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"The war on Christmas - it's a Commie thing" Matt Barber - Guest Columnist - 12/22/2009 10:25:00 AM SNIPPET: "Are you as annoyed as I am by that nauseatingly amorphous phrase "Happy Holidays?" You may be interested to know that the mindset behind the term precedes America's postmodern love affair with political correctness, tracing back to good ole' fashioned Cold War Communism (PC's uglier big sister)." SNIPPET: "Ronald Reagan once spoke to this noteworthy historical factoid during a Christmas radio broadcast about the Ukraine's war on Christmas. The great Gipper noted: "When the Ukraine was free and not under Soviet...

On December 1st, 2009, a standing room only crowd attended the second annual opening day ceremony for the Springfield, Illinois Nativity Scene. The display now stands in the center of the state Capitol Rotunda Building and will be on display throughout the Christmas season. The Springfield Nativity Scene Committee (SNSC), who coordinated the event, would like to express its deepest appreciation to the Chicago-based Thomas More Society who underwrote the Nativity Scene for the second year in a row. The SNSC would also like to thank the Illinois Family Institute and Isringhausen Imports of Springfield who were co-sponsors of this...

The Springfield Nativity Scene Committee (SNSC) will again erect a Nativity Scene that will stand in Illinois’ state Capitol Rotunda Building. Opening day ceremonies regarding the Springfield Nativity Scene (SNS) will take place between 12 Noon and 1 P.M. on December 1st in the state Capitol Rotunda located at South 2nd Street & East Capitol Avenue in Springfield, Illinois. The public is invited to attend the event. The Springfield Nativity Scene--which was originally underwritten by the Chicago-based Thomas More Society--is meant to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. This year the display is co-sponsored by Isringhausen Imports of Springfield and...

Springfield Nativity Scene To Stand In Illinois State Capitol Rotunda Building For Second Year: ACLU Says It Supports Constitutional Rights To Express Religious Liberty In the Public Square by Daniel T. Zanoza, Executive Director of RFFM.org and Chairman of the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee For the second year a row, a Nativity Scene will stand in the state Capitol Rotunda Building in Springfield, Illinois. Last Christmas season, the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee (SNSC) made history with the financial and legal assistance of the Chicago-based Thomas More Society (TMS) and the support of private donations. An article written by Kurt Erickson...

A Celebration Of Christmas & 1st Amendment Rights Regarding Religious Expression In The Public Square On December 1st, 2009, the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee (SNSC) will again sponsor a display depicting the birth of Jesus Christ. For the second year in a row, the crèche--with figurines representing Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus--will stand in the State Capitol Rotunda Building in Springfield, Illinois. In 2008, the SNSC made history when the Secretary of State's office provided a permit to the group, allowing the Nativity Scene to go on display. The crèche and manger scene stood in the State Capitol Building,...

Nativity scenes made of real straw. Wise Men 2 feet tall. Menorahs bigger than a human being.   Holiday display in Teaneck. In many North Jersey municipalities, those sacred symbols can be found at the same place people get dog licenses, pay taxes and apply for building permits — town hall.  The display of religious items on public property has long been a charged discussion in American communities, and the case law governing holiday displays is still murky enough to confound local governments trying to create a festive atmosphere for residents.* Fair Lawn for years just lit a holiday tree....

In addition to tidings of peace and joy, St. Ambrose Church in Old Bridge has another message for the community this season: Don't even think about stealing the parish's new nativity scene. Not only are Mary and Joseph secured to the manger with steel cords, but the Baby Jesus also will be bolted to his crib and equipped with a high-tech GPS device to track anyone who might snatch him. "GPS. We call it God's Positioning System," the Rev. Bob Gorman, St. Ambrose's pastor, said. The Roman Catholic church is one of about 100 churches and synagogues around the country...

SPRINGFIELD, IL -- According to a spokesman for Jesse White, the Illinois Secretary of State, a sign posted by the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), was stolen from the state Capitol building Rotunda sometime between 9:45 P.M. Monday and 7 A.M. Tuesday. The sign--which disparaged those who believe in religion or have personal faith--was placed in the Illinois Capitol building in reaction to a Nativity scene that was sponsored by the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee (SNSC) and donations from the public. "It is truly unfortunate that someone decided to express their displeasure with the disturbing sign by stealing it," said...

<p>AMSTERDAM, Netherlands — A Dutch gay group said Monday it has planned a "Pink Christmas" festival for the first time in Amsterdam, featuring a manger stall with two Josephs and two Marys.</p> <p>Other attractions in the 10-day festival include parties, an open-air market, gay-themed films, an ice skating rink and religious services on Dec. 25.</p>

CBN News.com - WASHINGTON - A couple of Christian rights groups placed a nativity scene in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Thursday, as part of an effort to encourage Americans to do the same in front of public buildings all across the United States. The National Clergy Council and the Christian Defense Coalition point out many Americans falsely believe such displays are forbidden, and so creches have disappeared from many places where they used to be commonplace... Sadly we are seeing an erosion of the public expression of faith. Nowhere is this more seen than during the Christmas season,"...

SPRINGFIELD, IL -- On Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008, a privately-supported Nativity Scene will go on display in the state Capitol Building in Springfield, Illinois. Solely funded and constructed as a result of donations from private citizens, the display depicting the birth of Jesus Christ will stand in the East Hall of the Capitol Building from December 2nd through the 28th. The Nativity Scene and events surrounding the exhibit are being organized by the Springfield Nativity Scene Committee (SNSC). The scene--designed and constructed by Chicago-based builder Karl Fritz and his son master craftsman Timothy Fritz--will feature the baby Jesus, Joseph and...

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS -- Recently, the American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement saying the group would not legally challenge the rights of those who intend on displaying a Nativity Scene inside Illinois' state capitol building in Springfield. In an article by Kurt Erickson of the Bloomington Pantagraph, Erickson wrote: "The American Civil Liberties Union says it won't fight a plan to erect a Christian nativity scene inside the Capitol Rotunda. After a month-long review, the Illinois chapter of the ACLU said Daniel Zanoza's proposal to erect a display inside the Statehouse depicting the birth of Jesus is a form of...

WELLINGTON — In this village, Jesus has returned with the help of modern-day technology.Last year, the baby Jesus figure disappeared twice from the Nativity scene in front of the Wellington Community Center, never to be seen again. This year, the new blond, blue-eyed statue was outfitted with a GPS tracking device that monitored its every movement.The evening after Jesus' birth, the baby moved.At 6:45 a.m. Thursday, a village employee noticed that the statue was missing. Building maintenance supervisor Gus Arnold logged on to the monitoring system and saw that it was taken from the manger at 10 p.m. Wednesday.Arnold homed...

Nativity scene causes protest A letter was filed with city to remove the nativity. Posted: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 7:10 a.m. MENOMINEE -- A Wisconsin-based group of atheists are protesting a decision by Menominee officials to allow a nativity scene on city property. The nativity will be in the bandshell. The Freedom from Religion Foundation filed a letter with the city, saying the display would violate the separation of Church and State. The Parks and Recreation Committe's approval of the bandshell display comes with the provision that non-Christians be allowed to add their symbols. Nativity scene plans reconsidered After...

A man barred from placing a nativity scene in the Washington State Capitol rotunda last year will no longer face opposition from state officials.  ADF attorneys filed a lawsuit last year after state officials denied the request but allowed a menorah and a “holiday tree” to be displayed.  The parties settled the suit, allowing Ron Wesselius to display a nativity scene on behalf of citizens who celebrate Christmas.   “It’s incredible to think that Americans have to think twice about whether it is OK to celebrate Christmas in public,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Byron Babione.  “Just as it is constitutional...

A small town in West Central Florida during the Christmas season of 06-07. A small community located between Clearwater and Tampa boasting roughly 17,000 residents within City limits. Safety Harbor is best known for the Spa which is almost a City within a City where celebrities play. Outside of the Spa, Main Street is decorated with lights, larger than life foil candles on the light posts, a Huge Christmas tree near the gazebo at the center of town as well as a Menorah both in the door of City Hall and the park land surrounding the gazebo. All was most...

Yesterday, New York City Council Member Tony Avella introduced his Department of Education Holiday Display Resolution (Reso. 930/2007).  Avella’s bill calls for a nativity scene to appear alongside the menorah and crescent and star in New York City schools.  Currently, the schools allow only a Christmas tree, a secular symbol of the Christian holiday, to stand in its winter holiday displays.  On Sunday, Avella held a press conference on the steps of City Hall to discuss this resolution.  He was joined by Catholic League president Bill Donohue, Brian Rooney of the Thomas More Law Center, representatives from the Ladies Ancient...

n 1223, St. Francis of Assisi inaugurated a pious practice that in places today has become so common that many think that it always existed. This great saint, as he was traversing the rolling hills of central Italy one December to proclaim the Gospel, noticed that few of his countrymen were taking the mysteries of the faith seriously. Many were not preparing for Christmas at all. Of those who were getting ready to celebrate the Lord’s birth, they looked at it as an event tied exclusively to the past. The mysteries of the faith had become sterile. The central persons...

Governor Chris Gregoire lit a Menorah in a celebration at the state Capitol on Monday, and at the same celebration, accepted the gift of a Menorah for her home. The Menorah that was lit during the ceremony is displayed in the Capitol rotunda with a Christmas tree. However, when a local resident asked for a Nativity scene to be displayed with the Menorah and the tree, the Governor refused. This morning, at the request of a local resident, Liberty Counsel faxed a letter to Governor Gregoire along with our Legal Memorandum on the constitutionality of displaying religious symbols during the...

An unusual Nativity scene is drawing some curious looks from passers by on the UT campus. The scene features a gay couple, Gary and Joseph, instead of Mary and Joseph, a terrorist as an angel and Lenin, Stalin and Marx as the three wise men. The scene is built by the Young Conservatives of Texas, who say what they're calling an "ACLU nativity scene" includes positions taken by the American Civil Liberties Union. "The idea is to bring attention to the ACLU and also to bring attention to the issue of taking down nativity scenes during the christmas season or...

Last Tuesday I agreed to join my activist friend Nate and a couple of his friends on a mission to eliminate overtly religious symbolism from public places. Our target was a large Catholic church that was prominently displaying a nativity scene on its front lawn. This church was making people look at something potentially damaging to their sensitivities and almost forcing them to become religious. We figured we'd try to save the ACLU some money and take care of it ourselves. Our plan was to sneak in at night and remove the offending religious figures, leaving in their place a...

PLANTATION -- The manger scene at the Broward Mall cost him $1,000, but for Len Torres, the symbolism is worth much more. This year he got his Christmas wish when he was able to purchase and erect the holiday scene. The multi-piece scene of the baby Jesus surrounded by biblical characters and animals was set up a week ago on Sunday night just outside the Sears entrance.

They are Christmas and Chanukah rites in their own cheerless ways, those annual December disputes over what to sing, what to say, and what religious symbols to display in public space.The Maplewood-South Orange school district had its own controversy this month, as its ban on religious songs -- even instrumental versions -- at Columbia High School drew national ridicule, and a federal lawsuit.And in Oklahoma, voters angry at a superintendent who removed a Nativity scene from a school show organized to defeat an $11 million school bond measure.The people objecting are those who feel religion is being driven out...

After months of official wrangling over Christmas decorations by Polk County, Florida, commissioners, 35 members of a local Baptist church decided to resolve the debate by erecting a nativity scene in front of the county administration building in the dead of night – and the state of controversy over such displays being what it is, the creche might stay. The "vigilante" action occurred following the recent midweek prayer meeting at the Bartow First Baptist Church. Morning saw a nativity scene, a snowman and a disclaimer notice saying the county commissioners who had voted against the display were not responsible for...

School District Critics Plan Nativity Scene, 'Silent Night' Performances MUSTANG, Okla. -- Lakehoma Elementary School's annual Christmas performance was to include a rendition of "Silent Night" on Thursday evening after Mustang school officials reached a compromised in a dispute over Christian religious elements in the program. The decision came after a number of Mustang residents complained and others announced plans to stage a silent protest Thursday night during the evening performance. Superintendent Karl Springer had originally banned a staged nativity scene and the singing of "Silent Night" because of First Amendment concerns. However, during an early performance of the program...

Town of Palm Beach Pays $50,000 In Attorney Fees – Apologizes To Women In Nativity Lawsuit ANN ARBOR, MI — Ending a six month legal battle over Christmas displays, the Town of Palm Beach, Florida this week paid $50,000 in attorney fees to the Thomas More Law Center pursuant to a previously entered federal court Consent Judgment. The Town also acknowledged and publicly apologized for its failure to respond to multiple offers by two of its residents, Maureen Donnell and Fern Tailer deNarvaez, to donate Christian Nativity scenes for display alongside two Town-sponsored Jewish Menorahs during the Christmas holiday...

<p>A federal judgeon Wednesday backed the city's Department of Education, ruling that the display of the nativity scene, unlike Christmas trees and menorahs, was not secular and has no place in classrooms.</p> <p>Judge Charles Sifton in Brooklyn dismissed the lawsuit brought forth by Andrea Skoros, 34, of College Point, saying the city's holiday displays policy banning non-secular symbols from schools did not violate her right to free exercise of religion.</p>

It was around the noon hour and I had parked at the Cathedral, and at the end of a brisk walk I thought I'd take a closer look at the manger scene. They are also called Nativity scenes when they are banned on public squares, and the popularity of the word "creche'' is increasing, but manger speaks to an outdoor lean-to with animals and hay and the wind blowing through the slats in the wood. A couple of workmen were welding the bases of some hand railings on the steps to the church. But there wasn't anybody else around. They...