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Judge hears arguments to block Ten Commandments from being displayed in every Louisiana public school

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Judge hears arguments to block Ten Commandments from being displayed in every Louisiana public school


A federal judge heard arguments at a hearing Monday on whether he should temporarily block a new Louisiana law that requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom by Jan. 1.

Louisiana, a reliably Republican state in the Bible Belt, is the only state with such a requirement. Proponents argue that the measure is not solely religious, but has historical significance to the foundation of U.S. law. But an expert witness brought in by the plaintiffs, argued against the legislation.

Steven Green, a legal historian and professor of law, history and religious studies at Willamette University in Oregon, testified that “there is next to no evidence” that the Ten Commandments were considered by the country’s founders while drafting the foundation of the U.S. government and legal system.

He added that the Ten Commandments were “indirectly influential at best” to the nation’s founders. Green said he based his conclusion on numerous historical documents and writings, including correspondence between Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who were influential in drafting the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.

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Attorneys for the defendants asked the judge to strike Green’s testimony. Speaking with reporters after the hearing, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Green’s testimony was “not proper for expert testimony” and “subjective” as he “was not alive at the time that these things happened.”

U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles did not immediately issue a ruling Monday, but said he will try to reach a decision by Nov. 15. That date is of importance as an agreement was reached by the court and state in July, in which five schools specifically listed in the lawsuit will not post the commandments in classrooms before that date. The deadline to comply, Jan. 1, 2025, remains in place for schools statewide.

As the plaintiffs and defendants await a ruling on a possible preliminary injunction, a pending lawsuit challenging the new law remains.

In June, parents of Louisiana public school children, with various religious backgrounds, filed the lawsuit arguing that the legislation violates First Amendment language forbidding government establishment of religion and guaranteeing religious liberty. The ACLU, which was among the groups filing the lawsuit, said its complaint represented “parents who are rabbis, pastors, and reverends.”

Opponents say the law is an unconstitutional violation of separation of church and state and that the display of the Ten Commandments will isolate students, especially those who are not Christian.

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In April, State Senator Royce Duplessis told CBS affiliate WWL-TV that he opposed the legislation. 

“That’s why we have a separation of church and state,” said Duplessis, who is a Democrat. “We learned the 10 Commandments when we went to Sunday school. As I said on the Senate floor, if you want your kids to learn the Ten Commandments, you can take them to church.”

Proponents say the law is premature, as schools have not begun to hang up such posters. Attorneys for the defendants are requesting that the suit be dismissed.

State House Representative Dodie Horton is the author of the bill. In April, she defended it before the House, saying the Ten Commandments are the basis of all laws in Louisiana, WWL-TV reported.

“I hope and I pray that Louisiana is the first state to allow moral code to be placed back in the classrooms,” Horton said. “Since I was in kindergarten [at a private school], it was always on the wall. I learned there was a God, and I knew to honor him and his laws.”

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Across the country, there have been conservative pushes to incorporate religion into classrooms, from Florida legislation allowing school districts to have volunteer chaplains to counsel students to Oklahoma’s top education official ordering public schools to incorporate the Bible into lessons.

The new law in Louisiana has been touted by conservatives, including former President Donald Trump.

In June, the GOP presidential candidate posted on his social media network: “I LOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, AND MANY OTHER PLACES, FOR THAT MATTER. READ IT – HOW CAN WE, AS A NATION, GO WRONG???”

Louisiana’s legislation applies to all public school K-12 and state-funded university classrooms. It requires the Ten Commandments to be displayed on a poster or framed document at least 11 inches by 14 inches where the text is the central focus and “printed in a large, easily readable font.” Each poster must also be paired with the four-paragraph context statement.

Tens of thousands of posters will likely be needed to satisfy the new law since e Louisiana has more than 1,300 public schools. Louisiana State University has nearly 1,000 classrooms at the Baton Rouge campus alone.

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The mandate does not require school systems to spend public money on the posters, with Republicans saying the displays will be paid for by donations or the posters themselves will be donated by groups or organizations. Questions still remain about how the requirement will be enforced if a teacher refuses to hang up the Ten Commandments and what happens if there are not enough donations to fund the mandate.



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Normal is unremarkable in and of itself: 2024 Inspirit winners are 'doing something bigger'

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Normal is unremarkable in and of itself: 2024 Inspirit winners are 'doing something bigger'


From where I stand, “finding others as weird as oneself” and working on “something that’s bigger than oneself” are two of the primary elements of happiness.

The Inspirit Award winners seem to have found ways to thrive in the work they do that is bigger than themselves.



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Merry Christmas: good luck with right gift

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Merry Christmas: good luck with right gift


Ho, Ho, Ho oh no, it’s time to get that last-minute gift for your favorite hunter and fisher.

It’s a challenge, if only because most of these folks are particular about the things they use to pursue game and fish — “persnickety” was the way old folks described this trait decades ago.

What it means is unless you know — and really know — your outdoors recipient then don’t presume the guy or gal at the local or big-box store will know anything more about them than you do.

What it means is don’t buy fishing line, or lures, or shotgun shells, or bullets, or rods, or reels, or firearms cases, or those silly T-shirts with a stunned-looking bass and “Fish Fear Me” written underneath.

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That T-shirt thing only makes your favorite angler the target for his sharp-tongued fishing buddies, who will tell him the thing he feared most was being afraid to tell his gift-giver that the T-shirt was going to be a target for barbed comments. Oh, he’d wear it for you, but not around his buddies.

So, what’s left?

Size matters, and it’s important when trying to make a gift of the just-right hunting jacket, warm boots, cooling fishing shirts and shorts, warm gloves and hats.

And don’t buy that tackle box because it “looks big,” unless you were with your fishing-frenzied, Christmas-present target and he or she admired it with piscatorial lust in their eye.

That leaves us with gift cards. Sure you can go shopping and make a reasonably good guess about hunting things and fishing things, and here’s where you find prices and buy a gift card for that amount.

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It’ll send them to a store where they can get the just-right fit, the just-right style, the just-right camo pattern, the perfect handle, weight and length for a fishing rod, and things like the fishing line, lures and boxes they want.

What’s best is you’ll send them to a Christmas-night rest with all kinds of sugared thoughts that will turn into dreams of that hopefully marked-down shopping spree.

Merry Christmas!

Under the tree

An important bill awaits President Biden’s signature to take hold for our country’s anglers, and another is moving forward after passing a committee vote.

ACE — America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act — passed a U.S. Senate vote last week and sits on the president’s desk.

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This act continues the National Fish Habitat Partnership, a voluntary, non-regulatory, and locally driven program that has funded more than 1,300 on-the-ground aquatic habitat improvement projects throughout the country.

“The $230 billion sportfishing industry and America’s 57.7 million recreational anglers applaud Congress’ efforts to advance fish habitat restoration and conservation,” American Sportfishing Association spokesman Mike Leonard said.

Included in its many pages is reauthorization of the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and a provision that traditional tackle will not be banned by the Environmental Protection Agency for five years.

The second bill, EXPLORE — Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences — had the backing of more than a dozen hunting and recreational organizations. This new bill is designed to expand recreation opportunities, improving infrastructure and removing barriers to allow more access to federal lands for hiking, camping, fishing and hunting.

Striped bass

Yes, Louisiana waters, mostly from the Mississippi River east into the Pontchartrain Basin and to the Pearl River, has an annual fall-winter run of sea-run striped bass.

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Now, Wildlife and Fisheries wants fishermen taking to those waters to help collect striped bass samples.

More than 20 years ago, a mid-fall trip to the Mississippi River produced three striped bass among the largemouth, spotted and white bass and redfish caught near Fort Jackson.

This project is one of four main items currently listed on the agency’s website.

To get details, description of this species and instructions, go to the LDWF website: wlf.louisiana.gov

Expertise needed

The Committee on National Statistics has a call-out for nominations for “experts” to review the standards and evaluate the survey and data standards of the Marine Recreational Information Program, the long-debated federal fisheries data collections and reporting plan.

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The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine has formed the committee and has a Dec. 31 deadline for nominations. Google this organization for details.



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Louisiana Tech transfer DT David Blay commits to Miami

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Louisiana Tech transfer DT David Blay commits to Miami


Miami received a commitment from its first defensive lineman of the winter transfer portal window. Louisiana Tech transfer David Blay pledged to Miami Saturday afternoon.

He chose Miami over Illinois, Oklahoma, Penn State, and USC.

In three seasons, the 6’4″, 300-plus pounder recorded 101 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, and 11.5 sacks. He played 443 snaps in 2024.

According to Pro Football Focus, Blay has a 76.9 run defense grade, an 80.2 tackling grade, and a 64.7 pass rush grade.

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Blay is a Philadelphia (PA) native and played for D-2 school West Chester University before transferring to Louisiana Tech.

According to Rivals.com Blay was an unrated player coming out of Truman High School in Levittown, PA.

Blay will join an interior defensive line group in Miami that includes Ahmad Moten and Justin Scott.



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