Aclu

HARRODSBURG - The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky has a decision to make regarding the Ten Commandments display at the Mercer County Courthouse. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District on Tuesday upheld a lower court's ruling that the Ten Commandments are displayed as part of what is called the Foundations of American Law and Government. The original lawsuit was filed by the ACLU against Mercer County in 2001. There is a similar lawsuit against Garrard County, but that is being held until the Mercer County case is decided finally.

After hundreds of treks around Kentucky and a four-year court battle, Carroll Rousey has brought his cause home to Boyle County. In 2001 Rousey stopped at a McDonald's restaurant in London and saw a copy of the King James Bible version of the Ten Commandments. "I thought, 'What a great idea,'" he said. He started getting copies of the Ten Commandments and offering them for free to businesses that would hang them up. He estimates that he has given copies to more than 700 businesses in 10 counties.

HARRODSBURG - It's been five years since the Ten Commandments and eight other documents were posted just inside the front door of the Mercer County Courthouse and the person who is responsible for their postings said he thinks legal arguments likely are over. Carroll Rousey, the man who donated and posted the 10 frames containing what he and others call nine historic documents and include the Ten Commandments, said Tuesday he believes the legal wrangling over the appropriateness of the display has come to an end. The Boyle County resident started his crusade by placing framed copies of just the Ten Commandments in businesses in both Boyle and Mercer counties after attending a rally to get prayer and the Ten Commandments back in public schools.

Dear Editor, I agree with Mr. Bowman about the display of bodies being barbaric, but I don't think that it is because of the Bush administration. Yes, he sent us to war, with the blessings of both Republicans and Democrats. It is the Democrats who are turning their tails and wanting us to run. What does Mr. Bowman think others would think of the United States if we quit now? Would the others who have died been in vain? I do not agree with quitting, but I do think that we need to pray to our Lord for protection from ALL evil, and to keep our troops safe and their families as well.

Dear Editor: Hopefully, the "fish symbol" controversy has come to a conclusion and even Lori Stipe should be satisfied with the final outcome. She was unable to contribute her tax money to the little 3-inch symbol belonging to Deputy Marty Elliott, and now she will be able to claim some ownership for the larger chaplain decal. I personally want to thank her initiative that finally resulted in an official chaplain being appointed for our well-deserving sheriff's department. I doubt that this issue now "could attract the attention of the ACLU and a lawsuit against local government" as implied by The Advocate-Messenger.

Organizations that teach young people virtue ought to be commended. But in the age of political correctness where virtue appears antiquated, such groups are often pushed to society's perimeter. Consider the Boy Scouts of America, the nation's largest values-based organization devoted to shaping young boys into men. Since 1910 the Scouts have promoted the virtues that make for good citizens; and they haven't been bashful acknowledging the Giver of Virtue. Their motto says "On my honor I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

Organizations that teach young people virtue ought to be commended. But in the age of political correctness where virtue appears antiquated, such groups are often pushed to society's perimeter. Consider the Boy Scouts of America, the nation's largest values-based organization devoted to shaping young boys into men. Since 1910 the Scouts have promoted the virtues that make for good citizens, and they haven't been bashful acknowledging the Giver of Virtue. Their motto says "On my honor I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

The Centre College Law Society will sponsor a free, public forum on the controversial USA Patriot Act at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Young Hall (room 101) on campus. Timothy Edgar from the American Civil Liberties Union and Erwin Roberts from the U.S. Department of Justice will be the featured speakers. In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act as a means to fight terrorism. Touted by many as an effective weapon in the war on terrorism, the USA Patriot Act has been criticized by groups such as the ACLU for its curtailing of civil liberties.

Dear Editor, Thank you Bobbie Curd for writing the Tammy Carpenter story about Child Protective Services that ran in The Kentucky Advocate on Sunday. I only wish I could find a reporter in New Hampshire who has guts enough to do the same. My grandchildren were taken by CPS because of false allegations. Medical records were hidden and by the time they finally reappeared, the judge didn't care. These records would have proven my daughter's innocence. The judge said if the kids were taken illegally, it didn't matter.

As a patriotic American, I began to feel somewhat depressed last week. I shuttered for a moment as I surveyed the political landscape. I thought about how some politicians want us to cut and run in Iraq, how the New York Times seems more concerned with a news scoop than with our safety, how the ACLU is filing lawsuits when someone so much as breathes religion near a school, and how Congress still cannot decide what to do about illegal immigration....