Church-State News from North Carolina

There's a guy named M. Reza Salami who teaches at a local college in Greensboro, and he was recently stopped at a sobriety checkpoint and ticketed for having "open alcohol containers" in his vehicle.

Never mind the fact that Salami was on his way to the local recycler with a lot of those "open" containers -- after all, who's gonna take them to recycle when they're still unopened?

Salami made the news when he complained about a sticker in the car of the deputy who stopped him. The sticker was on the divider between the front and back seats.

It said "Jesus is Your Savior".

Salami -- who just happens to be Christian himself -- felt that the deputy's car is public property and is no place for such a blatant piece of religious propaganda.

He is right, and to his credit he filed a complaint with Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

And that's where his troubles started. The local yokels took to the wingnut airwaves, demanding that Salami be deported to Saudi Arabia (he is a naturalized American citizen) as a "terrorist" and worse.

There's a lot more. Read the story on the local newspaper's website, and remember that we must all remain vigilant if we want to preserve that Wall of Separation that is under attack from many directions.

And all props to Salami for doing the right thing. If more people had his courage and conviction and core belief in the US Constitution, we'd all be a lot better off.