Mouse Christmas Cartoon

A Photo From The Battle Of the Bulge

Just a reminder this year of the sacrifice American soldiers make at Christmas. Taken during the Battle of the Bulge.

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1944/1948) Christmas Cartoon Classic by ...

When atheists attack!

I enjoyed this post and thought I'd share it.

From: Wyblog.com

In Pitman, NJ the local Knights of Columbus hung a banner across Main Street. "Keep Christ in Christmas," it said.

Simple. Poignant. Offensive?

College professor claims Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer promotes bullying

FROM: FOX NEWS RADIO

George Giuliani, the Director of Hofstra's Graduate School Program in Special Education, says that Rudolph sends a bad message to children and promotes bullying.

RI Gov. Defends 'Holiday' Tree in Statehouse

From: ABC News

Rhode Island's governor said Tuesday that lawmakers upset with his decision to call the blue spruce erected in the Statehouse a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree" should focus their energy on feeding the poor.

According to Gov. Lincoln Chafee, calling the tree a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree" is in keeping with Rhode Island's founding in 1636 by religious dissident Roger Williams as a haven for tolerance, where government and religion were kept separate.

"I would encourage all those engaged in this discussion - whatever their opinion on the matter - to use their energy and enthusiasm to make a positive difference in the lives of their fellow Rhode Islanders," Chafee said, offering an initiative to feed the needy as a good place to start.

But critics of Chafee's seasonal semantics said the independent governor is taking political correctness too far — and defying the will of the Legislature. In January, the House of Representatives passed a symbolic resolution declaring that the tree customarily erected this time of year be referred to "as a 'Christmas tree' and not as a 'holiday tree' or other non-traditional terms."

The resolution's sponsor, Rep. Doreen Costa, said she plans to erect and decorate a tree at her Statehouse office on Dec. 6, the same day Chafee plans to host a tree lighting event. Costa said she'll be taking up a collection of canned goods.

"Anybody that wants to go see a holiday tree can do so, but I will be decorating a Christmas tree," Costa, R-North Kingstown, told The Associated Press. "It may only be a little Charlie Brown Christmas tree but at least it will be a Christmas tree."

Chafee isn't the first Rhode Island governor to refer to the annual Statehouse tree as a 'holiday' tree. His predecessor, Republican Gov. Donald Carcieri, used both 'holiday tree' and 'Christmas tree' in his correspondence. Other past governors have made no specific reference to Christmas at all with invitations to "holiday celebrations" featuring a "tree lighting."

The 17-foot Colorado blue spruce at the center of the holiday hullabaloo was donated to the state by Big John Leyden's Christmas Tree Farm in West Greenwich, R.I. Tree farmer John Leyden said he's disappointed with Chafee's yuletide word choice.

"It's not a holiday tree or even an 'X-mas' tree," he said. "We're a Christmas tree farm, that's what the name is."
Chafee insists he's just respecting the state's history as a place respectful of all religions.

The colony's hands-off policy toward religion quickly attracted sects that had been persecuted elsewhere. Rhode Island boasts both the nation's first Baptist church and the oldest surviving Jewish synagogue.

South Park: Jesus vs Santa Claus

FAMILY GUY - "All I Really Want For Christmas"

Pluto's Christmas Tree

Obama's Tax On Christmas Trees

Apparently we need it to finance a government committee to promote the Christmas Tree Industry. LOL.

FROM: Heritage Foundation

President Obama’s Agriculture Department today announced that it will impose a new 15-cent charge on all fresh Christmas trees—the Christmas Tree Tax—to support a new Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.

In the Federal Register of November 8, 2011, Acting Administrator of Agricultural Marketing David R. Shipman announced that the Secretary of Agriculture will appoint a Christmas Tree Promotion Board.  The purpose of the Board is to run a “program of promotion, research, evaluation, and information designed to strengthen the Christmas tree industry’s position in the marketplace; maintain and expend existing markets for Christmas trees; and to carry out programs, plans, and projects designed to provide maximum benefits to the Christmas tree industry” (7 CFR 1214.46(n)).  And the program of “information” is to include efforts to “enhance the image of Christmas trees and the Christmas tree industry in the United States” (7 CFR 1214.10).

To pay for the new Federal Christmas tree image improvement and marketing program, the Department of Agriculture imposed a 15-cent fee on all sales of fresh Christmas trees by sellers of more than 500 trees per year (7 CFR 1214.52).  And, of course, the Christmas tree sellers are free to pass along the 15-cent Federal fee to consumers who buy their Christmas trees.

Acting Administrator Shipman had the temerity to say the 15-cent mandatory Christmas tree fee “is not a tax nor does it yield revenue for the Federal government” (76 CFR 69102).  The Federal government mandates that the Christmas tree sellers pay the 15-cents per tree, whether they want to or not.  The Federal government directs that the revenue generated by the 15-cent fee goes to the Board appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out the Christmas tree program established by the Secretary of Agriculture.  Mr. President, that’s a new 15-cent tax to pay for a Federal program to improve the image and marketing of Christmas trees.

Nobody is saying President Obama doesn’t have authority to impose his new Christmas Tree Tax — his Administration cites the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996.  Just because the Obama Administration has the legal power to impose its Christmas Tree Tax doesn’t mean it should do so.

The economy is barely growing and nine percent of the American people have no jobs.  Is a new tax on Christmas trees the best President Obama can do?

And, by the way, the American Christmas tree has a great image that doesn’t need any help from the government.

Air Force Academy Backs Away from Christmas Charity

FROM: Todd Starnes/Fox News Radio

The Air Force Academy apologized Thursday night after it was accused of religious intolerance for promoting Operation Christmas Child – a program designed to send holiday gifts to impoverished children around the world.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation said military commanders crossed the line when they promoted the gift program, sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse, an organization run by Franklin Graham.

Operation Christmas Child said they expect to send more than 8 million shoe box gifts to underprivileged children in 100 countries. Around 60,000 churches and 60,000 community groups in the United States are participating.

MikeyWeinstein, of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said an evangelical Christian message is also included in the boxes.

“This is a proselytizing entity of Franklin Graham,” said the group’s president, Mikey Weinstein. He filed a complaint on behalf of 132 Academy personnel including two sets of Muslim-American parents.

Brig. Gen. Richard Clark, the Commandant of Cadets, released a statement Friday explaining why the Air Force Academy retracted the e-mail promoting the Christian ministry.

Under orders from Air Force headquarters, Clark said only the Chaplain Corps is responsible for advertising faith-based programs.

“The cadets had nothing but good intentions, but this was something that should have started with the Chaplains, not the Cadet Wing,” Clark said. “That doesn’t mean the cadets can’t volunteer for the Christmas toy drive, they can participate through the Cadet Chaplain Corps.”

The attack on Operation Christmas Child has generated outrage across the country.

“It’s another anti-faith effort that we are seeing by this administration,” said Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA), who just pushed a congressional effort to reaffirm “In God We Trust” as the national motto.

“This is beyond political correctness,” Forbes told Fox News. “This is an anti-faith mode that we see over and over again coming from this administration and the people serving in it.”

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, told Fox News that this is evidence that the Obama administration “has engaged in a culture war beyond measure.”

“We see here the collateral damage – the fallout of religious freedom and the attack on Christian organizations that are simply reaching out to help those in need,” Perkins said. “This is a long pattern under this administration under a president who apologized for everything that is American.”

“It’s so outrageous,” said Jordan Sekulow an attorney with the American Center for Law and Justice. He said the controversy is an example of the cultural shift happening in the United States.

“This is a perfect example of how heartless these groups are when it comes to defending their anti-religion position,” Sekulow said. “It’s not about the First Amendment. It’s about a real hatred of religious people and people of faith that they would go so far as to stop an assistance program like Operation Christmas Child.”

Weinstein refuted that allegation.

“We are not trying to take shoe boxes of toys and candy away from kids,” Weinstein told Fox News. “But this is clearly an egregious Constitutional mistake.”

The Academy sent an e-mail to the entire cadet wing inviting them to participate in the Operation Christmas Child project.

 “As the holidays approach, we have the opportunity to provide the joy of Christmas to impoverished Children around the world,” read the e-mail sent to some 4,400 cadets and provided to Fox News.

“PLEASE, PLEASE CONSIDER SPENDING SOME OF YOUR VALUABLE TIME AND MONEY TO LOVE ON A KID AROUND THE WORLD!!.”

Weinstein said he was alerted to the program on Wednesday after he was notified by an upset cadet.

“The cadet sent an e-mail saying, ‘This just shows how our military is supporting one religion – which is Christianity,’” Weinstein said.

He later received a telephone call from Brig. Gen. Clark.

“He said it was a mistake and he would fix it,” Weinstein said. “Lady Liberty is smiling tonight. This is a victory for the Constitution.”


“We agree that it was inappropriate,” Academy spokesman Lt. Col. John Bryan told the Colorado Gazette.

He told the newspaper that the initial e-mail was sent by cadets without the knowledge of senior leaders.

Late yesterday, cadets received the following e-mail retracting the promotion of Operation Christmas Child:
 “My apologies for the below message as it was not sent to the proper audience. The Cadet Chaplain Corps will be resending through the proper channels and to the proper audience.

Weinstein said he doesn’t have a problem with secular toy drives – but Graham’s, he said, crossed the line.
“Franklin Graham is a fundamentalist – a total enemy of the Constitution – an absolutely incredible Islamophobe,” Weinstein said.

He argued that Operation Christmas Child should have been promoted through the Academy’s chaplains – not the entire Academy. And that’s exactly where the project rests – in the hands of the chaplains.

“The kids will still get their toys,” he said acknowledging that it will only be promoted to a smaller subset of people.

General Clark said thousands of cadets routinely volunteer for various projects.

“Our cadets are outstanding young men and women who consistently give up their time, to include parts of their spring and summer breaks, to help people in need across the country,” he said. “The character of our cadets is second to none.”

Operation Christmas Child said they were unaware of the controversy at the Air Force Academy.