On the Seventh Night of Hanukah My True Love Gave to Me

A menorah. Only a week late. That's right, the People's Republic of Santa Monica, California, a week after the beginning of Hanukah and two weeks after installing a block-long set of life-size Christmas scenes, finally installed a Hanukah menorah.

It's nice to see a non-Christian religious display alongside the huge Christmas displays. However, the timing of the menorah installation, just a day before the end of the eight-day Hanukah holiday, smacks of an afterthought. I doubt the city elders read my December 15 blog post complaining about the prominent Santa Monica Christmas displays, set up a full two weeks before the beginning of Christmas. I have a feeling, however, that some of the citizens of Santa Monica raised the same concerns that I had raised. Either that, or maybe the Santa Monica City Council members read about the Christmas tree fiasco at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport and decided to get with the program before next Christmas rolls around.

Do these people really need to be reminded by me, news reports or local citizens that it is grossly unfair and discriminatory, and likely illegal, to use taxpayer dollars to favor one religion so prominently at the exclusion of all others? Isn't that common sense? As far as I know, no one is asking for any religious displays to be taken down. But was it really that painful to give other folks a token display of their own? In the words of the Apostles, Jeez Louise!

Have a happy holiday, everyone.