A couple of weeks ago I learned that a Christian school had requested funding documents seeking to get its slice of government entitlement funds.  The church was one we started over a decade ago and has a small school where students sit around in vestibules and earn a diploma which is suspect.  The church school assumed it was due government funding since it was part of their fair share of government revenues.  More than just seeking school vouchers, this school was seeking direct government funding.  When they found out how complicated the forms were they backed out.  Our own local public school, which is strapped for space and funding was glad some of their resources were not being drained off.  Just about every leading political candidate in our state elections is backing school choice.  Which is a euphemism for using tax dollars to support private Christian academies.
     A little more than a year ago I met a Justice of the Peace from Trinity County who was called because of a death in the family.  Finding out that I was a minister, the J.P. proceeded to brag to me about the punishments he handed out to juveniles.  He boasted to me that he often sentenced wayward youth to attend church for several months as part of their probation.  I knew that some folks saw attending church as a sort of punishment, but had never met someone who leveled such a verdict.  I questioned him about this saying I understood this was not legal.  He assured me he had checked with the District Attorney about this who provided his Constitutional blessing.  We sure miss this town's past resident, Charlie Wilson, who was a Congressman played by Tom Hanks in the famous movie about Charlie's secret war.
     I spoke with some First Amendment people about these things.  They told me that in our region several elected judges did not understand the law and would probably affirm the idea of forcing youth to attend church and allowing churches to solicit tax money to run religious programs.  I decided I would not get very far with raising this issue.  The best I could expect would to be accused of keeping hungry children from getting a meal.  
     Gregg Abbott is running for governor of Texas under the banner of defending the Ten Commandments in the public square.  He was attorney general in the state arguing the case for Governor Perry to allow the 40 year old monument to stay on the grounds at the capitol.  Few even knew the monument was there until a homeless man, who happened to be a lawyer, stumbled upon it and filed a law suit.  The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision agreeing with Abbott that the plaque could stay on the Austin grounds.  The same court also ruled on a Kentucky school issue and banned the Commandments from display at the schools there.  The rationale for leaving the one up in Austin and banishing the ones in Kentucky is best left  for late night comedians to come up with an answer for.
     Abbott was injured while running and crippled for life.  He lives in a wheel chair.  Abbott sued because a limb fell from an oak tree leaving him in this condition.  He was awarded a ten million dollar settlement.  A few years later Abbott would be part of a group which limited settlement for others who had similar injuries.  The limits now are $750,000 plus damages added.  One Time Religious Right Congressman Tom DeLay was also guilty of suing for damages when his father died in a strange accident sliding down on a cart to a lake.  Tom sued the ball bearing company for damages.  DeLay, like Abbott, slammed the door shut on others seeking to gain settlements after their own attempts at such.
     Abbott is running on his record as the lawyer who kept the Ten Commandments standing at the capitol.  His opponent is a divorced single woman who has advocated late term abortions, legalizing pot and banning civic arenas from hosting gun shows.  Guess who is ahead in the polls? It doesn't look very favorable for local  or state First Amendment issues.