The time has come to wade into the ridiculous fray in Alabama and the Ten Commandments monument in the state courthouse. Chief Justice Roy Moore has refused to move the 5,300-pound granite slab from the rotunda of the building, claiming to remove it would "disestablish the system of justice of this state." Aside from the fact that that might not be a bad idea, there's also the matter of the campaign promise Moore made to "restore the moral foundation of law" in Alabama. Note that on the monument it reads, "LAWS OF NATURE, AND OF NATURE'S GOD." If there's one thing I remember from law school, it's that the whole "natural law" business, let alone establishment of religion by a secular government, is something the Framers were not too keen on. It's appalling and all that, given that we're talking about the most powerful jurist in the state and let's just imagine for a moment how successful he'd be if he wanted to put up a sukkah or a mandala or a Koranic inscription...however, the case has been appealed to Justice Kennedy at the Supreme Court, the man who just turned out the Lawrence v. Texas decision, so i think this will all blow over. Joe Loconte had an interesting commentary on this whole kerfluffle yesterday on All Things Considered, pointing out that evangelical protestants (like Moore, et al.) are supposed to be more interested in living their faith than on enshrining symbols of it. Touche.