Feds Ban “Merry Christmas”; Get Caught; Blame Bush . . . (sigh)

Trial Balloons are frequently duds. That’s why they “try them out”, to see if they work.

And boy-howdy,This One Sure Didn’t Work Out!

The U.S. Forest Service has banned the name of Jesus from decorations being assembled by children in Arizona for a blue spruce from the state that will become the Capitol Christmas Tree this year, and a legal firm is challenging the censorship.

“Banning Christmas from the Capitol Christmas tree is just absurd. Christian students shouldn’t be discriminated against for expressing their religious beliefs,” said Jonathan Scruggs, litigation staff counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. “The First Amendment does not allow government officials to exclude school children’s ornaments for the capitol’s Christmas tree merely because they communicate a religious viewpoint,” he said yesterday.

Well, it didn’t take long for the Obama Administration weasels to flip-flop *but quick* on that brain-dead decision; less than 24 hours, in fact:

Just one day after WND reported that rules for the 2009 Capitol Christmas Tree program prevented children from submitting decorations with themes such as “Happy Birthday, Jesus” and “Merry Christmas,” state and federal officials are confirming the policy has been rescinded.

The change was confirmed both by officials in Arizona who have a steering committee to run the program and from officials in the office of the Architect of the Capitol, who administer the program in Washington.

Jonathan Scruggs, litigation staff counsel for the ADF, had written a letter to officials questioning the propriety of limiting religious speech and a specific viewpoint in the decoration program.  “The First Amendment does not allow government officials to exclude schoolchildren’s ornaments for the capitol’s Christmas tree merely because they communicate a religious viewpoint,” he said.

Okay, you ready for this incredibly lame excuse? Hold on tight:

Today, Eva Malecki of the office of the Architect of the Capitol told WND the ban on “religious speech” on the ornaments was an old rule that had been discontinued some years ago.

“There was some old information that was somehow distributed,” she said. “It is not the position of our agency. There are no restrictions [on the ornaments].”

She was unable to say how such “old information” had been resurrected and distributed to the steering committee in Arizona working on the program, but she confirmed it was “outdated.”

“That was old information, improperly distributed. We have rescinded those guidelines,” she said. “We apologize for any misunderstanding.”

I’d LOVE to know what Administration passed THAT rule. Bush Administration maybe? As popular as it is with the current Administration to “Blame Bush”, I don’t recall that rule in the last eight years. Not even in the Clinton Administration. Nor Bush I; nor Reagan; — not even Jimmy Carter.

Swear to God; An *Actual* photo from the Inauguration. Classy.

This case of apparently removing God from Washington is just one in a long list of similar incidents on which WND has reported:

• The Latin words giving praise to God on a model of the tip of the Washington Monument were turned towards a wall in a visitors area so they could not be seen.
• A proclamation recognizing the 400th anniversary of Jamestown neglected to mention its Christian foundations and purposes.
• Guides at the Supreme Court were providing misinformation about the numerous references to the Ten Commandments on the building itself, among others.
• The Architect of the Capitol also has been involved in similar situations. Congress decided to take action when a new $600 million visitors center was erected essentially without reference to many components of the nation’s Christian heritage.

Merry Christmas, you incompetent boobs.

Hat Tips: Clyde at the Patriot Room and Serum de Liberte Blog

~Johnny~