Falwell: Christians Uniting to Safeguard Christmas

[meegbear]

FALWELL CONFIDENTIAL
Insider weekly newsletter to The Moral Majority Coalition and
The Liberty Alliance http://www.moralmajority.com <http://www.moralmajority.com/>

From: Jerry Falwell
Date: October 13, 2006

Christians Uniting to Safeguard Christmas

Liberty Counsel, the nonprofit litigation, education and policy organization that has been at the center of the religious freedom wars in our nation, and Jerry Falwell Ministries are again joining together this year to promote the national “Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign.”

This is the fourth year of the endeavor, which is designed to educate Americans — primarily retailers, school administrators and city officials who have attempted to eradicate celebrations of Christmas — of the legalities of religious expression during the Christmas season.

Last year’s operation was our most successful ever, and we are hoping more pastors and citizens will join in this effort this year.

The primary way in which people are getting involved is by placing ads in their local newspapers which spell out the rights of individuals to participate in public Christmas functions.

Liberty Counsel, which has offices in Orlando, Fla., and on the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., has hundreds of affiliate attorneys in all 50 states who are pledged to be the “friends” to those individuals which do not censor Christmas and a “foe” to those that do. Last December, ABC’s “Good Morning America” assessed Liberty Counsel's Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign during an interview with me. The host observed that the campaign had ignited a “movement.”

Indeed it did. Newspaper ads ran all over the country and people joined together to tell retailers who banned expressions of Christmas that they would shop elsewhere.

Last year, Liberty Counsel successfully handled scores of cases in defense of Christmas, including a lawsuit against two Florida towns that would not permit a nativity scene in a public park. Liberty Counsel intervened in numerous other situations last year.

As a result, Boston stopped calling its Christmas tree a “holiday tree”; Wellington, Fla., allowed a Nativity scene to join a Christmas tree and a menorah; state employees were allowed to have Christmas parties instead of generic “holiday parties”; schools included religious songs in their choral presentations; students were allowed to recognize the Christian aspects of Christmas; retailers started wishing shoppers “Merry Christmas” instead of “happy holidays” and renamed their “holiday trees” to “Christmas trees.”

Many individuals in our nation have been convinced by the ACLU and other organizations that wish to quell public religious expression that simple expressions of the Christmas season are promotions of religion. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I’m urging people to get involved in this issue so that we can turn back these anti-Christmas organizations' efforts to stifle public Christmas expressions.

On its website ( www.LC.org <http://www.lc.org/> ), Liberty Counsel offers a Help Save Christmas™ action pack, which includes educational legal memoranda to educate government officials, teachers, parents, students, private businesses, employees and others that it is legal to celebrate Christmas. The legal memo will educate you on how to defend Christmas.

You can also get “I Love CHRISTmas”™ buttons, “I Helped Save Christmas” bumper stickers, and sample newspaper ads — designed by my National Liberty Journal newspaper staff — that can be used, free of charge, in local newspapers.

The ads point out that celebrating Christmas is still legal in schools, on public property and in private businesses and offer Liberty Counsel’s free legal assistance to those facing persecution for celebrating Christmas.

Anita Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, said, “Christmas is constitutional. We cannot allow our religious liberty and heritage to be swept from the public square.”

When enough people learn the truth — that we can celebrate the religious aspects of Christmas — the ACLU and similar “Scrooges” and “grinches” will lose their power to steal Christmas.

Let’s join together to safeguard Christmas in America.

[rodeodance]

1. nice timing! what a bunch of crapla!---a wedge issue in mid Oct.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Translation: Send Jerry Falwell more $$$$.

[CTyankee]

3. Wow, that was fast! I was wondering when the war against Xmas

would begin, but who woulda thunk it would be before Halloween? Love the bumper stickers, tho. It's so over the top it's funny. I bet Stephanie Miller will have a great bit on this Monday morning in Right Wing World!

[Glorfindel]

4. The ultimate non-issue..the entire country is DRUNK with Christmas

I, for one, would like to see a campaign to save HALLOWEEN from the "Christians" who are trying to turn it into a fall festival and replacing trick-or-treat with silly parties in their churches. :evilgrin:

[Raksha]

30. I was JUST thinking that when I was reading the OP!

Can the fundies deny they've had a War on Halloween going for the last 20 years or so? We could get really in-your-face about it, with lots of freaks in crazy costumes picketing their "Hell Houses"!

[tenshi816]

33. I like the idea of

"lots of freaks in crazy costumes" going into their "Hell Houses" and loudly pointing and laughing during their little morality plays.

[zanne]

5. This is hilarious.

It's like saying there's a war on Easter bunnies. We could have alot of fun with this, especially with bumper stickers. How about a red and green one that says "Santa Claus is dead"?

[NC_Nurse]

6. "I helped save Christmas"

The plot of every Christmas TV special since I was a kid! Now you too can be a hero! :D
Wheeee!

These people are SO ridiculous!

[Hardrada]

32. Miracle on Pennsylvania Avenue

The Bells of K Street
How the Hil stole Christmas
Rudolph the Red State Reindeer

[11 Bravo]

7. I'll bet O'Reilly and Gibson are pissed.

They thought that they had cornered the market on this particular non-issue.

[Strathos]

8. Oh God! LOL

Not again.

[kevinbgoode]

9. Um...I thought "Christmas" was a national holiday

and, in fact, all the public schools are on winter break over that day. So why would we...should we be celebrating a holiday in the public schools when the schools are closed on that day...and usually that week..anyway? Talk about hypocrisy - these people demand schools stop celebrating Halloween, for example, ON Halloween, but demand we accommodate their religious "celebration" in the public schools when the schools are not even OPEN on their sacred holiday. What the hell is up with that crapola?

Why should any public venue be forced to celebrate a holiday whenever the christo-fascists demand it. . .the government has already endorsed the day by declaring it a national holiday. As such, they should have no beef with institutions which are CLOSED in recognition of that day and should not demand that schools sanction celebrations two or three or four weeks before the holiday.

[bryant69]

10. They have to get started earlier than usual

so that they can also safeguard the house and senate. Or as much as possible.

Bryatn
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[leesa]

11. The Fundies are soooo confusing. THEY are the ones who were trying

to do away with Christmas not to long ago. I remember my Fundie brothers would have tantrums whenever anyone would buy a tree or a gift or have a dinner or in any way celebrate Christmas that was in any way involving happiness. They ruined dozens of our Christmas celebrations.

[KharmaTrain]

12. Hey Jerry...Gotta Idea For Ya, Pal...

Show some real outrage...I mean, let's put the $ back in xma$ and some dollars in merchants pockets.

Here's the plan. On November 7th, get those church busses packed and send them all to the nearest Mall. Have the "true believers" spread the "message of the season" (In god we trust) and in doing so, you are helping the great American economy and making us safer from terrorists. Remember, right after 9/11 it was shown the way to be a real patriot was to go out and spend.

Hey...maybe as a side trip, you'll head on over to the factory that makes those yellow ribbon magnets so many of your followers have on their SUVs and Hummers. Just head to China and take a left.

Honestly, I kinda yearn for the days when the biggest religious battles were around if a local firehouse could display a christmas tree or not.

[alfredo]

13. Sorry Jerry, but we have infiltrated your organization. We know

exactly what you are going to do. You think you are going to defend Christmas, but all money you collect will be diverted to Act Up.

[porphyrian]

14. It must suck to be nothing more than the host of an aggressive meme.

Falwell is so pathetic.

[tsuki]

15. Rove's shaking the trees for Nuts. Is it about Christmas, or a bigger

share of the "Faith Based Initiatives" pot?

[bumblebee1]

29. The nuts fell out of the tree.

A lot of them fell on their heads.

[eShirl]

16. whew! And I thought the fundies were going to try to ban Santa and Frosty

We must not allow our traditional secular symbols of the true meaning of Xmas (a Saturnalia of consumerism) to be swept from the public square!

[HockeyMom]

17. Hanukkah, as one example

I guess these "christians" never heard of that? It is the SAME time of the year. Sometimes, it even falls within days of Christmas. Am I getting old or are these people just STUPID? Hello? Happy Holidays was started DECADES ago, at least here in the Northeast, because there is a large percentage of Jewish people. I guess these Falwell types just want to ignore this? Have they forgotten that without the Jews (and Hanukkah) there would be no Jesus (and Christmas)? Why should one faith take preference over all others?????

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, etc. A lot EASIER and POLITE to just say Happy Holidays.

[kestrel91316]

22. Because, silly, America Is A Christian Nation (TM). Sheesh.

[GCP]

18. There's already too much Christmas in retail

What with the ear-drum punishing carols blasted through shitty speakers
Salvation Army bell-ringers in front of stores getting your primed for your indoor aural assault
Family Assault Vehicles tooling around parking lots blocking traffic because there's a spot 5 slots down from the vast wide expanse of openness - and nobody walks 5 parking spots if they don't have to
Fist fights over the latest Elmo doll
Fist fights over the Playstation3
Fist fights over the last set of boxing gloves
Fist fights over the 'soothing sounds of nature' alarm clock
Post-Thanksgiving Wal*Mart trampling at 6 in the morning
Endless news reports about how bad the season is going to be for retailers this year, imploring you to get out there and spend!


And finally, I give you:

[kestrel91316]

23. Heretic!!! She left the Baby Jesuses off the tree!!!

[SammyWinstonJack]

19. !

:banghead: Let's join together to safeguard Christmas in America.

Because that's what's really important to the majority of Americans! :eyes: :argh: This is some ridiculous crap!

[tanyev]

20. Christmas Held Hostage: Year 2.

[radfringe]

21. oh poo

frankly, I don't care if a store clerk says merry christmas or not.. the spirit of christmas is in a person's heart, not at the cash register.

If a person is required to say merry christmas or anything else like "have a nice day, thank you for shopping ____" it means nothing

same thing with the rest of the christmas hooey - if you are REQUIRED to participate then it mean nothing

and as far as falwell and the rest of them go - why are they putting politics into christmas, I was always under the impression they wanted to put christ back into christmas

a special note to Anita Staver - show me where it says "christmas" in the constitution

[Generic Other]

24. The Christians won the war against the pagans long ago

Their syncratic version of the ancient fertility and solstice beliefs won out. There is no war. They won. Idiots.

[Sparkly]

25. Oh for cryin' out loud!!!

It starts earlier every year, doesn't it? :eyes:

[B3Nut]

26. Anything for ol' Jerry to

rake in more cash from the easily-fleeced. He must not be getting much from his ol' buddy Moon these days...

It just doesn't get much more pathetic than this.

Todd in Beerbratistan

[Downtown Hound]

27. If conservative Christians don't have a crusade to go on

Their lives are meaningless. When all else fails for them, make something up and start a holy war. It'll be fun! Whee!

[stepnw1f]

28. So... Forcing the Market to Proselytize Christianity

is "protecting Christmas". Ummm.... afraid these people have it backwards... they are indeed the ones destroying Christmas by making a Holy Holiday into nothing more than a scheme for commercialism. And also, these stores are not owned by liberals... they are CORPORATE and they have ONE allegiance: their customer base which is MULTICULTURAL. They are marketing to diversity and not to one religious group. My advice to right wingers is GET OVER IT, you are intolerant bigots.... Christmas isn't the only Holiday and people in this country are free to market to who they want to....

[upi402]

31. The religious zealot knows no

boundaries. Total world domination would just have to lead to an even more radical religion. These people aren't upset that they can't worship, they're pissed cuz they can't force everyone into their little box. It's about controlling others because reality makes them fear their trip is all make-believe.