I'm with the Winston-Salem Journal on the issue of whether or not the county should appeal the ruling against it's prayer policy. I'm philosophically against the county's stance anyway, but this part of the story seals it for me:
In making his ruling Thursday, Judge James A. Beaty Jr. of U.S. District Court said that the plaintiffs may now pursue attorney's fees. Their expenses have come to about $100,000 but would likely double if the county takes the case to the next level, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, their ACLU lawyer, Katherine Parker, told the Journal's Wesley Young. The tab would rise if the case were to go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The local partnership backing the county has raised about $55,000 to pay the plaintiff's legal costs in the event of a loss.
If you go back and look at the stories about this case a couple of years ago you'll find lots of chest thumping from the folks who wanted to fight it and you'll also find assurances that taxpayer money wouldn't be at risk. Well, if the folks that wanted to fight the case were only able to raise $55,000 when the case was "hot" and before the full brunt of the recession had hit what sensible person would think they can raise another $45,000 now that the case has been lost AND another $100,000 when the county loses on appeal?
So when county commissioner Debra Conrad says "Appeal, appeal, appeal" my reply is: "Fine, but do it with your own money please."
