Posted on 12/11/2006 8:14:08 AM PST by beaversmom
He is the one waving the attorneys around in a crowded place. That establishes intent.
Oh, geez, I read this header as "Did a Lone Rabbit Mean to Ban Christmas Trees", which seemed odd. Why would the rabbit care?
Will get coffee and return... The worst part is that I'd been following this Sea Tac story on another thread and STILL misread it.
Of course, another way of looking at it is: everyone was getting along just fine. Pretty trees, happy people.
Then someone decided to lawyer up.
Not being a clergyman myself, I would assume that people in the clergy have discussed this in trade magazines, etc. I could be wrong. I think he lawyered-up too early. A personal letter from the Rabbi might have provoked a less bureaucratic response from Sea Tac apparatchiks.
Irrelevant
He’s a good guy, a young father of five (including new-born twins), and the son-in-law of the wonderful Rabbi at the synagogue I attend each week.
STILL irrelevant
Sea-Tac certainly gave the predictable bureaucrat's reponse by throwing the baby out with the bathwater but the ball had to start rolling somehow.
Basically the rabbi is an azzclown in this situation and he will be made to look like the "Hebrew Hammer" by the action of hiring a lawyer and the CYA actions of the beauracrats at SeaTac.
That's funny. The way I type anymore, I'm surpised that's not the headline.
[Equating "asking" with "a demand followed by the threat of a fed lawsuit" would be like equating "STFU" with "Pardon me, I beg to differ".]
LOL!!!
Menorahs and Mangers, that's what I want to see in prominent places, in front of important buildings, at Christmas/Hannukka time.
I don't want to see Christmas trees and menorahs - menorahs are religious; Christmas trees are festive, but only tangentially religious (if you put an angel or a Star of Bethlhem on top, which they never do).
I don't want to see Santa and Rudolph and menorahs. Menorahs are religious. Santa, well, there WAS a Saint Nicolas, but the jolly man in the red suit with flying reindeer is not a religious symbol. (It's sad, because properly understood, Santa Claus WAS a religious symbol, of the spirit of Christian giving and love for children, especially.) There's nothing WRONG with Santa Claus, but he's an artifact of the season, and a commercialized one at that. A menorah is industrial-strength religion. So is a Manger.
I want to see Menorahs and Mangers. If there is a Menorah, I want to see a Manger, except in front of a Temple, obviously. If there's a Manger, a Menorah is fine (even in front of a Christian Church - Christians have the theological right to claim all of the Jewish holidays, although only a few do). This is America, and we're not all Christian, and this IS Hannukka season too.
I do NOT want to see a Muslim crescent. This is not Ramadan. This season has NO Muslim significance at all, and never did. I do not want to see the DILUTION of Christmas (and Hannukka) by the INCLUSION of crescent moons. It's inappropriate.
And I don't want to see funky Kwaanza-anythings. Kwaanza is as made-up as Rudolph the Red-Nosed-Reindeer, but not even half as old. It's not real, and I don't want to see it represented as though it is.
All of this is highly intolerant on my part, but then, I am a fan of democracy. 80% of us are Christians (95% of us celebrate Christmas). Let's celebrate our democracy a bit by CHOOSING to be a bit intolerant during OUR season. But let's choose to be tolerant of Jews, because there's a legitimate Jewish holiday during this time of the year for Jews, and we've beaten up on Jews enough over the course of our history that it's right to make a nod there. Anyway, Jesus and Mary and Joseph were Jews, and they'd no doubt approve, and seeing the two symbols juxtaposed gets you thinking about the issues that separate them, and makes you think about who's wrong and who's right, ultimately. That's not a bad thing to do.
But Crescents and Kwanzaa and any other damned impose-it-because-they're-sensitive symbol? No. Let's draw the line. Let's remind everybody of democratic power - that we CAN vote to be a little bit insensitive in order to celebrate OUR holiday without mucking it up with extraneous and inappropriate crap.
You're right. Shoulds been "Oy Vey Silverstein!"
I agree. No self-respecting lawyer would work unless being paid handsomely to do it. Someone was going to foot the bill for that lawsuit. Follow the money, you find the perp.
The Rabbi made two demands:
Put up a Jewish menorah and let us have a religious ceremony or tear the Christmas trees down. If you fail to comply with these demands we will sue your ass off.
The rabbis is not a passive player here.
From what I heard on the news this morning, the menorah would not go up without a religious ceremony conducted on the spot. And there's the rub.
And he is richly deserving of the attention he has brought upon himself.
I have no problem with a Menorah.
Here's a Holiday Tree.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.