Fundamentalists mad at Bush for wording of holiday card

[Sequoia]

'Christmas' appears nowhere on White House greeting
Washington -- What's missing from the White House Christmas card? Christmas.

This month, as in every December since he took office, President Bush sent out cards with a generic end-of-the-year message, wishing 1.4 million of his close friends and supporters a happy holiday season.

Many people are thrilled to get a White House Christmas card, no matter what the greeting inside. But some conservative Christians are reacting as if Bush stuck coal in their stockings.

"This clearly demonstrates that the Bush administration has suffered a loss of will and that they have capitulated to the worst elements in our culture," said William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.

Bush "claims to be a born-again, evangelical Christian. But he sure doesn't act like one," said Joseph Farah, editor of the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily .com. "I threw out my White House card as soon as I got it."

Religious conservatives are miffed because they have been pressuring stores to advertise Christmas sales rather than holiday specials and urging schools to let students out for Christmas vacation rather than for winter break.

They celebrated when House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., insisted that the sparkling spectacle on the Capitol lawn should be called the Capitol Christmas Tree, not a holiday spruce.

Then along comes a generic season's greeting from the White House, paid for by the Republican National Committee. The cover art is also secular, if not humanist: It shows the presidential pets -- two dogs and a cat -- frolicking on a snowy White House lawn.

"Certainly President and Mrs. Bush, because of their faith, celebrate Christmas," said Susan Whitson, Laura Bush's press secretary. "Their cards in recent years have included best wishes for a holiday season, rather than Christmas wishes, because they are sent to people of all faiths."

That is the same rationale offered by major retailers for generic holiday catalogues, and it is accepted by groups such as the National Council of Churches. "I think it's more important to put Christ back into our war planning than into our Christmas cards," said the council's general secretary, the Rev. Bob Edgar, a former Democratic congressman.

But the White Houses explanation does not satisfy groups that have grown in number in recent years that believe there is, in the words of the Heritage Foundation, a war on Christmas involving an "ever-stronger push toward a neutered holiday season so that non-Christians wont be even the slightest bit offended."

<snip>

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/07/MNGSTG40L41.DTL

[Bob3]

1. heh-heh

nothing I love better than the sound of yahoo's eating their own.

[justjones]

2. These people are freaks. eom

[C_U_L8R]

4. I love it

These pseudo-religious gas bags are so full of it
they exterminate their own in friendly fire.
Especially that Donohue asshole... who the hell
does he speak for... the man is full of hate and fear.

[LaurenG]

3. Will the whining ever stop?

The whole thing has been blown out of proportion by those who feel entitled. This is just a whole lot of hype over NOTHING.

[yellowcanine]

5. Joe Farah got a White House "holiday" card? The guy is a fascist so why

is he on the list and why does the WP quote him as if he is somebody whose opinion we care about?

[jmowreader]

12. Why the hell do you THINK the fascist Joe Farah got on the WH list?

He's one of Bush's useful idiots, and I use the term "idiot" for a reason.

Besides, I'm expecting Bush to announce that he has a "final solution to the Iraq problem" any day now.

[yellowcanine]

13. I might be "misremembering" but didn't Joe "McCarthy" Farah work

for the Moonie Times at one point?

[Tony_Illinois]

6. Jesus, this is pathetic. Hey, ASSHOLES--YOU WON THE ELECTION

Please quit your complaining and DON'T HAVE A HAPPY FUCKING HOLIDAY SEASON if that terminology bothers you so Goddamned much.

[RubyDuby in GA]

7. Poor babies

Bush "claims to be a born-again, evangelical Christian. But he sure doesn't act like one," said Joseph Farah, editor of the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily .com. "I threw out my White House card as soon as I got it."

I got one from the Carters from the Carter Center. You can bet your sweet butt that it went front and center with the other cards behind it. I don't care if it's one that gets sent out to the thousands - I love little Jimmy Carter and I was tickled pink to get it :)

[verse18]

8. Bush "claims to be a born-again, evangelical Christian...

But he sure doesn't act like one," said Joseph Farah, editor of the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily .com. "I threw out my White House card as soon as I got it."

THIS was his first indication that * doesn't act Christian??!!!Whatever:eyes:

[chaplainM]

9. My Jewish friends will be surprised to learn that...

...according to William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Jews represent "the worst elements in our culture."

[Loonman]

10. Rev. Bob Edgar...I think he was on Hannity or O'Reilly last night

I think O'Reilly....I was flipping through. Guy was raving like a loon.

[proud patriot]

11. Sequoia please read

in the future please limit your snips of articles
to 4 paragraphs as per the Democratic Underground
copyright rules .

proud patriot Moderator
Democratic Underground

[strategery blunder]

14. What, the fundies don't have anything else to worry about?

Like, say, that the divorce rate in the church is higher than the divorce rate in the rest of society?

Ah, well, I guess the megachurches have their priorities.:shrug: