Congress Holds Emergency Vote To Save Christmas!
The National Jewish Democratic Council reports,
War in Iraq, war against terrorism, war in Afghanistan, move over — today, House GOP leaders have decided there is a more pressing war to attend to: the fictional war against Christmas, which apparently requires protection for Christmas symbols. And what happened when Democrats asked that the symbols of Chanukah be protected along with the symbols of Christmas? The House GOP simply said “no.”
This afternoon, 26 House Republicans — together with the GOP leadership — will be forcing the full House to vote on whether House members support the “symbols and traditions” of Christmas, and whether they disapprove of the utterly mythical “attempts to ban references to Christmas.” Today’s roll call vote comes on the heels of a House floor debate held last night regarding H. Res. 579, a resolution “Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the symbols and traditions of Christmas should be protected.” During the debate, Democratic members asked the Republican author of the resolution, Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), if she would permit the symbols of Chanukah and other holidays to be included in the protection of the resolution — and she refused.
Jesus H. Christ!
My Congressman- John Dingell’s poem is great!
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI):
“Madam Speaker, I have a little poem.
‘Twas the week before Christmas and all through the House,
no bills were passed `bout which Fox News could grouse.
Tax cuts for the wealthy were passed with great cheer,
so vacations in St. Barts soon should be near.
Katrina kids were all nestled snug in motel beds,
while visions of school and home danced in their heads.
In Iraq, our soldiers need supplies and a plan,
and nuclear weapons are being built in Iran.
Gas prices shot up, consumer confidence fell.
Americans feared we were in a fast track to ….. well.
Wait, we need a distraction, something divisive and wily,
a fabrication straight from the mouth of O’Reilly.
We will pretend Christmas is under attack,
hold a vote to save it, then pat ourselves on the back.
Silent Night, First Noel, Away in the Manger,
Wake up Congress, they’re in no danger.
This time of year, we see Christmas everywhere we go,
From churches to homes to schools and, yes, even Costco.
What we have is an attempt to divide and destroy
when this is the season to unite us with joy.
At Christmastime, we’re taught to unite.
We don’t need a made-up reason to fight.
So on O’Reilly, on Hannity, on Coulter and those right-wing blogs.
You should sit back and relax, have a few egg nogs.
‘Tis the holiday season; enjoy it a pinch.
With all our real problems, do we really need another Grinch?
So to my friends and my colleagues, I say with delight,
a Merry Christmas to all, and to Bill O’Reilly, happy holidays.
Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas.”
that your congressman has enough time to compose such things worries me greatly
Mobius,
I bet congressPEOPLE spend a lot of time sitting around listening to stupid speeches by stupid people, and can pen a quick diddy while doing so. The fact that it “worries” you “greatly” worries me greatly. What do you expect from the guy? To be a constant soldier on guard and feverishly working for the benefit of the whoever?
Jeez.. even the docs I know who work at emergency rooms in Jerusalem have a better sense of humor than you do. Like they say: If you don’t laugh, you’d cry.
-judah
about Congressman Dingell, he’s 80 years old, he’s been in congress for 50 years & has more energy than most 20 year olds I know-he works non stop!
Im so sick of the freakin conservative drecks morons I hope this country finally gets a clue and ditches them
Mobius, more axioms get busted with humor and irony, than with anger. I’ve recently seen some great cartoons, asking, “Who would Jesus torture?” and “Where would Jesus shop?”, the latter a terrific polemic on the freaks’ call to boycott stores that don’t use the word ‘Christmas.’
Dingall’s ditty is delightful.
“the fictional war against Christmas”
I really havent been following this story at all, so I dont know specifics of the claim, but isnt your calling the war “fictional” nothing more than a denial by the accused. I mean, mobi, youre the very type of person who is accused of waging this war (leftist jew) so youre denial of this claim doesnt carry much weight. And statements like that by the above poster (“Im so sick of the freakin conservative drecks morons I hope this country finally gets a clue and ditches them”), do nothing but weaken your denial.
And to comment on the “Im so sick of the freakin conservative drecks morons I hope this country finally gets a clue and ditches them” statement above: If the conservative “dreck morons” would leave the country we would be nothing more than a socialist country like france. We would fall behind in science, higher learning (harvard wouldnt have a 20Billion endowment if it were in Sweden),health, technology, innovation, productivity, standard of living and general position of dominance of the world.
The hard left and right actually play a very important role in this country. Without the left it would have turned/stayed into a backwards racist country with too limited a federal govt, and without the hard right it would become one giant french-like sociliast govt with taxes through the roof and an enormous reduction in productivity, and innovation.
Its bad enough that you have the war on Christmas folks. But why Jews should be whining that “Our symbols don’t get the same protection” I have no idea. Does anyone really think this vote is anything more than hype? Its pathetic. I’d rather see Jews staying away from this garbage, not trying to get included in it.
clarification (and grovelling apology for stupidity). First line should read “Its bad enough that you have the “War on Christmas” folks rattling on and on. But why..”
If these racist rednecks really believe that there’s a war on christmas, then how come they haven’t accused our ‘media conspiracy’ of leading the way? Because they don’t have a leg to stand on. Everywhere you look, christmas TV specials, celebrity renditions of carols, and christmas themed TV ads. It is a sad excuse for stirring up some hype and ratings. I wish it would go away if we ignored it, but it’s impossible to ignore. It’s in our face so much that it’s like christmas is at war with the rest of the world
Joe: “…isnt your calling the war ‘fictional’ nothing more than a denial by the accused. I mean, mobi, youre the very type of person who is accused of waging this war (leftist jew) so youre denial of this claim doesnt carry much weight.”
‘Scuse you? “Denial”? Do you find many Americans having a hard time celebrating Christmas in your part of America? The only place I haven’t seen lights, banners, plastic Santas, snowmen, creches, and other miscellaneous Christmas dreckorations is deep in the forest preserves while cross country skiing. Season’s Greetings!
“Do you find many Americans having a hard time celebrating Christmas in your part of America?”
Im not sure how this relates to my post. The christian right has been waging war against all sorts of programs and books like sponge-bob and harry potter, yet i havent seen anyone having any difficulty watching those shows and buying these products. Does this mean that these Christian groups arents fighting against these things?
You lost me, Joe. If denial by the accused weakens the argument that there is no liberal war on Christmas, as you say, then aren’t you establishing merit to the argument that there is truth to the claim of a liberal war on Christmas? If not, then why make the point about “leftist jews” (sic) being of a type to wage such a “war”?
By the way, former Fox News Channel (FNC) producer Charlie Reina offers some insight into the “liberal war on Christmas” thing…
http://poynter.org/forum/view_…
As FNC’s man at the top, Roger Ailes, knows well from his years as a political operative, there is no more effective wartime strategy than to divide and conquer. That’s why so much of his network’s programming is confrontational. The “us against them†gambit animates not only FNC’s night-time entertainment shows, like “The O’Reilly Factor†and “Hannity & Colmes,†but the network’s daytime “news†report, where anchors regularly browbeat guests who are on the wrong (Democrat or liberal) side of issues.
But what really separates Fox from the competition is its unabashed use of religion as a divisive weapon. Common sense — and common courtesy — have long dictated that personal religious beliefs be kept out of news reporting unless the story at hand involves religion. But on Fox, it’s not uncommon for an anchor to raise the issue of a guest’s religion, or lack thereof, a’ propos of nothing.
[…] So, again, it’s no wonder this “War on Christmas†(now in its second successful year) is a production of Fox News Channel — the very network that has made accusation, recrimination and confrontation the gold standards of cable “news,†and whose personalities have fashioned a self-serving “war†out of whole cloth, thanks to a scattered handful of p/c dupes and a shameless management willing to use even Christmas for its own political ends.
“If the conservative “dreck morons” would leave the country we would be nothing more than a socialist country like france. We would fall behind in science, higher learning (harvard wouldnt have a 20Billion endowment if it were in Sweden),health, technology, innovation, productivity, standard of living and general position of dominance of the world.”
Joe-
Pedigree, a law degree from a good school, and yet a complete lack of understanding of politics. It’s ok, we both know a law degree doesn’t guarantee that, don’t we?
If the right wing of this country left the United States would not become a socialist country like France. American politics have been defined by leaning towards liberty over equality on the political spectrum since its inception. If the right winger’s left, we would probably have a more civil discourse, the discussion would move towards the center, and we would be better off for it. We would not spin into radical socialism overnight.
In any case, even if America did move towards a social democracy it wouldn’t resemble French 5th republic at all, it would more resemble Germany’s highly federalist social democracy. Remember young padawan, the French Socialist party (obviously of france) and the SPD of Germany make the democracts look conservative in many, many aspects of governance. That being said, my reasoning for saying it would look more German mostly hinges on Germany’s American influenced Federalist republic.
The rest of your little tirade is all conjecture, with absolutely not grounding in reality or fact so I won’t even respond to it.
did someone honestly get worked up over mobius calling a male member of congress a congressman. note the fact that it’s in the singular tense. the guy’s a dude, man. he wasn’t implying all members of congress are or should be male. he was calling a man a man—nothing sexist about that, it’s biology! and you’re calling mobius uptight? you lost me there, my friend.
holy crap i was freaking joking
Gary Ackerman’s rant on the house floor is priceless
Lame. I don’t want Congress voting to save the Dreidel! When all the phony, showy Christians, unlike my good pals that are true Christians, realize all that tree, carrols whatever…are all pagan symbols. My good friends have no Christmas tree, they know their Jesus was not born on Dec. 25th, and are revolted by all this garbage too.
Let’s not drag ourselves into it! Judah Macabee had no dreidel, no menorah, no gelt…Celebrate the miracle of oil if you want, celebrate that we don’t assimilate and have Hanukah bushes.When you have your faith in your heart you don’t need the Congress! What a waste of time.
“Pedigree, a law degree from a good school, and yet a complete lack of understanding of politics.â€
Sorry you have such a chip on your shoulder. Listen kid, standardized exams can be tricky, and some people just aren’t “good test takers.†Maybe if I knew you back then I could have tutored you. You must feel vindicated for showing up someone who went a “good school.â€
Maybe I would have been better off if I took the political class you have taken, but then again, I don’t waste my time in crappy schools, getting joke degrees, listening to third rate professors.
But honestly, I must give you credit. As I was writing this post I realized that you have pulled me into your flame posts. There is no way you are for real. Some kid on an internet site informing us who is and isn’t qualified to discuss politics. And of course, he is qualified to make such assertions because he is getting a degree in politics/government (just like oriely). This is just too precious. It must really irk you that sports commentators and high school dropouts get to host their own shows about politics. You should make it your first priority to inform all these newspapers and stations that none of these people are qualified to discuss politics. At least youre starting on an internet site; not a bad start (see, I just got pulled in by your flame again).
The best part was when you noted that my post was conjecture (which it was, much like most predictions), but in the very same post you write
“If the right winger’s left, we would probably have a more civil discourse, the discussion would move towards the center, and we would be better off for it. We would not spin into radical socialism overnight.â€
Im glad to see your posts sticking to facts and avoiding conjecture. Now you see why you go to a crappy school?
Joe,
One question: if you so worried about the differences between fact and conjecture, why are you arguing about a subject you “really havent been following this story at all, so I dont know specifics of the claim”?
Still, suggesting we need the hard right in this country is like suggesting I need a hard right to the head. The hard right are on the path to dismantle any and all public good we have in this country, with their cuts, and their massively underfunded “mandates” and tax breaks while we have a whole region of the country we need to rebuild. Do we really need that? Tell you what, Joe, since not all of us are privy to your fancy booklearnin, maybe you can point to one distinctively positive thing the hard right has done in the last century?
Ironically, the spamblock is Republicans
The Congressmember from BROOKLYN(!) once again acquitting himself well:
Mr. PORTER. I yield to the gentleman from New York.
Mr. WEINER. Madam Speaker, I have no question about the gentleman’s values or his intent.
Is there any element of this bill that if we substituted “Chanukah,” which you mentioned, recognizing the importance of the symbols and traditions of Chanukah, would you find that offensive in any way?
Mr. PORTER. Madam Speaker, I am not sure of the protocol of the debate on the floor.
Mr. WEINER. Madam Speaker, he controls the time. He has yielded to me for a question, and now I am asking it.
Mr. PORTER. I would absolutely support a bill that talked about the symbols of Chanukah. Absolutely.
Mr. WEINER. Will the gentleman yield further for another question?
Mr. PORTER. Absolutely.
Mr. WEINER. Would you find anything offensive about recognizing the importance of the symbols and traditions of Diwali, the Indian New Year for Indian Americans?
Mr. PORTER. Madam Speaker, I am, again, not certain this is time for the debate, but I think we should look at all these groups that would like to be considered. Again, this is not a place for the debate, and I would be happy to have this discussion.
Mr. WEINER. It is exactly the place to debate. We are on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Mr. PORTER. But I believe that the gentleman’s point is well taken.
The Joe debate strategy:
1. State my case
2. Recieve response
3. Make ad hominem attack, neglecting to respond to the points of the counter argument
4. ???
5. Profit
Have anything to say in response to my counter argument to your ludicrous statements?
And just to be clear, there is a distinct difference between my conjecture and yours. In my statement I say:
“If the right winger’s left, we would probably have a more civil discourse, the discussion would move towards the center, and we would be better off for it. We would not spin into radical socialism overnight.â€
So yes, my statement was conjecture, but it was presented as such. Your statement on the other hand:
“If the conservative “dreck morons” would leave the country we would be nothing more than a socialist country like france. We would fall behind in science, higher learning (harvard wouldnt have a 20Billion endowment if it were in Sweden),health, technology, innovation, productivity, standard of living and general position of dominance of the world.”
You present your statement as fact and yet there is not even a remote attempt to present any evidence even anecdotal, to back up your “facts”. Then, given the opportunity to back up your facts in the face of a counter argument, you resort to attacks on me personally. Bravo, I’m sure you’ve made a great lawyer.
And Joe, I really am not concerned about it’s reputation, it gets me what I need. And you know it’s worked out pretty well, I’ve just recieved a paid internship with the German Parliament so I’m not really sweating my school’s reputation. You’re really the only one doing so.
I could not care less that the ‘sports commentators and high school dropouts’ host shows and make political commentary that people like yourself lap up like little puppies so thirsty they will drink anything. Just expect that the BS you hear from them will be challenged when you recycle it on comment sections of a popular Jewish blog, especially when you represent said BS as fact.
Now i’ll give you the opportunity to back up your original statements with some sort of evidence so we could have an actual discussion about this instead of talking about how crappy my school supposedly is.
Go figure….
OK Rep. Tom Cole, a former RNC executive director, is telling colleagues that Republicans can prevent losses in the 2006 midterm elections if they successfully define Democrats as carping critics who favor surrender in Iraq, higher taxes and more government spending….
Cole suggests stirring up “a little paranoia” among Republican base voters to motivate them to vote.
http://hotlineblog.nationaljou…
This is what makes you so much fun to read:
you wrote:
“3. Make ad hominem attack, neglecting to respond to the points of the counter argument”
but you had previously written:
“Joe-
Pedigree, a law degree from a good school, and yet a complete lack of understanding of politics. ”
You wrote:
“The rest of your little tirade is all conjectureâ€
But you also wrote:
“If the right winger’s left, we would probably have a more civil discourse, the discussion would move towards the center, and we would be better off for it. We would not spin into radical socialism overnight”
You wrote:
“So yes, my statement was conjecture, but it was presented as such”
but then tell me i should back up my statement with evidence (it looks like someone doesnt know what “conjecture†means. hint – it has something to do with a lack of/ incomplete evidence.). I fail to understand how someone who admits that their statement was conjecture would then go to and demand evidence from the other side.
So now we know you have poor logic and vocabulary- kinda explains your current situation.
Also, i dont know why you say the sports commentators’ political analysis is bs. Your viewpoints and analysis seem to be lockstep with keith olbermann’s, while you seem to disagree with orielly who has a degree in goverment. Im starting to get the feeling that people who disagree with you arent qualified to discuss politics.
I actually have a serious question about this statement:
“I could not care less that the ‘sports commentators and high school dropouts’ host shows and make political commentary that people like yourself lap up like little puppies so thirsty they will drink anything. Just expect that the BS you hear from them will be challenged when you recycle it on comment sections of a popular Jewish blog, especially when you represent said BS as fact. ”
Do you really think any of the political advisors, think tank members, speech writers, analysts really have any greater knowledge and understanding than the avg-semi intelligent person who follows politics?
I watch these scholars and advisors who are guests on political programs all the time, and all they do is repeat the general party line. The folks from conservative think tanks and conservative political advisors are usually saying the same things as scarborough/ Carlson/ Rush etc., while the liberal ones are agreeing with the olbermanns/ franken types.
Obviously they don’t agree on every last thing, but haven’t you noticed that they really have little to add to the general layman’s viewpoint (one who follows politics, that is). I don’t see how you can say that these hosts and writers are full of bs and aren’t qualified if they are saying the very same things as the experts.
“The folks from conservative think tanks and conservative political advisors are usually saying the same things as scarborough/ Carlson/ Rush etc., while the liberal ones are agreeing with the olbermanns/ franken types.”
What you’re describing is the decline of TV news in America. Talking points are part of media training, as there’s not enough air time to go in depth into an issue. You will never find the BBC, whatever their flaws, talking about the “War on Christmas.” Just because some liberal pundits are inane, it doesn’t mean that the topic itself isn’t ignorant nativist hysteria. Joe: You seem like a reasonably intelligent guy. Do you believe for one second that there’s a “war” on Christmas? Have you met any soldiers in this battle?
Ruby K: What makes the House vote to protect Christmas symbols problematic is that (1) in the time it takes to pass it, many more pressing issues get sidelined and (2) it’s a loyalty oath, cynically used to tar its detractors as against Christmas. They’re trying to divide the country to get votes, and that’s demagoguery
Adam,
I know, and I know. and I agree with you. Was merely
1) taking Joe to task, on questions he still hasn’t answered, and
2) pointing out that for a pro war approaching centrist, Anthony Weiner impresses me fairly often.
“Do you believe for one second that there’s a “war” on Christmas? Have you met any soldiers in this battle?”
There probably isnt a war on Christmas (im just guessing- im not even sure what the phrase means), but i do think there is a general war against religion in this country, where some are fighting to remove any semblance of religion from public life/view- even if it is the case that it has been the status quo for decades or centuries. I find no reason for such a strong hatred of religion, and as I have said before “enforcing the constitution” is a very weak argument because a) no liberal is worried about enforcing the constitution when it comes to the commerce clause and b) its only the liberal interpretation of the establishment clause.
This is CRAZY!
There is NO WAR ON XMAS. This issue has caused another fissure between my father and myself. He is a REPUGNICAN 100% Card carrying Kool-Aide drinking repupblican. SO I called him the other night to ask him if he has seen any action in the war against Xmas… He said he believes Orielly 100%, that the ‘Liberals’ are trying to destroy xmas. I asked him if he has observed this first hand… He said “Orielly said so” to me… It was then I realized my dad is a idiot. I read 10 newspapers from around the world… My dad gets 100% of his news from FOX.
I ask anyone reading this… Where is this war on xmas being faught? I go to the stores, the malls, my office, etc… All over the place there are signs of christmas, Christmas Cards, Candy Canes, etc… It doesn’t bother me, but it bothers me that people are claiming INCORRECTLY and LYING when saying that people are being forced to not observe xmas.
Every example which Orielly used to claim his war on xmas was proven to be false. The school which prohibited kids from singing xmas songs…. FALSE… The town which outlawed green&red…. FALSE… Why must Oliely lie so much… ITS HIS SCHTICK… He is a prolific lier, who makes oodles of money lying bigger and bigger lies.
Thank you,
Michael
PS: I firmly believe in SEPERATION OF CHURCH AND STATE… It is the responsibility of the family to teach the children about G-d, not the governments job. Keep religion in the home and synagogue, keep learning about math and science in public school. My seperation extends to homosexual rights amongst other ‘progressive’ ideas. Personally I find Homosexuality to be a Chet, a straying from the path Hashem wants us to follow. But because USA is not Hashems country, we cannot force others to believe in the ways of Torah {But Xtians want to force the New Testies on all Americans}. We can gently lead people towards a path of righteousness, which is my personal mission… I want to set a good example, so that those around me see what is good, and want to have the goodness for themselves.
War on Xmas… Where? Who? When? Why lie about it?
Michael
Michael U: “War on Xmas… Where? Who? When? Why lie about it?”
See my comment above, on the memo from Tom Cole (R-OK). The Conservative Republican agenda cannot move ahead without division, hatred, paranoia and resentment. It is no coincidence that not a single Republican policy has advanced through the legislature without some boogeyman to scare the voters. Trial lawyers, Hollywood elites, activist judges, Massachusetts liberals…. Farsteischt?