War On Christmas Competition: A Reader Reports A Festivus Pole In Florida, Carefully Placed Next To The Manger
12/22/2012
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From: An Anonymous Floridian [Email her]

Hello and MERRY CHRISTMAS to my friends at VDare.com!

Below is my entry into "the most outrageous attempt to abolish Christmas in 2012" sweepstakes.  

A Festivus Pole Arises Next to Jesus' Manger in Deerfield Beach

By Chris Sweeney, Broward Palm Beach New Times, Thursday, Dec 13 2012

Out in Deerfield Beach, on a piece of government-owned property, an eight-foot, five-inch-tall tower of beer cans looms over baby Jesus in his manger. No, it isn't a rogue Art Basel installation that crossed the county line. It's Chaz Stevens' heartfelt salute to the holiday season.

Since the end of November, Stevens — a 48-year-old self-proclaimed attention whore and "rabid atheist" whom New Times deemed "Gadfly of the Year" in 2010 — has been girding for battle with the Deerfield Beach City Commission over holiday decorations.[More]

This magnificent ode to "inclusiveness"—a Festivus pole built of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans—was erected as an "anti-religious display for the holiday season" (deliciously oxymoronic), winning out over other noteworthy contenders such as "waist-high block letters reading 'WTF' in candy-cane stripes" ("could be deemed offensive") and a "Flying Spaghetti Monster—the god of 'Pastafarians'" ("too esoteric").

The ironies in all this appear lost on the Deerfield Beach City Commission and the alternative  newspaper that published the story.

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