Ten Commandments

[billydkid]

Another significant point that I haven't seen addressed - didn't the judge use taxpayer's money to purchase the display? From my point of view, I have no particular problem with religious displays in public places per se' - as long as ALL religions/irrational belief systems (Buddists, Hindi, Moonies, Satanists, Branch Davidians and so on) are all granted the same privilege (a state of affairs that would, in fact, never be allowed to happen.) What I have most problem with is the use of taxpayer's money (some of whom are likely to be Buddists, Hindi, Moonies, Satanists, Branch Davidians and so on) to support this judges public endorsement of his particular idiocy. I seriously doubt he used his own money either to commission the thing or to pay the workers to install it.

 

[arcticpenguin]

No, he didn't use taxpayer money for the isntallation. It would have cost taxplayers plenty if he had stuck to his defiance of a court order though.

 

[swstephe]

Muslim Sabbath???

In the commentary, there was a mention of "which Sabbath" and said that Friday dusk to Saturday dusk was the Sabbath for Jews and Muslims. Actually, Muslims do not have anything like a Sabbath. They have a "Day of Gathering", (Friday around midday), which is only for a couple of hours for prayers and listening to announcements, then it is back to work! Seems that the Sabbath is currently a Jewish thing only.

Sabbath rules for Christians were originally enforced mostly in England and Scotland, (so laws like it in America are Anglo-Saxon). The Catholic Encyclopedia says:

There is no federal legislation in the United States on the observance of the Sunday, but nearly all the states of the Union have statues tending to repress unnecessary labour and to restrain the liquor traffic. In other respects the legislation of the different states on this matter exhibits considerable variety. On the continent of Europe in recent years there have been several laws passed in direction of enforcing the observance of Sunday rest for the benefit of workmen.

 

[arcticpenguin]

Then there's the Seventh Day Adventists amongst the other Christian cults. On a recent auto tour I noticed an occasional roadside sign saying "Church on Sunday is the work of the anti-Christ" or something similar.

 

[Brown]

The general pattern is for a private group to pay for installation of the monument, but for taxpayers to pay for the cost of removing it.

Even if the taxpayers don't pay for removal, they pay expenses associated with upkeep and liability.