Mordant: I hope so, if they stop persecuting the Christians exclusively then I'll stop donating so fast it will make their heads spin.

I'm sure your donation makes a big impact on their budget.

Puppeteer_23: Nevermind the fact that this is the WSJ, and i'd like to see the real facts in the case.

I know. Google is very difficult. It's okay.

A quick search for "Bridgeport High School ACLU" revealed:

A press release from the WV chapter of the ACLU

Another one

An article quoting the Jewish man

Go team!

The Christian Coalition's take on it (halfway down)

Stop the ACLU's take on it

The other suing organization (Americans United)

A blog entry with updates on the case

A settlement offer by the two organizations to the school

BigTuna: About as much impact as your posts make here.

I would not expect Drew to cave to my demands if I should threaten to withdraw my $5 a month, either.

HulkHands: Although one could argue that Buddha statues push philosophy and not religion.

I'm pretty sure that both the Buddha statue and the Jesus picture are inanimate objects which are not pushing anything.

filth: I swear, dimbulbs who want to mix religion and public education don't get the point of either one.

Dimbulbs who want to mix religion and political affiliation also don't get the point of either one.

Puppeteer_23: Thank Eris the founders were smarter than most of the current folks.

The founders were just more afraid of being beheaded.

Cause, you know, that happened back then if you were the wrong religion.

Today you, um, might get somebody knocking on your door once or twice a month. Or like, teased. Or maybe, like, your kids can see a picture of Jesus and instantly begin worshipping him.

Awful, what people do these days.

filth: There's a reason that the First Amendment came first

Yep. It's cause some bloke (George Mason) decided it was a great idea in Virginia, and the Congress that wrote the Bill of Rights just kind of copied his stuff.

Puppeteer_23: Bottom line is, sounds like if you believe in the constitutional separation of church and state, you'll most likely approve of the lawsuit, if you don't, you won't.

Not entirely.

It's not quite so black and white. There are also people (elchip and myself) who believe in said separation, but don't believe that this is an instance of it. I'm perfectly fine with the Buddha statue and elements in the classroom, as well as the Jesus photo outside the principal's office.

There's not enough information about the portrait or the office. Did the office open into a hallway or other public access area, or, like my high school, was it a room within a self-contained administration area? Did the portrait belong to the current principal or a past principal? If so, did he choose the location in which to hang the portrait? Was it donated to the school by some wealthy benefactor and displayed with his name on it with thanks for the donation? Did any students (not parents - they don't attend the school) feel that their religious beliefs had been influenced in any way by the portrait?

Puppeteer_23: Defending separation of church and state isn't a popularity contest.

I wouldn't say that the ACLU has defended separation so much as produced it.

The reason the whole thing is in the Constitution is to protect the minority.

It's actually to protect the people who, like I said, were beheaded in Europe for refusing to follow the same religious beliefs as the government, whether they were a minority or not. See this one, for a good example. (While that was a long time ago, it was actually about the same time before the first Congress as the first Congress was before today.)