Posted on 12/12/2005 8:45:56 AM PST by Behind Liberal Lines
Everyone listen up: Our politicians are debating some of the hottest topics of the season, topics that are maybe even more important than the thousands of people who have died overseas fighting in this unjust war.
House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert has recently made it aware that it is time that the U.S. Capitol tree raised for the coming holidays no longer be referred to as a “holiday tree,” but reverted to being called the “Christmas tree.”
Now wasn't that so much more important than figuring out why we're in Iraq or helping to feed needy families who are starving every day? If you ask me, this may be one of the saddest moments in U.S. history, where a tree's name is taking priority over dying human beings both in and out of our country.
Have we become that self-involved in proclaiming our religion that we push some major issues aside for a tree that will only be standing for a month, then turned into the White House mulch supply for 2006?
Now I've sat and thought about this, and I'm sure for a much longer period of time than this wonderful senator. What I've come up with is that some people should be publicly flogged if now I am forced to refer by a particular name to a tree that doesn't even stand for a religious holiday that I celebrate. I consider this time of year as a period for embracing one another and showing how much we care for the family and friends we're blessed with every day.
Now let's take two seconds to think of the other holidays celebrated in the days surrounding the almighty Christmas - Yule, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. (Oops, can I use the others in the same sentence or would that be interfering with the concept of Christmas?)
I've always tried to stay away from the religious debate but these stuffy-headed, overpaid morons need to realize there's such a thing as ... cough ... cough ... church and state. Sorry, I don't know where that came from.
I would love to sit down with Hastert and ask him if he's all about going back to the old ways, then would he also like to continue slavery, or maybe even stoning the people he suspects of being into witchcraft. Or maybe if he feels that women belong back in the kitchen cooking his dinner?
Once again Washington has shown its true colors, this time in honor of offending anyone who has ever fought for the right to separate our government from the religious practices. A word to the wise: I deal with the public every day, and you can be very sure that I have enough respect to say “Happy Holidays!” instead of assuming that everyone celebrates the same religious holiday. Doesn't everyone remember what happens when someone assumes?
Happy Holidays everyone!
Reitz's column appears Monday in The Citizen. He can be reached at stargazingtalent@hotmail.com
Idiot doesn't even know the difference between a Senator and a Congressman.
Secular Extremists Still Lying About Their War on Christmas
By Michael J. Gaynor
MichNews.com
Dec 10, 2005
Secular extremists say that there is no War on Christmas and ridicule Fox News' John Gibson for writing The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought. See: John Gibson Is Right About The War on Christmas Christmas
They are lying, of course. Secular extremists have been working to restrict the free exercise of religion guaranteed by the First Amendment since the First Amendment was adopted and to rewrite American history to suit themselves. Without significant success until 1947, when the United States Supreme Court outrageously opined that the First Amendment mandates governmental neutrality between religious and irreligion (or nonreligion) and bans governmental support for religion generally.
America’s greatest chief justice, John Marshall, proclaimed in 1833: “[W]ith with us Christianity and Religion are identified. It would be strange indeed, if with such a people, our institutions did not presuppose Christianity, and did not often refer to it, and exhibit relations to it.”
The secular extremists tried to end the military chaplaincy during the nineteenth century. But both houses of Congress studied the matter carefully and rejected the secular extremist position in the clearest possible terms.
The Senate Judiciary Committee issued a report explaining the establishment clause:
"The clause speaks of 'an establishment of religion.' What is meant by that expression? It referred, without doubt, to the establishment which existed in the mother country, its meaning is to be ascertained by ascertaining what that establishment was. It was the connection with the state of a particular religious society, by its endowment, at public expense, in exclusion of, or in preference to, any other, by giving to its member’s exclusive political rights, and by compelling the attendance of those who rejected its communion upon its worship, or religious observances. These three particulars constituted that union of church and state of which our ancestors were so justly jealous, and against which they so wisely and carefully provided...."
The report further stated that the Founders were "utterly opposed to any constraint upon the rights of conscience" and therefore they opposed the establishment of a religion in the same manner that the Church of England was established.
But, the Founders "had no fear or jealousy of religion itself, nor did they wish to see us an irreligious people....They did not intend to spread over all the public authorities and the whole public action of the nation the dead and revolting spectacle of 'atheistic apathy.' Not so had the battles of the revolution been fought, and the deliberations of the revolutionary Congress conducted."
A similar House Judiciary Committee report explained that "an establishment of religion" was a term of art with a specific meaning:
"What is an establishment of religion? It must have a creed, defining what a man must believe; it must have rights and ordinances, which believers must observe; it must have ministers of defined qualifications, to teach the doctrines and administer the rites; it must have tests for the submissive, and penalties for the nonconformist. There never was an establishment of religion without all these."
But the sly secular extremists persevered and eventually prevailed upon the United States Supreme Court to declare neutrality between religion and irreligion as constitutionally mandated and governmental support for all religions to be constitutionally prohibited.
Now "under God" in "The Pledge of Allegiance" and "In God We Trust" on America's currency and coins are under attack and, unless their original religious significance is stripped from them, Thanksgiving (when we thank God, not nothingness) and Christmas (when we celebrate the birth of Christ, not Santa Claus) eventually will have to go too.
The so-called non-existent war just reached my town. The Christmas tree lighting ceremony in the Town of Huntington, on Long Island, New York, was targeted by a young attorney who got his name in Newsday, Long Island's notorious secular extremist newspaper, and hopefully will be boycotted by all persons who are friendly to the free exercise of religion and patronized by people like himself, since people should spend their money to support their ideas instead of contrary ones.
Newsday reported: "Huntington officials worked all night readying staff for the coming snow, but instead they woke up to a different storm Friday: a local lawyer sued to remove a nativity scene from the town's public lawn and stop Friday's Christmas tree-lighting ceremony."
His position: the nativity scene, Christmas tree and two signs on the Village Green that read "Peace on Earth" violated his constitutional rights because of their religious overtones.
The display included a menorah, which be claimed was "dwarfed in significance and stature" and "appears as nothing more than a token attempt to be inclusive to the Jewish population."
He apparently did not sue to remove the menorah.
Judge Leonard Wexler negotiated a compromise between the complainer and the town that allowed the tree ceremony to take place. Good for him!
The compromise: the town will put up large signs stating the nativity scene was donated by Huntington's Knights of Columbus and that the menorah came from the Chabad-Lubavitch in Melville, and that that the nativity scene and the menorah are not town property.
That's fine with me. The town should give due credit to the donors. Apparently the complainer's petty grip is that Huntington's Knights of Columbus provided a bigger display than the Chabad-Lubavitch in Melville. Frankly, if the complainer wants a bigger menorah, he should donate one. I think the town, the Knights and the Chabad-Lubavitch all acted reasonably.
The town board is scheduled to vote to approve the settlement Tuesday. Judge Wexler will hold a hearing that evening in case the board does not approve the deal.
Of course, the complainer insists that he is not "anti-religion or against Christmas." "This is not an attack on Jesus or Christians," he said, while declining to disclose his faith, saying it has nothing to do with his position. "I just don't want the town endorsing one religion. Lots of people out there don't celebrate Christmas."
This nuisance lawsuit followed the recent uproar over North Hempstead Supervisor John Kaiman's handling of the town's tree-lighting ceremony in Manhasset, New York. Believe it or not, during the dedication, the Rev. Nick Zientarski invoked the name of Jesus Christ when he blessed the tree! Imagine that! A Christian cleric invoking the name of Christ while blessing a Christmas tree! The stupid supervisor immediately told the crowd, "I just want to make it clear that this is in no way a religious ceremony." He has since apologized.
Instead of correcting its egregious error, the United States Supreme Court has tried to set broad guidelines for local officials in such cases. If religious symbols are displayed on public property, there need to be enough diverse symbols so a "reasonable observer" would think it was a holiday display.
Outgoing Brookhaven Supervisor John Jay LaValle commented: "I don't know what's wrong with people today. This is an ideological situation where liberal America is trying to destroy a Christian holiday."
He's right.
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, the executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, argues that there is something wrong with the battle over religious symbols and assures that "[p]eople who have a spiritual interest in the holiday are going to get the experience from their church, not the town."
But George Washington was right: "it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor...."
Reverence for God was not supposed to be restricted to churches and synagogues (and mosques), and a small, but insidiously growing, secular extremist minority was not supposed to have a veto power over the right of the overwhelming majority to have their governments--federal, state and local--acknowledge God and support religion generally without establishing an official religion or violating the private right of conscience of nonbelievers.
NOTICE TO SMART SHOPPERS:
These companies have banned "Christmas" from their retail ads, in-store promotions or television commercials.
Please take time to let them know you are offended by their anti-Christian and anti-Christmas bias. Their contact information is below.
We cannot stress to strongly how important it is for you to be firm, yet very kind in your correspondence with these companies. Please be respectful and choose your words wisely.
In addition, companies marked with an asterisk* have gone so far as to substitute the phrase "Holiday or Dream trees" instead of "Christmas trees" in their promotions.
* Target (612) 304-6073 Guest.Relations@target.com
Target refuses to use the word "Christmas" in any of their corporate advertising. Their latest 36-page ad insert did use the phrase "holiday" 31 times. In addition, Target has banned the Salvation Army bell ringers from their stores, but opted to sell items online for customers to donate to the Salvation Army. Ironically, Target doesn't give a single cent to them, but profits from your purchase. They also charge you to ship the item to the Salvation Army.
Nordstrom (206) 628-2111 President Blake W. Nordstrom contact@nordstrom.com
On their "holiday shipping" section of the website, they only refer to "December 25." Their catalogs do not mention the word "Christmas." Mr. Nordstrom says he welcomes your comments.
* Sears (847) 286-2500 nationalcustomerservice@sears.com
Sears, owned by Kmart, is advertising "Holiday" trees on page seven of their circular. It also was noticeably absent of the word "Christmas." UPDATE: Sears has confirmed that it now displays a sign reading "Merry Christmas" at the entrance to its stores nationwide.
Lowe's (800) 445-6937
We are pleased to update you about Lowe's sale of Christmas trees. Lowe's informed the AFA that it is removing banners referring to "holiday trees" from its stores (the actual product signs inside Lowe's stores did say Christmas trees, but the outside banner did not). Lowe's says it has proudly sold Christmas trees in its stores for decades, and continues to do so this year in all of its stores nationwide. All 49 varieties of live and artificial trees at Lowe's and on Lowes.com are labeled as Christmas trees.
Lowe's assures AFA that the language on the banner was a mistake, and was not in any way an attempt to remove Christmas from the season.
We applaud Lowe's for listening to its customers and responding to their concerns. Just as we alerted Lowe's to our concerns, now let's show them our support by sending thank you emails and shopping in their stores.
Office Max (877) 484-3629 williambonner@officemax.com
Office Max offers no "Christmas" in their advertising.
Kmart (800) 635-6278 kmartccn@kmart.com
Kmart promotes a "Holiday Sale" on their website. Links to the trees webpage asks if you "Need it by Christmas," but refers you to its "Holiday Shipping Dates" section.
Staples (800) 378-2753 experts@orders.staples.com
In searching for "Christmas" on their website, results show only three matches. Staples ads avoid using "Christmas."
Home Depot (800) 430-3376 consumer-affairs@homedepot.com
Home Depot says "In order to avoid endorsing a particular set of beliefs and to encourage the diversity we desire, The Home Depot has chosen to refer to this time of year as the 'Holiday Season'." Although Home Depot says it has not banned Christmas, a search for "Christmas" on their website says, "Were you looking for Holiday Decorations?" You won't find "Christmas" in their circulars, in-store promotions, or television commercials.
Best Buy (888) 237-8289 dick.schulze@bestbuy.com
Best Buy offers no "Christmas" in their advertising.
Kohl's UPDATE: Kohl's has provided AFA with a corporate statement. They dispute the charge made on The O'Reilly Factor and provided a letter stating they "would use the word 'Christmas' in some of our advertising." AFA is pleased to let you know that this in, in fact, the case. Kohl's asks us to inform you of their plans to incorporate "Christmas" in future advertising. We appreciate Kohl's listening to their customers concerns and responding in kind.
I don't think you have.
And he wants us to listen to his opinion... I wonder how he feels when somebody point this out to him.
Idiot is right!! But I also admire 'imbecile'. It fits really well in my opinion.:-)
He's a regular columnist for the paper. I would assume he's a college graduate.
Why doesn't Reitz the Christ-hater get up out of his warm, comfortable surroundings and go feed some starving babies instead of writing "important" pieces for a paper that will, after one day, be tossed into the trash to fill up the garbage dump?
Idiot also thinks Hastert and his staff had to spend hours, days, weeks, months, etc., to decide what to call the tree. If you are sure of your beliefs, it is a total no-brainer.
Just What, for pete sake, does slavery or witchcraft have to do with a Christmas tree?
This guy needs a brain transplant or something.......
(Other comments Censored)
There was a time I used “Happy Holidays” – when I didn’t know if I would see the person again before New Year’s. For store clerks – excuse me – “sales associates”, I would stick with Merry Christmas (if they had a Star of David or similar pennant I would wish a Happy Hanukkah) or Happy New Year.
Now I just stick with Merry Christmas. Maybe I really am just obnoxious like my high school teachers claimed.
Elevating Kwanza to Christmas status is interfering with Christmas!
Where's that story on the founder of Kwanza?
A Google of Kwaanza returned 28,600 hits. A Google of Festivus returned 579,000. So, which is a real "holiday"?
How about we call it like it is and not worry about who "could" be offended. If offensive is even a valid description for a milleniums old tradition, which it isn't.
We need not debate the leftist jerks about phrases and identity. Just say our piece, practice our traditions, and be genuinely happy rather than being on the defensive.
A campaign by the thought police will go down the tubes if people just stop worrying about other opinions and practice tradition as if nothing was ever wrong. Ignoring their agenda will only infuriate their cause and expose their idiocy, because they are helpless to actually stop the Christmas Tradition unless they can scare people into compliance.
I think the left is who needs to be scared. They are waking up a sleeping giant.
Pretty funny, but you spelled Kwanza wrong.
And how much is Starbucks paying you to pour coffee?
***I think the left is who needs to be scared. They are waking up a sleeping giant.***
Your last sentence belies the rest of your post. You are CORRECT about the sleeping giant being awakened, and the reason it is awakened is because WE are complaining about their lack of respect for our beliefs.
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