When will we say no...

...to out of control bureaucrats?

A small-town bank in Oklahoma said the Federal Reserve won’t let it keep religious signs and symbols on display.
Federal Reserve examiners come every four years to make sure banks are complying with a long list of regulations. The examiners came to Perkins last week. And the team from Kansas City deemed a Bible verse of the day, crosses on the teller’s counter and buttons that say "Merry Christmas, God With Us." were inappropriate. The Bible verse of the day on the bank's Internet site also had to be taken down.
Specifically, the feds believed, the symbols violated the discouragement clause of Regulation B of the bank regulations. According to the clause, "...the use of words, symbols, models and other forms of communication ... express, imply or suggest a discriminatory preference or policy of exclusion."The feds interpret that to mean, for example, a Jew or Muslim or atheist may be offended and believe they may be discriminated against at this bank. It is an appearance of discrimination.

I'm certain those inspectors' time would be better served trying to head off this growing trend, but that's another issue. It's one thing for a major retailer to voluntarily remove references to the reason for Christmas out of fear of somehow harming sales. That is their prerogative. It is something else entirely, however, for any agency of the government to demand the removal of any religious symbolism from a private business establishment.

Let's review: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Funny how the first part is drummed into the public consciousness, the second part less so.

If Congress has no authority to prohibit religious expression, where do unelected bureaucrats from the Federal Reserve -- itself a questionable quasi-government entity -- derive the power to squelch it?

Make no mistake: this sort of thing happens because we tolerate it. We need more than talk; we need people willing to call BS on this sort of thing and take a public stand.

As for the alleged justification for this "Regulation B," who freakin' cares??? I don't plan on using any Hawala financial arrangements, and that's OK. I have other options. If a business owner believes strongly enough in something that might alienate some of their potential customers, who is the government to tell them they have to change? If there is some underserved or offended customer base, another institution will arise to fill the niche.

This is called Freedom of Association -- something we no longer have in America. Government policy is you WILL associate and do business even with people who have mutually exclusive values and culture, and you WILL accommodate them, even -- especially -- if it means giving up your own.

I only have two words for that. And they aren't Merry Christmas...