Freedom From Religion Foundation. You're doing it wrong, folks.

Really, if the city council wants to do this, I don't have much of a problem with it.

Let's hope someone makes sure to put up a Flying Spaghetti Monster. I know there has to be some Pastafarians in Green Bay.

Council president Chad Fradette told a city committee he believed the U.S. Constitution upholds citizens' right to display symbols of their religious beliefs on publicly owned property as long as they are not paid for with tax money and other faiths aren't excluded.

Which is exactly right.

Christmas is a legitimate tourist event in my town. I may be an atheist, but it would be stupid to oppose something that supports my industry through the winter months in my area.

SphericalTime: Christmas is a legitimate tourist event in my town. I may be an atheist, but it would be stupid to oppose something that supports my industry through the winter months in my area.

How does that implicate the local government in any way?

What a bunch of attention whores.

/Both sides.

Isn't there a Muslim member on the house now from Minnesota?

Maybe he can put something up some Ramadan stuff for us to test these theories.

Seriously, can we get over this?

I know atheists aren't an organized movement for the most part... why would we be? What, should we have weekly meetings about our lack of faith?-- but don't we have bigger concerns than a stupid holiday decoration?

Can't these "high profile" atheists see that they're being distracted from the real problems, like the way religion is seeping into government and law? All because they're easily distracted by a light-up baby Jesus?

Honestly, it's embarrassing, and makes everyone look stupid. That said, the religious-types who are baiting people with their desperate need to display their faith everywhere and anywhere? They're not much better. Put the baby Jesus on your own lawn... isn't that enough?

Mordant: Not only is having the baby Jesus on one's own lawn not good enough, but they should actually attach a handle to each figure making it easier to use for bashing people over the head with.

Since that seems to be the main purpose for Jesus these days.

Heh. :)

There is a really weird display on a house on my way home from work. Not only does it look like Wal-Mart's light aisle threw up on the house -- every color and shape possible -- but they have a huge nativity... with an even bigger Mickey Mouse standing behind it.

The way Mickey Mouse's hands are positioned, it looks like the sign should say "Mickey Mouse presents... the BABY JESUS!!"

It's a really strange display. If I didn't feel weird about doing it, I'd pull over and take a picture of it, but that seems really rude and invasive.

Atheist leader Richard Dawkins, a recent convert to "Cultural Christianity," has declared an end to the War on Christmas: "I'm a cultural Christian ... I like singing carols along with everybody else. I'm not one of those who wants to purge our society of our Christian history." ~ Cultural Christian Richard Dawkins.

Time for his followers to follow suit.

SkinnyHead: I'm not one of those who wants to purge our society of our Christian history." ~ Cultural Christian Richard Dawkins.

I think that's really strange, but... the problem is, the hardcore religious don't want "Cultural Christians." they want hardcore Christians who think the baby Jesus really was born in a manger and that the rules of the bible should apply as rules in real life.

That's the problem.

I honestly could not care less what a Christian does with their own property, their own lives, and on their own time. It's only when it impacts me/people who don't follow their rules -- such as people who want gay rights, abortion rights, etc... that I have a problem with them.

A plastic baby Jesus? Meh. Knock yourself out. Put 60,000 of them out and pretend there was a little army of them born after your God impregnated a virgin via magic. I don't care about your beliefs -- especially the really fictional ones -- so long as you don't use them to try and control the rest of us by using your power and lobby to influence the law of the land.

kronicfeld: How does that implicate the local government in any way?

Because my local government pays to put up Christmas decorations in public areas and put on Christian specific displays. It's part of the local culture, and is a long established tradition that generates revenue for businesses adjacent to those public areas and for the government in the form of taxes.

It may be a Christian specific display, but it's a Christian specific display that makes money for me, an atheist, and for local business owners that include Jews and Muslims.

TheConvincingSavant: Council president Chad Fradette told a city committee he believed the U.S. Constitution upholds citizens' right to display symbols of their religious beliefs on publicly owned property as long as they are not paid for with tax money and other faiths aren't excluded.

How can athiests have a problem with this? So long as other religions are allowed, and the scene, and the electricity to power it are not payed with for government funds, these disturbed athiests won't have a leg to stand on.

Some of us don't.

Fradette had wanted to extend an invitation to all religions to put up displays, but committee members agreed a policy was needed to prevent people from testing the boundaries of taste.

Of course you don't want to give freedom over religious expression to those non-Christians. Because they would just ruin it.

Tis the season.

SkinnyHead: Time for his followers to follow suit.

I celebrate Christmas. That doesn't mean I think the government should spend money on it.

Do you think the government should be in charge of celebrating our holidays for us?

See some people think the government should not be involved in every aspect of our lives.

They have Santa stuff all over, why not other mythological things?

People in Green Bay should know there is no god.

There is only Brett Favre.

/suck it, theists
//you too, libs

I'm an atheist...I don't care if there's a nativity scene set up as long as my money isn't paying for it. I don't care if the stores have "holiday" sales or "christmas" sales. What I do care about is all the morons on both sides arguing about it constantly. I believe that the true atheists and the true christians are the ones who are quiet about this as they are the ones content and confident in their beliefs.