Posted on 12/18/2011 10:27:44 PM PST by Steelfish
In Santa Monica, A Matter of Mangers It may be Christmas, but the holiday spirit has taken a beating in Santa Monica.
December 17, 2011 Unto Santa Monica a Christmas controversy was born this year. Atheists objected to the long-standing tradition of re-creating the Nativity story in a row of life-size paintings that sprawl down the Ocean Avenue edge of Palisades Park. Arguing that this was a religious display in a public park, they applied for space to offer their own message.
In an effort to be fair, the city turned to a lottery to assign 21 plots of display space — and lo, the atheists won 18 spots. A Jewish group won a spot for a menorah. The Christians who put up the Nativity scene ended up with only two spots, compelling them to condense their usually elaborate re-creation to the creche and two other scenes.
Near that is a poster from American Atheists proclaiming that millions of Americans "know myths when they see them." (It's illustrated with Jesus, Santa Claus, Neptune and a horned fellow.) Now, fans of the Nativity scene are angry that their tradition has been abridged — or "hijacked,"
Across the country, this is the story of Christmas that plays out in various scenarios. When is one person's public creche (or Christmas tree or Santa decoration) another person's offending object? There is plenty of law on the matter. For example, religious displays are usually not permitted in civic buildings — especially courthouses, where the meting out of justice must never look as if it's influenced by one religion or another. (Whether Christmas trees and menorahs are religious appears open to interpretation.) In other public spaces, like Santa Monica's Palisades Park, it's discriminatory to allow one kind of religious display while squelching another.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
And they're castigating Newt for wanting to get the Judiciary and their black-robed priests reined in.
“they’re”
The usual culprits- NY Times and secular bastards. Others think that Newt is providing unnecessary and incendiary campaign fodder to Obama that he will implode in Iowa. Polls will soon tell.
How the hell did the freaks win 18/21 plots? Any common sense says that lottery was rigged.
exactly.
Amen. GO NEWT!!!
Not if you assume there’s only a handful of Christians left in LA.
Or a lot of shadow organizations.
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