Another bullshit lawsuit threat against Christmas

[sitarro]

This Rabbi is a jerk, Christmas trees aren't the same as a stinking Menorah. I'm really tired of this country's diversity being an excuse for a lousy lawsuit. I'm sure Jili/Grump would agree with the grounds for this bullshit but I think the rest of the nation is getting very bored with the asshole lawyers in this country(easily some of the most useless, dishonest twats on the planet).

http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_120906WABxmastreesEL.11b0d0cc.html#

Xmas trees removed from Sea-Tac
05:57 PM PST on Saturday, December 9, 2006
By KIM HOLCOMB / KING 5 News

No menorah, no tree
SEA-TAC Airport - All of the Christmas trees inside the terminal at Sea-Tac have been removed in response to a complaint by a rabbi.

A local rabbi wanted to install an 8-foot menorah and have a public lighting ceremony. He threatened to sue if the menorah wasn’t put up, and gave a two-day deadline to remove the trees.

Sea-Tac public affairs manager Terri-Ann Betancourt said the trees that adorn the Sea-Tac upper and lower levels may not properly represent all cultures.

She said that since this is their busiest time of year and they don't have time to add a fair representation of all cultures, her department decided to take down all of the decorations, review their policies, and decide if they need to make a change for next year.

"You know, our focus is on customer service, getting our passengers through the airport, and we thought if we could take the trees down and avoid litigation because we don't want to littigate with this individual, we want to reach some kind of solution," Betancourt said. "But that is going to take some thoughtful discussion and we would like to have time to have that thoughtful discussion."

Until then, no Christmas decor at Sea-Tac.

 

[dilloduck]

This Rabbi is a jerk, Christmas trees aren't the same as a stinking Menorah. I'm really tired of this country's diversity being an excuse for a lousy lawsuit. I'm sure Jili/Grump would agree with the grounds for this bullshit but I think the rest of the nation is getting very bored with the asshole lawyers in this country(easily some of the most useless, dishonest twats on the planet).

http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_120906WABxmastreesEL.11b0d0cc.html#

Xmas trees removed from Sea-Tac
05:57 PM PST on Saturday, December 9, 2006
By KIM HOLCOMB / KING 5 News

No menorah, no tree
SEA-TAC Airport - All of the Christmas trees inside the terminal at Sea-Tac have been removed in response to a complaint by a rabbi.

A local rabbi wanted to install an 8-foot menorah and have a public lighting ceremony. He threatened to sue if the menorah wasn’t put up, and gave a two-day deadline to remove the trees.

Sea-Tac public affairs manager Terri-Ann Betancourt said the trees that adorn the Sea-Tac upper and lower levels may not properly represent all cultures.

She said that since this is their busiest time of year and they don't have time to add a fair representation of all cultures, her department decided to take down all of the decorations, review their policies, and decide if they need to make a change for next year.

"You know, our focus is on customer service, getting our passengers through the airport, and we thought if we could take the trees down and avoid litigation because we don't want to littigate with this individual, we want to reach some kind of solution," Betancourt said. "But that is going to take some thoughtful discussion and we would like to have time to have that thoughtful discussion."

Until then, no Christmas decor at Sea-Tac.

Lawyers are taking our constitution, beating us over the head with it, using it to promote socialism and getting rich doing it. Think about it--Who exactly was it that defiined being legally "offended". This guy needs to be run out of town on a rail.

 

[Mr. P]

Come on guys, lets place blame where it’s due. Terri-Ann Betancourt and the rabbi are to blame here not Lawyers, none were involved.

Terri-Ann Betancourt should have grown a pair and told the rabbi to F’ OFF, Sea-Tac may be run buy the city but it’s not a government building. So, IMO, the rabbi didn’t even have legal grounds to bring suit. Sure he coulda, so what?

It’s the wackos and the appeasers you should be pissed at, IMO.

 

[dilloduck]

Come on guys, lets place blame where it’s due. Terri-Ann Betancourt and the rabbi are to blame here not Lawyers, none were involved.

Terri-Ann Betancourt should have grown a pair and told the rabbi to F’ OFF, Sea-Tac may be run buy the city but it’s not a government building. So, IMO, the rabbi didn’t even have legal grounds to bring suit. Sure he coulda, so what?

It’s the wackos and the appeasers you should be pissed at, IMO.

The problem is that OJ didn't have a case either but walked. The legal system is iffy at best and at the whims of juries who vote thier emotions instead of the facts. When the common man has to hire an attorney to explain the law, the law is too complicated. I wouldn't think spilling hot coffee all over yourself was grounds for a lawsuit either.

 

[Mr. P]

The problem is that OJ didn't have a case either but walked. The legal system is iffy at best and at the whims of juries who vote thier emotions instead of the facts. When the common man has to hire an attorney to explain the law, the law is too complicated. I wouldn't think spilling hot coffee all over yourself was grounds for a lawsuit either.

And what does all that have to do with a wacko rabbi?

 

[mattskramer]

I did not see any Christmas signs on the tree. Therefore, in this case, I think that the airport should have kept the tree. It was not singling out Christianity above other religions. If the tree had Christian symbols (Nativity scenes, a crucifix, etc.) then there might be grounds for a lawsuit.

 

[red states rule]

Come on guys, lets place blame where it’s due. Terri-Ann Betancourt and the rabbi are to blame here not Lawyers, none were involved.

Terri-Ann Betancourt should have grown a pair and told the rabbi to F’ OFF, Sea-Tac may be run buy the city but it’s not a government building. So, IMO, the rabbi didn’t even have legal grounds to bring suit. Sure he coulda, so what?

It’s the wackos and the appeasers you should be pissed at, IMO.

Libs keep bellowing how their is NO war on Christmas

Yet the facts keep getting in the way of those talking points

 

[mattskramer]

Libs keep bellowing how their is NO war on Christmas

Yet the facts keep getting in the way of those talking points

Please concisely define “war on Christmas”. I don’t see a war on Christmas in the sense that people are trying to remove it and replace it with other religions. People merely want fairness and “equal time”. If there is going to be Christmas symbols on the “public square” then people of non-Christian religions should be allowed to have their religions recognized by having symbols representing their religions displayed in the “public square”. That is all that there is to it.

I understand that an airport is a facility where aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters can take off and land. Its purpose is not to serve as a church. Yet, did the public airport in which the Muslims created a “scene” have a small church for Christian prayer or a synagogue for Jewish prayer? If so, then it should also have a small mosque for Islamic prayer.

 

[dilloduck]

Please concisely define “war on Christmas”. I don’t see a war on Christmas in the sense that people are trying to remove it and replace it with other religions. People merely want fairness and “equal time”. If there is going to be Christmas symbols on the “public square” then people of non-Christian religions should be allowed to have their religions recognized by having symbols representing their religions displayed in the “public square”. That is all that there is to it.

I understand that an airport is a facility where aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters can take off and land. Its purpose is not to serve as a church. Yet, did the public airport in which the Muslims created a “scene” have a small church for Christian prayer or a synagogue for Jewish prayer? If so, then it should also have a small mosque for Islamic prayer.

Christians are very tolerant--they do not try to impede the size or manner of other religions' celebrations.

 

[Abbey Normal]

Please concisely define “war on Christmas”. I don’t see a war on Christmas in the sense that people are trying to remove it and replace it with other religions. People merely want fairness and “equal time”. If there is going to be Christmas symbols on the “public square” then people of non-Christian religions should be allowed to have their religions recognized by having symbols representing their religions displayed in the “public square”. That is all that there is to it.

I understand that an airport is a facility where aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters can take off and land. Its purpose is not to serve as a church. Yet, did the public airport in which the Muslims created a “scene” have a small church for Christian prayer or a synagogue for Jewish prayer? If so, then it should also have a small mosque for Islamic prayer.

Does it matter that 85+% of this country celebrates Christmas? Logic tells me it does.

I don't think it is reasonable to expect an airport to provide a facility for every religion in the world. They should do what some hospitals I've been to have done - provide a non-denominational quiet room for anyone to pray. Is that not sufficient?

 

[mattskramer]

Does it matter that 85+% of this country celebrates Christmas? Logic tells me it does.

That tells me that over 85 percent of this country celebrates Christmas. It does not tell me that symbols of other religions should not be displayed in the public square if Christian displays are to be shown.

I don't think it is reasonable to expect an airport to provide a facility for every religion in the world. They should do what some hospitals I've been to have done - provide a non-denominational quiet room for anyone to pray. Is that not sufficient?

I have no objection to a non-denominational quiet room as long as it does not discriminate against any particular religion.

 

[dilloduck]

This Rabbi is a jerk, Christmas trees aren't the same as a stinking Menorah. I'm really tired of this country's diversity being an excuse for a lousy lawsuit. I'm sure Jili/Grump would agree with the grounds for this bullshit but I think the rest of the nation is getting very bored with the asshole lawyers in this country(easily some of the most useless, dishonest twats on the planet).

http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_120906WABxmastreesEL.11b0d0cc.html#

Xmas trees removed from Sea-Tac
05:57 PM PST on Saturday, December 9, 2006
By KIM HOLCOMB / KING 5 News

No menorah, no tree
SEA-TAC Airport - All of the Christmas trees inside the terminal at Sea-Tac have been removed in response to a complaint by a rabbi.

A local rabbi wanted to install an 8-foot menorah and have a public lighting ceremony. He threatened to sue if the menorah wasn’t put up, and gave a two-day deadline to remove the trees.

Sea-Tac public affairs manager Terri-Ann Betancourt said the trees that adorn the Sea-Tac upper and lower levels may not properly represent all cultures.

She said that since this is their busiest time of year and they don't have time to add a fair representation of all cultures, her department decided to take down all of the decorations, review their policies, and decide if they need to make a change for next year.

"You know, our focus is on customer service, getting our passengers through the airport, and we thought if we could take the trees down and avoid litigation because we don't want to littigate with this individual, we want to reach some kind of solution," Betancourt said. "But that is going to take some thoughtful discussion and we would like to have time to have that thoughtful discussion."

Until then, no Christmas decor at Sea-Tac.

The rabbi is basically a radical prick who wants to cause trouble and succeeded. Just like the crazy sect that protests GI funerals. Anyone who is offended that Christians celebrate Christmas during Christmas is a hate filled lunatic.

 

[red states rule]

The ACLU is at it again. With an outrageous boldness that only they could muster, the ACLU has once again set their sights on Christmas celebrations. In their never-ending quest to completely eradicate all things religious from public life, the ACLU’s latest lawsuit is an all-out frontal attack on the freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion. Let me ask you—when did a children’s Christmas program become “an illegal activity”? When did the nativity story and Christmas songs become unconstitutional? This is the outrageous and dangerous charge the ACLU has leveled against a school district in Tennessee. A children’s Christmas program has been deemed to be an “illegal act” because of the ACLU.

This week, our senior attorneys at the American Center for Law and Justice are working on this latest ACLU case. The ACLU is absolutely determined to censor Christmas. They have sued the Wilson County School System outside of Nashville, TN. We represent several school officials and teachers who have been charged with engaging in what the ACLU calls “illegal acts.” The ACLU claims that the plaintiffs have been harmed, injured and “suffered irreparable damage” through the Christmas program because of its “Christian themes and songs.” The ACLU will then ask for these actions be declared “unconstitutional and illegal.”



Jim Harper, a social worker and family therapist, right, speaks to reporters as Rita Sklar, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, left, looks on Thursday, June 29, 2006 outside the Arkansas Supreme Court building in Little Rock, Ark. Harper and Sklar were commenting on the announcement that the Arkansas Supreme Court has upheld a lower court's decision that threw out a state ban on allowing gays to be foster parents. (AP Photo/Mike Wintroath) It gets even worse. The plaintiffs and the ACLU allege that several kindergarten students role-played a nativity scene of the birth of Jesus—and had the audacity to sing “Away in the Manger” and “Joy to the World.” According to the ACLU, these songs are exclusively Christian in nature because they celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and are, therefore, inappropriate. School programs that include a live nativity scene and the singing of songs like “Away in a Manger” are common throughout the United States and, indeed, around the world. Thousands of school students will be participating in similar programs this year. The ACLU has, once again, shown its desire to engage in censorship.

Of course, if the ACLU wins this case, it would set a precedent from across the nation. This is precisely why we have engaged some of our most senior lawyers to defend school officials in this important case. Make no mistake about it—the ACLU will not stop with this lawsuit. They may come to your town and target your school. Their continued attempts to loosen the threads of our religious heritage and chip away at the foundation of our freedom is never-ending.

We, at the American Center for Law and Justice, will fight for religious freedom and freedom of speech this Christmas. We are standing with the school officials in Wilson County and with concerned students and parents. We will vigorously defend the rights of these students to engage in free speech on public school campuses. We are not going to sit back and let the ACLU, the Ghost of Christmas Past, remove the joy and significance of this holiday season.

The American Center for Law and Justice has launched a nationwide campaign entitled “Keep HIM in Christmas.” We want to make sure that Jesus is at the center of this holiday. We want to keep HIM in the nativity scenes, keep HIM in the music, keep HIM as the focal point—and not allow the ACLU to operate as our nationwide censor.





Jay Alan Sekulow is Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice.

Be the first to read Jay Sekulow's column. Sign up today and receive Townhall.com delivered each morning to your inbox. Sign up today!
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/JaySekulow/2006/11/28/the_aclu_targets_christians

 

[manu1959]

Please concisely define “war on Christmas”. I don’t see a war on Christmas in the sense that people are trying to remove it and replace it with other religions. People merely want fairness and “equal time”. If there is going to be Christmas symbols on the “public square” then people of non-Christian religions should be allowed to have their religions recognized by having symbols representing their religions displayed in the “public square”. That is all that there is to it.

I understand that an airport is a facility where aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters can take off and land. Its purpose is not to serve as a church. Yet, did the public airport in which the Muslims created a “scene” have a small church for Christian prayer or a synagogue for Jewish prayer? If so, then it should also have a small mosque for Islamic prayer.

equal time?

what birthday are they celebrating?

a menorah is a religious symbol a christmas tre is not.

on mlk day you going to give the kkk equal time?

the jews killed christ.....and made him a mytar.....now they are complaining...classic

 

[trobinett]

equal time?

what birthday are they celebrating?

a menorah is a religious symbol a christmas tre is not.

on mlk day you going to give the kkk equal time?

the jews killed christ.....and made him a mytar.....now they are complaining...classic

All good points!

Must of been a slow day for the Rabbi, and they DO complain well!

 

[MissileMan]

a menorah is a religious symbol a christmas tree is not.

On that basis alone the airport could/should have told the rabbi to get lost.

 

[mattskramer]

The ACLU is at it again. With an outrageous boldness that only they could muster, the ACLU has once again set their sights on Christmas celebrations. In their never-ending quest to completely eradicate all things religious from public life, the ACLU’s latest lawsuit is an all-out frontal attack on the freedom of speech and the free exercise of religion. Let me ask you—when did a children’s Christmas program become “an illegal activity”? When did the nativity story and Christmas songs become unconstitutional? This is the outrageous and dangerous charge the ACLU has leveled against a school district in Tennessee. A children’s Christmas program has been deemed to be an “illegal act” because of the ACLU.

This week, our senior attorneys at the American Center for Law and Justice are working on this latest ACLU case. The ACLU is absolutely determined to censor Christmas. They have sued the Wilson County School System outside of Nashville, TN. We represent several school officials and teachers who have been charged with engaging in what the ACLU calls “illegal acts.” The ACLU claims that the plaintiffs have been harmed, injured and “suffered irreparable damage” through the Christmas program because of its “Christian themes and songs.” The ACLU will then ask for these actions be declared “unconstitutional and illegal.”



Jim Harper, a social worker and family therapist, right, speaks to reporters as Rita Sklar, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, left, looks on Thursday, June 29, 2006 outside the Arkansas Supreme Court building in Little Rock, Ark. Harper and Sklar were commenting on the announcement that the Arkansas Supreme Court has upheld a lower court's decision that threw out a state ban on allowing gays to be foster parents. (AP Photo/Mike Wintroath) It gets even worse. The plaintiffs and the ACLU allege that several kindergarten students role-played a nativity scene of the birth of Jesus—and had the audacity to sing “Away in the Manger” and “Joy to the World.” According to the ACLU, these songs are exclusively Christian in nature because they celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and are, therefore, inappropriate. School programs that include a live nativity scene and the singing of songs like “Away in a Manger” are common throughout the United States and, indeed, around the world. Thousands of school students will be participating in similar programs this year. The ACLU has, once again, shown its desire to engage in censorship.

Of course, if the ACLU wins this case, it would set a precedent from across the nation. This is precisely why we have engaged some of our most senior lawyers to defend school officials in this important case. Make no mistake about it—the ACLU will not stop with this lawsuit. They may come to your town and target your school. Their continued attempts to loosen the threads of our religious heritage and chip away at the foundation of our freedom is never-ending.

We, at the American Center for Law and Justice, will fight for religious freedom and freedom of speech this Christmas. We are standing with the school officials in Wilson County and with concerned students and parents. We will vigorously defend the rights of these students to engage in free speech on public school campuses. We are not going to sit back and let the ACLU, the Ghost of Christmas Past, remove the joy and significance of this holiday season.

The American Center for Law and Justice has launched a nationwide campaign entitled “Keep HIM in Christmas.” We want to make sure that Jesus is at the center of this holiday. We want to keep HIM in the nativity scenes, keep HIM in the music, keep HIM as the focal point—and not allow the ACLU to operate as our nationwide censor.





Jay Alan Sekulow is Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice.

Be the first to read Jay Sekulow's column. Sign up today and receive Townhall.com delivered each morning to your inbox. Sign up today!
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/JaySekulow/2006/11/28/the_aclu_targets_christians

Don’t be easily led and deceived by the “700 Club”, Pat Robertson, and his ilk. The ACLJ certainly likes to distort people’s image of the ACLU. Investigate organizations for yourself. Look at the pros and cons – the supporters and opposers. Consider the links at the website below.

http://www.aclufightsforchristians.com/

 

[dilloduck]

Don’t be easily led and deceived by the “700 Club”, Pat Robertson, and his ilk. The ACLJ certainly likes to distort people’s image of the ACLU. Investigate organizations for yourself. Look at the pros and cons – the supporters and opposers. Consider the links at the website below.

http://www.aclufightsforchristians.com/

Token propaganda.

 

[mattskramer]

Token propaganda.

No. It is not token propaganda. They are examples of cases in which the ACLU defended Christians.

 

[dilloduck]

No. It is not token propaganda. They are examples of cases in which the ACLU defended Christians.

Even a blind hog finds an acorn once in awhile.