[liz gresham and james d. couch] candidates 237 and 238 for public enemy of the year award

Liz Gresham [telephone: 01865 815525]:

Plans by Oxford city council to ban the world Christmas from this year's festival celebrations are drawing rebukes from Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders for changing long-established British traditions.

"I'm really upset about this," Sabir Hussain Mirza, chairman of the Muslim Council of Oxford, told the Oxford Mail on Sunday, November 2. This is the one occasion which everyone looks forward to in the year. Christians, Muslims and other religions all look forward to Christmas."

The Oxford city center has decided to axe the word Christmas from this year's celebration, naming it the "Winter Light Festival". "We changed the name to be more inclusive," said Liz Gresham of Oxford Inspires, which has proposed the move.

James D. Couch:

"Anything less than full alignment with the U.S. Constitution exposes the city to legal liability," wrote city manager James D. Couch. "Examples of appropriate displays include evergreen trees, snowflakes, reindeer, snowmen, candles and Santa Claus.

Items that may not be displayed include nativity scenes, troparia, cherubs, angels, crosses, menorahs, and any other symbols of clear religious significance."

The PC left loves to promote itself as tolerant and all-inclusive. Is this tolerant and all-inclusive? Is it hell. At least there are a few groups promoting common sense:

"The attacks on Christmas are simply part of a larger war being waged on anything and everything Christian," said ADF senior legal counsel Byron Babione. "It's ridiculous that city employees are being told that they cannot display symbols central to their faith during the Christmas season."

You might applaud the banning of Christmas but when the ban-happy do-gooders turn their attention to you and to what you believe in, e.g. a quiet smoke in a pub, there is no stopping the thing. You'll then discover you've tacitly encouraged a ravening monster.