Posted on 12/21/2004 3:52:53 AM PST by Conservative Infidel
PORTSMOUTH - It takes at least "a few days" for Christine Schule to adorn her Wamesit Place apartment with what she characterizes as some much-needed Christmas cheer.
That cheer comes in the form of not only presents, but also ample Christmas lights on outside windows on the first and second floors. This year, she has lighted decorations of a snowflake, a candy cane and an angel, not to mention the wired wreath hanging outside her front door.
The electric ornaments are a staple for some residents of the public housing complex managed by the Portsmouth Housing Authority. There have even been some eager lighters who have won awards from the city for their displays.
But this year, the Portsmouth Housing Authority is cracking down on what officials deem an unsafe holiday tradition. Similar to policies at other developments in past years, residents of Wamesit Place with displays that are considered a fire hazard have received letters telling them to pull the plug.
(Excerpt) Read more at seacoastonline.com ...
I would wonder who is deciding what makes a display "unsafe" or not, and what criteria are they using?
Is it just a board member of some sort going around deciding this person has more lights than he likes?
You know! Now that I think of it! Those holiday wrappings, there not fireproof!! -- I don't see how we could possibly allow that!-- Just think of what a hazard that would be in all those homes with all that loose paper around and the empty boxes! Definitely a safety hazard!!!! Get me paper for another notice!!!!!!!
There is no other reason for 'some' to want to do away with our Christmas this year. Blame it on the WATER because these anti-Christmas nuts sure are drinking something!!
Portsmouth Housing Authority
245 Middle Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801
(603) 436-4310
Drat....couldn't find an email address!!!!
Hrmmmm....
What about Kwanza Lights? Are they allowed?
I have more of a problem with these bums complaining about their housing provided at reduced cost by the government.
If you don't like living there, get off your arse and improve your life so you don't have to take handouts from the Government.
Red and Green lights are unsafe. Shut down all traffic lights.
No, more dependency class folks who live off the government dime are being forced to recognize that they are nothing more than slaves...... You live on someone else's dollar they own you, period.
Oublic housing is a branch of the governemt. Therefore, any religious displays are clearly in violation of teh separation of church and state. These residents have no right to use government property to advance their religious agenda </ liberal logic>
I know a woman who lives in public housing. She works an 8-hour day, does her job well (minimum wage), and has a spotless apartment. Her daughter is doing well in school too.
She's not too proud to rake leaves on the property or pick up trash when she sees it, either.
Not all people who live in public housing are bums.
Following that logic, no branch of government should be allowed to use a calender. All the days of the week are named after pagan gods. Therefore any calender becomes a display of a religion.
I'll light another electric candle in her honor.
Not sure how I feel about this one. Inclined to take her side not the Housing Authority. Still, if it gets out of hand...
And still, if I was out of work, I wouldn't be running up my electric bill.
Have you ever heard of Nafta? Or any of the other government programs that took most of our manufacturing jobs overseas? Ever heard of the eviromentalists, you know, the ones who destroyed the lumber industry and put hundreds of thousands of people out of work? Ever heard of minimum wage jobs? These are the reasons lots of people are in low income housing, through no fault of their own. In this service society we live in good paying jobs for the average person have went the way of the DoDo bird and have left many americans trying to live off of income from jobs such as flipping burgers, doing yardwork, you know all the jobs the government says Americans won't do so we have to import mexicans to do them! That is why people are in the low cost housing. Not all but many. You do them a great disservice with you blantanly prejudice attitude toward people not making good money. Working hard doesn't always insure a good income.
I spent three and a half years as a social worker working with people just like this. I understand why people don't have jobs. I also understand that a lot of people are worse off because they don't know how to manage limited resources.
All I am saying is that the lights aren't a necessity. Especially when resources are limited.
This is public housing. It's quite possible that part or even all of the utilities are subsidized.
And CHristmas needs to be removed as a statutory holiday. It is religious and government employees should not have this as a holiday. Christmas, as a statutory holiday, is the government deliberately forcing a religion onto its employees and the workers of the U.S. and creates a hardship for business who could profit from operating an additional day of the year. December 25 should be a regular day like any other in the eyes of the government. To treat it otherwise undermines the cultural diveristy of America and reduces us to a Taliban like state that we all abhor. </ sarcasm>
OK, from where I stand, most project dwellers tend to be unemployable "persons of color" with a proverbial chip on their shoulder. I've been listening for years to paleo social(ist) conservative talking about how free trade has created a large underclass of otherwise employable "hard werkin Amurcans." Yet most native born Americans I know with an education have a good standard of living, while the project dwelling underclass remains the same people who were there when I was a kid.
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