The Mojave Cross

I know, it sounds like a western movie title, but a battle is raging in California's Mojave Desert over a cross that was erected as a "veterans memorial" by the VFW back in 1934.

And there it stood mutely for a number of years, out of sight and out of mind.

There was only one small problem with that: It was erected on public land, in what is now the Mojave National Preserve. And, to make matters worse, no other religious group has been "allowed" to erect their own religious memorial on the site.

Okay, fast forward a few years, and now the whole issue has landed squarely in the robed laps of The Supremes, who agreed to hear Salazar v. Buono this coming term.

As a member of several veterans groups (all of them progressive in nature -- I would never join VFW or the American Legion -- nor would they have me, as I think you all could have guessed), I get on some pretty weird email threads.

And today some joker sent me a breathless missive wailing about the tearing down of this symbol of veterans' sacrifices:

OK Folks. Take about 6 minutes and watch this and see what you think??? Amazing how off-base the courts and government can get!!!!!!
THERE HAVE ONLY BEEN AFEW THOUSAND HITS ON THIS VIDEO. IT NEEDS TO BE SEEN BY MANY, MANY MORE PEOPLE. PLEASE SPREAD IT AROUND TO YOUR ENTIRE ADDRESS BOOK. TO THINK ONE INDIVIDUAL, JUST ONE, CAN TAKE A CASE LIKE THIS TO THE CA SUPREME COURT AND GET A HEARING.
WE SHOULD DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO PREVENT THIS MEMORIAL FROM BEING TORN DOWN.
ACLU insanity EVERY AMERICAN SHOULD SEE THIS VIDEO.
I cannot believe how this can happen in our country....wait until you hear the reason the complaint was started and what it has turned into....

I guess nobody told this asshole that typing in ALL CAPITALS is shouting...But maybe that's what he meant...

Anyway, here's the video:

Note the presence of those slick fuckers from the so-called Liberty Legal Institute, an extremist Religious Right organization, and the smooth production values of this video. Aside from the lies and mudslinging against the ACLU, though, the worst part of it that Liberty has absolutely no qualms about using those ancient veterans, cynically manipulating them into believing that this is about veterans. "A literal slap in the face," one of the Liberty fuckers calls it.

This case, with its abrupt turns and attempts at legal obfuscation, is confusing enough for legal scholars (go ahead and read the summary), let alone the general public. Which is why it's really easy to confuse people and get them to believe something that Liberty wants them to believe.

And finally, it looks as though this will be the first "establishment clause" case that Sotomayor will hear. Let's hope that she's more liberal than she appeared in those "show trial" hearings last week.