The Wisconsin State Capitol usually has holiday displays inside the building this time of year — which often leads to amusing non-Christian displays — but that tradition is on a break this year for obvious reasons. If the public can’t come inside, there’s no need to decorate.
But according to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, that didn’t stop two Republican lawmakers — Reps. Paul Tittl and Shae Sortwell — from installing their own tree with a pro-Christian message that says “The Magic of Christmas is not in the presents but in His Presence.” As if the Capitol is a Christian-owned building.
“The state of Wisconsin is not obligated to allow private citizens, even if they are state representatives, to erect unattended displays on state property,” FFRF Co-Presidents Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor write to Evers. “The state is well within its rights to prohibit private unattended displays, as it has done on a temporary basis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A temporary policy that disallows private unattended displays is a valid time, place or manner restriction consistent with the First Amendment.”
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FFRF looks forward to putting up its equal-time Winter Solstice and Bill of Rights Nativity displays again in future years, but is more than willing to take a year off during the pandemic. In order to maintain religious neutrality, follow the law, encourage social distancing and respect the rights of all Wisconsin residents, the private religious display in the Capitol must be removed immediately, FFRF notes.
Gov. Tony Evers may be sympathetic to that argument. When asked for his opinion on the Christian display, he noted that the same lawmakers who found time to hijack the public space for Jesus haven’t lifted a finger to help people deal with COVID.
“They go 230 days without doing any work, legislatively, which I think is their job. And then spending a short period of time putting up a tree in the Rotunda. In a building that no one is in, or very few people are in,” says Evers.
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“Can’t come to work to pass any bills around COVID-19, but by golly we will put a tree up when no one is looking,” Evers continued.
This is what the Republican agenda looks like: They’ll use the government to promote Jesus while pretending to care about the Constitution. They’ll call themselves “pro-life” while they allow people to die all around them. They’ll campaign for a job they don’t want to do.
It’s not just Donald Trump. The entire party is garbage. They have nothing of value to offer the public except superficial displays of Christian arrogance.
The Many Things In My Toy Box ….my view may change due to verifiable evidence
But Christmas trees are pagan, ya know.
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Hello Polly. If they only knew where most of the christmas traditions they celebrate come from it would blow their minds and case them to have a heart attack. Hugs.
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Unless they’ve plugged their ears and worn blinders, the KNOW it’s all pagan. They just don’t care because it gives them a sense of “connection” to that (missed by a long-shot) “holy day” that signifies the birth of their most favorite character.
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Hello Nan. Yes you are correct. It also is about privilege for them. Their holiday, their holy seasons, their lord is the reason for the season. Some of these vocal Christian groups are adamant no other religious or secular groups have any claim to this time frame. It is one more way the Christian Nationalists are trying to take over the country, and on this they have made more head way than I thought they could. 15 years ago you heard songs and videos of other types of christmas celebrations, not now. Hugs
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Along the lines of C’mas … If the occasion arises to offer or return a greeting, I say “Merry Holidays!” No doubt when the person hears the “Merry,” they think/assume I’m repeating the familiar phrase. But noooo. 😈 It probably takes their brain a second or two to actually “hear” what I just said. Whaddayathink?
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Hello Nan. I think it is grand, it short circuits their mental pathways. I react differently in business settings than I do in non-business settings. If I am in a store and a worker issues a Merry Christmas I respond forcefully with “And a Happy Holiday of your choice to you this season”. If It seems to me they are using the right to chat or to give a greeting to push Christmas. If I meet someone walking around the store or on the sidewalk / parking lot and they wish a Merry Christmas I tend to just wish a cheery Happy Holiday back.
I am not above getting into a discussion of the holidays history and that if respect is asked / demanded for the Christian one then that same respect is also to be given to the non-Christmas ones. Including the secular ones. However for most of the year it has been a mute point as I never go out anymore. Hugs
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Mute point indeed! GAWD! It will be soooo nice when we can return to normal living. Unfortunately, it probably won’t happen until at least 2022 Things may gradually return to “normal” next year as vaccinations becomes more prevalent, but the anti-vaxxers could very well delay the entire process. And I don’t just mean the hard cores — I think there will be a LOT of people who are reluctant to get a vaccination until it’s “proven.” Of course, they only way that will happen is if … wait for it … people get vaccinated. sigh
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Hello Nan. As you know Pfizer did not take any US money to develop the vaccine. In fact they are working in partnership with a German company that did take German money, so it is safe to say that Germany paid for the vaccine. Yet yesterday I watched a TV news pundit demanding that people give tRump and his warp speed program credit for the vaccine. Not one person on the panel pushed back on her. I was so angry at national news these days, they let partisan hacks get away with spouting nonsense. Facts don’t matter to people anymore it seems. Huge reason people are so badly informed. Hugs
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I did not know that about the German company … and somehow I don’t think many others do either. Where did you come across this? I have no doubt it’s the case, but as you say, it’s not common knowledge since (some of) the news pundits are too busy licking Trump’s boots to share the “real” news.
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Hello Nan. I am having ice cream to stay awake, suddenly got really tired and was headed to bed, when Ron asked to check my blood sugar. Was low. Ron says if I eat some home made ice cream it should come up enough for me not to be so tired. I like the idea. Anyway.
On the German company I read it, here are some links. Hugs
https://www.fda.gov/emergency-preparedness-and-response/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine
https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-and-biontech-announce-vaccine-candidate-against
https://www.statnews.com/2020/12/14/a-guide-to-who-can-safely-get-the-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-vaccine/
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Thanks for the links. I came across this article as well — https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-09/pfizer-vaccine-s-funding-came-from-berlin-not-washington
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Hello Nan. Yes, thank you for the link, it explains the situation well. Hugs
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Scottie! You should know better than to let your blood sugar get low! You’ve had this condition for a long time so there’s no excuse!! Shame on you!
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Hello Nan. It was not my fault, honest. I had breakfast of two bowls of cereal early in the AM. About 5 AM as I was doing my morning roundup. Then about 8:30 or so I had two toasted slices of the home made bread I made. Yesterday was the first day in a long time I was able to stay up all day. Today I have not done so well, but I checked my blood sugar on and off and it was good even though I was so tired I slept a lot. I even got up this morning 2 1/2 hours late. You might have noticed the roundup was very late today. I am headed back to bed now at 7:30 PM. I hope to get up in the morning and get caught up. Have a great Christmas day. Hugs
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