Is this the best House Republicans can do?
Whereas Christmas is a national holiday celebrated on December 25; and
Whereas the Framers intended that the First Amendment of the Constitution, in prohibiting the establishment of religion, would not prohibit any mention of religion or reference to God in civic dialog: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives–
(1) recognizes the importance of the symbols and traditions of Christmas;
(2) strongly disapproves of attempts to ban references to Christmas; and
(3) expresses support for the use of these symbols and traditions by those who celebrate Christmas.
Pete
This. Is. War. !
cleek
GOP: constant vigilance against the strawman army.
scav
lily livered cowards. commie useless cretins. why didn’t they step up the real plate and mandate putting the baby jesus on all wrapping paper and dollar bills? teenage jesus is for the 50s.
Remember November
Hey as long as they also recognize the Jews for Hanukkah, African Americans and their symbols, and Pagans and their original symbols as co-opted by Christians.
Phaedrus
Can’t someone tack on a rider/amendment that says , “(4) support the right of citizens to choose their sexual partners without government interference”, or something.
The left passes off this kind of tripe as meaningless, but four years from now it will be showing up in conservative text books bolstering their case that America is founded on Christianity, and we should stone the gays.
Balconesfault
I am down with Christmas.
It’s a blast. I don’t believe the stories, but they’re enjoyable. And the incorporation of all those symbols and rituals from the druids was brilliant.
soonergrunt
That’s why I go out of my way here in Oklahoma to say “Season’s Greetings” or “Happy Holidays!”
I especially like to do so while wearing my cheesy Combat Veteran hat. Actually, that’s about the only thing that hat is good for–wearing it while saying or doing things that piss off conservatives.
Maybe I’ll go downtown this weekend and wish a “Happy Kwanzaa” to everyone I meet.
AngusTheGodOfMeat
You are either for Jesus, or against Him.
Zero tolerance for dithering.
Stand up for the Savior, or get out of the way.
scav
@AngusTheGodOfMeat: I’m just a speed bump on someone’s path to salvation.
well, ok, it’s a life’s ambition.
AnotherBruce
I like it, you can substitute any other word for “Christmas” and it still works.
Suggested words: “Festivus” ,”Groundhog’s Day”, “Drunkeness”, “Pornography” ,”Satan”.
Submit your own favorites.
Midnight Marauder
So, again–just to make sure I’m clear–this is another serious, real thing that Republicans are doing in attempts to convince the American electorate to restore them to power? A strongly worded
letterresolution about honoring and respecting Christmas?This is not, in fact, an Onion article and is actually taking place in the real world?
GregB
Merry effing Christmas you infidel dogs!
-G
MikeJ
♪ ♪ ♪ On the first day of Saturnalia my true love gave to me
a blow job in a treeeeeeee ♪ ♪ ♪
Leelee for Obama
@soonergrunt: Sooner, you and my Sister and her husband and friends are the reason I don’t want secession of the Red States. I would love to come out there and walk around with you, just to watch the expressions!
Jay in Oregon
@Midnight Marauder:
Maybe the Democrats can misplace their voting cards for this one…
Leelee for Obama
@MikeJ: Hopefully in your backyard at night. Otherwise, what on earth would we tell the Children?
PeakVT
Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That
/facepalm
gnomedad
Can we also strongly disapprove of attempts to ban lawsuits for sexual assault? We don’t want corporations trampling the rights of their employees, no sir.
asiangrrlMN
That does it. They want a fucking war on Christmas? They got it. What do I do to fight against Christmas?
gnomedad, hee hee, you made me laugh. Thanks for that.
Warren Terra
This won’t be enough to satisfy the American Taliban: not enough Jesus.
I’ve used only this pseud since 2002, but am tempted to change it seasonally to mock the ninnies chanting “Warren Chris Mess”.
Leelee for Obama
@Warren Terra: Just do a Yuletide AKA.
MikeJ
Join me in passing out gelt to cashiers. Reinforces those that say happy holidays and puts gelt guilt on those that say merry xmas to change them into happy holidayers.
Noonan
(4) expresses support for the use of these symbols and traditions to be leveraged by corporations into a celebration of capitalism
Sentient Puddle
What symbols? What traditions? In what way are they important? How does this recognition not “[respect] an establishment of religion,” as is forbidden by the first amendment (also mentioned in this resolution)?
$20 says the Republicans who introduced this resolution can’t give satisfactory answers to any of these questions.
AnotherBruce
@Warren Terra:
This won’t be enough to satisfy the American Taliban: not enough Jesus.
Are you kidding me? What does Christmas have to do with Jesus in these people’s minds? Christmas is just another excuse to have something to whine about.
scav
@Sentient Puddle: whoa, slow down there puddle, you’re swerving dangerously close to logical territory there. Take a deep breath. again. This is congress were discussing.
MikeJ
@Sentient Puddle:
Did we already miss the six to eight black men?
The Grand Panjandrum
Hey I’m all for Chrifsmas myself. Merry Chrifsmas! But what’s really weird is that the other day I saw an image of the FSM in my bowl of ramen. But, alas, as I tried to pick its noodliness out of the bowl it disappeared.
The Republic of Stupidity
It’s like they WANNA be irrelevant.
It’s like they’ve thrown in the towel and proclaimed “We have no idea of what, at all, to do about any real problems or issues facing the country, especially the ones we helped create. Not one Farking bit… the deficit, global climate change, the natl dependence on foreign oil, the tremendous divisions forming in the country… nada, zilch… El Zippo!
But… we will continue to tilt at windmills endlessly and proclaim ourselves victors in imaginary wars!”
Drones… just big, fat, f-in’ drones… completely worthless…
All four definitions are appropriate, no?
Even the military one… pilotless weapons of destruction…
Tonal Crow
Don’t these wingnuts know that Christmas is a bowdlerized pagan holiday that makes Baby Jeebus cry?
The Republic of Stupidity
Ahem…
***tap… tap…***
It doesn’t show, but there’s a link w/ the word ‘drone’ and that’s where the definitions are…
asiangrrlMN
@MikeJ: In other words, don’t shop where they say Merry Christmas! Got it. What else? Is there a t-shirt I can wear or a flag I can hoist?
@Noonan: I think this one NEEDS to be included.
Butch
Season’s greetings,
Times are hard,
Here’s your fucking Christmas card.
The Republic of Stupidity
@Sentient Puddle:
And my $20 says they’d gladly sucker punch you and take off w/ your $20, if they thought they could outrun you…
Meeeeeeeeeeerry Christmas, suckers!
(Fading into the distance, along w/ the sound of running footsteps…)
Meeeeeeerry Christmas… Ho ho ho…
Blue Raven
If today’s fundamentalist Christians really want to be oppressed, it’ll be difficult to get the right situations arranged. OK, we have lots of sports arenas to serve as coliseums, but the lions can’t be had for love or money. Feeding them idiot meat is considered cruel treatment.
Comrade Dread
Considering Christmas’ successful invasion of Thanksgiving and Halloween, I’m comfortable that it’s successfully winning the war and doesn’t need my help to knock off Labor Day, Columbus Day, and Independence Day.
pharniel
@MikeJ:
Your ideas intruige me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
Shell
(3)” expresses support for the use of these symbols and traditions by those who celebrate Christmas.”
“strongly disapproves of attempts to ban references to Christmas; and
New Yorker
Hey, I have no problem with Christmas: the lights, the trees, the food, the gifts, seeing the family, etc. It’s all pagan stuff anyway, and as long as I don’t set foot in Church, it’s completely devoid of any explicitly Christian meaning. This is why the hardcore Christians of the days of yore did not celebrate the holiday. They (rightly) saw it as a pagan celebration.
Anyway, I’m going to go help my father put up the saturnalia tree this weekend. If it wasn’t for my 94-year-old Catholic grandmother, we’d probably do away with the nativity scene under it (I’d prefer a shrine to Apollo, since we are talking about a holiday celebrating the return of the sun).
Woodrowfan
let’s attach it as a rider on the Heath Care Bill…
BFR
@Tonal Crow:
Weren’t they fighting for years and years against Christmas trees, Santa Clause and the like?
gnomedad
@Comrade Dread:
Stop the thread, we have a winner!
BFR
@Shell:
GReynoldsCT00
That’d be just like the heathen commies….
soonergrunt
@Leelee for Obama:
I did just that thing in the run-up to the election in 2008. Combat Veteran hat and Obama t-shirt. Went shopping at Home Depot and Wal Mart. Yeah, the expressions I got were pretty funny at times. Quite a lot of mumbling and turning away, as well, which I’d respond to by asking “What? I’m sorry, but I didn’t get that?” in a loud voice.
I don’t looking for physical confrontations, and I’m a pretty big boy anyway. It’s more about fucking with people’s heads and their preconceived notions, like how Soldiers are supposed to be conservatives.
It’s actually kind of petty, now that I read it here, but hey, it’s free.
Nose to the Grindstone
But just look at all the important things they’ve put aside to work on the war on Christmas:
Postponed Suspension Votes (6 Bills):
1. H.R. 3951 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2000 Louisiana Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana, as the “Roy Rondeno, Sr. Post Office Building” (Rep. Cao – Oversight and Government Reform)
2. H.R. 4017 – To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 43 Maple Avenue in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, as the “Ann Marie Blute Post Office” (Rep. McGovern – Oversight and Government Reform)
3. H.Res. 35 – Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Congress should provide increased Federal funding for continued type 1 diabetes research (Rep. Gene Green – Energy and Commerce)
4. H.Res. 55 – Expressing support for the designation of a National Prader-Willi Syndrome Awareness Month to raise awareness of and promote research into this challenging disorder (Rep. Royce – Energy and Commerce)
5. H.R. 3603 – To rename the Ocmulgee National Monument (Rep. Marshall – Natural Resources)
6. H.R. 86 – To eliminate an unused lighthouse reservation, provide management consistency by bringing the rocks and small islands along the coast of Orange County, California, and meet the original Congressional intent of preserving Orange County’s rocks and small islands (Rep. Campbell – Natural Resources)
Sometimes issues just resolve themselves:
thehill.com/capital-living/in-the-know/71423-lawmaker-drops-effort-to-honor-tiger-woods-with-congres…
Leelee for Obama
@Comrade Dread: @gnomedad:
Yes! I agree with gnomedad. This is the winner on this thread!
beltane
It’s time to put the Sol back into the festival of Sol Invictus. Can’t these Christians come up with their own damn holiday? (and no, Easter doesn’t count; that is also stolen property).
ppcli
2a) Reaffirms its opposition to the unprovoked aggression by Sauron and the terror of the Nine Nazgûl within middle earth.
Lyle4
@Pete: This isn’t war.
This. Is. CHRISTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!!!!!!!
Comrade Scrutinizer
@Shell:
__
Maybe a short between the chair and the keyboard?
Leelee for Obama
@soonergrunt: Not petty at all. Maybe passive-aggressive, but I’m Irish and we do that sort of thing in almost all situations. I’ve been in OKC several times, and Guthrie and Edmond. I would wear my New Yorkiest clothes and tawk the talk. My sister would laugh her butt off, because she’s kind of a Quaker, so I was a little radical.
BFR
@beltane:
It’s not their fault. When the Romans adopted xtianity, they just did the sensible thing and grafted new language on top of all of their old holiday celebrations. Lots less confusing to do things that way rather than create a whole new series of celebrations.
jl
Because the Bible talks so much about Santa Claus, elves, candy canes, snow sleighs and jingle bells, Christmas trees with cool decorations, evenings by a Christmas fire, chestnuts roasting, and a frenzy of mass consumption mutual barter of presents with your kind of people, any attempt to ban official recognition of our Yuletide traditions is athiest and is hatred of Jesus.
That’s why the GOP must take this brave stand, sheeples!
Oh boy, edit is back: I say, let’s bring back Saturnalia, the original Christmas, the old pre-Dickens Christmas. People might be into walking around rich neighborhodds demanding that the swells through them some nice stuff. Let’s go all the way to restore our Christmas traditions. Anything else is atheism and hates Jesus.
Rick Taylor
The house of Representatives supports those who would place blinking plastic snowmen on their front lawns.
chopper
(4) also, too.
Arguingwithsignposts - ipod touchs
@MikeJ:
love me some sedaris. And that bit is full of win.
MikeJ
I like this. A pitchfork wielding mob singing, “We won’t go until we get some, so bring some out here”. Singing it like we mean it.
Shall we meet at the Greenwich, CT train station?
Kevin Phillips Bong
@soonergrunt: Just curious what’s your (obviously non-scientific) evaluation of the Army’s political climate. Here in the AF there are a lot of Faux News viewers but every so often I’m surprised to run across someone who has actually thought about current political issues and realizes where the majority of the blame lies.
GReynoldsCT00
and the Christmas truck, from a red state!
Zifnab
@Kevin Phillips Bong: Is that blame with the army, the navy, or the marines?
You'll Poke Your Eye Out...
Good – after congress saves Christmas from evil Atheist ACLU zombies, they can get to work on making it safe.
timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/article6934109.ece
bemused
House Dems should submit a resolution that declares that Santa did not die on the cross for the War on Christmas crowd. That would be fun but I think the irony would be lost on them.
beltane
@jl: If we had “traditional” Christmas/Saturnalia festivities, huge crowds of poor people would descend upon every elite gated community in the country demanding cash, liquor and jewels in exchange for not breaking windows or groping the rich men’s wives. The masses would descend upon Wall Street and not Wal-Mart. I don’t think this is the type of tradition the Republicans want to resurrect.
Jay B.
I’m wearing a bow to commemorate those who’ve paid the most terrible price of all during this costly war: retail.
Paris
Thank God I can unpack the Christmas lights and put the creche out on the front lawn again. I felt like a criminal, sneaking my Christmas symbols around the last few weeks.
John S.
Whereas Christmas is a national holiday celebrated on December 25 that has fuck all to do with Jesus; and
Whereas the origins of Christmas are firmly rooted in Paganism and have no real place in Christian dialog; Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
1) are a bunch of fucking tools; and
2) the Christian right are a bunch of fucking tools; and
3) this is a big fat waste of fucking time.
tamied
@Paris: I had mine hidden behind the halloween pumpkins and skeletons. Oh no, I was just too lazy to get them out.
The Moar You Know
@Kevin Phillips Bong: I wouldn’t dare presume to speak for soonergrunt, but I do a lot of work with the military (Navy and Air Force) and so far, it seems like officers run solidly Republican, and enlisted run about 50/50.
FWIW, the enlisted guys, regardless of politics, are almost always a lot of fun to be around, are smart, VERY aware of the issues, and fun to talk stuff over with.
still liberal
Whereas freedom and liberty are inherent rights acknowledged by the Framers of the Constitution, and whereas the Framers were adamant about no state religion to be established: Now, therefore be it
Resolved, that the House of Representatives-
(1)recognize that everyone is free to choose or not choose to pay the slightest attention to the symbols and traditions of Christmas:
(2)strongly disapproves of anyone attempted to foment unrest and bigotry with faux “Wars on Christmas;” and
(3)roundly boo and hiss at those attempting to wipe their ass with the Constitution in order to improve ratings and or readership with wingnuts.
Johnny B
“Green Balloons, green balloons, green balloons!”
Please make the idiocy stop.
still liberal
Whereas freedom and liberty are inherent rights acknowledged by the Framers of the Constitution, and whereas the Framers were adament about no state religion to be established: Now, therefore be it
Resolved, that the House of Representatives-
(1)recognize that everyone is free to choose or not choose to pay the slightest attention to the symbols and traditions of Christmas:
(2)strongly disapproves of anyone attempted to foment unrest and bigotry by promoting faux “Wars on Christmas;” and
(3)roundly boo and hiss at those attempting to wipe their ass with the Constitution in order to improve ratings and or readership.
still liberal
Whereas freedom and liberty are inherent rights acknowledged by the Framers of the Constitution, and whereas the Framers were adament about no state religion to be established: Now, therefore be it
Resolved, that the House of Representatives-
(1)recognize that everyone is free to choose or not choose to pay the slightest attention to the symbols and traditions of Christmas:
(2)strongly disapproves of anyone attempted to foment unrest and bigotry by promoting faux “Wars on Christmas;” and
(3)roundly boo and hiss at those attempting to wipe their ass with the Constitution in order to improve ratings and or readership among wingnuts.
The Moar You Know
@beltane: Goddamnit, we’ve been doing Christmas wrong my whole life! THIS is a holiday I could not just support, but be fanatical about, like the fundies are about their neutered version of Christmas.
Glidwrith
You people laugh – but we had a parent wingnut respond to our first grader teacher’s announcement of a winter celebration with this: “Our family celebrates Christmas, not Winter. Is this a new holiday we weren’t aware of, like Festivus? Since we’re celebrating Winter, can we also celebrate Christmas? Like we once used to? Or will we be arrested for doing so at school?”
Pretty tame stuff considering what’s out on the blogs, but to have such a response to a simple announcement of a party for the kids – someone’s been drinking too much Kool-aid.
Jamey
FIXED
Darryl
I’m using a different name now because my original name gets confused with LGF guy.
Anybody here from New Zealand, or know much about it? I’ve been looking for somewhere to get away from my fellow dipshit Murkins.
valdivia
@Johnny B:
FTW.
But do remember green means more of this, harder, so maybe just yell red. and they will stop.
kommrade reproductive vigor
Needs more green (and red) balloons.
soonergrunt
@Kevin Phillips Bong:
Well, my National Guard unit seems to run the gamut between Democrats who are somewhat right to slightly left of center in the enlisted ranks. I don’t know what political beliefs my officers have, and that’s as it should be.
You get all types, but quite a few of the hard right wingers, and there’s a reason that some stereotypes exist, the ones that talk awful loudly, really went out of their way to avoid the last couple of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan that guys like me went on. Most the blowhards are subsequently gone.
Joshua Norton
I get the distinct feeling they get Jesus and the bible confused with “The Lawrence Welk Show”.
No. Really.
asiangrrlMN
@MikeJ: I just have a teeny amendment to this:
Rusty pitchfork. It must be a rusty pitchfork.
Evinfuilt
@AnotherBruce:
Damn straight, I laugh when you find out most US Christians actually think Jesus was born that day, and that its been a holiday for thousands of years.
Tonal Crow
@ppcli:
You’re kidding, right? I’m pretty sure that the most-recently approved GOP platform contains a line supporting “a Constitutional Amendment recognizing the underhanded liberal assault on traditional property rights visited upon Lord Sauron the Great by (a) the hobbits’ acquisition of His Ring; (b) the hobbits’ continued possession of His Ring, knowing that It was His; (c) the hobbits’ formation of a conspiracy to destroy His Ring; and (d) the hobbits’ actual destruction of His Ring, to his great and continuing injury.” Also, there’s something in there condemning the use of the “politically-correct terms ‘Nazgûl’, ‘ringwraith’, and ‘Black Rider’ in place of the vassals’ proper names, e.g., ‘Khamûl, Shadow of the East’.”
ppcli
@Glidwrith:
Wow. I think we should introduce a new Christmas tradition: “The Mocking of the Dipwads”. Your child’s classmates parents can be ceremonial first guests.
Michael
I like the part in the Bible when Jesus went Galt.
Joshua Norton
Since we’re celebrating Winter, can we also celebrate Christmas?
Good heavens, NO! True Christers can only celebrate September 29th.
Q.E.D.
Comrade Dread
On the other hand, I’m pretty sure Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, and Tim Allen were part of a bold conspiracy to make us hate the holiday season not that long ago.
Gen. James Wilkinson
Now, watch the Democrats go into their usual defensive crouch, beg for forgiveness, completely capitulate and vote for this fucking thing.
Kevin Phillips Bong
@Zifnab: We don’t make policy, we just implement it.
Kevin Phillips Bong
@soonergrunt: I wonder if there’s any correlation between Guard/Reserve (who have to deal with real world economic/political/social issues in addition to the military) being somewhat lefty and AD who are safe in the coccoon of Uncle Sugar being more hard right. Anecdotally I find lots of AF lifers are both hardcore Republicans and entirely clueless about the world outside the fence.
Ruckus
@Butch:
I so love modern poetry. Especially when it has a positive message.
Mike in NC
Same pretty much goes for the career Navy, especially senior officers. There’s much more diversity among reservists of all paygrades, which is closer to the breakdown found in the civilian population.
The Populist
People are out of work, we have two wars and kids are going hungry but HELL let’s pass a resolution arguing about Xmas.
Whatever. Man I am getting to the point where I can’t read any more about these jerkwads.
SiubhanDuinne
@The Republic of Stupidity:
@The Republic of Stupidity:
And you’re just talking about the definitions for drone as a noun. But it works also too when you scroll down to drone as a verb!
soonergrunt
@Kevin Phillips Bong:
The Army seems to be a little bit more centrist–Petraeus and McChrystal are supposedly semi-closeted liberals, according to some sources I’ve seen. That seems (in as much as anyone is aware of it) to be the political leanings in the Counterinsurgency camp right now.
Of course, my information on that is mostly all third-hand and read in a blog and so on and so on so take it with a cup of salt, but there is this thing about officers in the Army–the more physically fit they are, the more unconventional they are. Tom Ricks once said that they become PT studs to compensate for their unusual intellectual ideas.
The narrative on the left that McCrystal or Petraeus have some grand plan to undercut the President–just ain’t so. Read Spencer Ackerman for more.
A lot of career NCOs in the regular Army are fairly right wing, and as you noted, absolutely clueless about the lives led by the people they protect.
jacy
Funny story re: holiday stuff stolen by Christians
I’m not Christian, but my S/O is devout Catholic, and our two youngest go to Catholic school. (And they go to Jewish summer camp, and get exposed to all sort of other beliefs, and know Mom and Dad don’t believe the same thing — they’re cool with religion as a suggestion)
At Easter time a few years ago, Kid #4 brought home a project to make “Resurrection Eggs.” I have a low tolerance for bullshit and dashed off a letter.
Dear So-and-So –
My son will not be doing this project. Your attempt to co-opt pagan symbolism into your version of the spring holiday is unnacceptable. Not only is it an insult to the pagan religions, it’s an insult to your religion.
While I understand that this is a Catholic school and religious education is part of the curriculum, I draw the line at teaching my children insane crap you just thought up on the spot.
Please send home an alternate project and we’ll be glad to complete it!
Cheers.
Jay C
Well, actually, yes. From a politically-exploitative viewpoint it’s pretty clever – a meaningless feel-good resolution that, while fairly bland on its face, manages to:
A) Toss a sop to the obsessive Jeebus-jumpers who make up such a depressingly large percentage of their “base” by “standing up for Christ[mas/ianity/ianism]” in public; while simultaneously:
B) Appealing to the religious nuts’ sense of victimization (always a sure winner) by obliquely bringing up the (nonexistent) “War on Christmas” – and being on the “right side”; and
C) Giving the GOP a handy club to bash any Congresscritter foolish enough to vote against (or to derail) the resolution as “anti-Christian”, if not an actual worshiper of Satan (like they depict most Democrats).
Win-Win!
asiangrrlMN
@jacy: Ok, your letter totally brightened my day.
Bubblegum Tate
There’s got to be some way to turn this stupid bill into a version of the grace scene from Talladega Nights.
Chyron HR
Well, if you’re going to “support the use of those symbols and traditions by those who celebrate Christmas”, don’t you have to oppose diluting the Christmas symbols/traditions by having non-Christian entites waving them around blasphemously?
That actually sounds good to me. I wonder if any Republicans will notice they’re implicitly giving stores carte blanche to NOT say “Merry Christmas”?
Cain
@Warren Terra:
I got an HDTV antenna the other day, and have about 19 channels out of those 19, there are 5 religious channels. If you watch it, they continuously talk about the Lord, Jesus, etc etc. Very boring programming, I mean how much can you talk about the Lord until you get bored.
If you’re stuck in this thing, there is probably something wrong with you since I’m pretty sure the Almighty just wants us to have a good time and smoke weed, and be good to all the creatures on the earth. if not. FLOOD, BITCHES!
cain
Shell
Christian Rock, anyone? Just substitute ‘jesus’ for ‘baby.’
Wile E. Quixote
@cain
Your ideas intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
The Populist
@Shell:
Haha, just like Eric Cartman showed us when he started his band Faith + 1
The Populist
JackieBinAZ
That demanded to be fixed.
Kevin Phillips Bong
@soonergrunt: Counterinsurgency is a warfare specialty that requires at least a little “liberal” (for lack of a better word) thinking in that you need to understand and perhaps even empathize (horrors!) with the populace involved in the conflict. Straight up force-on-force is much simpler. Find, fix, kill, although I expect the House Republicans could find a way to screw that up. But out where I am, I’m at least a little encouraged by the way a few carefully chosen words from a field-grader can influence the way the UAV mission is being executed.
mandarama
@The Populist:
My fave: “Cartman, you don’t know anything about Christianity!” “I know enough to exploit it.”
mandarama
@soonergrunt:
You, I like.
Very Reverend Crimson Fire of Compassion
@soonergrunt: Petty? Fuck, no, baby. That’s performance art!
LanceThruster
gex
Whereas if these people keep pushing a sectarian definition of the holiday season, we’re going to have to stop giving people December 25th off.
Whereas although other people also celebrate holidays this season, we proclaim that we can not countenance the existence of such people, much less civility and respect towards their traditions alongside our own.
Whereas Christians make a big deal of showing the everyone else what complete assholes they need to be about their love of the baby Jesus.
I declare that I fucking hate Christmas now more than I ever did, largely because of these assholes defending Christmas.
CalD
For the record:
No one is asking religious Christians to stop saying Merry Christmas to each other or refrain from displaying religious symbols in their homes or their own places of business or worship. Their sole basis for complaint is that they want everyone else to do it too.