| Last week's poem sparked a lot of emails. Obviously, Red Bluff people have strong feelings regarding our county's censorship of religious holiday themes for the upcoming religious holiday. Huh? Yeah, you might have to read that last phrase twice. It was hard to write it, too. Have you ever heard of something called "The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment?" Very interesting. Lawyer David C. Gibbs sums it up like this: "A public school or local community may include religious items in a holiday or winter display, as long as they are part of a combined secular/religious display." I sooo wish our Constitution came in an easier format that would help our county officials who are making this decision! You all know I am something of an aspiring author. I've had numerous attempts on this website to write a children's book. So far, I haven't had any takers. Well, if at first you don't succeed, try to convince everyone that you weren't doing it for recognition...you had some deeper reason that transcended materialistic gain. Here's the book cover and first 2 pages of my latest effort: \ It promises to be a very short book. The county allowed Santa after deeming him a secular decoration, therefore, it seems that it is unconstitutional for them to ban religious decorations. Gibbs writes that "the Supreme Court has stated that the Establishment Clause requires neutrality, not censorship. With respect to private holiday displays, nativity scenes may not be banned while other seasonal decorations are permitted." At least one local citizen, far more knowledgeable about this clause than I am, brought it to the attention of the county and then spoke of the results in a public meeting. I would really like to interview this man and if he will contact me, I will post his thoughts on this site. "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." Ronald Reagan Click here to read David Gibb's full article. Other stuff... I would like to draw your attention to a tree I saw earlier this week. This Red Bluff home owner has replicated the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree in his front yard. |
| It almost has as much character as this, my favorite Red Bluff Christmas Tree. To read my thoughts on this tree by the freeway as well as last year's mortifying snowflake incident, click here. |
If you allow this... |
then you must allow this: |
