Attorney General's "First Freedom" program cloaks lawyering for the Christian right
Gonzales rolls out "religious freedom" initiative for Southern Baptist Convention, Christian Broadcasting Network
by Jane Hunter, JewsOnFirst.org, February 27, 2007
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales launched a religious liberties campaign called First Freedom last week. It looked to us like a vehicle for the Justice Department to provide legal support for the Christian right's attacks on church-state separation. Gonzales' exclusive presentation of the First Freedom program to the Southern Baptist Convention and Pat Robertson's 700 Club underscored that impression. A series of email exchanges with a department spokeswoman this afternoon were hardly reassuring.
First Freedom is a project of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ). Its freestanding website promises an agressive outreach to religious audiences:
Initiation of a series of regional seminars to be held around the country to educate religious, civil rights, and community leaders, attorneys, government officials, and other interested citizens about the laws protecting religious freedom enforced by the Department of Justice and how to file complaints.
A newly issued report on the website, Report on Enforcement of Laws Protecting Religious Freedom: Fiscal Years 2001-2006, lists a number of cases where the division protected citizens against religious discrimination. But sprinkled among the legitimate cases involving religious harassment are cases where the Justice Department has supported (often with amicus briefs) religious discrimination and incursions of fundamentalist Christianity into the public square. Continue.
Monica Goodling, graduate of Pat Robertson's law school, had control of Justice Department attorney hiring
Pat Robertson's Regent University graduate applied ideological screen to civil service applicants
by JewsOnFirst.org, May 21, 2007
Monica Goodling, the graduate of Pat Robertson's Regent University law school who played a major role in the Justice Department's firing of U.S. attorneys, also reportedly used her own political and moral criteria in hiring civil service attorneys for the Justice Department, according to the New York Times.
Goodling was deputy director of the Executive Office of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and subsequently served as the department's liaison with the White House. She resigned last month and on Wednesday she is to testify under a grant of immunity in a Congressional investigation of the firing of eight U.S. attorneys for political reasons. Continue.
Newt Gingrich says that despite Falwell's death, it's still possible to convert whole nation
In Liberty University commencement address, former speaker assails "radical secularists"
by JewsOnFirst.org, May 29, 2007
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich made that statement about the prospects for converting the nation immediately after he gave the commencement address at Liberty University, a Christian school founded by the recently deceased Rev. Jerry Falwell. During his address, Gingrich, a possible presidential contender, said President Franklin D. Roosevelt believed his generation faced a war between Christianity and paganism. Click here.
Kansas Attorney General writes orders for a reelection campaign operation "in each church"
Memo shows Republican Phill Kline's detailed plan for a church-based political machine
by JewsOnFirst.org, September 17, 2006
 In a tough battle for reelection, Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline gave his campaign staff detailed instructions on how to use churches to raise funds, recruit campaign volunteers and collect voter contact information. He wrote the instructions in a memo obtained by news organizations and JewsOnFirst.org.
Kline writes that the "goal" of receptions, which his staff will organize to dovetail with church services, "is to walk away with contact information, money and volunteers and a committee in each church." He names three of the churches already involved in his campaign. Continue
Are We a Christian Nation?
Congregationalist Minister Inaugurates Lecture Series at Synagogue's Center for Religious Inquiry
Rev. Jerald Stinson of First Congregational Church of Long Beach, September 26, 2006
 Rev. Jerald Stinson, minister of the First Congregational Church of Long Beach, California, was the main speaker at the launch of the Center for Religious Inquiry at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles. His talk, entitled Are We A Christian Nation? is part of the Center's series: Symposium On America: The Moral Nation. The religious right, said Stinson,
claim we were once a Christian nation and lost our way. Is that true? Well, yes and no.
It’s true in terms of the early colonists, especially my religious tradition’s forebears. The Congregational Church, now the United Church of Christ, began with Puritans settling in 17th century Massachusetts and then established other colonies throughout New England.
The Massachusetts Colony was a theocracy, like the Utah I knew growing up. Only free, white, male members of the Congregational Church were voting citizens in colonial New England. The Meeting House was the center of both religious and civic life. People couldn’t challenge the establishment church. For doing so, Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams were banished to Rhode Island. Quaker Mary Dyer was hung on Boston Common.
Stinson emphasized the importance of maintaining the "wall of separation" that the authors of our Constitution established between church and state. He spoke about the experience of his childhood in theocratic Utah and his experience in northern San Diego County during the period when a Christocrat school board implemented religious right policies in the Vista school system. Please click here to read Stinson's speech (a PDF document).
Christian right law firm organizes "Pulpit Initiative" to challenge IRS
Pastors May Defy IRS Gag Rule
Legal Group Urges Ministers to Preach About Candidates
Suzanne Sataline, The Wall Street Journal, May 8, 2008
A conservative legal-advocacy group is enlisting ministers to use their pulpits to preach about election candidates this September, defying a tax law that bars churches from engaging in politics.
Alliance Defense Fund, a Scottsdale, Ariz., nonprofit, is hoping at least one sermon will prompt the Internal Revenue Service to investigate, sparking a court battle that could get the tax provision declared unconstitutional. Alliance lawyers represent churches in disputes with the IRS over alleged partisan activity.
The action marks the latest attempt by a conservative organization to help clergy harness their congregations to sway elections. The protest is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 28, a little more than a month before the general election, in a year when religious concerns and preachers have been a regular part of the political debate. Continue.
Churches and Electioneering
Ian Wilhelm, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Give and Take Blog, May 11, 2008
A conservative legal group’s effort to encourage pastors to preach about election candidates to test federal tax law is drawing plenty of critical questions.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the Alliance Defense Fund, hopes a court case will result from this defiance of tax rules, which bar churches from engaging in partisan politics, and that the restrictions will be struck down by the courts.
Not everybody agrees the prohibitions on politicking need to be challenged. Continue.
Churches Seek Court Test of Federal Ban on Electioneering
The Chronicle of Philanthropy, May 09, 2008
In a test of federal tax law, a conservative legal group is encouraging pastors to preach about election candidates in September, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The Alliance Defense Fund hopes a court case will result from this open defiance of tax rules, which bar churches from engaging in partisan politics, and that the restrictions will be struck down by the courts. Continue.
IRS Pledges to Stomp Out 'Egregious' Violations of Politicking Rules
Grant Williams, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, April 18, 2008
The Internal Revenue Service says that in this election year it is making “extensive efforts” to educate charities and churches about federal law that bans their political campaign activity.
At the same time, the tax agency plans to enforce the law with “a focus on cases involving allegations of egregious violations,” says Lois G. Lerner, director of the IRS’s office on exempt organizations, in a press release. Continue.
Lawyer Group Recruiting Churches to Disobey Tax Law
Bob Allen, Ethics Daily, May 14, 2008
A legal advocacy group founded by Religious Right broadcasters is recruiting pastors for an act of civil disobedience by preaching about political candidates in violation of rules against politicking for non-profit charities imposed by the Internal Revenue Service.
The Alliance Defense Fund, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., hopes its Sept. 28 "Pulpit Initiative" will prompt a legal battle allowing the Christian lawyer group to argue in court the ban violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
"Through strategic lawsuits against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), ADF seeks to restore the right of each pastor to speak Scriptural truth from the pulpit about moral, social, governmental, and other issues without fear of losing his church’s tax exempt status," says an FAQ about the initiative on the ADF Web site. Continue.
Pastors Urged to Preach About Politics, in Hopes of Toppling IRS Ban
Associated Press, Fox News.com, May 9, 2008
New York — Conservative legal advocates are recruiting pastors nationwide to defy an IRS ban on preaching about politicians, in a challenge they hope will abolish the restriction.
The Alliance Defense Fund, based in Scottsdale, Ariz., will ask the clergy to deliver a sermon about specific candidates Sept. 28. If the action triggers an IRS investigation, the legal group will sue to overturn the federal rules, which were enacted in 1954.
Under the IRS code, churches can distribute voter guides, run voter registration drives, hold forums on public policy and invite politicians to speak at their congregations. Continue.
 Pastors called to defy IRS censorship rules
New campaign challenges 1954 tax law banning speech on candidates' positions
Bob Unruh, WorldNetDaily.com, May 9, 2008
Christian pastors should stop censoring themselves in fear of an "unconstitutional" 1954 provision in the IRS code that has threatened to eliminate their church tax-exempt status if they speak out against positions held by political candidates, urges a leading legal alliance.
The Alliance Defense Fund today announced a new initiative that will challenge the IRS ban on political comment from churches and their pastors.
"Churches have for too long feared the loss of tax exempt status arising from speech in the pulpit addressing candidates for office," the ADF's white paper on the campaign confirmed. "Rather than risk confrontation, pastors have self-censored their speech, ignoring blatant immorality in government and foregoing the opportunities to praise moral government leaders. Continue.
The Pulpit Initiative
Reclaiming pastors’ constitutional right to speak Truth from the pulpit
Website of the Alliance Defense Fund, May 10, 2008
On Sunday, September 28, 2008, we are seeking pastors who will preach from the pulpit a sermon that addresses the candidates for government office in light of the truth of Scripture. The sermon is intended to challenge the Internal Revenue Code’s restrictions by specifically opposing candidates for office that do not align themselves and their positions with the Scriptural truth. By standing together and speaking with one voice, it is our hope to recapture the rightful place of pastors and churches in American life. Continue.
The Pulpit Initiative Letter Of Intent
Website of the Alliance Defense Fund, May 10, 2008
“Pulpit Freedom Sunday” is a project of the Alliance Defense Fund and will be held on Sunday,
September 28, 2008. On that day, participating pastors will preach sermons specifically reclaiming their
right to speak Scriptural truth from the pulpit regarding various candidates for office. It is the first step in
a concerted effort to reclaim freedom for the pulpit — the “Pulpit Initiative.” Continue.
The Pulpit Initiative White Paper
Website of the Alliance Defense Fund, May 10, 2008
In 1954, the U.S. Congress amended (without debate or analysis) Internal Revenue Code
§501(c)(3) to restrict the speech of non-profit tax exempt entities, including churches. Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code regulates organizations that are exempt from federal
income tax. Before the amendment was passed, there were no restrictions on what churches
could or couldn’t do with regard to speech about government and voting, excepting only a 1934
law preventing non-profits from using a substantial part of their resources to lobby for
legislation. Continue.
The Pulpil Initiative -- Frequently Asked Questions
Website of the Alliance Defense Fund, May 10, 2008
In this document the Alliance Defense Fund minimizes the consequences to churches of participation in the September 28th challenge to the ban on tax-exempt organizations supporting candidates for office. The ADF says that most contributions to churches are "gifts" which would not be taxable even if an organization lost its tax exemption. It acknowledges that donors who itemize their deductions might have to pay taxes on their donations -- if they are audited. Click here.
Laws and Lawsuits to diminish church-state separation
Court: Tax Dollars Can Fund Church Upgrades that Don't Buttress Faith
By Claire Hughes, The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, August 14, 2007
City funds may be used to renovate churches as long as the improvements serve a civic purpose, like downtown beautification, and do not promote religion.
That was the ruling handed down by a federal judge August 8 in a case challenging Detroit's funding of structural improvements at three churches, part of an overall plan to spruce up the city's downtown.
Ruling in a case brought against Detroit's Downtown Development Authority by American Atheists Inc., Judge Avern Cohn of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan upheld the city's right to reimburse the churches for certain repairs and upgrades to their buildings and parking lots, such as replacing bricks and painting doors, that lacked religious content and "therefore convey no religious message." He struck down, however, payments for improvements to signs that included church names and stained-glass windows that displayed religious icons, saying such funding would violate constitutional protections intended to separate church and state.
"(T)he reimbursements for the improvement or repair of the signs and stained-glass windows displaying religious images and messages crosses the line because these projects so clearly benefit the religious mission of the churches," Cohn wrote. Continue.
ACLU sues to stop church donations
By Susan Finch, Religion News Service, USA Today, August 15, 2007
New Orleans - The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit in federal court here Monday (Aug. 13) to stop Louisiana from making taxpayer-financed donations to two churches. The gifts targeted in the case - $100,000 to the Stonewall Baptist Church in Bossier City and $20,000 to Shreveport Christian Church - are among 14 appropriations that individual state lawmakers requested for churches in the new state budget signed into law last month by Gov. Kathleen Blanco. Charging that earmarking church-related grants in the state budget is unconstitutional and that the purposes of the grants are only vaguely described, the ACLU in late June asked Blanco to veto them all, warning the dispute could end up in court otherwise. Continue.
ACLU Challenges Louisiana Law Funneling Taxpayer Funds to Favored Churches
Group Calls Cash Grants Unconstitutional
News Release, ACLU, August 13, 2007
New Orleans - The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Louisiana filed a lawsuit today asking a federal judge to halt the payment of state taxpayer money to two Louisiana churches. "The government cannot simply choose to subsidize its favorite houses of worship with taxpayer dollars," said Daniel Mach, Director of Litigation for the ACLU's Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief. Continue.
Town agrees to pay church $1.2 million
Lake Elsinore settles with a Christian center, which sued after its plan to move to another location was rejected.
Jonathan Abrams, Los Angeles Times, July 19, 2007
The city of Lake Elsinore on Wednesday agreed to pay a church more than $1.2 million to settle a discrimination case filed after the city rejected the church's plans to expand.
The Elsinore Christian Center argued that city violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 six years ago by blocking its move to a larger location to accommodate a growing congregation. The city argued the church's plan to take over a grocery story would cause a loss of commercial-based taxes.
The city also said that the closing of the grocery store, which served elderly residents, would be a great loss to the community. Continue.
Rejected church plans cost city $1.2 million
Officials cited desire for tax revenue when building project vetoed
WorldNetDaily.com, July 19, 2007
The city of Lake Elsinore, Calif., whose officials said they preferred tax revenue to worship services when they rejected a church's building plans, now has paid the Elsinore Christian Center $1.205 million for that decision.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had ruled in the church's favor in 2006, and the case was pending before the U.S. Supreme Court when the city asked to settle the dispute, according to officials with Advocates for Faith and Freedom, a national non-profit law firm working to protect religious liberties.
The appellate ruling found that the city violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, which codifies the First Amendment and provides that governments cannot use land use regulations, such as zoning, to place a "substantial burden" on churches unless there is compelling state interest. Continue.
Settlment Reached In FL Community Center's Exclusion of Religious Groups
Religion Clause, March 23, 2007
The Alliance Defense Fund yesterday announced the settlement of a lawsuit that had been filed against Ocala, Florida's Marion Oaks Community Center. The Marion County public facility allows groups and individuals to rent rooms at the community center, except that the community center and park would not be rented out "for formal religious services, informal study programs, or revivals". Continue.
Utah Legislation: Free public exercise of religion bill OK'd
By Matt Canham, Salt Lake Tribune, February 1, 2007 via Faith in Public Life
A government agency would have a hard time justifying any law or action that impeded a person's religious practices, under a bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday.
But opponents say the proposal is unnecessary and will only result in lawsuits that could now be avoided by applying existing law. Continue.
Utah Legislation: Free public exercise of religion bill OK'd
By Matt Canham, Salt Lake Tribune, February 1, 2007 via Faith in Public Life
A government agency would have a hard time justifying any law or action that impeded a person's religious practices, under a bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday.
But opponents say the proposal is unnecessary and will only result in lawsuits that could now be avoided by applying existing law. Continue.
Religious freedom sometimes opens legal minefields
By Adam Behsudi, Asheville Citizen-Times (Asheville, North Carolina), March 13, 2006
A survey of expert and interested opinion of the increasing number of cases involving issues of church-state separation. Click here to read the report.
High court’s ruling encourages religious liberty advocates
Baptist Press, February 23, 2006
"The high court ruled unanimously Feb. 21 that the U.S. government did not show it had a valid reason for barring a small religious sect from the sacramental use of a tea that contains a substance prohibited by a federal drug law. In so doing, the justices reaffirmed that a 1993 law, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), applies to the federal government, which still must show it has a “compelling interest” before restricting the free exercise of religion." Click here to read more.
U.S. Senate Chaplain withdraws from Christian nationalist conference
U.S. Senate Chaplain withdraws from Christian nationalist conference
 by JewsOnFirst.org, February 4, 2007
The chaplain of the U.S. Senate, Rev. Barry Black, withdrew last week from participation in a training conference aimed at establishing a Christian theocracy. The website of the Reclaiming America for Christ conference, to be held next month in Fort Lauderdale, offers "power-packed training sessions taught by 'culture war' veterans" to "help you reclaim your community for Christ." Additional literature on the website, shown on this page, make it clear the reclaiming is about taking over the government, not alleviating poverty.
 February 13, 2007. We've updated our report with comments from Rabbi Bruce Kahn, a retired Navy chaplain, who knows--and admires--Rev. Black. Kahn says Black thought he was being invited to speak at a church. Continue.
Center Closed to Make Way for Expanded Media Ministry
Email Letter from D. James Kennedy's Coral Ridge Ministries, Center for Reclaiming America for Christ, June 08, 2007
In this email, Coral Ridge Ministries announces that, over a month ago, it shut down its Center for Reclaiming America for Christ. The email says: "This unanimous action by the members of the Board of Coral Ridge Ministries -- each one a close friend or associate of Dr. D. James Kennedy, who continues to recover from a cardiac arrest suffered in December -- came after a lengthy period of review. It was taken as part of a larger ministry restructuring designed to redirect Coral Ridge Ministries back to its core mission -- doing media ministry." It goes on to assure that Coral Ridge Ministries will continue to host an annual Reclaiming America for Christ conference. Click here.
Senate chaplain cancels appearance at evangelical conference
AP, Advocate.com, February 3-5, 2007
U.S. Senate chaplain Barry Black has canceled his scheduled appearance at a Christian evangelical conference after he was pictured with columnist Ann Coulter and other prominent conservatives in a brochure promoting the event. Black told Senate majority leader Harry Reid he wouldn't be addressing next month's "Reclaiming America for Christ" conference because his appearance wouldn't uphold the Senate chaplain's "historic tradition of being nonpolitical, nonpartisan, nonsectarian," Meg Saunders, a spokeswoman for the chaplain, said Thursday. Continue.
Land replaces Senate chaplain at Religious Right meeting
By Robert Marus, Associated Baptist Press, February 2, 2007
WASHINGTON (ABP) -- United States Senate Chaplain Barry Black has canceled a scheduled appearance at a conference featuring prominent Religious Right activists -- and will be replaced by the Southern Baptist Convention's ethics guru.
Black informed organizers of the "Reclaiming America for Christ Conference" Jan. 31 that he would not be appearing, according to a press release from the group.
The release also noted that Richard Land, head of the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, would replace Black in the conference line-up. Continue.
Indiana pays chaplain to minister to state employees
Backgrounds: Minority outreach for Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (pictured here) went awry when his social services agency hired a chaplain to coach clergy in securing faith-based funding, but who ended up ministering to agency employees. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is suing the Family and Social Services Administration.
Minister, Family and Social Services Administration part ways
Cessation of benefit ends chaplain's controversial employment
Robert King, The Indianapolis Star, September 29, 2007
Close the books -- once and for all -- on the ties between the state's largest social service agency and a Baptist minister who spent a year and a half as the head of a troubled chaplaincy program that never got off the ground.
The Family and Social Services Administration axed the chaplaincy program Aug. 1, but its leader, the Rev. Michael Latham, remained on short-term disability for more than a month after its demise. His undisclosed illness had been diagnosed in the days before the program's termination, and agency officials said it was illegal for them to fire someone on disability. Continue.
FSSA cuts chaplaincy program
By Robert King, Indianapolis Star, August 15, 2007 (Full text)
The state's largest social service agency has eliminated a chaplaincy program that was costing $100,000 a year because it hadn't lived up to its goals, officials said, but its key employee -- a pastor paid $60,000 a year -- could remain on state disability benefits indefinitely.
The Family and Social Services Administration officially ended its chaplaincy program Aug. 1, said FSSA spokesman Marcus Barlow.
Rev. Michael Latham, the chaplain who headed the program, remains on a short-term disability that became effective July 30 and could go on for several more months, Barlow said. Latham's illness could not be disclosed because of federal health privacy rules.
FSSA secretary Mitch Roob hired Latham, a Baptist pastor and president of the NAACP branch in Fort Wayne, in early 2006 to serve as a chaplain to the agency's 4,800 employees. The job entailed forming a network of volunteer chaplains to serve the agency's employees in offices around the state.
But Latham drew criticism in June when The Indianapolis Star reported that, after 15 months on the job, he had recruited only 21 volunteer chaplains and none had begun their volunteer work. The program is also the subject of a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.
"We decided that rather than looking for a new chaplain that the pilot program hadn't lived up to our goals," Barlow said. "Since the program had always been a pilot program, we decided to eliminate it."
During his disability Latham will earn 60 percent of his pay, Barlow said. That could be $36,000 annually. Latham can use short-term disability for up to five months, Barlow said. He could then apply for long-term disability, which could last up to four years.
Attempts to reach Latham today were not immediately successful. Click here.
Church-State Separationists Challenge Indiana Social Services Chaplain
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy
Claire Hughes, The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, May 08, 2007
A year-old chaplain's position at an Indiana social service agency has become the target of the latest legal challenge from a Wisconsin-based group opposed to the government endorsement of religion.
Freedom From Religion Foundation on May 2 filed a six-page legal complaint in a federal court in Indiana aimed at a $60,000-a-year chaplain position at the state's Family & Social Services Administration. While that target is seemingly small, the implications of the lawsuit could be significant, legal experts say.
"This lawsuit raises highly significant constitutional issues, including the permissible scope of state-created chaplaincies and the right of state taxpayers to bring suits to enforce the Establishment Clause," said Ira C. Lupu, a law professor at George Washington University and co-director of legal research for the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy. Continue
State chaplain's challenges multiply
Critics doubt program's legality, leader's credentials
Robert King, The Indianapolis Star, June 17, 2007
The Rev. Michael Latham was hired last year for $60,000 primarily to set up a network of clergy volunteers to counsel workers in Indiana's largest government agency.
But 15 months and more than $100,000 later, there is no chaplain network, and Latham's position is being challenged in court by a group that says the job violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
Latham has lined up 21 volunteers to help Family and Social Services Administration employees with the stresses of their jobs. But some clergy volunteers haven't heard from him in so long that they had forgotten about the program or assumed it had been dropped. Continue.
Chaplain at FSSA dismisses criticism
Blames job difficulties on upheaval at agency
Benjamin Lanka, The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana),, June 18, 2007
Despite facing difficult circumstances - and in the wake of criticism about his performance and qualifications - the Rev. Michael Latham said his first year-plus on the job with the state has been successful.
The Fort Wayne minister was hired in April 2006 by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration as a chaplain. For $60,000 per year, Latham was to set up a network of clergy volunteers to help state government employees cope with their job stresses. He has recruited 21 volunteers, but some haven’t heard from Latham in months and said they forgot the program existed.
"We had a conference one day in October and have not heard anything from them after that," said Jim Ott, a volunteer from Anderson. Continue.
Summary: Freedom from Religion Foundation (and others) v. E. Mitchell Roob, Jr., as Secretary, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
Ira C. Lupu and Robert W. Tuttle, Co-Directors of Legal Research for the Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, and Professors of Law, George Washington University Law School, The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, May 17, 2007
On May 2, 2007, Freedom from Religion Foundation, Inc. ("FFRF") filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana against E. Mitchell Roob, Jr., the Secretary of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration ("FSSA"). The complaint,[1] filed on behalf of several named Indiana taxpayers, asserts that in 2006 the FSSA hired a Baptist minister, Pastor Michael L. Latham, as the Chaplain for the FSSA. The complaint alleges that the Chaplain is paid with state funds, and that the Chaplain has various religious responsibilities. These duties include ministering to the spiritual needs of FSSA employees, and coordinating relationships between the FSSA and faith-based organizations that deliver social services in Indiana. The complaint asserts that the FSSA is violating the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, and various provisions of the Indiana Constitution, by assigning to the Chaplain this set of religious duties and responsibilities.
Moreover, according to the complaint, the FSSA requires that the Chaplain "be an ordained or licensed minister in good standing with a recognized religious denomination or group." The complaint asserts that this hiring criterion constitutes a "religious test" for office, in violation of Article VI of the U.S. Constitution and Article I, section 5 of the Indiana Constitution.
FFRF asks the court to declare the state's funding of the chaplaincy to be a violation of the federal and state constitutions, and to enjoin the FSSA from "funding, creating or maintaining the [chaplaincy] position." Continue
Interview with Rev. Michael L. Latham, Indiana Family & Social Services Chaplain
The Roundtable on Religion and Social Welfare Policy, May 15, 2007
The Roundtable: Why did you decide to take this job with the Family & Social Services Administration?
Rev. Latham: What drew me to it, really, is just the fact that it was ministry. I thought it would be exciting to do ministry with the state. And, of course, ministry means that you're serving the people and that's what I do, that's what I love to do, so that attracted me.
I pastored a church for years, and I have not actually worked in a setting like this. I like creative things. I organized my own church, and I've been a part of organizing other chaplain programs, and I thought this would be another great opportunity to do something that looked like it had not been done before. Continue
Missouri measures endorse Chrisitianity
Jewish Women Lobby the Missouri Legislature on Church-State Issues
by JewsOnFirst.org, May 4, 2006
Forty-five Jewish activists from St. Louis traveled to Jefferson City on May 2nd to express concern to members of the Missouri legislature about a number of measures that threaten religion-state separation. Led by the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW)-St. Louis Section, Hadassah, St. Louis Chapter, and the Advocacy Coalition of the Jewish Community Relations Council, the group met with legislators of both parties. Continue
Joplin Jewish leaders voice concern about "Christian God" resolution
by JewsOnFirst, March 22, 2006
Legislators sponsoring a measure that recognizes a "Christian God" say it is just a resolution without the force of law. But two Jewish leaders in the small southern Missouri city of Joplin do not take it lightly. Read our interviews with attorney Bill Fleischaker and Prof. Paul Teverow. Click here.
Missouri legislative resolutions recognize a "Christian God," combine teaching "Judeo-Christian" history and patriotism
 A measure introduced in the Missouri legislature states that "religious displays on public property, and the recognition of a Christian God are not a coalition of church and state."
Another resolution before the Missouri legislature supports "every effort to educate Missouri students, at all levels, about the Judeo/Christian Heritage of our State and Nation along with the patriotism of our founding fathers, without censorship of content-based historical religious or sectarian references" and to give "students an opportunity to daily renew their oath to their country under God and honor those whose courage, sacrifice, and patriotic valor have made our country free..."
This topic continues. Please click here.
SECTION: Religious Displays on Public Property
Please click here.
See also: our page on Roy Moore, whose refusal to remove a Ten Commandments sculpture precipitated his removal as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. (Click here.)
Christianizing the public square
Low bond for Bible passage OK
Kimball Perry, Cincinnati Enquirer, July 12, 2007
After a Hamilton County judge got national attention in April for giving a favorable bond to an inmate who recited a Bible passage, the Ohio Supreme Court has decided he did nothing wrong and the complaint against him was dismissed.
"I still don’t see anything wrong with it," Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge John Burlew said today.
Burlew was on the bench April 25 when Eric Hine came before Burlew charged with receiving stolen property after police said he had a stolen credit card on him. Continue.
Government Employee Wins Free-Speech Case
Employer had rejected a flier as "religious."
Focus on the Family, April 10, 2007
Once a government employer gives its employees a venue to express opinions, it must accept whatever beliefs show up, even if they’re religious. That’s according to a federal judge, who ruled last month that a Department of Defense worker has the right to use a bulletin board to express his views concerning homosexuality and abortion.
Garry Lister was convinced that the charity pool at the Defense Logistics Agency in Columbus, Ohio, was contributing to questionable causes. He wanted to post a flier advising fellow employees that when they contribute to charity fundraisers, their money may support abortion, promiscuity and the gay agenda. Continue.
Pastors, laymen discuss prayer in government, homosexuality
By Tiffany R. Leonard, The Dispatch, (Lexington, North Carolina), February 05. 2007
THOMASVILLE | A large group of laymen gathered at Full Grace Baptist Church Saturday to receive information on how their churches can become more involved with government.
The meeting stemmed from the Rev. Donnie Lunsford, pastor of Full Grace Baptist, thinking of a way to develop better communication among like-minded people.
The group gathered at red, white and blue-decorated tables and ate biscuits, eggs, bacon, sausage and fruit. After a few moments of fellowship the men armed with their Bibles gathered in the sanctuary. Continue.
Religious tension in workplace on the rise
By Lornet Turnbull, The Seattle Times, February 11, 2007
Ameni Rangel says he was fired after refusing to cover a religious inscription tattooed on his wrists.
A Muslim immigrant working on contract for Microsoft filed a complaint against the company last month, saying he was interrogated about his Muslim-inspired, anti-war Web site, then abruptly fired.
Two former Kentridge High School students, whose Bible club was denied a charter at the school in part because it required members to swear allegiance to Jesus Christ, are awaiting a federal-court decision in their lawsuit. Continue.
Ohio State Employees Told to Take Religious References Out of E-Mails
By The Associated Press, Christian Post, August 3, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Workers in the Ohio Department of Taxation have been told to stop attaching religious postscripts and other messages to their e-mails.
Internal audit administrator William Cort notified employees that workers who attach Bible verses or other sayings at the bottom of their e-mails could be disciplined.
Employees ignored earlier requests to stop, so Cort issued a more severe warning last month, department spokesman Gary Gudmundson said. Cort had received about half-dozen complaints from agency staff about the messages. Continue
Oklahoma Atheist Family Resists Right-wing Christian Regime, Prevails
by JewsOnFirst.org, July 11, 2006
Bloggers have been telling the story of Chuck (Chester) Smalkowski for the past ten days -- since his acquittal in Texas County, Oklahoma on shockingly severe felony assault charges. The charges stemmed from Smalkowski's 2004 encounter with the principal of his daughter's school; he wanted to protest his daughter's being forced to join her basketball team's prayer circle. The Smalkowskis are atheists. Continue
Hide Your Bible
Court says Christians who work for the government can't pray with clients.
by Brad A. Greenberg, Christianity Today Magazine, June 16, 2006
Daniel Berry was practicing his faith, but his employers felt he took it too far. They told him to keep his Bible tucked in a desk drawer, to take down a "Happy Birthday Jesus" sign, and to stop praying with clients. Berry didn't like the orders given by the Tehama County Department of Social Services, so he sued, claiming his First Amendment rights had been infringed. The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against him in May, further affirming the limitations on overt Christian behavior by government employees.
The ruling was "clearly unreasonable," said one of Berry's attorneys, Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute in Sacramento, California. "There are government employees who are flagrantly demonstrative in regards to their sexual orientation. It's inequality to say employees of faith don't have that same right to exhibit who they are as a Christian." Continue
Maryland: City sued to stop payment to Baptist group
Funds are for an anti-hunger program to be conducted by a local organization preceding national convention
By Matthew Hay Brown, Baltimore Sun, June 13, 2006
A national watchdog group that guards against government involvement in religion has asked a federal judge to stop the city from giving $297,500 in public funds to an anti-hunger program to be conducted by local Baptists in advance of their national conference here next week.
But the United Baptist Missionary Convention of Maryland, the group planning to distribute bag lunches to more than 1,000 people at area shelters and missions Saturday, says that Americans United for Separation of Church and State has based its complaint on outdated information. Continue
Maryland: Americans United Urges Maryland Attorney General To Block State Funding For Religious Group
Don't Pass Collection Plate To Maryland Taxpayers, Says AU's Lynn
News Release, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, May 23, 2006
Americans United for Separation of Church and State has urged the Maryland attorney general’s office to deny state funding for a religious convention scheduled for this summer in Baltimore.
The Maryland General Assembly, at the behest of Gov. Robert Ehrlich, recently budgeted a $150,000 grant for the June 19-23 annual conference of the National Baptist Congress of Christian Education (NBCCE). The appropriation is on hold pending a review by the attorney general, which was requested by the state’s budget department. Continue
ACLU Suit Challenges U.S. Funding For Boy Scout Jamboree
By Candace Rondeaux, The Washington Post, April 6, 2006
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Defense Department to stop its funding of the National Boy Scout Jamboree, on the grounds that it violates the separation of church and state. The ACLU will argue the case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in Chicago on April 6th. Click here
Hail Mary
By Bill Donahue, Mother Jones Magazine, March/April 2007 Issue
Donahue eludes security and visits Ave Maria University which pizza magnate and and religious right benefactor Tom Monaghan is building -- along with a town -- in Florida. Click here.
New Fla. town could be governed by Catholic principles
By The Associated Press via First Amendment Center, March 2, 2006
"NAPLES, Fla. — If Domino's Pizza founder Thomas S. Monaghan has his way, a new town being built in Florida will be governed according to strict Roman Catholic principles, with no place to get an abortion, pornography or birth control.
"The pizza magnate is bankrolling the project with at least $250 million and calls it 'God's will.' Civil libertarians say the plan is unconstitutional and are threatening to sue." Continue...
Altared States
Regional realms of righteousness
By Bill Cope, Boise Weekly, March 15, 2006
Opinion columnist Cope writes a stinging send-up of religious separatist settlements such as Ave Maria that the founder of Domino's Pizza is building in Florida and the tiny Christian Exodus group in South Carolina. Click and enjoy.
Christian Right Leader Warns Foxman on Israel
By Jennifer Siegel, Forward, December 23, 2005
"According to one prominent Christian evangelical, support for Israel may go on the chopping block if Jewish leaders persist in publicly criticizing the religious right." Click here to go to the report.
House leaders offer some relief for 'persecuted' Christians
By Greg Bluestein, The Telegraph (Macon, Georgia), January 16, 2006
Georgia House Republicans have introduced legislation that will forbid local governments from banning "expressions" celebrating holidays. The report quotes a ranking House Republican saying "Whether we like it or not, this country was founded by Christian pilgrims. It seems like we're taking all of our beliefs out to be in favor of these people that have no religion." Click here to read the report.
Jimmy Carter, A President Whose God Was Not Greed
Lonna Gooden VanHorn, OpEdNews.com, January 23, 2006
Carter's book is a condemnation of the increasing mix of church and state, and the push by the religious right to make America a Theocracy, writes the reviewer. "He did not advocate 'going shopping' or frantically piling up mountains of money, either to ensure happiness or as the answer to all of our problems. He also believed truth was (and is) important to leadership. His latest book, Our Endangered Values is a gift to the nation, and a 'must read.'" Click here to read review.
Fundamentalist evangelical churches help Republicans
Kansas Attorney General writes orders for a reelection campaign operation "in each church"
Memo shows Republican Phill Kline's detailed plan for a church-based political machine
by JewsOnFirst.org, September 17, 2006
In a tough battle for reelection, Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline gave his campaign staff detailed instructions on how to use churches to raise funds, recruit campaign volunteers and collect voter contact information. He wrote the instructions in a memo obtained by news organizations and JewsOnFirst.org.
Kline writes that the "goal" of receptions, which his staff will organize to dovetail with church services, "is to walk away with contact information, money and volunteers and a committee in each church." He names three of the churches already involved in his campaign. Continue
IRS Should Investigate Texas Church That Gave Donations To GOP, Says Americans United
Church-State Watchdog Group Files IRS Complaint Against Calvary Temple Church In Kerrville
News release, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, July 19, 2006
A nondenominational church in Texas that has donated $1,500 to the local Republican Party should be investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Continue
Please also see "Ohio Clergy Challenge Political Activities of Columbus Christocrats," with our own reporting on two complaints a group of mainstream Christian and Jewish clergy filed with the IRS as well as original documents. Click here
See also: JewsOnFirst's section on Pastor Rod Parsley, Christocrat of Ohio, who heads the World Harvest Church.
"Faith" in publicly subsidized sports
Is the Nation’s Favorite Pastime Pitching Jesus?
It's a Close Call
Karin Tanabe, Moment Magazine, October/November 2007
It was a Sunday morning and Washington Nationals’ players Ryan Church and Matt Cepicky were cavorting around in their shorts in the team’s clubhouse. The team’s chaplain, Jon Moeller, walked into the room and interrupted their fun. “Chapel in 30 minutes” he announced.
During chapel service, Church, then 26, had a conversation with Moeller. The outfielder was concerned because his former girlfriend was Jewish prompting him to ask the chaplain, “Like, Jewish people, they don’t believe in Jesus. Does that mean they’re doomed?”
Moeller nodded affirmatively and Church later exclaimed: “My ex-girlfriend!... Man, if they only knew. Other religions don’t know any better. It’s up to us to spread the word.”
Continue.
Should God go to the ballgame?
Events such as 'faith day' at Dodger Stadium signal the Christianization of pro sports
Tom Krattenmaker, Op-Ed, Los Angeles Times, August 18, 2007
On Sunday, Christian baseball fans will stream into Dodger Stadium for what is becoming more common fare at professional ballparks across the country -- "faith day."
Following the Dodgers vs. Rockies game, fans with special tickets will gather in a corner of the parking lot for a concert by the Christian rock band Hawk Nelson, an appearance by characters from the "Veggie Tales" Christian television program and testimonials by several devout Dodgers. The purpose, according to event organizer Brent High, is to promote the Gospel of Jesus.
High and his Christian events-promotion company, Third Coast Sports, have been organizing faith days and faith nights around minor league baseball for years. They reached the major leagues last season with three events at Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves, and will be in 10 major league cities this season. The event at Dodger Stadium will be the first in L.A. Continue.
Asst. coaches also spiritual leaders on NFL’s top teams
By Art Stricklin, Baptist Press, February 2, 2007
MIAMI (BP)--Indianapolis Colts associate head coach Jim Caldwell has been interviewed, analyzed, praised, blasted, hired and fired during nearly 30 years as a coach on the NFL, college and high school level.
But when it comes to sharing his faith in Jesus Christ, Caldwell often finds that writers tune out what he has to say.
“They’ll be writing every word I have to say, then when I talk about the Lord, they shut up their notebooks or put down their pens,” Caldwell said.
That’s why Caldwell views Sunday’s Super Bowl XLI match-up between two God-honoring head coaches -- Tony Dungy of the Colts and Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears -– as so important for spreading their faith in Jesus Christ to an estimated viewing audience of 140 million fans around the world. Continue.
Praying for More Than a Win
Sports Teams Find Religion and 'Faith Nights' Boost Attendance at Games
By Mary Schmitt Boyer, The Washington Post, October 14, 2006
CLEVELAND -- For months, the Cleveland Indians haven't had a prayer of reaching the playoffs.
But that didn't stop the team from hosting its first Catholic Family Day with a 10:30 a.m. Mass in right field preceding a September afternoon game against the Minnesota Twins. If the prayers were for victory, they didn't work: The Indians fell to the Twins, 6-1.
The marriage of religion and athletics is nothing new, but with the increasing influence of Christian organizations and action groups, sports teams are realizing religion is big business. Continue.
Atlanta Braves Boot Focus on the Family From Faith Day
by The Associated Press, 365Gay.com, August 11, 2006
(Atlanta, Georgia) The Atlanta Braves will mix baseball with the gospel when they hold another "Faith Day" this weekend. But one of the country's most prominent Christian organizations has been tossed out of the game.
Focus on the Family, a group founded by James Dobson, was barred from participating in Sunday's post-game activities after sponsoring the first such event at Turner Field last month.
While the team wouldn't provide a reason for its decision, several gay rights groups on the Web bristled with speculation that Focus on the Family was given the boot for promoting its belief that homosexuality is a social problem comparable to alcoholism, gambling or depression.
The Braves were the first major league team to hold "Faith Day," teaming up with Tennessee-based promoter First Coast Sports to put on the event after a July 27 game against Florida. Continue
Faith Nights and Faith Days Are Here!
Time to Experience Baseball!
From the Focus on the Family website
Faith Days and Faith Nights are a series of events managed by Third Coast Sports and sponsored by Focus on the Family which merge a Christian concert with a professional sporting event. The concerts feature major Contemporary Christian recording artists, such as Mercy Me, BarlowGirl, and Jeremy Camp. The sporting events range from minor and major league baseball ... to Arena and NFL football. At each event, one of the players involved gives his personal testimony of how Christ has worked in his life.
Are Faith Nights effective? You decide! “A 10-year-old boy that wasn't involved in church was invited by one of his friends to come to Faith Night. While he was there he picked up a camouflaged Heart of the Outdoors Bible and took it home to his dad because he knew he liked to hunt and fish. When the boy gave the Bible to his dad, his dad started crying. He told the boy he hadn't read the Bible in 20 years. That dad recommitted his life to the Lord and started taking that boy to church services and activities.” And this is only one of many amazing stories. Continue
Focus on the Family Goes to the Ballpark
Evangelical Organization Partners with Third Coast Sports to Sponsor “Faith Events” at Major and Minor League Baseball Games Nationwide
News Releae, Focus on the Family, July 26, 2006
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — Focus on the Family, one of the largest evangelical organizations in the nation, has joined Third Coast Sports to sponsor “Faith Nights” and “Faith Days” at ballparks nationwide this summer. The first Focus on the Family-sponsored Faith Day will be at Turner Field on Thursday, July 27 when the Atlanta Braves play the Florida Marlins.
Third Coast Sports began Faith Nights in 2002 with the Nashville Sounds Baseball Club, the triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. By 2004 and 2005, ten of the top twenty attended games were Faith Nights and more than 775 church groups attended a Nashville Faith Night event in 2005 alone. This year, Third Coast Sports is planning more than 70 events in 44 cities coast to coast. Focus on the Family will sponsor six events. The events feature post-game concerts with top Christian recording artists and testimonies from professional baseball players.
During the sponsored events, Focus on the Family will distribute gift packages for parents, teens and clergy representing a variety of Focus on the Family’s family outreach ministries, including: the Focus on Your Child parenting program (www.focusonyourchild.com); Plugged In (www.pluggedinonline.com), which helps parents and youth leaders make appropriate media decisions for their children, and TroubledWith.com™, a site for individuals and families in crisis. Continue
At Thursday's Braves game, bring a glove - and a Bible?
By Patrik Jonsson, The Christian Science Monitor, July 27, 2006
ATLANTA – After the final at-bat of Thursday's game between the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins, the stadium seats will turn into pews.
That's because it's "Faith Day" at Atlanta's Turner Field. No, the hot-dog vendors won't preach John 3:16. But churchgoing fans - with, promoters hope, their non-Christian friends in tow - will assemble after the game to hear Braves star pitcher John Smoltz share how his life changed by believing in Christ. Continue
This topic continues. Please click here.
Gov. Bush encourages children to read religious book
Gov. Bush encourages Florida kids to read H.G. Wells book
In November 2005, when Americans United for Separation of Church and State protested to Gov. Jeb Bush over his contest encouraging children to read the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, much favored by the religious right for its Christian themes, Focus on Family slammed Americans United. Click here to read the report. (Focus on the Family's article follows that of Americans United.)
Top Stories of 2005: State-Sponsored 'Narnia' Contest Causing a Stir in Florida
Year in Review: Religious Freedom
By Jody Brown, Agape Press, December 29, 2005 (Originally published on November 10, 2005)
"(AgapePress) - A religious freedom group is offering pro bono legal representation to any Florida school that is threatened with a lawsuit for taking part in a state reading contest that features a book in C.S. Lewis's "Chronicles of Narnia" series." Go to the article.
Additional material on church-state separation
Church-state 'wall' coming back down?
By Joyce Howard Price, The Washington Times, January 28, 2007
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ..." the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution, which took effect Dec. 15, 1791
U.S. courts rule about two times each week on cases involving whether prayers can be included in a high school graduation ceremony, an image of Jesus Christ can be displayed in a public school or a Ten Commandments monument can remain in a government building or public park. Continue.
Debating religion's sway in nation's public square
By Marilyn H. Karfeld, Cleveland Jewish News, October 6, 2006
America was founded as a Christian country.”
So said Gary Lankford, president of FamilyVision, a Westerville, Ohio, nonprofit Christian group that helps local churches develop stronger family-based ministries.
Speaking at a recent panel discussion in Cleveland on “Church and State: The way religious voices are influencing public policy,” Lankford said that at the country's founding, Americans were relatively intolerant of faiths other than mainstream Christianity.
Other panelists at the forum were Rabbi Richard Block of The Temple-Tifereth Israel; Gary Daniels, litigation coordinator of the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio; and Bettysue Feuer, recently retired regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. Continue.
Pentecostals OK religion in politics
By Chrissie Thompson, The Washington Times, October 6, 2006
A majority of Pentecostals and charismatic Christians think religion should find a place in politics, according to a poll released yesterday.
In nine of the 10 countries surveyed, a majority of Pentecostals and charismatics, together called renewalists, said religious groups should not stay out of political matters, according to the poll by Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. In the United States, 79 percent of Pentecostals supported religious expression about social and political issues, compared with 61 percent of all Americans. Continue.
The "separation of church and state" fraud
by Gerald Plessner, GeraldPlessner.com, June 28, 2006
June 28, 2006 - Neo-conservatives who say that because the words "separation of church and state" do not appear in the Constitution, and therefore our laws do not require observance of the concept, are wrong. They do a great disservice to America and its noble history.
Religious and political leaders who advocate for the placement of religious symbols on government property or the insertion of religious ideas like intelligent design into public school curricula, just don't understand our country's Founders or their beliefs about the American democracy they created. Continue
THE ESTABLISHMENT CLAUSE
by David Honig, 2004
In 2004, Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Scalia wrote opinions indicating their readiness to allow states to establish state religions. Thomas called for revisiting the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and envisioned letting states confer authority on a particular religion. Honig, who practices law in Indianapolis (and is the artist behind Hypnocrites) wrote this article in 2004 for the Miami Herald. Since then, two right-wing justices have joined the Court. Please click here for the article, a PDF document.
Fired – For Love Without Marriage
CBS News, June 16, 2006
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho, (AP) The owners of a roller skating rink have fired an 18-year-old woman they called one of their "Top 10" employees because she moved in with her boyfriend, violating a company ethics policy that prohibits "live-in relationships of an intimate nature."
"I loved my job and I didn't want to leave," Crystal Plotner told the Coeur d'Alene Press this week.
She said she was fired after casually telling her bosses, Skate Plaza owners Marvin and Pat Miller, that she planned to move in with her boyfriend in mid-May.
Before terminating her, Plotner said the Millers said she and her boyfriend should "check out their church." She declined. Continue
Book Review: The Christianizing of America
Without a Doubt
Review of Catholic Matters, by Richard John Neuhaus, by Damon Linker, The New Republic, March 24, 2006
 "Neuhaus teaches traditionalist Christians that they need not choose between modern America and their theological convictions, because, rightly understood, modern America has a theological--and specifically Catholic--essence. He has pushed this position for nearly twenty years now--in books, in his magazine First Things, in sympathetic Washington think tanks, and even in the White House, where George W. Bush receives counsel on social policy from the man he affectionately calls 'Father Richard.' This is why Neuhaus's new book is so important: it gives us a detailed and up-to-date account of the kind of Catholicism that he is peddling, which he aims to inject into the heart of American public life," writes Damon Linker. He calls Neuhaus' prescription "a full-blown theology of radical obedience to Church authority." Click here for the review
Pruitt deserves our thanks for his courageous stand
By State Senator JD Alexander, Scrips Treasure Coast Newspaper (Marin County, Florida), February 28, 2006
A paean to the incoming Republican state Senate president who proposes a constitutional amendment to prevent schools from banning the Boy Scouts and the pledge of allegiance. Click here to read the report.
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