One of my commenters has recently accused me of being mentally ill or a liar for believing that former president Jimmy Carter's current book reveals a deep seated anti-Semitism. I disagree with that contention (as do the voices in my head).

However, in the interest of fairness, I believe I should at least post something taking the contrary position -- especially since a wonderfully written and reasoned piece by Rabbi Schmuley Boteach appeared in today's Jerusalem Post arguing that Carter is not, in fact, an anti-Semite. Rather, the book reveals a different problem with Carter's world-view..

But with the publication of Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, [Carter's] ignorant rant against Israel, many in the American Jewish community believe that Carter is not just a loser but an anti-Semite. I disagree.

Jimmy Carter is not so much anti-Semite as anti-intellectual, not so much a Jew-hater as a boor. The real explanation behind his limitless hostility to Israel is a total lack of any moral understanding.

Carter wants to do what's just. His heart's in the right place. He just can't figure out what the right is. He is, and always has been, a man of good intentions bereft of good judgment. He invariably finds himself defending tyrants and dictators at the expense of their oppressed peoples. Not because he is a bad man, but because he is a confused man.

Aonfused? How so? After all, Carter is often presented as one as the major do-gooders out there, a man with a deep sense of right and wrong. Indeed, many folks have argued that Carter is what our greatest elder statesman. How, then is Carter confused? Quite bluntly, it is a confusion based in a fundamentally flawed view of right and wrong.

CARTER SUBSCRIBES to what I call the Always Root for the Underdog school of morality. Rather than develop any real understanding of a conflict, immediately he sides with the weaker party, however wicked or immoral.

Israel has tanks and F-16's. The Palestinians don't. Therefore the Palestinians are being oppressed. Never mind that the Palestinians have rejected every offer to live side by side with Israel in peace and elected a government pledged to Israel's annihilation. Their poverty dictates the righteousness of their cause even if their actions speak otherwise.

That makes a certain sense. Cuba is weaker than the US -- therefore Castro is a good guy. North Korea is weaker than the US and South Korea -- therefore Kim Jong-Il is not a dictator and is fully justified in seeking nuclear power and weapons while his people starve. Hugo Chavez is supported by the poor of Venezuela, and he is therefore not a bad guy despite his anti-Americanism and evidence of vote fraud int he election Carter certified. Indeed, it even explains why Carter undercut the Shah of Iran and was rendered impotent in the face of the taking of American hostages in Iran -- as a US ally, the Shah was the obvious villain in Iran and Khomeni was a force for good, and any significant action against Iran would have been evil because of the power differential between the US and the Iranians, no matter how grave the provocation. And that confused moral calculus does clearly explain why Israeli self-defense against Palestinian terrorism constitutes a moral evil (greater even than the Rwandan genocide) in Carter's eyes.

Which, of course, absolves Carter of the charge of anti-Semitism in Boteach's book.

No, Carter is not anti-Semitic so much as a man whose lack of judgment and shallowness render him absolutely incapable of telling right from wrong.

Carter's obscene comparison of Israel with apartheid South Africa ignores the fact that Israel is the first country to airlift tens of thousands of black Africans to become free and full citizens in its borders, a phenomenon that has no precedent in the history of the world.

But by saying that the Palestinians are being subjected to apartheid Carter has grossly maligned not Jews, but black South Africans. Whereas black South Africans inspired the world with their humane capacity for forgiveness and peaceful coexistence with their white brethren, even after having been so egregiously wronged, the Palestinians have unfortunately embraced murderous hatred and racism. Arab newspapers routinely publish grotesque caricatures of Jews, and the Palestinians teach kindergarten children to grow up and blow up Israeli buses.

Nelson Mandela rose to become the world's greatest statesman with his articulation of brotherhood and reconciliation. But Yasser Arafat fathered international terrorism and stole hundreds of millions of dollars from his own people.

Which leads to one conclusion: Before one runs around the world as a global do-gooder, one should first develop the ability to identify the good.

In other words, Carter's moral compass is broken, and his words and actions must therefore be understood in light of that character flaw.

So I'll concede that the good rabbi may have a point -- Jimmy Carter does not have Jew-hatred in his heart, but has simply lost his ability to distinguish good from evil (if he ever had it). But given that his current book, recent column, and other statements echo the statements of Jew-haters over the centuries, the argument can still be made that even if he is not motivated by animus towards Jews, his recent activities have been functionally anti-Semitic. So while my criticism of the man may be seen as unfair by some, I stand by my criticism of his position -- and ask if the difference is one that really makes any difference.

Posted by: Greg at 10:54 AM | Comments (19) | Add Comment
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1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
3 And everyone went to his own town to register.

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.
5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born,
7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.
9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

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Acts like these must be condemned as unequivocally at odds with the teachings of Our Savior Jesus Christ, whose birth we mark this day.

Police in Houston and Fort Bend County are investigating two incidents in which Jewish holiday decorations were vandalized.

Investigators do not know if the cases are related but the regional director of the Houston Anti-Defamation League, Martin Cominsky, said he is concerned about the incidents.

"Our hope is that the spirit of the holiday won't get destroyed and that people will understand that we are trying to create a community of respect and destroying other's religious symbols is not the model for that," Cominsky said today.

Cominsky said it is not unusual to have vandalism against holiday and religious decorations.

"Nativity scenes are sometimes destroyed," he said.

"I am concerned that any individual would try to destroy the religious symbol of another," Cominsky said.

The latest incident happened about 9 p.m. Sunday in the 5100 block of Loch Lomond in Meyerland at the home of Brian Cweren .

Cweren said he heard a noise coming from the front yard and looked outside and saw his inflatable menorah had been deflated and was on the ground.

A surveillance camera installed by Cweren captured an image of a man getting out of a Chevrolet Tahoe and walking onto the front yard. The man used something to puncture the menorah then jumped into the Tahoe and sped away.

Cweren said he called police and while he was on the phone the man returned and punctured an inflatable bear.

The man escaped before officers arrived.

Meanwhile, the Fort Bend County Sheriff's office is trying to determine who destroyed a plastic menorah at the entrance of the Lakewind subdivision in the New Territory development.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Terriann Carlson said the incident was reported about 10:45 a.m. Sunday at Homeward Way and Kendall Creek.

A menorah made from plastic pipe and adorned with lights had been smashed, Carlson said.

Police do not know if the two incidents are connected but Carlson said Fort Bend investigators will touch base with Houston police.

Cominsky said the incident in New Territory comes one year after some Jewish residents were frustrated because the neighborhood's holiday decorations only include Christmas items.

"And so a resident appealed to the homeowner's association (this year) and got permission to put up this menorah," Cominsky said.

As I Christian, I offer my solidarity in anger and offense at these acts of violation of symbols of the Jewish faith. It is my sincere hope that the perpetrators are caught and brought to justice quickly for these unacceptable acts.

And may my many Jewish friends, acquaintances, and readers be blessed by God during this holy season, and my they recognize that they and their faith are held in great esteem by the overwhelming majority of Christians.

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This split within the Orthodox Churches is quite sad.

Rival groups of monks wielding crowbars and sledgehammers clashed Wednesday over control of a 1,000-year-old monastery in a community regarded as the cradle of Orthodox Christianity, police said.

Seven monks were injured and taken by boat to receive medical treatment. They were released after several hours. No one was arrested, but three monks were banned from re-entering the Orthodox sanctuary of Mount Athos, on a self-governing peninsula in northern Greece.

Esphigmenou monastery is the scene of a long-running dispute between Orthodox Church authorities and rebel monks who occupy the site. Both Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, leader of the Orthodox Christian church, and Greece's highest administrative court have ordered their eviction, but the monks refuse to budge.

The rebel monks vehemently oppose efforts to improve relations between the Orthodox Church and the Vatican.

The fighting broke out between the rebel monks and a group of legally recognized monks.

The outsiders attempted to force their way into the monastery's offices in Karyes, the administrative center, to begin construction of a new building. The occupying monks attacked them with crowbars and fire extinguishers.

Esphigmenou's rebel abbot, Methodius, said his monks were provoked.

"We were attacked and had to respond," he said. "They should be ashamed to call themselves men of the cloth."

In October, a court in the nearby city of Thessaloniki handed down two-year suspended sentences against nine monks and former monastery members for illegally occupying Esphigmenou's offices.

A pity that the rebel monks show neither submission to the leaders of their church nor charity towards their fellow Christians.

Posted by: Greg at 05:19 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I'm saddened by this decision by the city of Fort Collins, Colorado, but pleased by the decision of many city merchants to show greater sensitivity.

A few Fort Collins merchants are adding a Jewish menorah to their holiday displays following a decision by the city last week not to include one in the city's display.

Despite a renewed request by Rabbi Yerachmiel Gorelik, of the Chabad Center of Northern Colorado, the Downtown Urban Renewal Authority stuck with limiting the city's display in Old Town to nutcrackers, Christmas trees and elves.

"I showed them a video of every president lighting a menorah at the White House," said Gorelik. "It's so unfair to promote only one religion, but I don't think they reconsidered it for a moment."

This is the second year Gorelik tried and failed to sway the city.

So, on Dec. 21, as in past years, Gorelik will light a menorah in celebration of Hanukkah at the Old Town display, but after the ceremony it will be moved to a nearby pub's lighting display.

U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., will attend this year's menorah lighting.

Gorelik said more than a dozen other Fort Collins businesses and a school have called him about putting a menorah in their holiday lighting displays.

The eight days of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, mark the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem in 165 B.C. after a long war. There was only enough oil for single night's light, but the oil lasted for eight nights.

Phil Pringle, who owns Pringle's Wine and Liquors in Fort Collins, said he's going to add a menorah to the holiday decorations at his shop.

"I'm Catholic, but I'm a great proponent of free speech," said Pringle. "Instead of being so antiseptic, I'd like to see the city be more tolerant."

Pringle said he understands the city's legal concerns, but believes symbols that reflect other religious beliefs could be included in the city's display.

"I have no problem with Kwanzaa or pagans. I wouldn't object to a winter solstice display," said Pringle, who has owned the liquor store for 24 years.

Gorelik said he has supplied several businesses with menorahs and said it's the city's Christmas trees that caused the dispute.

"This is not initiated by the menorah, it's initiated by the Christmas trees," he said.

The city should have included a menorah in its holiday decore -- and it should have also included a Nativity scene, out of recognition of the reason for the season. But I will remind Rabbi Gorelik that the menorah is, strictly speaking, a religious symbol whereas the Christmas tree is not -- a principle long upheld by American courts.

But most important, we see the inclusion -- indeed, the welcoming -- of Jews and their holiday traditions by average people, a reality not found many other places on this globe.

UPDATE: The New York Times has great coverage of this story today.

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After all, if they are ordering a retrial, it doesn’t seem like such a victory for the right to speak freely.

Two Christian pastors found to have vilified Muslims under Victoria's religious hatred law won their appeal and hailed the decision as a victory for free speech.

The Court of Appeal ordered the case to be reheard at the original tribunal, before a different judge and with no further evidence. It set aside the orders for public apologies in newspaper advertisements and for the pastors not to repeat their remarks.

Last year Judge Michael Higgins found that Pastors Danny Nalliah and Daniel Scot and Catch the Fire Ministries vilified Muslims at a seminar on jihad in Melbourne in March 2002, in a newsletter and a website article.

He said these suggested that the Koran promoted killing and looting, that Muslims wanted to take over Australia and terrorists were true Muslims.

Justices Geoffrey Nettle, David Ashley and Marcia Neave overturned that finding but rejected the appeal that the Racial and Religious Vilification Act was unconstitutional.

They ordered the Islamic Council of Victoria, which brought the original complaint, to pay half the appellants' appeal costs but left the costs of the original hearing to be decided by the judge who rehears the case.

On what basis was the original decision overturned? This one – a distinction that I think is very important.

Justice Geoffrey Nettle said Judge Higgins equated hating Muslims' religious beliefs with hating Muslims because of their beliefs. This was not so — many people might despise Pastor Scot's perception of Christianity, yet not dream of hating him.

"No doubt the purpose of the act is to promote religious tolerance. But the act cannot and does not purport to mandate religious tolerance," he said in his judgement.

Indeed, Judge Higgins had held that quoting the Koran to prove a negative point about Islam constituted religious vilification of Muslims – effectively arguing that the truth was not only not a defense in such cases, but was evidence of the offense having been committed.

Posted by: Greg at 02:09 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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After all, if they are ordering a retrial, it doesnÂ’t seem like such a victory for the right to speak freely.

Two Christian pastors found to have vilified Muslims under Victoria's religious hatred law won their appeal and hailed the decision as a victory for free speech.

The Court of Appeal ordered the case to be reheard at the original tribunal, before a different judge and with no further evidence. It set aside the orders for public apologies in newspaper advertisements and for the pastors not to repeat their remarks.

Last year Judge Michael Higgins found that Pastors Danny Nalliah and Daniel Scot and Catch the Fire Ministries vilified Muslims at a seminar on jihad in Melbourne in March 2002, in a newsletter and a website article.

He said these suggested that the Koran promoted killing and looting, that Muslims wanted to take over Australia and terrorists were true Muslims.

Justices Geoffrey Nettle, David Ashley and Marcia Neave overturned that finding but rejected the appeal that the Racial and Religious Vilification Act was unconstitutional.

They ordered the Islamic Council of Victoria, which brought the original complaint, to pay half the appellants' appeal costs but left the costs of the original hearing to be decided by the judge who rehears the case.

On what basis was the original decision overturned? This one – a distinction that I think is very important.

Justice Geoffrey Nettle said Judge Higgins equated hating Muslims' religious beliefs with hating Muslims because of their beliefs. This was not so — many people might despise Pastor Scot's perception of Christianity, yet not dream of hating him.

"No doubt the purpose of the act is to promote religious tolerance. But the act cannot and does not purport to mandate religious tolerance," he said in his judgement.

Indeed, Judge Higgins had held that quoting the Koran to prove a negative point about Islam constituted religious vilification of Muslims – effectively arguing that the truth was not only not a defense in such cases, but was evidence of the offense having been committed.

Posted by: Greg at 02:09 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Talk about intolerant “tolerance” by the forces of secularism – this takes the cake!

A high school choir was asked to stop singing Christmas carols during an ice skating show featuring Olympic medalist Sasha Cohen out of concern the skater would be offended because she's Jewish.

A city staff member, accompanied by a police officer, approached the Rubidoux High School Madrigals at the Riverside Outdoor Ice Skating Rink just as they launched into "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" and requested that the troupe stop singing, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported Thursday.

Cohen, the 2006 Olympic silver medalist and 2006 U.S. National Champion, had just finished her performance at the rink on the downtown pedestrian mall, and was signing autographs.

Choir director Staci Della-Rocco said she complied with the request "because a policeman told me to stop. I didn't want to have a big old huge scene in front of my kids," according to the newspaper.

The city staff member, special-events employee Michelle Baldwin, could not be reached for comment. City Development Director Belinda J. Graham confirmed the incident.

Now for what it was worth, Ms. Baldwin seems to have been acting outside of the scope of city policy.

"This request was simply made by a staff member who was attempting to be sensitive to the celebrity guest, without considering the wider implications ... or consulting with her supervisor for guidance," Graham said in an e-mail to the newspaper.

Mayor Ron Loveridge called the incident "unfortunate."

"You kind of wish people do a little checking first. You certainly have my apology," he said, referring to the choir members.

But that Baldwin even thought the request was appropriate – and that the officer was willing to accompany her to silence the group – should tell you just how far some folks are willing to go to ensure that everybody except Christians are receive “tolerant” and “sensitive” treatment.

Oh, and as for Sasha Cohen, she never requested that the songs stop, nor does she object to hearing Christmas carols. Seems to me that the city employees involved could take a lesson from the person in whose name they were acting.

Posted by: Greg at 02:06 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Seems to place a higher value on virginity and reputation than on human life.

A Jordanian man has shot dead his daughter and her fiance on rumours that the couple had engaged in premarital sex.

The suspect has confessed to the authorities "that he shot the couple after his wife informed him she had heard from neighbours that her daughter and her boyfriend had been having sexual relations," the Jordan Times reported, quoting a police officer.

The father said he was "infuriated" by the rumours and apparently decided to kill the couple to cleanse his family's honour, the official said.

The suspect was arrested and charged with murder on Saturday, two days after the killing of his 21-year-old daughter and her 23-year-old fiance.

An autopsy revealed that young woman was a virgin, the report added.

Since January, more than 12 women have been killed in similar "honour crimes" in the conservative Muslim kingdom.

Hundreds of Muslim women die each year at the hands of family members for offenses such as alleged premarital sexual activity, being the victim of rape, or being alone with an unrelated man. How soon until we start seeing such offensive practices become common place here?

Posted by: Greg at 11:16 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I guess it helps to be a darling of the liberals -- then there is no outrage.

Hot on the heels of Mel Gibson and Michael Richards, radio personality Don Imus let loose with his own barrage of antisemitic vitriol on the November 30 broadcast of his “Imus in the Morning” show.

That morning, the program, which is produced in New York by WFAN and simulcast on MSNBC, was going to host a group of gospel singers known as the Blind Boys of Alabama. In anticipation of their appearance, Imus recalled reservations voiced by station supervisors prior to an earlier appearance by the group.

“I remember when I first had ’em on a few years ago,” Imus said. “The Jewish management at, whoever we work for, CBS, were bitchin’ at me about it.” WFAN is a subsidiary of WCBS radio.

“We had a meeting in my office,” Imus continued. “They were furious, but of course I don’t care what they say and never have.”

At this point, the show’s executive producer, Bernard McGuirk, a regular on-air presence, said of the Blind Boys, “Even if you wear a beanie, how can you not love these guys?”

“I tried to put it in terms that these money-grubbing bastards could understand,” Imus replied. “I said: ‘They’re handicapped, they’re black and they’re blind. How do we lose here?’ And then a light bulb went off over their scummy little heads.”

Imus co-host Larry Kenney, an impressionist who appeared earlier in the program as the Rev. Jerry Falwell, then said: “They probably were trying to push a more Semitic group on you. I don’t know, maybe the Paralyzed Putzes of Poland, or something like that.”

“You can’t believe what goes on behind the scenes, at least with me with these people,” Imus said. “And fortunately, I don’t care.”

Imagine that line coming from a commentator like Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, or Bill OÂ’Reilly. There would be a public uproar, even more vitriolic than the furor over Mel GibsonÂ’s drunken tirade. Why hasnÂ’t ImusÂ’ clearly offensive comments provoked an outrage.

Oh, that’s right – Imus is seen as a friend by the liberals, so he gets a pass regardless of how offensive his statements are.

Posted by: Greg at 12:45 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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I cannot believe how far down the road of dhimmitude some have gone – incidents like this are not examples of “tolerance” or “accommodation”, but are instead a flat-out surrender of law and culture to a force alien to Western society.

A COUNCIL has sparked fury by virtually shutting a swimming pool on Sunday afternoons for “Muslim-only” sessions.

All women are banned — and non-Muslim men may swim IF they follow the strict Islamic dress code of swim shorts that hide the navel and extend below the knee.

Croydon Council in South London runs the sessions at Thornton Heath leisure centre between 4.45pm and 6.45pm.

Similar slots are laid on for Muslim women outside opening hours, where bathers must be covered from the neck down to the ankle.

Locals who flock to the areaÂ’s only major leisure centre each week are furious.
Member Daniel Foley, 44, said: “I turned up and saw a sign saying it was closing early for Muslim afternoon — I couldn’t believe it.”

Nearby Croydon Mosque defended the move. It said: “Muslims are not allowed to show off intimate parts of their body. This is non-negotiable. Muslims have as much right to go swimming as anyone else.”

Croydon Council said: “We are keen to ensure sports facilities are there for everyone.”

But what the Council doesn’t realize is that their decision doesn’t ensure that the facility is there for everyone. Rather, it segregates and separates, limiting access to the general public during times when the facility has customarily been open to them. I’m certain that the Council would not consider a “Whites Only” swim time to accommodate those who object to being surrounded by non-whites, or a “Christians Only” swim time. Until and unless the facility is rented out to a Muslim group for such exclusive use, the facility ought to remain open to all in the name of tolerance and equality of all the people of the area.

Posted by: Greg at 07:05 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Pray five times a day -- or die!

Residents of a southern Somalia town who do not pray five times a day will be beheaded, an Islamic courts official said Wednesday, adding the edict will be implemented in three days.

Public places such as shops and tea houses in Bulo Burto, about 124 miles northeast of the capital, Mogadishu, should be closed during prayer time and no one should be on the streets, said Sheik Hussein Barre Rage, the chairman of the town's Islamic court.

Those who do not follow this edict "will definitely be beheaded according to Islamic law," Rage told The Associated Press by phone. "As Muslims, we should practice Islam fully, not in part, and that is what our religion enjoins us to do."

He said that the courts are announcing the edict over loudspeakers in the town.

Let's just call it the "Religion Of Hack Your Opponents To Pieces".

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Bravo for the Holy See, which insists upon ministering to all people in all parts of the world, and standing up to the Red Chinese dictators who operate a puppet church that regularly flaunts the authority of the Pope.

The Vatican will move to resume relations with China after more than half a century if religious freedom is allowed but it will not abandon China's diplomatic rival Taiwan, an official said on Tuesday.

The Vatican, which Taiwan sees as an important ally as it fights for international legitimacy against China, would seek to restore an apostolic nunciature in Beijing for the first time since the Communist Party began ruling China in 1949, said Monsignor Ambrose Madtha, charge d'affaires at the Vatican's diplomatic mission in Taipei.

But the Vatican would seek to keep a delegate in Taiwan, he said. Taiwan split from China in 1949 after the civil war that brought the Communists to power, and the Vatican went with it.

"Holy See's position is quite clear and is known to the Taiwanese government," Madtha said. "The Holy See would maintain its delegate in Taipei. The Holy see will not abandon Taiwan."

Thank you, Holy Father, for standing up against Communist oppression, as your sainted predecessor did before you.

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It's Christmas time. Let's have a manger, shepherds, wise men and a star -- but no Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!

Christ is missing from Christmas in this small town. The community's holiday display has a manger with shepherds, a guiding star, camels and a palm tree, but no baby Jesus, Mary or Joseph.

The parks superintendent said Jesus was left out because of concerns about the separation of church and state. But Mayor Dick Callaway said it was done for purely technical reasons: "It's not easy to put a light-up representation of a baby in a small manger scene, you know."

In recent years, some communities around the country have dropped nativity scenes after the displays were challenged as unconstitutional. Some communities have tried to head off legal problems by incorporating nonreligious symbols, or symbols of more than one faith, to avoid the appearance of endorsing one religion over another.

David Cunningham, parks superintendent in this town of 11,000, initially insisted St. Albans' display was not even technically a manger scene because he was concerned about possible lawsuits. But the mayor said such anxieties were unwarranted.

"We have a manger scene," the mayor said.

No, you have a parody of the Christmas story -- take it down, and keep the city offices open on Christmas Day. Oh yeah, and prepare to lose the next election, for we Christians will not be mocked by this patronizing insult to our faith.

UPDATE: Jesus is back -- but he will be "Abandoned Baby Jesus", with no Mary and Joseph.

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I reject the religion, but I applaud the United States Government for approving a religious symbol for the graves of its adherents killed in the service of the United States.

The widow of a soldier killed in Afghanistan saw a Wiccan symbol placed on a memorial plaque for her husband Saturday, after fighting the federal government for more than a year over the emblem.

Roberta Stewart, widow of Sgt. Patrick Stewart, and Wiccan leaders said it was the first government-issued memorial plaque with a Wiccan pentacle, a five-pointed star enclosed in a circle.

More than 50 friends and family dedicated the plaque at Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, Nev., about 45 miles east of Reno.

They praised Gov. Kenny Guinn (R) for his role in getting the Nevada Office of Veterans Services to issue the plaque in September. The agency cited its jurisdiction over the state veterans' cemetery.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has approved the symbols of 38 other faiths for use in national veterans' cemeteries; about half are versions of the Christian cross.

The Jewish Star of David, the Muslim crescent, the Buddhist wheel, the Mormon angel, the nine-pointed star of Bahai and an atomic whirl for atheists are also permitted, but not the pentacle.

VA officials have said they are rewriting rules for approving emblems, but the process requires a public comment period.

About 1,800 active-duty service members identify themselves as Wiccans, according to 2005 Defense Department statistics, and Wicca is one of the fastest-growing faiths in the country. Its adherents worship the Earth and believe they must give to the community. Some consider themselves "white" or good witches, pagans or neo-pagans.

Patrick Stewart and four other soldiers died Sept. 25, 2005, when their Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan. He was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.

I'm just sorry it took so long to do the right thing here.

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With reluctance, I support them. But I feel sad about needing to do so.

All snout and tail, the pink and brown pigs contentedly rooting in the wire pen behind Craig Baker's stone shop seem piggishly comic. They're racing pigs, after all, and that's got to be funny.

But few in the sprawling subdivisions along Baker Road are laughing.

These pigs are subtle weapons, here to show the new neighbors — the Katy Islamic Association — they aren't entirely welcome. Tension has been growing in this west Harris County community since September when the Muslim group announced it had purchased 11 acres south of Interstate 10 to build a mosque, school, community center and athletic facilities.

Hard feelings started when Baker met association officials, who, he said, advised him he should move his stone shop.

"They told me it was time for my family to pack up," said Baker, whose family has occupied its land since the early 1800s. "They said a mosque and a marble shop didn't go too good together."

Angered by the perceived insult and aware of Islamic dietary laws banning pork consumption, Baker responded by announcing he would stage weekly pig races on his Muslim neighbors' holiest day of prayer.

Ordinarily, I would oppose anyone making new neighbors, especially a house of worship, unwelcome in such a manner. But it strikes me that Baker's actions don't make any sense absent some sort of provocation from the Katy Islamic Association. After all, why would a successful and respected businessman, a life-long resident of the community with roots in the area that go back to the early nineteenth century, take actions that are likely to alienate as many folks as they please?

The new neighbors are offended.

But aren't pigs on the property line racing on a Friday night a little offensive to a Muslim neighbor?

"The meat of a pig is prohibited in the religion of Islam," said Katy Islamic Association member Youssof Allam. "It's looked upon as a dirty creature."

Yeah, there's that and also that Friday night is a Muslim holy day.

"That is definitely a slap in the face," said Allam.

But is it really any more of a slap in the face than telling a man to close up his business and move away? Or beginning construction on the property without applying for -- much less being issued -- the appropriate permits? It seems to me that there is a real problem here with regard to the conduct of the Katy Islamic Association.

There are, of course other concerns from the local community.

"It's not an appropriate place to have a mosque or church," said resident Barbara Simpson.

It isn't going over real well.

"As a house of worship, they shouldn't be disturbing the peace and tranquility of 15 homes," said resident John Wetmore.

Neighbors tell us they're concerned about traffic and drainage and a little fear of the unknown. Some of the homeowners even offered to buy the land back for more than a million dollars. The K.I.A. doesn't seem very interested in the offers.

"We're not going anywhere," said Katy Islamic Association member Alvi Muzfar.

And frankly, I don't find any of those arguments convincing. After all, this is a developing area in which the road will, sooner or later, be widened to accommodate the additional residences. A house of worship in the area is not, as County Commissioner Steve Radack points out, in any way incompatible with the area. And the drainage issues will be dealt with in the permitting process, just as they would if there were a new sub-division put in. So I see no reason NOT to build the mosque complex, and urge the community to welcome their new neighbors.

But I also urge the Katy Islamic Association to make amends with Craig Baker for whatever offense they caused, wittingly or unwittingly -- at which point I hope Baker will send his piggies to market or donate them to the Katy ISD FFA program.

And I repeat what I have said here in the past -- even though I have serious problems with the tenets of Islam, though long experience I know that most Muslims are decent, hard-working, peace-loving people. They are welcome here in this country as citizens and friends, with an absolute right to the liberties guaranteed in our Constitution. But they do not have to impose Islamic practices and values upon the rest of us, nor do they have a right not to be offended by others acting contrary to Islam. After all, religious freedom is a two-way street.

UPDATE: Here is evidence of bad faith on the part of KIA.

For now the KIA has been ordered to halt all building on their property because the organization has been issued a notice of permit violation by the Harris County Building Permits division.

“A violation is in place and they have to stop all construction until they offer information we have asked them for and until they have a permit issued,” said Raymond Anderson, Manager of the Harris County Permits Division.

“If they do not confer with our policies in place they could be referred to the (Harris County) District Attorney's office.”

Seems to me that the neighbors might very well have some things to be concerned about.

And notice, please, that the spokesman for the group refuses to answer questions about the comments to Craig baker. If they were never made, why no denial?

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