Cross lawsuit divisive, petty
"Does desert cross cross the line?" (HCN, 5/13/02: Does desert cross cross the line?). Well, maybe, but Frank Buono and the American Civil Liberties Union should apply their energies to lawsuits of a more important nature. In an age where our public lands are being assaulted by forces much more menacing than a six-foot stationary cross, such petty lawsuits, like this one, only widen the rift between the conservation movement and its enemies. It's not as though the cross sits within a ring of ancient creosote shrubs, causing a detrimental effect to their biology. Religious icons exist in many of our public lands and even adorn every dime of our currency.
Word of this frivolous lawsuit has not only spread through San Bernardino County, but probably through the ranks of the 2.7 million member VFW, recruiting a few more converts to the crusade against an already contentious Mojave National Preserve. As a result, Rep. Jerry Lewis has been forced to waste $10,000 on a plaque designating the cross as a "war memorial." It seems that that money could have been better spent on a plaque commemorating (creosote bush) King Clone on his 11,701st birthday (HCN, 4/15/02: The oldest living thing is a quiet survivor).
Myles B. Traphagen
Davis, California
