Pasco County bans Christmas Trees

[RedEarth]

Pasco County bans Christmas Trees
12/16/2004

By Associated Press

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (AP) - Pasco County officials have banned Christmas trees from public buildings in a move that one constitutional law group said Thursday was "the most extreme example of censorship imaginable."

The last of the Christmas trees were removed Wednesday after the county attorney said they were religious symbols, said Dan Johnson, assistant county administrator for Public Services.

The county either had to allow all religious symbols or none, he said.

.........

Previously, the county allowed the display of Christmas trees but not religious symbols, Johnson said. Recently, a man wanted to display a menorah at a public building. He said that when the county attorney investigated whether the menorah could be displayed, the attorney decided that Christmas trees were religious symbols.

"They need a second opinion or a new city lawyer," said Deryl Zimmerer, 45, of Dade City. "I can't believe it's bothering anybody in Pasco County. A Christmas tree is a benign holiday symbol."

http://www.wcjb.com/news.asp?id=11329

[BlueEyedSon]

1. Yeah, those pagans had it coming.

After all, the Xmas tree is not a Christian symbol anyway.

[billbuckhead]

15. Some fundies are against Christmas trees, Santa and all that

Interesting irony. Did they take it down to please the fundies or to please the secular types? A smart political nod to both? Capitalist types won't like it. Notice fundies go all crazy politically about this and that but blue laws are almost all gone. They don't win many battles with Corporama.

[VegasWolf]

2. Wow, and Pasco county at least used to be heavily Repuke. It's

one of the few dry counties in Florida. I dated
a farmer's daughter there once.

[billbuckhead]

4. I thought I got lost in a flat part of Kentucky 1st time I drove through

This is shocking.

[VegasWolf]

9. Exactly, still a few outhouses in the western part of the county i believe

[BOHICA06]

8. Now Pasco hasn't been dry for decades ...

as for Repuke, naaaaah .... maybe Dixiecrat before the Yankees found the place in the sixties ... went Gore in 2000 - turned red for 2004 by just a little.

[VegasWolf]

11. Used to be all Florida crackers. I'm not talking about the US 19

corridor.

[dissenting crone]

18. Not any more

It's wall-to-wall yankees.

[DavidFL]

12. Still Republican...but no longer a dry county.

At least, the county board of commissioners and the county school board are controlled by Republicans, the schools superintendent-elect is a Republican, the county sheriff is one and so is the supervisor of elections. But then we use ES&S touchscreen machines, so who the hell really knows what the county really is.

[VegasWolf]

13. I was raised in Florida but left in the 80's. I like to keep a continent

between me and my republican family.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Um...who worships a Christmas tree?

Not Christians. It's a tradition without much religious background. In fact, in my family, the religious zealots in the group take great pains to put more emphasis on the Nativity scene. It's like turkeys, cornucopias & fall leaves for Thanksgiving. Hearts for Valentine's Day. Pumpkins for Halloween.

[devilgrrl]

5. Since when is a Christmas tree a religious symbol?

Because it really isn't.

Also, who gives a shit about Christmas/Hannakah decorations? Get over yourself America!

[Walt Starr]

6. Yep, it's a religious symbol

Pagan to be precise.

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

7. Stuff like this has been happening a lot lately.

It's almost like there's a conspiracy to start a war between the "Christian" Right and everybody else.

[Nordic]

17. ding ding ding

It's all part of the rw propaganda war against the likes of us.

So they can tar us with the "they wanted to steal our christmas" brush

[leftofcool]

22. Exactly!

And too many Dems are drinking the kool-aid on this one. I can hear it now...."they hate us for our Christmas Trees."

Left of cool

[phasev]

10. Pasco

Interesting. Pasko is the word for Christmas in Tagalog.

[RedEarth]

19. Tagalog...

wasn't aware of that language....just discovered it's the national language of the Philippines....that is strange.

[BikeWriter]

14. Perhaps this is simply anti-Semitic spite...

Notice the all or none theme?

[Nordic]

16. this is nothing but organized baiting

It's the big meme right now out of the right-wing, how the liberals want to "steal Christmas".

So they're doing this on purpose, to fire up a whole lot more anti-liberal hatred.

I'll bet you a case of beer that's what's going on.

[JerseygirlCT]

21. Yup.

[JerseygirlCT]

20. Now could we deal with the nativity scene in our town square?

[oneighty]

23. And in ours

Which the Catholic Church puts there every year. Until recently I have never given it a second thought. Aggressiveness on the part of some religious causes a pause for reflection concerning whys and wherefores.

180

[HuffleClaw]

24. ANOTHER deceptive headline

should have read 'county removes christmas trees from public property'