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Posted on 12/11/2006 10:13:29 PM PST by TheBigB
SEATAC, Wash. — The Christmas trees are going back up at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Port of Seattle officials had ordered the trees taken down over the weekend after a local rabbi threatened a lawsuit if a menorah wasn't also displayed at the airport.
Airport officials say they took that action out of concern that if they allowed the addition of a menorah, they would also have to display symbols of other religions and cultures, which was not something airport workers had time for during the busiest travel season of the year.
Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky says he never asked that the trees be taken down, and the threat of a lawsuit was withdrawn.
With the threat of the lawsuit gone, airport spokesman Bob Parker says all 14 trees will go back up -- hopefully by tomorrow morning.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
"Maybe your argument is with President Grant who made it a national holiday?"
All "national holiday" means is that non-essential Federal employees get the day off, and those who have to work get paid for their time in addition to the holiday pay.
Here is what "national holiday" means:
§ 6103. Holidays
(a) The following are legal public holidays:
New Year’s Day, January 1.
Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., the third Monday in January.
Washington’s Birthday, the third Monday in February.
Memorial Day, the last Monday in May.
Independence Day, July 4.
Labor Day, the first Monday in September.
Columbus Day, the second Monday in October.
Veterans Day, November 11.
Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November.
Christmas Day, December 25.
(b) For the purpose of statutes relating to pay and leave of employees, with respect to a legal public holiday and any other day declared to be a holiday by Federal statute or Executive order, the following rules apply:
(1) Instead of a holiday that occurs on a Saturday, the Friday immediately before is a legal holiday for—
(A) employees whose basic workweek is Monday through Friday; and
(B) the purpose of section 6309 [1] of this title.
(2) Instead of a holiday that occurs on a regular weekly non-workday of an employee whose basic workweek is other than Monday through Friday, except the regular weekly non-workday administratively scheduled for the employee instead of Sunday, the workday immediately before that regular weekly nonworkday is a legal public holiday for the employee.
(3) Instead of a holiday that is designated under subsection (a) to occur on a Monday, for an employee at a duty post outside the United States whose basic workweek is other than Monday through Friday, and for whom Monday is a regularly scheduled workday, the legal public holiday is the first workday of the workweek in which the Monday designated for the observance of such holiday under subsection (a) occurs.
This subsection, except subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1), does not apply to an employee whose basic workweek is Monday through Saturday.
(c) January 20 of each fourth year after 1965, Inauguration Day, is a legal public holiday for the purpose of statutes relating to pay and leave of employees as defined by section 2105 of this title and individuals employed by the government of the District of Columbia employed in the District of Columbia, Montgomery and Prince Georges Counties in Maryland, Arlington and Fairfax Counties in Virginia, and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church in Virginia. When January 20 of any fourth year after 1965 falls on Sunday, the next succeeding day selected for the public observance of the inauguration of the President is a legal public holiday for the purpose of this subsection.
(d)
(1) For purposes of this subsection—
(A) the term “compressed schedule” has the meaning given such term by section 6121 (5); and
(B) the term “adverse agency impact” has the meaning given such term by section 6131 (b).
(2) An agency may prescribe rules under which employees on a compressed schedule may, in the case of a holiday that occurs on a regularly scheduled non-workday for such employees, and notwithstanding any other provision of law or the terms of any collective bargaining agreement, be required to observe such holiday on a workday other than as provided by subsection (b), if the agency head determines that it is necessary to do so in order to prevent an adverse agency impact.
You are right: the airport could easily have put up a Menorah.
I happen to love Christmas trees - and I call them Christmas trees - not holiday trees - which is probably what they are called in Seattle.
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This type Menorah, notice the different configuration, was used in the Temple, is Religious in nature, an is an emblem of Israel.
On its own, the Hanukkah Menorah is representative of the holiday, much as the tree is representative of Christmas.
Happy Hannukah, veronica! You have brought some light into this discussion! I, too, remember being driven around to see the lights, and some of them were menorahs in people's windows. Blessings....
Who is the "we" you are referring to? Once a precedent, any precedent, has been set, the ACLU is quick to rush into court and try to either (a) set it in stone or (b) abolish it in perpetuity, according to the communist playbook. That is the problem, and let's give the airport credit for at least wanting the time to think it over before changing their precedent.
LOL! It's offensive to Night-Shift-Americans!
"Holiday" tree overtime.
I read that at our Christmas dinner last year when Dad asked that I say the prayer, verse 10 makes me tear up every time.
What a perfect post.
Exactly 100% backwards.
No one stood their ground.
And it was only the Media's erroneous play on the facts of the matter that agitated Christians.
And it was only a Jew, who preferred when it counted, for Christians to enjoy their holiday, (and who was taken back by all the resulting holiday good will generated from so many /s) who set aside his possibly Constitutional rights, to allow that enjoyment.
What is your point?
ALLAH AKBAR, represented. /s
And you are full of crap, Merry Christmas.
It bears repeating, then!
" ... Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ..."
Needs some !!!!!!!!! after it, methinks!
And remember how that whole thing turned out?
25 Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control and so become a laughingstock to their enemies.
26 So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, "Whoever is for the LORD, come to me." And all the Levites rallied to him.
27 Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.' "
28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.
29 Then Moses said, "You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day."
30 The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."
31 So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Oh, what a great sin these people have committed! They have made themselves gods of gold.
32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written."
33 The LORD replied to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.
34 Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin."
35 And the LORD struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.
--Exodus 32:25-35
At one point in time, it was illegal for people in this country to openly celebrate on Dec. 25 because of religious pressure. Finally, the churches (and govt) decided that if you can't ban it...you might as well try to own it. Lol
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