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Unfortunately, whether you call it a "Christmas tree" or a "Saturnalia tree", the thing is most definitely associated with Christianity. It doesn't matter that the Christians stole it from the pagans or that it's been further coopted by non-Christian societies, in this country it is absolutely associated with one of the major Christian holidays. Honestly, I see their point - if they're going to have to go out of their way to deal with all the symbols at this time of year, it's just not worth it. As it stands, there are probably maintenance guys at Sea-Tac that are happy that they won't have to mess with the trees in the future.
There's also the issue that it's a government building (state or local, I'm not sure - O'Hare belongs to the City of Chicago lock stock and barrel) and that the rabbi was within his rights to ask for the menorah. It's really too bad that the airport decided it wasn't worth their time, but again, I understand where they're coming from.
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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo
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