Another Great Night!

The lights have been turned off, the mic's put back in their cases, and the studio is now quite. But just a couple of hours ago it was filled with everyday citizens sharing their personal stories about their battle to safeguard separation of church and state.

I sat back stage with Lindy Maddox, an absolutely charming woman from Alabama, there to tell her story about standing up to Judge Roy Moore who -- under cover of night -- brought a Ten Commandments monument into a judicial building

All the windows had been shot out of her house. Her parents, who were battling cancer, were harassed, most of her legal clients took their business elsewhere -- but when I asked her if she planned to leave the area she said "no. If I leave there will be no one to fight for what's right." What an amazing woman, and an amazing amount of courage she has.

Dr. Susan Wicklund, who for years was the only doctor providing abortion services in a THREE STATE AREA, talked about the "Lambs of Christ" who would follow her daughter into her public school and hand out fliers saying "Sonia's mother is a baby killer." They would place concrete barrels in front of her driveway, to prevent her from entering or leaving her property. She would have to literally climb into the trunk of a car to exit an airport, because if these zealots saw her, they would block the car and actually chain themselves to the axle to prevent her from getting to a clinic.

Dr. Wicklund is one of the most caring physicians I have ever met. She is the kind of doctor who treats the "whole" patient. If she senses that a woman is being pressured into having an abortion (by a partner or family member), she encourages the woman to take the time necessary to make her own decision about whether or not to have an abortion.

Dr. Wicklund understands that treating the whole woman means understanding that she might need to have an abortion for her economic well being, her chance to finish school (or get an education at all), and her mental well being if she is simply not ready to be a mother.

I've known this wonderful woman for 16 years, and have tremendous admiration for her and the work she does. The photo above of Susan at a NOW press conference in 1996, was taken by me. If you haven't done so already, pick up a copy of her book "This Common Secret."

And just so you know, there were some men in the show! Matthew LaClair challenged his high school teacher history teacher who taught his students there were dinosaurs on Noah's Ark! Or as Barry Lynn would say "the kind of guy who thinks The Flintstones is a documentary." He has such poise for someone so young. Just amazing.

And David and Ryan Antoon, father and son, who shared a dream that Ryan would follow in his father's footsteps and attend the Air Force Academy. They are a father and son who clearly love each other dearly, and love their country. When David attending the Academy the focus was on "leadership." Developing young men into leaders. When Ryan arrived the focus has shifted to developing "warriors." And the diversity of religions had shifted to a focus that was almost exclusively evangelical. Ryan, with the full support of his father, decided against attending the Academy.

They are speaking out about this to anyone who will listen because they are deeply concerned about an entity within our government, charged with protecting and defending our citizens AND our Constitutional guarantees actually doing just the opposite! I'm pretty tired, so this might not be coming out exactly as it should, but the assault on our courts and our military should be frightening to everyone.

If you are reading this I hope you live near one of the 37 cities that will show the program on Wednesday night. You can check the First Freedom First web site for a theater near you.