Pay for Play

In June, 1965, the Fraternal Order of the Eagles donated a monument bearing the Ten Commandments in honor of the youth who helped fight one of the worse floods in La Crosse's long history.  The gift was placed in Cameron Park, which is a downtown park, surrounded by a bank, food coop, restaurant, bakery and, during the summer, a farmer's market.  The monument, which stands about 5 feet tall, is maintained by the Eagle's club and its members.  For most of my life, I didn't even know the monument existed, even though I walked through the park on various occasions.

Thou shall not display!

In 2002, a group known as the Freedom from Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit against the City of La Crosse, claiming the monument violated the First Amendment establishment clause separating church and state.  In their lawsuit, the non-profit atheist/humanist organization from Madison, WI demanded that the city remove the monument which was causing "sleeplessness, visible discomfort, and modified behavior"  in the listed plaintiffs.

After months of debate, and after causing far more discomfort in the majority of La Crosse residents who objected to the assault on their beloved monument, a judge allowed the Ten Commandments to remain in the park after it was sold back to the Fraternal Order of the Eagles.  (To this day, I'm thrilled that members of the Food Co Op must shield their eyes as they leave the grocery store, hoping to avoid contact with the "vile" monument.)

Similar disputes have become commonplace around the country as these "civil liberty" groups pursue a leftist agenda that includes censoring prayer and recognition of God in public places, fighting illegal immigration reform, defending racial discrimination and promoting free speech for porno- graphers, same-sex marriage advocates and terrorist organizations.  In every instance, the leftist organization sues for legal expenses to pay for the time and damages brought forward in their lawsuit.  It seems to me to be an incredibly easy way to make a living:  find a supposed Constitutional violation that is strongly opposed by the majority of people, threaten to take them to court if it's not changed, and then collect a hefty paycheck when a carefully chosen, liberal judge finds in favor of the leftist organization.

Groups like the Freedom From Religion, the ACLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights and others unfortunately cause far more harm to the moral fabric of our society and founders of this great country than just the millions they win in their bogus court cases.  I've searched the internet for a few of the more aggregious attacks on our Constitution and list them here for your torment:

.  The ACLU demanded $2.3 million in fees for challenging a law AGAINST ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.  The city of Hazelton, Pennsylvania had passed an ordinance which prohibited landlords to rent to illegal aliens, fined businesses who hired illegal aliens, and required government documents  to be in English only.  The ACLU persuaded a federal court judge to declare this ordinance to be unconstitutional, even though other courts had upheld earlier laws.  The Mayor of Hazelton had this to say about the case which is currently in appeal.  "This demand illustrates the circus the ACLU brought to this case.  They had 20 attorneys sitting in the courtroom at a time, 16 of them doing nothing but running up the bill."  To say nothing about the illegal aliens who were in our country breaking the law.

.  The ACLU often argues IN FAVOR OF PORNOGRAPHY before courts and administrative boards.  They recently forced a Nampa, Idaho public library to return two books to the shelves that many parents found offensive:  The Joy of Sex and The Joy of Gay Sex.  With very graphic illustrations and photos of sexual activities found in chapters entitled "Daddy/Son Fantasies," Exhibitionism and Voyeurism," "Sex With Animals," and "Tearooms and Back Rooms," parents fought in court for over two years to keep the books out of the reach of young children, but to no avail.  Bryan Fischer, one of the parents asking to get the books removed, said, "It's an abysmal state of affairs when a single letter from cultural thugs can undo two years of patient and pain-staking work."

.  In 1999, the ACLU developed a hatred for all things related to the BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA, a charitable organization for teenagers, after they enforced its policy against having openly homosexual Scout leaders.  The civil liberties group filed a lawsuit to prohibit the Boy Scouts from using an Army base in Virginia for a quadrennial gathering known as the Boy Scout Jamboree.  Even though the Boy Scouts had been using this government property for over 70 years for similar events, the ACLU claimed that the Scout's oath of "duty to God," violated the First Amendment's establishment clause.  Therefore, the government should not be sponsoring this event for the Boy Scouts.  A federal district court originally ruled for the ACLU, but the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit eventually overturned the ruling.

.  In 2008, the Freedom From Religion Foundation sued President George W. Bush, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino and others associated with the NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER.   The administration argued FFRF had no legal standing to sue and that the tradition of the National Day of Prayer dated back to 1775.  Nonetheless, on April 15, 2010 senior federal District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled the 236 year old tradition to be unconstitutional.  She sited, "It is because the nature of prayer is so personal and can have such a powerful effect on a community that the government may not use its authority to try to influence any individual's decision whether and when to pray."  She added, "The same law that prohibits the government from declaring a National Day of Prayer also prohibits it from declaring a National Day of Blasphemy."  Her decision is currently under appeal.

.  Since 9/11, the Center for Constitutional Rights has challenged a number of cases involving the Bush and Obama administration's DETENTION AND INTERROGATION PRACTICES of detainees in Guantanamo Bay.  In 2010, the CFCR brought a lawsuit (pro bono) which seeks to remove reputed al-Qaeda leader Anwar al-Awlaki from the U.S. targeted killing list.  For those who don't know, Anwar al-Awlaki is an extremist Muslim cleric who corresponded with Major Nidal Hasan prior to the Fort Hood shootings and whose teachings may have inspired both the "underwear bomber" and Times Square bombing suspect.  Repeatedly al-Awlaki has called for the killing and assassination of American soldiers and officials throughout America and the world.  The CFCR case has been criticized by many supporters of the organization who ask how it can "stand silently next to an advocate of American assassinations.  The Centre for the Study of Human Rights at the London School of Economics and Political Science recently stated, "Does a highly respected organization, founded in the midst of historic struggles for civil rights and racial justice, now wish to be perceived by some as al-Qaida's legal team?"  Apparently the answer is yes.

As an adult with children about to enter the harsh realities of the real world, I can appreciate the value of having someone protect our rights under the U.S. Constitution.  But it seems to me that too many far left groups -- under the guise of protecting civil rights -- are removing many conventional, traditional and dogmatic institutions in favor of "protecting" chaos, anarchy, disorder and lawless behavior.

Isn't it time to push back against these assaults on our national freedoms?  At the minimum, we need to have the ability to charge these bogus leftist groups for court fees and damages if they lose a court case.  That will make them think twice before defending the rights of illegal immigrants, sexual deviants and atheists/freethinkers.

If not, it is clear that these groups will continue to hamper our rights, while maintaining their tradition of playing for pay.