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Also, see In the name of inclusivity Christmas is being excluded around the world!!!
Top Grinches and Santa's Helpers from 2007 Part 1
Christmas Spirit Spreading, but Grinches Getting Grinchier
First the Grinch-o-Meter awards. Will be posting in following post's 2007 Santa Helpers list and 2008 Grinch-o-Meter awards and 2008 Santa's Helpers list.
"• TOP Grinch-o-Meter Award: The 17 congressmen who supported a
resolution recognizing Islam and Ramadan but voted “no” or “present”
(that is, there but wouldn’t vote) on a similar resolution introduced by
Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) recognizing Christianity and Christmas.
Lawmakers who voted “no” for Christianity and “yes” for Islam are:
Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Diana DeGette
(D-CO), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Bobby Scott
(D-VA), Fortney Stark (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). Those who
voted “present” on Christianity and “yes” on Islam include: Reps. John
Conyers (D-MI), Barney Frank (D-MA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Donald
Payne (D-NJ), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Allyson Schwartz (D-PA),
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Peter Welch (D-VT) and John
Yarmuth (D-KY). [Grinch-o-Meter: 10-Plus]
• Ft. Collins, Colorado – The city created a Holiday Display Task
Force, which recommended banning red and green lights and using
only white ones and only secular symbols. A local ACLU
representative was on the task force. Fox’s Bill O’Reilly reported on
November 27 that the task force’s recommendations were “rebuffed.”
The Council voted 6-1 to keep their Christmas decorations. [Task
Force gets a Grinch-o-Meter 10; Council scores a 2]
• Ridgeland Schools – The Oak Lawn, Illinois district was going to do
away with Christmas parties. But parents raised a fuss, so the school
board decided that rather than take Christmas parties off the agenda,
they would include celebrations of Ramadan and other Muslim
holidays. [Grinch-o-Meter initially registered a 10, but dialed
back to a 5]
• Companies that operate government-assisted housing for
senior citizens – In Plant City, Florida and Troy, Pennsylvania,
residents were told they cannot decorate common areas in their
buildings with religious symbols at Christmas. After being contacted
by Liberty Counsel these companies reversed their decisions. [Grincho-
Meter initially registered a 10, but dialed back to a 2]
• Spokane, Washington – The Associated Press reported that the
Spokane Public Schools sent home a calendar for elementary school
students with “important dates” for December. Hanukkah, Human
Rights Day, winter break, first day of winter, Kwanzaa and the Islamic
holy day of Eid-al-Adha were on the list, but one rather significant
holiday beginning with a “C” didn’t make the cut. A school
spokesperson said, “In our efforts to be inclusive we missed the
obvious.” The school corrected the omission in the online calendar.
[Grinch-o-Meter registered 10 initially but dialed back to 2]
�� Barbara Walters – During the December 13 episode of ABC’s The
View, Walters whined about the White House Christmas card because
it quotes the Bible’s book of Nehemiah. “Don’t you think it’s a little
interesting that the president of all the people is sending out a
religious Christmas card?” she asked her co-hosts. [Grinch-o-Meter:
9]
�� New York City officials – gave the Christian Defense Coalition a
Scrooge-like two-hour window to display a small nativity scene in
midtown Manhattan. The display is part of “The Nativity Project,” a
nationwide campaign to set up nativity scenes in well-traveled public
areas. [Grinch-o-Meter: 9]
�� Seattle-Tacoma International Airport – The airport made major
headlines last Christmas when it removed all of the Christmas trees
on display throughout the airport after being threatened with a
lawsuit if a menorah was not also included in the display. This year,
the airport convened a “holiday decorations advisory committee” which
determined that the airport would not use any decorations with
religious connotations. The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports this
year’s décor is a “grove of luminous birches up to 30 feet high and hung
with crystals and mirrors to reflect colored, low-energy lights.” Above
the trees will be a “spiraling flock of migrating birds cut out of foam.”
Wind chimes will occasionally ring as well. [Grinch-o-Meter: 9]
�� Chattanooga, Tennessee officials – For years the city has included
a live nativity scene in its public festivities. This year, after receiving
a complaint, the city decided to do away with the nativity scene. A
public backlash resulted in the nativity scene being moved to a local
church. [Grinch-o-Meter: 9]
�� Hollywood, California – For 75 years the city has sponsored a
Hollywood Christmas Parade, but it refused to sponsor the parade this
year. The Los Angeles City Council has taken over, and is changing the
name to the Hollywood Santa Parade. [Grinch-o-Meter: 8]
�� The Texas Gas Transmission Company – The company ended a
four-decade-long tradition in Owensburg, Kentucky of displaying a
large, lighted cross. The company’s president, H. Dean Jones II, said
the cross was a religious symbol and the company didn’t want to
alienate people of other faiths. [Grinch-o-Meter: 8]
�� Missouri State University – The college took down a Christmas tree
from an atrium in a campus building after a Jewish faculty member
said it “showed a lack of sensitivity” to people of other religions. After
the local press reported the story, the administration reconsidered and
put the tree back up. [Grinch-o-Meter registered 8 initially but
dialed back to 2]
�� Oberlin, Ohio artist Keith McGuckin – Last year it was
gingerbread Nazis with Swastika-labeled candles. This year,
McGuckin has created a murderous snow woman and a drug
smuggling elf. His art is on display at the Oberlin Public Library and
a local crafts store, according to WEWS in Cleveland. [Grinch-o-
Meter: 7]
�� The Ohio Department of Natural Resources – Bureaucrats
initially ordered all state parks to remove Nativity scenes because of
one complaint. After being contacted by Liberty Counsel, a Christian
legal defense organization, the ODNR changed its stance and decided
to continue “prior holiday traditions.” [Grinch-o-Meter: 6]
�� New Hyde Park, New York school officials – The district drew the
ire of more than 250 residents when it considered changing the name
of school Christmas Concerts to Holiday or Winter Concerts. The New
York Times reported the large crowd came out in August to demand to
keep “Christmas” in the Christmas concerts. The district reportedly
was considering the change based on a single complaint. [Grinch-o-
Meter: 5]
