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Pastimes : Don't Ask Rambi -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JF Quinnelly who wrote (66201)	12/16/2004 6:50:46 AM
From: Ish	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 71178

Trex is part plastic and part wood. The porch is under the deck and doesn't have much slope. The joints in the metal roof are siliconed so it shouldn't leak even with snow on it.

To: JF Quinnelly who wrote (66201)	12/16/2004 5:31:05 PM
From: Rambi	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 71178

Having just performed two highly religious Christmas concerts which contained a lot of carols and spiritual music, seemingly without objection, I was surprised to read this was happening right across town in N. Dallas. Yup, right here in God's Country. It seems to me to be the height of absurdity, and how can anyone not expect backlash from the right, and even from people like me, who while not religious, don't have a lot of problems with seeing the traditions of Christmas celebrated. Yesterday at Costco, the checkout woman said to me, "Getting some Christmas shopping done, huh?" (Although why she thought a threepack of spaghetti sauce was going into anyone's stocking, I don't know. I did buy some books, but I always wind up doing that.) And she handed me my receipt and said, Merry Christmas! And do you know, it struck me how really secular that is now. She wasn't forcing her belief system down my throat. Good grief. I just hope the person in back of me didn't go running to management and get her fired. First they took away Christmas carols. worldnetdaily.com By Doug - Considerettes blog First they took away Christmas carols. Then they wouldn't even allow the instrumental versions to be played. And now? Now a school district has banned the colors red and green from a "Winter Break Party," requiring parents to bring only white plates and napkins. In response to the party policy, as well as many other rules a group of parents and students believe to be rank censorship, a lawsuit has been filed against the Plano Independent School District in Texas to fight back against its "religious hostility," as one attorney puts it. Other policies cited in the suit, filed today in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division, include a ban on candy cane distribution when a religious card is attached, a ban on parents giving religious-oriented items to one another on school property and a ban on criticizing school board members or administrators on campus. "This lawsuit includes a large amount of evidence that demonstrates the pervasive religious hostility in Plano ISD," said Hiram Sasser, director of litigation for Liberty Legal Institute, which, along with Alliance Defense Fund, is representing about 20 clients in the suit. The paranoia is reaching fever pitch. The First Amendment permits the free exercise of religion, not making government schools religion-free zones. One item included in the suit is the case of a girl student who was forbidden to invite her friends to an Easter event at her church, according to the law firm. "We've even got a mom who went to the school asking if her daughter at her birthday party could hand out a pencil with 'Jesus' on it," Shackelford told WND, "and the principal got so upset with her that he called the police. "It's just unbelievable stuff. We've been collecting these things for a year or two. This is a pervasive, district-wide problem of political correctness in the extreme." Freedom of speech stops at the school doors. Yes, the school system has the right to regulate speech to a point--especially if it is disruptive to the learning environment--but pencils with "Jesus" on them? Said Shackelford: "There's a huge difference between the school putting a sign out that says, 'We endorse Jesus,' and telling students and parents that they can't live out their faith." Commenting on the white-only policy for party supplies, Shackelford quipped, "I guess nobody has told them white could symbolize the purity of Christ. They'd probably ban white!"