We wish [the ACLU] a Merry Christmas -- After Action Report

Public Advocate ^ | December 8, 2004 | Nick Danger

[Nick Danger]

Sponsored by Public Advocate, a bunch of us went down to the ACLU Headquarters in Washington this afternoon to, umm, serenade them with Christmas carols.

None of that "Holiday music," either. These were actual Christmas carols, with words like "Christ Our Savior is Born."

The ACLU people were incredibly cool about the whole thing — they set up a little table with cookies and coffee for us, and stayed downstairs and joined in the singing.

The crowd gathers before we start

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Please don't sue us!

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Interesting Times, on right, can actually sing

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Even ACLU folks join in

[Southack]

Nice job! Sadly, my own voice is reason enough to ban Christmas caroling...at least for this one person!

[Jay777]

Nice job! That's Awesome! Thank you!

[Talking_Mouse]

Thanks for the report. I'm glad the ACLU showed class by giving you cookies and coffee. BTW can any of them sing?

[TChris]

Nice that they joined in. Hypocritical in the extreme, but nice.

[xcamel]

Must be the real "RDDB lawyahs" were hiding upstairs - and you brought some true seasonal joy to the abused, sullen, and overworked office staff...

Good Work!!

[TChris]

...Oh, yes, and NICE JOB! :-)

[Seeking the truth]

Good Show!

Too bad Interesting Times didn't have a piano with him.

He's FR's Billy Joel.

Merry Christmas!

[TChris]

...you brought some true seasonal joy to the abused, sullen, and overworked office staff.

You're absolutely right. I shouldn't be so hard on these folks. They probably aren't in the same serpentine class as their employers.

[susiek]

I would imagine that the people who were nice to you and joined in were either the office workers who don't necessarily share the hard-core beliefs of some of the lawyers or the lawyers who think it's ok to sing carols as long as you aren't anywhere near a government building. The ones who go so far as to wish to end all mention of Christ in any place at any time were probably too busy working on ending Christmas cheer to notice you!

[susiek]

And you picked the most gorgeous day in Washington to do this!

[JohnathanRGalt]

We should be singing Christmas carols in public schools and in government buildings. The ACLU would be powerless against massive non-violent civil disobedience.

[RonF]

Or maybe they see a distinction between people gettting together on their own to sing Christmas carols, as opposed to people doing so in a gathering organized and controlled by the government.

Not that I have any problem at all with the government, in fact, allowing such singing at its sponsored gatherings (such as school, etc.), as long as all religions represented in the public have the same right. But AFAICS, this is the distinction the ACLU makes.

[Luddite Patent Counsel]

"Too bad Interesting Times didn't have a piano with him.

He's FR's Billy Joel."

As long as he's not driving...

[Jay777]

What could they do if we peacefully protested them? Just like the parade with no nativity allowed. Why doesn't the church start its own parade, or be in the parade anyway?

[TChris]

...as long as all religions represented in the public have the same right.

I'm all for equal treatment of other religious holidays. But let's be sure and distiguish between real holidays and the PC inventions like "kwanzaa". Also, these other religious holidays can have their own, separate celebrations, MmmmKay? Why does respect for other religions have to result in a watering down of Christianity?

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

Good fun and the ACLU played it very classy.

[Temple Owl]

Merry Christmas, Good job.

[American in Israel]

The Muslims will invite you into their homes and feed you too. They will kill you in yours. And this is what the ALCU is doing, killing kids, persecuting Christianity and destroying the Boy Scouts.

Mass Murderers tend to be very Charismatic.

Till they eat you.

[Richard Kimball]

Mine, too. Remember the Mark Twain line on bad singing? "I haven't heard anything like that since the orphanage burned down."