Washington State Hates Christmas (Okay, O'Reilly Says So...)

Uh-oh, somebody has gotten Bill O'Reilly mad. But then again, who- or what hasn't?

Whether it's calling the Christmas tree a 'holiday' tree, or some Islamic celebration, if Bill O'Reilly of the Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor and Westwood One's The Radio Factor doesn't like it, he'll tell you about it.

Which is fine and dandy to your brother Darren here.

That said, the latest subject of his ire is the atheist display, which is a few feet from the Nativity scene at the Washington state capitol building in Olympia. You can look at the story on the KING 5 TV website, which you can get to by clicking on the title.

But, at the risk of wasting precious storage space on this loon, here's Mr. O'Reilly's gripe fest- in its' entirety:


jbranstetter04/YouTube/Fox News

Mr. O'Reilly calls it "political correction gone mad." That "there's no reason to post an anti-religion sign next to a Christmas display." He goes on to call the Democratic governor Christine Gregoire a "weak and confused leader." Gregoire and the state Attorney General Rob McKenna site that the group who put up the display, the Madison, Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation (http://www.ffrf.org/ ) went through the submission process- just like those who put up the Nativity scene- and was approved.

O'Really, Bill? (Sorry, couldn't pass up the chance to do a play on Bill's last name). The last time I checked, the Washington state capitol was a government facility, not a place of worship! But, apparently, William James O'Reilly, Jr. differs with me. O'Kay (there's that play on his name again). Fine with me.

Now, if a church allowed an atheist display, would that church be any less Christian or even Jewish? I think not. After all, if a church allows such a display, even if it disagrees with the atheist's beliefs, to me it shows open-mindedness on the church's part. Same goes for performing same sex marriages in churches that may disagree with such, but still allows it.

Look, there will be people who will do anything to burn the atheist sign in the Capitol rotunda. But then, they'd be hurting themselves in the end, because it would infringe on the atheist group's First Amendment rights. So, those of you who feel that Christianity is an endangered species- though I (being Christian myself) have my doubts, I ask you this: why even worry about some atheist or agnostic display or belief? Why are you letting it get to you? Don't you believe the First Amendment applies to them, too? At the risk of straying a bit, myself being black, I don't like what white supremacists say, but all in the same, they have the right to express their views- albeit, hopefully in a civil manner.

So, it goes with the atheist views, only, there are times when I feel that they're right about some of us Christians being a bit intolerant.

Ah, the First Amendment:

chefdices/YouTube/Live Leak

I'm sorry that you feel that way, Bill. But I'm siding with the atheists here.

(C) 2008 by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.