Ben Stein on CBS Sunday Morning: Christmas and More

News Item: JPMorgan Chase Bank policy -- no Christmas trees in the lobby (or on the premises, I suppose). Mind boggling. Remind me never to open a Chase account.

The Original Blog

Don't worry: after this I will get back to the Bakken.

I am somewhat amazed that this would be broadcast on CBS.

I have always enjoyed Ben Stein. It always amazes me how some people get things exactly right (another person that seems to get things exactly right is Peggy Noonan).

As transcribed from Ben Stein's CBS Sunday Morning Commentary:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees ... I don't feel threatened ... I don't feel discriminated against .. That's what they are, Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on disply at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

-- attributed to Ben Stein

Note: I have not verified that this was written or said by Ben Stein, but it sounds like him. If I find later that this is inaccurate, I will remove it.

Update: it turns out that some of the original piece was said or written by Ben Stein, but the last half was not. That was been removed. You can check it out on Snopes.com.

Regardless, by the end of the day, this post will be removed entirely.

Now, back to the Bakken.