The Feds Look To Pull Christ From Christmas In D.C.

As the payment due bills for Christmas past continue to roll in today for millions of Americans, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is involved in a lawsuit over its refusal to run Catholic ads on buses and trains that show a picture of shepherds and the website FindThePerfectGift.org.

This is a culture war/ religious freedom/freedom of speech /Todd Starnes kinda stuff.

The back story starts back in November when the Archdiocese of Washington sued for the right to advertise but a federal judge appointed by President Obama upheld ban.

Where it gets convoluted is that the transit authority recognizes TWO aspects to Christmas—one secular and the other religious.  In other words, Santa, trees, Yule logs, Reindeer, etc.. are all ok to appear in ads but anything with religious connotations such as shepherds, angels, mangers, etc. well, that’s just too much on the religious side of Christmas.

Hey transit—NEWSFLASH—The first word in Christmas is Christ! There is no separating the two.

According to a report in World Net Daily,  the Judge said, “The regulation is reasonably aligned with (the transit’s) duty to provide safe, reliable transportation … and it does not violate the First Amendment.”

The archdiocese appealed the decision saying that the transit authority violated the Constitution and several other organizations agree like the First Liberty Institute and the Ethics and Public Policy Center which contend that the transit authority is engaging in “blatant viewpoint and religious discrimination.”

The groups called on the district court to reverse its order allowing the transit authority to discriminate against the Catholic ads.   Nice try transit if if you try to take Christ out of Christmas, all you're left with is a mas (mess?)