...and by 'this war', I mean this stupid 'War On Christmas' that FOX News seems to be pushing on us.
How stupid can the idiots that run that network possibly be to think that there is a movement to do away with 'Christmas'? It's all about the baby Jesus, right? (Who wasn't ACTUALLY born in December, but we'll skip that part.)
Anyway, I found This letter (news.yahoo.com) from the Director of the ACLU a nice read.
Then don't watch Fox News.... And the coverage on other stations will be over soon enough. It's almost New Year's. Take a deep breath, have a smoke, drink a bit, or do whatever you need to calm down. You'll survive :)
Originally posted by ShotGunShepThen don't watch Fox News....
If only it were that easy. Try moving from one state to another and slowly finding out that everywhere you go with televisions, they have on FOX News!
Mcdonalds... Check! (I've been to 5 different ones here.) Whataburger... Check! (All 4 stores!) Krystals... Check! (Just opened... with a large screen TV!) Chick-Fa-La... Check! (The two free standing stores.) Books-A-Million... Check! (And playing loud!) Walmart... Check! (Every third television on display.) Radio Shack... Check! (Both times I've been in there.)
...and don't even THINK about asking to change the station. I did at a Whataburger and the guy looked at me like I asked them to do a stripper dance on the counter. Evidently, it 'corporate policy' to have it on FOX News during business hours... which is 24 (FUCKING) hours a day! Can you imagine having to work for a company that makes it mandatory for you to have to listen to that shit all day at work?
It's mind-numbing HELL, I tell you. I'm starting to wonder WHY I liked Texas and decided to move here? At least I'm going away for a new work assignment come January.
The idiots at the network are laughing all the way to the bank. Cerebus, you aren't stupid based on your posts I've read so I won't detail what is going on.
This is simply the neocon right pandering to the fears of the masses. I find it abhorrent and manipulative but brutally effective.
Originally posted by Cerebus...and don't even THINK about asking to change the station. I did at a Whataburger and the guy looked at me like I asked them to do a stripper dance on the counter. Evidently, it 'corporate policy' to have it on FOX News during business hours... which is 24 (FUCKING) hours a day!
I suspect that Whataburger isn't the only burger joint in town, no?
"You are the Internet equivalent of a brown person who lives in a cardboard box in East Timor, hoping to jack some sheet metal so you'll have a roof before monsoon season hits." -- afed
I accidently said "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" to my aunt, who is a devout Born-Again Christian. I'll never do that again. She told me to watch Bill O'Reilly so I could see how persecuted she was.
Of course, when my uncle (her brother in law) said he had no problem with "Happy Holidays", a fun debate broke out between an extreme right wing religious nut and an extreme right wing gun nut.
I respect your opinions, however I ask that you do likewise to those who may hold beliefs different from your own. Nobody wins in these name-calling/pissing matches. So let's all just go to our own corners and feel offended alone.
Some people have really witty signatures. I am not one of those people.
I'm not a Christian, and I don't celebrate Christmas....but in respect to those I know who ARE (and do), I wish them a Merry Christmas. I don't have a problem with the season and its coinciding celebrations...far from it. Saying "Happy Holidays" just sounds too generic, I think.
I gotta ask...what's next?
I am whatever you say I am, if I wasn't...then why would I say I am?
Originally posted by OliverI'm not a Christian, and I don't celebrate Christmas....but in respect to those I know who ARE (and do), I wish them a Merry Christmas. I don't have a problem with the season and its coinciding celebrations...far from it. Saying "Happy Holidays" just sounds too generic, I think.
I gotta ask...what's next?
I use the phrase a lot. Most of hte time it's a canse of me running into and/or talking to a decent amount of people I know that I don't see all that often. So rather than "Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year," it's a lot easier to say "Happy Holidays." And I DO have Jewish friends and all, and depending on the time of day it's simpler for my brain to process "Happy Holidays" then to have to run the process through my brain of whether to wish them a "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Channukah."
I think rational people could go a long way in ending this "war" by ignoring people who get offended by "Merry Christmas" and "Christmas Trees" as well as those people who watch Bill O'Reilly and sincerely walk away feeling like Christmas is threatened. But then, this solution relies on there being large numbers of rational people in the world, and issues like this don't make me hopeful of that :).
Originally posted by BigSteve as well as those people who watch Bill O'Reilly and sincerely walk away feeling like Christmas is threatened.
[Climbs on soapbox.]
People who think "Christmas" is threatened? I don't have a problem with God, and I still have a lot of genuine affection for Jesus. I respect the beliefs of others. But the older I get, the more and more I HATE "CHRISTMAS" AND THIS ENTIRE SEASON!!!
[calming down...] Whoops, sorry! I am not trolling here, just trying to express myself. I guess what I really want to say is that the real/imagined/supposed threat to "Christmas" isn't Hanukkah/Allah/Kwanzaa/ACLU, it is Santa Claus. If those religious types really wanted to reclaim the "Christmas", they should stop arguing with other religious groups and rethink their attitude towards materialism and consumerism. And there are the religious types that think the so called "Secular Humanists" are waging war on "Christmas"? Hey, the war was already waged and you all lost to Santa.
I hate "Christmas" more and more each year. Every year there is increased pressure from all sides to buy more expensive and more numerous gifts for everybody around my husband and myself. Each year the push for giving gifts gets worse and worse in the media. The season seems to start earlier and earlier each year. Watching the same tired tv specials, listening to every bad rendition of every "Christmas" carol, and all of the decorations. And poinsettias are UGLY. And some people are worried about "Christmas" being threatened? We will always have "Christmas"; the shops and stores will never let us forget to buy their stuff this time of the year.
[Dismounting soapbox now.]
(I'm so sorry BigSteve; I guess I am one of those irrational people that you mentioned in your post. Poinsettias are so very very UGLY. Also, I also know that "Christmas" actually started out as a Pagan festival. So I am all about sharing this time of the year with other religions too.)
Originally posted by BigSteveI think rational people could go a long way in ending this "war" by ignoring people who get offended by "Merry Christmas" and "Christmas Trees" as well as those people who watch Bill O'Reilly and sincerely walk away feeling like Christmas is threatened. But then, this solution relies on there being large numbers of rational people in the world, and issues like this don't make me hopeful of that :).
Likewise, couldn't it end by ignoring the people who get offended because Merry Christmas ISN'T said? It takes two bully pulpits to tango on this one, and they're both annoying the piss out of me.
I am not intentionally name calling. My ire is raised when there are a plethora of issues needing dealt with regarding civil liberties (see Patrot Act and freewheeling wire taps)and this is the battle.
And from a religious perspective, we Christians have many things we should be doing and yet we focus on this. Many well meaning Christians I know are in a lather over this while ignoring what we should be doing as charged in the New Testament.
Originally posted by DrDirtI am not intentionally name calling. My ire is raised when there are a plethora of issues needing dealt with regarding civil liberties (see Patrot Act and freewheeling wire taps)and this is the battle.
And from a religious perspective, we Christians have many things we should be doing and yet we focus on this. Many well meaning Christians I know are in a lather over this while ignoring what we should be doing as charged in the New Testament.
You'd almost think that a conservative like Bill O'Reilly was trying to raise a furor in order to get people to ignore the events of the day. Of course, that would NEVER happen in the No Spin Zone.
It's becoming apparent to me that it is very easy to rile up Christians. I don't think the timing of ID becoming a national "debate" or "The war on Christmas" is coincidental to the problems that this administration is having.
The more they press the "God Button" the easier it is to keep the loyal fanbase from having to talk about the real issues.
I expect a similar diatribe around Easter assuming that the war isn't going any better.
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I think there's a big difference between denying access to our country and throwing people into concentration camps. That said - Cat Stevens? Really? C'mon.