Showing posts with label Hanukkah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hanukkah. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Crunch Time: Congress running up against partial shutdown deadline, again

'Tis the season of important dates -- Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year's, government shutdown ... 
Yes, it's that time of year -- again. Just two months after the last partial government shutdown ended, lawmakers are once again struggling to meet the deadline for funding the government. 
As part of the short-term agreement struck in mid-October, Congress gave itself until Jan. 15 to pass a budget, and until Dec. 13 to reach a tentative deal at the committee level. It's Dec. 4, and despite weeks of talks the budget negotiations have only crept forward. And Congress really only has five more days this month to do anything. While the House is in session, the Senate doesn't return until next week -- and Speaker John Boehner plans to adjourn the House for holiday recess next Friday. 
"The speaker is very serious about us being out of here on the 13th," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said. 
There may be little stomach on Capitol Hill for another shutdown showdown. The last 16-day standoff helped drive public approval of Congress to historic lows. And while President Obama took heat for refusing to negotiate, Republican leaders emerged from the battle bruised -- and with little to show for it, having failed to win any major delay in ObamaCare. 

Saturday, November 23, 2013

USPS ad for ‘holiday stamps’ omits Christmas — includes Kwanzaa, Hanukkah

Gingerbread stamps. (Screen grab of https://store.usps.com/)Where’s Christmas? As one social media commentator rapidly noticed, a recent U.S. Postal Service advertisement to sell “holiday stamps” curiously omitted a Christmas or Christian-themed message, yet included portrayals of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

The ad reported by The Blaze contained the text: “Don’t forget your holiday stamps. You’ll find them at your nearest post office or on eBay.” And below the text were pictures of three stamps: One showed a candle holder with nine lighted candles, emblazoned with the word “Hanukkah.” Another showed an colorful symbol over an open book, above the block-type word “Kwanzaa.”


And the third, in the middle, showed — a gingerbread house.

Twitter reflected the outrage of at least one eagle-eyed writer.

The poster @RennaW said: “Don’t forget those three American holidaysHanukkahKwanzaa, and … gingerbread house.” The same poster followed with another comment: “What happened to Christmas?” And a couple more, from the same poster: “Oh yeah, because Christians celebrate the Holy Day of Gingerbread House, seriously? This is awful” and “I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very merry Gingerbread House.”

Via: Washington Times


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