NorCo's Ten Commandments Saga Continues

The mystery concerning a Ten Commandments plaque in Northampton County Council's chambers continues. This time, Council member Mat Benol is unable to get to it.

He first placed the Decalogue on a wall behind his seat on July 1, but noticed it was missing a month later.

This was the second time that has happened. When he was on Council, Ron Angle had hammered a plaque onto the wall behind his seat, but it vanished soon after he left office. Despite a $500 reward offered by Angle, it was never recovered.

Then Executive John Stoffa suggested that Moses must have it..

After Mat Benol's $100 plaque disappeared, he purchased another. He put it up before every meeting and when they ended, he locked it away in his own private courthouse cabinet.

But the wall was bare at the October 1 meeting. Someone smashed the lock Benol had placed on his personal Ark of the Covenant, making it impossible for him to retrieve any of the Commandments, to say nothing of all ten. The county's maintenance staff will break into this cabinet, but it's unknown whether the Decalogue is still there or has vanished again.

Though no one has been identified as a suspect, the Pope had a strange look on his face when he left Philly on Sunday.

Seth Vaughn was reportedly considering introducing an 11th Commandment banning selfies on county property, but pulled his ordinance when he learned of the latest mystery.

No word on whether DA John Morganelli has been asked to investigate. But I think it's time to haul the Pope in front of the Grand Jury.

Ten Commandments Plaque Missing From NorCo Chambers Again

Mat Benol and the Decalogue

It's happened again. A Ten Commandments plaque has mysteriously disappeared from Northampton County Council's chambers. Council member Mat Benol, who placed it on a wall behind his seat on July 1, noticed it was missing last night. He reported the loss to his fellow Council members at the conclusion of business.

This is the second time that a Ten Commandments plaque has vanished from NorCo Council chambers.

When he was on Council, Ron Angle had hammered a plaque onto the wall behind his seat in 2002. That way he could check them off as he broke them.

When he left office at the end of 2011, the plaque stayed, with most of the Commandments checked off several times. This was Ron's parting gift. But not for long. Council Clerk Frank Flisser noticed it was missing just before Easter. Despite a $500 reward offered by Angle, it was never recovered.

Then Executive John Stoffa suggested that Moses must have them.

Angle's plaque lasted ten years. Benol's was gone in a month.

After the meeting, Benol indicated he will simply get another. He denied any interest in reporting a theft. "I won't waste the Sheriff's time," he meekly explained.

Maybe he should get the Beatitudes.

Director of Administration Luis Campos will investigate whether any security cameras reveal the culprit.

Ken Kraft denied he had anything to do with it. "Hey, I've been gone the past two weeks," he explained, as his nose grew an inch.

I confronted Glenn Geissinger about them because he is, after all, a Mormon. I heard all about them when Obama was running for president.

"Neither I nor my 50 wives had a thing to do with it," he answered.

Executive John Brown denied responsibility, too. "I've been too busy interactively conceptualizing cost-effective catalysts for change," he explained.

Who could it be?

Well, there's one bastard who refuses to participate in the prayers before meetings, and often makes faces at Council members during these quaint rituals in which everyone pretends he's holy. .

Me.

Objectively speaking, I'd have to say I'm suspect #1.

The only thing I've got going for me is ... come to think of it, nothing. But every time I touch a religious object, I get electrocuted.

So this is a mystery.

Who dunnit?

What Will Happen to the Ten Commandments?

With Ron Angle on his way out the door as a member of Northampton County Council, he last night questioned what will happen to a plaque of the Ten Commandments he hammered onto the wall of their star chamber in 2002, when he under fire for making insensitive remarks about Jews and blacks on his radio show. Some questioned his sincerity and claimed it was just a diversion. But it's been there ever since.

He's leaving, but the plaque is staying. Angle publicly wondered whether it will soon be removed. Nobody had an answer.

Bethlehem's Newest Magistrate: Buddy Christ!

Yesterday, I got a love note from Scott J. Hough, P.S.C. You probably recognize Ph. D., D.V.M. or even Q.C. But there's only a special few among us who know what P.S.C. means.

Give up?

I'll give you a hint. The love note, which was really a postcard, told me this: "NOTICE. A warrant for your arrest has been issued. Failure to respond to this notice will result in your arrest at home or at work." P.S.C. stands for Pennsylvania State Constable. Once again, I had neglected a Bethlehem parking ticket and was facing the big house. I donned my rubber underwear and headed immediately for District Judge Stocklas' office on Broad Street.

So why the hell am I confessing my criminal behavior? Because of what I saw when I arrived at Stocklas' office. Inside his office, there's a courtroom. You enter this courtroom through a glass door. And emblazoned on this door, for the entire world to see, are these words. "Jesus is Lord of Bethlehem."

Seriously, what is up with that? Ladies behind the counter told me the courtroom door "came that way." One of them said, "It's funny. Just last week, someone was asking why that was there." I wonder if this someone was a Jewish, Muslim or Buddhist litigant. I don't think they'd feel very confident in the court's impartiality.

A little more than a year has passed since our Supreme Court ordered a Kentucky court to remove a courthouse display of the Ten Commandments. Its purpose was to advance a religious, as opposed to secular, message. In some cases, a similar display can be considered secular or might have historical signifigance. But "[w]hen the government acts with the ostensible and predominant purpose of advancing religion, it violates the central Establishment clause value of official religious neutrality."

No secular purpose is advanced by "Jesus is Lord of Bethlehem." It clearly promotes Christianity over other religions. Northampton County President Judge Freedberg should order its immediate removal. It's great in a church, but has no place in a courtroom unless Jimmy Stocklas thinks he's Buddy Christ.

Update From Court Administrators: I emailed Northampton County Court Administrators twice at their email contact address. Both emails were returned by that devil, the Mailer Daemon. This is what the Devil tells me. "500 POSSIBLE UNSOLICITED MAIL DETECTED / APPEARS TO BE SPAM." Why do governments even bother to set up email contact addresses if they reject everything you send them? That's one reason I have this blog.

I called and spoke directly to court administrator Jim Onembo. He explains the sign as a leftover from a prior tenant, and assures me it will be blocked until it can be removed. I appreciate his quick response to an obvious violation of the Establishment clause.