could decide to suspend Moore. Alabama Attorney General William Pryor - an observant Roman Catholic engaged in a contentious battle over his nomination by President Bush to a federal judgeship - has promised to ensure Thompson's order is obeyed. Moore declared Thursday he has "no intention of removing the monument of the Ten Commandments and the moral foundation of our law." [Praise the L-RD!] He insisted, "I have maintained the rule of law. I have been true to the oath of my office. I can do no more, and I can do no less - so help me G-D." As WND reported, last month the U.S. House of Representatives voted to withhold funds from any enforcement action related to the Ten Commandments. The vote was 260-161. |
| Moore wrote a treatise on his battle to retain the monument in the July issue of the Whistleblower magazine, WND's monthly print publication. In the August issue, entitled "LAW-LESS: Why many Americans fear attorneys and judges more than terrorists," Roy Moore is the subject of an in-depth profile. Subscribe to Whistleblower magazine at: http://www.worldnetdaily.com |