Free Republic

Republicans who lead the Wisconsin Assembly voted Tuesday to call the state Capitol evergreen a Christmas tree and formally recognize National Bible Week, moves they said were necessary to ensure Christianity isn’t marginalized as the holidays approach. The 64-30 vote on naming the tree was a direct response to Gov. Tony Evers’ declaration last week that it would be called a “holiday tree.” Evers’ Republican predecessor Scott Walker, the son of a Baptist minister, declared the evergreen was a Christmas tree during his first term in 2011. “It seems like the only religion we’re willing to take shots at is...

You may have noticed a few festive things going on with Hillary Clinton's social media presence as of late. For one, the arrow crossing her "H" logo has turned green with Christmas lights. It's a sweet, small touch to acknowledge the holiday season. Hillary Clinton's #FBF Christmas photo is even better, though. It's a wonderful blast from the past, showing the former first lady and husband Bill back in their White House days in front of a massive Christmas tree. The photo was taken in 1995 during Bill's first term in office. Each year, the White House Christmas tree has...

Seasons GreetingsFor Our Liberal Friends:Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes For an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low- stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year [2015], but not without due respect for...

WASHINGTON -- As President Obama faced public criticism over his Oval Office address on terrorism this month, one lawmaker took a private moment during a holiday party at the White House to reassure the commander in chief. "That was a good speech you gave last night, Mr. President," Representative Steve Cohen, Democrat of Tennessee, told Mr. Obama as he stopped to have his picture taken with him in the photo line at the black-tie congressional ball last week. "It's hard to be the grown-up in the nation." It was one of hundreds of seconds-long interactions that the president and the...

A Facebook group criticizing the Staten Island Mall for canceling its Christmas tree-lighting ceremony and Santa parade has attracted tens of thousands of followers, energizing debate about the loss of holiday traditions. The mall later apologized, announcing it would host a holiday celebration on Dec. 4 featuring Santa, a tree lighting and a toy drive. "We heard the disappointment in your shopper feedback regarding the cancellation of the annual Santa Parade. At Staten Island Mall, we pride ourselves on being a community partner and take our shoppers' sentiments to heart -- good and bad," mall officials said in a statement.

It seems that those who favor the all or nothing inclusion of December symbols in the annual display in front of the municipal building have been successful in making that happen. Over the weekend - with it still unclear if the lighted tree is to be called a "Christmas tree" or a "Holiday tree" - a crèche and an atheist sign were added to the display. Meanwhile the official name for the lighted tree in the display remains an issue for some. Resident Tim Wagner and others said they will continue to press for administrative action to call the "Holiday...

Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee sparked controversy nationwide when he called a 17-foot spruce tree in the State House a "holiday tree." Chafee cited a 1663 Colonial charter and the legacy of state founder Roger Williams when explaining that not calling the tree a Christmas tree earlier this week is in Rhode Island tradition, the Boston Herald reported. "I'm just continuing what other governors have done," Chafee said, after dedicating another tree to soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. "I just want to make sure I'm doing everything possible in this building to honor Roger Williams. "In my own...

First, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker took on public sector unions. Now he's re-igniting the Christmas wars. Walker said Monday that the evergreen decorated with ornaments and adorned with a star in the center of Wisconsin's Capitol Rotunda is a Christmas tree, not a holiday tree as it's been called for the past 25 years. The roughly 30-foot-tall tree was called a Christmas tree from the first display in 1916 until 1985. That's when politicians bowed to concerns about government endorsing religion and started referring to it as a holiday tree. The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation has opposed the term...

Dear Ellen, Christmas is disgusting. It’s all pagan worship. Even most Christians don’t realize that all their decorations and traditions come from ancient Babylon. Our family doesn’t cave in to all this stuff and I tell friends at church they shouldn’t either. Signed, Ms. Christian Grinch Dear Ms. Grinch, By saying “all this stuff,” I assume we’re talking Christmas trees, mistletoe, hasty pudding, Yule logs, etc.? I grant that Christmas choices are a matter of personal conscience. I had a similar e-mail conversation with another Christian killjoy last month so I retrieve and relate to you my comments to him....

This year, for the first time, Chatham Borough's holiday tree will be joined by a giant menorah. The borough agreed to a request for a public menorah display by Shalom Lubin, who over the years has gained approval for menorahs in neighboring Madison, Florham Park, East Hanover and Chatham Township. Lubin, a rabbi and director of the Chabad of Southeast Morris County, said word is spreading and towns are saying "hey, you have one in your town, why don't we have one in our town?" "More and more towns are realizing that in the spirit of the holiday, being inclusive...

Tonight at 5:30, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts presents its 17th annual Holiday Tree Lighting. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be telecast live on New York's WABC-TV, Channel 7; the station's Sade Baderinwa and Sam Champion will host. Special performances at this family gathering include excerpts from the Metropolitan Opera's new English-language adaptation of Mozart's The Magic Flute (including an appearance by renowned baritone Nathan Gunn as Papageno); festive music by members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; dancers from the School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet in a...

The pendulum swings both ways. Last year in Denver, it was Mayor John Hickenlooper proposing to replace the city's traditional "Merry Christmas" sign with one that said "Happy Holidays." The mayor wisely backed off in response to the public outcry, as did the Parade of Lights, this year, reversing its policy barring religious floats. Earlier this month, Speaker of the U.S. House Dennis Hastert, issued a directive instructing the architect of the Capitol to drop the name "Capitol Holiday Tree" - adopted in the late 1990s under the authority of no one who's now willing to admit to it -...

And So It Was Written, By You, To Us... Some wrote to us upset about the city's Holiday Tree but darn glad the city did not call it a Christmas Tree. Some wrote upset with us for mentioning it. Can't you find anything positive to say about the tree? Instead of arguing about it, let's just take a vote!

Now we know why they did not call it a "Christmas Tree" Sorry, but every time we drive by this "Holiday Tree" on the north/west corner of Palm Drive & Pierson Boulevard, it does not remind us of Christ's birth. Instead, it reminds some of us of a real stupid movie shown a long time ago.

So why do liberals harbor this instinctive compulsion to cry “Bah, Humbug” every time Christmas comes around? Why do liberals tremble at the sight of Christmas trees? Why do they hate the idea of small children humbly acknowledging the true meaning of Christmas? The answer is simple. Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and liberals hate the idea of people worshiping someone who is not one of them. They see themselves as being intellectually superior to everyone else, and thus harbor delusions of divine authority over mankind itself. This is why they feel at liberty to...

It may have colorful lights, a train chugging underneath it and hundreds of ornaments, but the “Capitol Holiday Tree” is causing a stir among those who work at the Capitol. The 35-foot Balsam fir has had the moniker since 1985, but 46 state legislators, mostly Republicans, wrote and signed a letter to Gov. Jim Doyle requesting the tree’s name be changed to the “Wisconsin State Christmas Tree.” State Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford, said he spearheaded the effort with Rep. Terry Moulton, R-Chippewa Falls, adding the tree’s name should truly reflect the season. “It’s not an Easter tree, it’s not a...

American liberals should listen to conservative whining about the 'war on Christmas'. Whenever the calendar turns to December, the air usually becomes thick with the sound of American Jews whining about the holiday season. For some of us, this is the time of year when we are forced to confront the reality that, despite living in a country where Jews are free not only to assertively practice (or not practice) their faith, we are still a small minority. That means wherever we move about this free land, we are subjected to the ever-present sight of Christmas trees and Santas while...

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A state legislator is unhappy that some seasonal greenery in Olympia has been designated the "Capitol Holiday Kids' Tree." Gov. Christine Gregoire should declare the 30-foot noble fir in the Legislative Building a Christmas tree and post "Merry Christmas" signs nearby, Rep. John Ahern, R-Spokane, said Wednesday on talk radio, urging listeners to call the governor's office. The current display shows a lack of respect for Christian tradition, Ahern said. "We're a Judeo-Christian nation. Of course we should have 'Merry Christmas' on signs there," he said. "Our Constitution guarantees us freedom of religion, not freedom from...

A Christmas quiz: What is the difference between these two events? 1. A clerk at a department store tells shoppers "Happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." 2. A store renames Christmas trees, calling them "holiday trees." Answer: Event No. 1 is a reasonable and praiseworthy attempt at inclusiveness, since the clerk does not know which shoppers celebrate Christmas and which do not. Event No. 2, however, is a gutless and ridiculous dodge of the obvious, buying into a new level of politically correct absurdity. As believers and nonbelievers work themselves into a lather over the Christmas Wars, rational distinctions like...

O Holiday Tree, O Holiday Tree? Boston creates prickly scene by not calling N.S. evergreen Christmas tree By BEVERLEY WARE South Shore Bureau BEECH HILL — Donnie Hatt says if he’d known the tree he donated to Boston would be called a holiday tree, "I’d have cut it down and put it through the chipper." Boston should "just put Return to Sender on it because we sent it as a Christmas tree, not a holiday tree," the Chester Basin man said Wednesday after a barrage of phone calls from U.S. television and radio stations and newspapers. Mr. Hatt and his...