Letters to the Editor - Southern Style

Both LORs are from the Timesdaily in Florence, AL. The first promotes the election to governor of Roy "Ten Commandments" Moore. Idiot.

The second LOR is a response I was hoping for after I read the first LOR and the "Good People" of Alabama didn't let me down. Enjoy the smackdown:

Elect Roy Moore

To the editor:

"It is time that the American people awake to the true meaning of separation of church and state and our unique relationship to God as a nation," explains Roy Moore. "No longer can we afford to sit quietly by while the ACLU and others take away our right to publicly acknowledge God secured by the First Amendment to the United States-Constitution."

Those are the words of Judge Roy Moore, our infamous judge that stood up to the ACLU. It took courage to stand up to the ACLU the way he did, and it was more than honorable; it was heroic. He spoke for the majority in Alabama over the Ten Commandments in the courtroom. And now, this voice for the people is running for a higher office: governor.

We need to elect him and send a clear message to the ACLU: Stop trampling on our rights to freedom of religion.

Oscar **** *

Muscle Shoals

And here is the smack down:

Just plain silly

To the editor:

Is the American Civil Liberties Union running for governor? That was the impression I got from reading Oscar ***** letter here Oct. 19.

I agree with Mr. **** about one thing: Roy Moore is certainly "infamous." After that, I would disagree with every word. The key phrase Mr. Broome wrote was: "We need to elect Moore and send a clear message to the ACLU: Stop trampling on our rights to freedom of-religion."

This seems like an odd fixation to me. The ACLU is not responsible for ending the chronic shortfalls in Alabama's education budgets, does not exercise leadership in the state Legislature and does not manage a single head of a single state agency.

Candidates for governor must demonstrate an ability to do these things. I have yet to see Moore demonstrate any abilities beyond self-promotion through religious rhetoric.

This is in keeping with the strange history of the would-be governor.

Even now, long after Moore was elected chief justice, I am still waiting for someone to tell me what his qualifications were. What great decisions had he rendered? What extraordinary cases had he judged? Except for his campaign pledge to build an idol, what was he going to do for our state?

I've waited in vain -- so, I won't hold my breath waiting for Moore's campaign platform to emerge. Indeed, I suspect it will go like this: "Ten Commandments … ACLU bad … Ten Commandments … ACLU bad …" It will only require repetition, not "courage." Nor will it be "heroic;" more likely, it'll just be plain silly.

Matt *****

Florence