Photo by Chris McConnell

Judge Larry Burns of the United States District Court of Southern California has rescued the Mt. Soledad cross (for the time being) from the clutches of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. This represents the most substantial courtroom defeat in twenty years for those seeking to have the cross removed. Most residents of San Diego want the cross to remain -- though I suspect even more are simply exhausted by the "long and torturous legal history" leading up to this latest decision. On the other hand, the Mt. Soledad controversy has served as a fascinating backyard lesson in civics and Constitutional law.

I've got two dogs in this fight. I've never known Mt. Soledad without the cross, it pleases the eye and the heart says it belongs. But I also happen to think the First Amendment and the Establishment Clause are the primary reasons the United States is the Land of the Free -- a 43-foot cross on public land troubles the conscience and the mind. And so if ever a judge could muster up the wisdom of Solomon, one would hope it would be Judge Burns. The entire ruling is a fairly entertaining read -- but here are a few choice extracts from Judge Burns' opinion.

"What we see depends on what we look for."

I want to start this post with a story. Once upon a time, there was a young blogger who was originally from Kansas. He grew up with tornados, floods, droughts, snowstorms, and the like. But then, out of love, he moved to San Diego. He survived his first earthquake thinking it weird but fun. He saw mudslides, and thought that was REALLY odd. But, he didn't know true terror until his first firestorm. A firestorm that almost made him pack up everything and leave San Diego forever. That blogger was yours truly...

Just the other day, Google honored KPBS with a special video about their use of Google Maps during the San Diego fires. I wanted to share this video with you, if I may.