Loudoun reverses holiday decision

In a reversal of their earlier decision, Loudoun County supervisors have decided to allow holiday displays at the Courthouse as in years past ... except this time they lost a long-time displayer.

The Washington Examiner reported:

Despite the board's reversal, the Leesburg Rotary Club decided to move its annual display to a new location in downtown Leesburg, ending a tradition dating to the 1960s. Club President Ron Rogos said the club did not want to get involved in a political debate.
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A "Keep Leesburg Courthouse Nativity Scene" online petition had garnered nearly 1,200 signatures as of Thursday. Residents also poured into a public meeting last week to oppose the ban and bombarded the board with hundreds of e-mails.

What happens next year?

Loudoun residents fight back against Christmas ban at courthouse

The residents of Loudoun County are fighting City Hall or, in this case, the county government. If Loudoun County thought they were going to ban all holiday symbols from the courthouse lawn without hearing from local citizens, they were wrong, wrong, wrong:

Dozens of angry Christmas tree supporters, dressed in red, attended a public hearing of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Monday night.

They were there to express outrage over a recent ban on all holiday symbols from the lawn of the historic Loudoun County Courthouse. They're hoping to get the board to reverse the decision.

For 50 years, there has been a Christmas tree at the courthouse sponsored by the Rotary Club. A local attorney has put up a nativity scene for the last 20 years. There has also been a Jewish menorah, and interfaith services that include Muslims and Sikhs.

In this politically correct era of American history, did some feel it was easier to ban everything rather than risk offending a few?

The obscure Grounds and Facilities Committee, with members appointed by the Board of Supervisors, voted last month to ban all displays at the courthouse. Among the reasons given, too many requests to display inappropriate symbols said Dennis Welsh whose permit for a Nativity Scene was denied. "It's easier for them to ban all symbols than to choose which ones to ban and which ones to accept" he told 9NEWS NOW.

The committee notified the Rotary Club just before Thanksgiving. The chairman of the committee is now referring all calls to the county attorney, and 9NEWS NOW is still waiting for a call back from him.

Even the Washington advocacy group Americans United for the Separation of Church and State says the Leesburg display was probably on firm legal footing, because it had a long history and was open to other religions.

Loudoun County supervisors reportedly received hundreds of emails from angry residents. One supervisor sad most of the board had opposed the ban ... so how did it pass in the first place?

Good for Loudoun County citizens for standing up and making their voices heard about yet another politically correct decision by government officials that offends the majority.

H/T to Tim

Lowe's employee says she was fired over Christmas pin

The Smoky Mountains of eastern Tennessee are not where I have found political correctness ... Christmas is celebrated by most in the mountains around Newport, TN.

Check out this story by a woman who said her, "It's CHRISTmas for Christ's sake" pin, given to her by a customer when she admired it, got her fired by Lowe's Home Improvement management.

WATE TV-6 out of Knoxville, TN, has the story of what happened when Kristie Sutton was asked to remove the pin:

Sutton says she didn't remove it immediately. Instead, she pleaded her case to the human resources manager.

"I asked him why they could sell Christmas products, sell nativity scenes," she said, "but I couldn't wear a Christian pin?"

Sutton says she was told because of store policy, no one would be allowed to wear a pin supporting a religion.

Video of the interview as well as the transcript are on the WATE site.