Archive for November 2009
New Jersey school district can ban Christmas carols
Judges rule that an ‘inclusive environment’ trumps singing songs about the birth of Jesus
SCROOGE ALERT LEVEL: HIGH
FOXNewsRadio/Todd Starnes: Judges affirm ban on Christmas Carols
We three kings of Orient are no more thanks to three judges in Philadelphia. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a New Jersey school district’s ban on Christmas carols.
“Certainly, those of us who were educated in the public schools remember holiday celebrations replete with Christmas carols, and possibly even Hanukkah songs, to which no objection had been raised,” the court said in its ruling.
Santa Claus and Rudolph are more than welcome but the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes is not…
Lone complaint prompts courthouse Christmas tree removal
“That tree holds the cards that contain the wishes and needs of those less fortunate than we are and shame on those who want to take that away from those of us who wish to give …” – Petition from courthouse employees
SCROOGE ALERT LEVEL: HIGH
The Orange County Register: Christmas tree removed from courthouse
SANTA ANA, Calif. – The removal of a Christmas tree from the Orange County Superior courthouse Monday has prompted a petition among court employees to have the tree – connected to a gift drive for poor children – put back.
The six-foot artificial tree, which was adorned with tags seeking toy donations to ‘Operation Santa Claus,’ was removed Monday after a member of the public complained about the tree being in the courthouse, court spokeswoman Gwen Vieau said.
“It’s a public building and we have to serve the diversity of our community,” she said.
The tree had been put up in the courthouse every holiday season for about 20 years, said Orange County Sheriff’s Special Officer Cynthia Guerrero, who runs the courthouse’s ‘Operation Santa Claus’ effort. She was ordered to take down the tree.
Members of the public would come and grab tags – which sought donations for specific children. Last year, the courthouse got 374 presents for the toy drive…
City bans 1-hour live Nativity scene planned for Christmas Eve
Connecticut town’s officials have axed a church’s plans for a staged event on adjacent public property
SCROOGE ALERT LEVEL: HIGH
It’s become apparent that most reporters in the U.S. assume that religious expression on public property is automatically violating Constitutional law regarding separation between church and state. Without hesitation, journalists misreport conflicts without understanding that the law is about freedom of religion, not freedom from religion.
America’s founding fathers were concerned about the religious tyranny they encountered in Europe resurfacing in their new country. They did not want the establishment of religion by government. However they did not want to squelch the expression of faith.
Notice the inference in the second paragraph of the story below.
WBZ: Nativity Scene Rejected At Manchester Church
MANCHESTER, Conn. — It was Caroline Cheshire’s Christmas wish for her parish, a live nativity scene that would bring the Christmas story to life after services on Christmas Eve.
But she had no idea she was trampling on the separation between church and state with her idea.
She hoped locals in the town playing Mary, Joseph and the Baby Jesus, even a donkey she had already lined up, would make it a special evening for children at First Parish Church in Manchester.
“We didn’t mean to offend anyone. Families who come out of the church are the ones that choose to celebrate Christmas Eve in church,” Cheshire tells WBZ-TV.
Her idea was rejected by the board of selectmen in a matter of minutes, because the church sits on the town common…
ACLU wants ‘equal access’ to Tennessee city’s Christmas event
“The City’s practice of funding a Nativity scene in the City’s annual ‘Christmas on the Cumberland’ celebration is constitutionally suspect and such practice must be remedied.” –ACLU
SCROOGE ALERT LEVEL: HIGH
Leaf-Chronicle: ACLU objects to church’s plan to put scene on city’s riverfront
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — The pastor at Grace Church of the Nazarene says he and his congregation will present their “Christmas on the Cumberland” Nativity scene despite objections from the American Civil Liberties Union.
Steve Estep, the church’s pastor, said Saturday the church went through all the proper channels to present the display, and won’t let the ACLU effort diminish their celebration of the season, and “what it’s really all about.”
“We’re gonna do what we’ve been doing,” Estep said.
The ACLU sent a letter to City Attorney Lance Baker on Nov. 11, alleging the city’s riverfront Christmas observance violated the First Amendment in an “apparent promotion and endorsement of Christianity.” …
Later in the story…
…the ACLU is not asking the city do away with the “Christmas on the Cumberland” celebration altogether, rather implement an “equal access” policy to allow other religious and non-religious groups to participate, clearly state the city’s non-endorsement and not provide funding for a religious display.
Of course, the pastor has said the church is not keeping anyone out or preventing anyone from attending. The Dec. 11 and 12 performances will include choirs from multiple churches of varying faiths at McGregor Park.
Photo: ClarksvilleOnline.com
How do you solve a problem like Newsweek?
Once thought of as a journalistically proper publication, Newsweek stooped to a new low this week by featuring a 4-month-old Runner’s World photo of Sarah Palin along with a nonsensical headline on its cover.
“How Do You Solve a Problem Like Sarah?” the headline alongside a gym-shorts wearing Palin reads. The sub-head, also with a negative spin, says, “She’s bad news for the GOP — and for everybody else, too.”
I have a question for Newsweek editors, “Who said Palin was a problem?” Maybe in your minds, but not in the thinking of a huge chunk of the population. “Bad news?” You’ve got to be out of your mind. She is the best news for conservative thought in a long time.
Journalistically speaking, where is your sense of balance, Newsweek?
You may be able to pass this kind of weak crap on your National Enquirer fan base, but not here… not to the Tea Party crowd, which you so easily dismiss. I see now why publications like yours are tagged by media analyst Bernie Goldberg as part of the “lamestream media.” You couldn’t prove your Kool-Aid drinking ways anymore than you did with this cover.
Palin’s response came in the form of this note on Facebook:
The choice of photo for the cover of this week’s Newsweek is unfortunate. When it comes to Sarah Palin, this “news” magazine has relished focusing on the irrelevant rather than the relevant. The Runner’s World magazine one-page profile for which this photo was taken was all about health and fitness – a subject to which I am devoted and which is critically important to this nation. The out-of-context Newsweek approach is sexist and oh-so-expected by now. If anyone can learn anything from it: it shows why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, gender, or color of skin. The media will do anything to draw attention – even if out of context.
- Sarah Palin
Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham told Yahoo! News that the photo choice was simply the “most interesting image available”:
“We chose the most interesting image available to us to illustrate the theme of the cover, which is what we always try to do. We apply the same test to photographs of any public figure, male or female: does the image convey what we are saying? That is a gender-neutral standard.”
Illustrate the theme of the cover? What are you doing? Decorating a bedroom? You are certainly not being journalists.
How do you solve a problem like Newsweek?
Read something else.
– Alexander
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Don’t Get It!
