Simply because you can't make this stuff up doesn't necessarily mean that fact isn't more unbelievable than fiction.
The following post appeared, on the eve of the Passover holiday, on TheFiveTowns.com:
BURN YOUR CHOMETZ* SAFELY WITH US!!
Annual Community Wide Chometz Burning
Woodmere Volunteer Fire Department
20 Irving Place Woodmere
Between Broadway & Central Avenue
Monday, March 29, 2010
6:45AM - 11:45AM (Zman)
or
Lawrence Cedarhurst Fire Station
Corner Central and Washington Aves.
7am-11:30
*Chometz is bread, grains and leavened products not consumed during Passover.
Hmmm. Local fire departments involved in religious ritual? Talk about burning those tax dollars at the firehouse.
Folks, it's your money, and your local government. We're just watching them!
When will we say, "ENOUGH!"?
ReplyDeleteIt's not so much a matter of the separation of church and state -- or that of a simple accomodation. It's all about spending tax dollars (public money) on that which is in no way related to governmental functions.
Whether it's burning chometz in Lawrence or parading the Easter Bunny around Elmont on the back of a fire truck, spending scarce tax dollars on that which does not benefit the community as a whole (particularly where there is an underlying religious context rather than a secular need) has no place here.
Perhaps giving Santa that ride around town courtesy of the local fire department was a nice gesture back in 1962, when gas was 22 cents a gallon. At $3 plus per, such displays are something we could certainly do without...
I agree with the prior comment; I also have a big problem with the co-mingling of religion and public institutions. I also have a big problem with the fact that most churches or synagogues pay little if anything in the form of local property taxes, despite the fact that many of them run what are essentially businesses (i.e., nursery schools, day care centers, etc.) in their facilities. I'm not anti-religion per se, but if we're ever going to start rationalizing our tax base, we need to take a hard look at exemptions like this and others that impose an extra burden on those unfortunate taxpayers who are afforded no special consideration.
ReplyDelete