This week’s installment is a public service for everyone who is burned out over impeachment stories on the national level and the continuing soap opera, disguised as a budget debate, at the state Capitol.

With all due respect, if you were aching for some insightful commentary on those items, as former President Bush Sr. used to say, “Not gonna do it.”

What will be offered up is a little diversion, centering on what symbols should be permitted on the state Capitol lawn during the holiday season.

Actually, this is old news, just a different year. A variety of groups get up in arms every year over claims of being mistreated when it comes to their freedom of expression.

What sets the debate into motion is the erection of a huge-mongous Christmas tree in front of the Capitol building.

During the Gov. Jennifer Granholm years, it was decided to call this thing a Holiday tree, in a vain attempt to mute any criticism from those who called it what it was, a Christmas tree. There are those who argue that the Christmas tree, per se, is not necessarily a symbol of a specific religion — and it is true that, on the state tree, there are no religious ornaments — but that does not appease some.

State Sen. Jeremy Moss, D-Oakland County, for example, took note that the 60-foot tree is allowed to stand throughout the season, while the Jewish menorah, by state rule, has to be erected every morning and taken down at night, and it can only be four feet tall.

“Our menorah is puny,” compared to the giant tree and, now getting to the nub of the dispute, “Jews across the state want to have the same rights and privileges as any other religion and the fact that … the Christmas tree is put up with tax dollars doesn’t show that parity here,” the senator forcefully asserts.

The rules governing displays on the lawn do appear to be discriminatory to the casual observer. It’s not that the state bans other displays. It has ruled that they must be a certain height and do have to come up and down every day, with the apparent reasoning being the Michigan State Police would be forced to patrol them every night if they were permanent.

In the past, a former state senator complied with the rules and constructed a Nativity scene on the lawn. A Satanist group brought a snake-like display for everyone to see, and here’s where the state Senate GOP leader gets into the act.

Moss introduced his parity resolution, which was immediately sent to state Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey’s Government Operations committee, known in the trades as the elephant burial ground for stuff that he wants to see killed (Shirkey is a Republican from Clarklake).

Quizzed on the parity resolution, Mr. Shirkey notes, “This opens a can of worms.”

The State Capitol Commission, which is the appointed caretaker of all things state Capitol, appears to be sympathetic to Mr. Moss’s suggestion, but it cannot act until and unless both houses of the Legislature give them the green light. Mr. Shirkey stuffed the green light in the closet. And the commission does note that, years ago, a Jewish group opposed the sentiment expressed in his resolution on grounds that the menorah violated the separation of church and state.

Yet some have dared to wonder out loud what would happen if each entity was granted favored nation status, just like the Christmas tree?

Would the sun cease to shine (well, in Michigan for the next five months, that would be true, but it would be unrelated to the issue at hand)?

Would the Earth stop rotating?

And wouldn’t it make a statement about the state’s diversity, which is supposedly one of our core values?

The American Civil Liberties Union is on record supporting equal treatment for every group, and even the mighty and omnipotent U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the menorah can be displayed on municipal property.

One could even argue that the state rules governing those displays is just one sandwich away from the old and tossed out precedent of “separate but equal.”

So chew on that at your upcoming Thanksgiving dinner, rather than getting into all that impeachment and budget folderol, which would certainly give you indigestion.

On second thought, mixing politics and religion may be even worse.