war on christmas

Liberty Counsel, in an alert to members today, compared North Korea’s threat against South Korea over a church group’s Christmas light display near the DMZ to the so-called “War on Christmas” in America. North Korea reacted furiously to the Christmas lights which could be seen in some cities near the border, leading to a not-so-thinly veiled threat against its southern neighbor.

This caught the eye of Liberty Counsel, which has been fighting the purported “War on Christmas” in America and likened Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee to the totalitarian Communist state for naming a Holiday Tree in the state capitol.

Of course, Liberty Counsel failed to mention that Chafee’s Republican predecessor former Gov. Donald Carcieri also called the tree a Holiday Tree. “It appears Gov. Chafee is well-suited for survival at the North Korea border,” the group claims. “His policies are better for kow-towing to the Commies than celebrating Christmas.”

You might be a communist if…You ban poinsettias from a government school; You rename a Christmas tree a “holiday” tree in a state building…or You threaten your neighbors with unexpected consequences if they want to put up Christmas lights. North Korea has claimed that South Korea’s plan to place three Christmas light displays in the shape of large trees is “a mean attempt for psychological warfare.” Their official site states, “The enemy warmongers ... should be aware that they should be held responsible entirely for any unexpected consequences that may be caused by their scheme,” according to the Associated French Press.

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Here in America, a Texas school banned Santa; a California school went another step and also banned poinsettias and Christmas trees, alleging that each was too religious. In addition, Governor Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island renamed a Christmas tree a holiday tree against the wishes of the tree’s donor and the outcry across his state. It appears Gov. Chafee is well-suited for survival at the North Korea border. His policies are better for kow-towing to the Commies than celebrating Christmas.

Mathew Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel, commented: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to millions of people who live in repressive regimes like North Korea, where their faith is tested everyday. America needs to be a beacon of hope to the world. It is an important lesson to Americans to not let the ‘grinches’ steal our Christmas spirit here in the land of the free.”

Robert Knight of the American Civil Rights Union appeared on The Janet Mefferd Show yesterday to discuss his recent column where he warned that the so-called War on Christmas will be even more traumatic this year as the “Christmas-phobic ACLU tacks up portraits of Grandfather Frost in back offices to inspire them during that darned holiday season that Dare Not Tell Its Name.” Mefferd and Knight floated a legal strategy to challenge what Knight called in his column “the secular virus,” a lawsuit on the grounds that the government violated the First Amendment by establishing atheism as the state’s official religion.

Mefferd: As we were talking about atheism being the de facto official religion with all of this, do you know if there’ve been any lawsuits dealing with the establishment of religion with atheism? This issue of saying, hey by not allowing this, by default the state really seems to be embracing atheism?

Knight: No but that sounds like a good lawsuit to me. I think Christians and others who believe in religious freedom in this country ought to be more aggressive, and that kind of strategy Janet, that’s a great idea.

It appears that Mefferd and Knight confuse government neutrality towards religion, a principal reason for religious freedom in America, with an official endorsement of atheism, which is not a religion.

The “War on Christmas” has come to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and US Senator Jim Inhofe isn’t happy. Inhofe, the former mayor of Tulsa, participated in the city’s parade every year but is so outraged that the city dropped the word “Christmas” from its name that he has decided to boycott the ceremonies:

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe said Tuesday that he won't participate in Tulsa's Holiday Parade of Lights until organizers put "Christ" back in the event's title.

"Last year, the forces of political correctness removed the word 'Christmas' and replaced it with 'Holiday' instead," the Oklahoma Republican said. "I am deeply saddened and disappointed by this change."

Inhofe, who was Tulsa's mayor from 1978 to 1984, said he had participated in the parade annually, riding a horse as his children and grandchildren watched.

"I did not do so last year because I'm not going to ride in a Christmas parade that doesn't recognize Christmas," he said. "I am hopeful that the good people of Tulsa and the city's leadership will demand a correction to this shameful attempt to take Christ, the true reason for our celebration, out of the parade's title. Until the parade is again named the Christmas Parade of Lights, I will not participate."

Inhofe’s involvement in the annual “War on Christmas” demagoguery should not be a surprise, as he is one of the Senate’s most prominent culture warriors and even said that he tries to use his status as a Senator to convert people to Christianity.