Supreme Court Permits Prayer at Greece, N.Y., Board Meetings: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the practice of public prayer before local-government meetings, rejecting arguments that overwhelmingly Christian invocations violate the constitutional bar on the establishment of an official religion.
The decision had an immediate effect. A federal judge in Baltimore, citing the Greece decision, on Monday lifted a preliminary injunction issued in March that restricted invocations at Carroll County, Md., commission meetings. The injunction had barred invoking “the name of a specific deity associated with any one specific faith or belief in prayers given at board meetings” while a legal challenge to Carroll County public prayers went forward.
Meanwhile, Greece town officials said they would continue to hold prayers at the beginning of meetings. “Today we have received the affirmation from the United States Supreme Court that this practice can and will continue,” said Bill Reilich, Greece’s town supervisor. – wsj.com, May 5, 2014
In the pamphlet, he points out that Jesus “abhors…an unwilling spouse, and to enter a forced bed: the will in worship, if true is like a free vote.” Thus, imposing Christianity on American Indians (or anyone else) is to Williams a rape of the soul. – Sarah Vowell, from The Wordy Shipmates
Note: Vowell is quoting Puritan minister Roger Williams, who founded the Rhode Island colony after being tossed out of Massachusetts for his nonconformist religious beliefs. The roots of American separation of church and state can be traced to Williams’ 1644 book The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience.
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Articles on display at the DB Cooper exhibit at WA State History Museum:
Notebook & Teletype Rolls, Spare Chute 1 & 2, c. 2014
Kodak Portra 400, handheld in available light
The phrase “You are being hijacked” was on a note Cooper handed to a flight attendant.
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Edit (argh): WSJ’s paywall is up on that article now, but you can read about the case at The Chicago Tribune.
Luddy's Lens 