November 12, 2019

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker re-named the state capitol "holiday tree" the "Christrmas tree," and the new governor, Tony Evers, renamed it back to "holiday tree"... and declared that it would "celebrate... science."

Students are always invited to make ornaments for this tree, and this year, the invitation — from the Governor — was "to make holiday ornaments that celebrate what science means to them, their families and their communities" — HuffPo reports.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald called it “‘PC’ garbage,” while Assembly Speaker Robin Vos tweeted: “We all know it’s a Christmas tree no matter what @GovEvers calls it.”

But Walker had the biggest reaction, firing off multiple tweets, including these...
You'd expect something really harshly judgmental to follow, but it's just a photo of a very conventional Christmas tree in a private residence and the line "This is a Christmas Tree that is used by people celebrating Christmas 🎄 / This is not a holiday tree." There's a second tweet: "Type this word on your iPhone and look what emoji comes up: Christmas 🎄" — which seems to be a new form of the kind of quip that goes if you look X up in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of Y.

The HuffPo article proceeds to embed 12 tweets reacting to Scott Walker. 11 are from "blue check mark" people. The best one is the one that's not a blue check marker: "Oh, is it War on Christmas season again? Already? It seems to start earlier every year... 🙄"

I'll just feature the blue check mark person Matthew Dowd — because I have a tag for him and because he's using that asshole tactic of being informative:
You do know that trees were stolen from a pagan holiday? And Christ wasn’t actually born on December 25th? It was a day celebrated by Roman pagans and taken over by the church in the fourth century. And that many faiths put up trees that aren’t Christians.
Stolen! Does Matthew Dowd know that stollen is a traditional German fruit and nut cake that is popular in Wisconsin during the Christmas season? Does Matthew Dowd understand that all culture and tradition is handed down and borrowed and adapted and that it sounds very mean to say "stolen" and it's triggering when the homophone "stollen" is the very cake we share amongst ourselves at Christmastime in the hinterlands of Wisconsin?


CC-Ulrich van Stipriaan

HuffPo has nothing about the science theme given to — imposed on — the children this year. The tree becomes a free-speech forum for the children, and it would violate free speech to have viewpoint discrimination, so how can there be a science limitation on the ornaments? Presumably, the ornaments will be accepted even if they express the idea that "what science means to them" is that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so you could believe in him and have everlasting life.

Has the Tony Evers science tree attracted any litigation? I haven't looked. I hope not. Can't we all be generous and kind during the dark cold weeks that are so well stocked with holidays... like raisins in stollen?

178 comments:

Breezy said...

My contribution to the science tree would be an ornament with “XX <> XY”.

gilbar said...

renamed it back to "holiday tree"... and declared that it would "celebrate... science."

"Science" is our GOD! we worship and praise "Science"! All Hail "Science"! Or DIE!!!
DEATH TO ALL THAT REFUSE TO SUBMIT TO THE GLORY THAT IS, SCIENCE!!
this message brought to you, by the Science Is My Religion society

gilbar said...

Our Beloved Professor Althouse asks...
Does Matthew Dowd know that stollen is a traditional German fruit and nut cake that is popular in Wisconsin during the Christmas season?


Which enables ME to say: Do you know what you get, if you take a stollen without paying?
A Tort!

Mr. Forward said...

Pew Research center 2015
71% of Wisconsin identifies as Christian.
Celebrate math.

stevew said...

Why is Evers coercing non-Christians into celebrating a Christian holiday by calling it something different? Walker's right, everyone knows it's a Christmas tree. And then branding it a celebration of science as a way to further obscure what is really going on. Terrible, just terrible.

My wife's family introduced me to holiday stollen many, many years ago and we now have it every year around Christmas. Glugg too.

Rusty said...

gilbar.
Coffee spewed onto computer screen.
Well played.

Rob said...

A holiday tree, so it can encompass the Hanukkah bush, the Kwanzaa shrub and the Jihad exploding skyscraper.

Laslo Spatula said...

The Battle of Stollengrad, perhaps?

I am Laslo.

iowan2 said...

What's the motivation of Evers? Get to that. Why is this a battle he sought to wage? Leftist believe it is there responsibility to lead the flock to the one true religion. Government. Communists fear the masses with a religious faith. There is no room for two Gods. Evers is threatened and fearful of God.

It's the only reason to resurrect this failed PC war.

Thanks for pointing out the failed talking point about the Christmas Tree being hijacked by Rome. It is a talking point, cut and pasted by those with no understanding of the full history.

whitney said...

A tree to celebrate science! Hahahaha. I know there's another Southpark fan on this comment thread. Space money, baby was a giveaway. This is definitely making me think about Cartman in the future.

rhhardin said...

Science is phallic like the tree, he's intuiting.

clint said...

Gilbar wins the thread. *slow clap*

rhhardin said...

The tree of reason, not the bush of emotion, at Christmas.

Kevin said...

And these people want to run your healthcare.

traditionalguy said...

The science lovers had better brush up on the record air cold descending on the Globe in mid-November. Fake Science is today's Communists'favorite muzzle of a gun used to exterminate the fools who believe in Weather Control Religion.

Paco Wové said...

"Leftist believe it is there responsibility to lead the flock to the one true religion"

"Temple of Reason" on deck for next holiday season.

Michael P said...

Does Matthew Dowd know that Saturnalia was never on December 25th? It was on the 17th, later extended to be through the 23rd. The 25th was chosen for Christmas as allowing an easy excuse that they were merely extending Saturnalia.

Does Matthew Dowd know that the people who prefer "Christmas" to "holiday season" are going to spectacularly unreceptive to the argument that Christianity culturally appropriated a pagan Roman holiday?

The More You Know!

rhhardin said...

In What Trees Talk About, host David Suzuki and scientists working in boreal regions around the world investigate the many unexpected ways that the trees of the boreal forest communicate with each other, form friendships with neighbouring animals, and team up to face the elements.

AllenS said...

Holiday tree? What holiday would that be?

Rick.T. said...

Stollen valor. But I prefer a pecan Kringle.

iowan2 said...

The airing of grievances is upon us. Thanks Governor. But's it's way to early. Should have waited until after the holiday that celebrates Football and gluttonous eating. But not God. Definitely not God.

Anonymous said...

...because I have a tag for him and because he's using that asshole tactic of being informative:...

Love that euphemism "being informative". Though in this case I'd say it's more "retarded" than "asshole".

What is Dowd, 15 years old or something? I'll look it up....

Oh dear Lord, the man is 58 years old. What kind of brain damage or severe social-environment restrictions do you have to suffer from to trot out proud-middle-school-atheist banalities at 58?

Ann Althouse said...

County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union, Greater Pittsburgh Chapter, 492 U.S. 573 (1989):

"The Christmas tree... is not itself a religious symbol. Although Christmas trees once carried religious connotations, today they typify the secular celebration of Christmas. See American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois v. St. Charles, 794 F.2d 265, 271 (CA7), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 961 (1986); L. Tribe, American Constitutional Law 1295 (2d ed.1988) (Tribe). Numerous Americans place Christmas trees in their homes without subscribing to Christian religious beliefs, and when the city's tree stands alone in front of the City-County Building, it is not considered an endorsement of Christian faith. Indeed, a 40-foot Christmas tree was one of the objects that validated the creche in Lynch. The widely accepted view of the Christmas tree as the preeminent secular symbol of the Christmas holiday season serves to emphasize the secular component of the message communicated by other elements of an accompanying holiday display..."

Hagar said...

"Science" is a mystical thing for these people. They think Star Trek "techno-babble" is for real.

traditionalguy said...

You think Baby Jesus's birth from a woman is a miracle? Nope.The mother of all miracles occured nine months earlier when the third person of the Trinity God was made man by the Holy Ghost. That's the miracle that is at war with every other religion. Without that incarnation of The Son of God ,his birth, future sacrifice on a cross, death, burial and resurrection for our justification and ascension into heaven would be of no effect. That Wisconsin asshole governor can't touch that.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

In general it is not atheists who object to Christmas tress. Rather it is other religious groups.

Jamie said...

I prefer the Feats of Strength to the Airing of Grievances, but that's me.

Is Matthew Dowd aware that many, many cultures and religions celebrate some holiday near the winter solstice, and therefore that conflating all of them into a single symbol used in none of the holidays *except* Christmas would be disrespectful to all the others? Doesn't he care enough about diversity to learn even one little thing about other cultures? He's got to perpetuate the Western patriarchy by claiming that a decorated evergreen tree is a universal symbol of winter holidays? OK, white Christian man.

rhhardin said...

"This stuff again"
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rhhardin/49053736798/sizes/o

Fernandinande said...

Evers' profession is largely science-free, or even anti-science, so it's pretty funny that he'd use the word.

Trumps lives on Evers' Wiki page:

'In April 2019 President Trump falsely claimed that Evers vetoed legislation that would prevent doctors from "executing" newborns', then they explain that Trump was actually correct.

gilbar said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
In general it is not atheists who object to Christmas tress. Rather it is other religious groups.


Assumes facts not in evidence... Actually, just a bald faced LIE
Show ONE EXAMPLE of an other religious group objecting to Wisconsin's Christmas tree

Amadeus 48 said...

Richard Feynman: “Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts.” Gov. Evers has given you an opening, folks. It’s open season on expertise. I am conceiving a shrine to the views of the highly ignorant expert and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

I agree that there is a war on Christmas. I have yet to meet an atheist who could care less about some pagan rituals that were co-opted into Christmas symbolism. It just isn't something genuine atheists give a shit about. I personally like Christmas, less so than Thanksgiving, but still a nice family holiday.

Temujin said...

Seriously? A Holiday Tree that celebrates "science"? Science? I guess that's right. Dems/Libs seem to worship at the altar of something they call "science". It's not real science, however. Its more like the science you get while watching a pharma ad on TV with some guy or gal wearing a white lab coat to give them scientific credibility.

You guys voted for this putz?

Oh no! Captcha is back.

Goddess of the Classroom said...

If I were a child in Wisconsin, I would submit an ornament with a view of Earth from space, surrounded by stars, with the caption, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth."

David Begley said...

No children in politics tag?

Meade said...

“What holiday would that be?”

Oh you know... the holy day — one of the ones we take off work for. Labor Day I think. Or is it the 4th of July.

Wait! I know. Arbor Day.

Fernandinande said...

"The Christmas tree... is not itself a religious symbol.

Then shouldn't that say "pine tree" rather than "Christmas tree"?

Similar savants made the same declaration about the Christian cross. Their attempted logic seems to be: taxpayers don't subsidize religious stuff, so if it's subsidized it's not religious.

AllenS said...

I'd like to hang an ornament on the Holiday Tree. A simple card that said: "Epstein didn't kill himself"

Browndog said...

It's not just Christmas trees. Traditional colored Christmas lights are being replaced with generic, sciencey white lights without anyone noticing.

David Begley said...

Gilbar

Except in California.

gilbar said...

David Begley;
Point taken

Amadeus 48 said...

Man! I thought the Christmas tree was on the the great contributions of Germans to popular culture. Where better to celebrate it than Wisconsin? Ah, well. Maybe someone can cook up some great ideas for celebrating such scientific breakthroughs as eugenics and the electric chair.

gilbar said...

to quote from our Beloved Professor Althouse's favorite website:
Lifeforce Community Church prides itself on believing exactly what the surrounding culture believes. On issues ranging from intersectionality and identity politics to the existence of God and the nature of sin, the church takes great pains to match every single one of its core doctrines to that of secular American society.

Yet, somehow, attendance continues to decline. The church's pastor is totally baffled, saying he has absolutely no idea why no one bothers coming to church anymore.

"I just don't get it," said Pastor Bryan Lindell. "I tell our congregation that we'll offer them the exact same worldview as secular culture, and they abandon us for secular culture. What gives?"

Meade said...

"I'd like to hang an ornament on the Holiday Tree. A simple card that said: "Epstein didn't kill himself""

Well, ya better get on it, bruh. Like Jeffrey E, that Holiday Tree ornament isn't gonna hang itself!

Iman said...

I’m hungry enough to steal some stollen and foolish enough to make my getaway in a stolen Trabant.

gilbar said...

Meade WINS the internet with...
Like Jeffrey E, that Holiday Tree ornament isn't gonna hang itself!

David Begley said...

Meade, “Wait! I know. Arbor Day.“

Arbor Day started in Nebraska.

Johnathan Birks said...

My wife's family is German and we would be served stollen every Christmas. Think of a cinderblock with small chunks of fruit inside and you won't be far off.

alanc709 said...

If we had a Christmas Hemp Plant, Evers would have been fine with that.

tcrosse said...

In the lab where my wife worked, each year they would construct a tree out of bits of lab equipment and hang ornaments on it. They called it the Chemis-tree.

Kevin said...

Christmas deniers.

Kevin said...

Next up, another article on how the Evangelicals might not come out to vote for Trump.

Meade said...

"Arbor Day started in Nebraska."

But of course it did. All the best holy days start in Nebraska. In fact, I'd be surprised if Halloween didn't start in Nebraska (where you probably call it something like Throwing Corn On People's Roof Day.)

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

tcrosse said...
In the lab where my wife worked, each year they would construct a tree out of bits of lab equipment and hang ornaments on it. They called it the Chemis-tree.


Tying science to the war on Christmas as Evers has done is wrong. Evers is not a scientist and scientists are not conducting a war on Christmas. Evers is creating a smoke screen to deflect blame towards a disinterested group.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

Christrmas tree?

ga6 said...

Science? Decorate the tree with small pamphlets describing the act of conception, hang many sonograms the lower branches...Que Va Evers..

rhhardin said...

It will need Lionel trains running under it, whatever it's called.

Kevin said...

Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch... who lived just north of Whoville... did not.
The Grinch hated Christmas — the whole Christmas season.
Oh, please don't ask why, no one quite knows the reason.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right.
But I think that the most likely reason of all... may have been that his heart was 2 sizes too small.

Shouting Thomas said...

Note that Republicans do not seem to employ lawfare against Democratic office holders.

Democrats, by contrast, seem to take pleasure in making it impossible for Republican office holders to fully exercise the power of their offices.

President Trump has faced a constant barrage of lawfare throughout his first term.

tcrosse said...

From the Vietnam era:
Jingle Bells,
Mortar Shells,
VC in the grass.
Take your fucking Christmas tree and shove it up your ass.

Hunter said...

The neo-pagans are wrong. Christmas trees are Christian. As usual, you can read all about it at Wikipedia.

Here is the substance behind the claim:

"Pagans in Europe used branches of evergreen fir trees to decorate their homes and brighten their spirits during the winter solstice. Early Romans used evergreens to decorate their temples at the festival of Saturnalia, while ancient Egyptians used green palm rushes as part of their worship of the god Ra."

Yes, pagans did use evergreens as decorations in winter. It's a fairly obvious symbol; deciduous trees are dead in winter, while evergreens are still vital. But what we know as a Christmas tree, with lights and ornaments and a fixture on top, was invented by Lutherans (Martin Luther himself, according to some accounts) in the 16th century.

The triangular shape of the tree has been cited as symbolic of the Trinity, and the tree itself to prefigure Jesus' eventual death "on a tree".

Howard said...

Chickenhawks never fail to enlist in the War on Christmas. The spirit of Bill O'Reilly lives on in your black shriveled hearts. Huzzah

stlcdr said...

Blogger Meade said...
...

Oh you know... the holy day — ...
11/12/19, 7:03 AM


Ha, Ha!

So we must now call it a Holy Day Tree! Needs to be some kind of trend, thanking Evers for the Holy Day tree.

Amadeus 48 said...

Evers, never! Á la lanterne!
Et Joyeux Noël!

Jeff Weimer said...

Dowd is odious, and this isn't the first time he's been spectacularly wrong about Christmas.

Remember a few years ago when he insisted that Jesus, Joseph, and Mary were refugees in Bethlehem?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

ah. The left's "correct" pagan religions.

Meade said...

Evers rhymes with "beavers."

And while I'm going all pedantic: "It's a fairly obvious symbol; deciduous trees are dead in winter, while evergreens are still vital."

Deciduous trees are not dead in winter (unless they are dead.) They're only sleeping.

Francisco D said...

The science lovers had better brush up on the record air cold descending on the Globe in mid-November.

IMO, the "science lovers" ought to take a few advanced courses to understand the scientific method as well as the philosophy of science.

Meade said...

Please, don't wake me, no, don't shake me
Leaf me where I am, I'm only sleeping

Amadeus 48 said...

"in your black shriveled hearts"

Howard--what is the matter with you? Haven't you heard of black pride? Black is beautiful! Racist!

And if my heart were shriveled, wouldn't I deserve at least sympathy, if not immediate treatment? Doesn't Liz Warren have a plan for me?

I can see that if you could work your will, every idiot who goes about with "Merry Christmas" on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. Are you a potential mass murderer?

Who has the shriveled heart here?

alanc709 said...

Howard never fails to miss with his snark. Fighting back makes you a chickenhawk? The word doesn't mean what you think it does, then.

Rick said...

Can't we all be generous and kind during the dark cold weeks that are so well stocked with holidays... like raisins in stollen?

I put this through the universal translator and it came back "you're a terrible person for not smiling while we piss on you".

Amadeus 48 said...

Evers, á l'arbre de Noél!

Soon they'll say, "Evers didn't hang himself! It must have been that mob."

tcrosse said...

Some time ago I propounded the Two Howards Hypothesis. Comments under the name Howard are inconsistent in style, suggesting that more than one person is making them. Of course, the theory of polyhowardism is open to refutation.

Howard said...

Hahaha. You're making me believe in astrology since I am a Gemini

buwaya said...

For many years we had a department Christmas tree, a smallish plastic thing kept in a cabinet for just this time. And a box of vintage computer printer perf paper strips (the old tear-off strips of holes that came with paper intended for dot matrix printers and the like). This was our tinsel. The ornaments were various CD's, bits of instrumentation, old network cards (token ring, etc), valves, switches, etc. It wandered from office to office.

Our non-Christians (mainly Indians) were quite attached to it. They understand the concept of rituals and idols better than modern Americans I think.

Eventually we got some younger people in who wondered what this strange paper-holey stuff was.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Howard is not wrong that O'Reilly conducted a war on atheists and scientists for his own narrow personal gain.

Neither atheists nor scientists are involved in a war on Christmas. The war on Christmas, to the limited extent that it is a real thing, involves competition between different religious groups. Atheists and scientists really just don't give a fuck.

Howard said...

Alan colon please let me mansplain it for you. Chicken Hawks are you conservatives who failed to enlist in the military during your time is a young man failed to make yourself available for the defense of this great nation yeah you are very hawkish on the use of military and have all of this phony support for the military because of course you are overcompensating not you because I don't know your history Allen but you chicken hawks out there reading blog. Therefore the irony is is that someone who would not enlist in the real military joins a phony military in the war on Christmas because there are no consequences

Amadeus 48 said...

"...suggesting that more than one person is making them. Of course, the theory of polyhowardism is open to refutation."

Now, that's science.

It could also be that Howard has multiple personalities inhabiting one body. Maybe he can get a Howardday observance going on December 25. That opens up a whole new list of potential Howardday movies: 3 Faces of Eve; Fight Club; Frankie & Alice (Halle Berry--woo, woo!); Sybil; Voices Within; and best of all, Waking MADISON.

Hey Evers: We want Howardday! Come as you are; leave as someone else (but you are both jerks).

rcocean said...

We're still at the stage where Leftist Democrats - like Dowd - are waging a war on Christmas, but they can't be too open about it. So, they're using their usual tactics of obfuscation and subversion. "There is no war on Christmas, haha, and you know its really a "Holiday Tree" and anyone who complains about that is a such a dork."

Of course, if you've lived in really deep blue towns/cities, y'know Christmas gets Completely airbrushed away - you don't even get a "Holiday Tree". But you do get plenty of Happy Hanukkahs and Merry Kwanzaa's. Even my local library has gotten into the act, we have three CD shelves of Music for American Holidays. We have "Hannukkah Music". "4th of July/other" and "Holiday Music" LOL!

buwaya said...

The war on Christmas is not really conducted by "religious groups" of the conventional sort, but by that well known elite white liberal subculture of ex-Christians and ex-Jews, that like to feel concerned about the imagined feelings of people who aren't actually concerned.

Amadeus 48 said...

"I am a Gemini."

Deeper and deeper.

Meade said...

"Of course, the theory of polyhowardism is open to refutation."

As a panhowardist, I take a dim, though tolerant, view of polyhowardism. Of course, I also take a dim, though tolerant, view of monohowardism. Which is why I'm pan.

robother said...

Children will especially enjoy the Schrodinger advent calendar, a set of boxed kittens.

rcocean said...

Much of what we consider "Christmas" originally came from Germans. The Christmas music, the Trees, the gift giving. The Puritans weren't big on Christmas, but their attitude died out - mostly. The British are still big on Christmas/Boxing day, and their Newspapers/media proudly talk about "Christmas" - as opposed to the "Holiday"

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

The Tree Flag (or Appeal to Heaven Flag) was one of the flags used during the American Revolution. The flag, featuring a pine tree with the motto "An Appeal to God" or, more usually, "An Appeal to Heaven", was used originally by a squadron of six cruisers commissioned under George Washington's authority as commander in chief of the Continental Army in October 1775. It was also used by Massachusetts state navy vessels in addition to privateers sailing from Massachusetts.

AllenS said...

I don't think that Howard has that Christmas spirit. Too bad. Being bitter all of the time is no way to go through life.

Howard said...

Well put, Meade. I think most of my family and close friends take the same view.

wildswan said...

11,000 Climate Scientists and Gretta Protest Ever's Science Tree

"How dare you celebrate the death of a tree!" Gretta, the wandering climate specialist stormed. "Chop down Evers, not evergreens." And 11,000 climate scientists including a PhD student from Beloit and the head football coach at La Crosse high school joined the mighty moral chorus by clicking an online petition. On the other hand, it appears that several prominent scientists who signed the previous 11,000-scientists-sign-a-petition petition have recanted and joined the other side. Mickey Mouse, Albus Dumbledore and the Little Mermaid are collaborating on a "Let's Send Gretta Home for Christmas" petition. Sadly, it seems that will happen only in our dreams. Gretta is refusing to tweet after she discovered that tweets required enormous, electricity-gulping, water-cooled servers located near Indian reservations which issue a high whine night and day ("I thought they turned a crank like my science project only bigger", explained this science expert.). But she has already put a message in a bottle and thrown it in the river. According to Drudge the message says "How dare you."

rcocean said...

Jesus could have been born on December 25th. We don't know one way or the other. In any case, its the we celebrate it. Playing history wonk is jut dishonest.

buwaya said...

Science, as it should be, was well defined by Feynman.
It isn't something to worship, anything but.

It is more a state of mind, a necessarily vicious discipline that is required to troubleshoot existence. It requires a total disrespect for authority, and for ones own feelings. It must invite, demand challenge and upheaval and personal and institutional loss and even destruction. Because nature has no respect for our feelings, proper science must likewise be Thunderdome, where scientists risk all, and those proven wrong must be carried out on stretchers.

Science as an industry is something else. It isn't Thunderdome. Like everything else human this is a bureaucratic social organization, or conglomerate of organizations, more concerned with power and gain and stability and careers than understanding nature.

rcocean said...

BTW, why is everyone talking about Christmas trees in Wisconsin. Its November 12th! Talk about Holiday creep.

Meade said...

"Children will especially enjoy the Schrodinger advent calendar, a set of boxed kittens."

Reminds me of how I once tried to start a family Xmas tradition by wrapping one empty box and labeling it "from: Schrodinger; to: the family." Open it and... nothing. Leave it wrapped and... who know?

A tradition of exactly 1 year only.

M Jordan said...

“... using that asshole tactic of being informative:“

Truly funny. I have always instinctively felt “informative” people were doing something like this but I needed it put in these words to realize it’s just another fake arguing technique.

Howard said...

I'm stealing that one, Meade.

Howard said...

Chopping down a Christmas tree and throwing it away at the dump is carbon sequestration.

Churchy LaFemme: said...

Note that Republicans do not seem to employ lawfare against Democratic office holders.

Democrats, by contrast, seem to take pleasure in making it impossible for Republican office holders to fully exercise the power of their offices.

President Trump has faced a constant barrage of lawfare throughout his first term.


You would think that there would be some Republican circuit judge *somewhere* who could bollix things up for the Dems, but yeah, it never happens.

Meade said...

Howard, I'm giving it to you. Free and clear. It's all yours.

Just be sure not to open it.

Might have a hard stale stolen Christmas stollen in it. From the hinterlands. With raisins!

Meade said...

"Chopping down a Christmas tree and throwing it away at the dump is carbon sequestration."

True! And chipping or burning it means, instead of 12 years, we only have 11 years left. (Or whatever it is.)

Seeing Red said...


Meade owns the thread.

Congratulations!

Big Mike said...

All the best holy days start in Nebraska. In fact, I'd be surprised if Halloween didn't start in Nebraska

@Meade, that certainly explains candy corn.

Tommy Duncan said...

There is a nasty edge to Ever's pettiness. His action here is intended to sting a demographic that leans to the right.

wildswan said...

You get a large box somewhat higher than a three year old, fill it with crumpled, colorful wrapping and tissue paper, put a ball at the bottom, sprinkle in a few M&Ms, give it for Christmas to said three-year old. At the bottom is, necessarily, a laugh

Amadeus 48 said...

"Chopping down a Christmas tree and throwing it away at the dump is carbon sequestration."

No, no, no, NO!

Leaving a tree in place and growing (absorbing carbon) is carbon sequestration. Where do you think Al Gore gets his carbon offset credits. You plant more trees.

Howard, you need to read "Carbon Sequestration for Dummies".

James K said...

Some might say that taking a pagan holiday and turning it into a celebration of the birth of Christ is elevating the day, not appropriating it. But I suppose saying that could be considered "triggering" (though I am not a Christian).

wildswan said...

We only have 11 years left. That countdown flips over every year at the same time as daylight savings time.

James Pawlak said...

This is only another example of the JIHAD against Christianity and Christians by the
Democrat-Socialist-Fascist Party.

gilbar said...

whether it's a Holy Days tree, or a Christmas tree; here's what the Democrats want to put under it
Freddie lives in a hole in Oakland. The middle-aged, longtime heroin addict has no running water, electricity or a bathroom. He does have six pigeons and a feral cat that keep guard over his belongings and hiss at strangers who get too close. He sleeps on a bed of trash and his open-air home is a hodgepodge of reminders that Freddie is not OK. He spends most days cleaning up the sidewalk opposite his home. On days when the drugs really kick in, he can be seen sweeping dirt from one side of a dirt lot to the other.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Dowd seems to lay and wait just to attack any Repub ranging from high profile Repubs to the lesser ones. Does he ever ever do that to a Dem?

stevew said...

Having just observed Veteran's Day I've now turned my attention to the next holiday, Thanksgiving. Once we are through that one I'll be able to focus on Christmas.

Tommy Duncan said...

All cultures are equal. Politically correct cultures are more equal than others. Except Islamic culture, which is simultaneously more equal and politically incorrect. And except Christian culture which is both less equal and politically incorrect.

Meade said...

"We only have 11 years left. That countdown flips over every year at the same time as daylight savings time."

Ha ha, good one! Yeah, 11... 12... you do the math. What do I know? I'm just a humble Lawnboy.

Sebastian said...

"what science means to them"

What it means to them is: yet another tool to wage the culture war and bludgeon the deplorables.

The notion that science is the path to the meaning of anything is one of the original prog delusions.

Greg the class traitor said...

from the Governor — was "to make holiday ornaments that celebrate what science means to them, their families and their communities"

What a fucking moron

If science does not occupy a different sphere for you than religion / holidays (which is a shortening of holy days, attn: Matt Dowd), then the problem is you, and your religious fruitcake inability to actually understand science.

Dear WI voters who voted for Evers, or who didn't vote for Walker: You are idiots and screwups

Chris N said...

It reminds me of a wondrous children’s tale called: ‘The Tree of Ideology’

Once upon a time there was a lush, green Christmas tree. It looked just like any tree you would find in a deep, dense forest. One Christmas, this lovely tree was overrun by a cult of impassioned, revolutionary ornaments. These ornaments started quickly dividing all ornaments between good ornaments and evil ornaments. They had been dividing and dividing for a long, long time.

‘We are the good ornaments’ they said. ‘Behold our knowledge and truth and power’. ‘We speak for all ornaments and know where each ornament should fit on this tree.’ ‘Do not become an ornament which gets broken.’

These revolutionary ornaments enforced a hierarchy all the way to the top of the tree.

Time passed. Some ornaments said a long time, and other ornaments said they did not know how much time. No one watered the ‘Tree Of Ideology’’ for their was no more water. Needles and ornaments fell dead to the ground. A few shiny ornaments clustered at the top of the sparse, brown branches. They had little knowledge left, nor truth, only misery-making power.

The End

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I love how "Science" according to leftists, is this untouchable all-knowing holier than thou above it all notion of unquestioned ultra-knowledge.
Science is above God - according to the left.

Nevermind that scientists are mere humans who have limitations. through the arc of history, science evolves on the shoulders of mistakes, miscaluclations and blunders.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Meade - I was up on the roof again blowing out autumn leaves from the gutters with 3-extention cords and a death wish. *cheers* to lawn care.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

It should have Zyklon B canisters and biohazard warnings for for ornaments, and a mushroom cloud crown.

Roughcoat said...

My German speaking grandmother (father's mother) had a secret ancient family recipe for Christmas Stollen that originated in Saxony and which she took to her grave (her family immigrated to Baraboo WI and subsequently settled in Aurora IL). She wouldn't share the recipe even with my Irish mother. Once I asked my mother how she felt about this and she rolled her eyes and said, "Goddamn Dutchman." There was so much about that simple encounter that was emblematic of both the Irish and German ethno-cultural sensibilities. Because of that situation I enjoyed a very colorful family life, especially over the holidays.

Roughcoat said...

The Christmas tree is not a religious symbol in the same way that the U.S. Civil Was not about slavery.

There's a hand grenade for you.

Dr Weevil said...

rcocean (8:32am):
Howard's annoying, but "Holiday creep" seems a little harsh. Then again, he's still using the 'Chickenhawk' accusation against Trumpsters, who are very pleased that Trump has figured out how to destroy Isis and bring ever-better chances of peace to the Middle East and other parts of the world without getting American troops killed by the thousands. It's the Never-Trumper neocons that want to occupy whole countries for decades, and they are a small and dwindling group, despised by just about everyone who comments here. As for chickenhawks, Howard needs to take a look at what an actual chickenhawk looks like (link): there's a bonus picture of someone very like some of our more annoyingly persistent commentators (and former commentators).

Drago said...

alanc709: "Howard never fails to miss with his snark. Fighting back makes you a chickenhawk? The word doesn't mean what you think it does, then."

Howard routinely uses terms incorrectly thus rendering his already incoherent rants completely incomprehensible.

ARM meanwhile continues his Jedi mind-trick mimicry by demanding that no one notice what is obviously true and happening all around us in real time while simultaneously telling us that fake things (russia collusion, kavanaugh is a gang rapist, the economy is terrible etc) are like, super duper truthy.

Same old schtick.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

The word doesn't mean what you think it does, then.

11/12/19, 8:00 AM

Howard does not understand the meaning of many words.

That makes his attempts at snark hilarious.

Drago said...

Howard: "Chopping down a Christmas tree and throwing it away at the dump is carbon sequestration."

Its actually the opposite of that.

So your record of getting just about everything backwards remains intact.

Expectedly.

Drago said...

Howard is our very own Norm Crosby.

Howard said...

Happy to oblige, Wednesday

Drago said...

Howard: "Happy to oblige, Wednesday"

That's Tuesday Weld to you.....

Clyde said...

Evers should have just changed it to a Festivus pole, but he probably didn't want to put up with the Airing of Grievances.

Clyde said...

Also, no, there cannot be generosity and kindness until January 20, 2021, and then only if the Democrat wins. Otherwise, it's like Groundhog Day, only instead of six more weeks of winter, you get four more years of insanity and caterwauling.

Greg the class traitor said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
In general it is not atheists who object to Christmas tress. Rather it is other religious groups.

Atheists are a religious group. It's not possible to prove that God doesn't exist, it's a belief you have to take on faith.

Which makes it a religion

Agnosticism, the statement "I don't know whether or not there is a God", THAT is a non-religious belief


Note to Dowd: Yes, Christians "stole" the Christmas celebration timing from previous religions. In fact, Christians have adopted a lot of things, from a lot of different religions. Back in the good old days, when the dominant social class wasn't completely nuts, this was considered a positive feature

NCMoss said...

Tcrosse keeps hitting home runs; Howard foul balls.

Greg the class traitor said...

Fernandistein said...
Their attempted logic seems to be: taxpayers don't subsidize religious stuff, so if it's subsidized it's not religious.

No, their logic is "if we push this illegitimate war on Christianity too far, the rubes will revolt and hang us all, so let's stop here".

Because the same Congress that gave us a First Amendment that didn't allow Congress to "Establish a religion" had a Congressional Chaplain.

Which lets us know that 99% of the "anti-established religion" rulings coming from the SC are utter garbage

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I welcome all to Colorado to remove a beetle kill pine tree from our forest. You can decorate it with recycled trash.

Actually - that's good idea.

Howard said...

NCMoss is a foul ball shagger. Maybe one day you will get put in the game.

gerry said...

Breezy opens the thread with My contribution to the science tree would be an ornament with “XX <> XY”. Perfection!

Birkel said...

In honor of small Christmas trees everywhere, a song from my youth:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SsSBHdOVle0

Robert Cook said...

"Pew Research center 2015
71% of Wisconsin identifies as Christian.
Celebrate math."


That doesn't mean the 29% that are non-Christian must be subject to Christian dogma. Freedom of religion also means freedom from unwanted religion.

On the other hand, Christmas, as celebrated by the majority, is scarcely a Christian holiday in any real sense, but is largely a secular holiday geared at the kiddies, and at stimulating a seasonal jump in retail sales. Saying "Merry Christmas" does not in the least communicate any religious content, so people who take offense at it are just contrary asses.

Nichevo said...


tcrosse said...
Some time ago I propounded the Two Howards Hypothesis. Comments under the name Howard are inconsistent in style, suggesting that more than one person is making them. Of course, the theory of polyhowardism is open to refutation.

11/12/19, 8:08 AM


It's just clown nose on, clown nose off.

There there Howie, more attention for you. Does it still hurt?

Robert Cook said...

"Science is above God - according to the left."

No. It's not that science is "above" God, or that it is never wrong or wanting for answers to our questions about existence. It is that God does not exist and science is the only tool we have to try to understand the universe in which we are less than specks.

Qwinn said...

Greg: Not only that, but the first Act of Congress was to buy a Bible for every school.

So, yeah, Cook's "freedom from religion" line is, in fact, complete bullshit.

Howard said...

Nichevo: you cut right to the bone. Ouch

Qwinn said...

And for the record, I myself am agnostic. I just think the anti-Christian rhetoric and lawfare of the atheists to be disingenuous, hypocritical and disgusting.

Robert Cook said...

"So, yeah, Cook's "freedom from religion" line is, in fact, complete bullshit."

Not in the least. Congress's act to buy bibles for the schools violated the Constitution, in that it "established" the Christian religion as the official state religion.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Only liberal dopes in America willingly give up their majority traditions to avoid offending 3rd World interlopers.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Greg the class traitor said...
Atheists are a religious group


This is nonsense, by the meaning of the words. It is something religious people tell themselves as a form of comfort.

Darrell said...

Change Tony Evers' title to "Former Governor."

Jim at said...

I have yet to meet an atheist who could care less about some pagan rituals that were co-opted into Christmas symbolism.

Then you need to get out more. It's always the Atheists who get the ball rolling on stupid shit like this ... unless there's some religion that actually celebrates the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

n.n said...

Christianity is a faith that recognizes a soft separation of logical domains; a religion that functions with parameters of normalization, tolerance, and rejection; and a rich assortment of secular ideologies, cultures, and traditions that are united in principle.

I would submit an ornament with a view of Earth from space, surrounded by stars, with the caption, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth."

Perfect.

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

dressing like a Christmas tree wasn't what got him fired...

Despite his sartorial sins, Don Cherry in the penalty box for incorrect speech re veterans.

Rabel said...

Matthew Dowd was the chief strategist for the Bush-Cheney 2004 presidential campaign.

Francisco D said...

It is that God does not exist and science is the only tool we have to try to understand the universe in which we are less than specks.

Cookie,

Do you find the Big Bang Theory posited by astro-physicists to be more credible than the Bible's version of how the Earth was created?

Please explain why in a few words.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Jim at said...
Then you need to get out more. It's always the Atheists who get the ball rolling on stupid shit like this


No. It is people who still believe in elements of religious symbolism. By definition these people are not atheists.

There are people who don't follow football, couldn't tell you the first thing about football and would not notice if it suddenly disappeared. These are football atheists. People who care about what the cheer leaders wear are not football atheists. They buy into at least part of the rituals and symbology of the NFL.

Drago said...

Seeing Red: "Meade owns the thread."

But only if you don't read the thread.

If you actually read the thread then by your very act you may find that Meade does not own the thread, of course based only on your "yardstick" which "measures thread ownership".

Further, who is to say that your reading the thread doesn't alter the reality of the thread thus rendering any judgement as to ownership of the thread meaningless?

Even more curious, what if Meade could both "own" and "not own" the thread simultaneously, assuming you haven't really read the thread....or had...using your imperfect "thread ownership yardstick"?

In any event, answers to any of the above is not going to help you find the best Chinese food joint in the city which is what I'm tasked with today.

Drago said...

ARM: "No. It is people who still believe in elements of religious symbolism. By definition these people are not atheists."

Atheists tend to be very very very very angry at God for not existing.

rcocean said...

Christmas has been around for 1,500 years, but lets talk about how we "Stole It" from the Pagans or the Romans. Cause everyone cares. It relevant information.

And Hey, its never been scientifically PROVEN that December 25th was Jesus's birthday. I mean where's the Birth certificate? Dowd is a Jesus Birther.

rcocean said...

Dowd is a liberal democrat, just like his boss George Stephanolopis. Its why ABC "News" sat on the Epstein Story - it would've hurt the Clinton's.

doctrev said...

If the Founders were aware that "Judeo-Christian" ethics would ban Christmas celebrations and Congress purchasing Bibles, they would have banned non-Christians from serving in the government or judiciary in the Constitution.

Drago said...

We all know the lefties/dems/libs/LLR-lefties are serious about science because they worship Greta Thunberg which is superior to the horrible racist culturally insensitive scientific method.

Greg the class traitor said...

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
Greg the class traitor said...
Atheists are a religious group

This is nonsense, by the meaning of the words. It is something religious people tell themselves as a form of comfort.


Bzzt

1: I'm agnostic, not religious
2: Atheism is an unprovable belief about the divine (it is logically impossible to prove that God doesn't exist). Strongly holding beliefs about the divine, based on faith, is what religions do.

Greg the class traitor said...

Robert Cook said...
"So, yeah, Cook's "freedom from religion" line is, in fact, complete bullshit."

Not in the least. Congress's act to buy bibles for the schools violated the Constitution, in that it "established" the Christian religion as the official state religion.


Yeah, those same people who approved the Amendment, and swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, then decided to violate their own Amendment

That's some strong religious zealotry you've got going there, RC

You might try looking up what it means to have an "Established Church". But, as you're an atheist, I'll understand if your religion keeps you from learning facts that would hurt it

Robert Cook said...

"Yeah, those same people who approved the Amendment, and swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, then decided to violate their own Amendment."

Well, shit...you act as if we haven't violated our Constitution from the very beginning, continuing up to today!

Robert Cook said...

"Only liberal dopes in America willingly give up their majority traditions to avoid offending 3rd World interlopers."

Only dumb-ass dopes assume that anyone in America who is not a Christian, or is in some other way not an observer of "majority traditions," are "3rd World interlopers."

JackOfClubs said...

"Presumably, the ornaments will be accepted even if they express the idea that "what science means to them" is that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so you could believe in him and have everlasting life."

John 3:16 is not the verse I would choose to illustrate Science(tm). A better verse would be:

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. ... Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? [Luke 1:30-34 KJV]

That's Mary asking a scientific question, and getting an answer in the next verse that contains a testable hypothesis!

Technically, this is not a Christmas story, because it takes place (traditionally) on March 25, exactly nine months before Christmas. This date was selected because it was an early date for Easter. There was an old tradition that prophets died on the same date as their birth. (Presumably because when scripture records how long they lived it does so in whole numbers of years rather than X years and Y months. That is just speculation on my part, but it makes sense.) This is the actual reason that 12/25 was selected for the feast of the Incarnation, otherwise known as Christmas. The Sol Invictus thing only got started in the late 3rd century.

Mary's experiment concludes in the following chapter in the actual Christmas story with:

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. [Luke 2:7 KJV]

thereby proving the hypothesis.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Greg the class traitor said...
Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...
I'm agnostic


Thus not an atheist and apparently hopelessly confused regarding what atheists believe.

Robert Cook said...

"'It is that God does not exist and science is the only tool we have to try to understand the universe in which we are less than specks.'

"Cookie,

"Do you find the Big Bang Theory posited by astro-physicists to be more credible than the Bible's version of how the Earth was created?"


Yes, I do, because, as fantastic as it seems, it does not pressume the presence of an intelligent supernatural creator entity who exists everywhere, and always was and will always be. Now, the Bible's version of Earth's creation can be seen as a metaphorical description of the Big Bang, with "God" being an anthropomorphization of material processes. The Hindu religion posits that the universe goes through a perpetual cycle of birth and death, which sounds like what many proponents of the Big Bang have proposed, namely, that the universe will at some time stop expanding and will begin contracting, until, ultimately, it will collapse into nothingess...at which time a new Big Bang will occur.

Francisco D said...

Q:Do you find the Big Bang Theory posited by astro-physicists to be more credible than the Bible's version of how the Earth was created?"

A: Yes, I do, because, as fantastic as it seems, it does not pressume the presence of an intelligent supernatural creator entity


The only problem with the Big Bang theory (aka Singularity) is that it contradicts all known laws of physics. It is as much of a guess as belief in a Divine Creator. Neither viewpoint is "scientific" in any sense of the word. Neither has a shred of empirical evidence.

That is clearly spelled out in Stephen Hawking's Brief History of Time.

You choose the pseudo-scientifc guess. I choose the other one because (as a Ph.D. social scientist) I want to believe in something greater than myself.

gilbar said...

Mazie Hirono weights in to our debate, saying...
“Get people to — out to vote so that we can have people here who truly are committed to human rights and environmental rights, climate change, believe in climate change as though it’s a religion — it’s not, it’s science — and all the things that remains to be done and there’s a lot,” She said.


I think we can All Agree, that, Just like Shimmer, is a floor wax And a desert topping; Science can be a Scam, AND a Religion

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Francisco D said...
I want to believe in something greater than myself.


There is no shortage of things vastly greater than you. Trust me on this one.

Francisco D said...

There is no shortage of things vastly greater than you. Trust me on this one.

Unfortunately, you have earned no trust as an honest or intelligent person, ARM.

I wonder if you think there are things greater than your socialist fantasies. Of course, the reason socialists are atheists is because they firmly believe that the State is vastly greater than anything.

Bunkypotatohead said...

Evers should insist all gov't employees show up for work on Science Day, December 25th.

Milwaukie guy said...

I'm an atheist. I can't Prove that God or gods, if you are polytheist, don't exist. I really can't Prove that ghosts or Bigfoot don't exist either. There is no God, the Supreme Being. Prove me wrong.

BTW, I've asked God, if he cares about this poor sinner, to light up one of my bushes or kill the next Hitler. I'm still waiting.

That said, I'm all for protecting the rights of Christians to their beliefs and to an equal, nay more then equal as a majority, right to the public square. And I love Jesus. He is a foundation of Western Civilization, a very real man that believed he was the son of God.

I love religious differences and sectarianism. Though, if god was real, he'd be Church of Scotland. Prove me wrong.

Guildofcannonballs said...

Transveyed serioudly aint word?

Transvayed.

Transveiyed.

Transviey.

Transview.

Transuch.

Transnorht.

Transnorth.

Transought.

Transought.

Transough.

Transouth.

Transere.

Transerb.

Transebb.

Transflow.

Transuckt.

Guildofcannonballs said...

Watch Patriot on Amazon and don't take it serioudly: That's happiness.

n.n said...

The religion of the "Flying Spaghetti Monster" advises people to stab their meatballs then twirl their noodles in order to facilitate consumption and mitigate redistributive sauce.

Guildofcannonballs said...

As long as Althouse produces, my market increases.

serioudly: That's happiness.

Crazy World said...




















Our employee handbook says we get a paid holiday for Christmas Day so that is what will be happening.








Crazy World said...

Gilbar crazy Maize says a lot of stupid things. She is embarrassing.

Lokeish Umak said...

They are free to create any day for holiday