TheScroogeReport

Green Bay City Council meets tonight to decide the fate of religious displays at City Hall. Councilman who first voted for and helped put up a Nativity crèche last Tuesday night says he’ll now vote against display.

This from GreenBayPressGazette.com:

(Council President Chad) Fradette and Council Vice President Chris Wery put up the Nativity crèche last Tuesday night. Wery said late Monday he’s changed his mind on the issue, largely in part because of the bad feelings that erupted over it.

“I’m going to vote to take it down,” he said. “I thought this would encourage our community to share good will this holiday season, and, as we’ve seen, it’s done the opposite. The displays and the atmosphere have been detrimental and have trivialized everything we want to celebrate.

“We have to limit the damage. I don’t think this is healthy.”

Wery had gone so far as to research with the Alliance Defense Fund, a national advocacy group, which he said offered to defend Green Bay in any lawsuit erupting out of the display. Wery said he’ll pass that on to the council if the council votes to move ahead with having a religious display area, but Wery himself wants no part of it.

“A lot of people I know that I put a lot of trust and faith in, this is really rubbing them the wrong way,” he said. “And how quickly it came upon us, the way it happened, is leaving a bad taste in people’s mouths.

“It’s not a bad thing to just say we made a mistake and then just stop.”

Flying Spaghetti Monster

This also from the Press-Gazette story:

Schmitt said Monday he didn’t realize until that day that the wreath and pentacle involved witchcraft. Wicca is a nature-based religion based on respect for the earth, nature and the cycle of the seasons, but Schmitt said he believed it was wrong to allow a Wiccan display next to the nativity scene.

He described other proposed displays as “silly.” He was referring especially to the Festivus pole and was not familiar with the “Flying Spaghetti Monster” display that an aide told him had also been proposed Monday. The Flying Spaghetti Monster is an Internet-based parody of religion.

RELATED: Festivus pole, Unitarian peace symbol, Wiccan wreath, and more are casualties at City Hall battle - Green Bay City Hall: Nativity Scene Ground Zero

- Alexander
The Scrooge Report

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LATEST UPDATE: Baby Jesus, Joseph and Mary can stay another week at Green Bay’s City Hall; moratorium on other displays sticks

CHURCH AND STATE…GONE WILD

A Wiccan wreath next to a nativity display was torn down by a vandal Monday. The request to have a Festivus pole (see Seinfeld) has already been denied.

A Unitarian’s peace symbol wreath was also nixed by the mayor, and those that want nothing displayed at Green Bay’s City Hall during the Christmas season are left waiting in the cold.

Only the nativity display is left standing Monday, and even its existence is in question as city council members meet Tuesday night to discuss rules and regulations for religious displays at City Hall. 

Also in the mix: atheist groups chomping at the bit, ready to file lawsuits.

Meanwhile, Mayor Jim Schmitt called a moratorium until the full city council meets.

Mayor Schmidt wants the council to agree that the religious display, “must be a symbol recognized by the associated religion and a symbol of an official holiday of the associated religion of which said holiday is celebrated between December 8th and the 31st.” In addition, anyone wanting to add a symbol would have to pay a $100 fee.

For the latest from Green Bay’s spiritual ground zero go to MyFox N.E. Wisconsin for news and video.

- Alexander
The Scrooge Report

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UPDATE: Councilman on Nativity Scene: ‘We made a mistake’

LATEST UPDATE: Baby Jesus, Joseph and Mary can stay another week at Green Bay’s City Hall; moratorium on other displays sticks

SCROOGE ALERT

Sometimes I wonder whatever happened to reason. Can somebody write a song, “The Day Reason Died?” I’ll start….and they were singing bye bye Miss American pie, drove my Chevy to the levee and the levee was dry…and so on.

You know, they call themselves educators, but sometimes school officials are less than educated…especially when it comes to taking actions that are far from wise.

This from FOXNews:

Girl, 10, Arrested for Using Knife to Cut Food at School

A 10-year-old Florida girl faces felony weapons charges after bringing a small steak knife to school to cut up her lunch, according to a report on WFTV.com.

School officials say the Ocala 5th grader had brought a piece of steak for her lunch, and had brought a steak knife. According to the report, a couple of teachers took the utensil and called authorities, who arrested the girl and took her to the county’s juvenile assessment center.

“She did not use it inappropriately. She did not threaten anyone with it. She didn’t pull it out and brandish it. Nothing of that nature,” explained Marion County School Spokesman Kevin Christian, who added that it made no difference what the knife was being used for, they had no choice but to call police.

“Anytime there’s a weapon on campus, yes, we have to report it and we aggressively report it because we don’t want to take any chances, regardless,” Christian said.

The girl now faces a felony charge for possessing a weapon on school property and has been suspended from school for ten days. The parents of the girl could not be reached for comment, WFTV.com reported