Completed entry forms can be mailed to Holiday Decorating Contest, P.O. Box 419, Tracy, CA 95378-0419 or brought to the Tracy Press office at 145 W. 10th St.
Judging by members of the sponsoring Tracy Rotary Club will begin Friday night, Dec. 7, according to club president, Nelson Hu. All judging will be for home and grounds, he said.
The winner will receive a $100 gift card while the runner-ups will get $50 gift cards.
Winning entries will be announced in the Dec. 14 edition of the Press.
Information: Nelson Hu, 830-9984.
In this I don't see any improvement in th comment sections an they still run pretty much unfettered as they did before th new management took over Operation of th Tracy Press. So much for assurances this sort of activity would not be toleratated.
As far as her narrow minded and ill-informed emphatic statement about the roots of this nation not being Christian but rather secular, many people much more versed than dd in our country's founding and history believe the question about our roots is complex with no easy or definitive answer. Therefor as with our Constitution much is left to interpretation and debate.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed"
cont.............
Let's take these excerpts from the First Amendment, Declaration of Independence, and The Gettysburg Address and look at them in the context of where we are today with this whole Christmas or Holiday Tree deal.
Congress did not come up with the term Christmas Tree, the government did not invent Santa Claus, they have not made Christianity the lawfully recognized religion of the US, when the majority of Americans celebrate Christmas they are not infringing on the rights of others to celebrate their own beliefs / religious tradition.
We have more religious freedom in this counrty than most people in any other country could ever imagine. We have churches, mosques, and temples located within blocks of each other throughout the country. Bottom line, people are free to openly exercise their religious beliefs in any way they choose.
Here's where we get to the "consent of the governed" and "of the people, by the people, and for the people"
Since the birth of our great nation Christianity has by far been the predominate religion and the one freely exercised by a large majority of our citizens. To this day some 65 - 70% of Americans identify themselves as Christians and to this day a majority of Americans cherish the tradition of Christmas.
When people migrate to this country no one is forcing them to celebrate Christmas or use the term Christmas Tree. They should come here to assimilate with American culture, learn to speak our predominate language, etc. but that in no way restricts them from practicing their religious beliefs and traditions. If our values and customs bother an imigrant here's an idea, they can choose a different country to move to, remember, no one is forcing them to come here.
What's going on here is more of a narrow minded PC minority trying to force the majority to acquiesce to their want of ridding us of Christmas tradition. If anything they are the ones trying to "prohibit the free excercise thereof", limit "the pursuit of happiness", and take away "the consent of the governed".
Instead of playing this yearly nonsense of everyone arguing what we call a tree, a decorating contest or what some department store calls it sale, just once I would like to see people direct its energy and focus on helping those who are less fortunate and in need this time of the year, and make sure that every kid has a present to open, while those who are hungry are feed.
I seriously doubt a higher power or being would care what we call it, and would instead want everyone to give or volunteer what time you can to help charities. Then we go back to hating each again on December 26.
We now return to reality.
Sincerely yours
doors17.
I think YOU hit it spot on, buddy. These people come to the US to take advantage of our system, get all the freebies they can, medical, food etc. and then go back home. They have no interest in supporting themselves or our country. Just sickens me to see our citizens that really need help....to get back on their feet and do not qualify because there is not enough money to help them, because all the free-loaders suck the system dry. This is a great country....MERRY CHRISTMAS to all...even dd95376
Nope, not religious at all. Just an American boy that grew up celebrating CHRISTMAS....like most of us. But I AM tired of the foreigners that come over here and expect us to change our ways so as not to "offend" them. My kids celebrate CHRISTMAS...not sure if you do...probably not...are you one of the "citizens" that are offended by us celebrating CHRISTMAS??? If so, too bad....live with it! You come to MY country and you can learn MY language (English)and learn OUR customs....if not, go back to where you came from....I will not change my ways as to not "offend" you! FYI...December 25 is CHRISTMAS...not a HOLIDAY!
You must be a very religious person to be offended by this. One might suggest that whatever faith it is, you obviously missed a few lessons.