The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals - the same court that ruled "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional - now has declared unconstitutional a large white cross in the Mojave Desert, and for the same reason.
The cross - a war memorial erected by the Veterans of Foreign Wars - stands in the Mojave National Preserve. The ACLU sued the Park Service three years ago, claiming it violates the separation of church and state. The Ninth Circuit agreed.
"This case is really quite simple," said an ACLU lawyer. "Using a sectarian religious symbol is not permissible on federal land. Sometimes you just have to hit them over the head three, four, or five times . . . .If we want to have a war memorial on federal land, the government certainly knows how to do that without using a divisive sectarian religious symbol."
. . . Actually, "you just have to hit them over the head" a few hundred thousand times, if not more. Headstones at Arlington National Cemetery have crosses engraved on them. So do headstones at the scores of other national cemeteries across the country.
Perhaps the ACLU thinks all those headstones should be replaced. We'd suggest letting the dead rest in peace.
UPDATE Outside the Beltway's daily Beltway Traffic Jam is now up. Enjoy!
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