WAR AGAINST CHRISTMAS 2003 COMPETITION
[I] [II] [III] [IV] [V] [VII] [VIII] [IX] [X] - See also: War Against Christmas 2002, 2001, 2000.

The Khristmaskampf rages on:

•  A reader writes from Iowa:

"The Iowa Civil Liberties Union [contact it] has told Tipton, Iowa (population 3,000, which includes most of my family) to stop displaying their 1970s era nativity scene. The town council is courageously—or stupidly?—standing up to the ICLU and displaying it anyway.

"Yes, I know this is small potatoes in the war against Christmas, but the ICLU is picking on small towns because they think they'll win easily.

According to ICLU legal director Randall C. Wilson,  previously noted for his anti-Ten Commandments bigotry, the ICLU has "received numerous complaints concerning this display over the years and are now writing to ask the county to discontinue the practice of displaying the crèche on public grounds beginning with this holiday season.[!]"[ ICLU upset over courthouse nativity AP, December 3, 2003]

The good people of Tipton say that this is the first they've heard of complaints, and they've posted a disclaimer on the courthouse lawn.

They should simply tell Wilson that the crèche won't be there for the "holiday season," it's only going to be there for Christmas.

• We wrote on December 6 about the Phillipsburg, NJ postmaster who had decided not to hang Christmas decorations for fear of potential protests. He's reversed himself, because of grassroots activism.

"PHILLIPSBURG, New Jersey— In an abrupt about-face, the town's postmaster has decided to decorate the post office for Christmas after all.

"Earlier in the week, Postmaster Victor Lopez said he had decided to go without the holiday trappings this year because people had complained about last year's Christmas decorations.

"After The Express-Times published a story about his decision, people supportive of the decorations weighed in, Lopez said.  

'I got a lot of phone calls,' he said. About a dozen people called in support of putting up Christmas lights, he said. [Pro-holiday feedback convinces postmaster to hang decorations, by Jeff Schogol, Express-Times, December 6, 2003]

But note the local paper's headline: "Pro-holiday feedback." In fact, of course, the December 25 holiday was never in question. Postal workers will be taking that day off no matter what.

It's Christmas that's the problem.

• A soldier writes us from Iraq:

"I've been following the "War Against Christmas" on the site (which is now accessible.) For the record, I saw a giant fake Santa on a Baghdad street and I haven't discerned any anti-Christmas feeling from our Moslem staff. But as for the Army, their Army Knowledge Online site has "Holiday Greetings", whatever that is.

"We visited an orphanage run by Mother Teresa's order that cares for 20 mentally and physically handicapped children, unwanted even by their own relatives. It is heroic work. Some of the GIs even wanted to adopt the kids, handicap and all.

"Merry Christmas!"

And to you.