One Cook Too Many

Joe Cook of the ACLU

Joe Cook and the ACLU of Louisiana are at it again. The mayor of Mandeville, Lousiana started holding Bible study sessions at city hall during lunchtime. Joe Cook, executive director of the Louisiana chapter says, not everyone would feel welcome at a gathering of this type and that's a problem.

So if a group of people, on their lunch hour, get together on a topic that someone does not feel "welcome" to participate in, they should not be allowed to assemble? Regardless of whether it's public or private property, this is being done on their own time and of their own free will. The buildings are paid for by people of faith as well as atheists.

Joe Cook has a history of animosity toward Christianity. Back in August of last year, he compared school prayer supporters to the September 11th terroristes. “They have always crossed the line of separation of church and government… They believe they answer to a higher power, in my opinion… which is the kind of thinking you had with the people who flew airplanes in the buildings in this country and people who did that kind of thing in London.” He continued to flaunt his hatred by saying that it’s dangerous to have people who believe they, “answer to some higher religious power than the Constitution of the United States of America.”

After the proverbial you know what hit the fan, here was Joe's "apology": “I want to express my sincere regrets for my use of hyperbole and the analogy that I made regarding Tangipahoa Parish public school officials. I see how my unfortunate choice of rhetoric could be interpreted as disdain for religious beliefs, but that is absolutely not my position, nor the position of the national ACLU or any of its affiliates.”

Note, he does not step back from the premise that people of faith are dangerous, only that he may have exaggerated how dangerous. He made an unfortunate choice of words, that's all. But, there is no wiggle room in his statements. Disdain for religious beliefs would be putting it mildly. It reflects the thinking of the ACLU, that this bigot has remained as one of its state officers when it is so clear what hatred his heart holds.

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