Courtesy of Rollins Riggs for the NYTimes

From the Memphis Times via the NYTimes:

On Independence Day, Lady Liberty was born again

As the congregation of the World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church looked on and its pastor, Apostle Alton R. Williams, presided, a brown shroud much like a burqa was pulled away to reveal a giant statue of the Lady, but with the Ten Commandments under one arm and "Jehovah" inscribed on her crown.

And in place of a torch, she held aloft a large gold cross, as if to ward off the pawnshops, the car dealerships and the discount furniture outlets at the busy corner of KirbyParkway and Winchester that is her home. A single tear graced her cheek.

It was not clear if she was crying because of her new home, her new identity as a symbol of religion or, as the pastor said, America's increasing godlessness.

You were maybe expecting Martin Luther King Jr? Or the modern equivalent? Read more…

**(See Chicago Dyke's post here.)

Another stunning example emerges, of the Christian Right's version of "free to be me," which invariably involves making claims that the privileging of Christianity in various ways at various levels of governement is a constitionally protected claim to religious liberty.

A large Delaware school district promoted Christianity so aggressively that a Jewish family felt it necessary to move to Wilmington, two hours away, because they feared retaliation for filing a lawsuit. The religion (if any) of a second family in the lawsuit is not known, because they're suing as Jane and John Doe; they also fear retaliation. Both families are asking relief from "state-sponsored religion."

What might those two families mean by that phrase, "state-sponsored religion?" Read more…