Get Rid of the Holiday Displays

UPDATE: Washington state's Department of General Administration has declared a moratorium on any new requests to place holiday displays in the state capitol building. Link:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008507757_displays13m.html
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The recent controversy regarding the atheist placard that's part of a holiday display in the Washington state capitol building demonstrates yet again why religious and religion-related displays have no place on public property.

A few links.

The Seattle Times report back in late October 2008, announcing the approval of permits for both the Nativity scene and the placard from the Freedom from Religion Foundation to be on display in the capitol building during the holiday season:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008316556_webholidayscenes27...

The media release from the Freedom from Religion Foundation:

http://www.ffrf.org/news/2008/olympia.php

Washington State's General Administration Department's online statement about the controversy:

http://www.ga.wa.gov/News/HolidayDisplays.htm

Bill OReilly and Laura Ingraham carrying on about, demagoging, and misstating the facts and law vis-a-vis the inclusion of the atheist placard in the Washington holiday display:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3dw56j-gEc

Fox News's Megyn Kelly attempts to give Bill OReilly a primer on the law relevant to the holiday display in Washington's capitol building, but Mr. OReilly just wants to yell and bang on the table:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0ZoUY1HTAA

County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union (one of the leading cases on holiday displays on public property, and the one from which I quote in the video):

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0492_0573_ZO.html

The crazy yapping dog that pops up in the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvD8WcrdK5o

Coverage of the controversy about the holiday display in Washington from the folks at CBN "News":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB7rKH2F808

And video of yet another dippy discussion about this on Fox News. This one features professional gasbag Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, who characterizes Freedom from Religion Foundation's placard as "hate speech":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcgifbqVXCM

A link to Bill O'Reilly's "Great American HOLIDAY Quiz." For all of Mr. O'Reilly's blustering about the "war on Christmas," how odd that he didn't call his quiz the "Great American CHRISTMAS Quiz." Well, Mr. O'Reilly has never been burdened by the need to be consistent:

http://www.parade.com/quiz/bill-oreilly-great-american-holiday-quiz/bill-orei...

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[Grabovsky85]

That dog was just awsome, havent laughed that hard in quite some time.

[ProfMTH]

@Grabovsky85 Glad you enjoyed it. ;-)

[HeyRuka]

I like the meaning and symbolism behind the menorah so I have kept all of my old menorahs as a cultural reminder.

[ProfMTH]

@HeyRuka I've done the same with the Nativity scene I inherited from my grandmother.

[jrhd00d84]

How about all the symbols and symbolism of statues and architecture? Especially at airports. There are some weird looking statues at airports. Like what are these things? Couldn't those be considered as some kind of symbol of some kind of weird religion by the elite? Inside the Denver international airport they have murals of the apocalypse and promote Masonry. Taking the 1st amendment and dissecting it will in the end be dangerous to our nation.

[ProfMTH]

@jrhd00d84 "Taking the 1st amendment and dissecting it will in the end be dangerous to our nation."

Dissecting it?

[TheChristianMystic]

All public space should be private including government space.

[DerBlitzStag]

We don't have a constitution in Britain, so this never happens :)

[DangerousTalk]

Which bans all displays "not owned by the county" and the find print is that the religious displays were then donated to the county to allow them to go up while excluding our Tree of Knowledge.

[DangerousTalk]

Thanks, that is pretty much where we are now. The Freethought Society can't force the other displays off of public property, so we are seeking a place at the table as it were. For the last three years we got that place although it has been a fight every time. Every year the county tries to find new ways to force us and us alone off of the courthouse lawn while trying to preserve the other displays. This year we will probably loose that fight due to the County's new "Regulation 58-10" (cont.)

[FlyinSpaghettiMnstr7]

@wheelzwheela and you don't think christians do the same?