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Jesus and Santa were white?

Megyn Kelly from Fox News is at it again, insisting that not only is Santa Claus white (despite being based on St. Nicholas, who was from modern-day Turkey) but so is Jesus (who was a Jewish lad from the middle east). BK Santa

This fits in with the conservative bubble, where everything involves them and has to fit into their world view or it either doesn’t exist (climate change, evolution) or it is changed to be just like them (Jesus and Santa).

It’s a lack of empathy, a lack of being able to see things from others’ points of view that is the basis for much of conservative thought. They are against gay marriage until they have a gay child; they are against maternity leave until they have a baby; they are against Obamacare until they need health care coverage for their family. Whatever problems anyone has don’t mean a thing if they don’t affect them personally.

Megyn Kelly has had to backtrack a bit over her statements, but, as you can expect, she now claims that she is a victim of racism. As if insisting that your personal heroes can’t be of a different color than you means you’re a racist! Oh, right, yeah it does.

Editorial cartoon of the day

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Breaking News: Insurance Companies Still Evil

grinchPrior to Obamacare, insurance companies raised rates constantly without justification and tried their best to refuse care whenever possible, since that cut into their profits.

Obamacare solved some of the problems (no more denying care for pre-existing conditions, for instance) but many remain.

So when I read how people are still dealing with rate increases and problems with insurance companies trying to deny care, I can’t say that I am surprised.

No law in the world can make a grinch’s heart grow three sizes.

Editorial cartoon of the day

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Satanists Protected by the First Amendment

Some politicians don’t understand that the Constitution covers freedom of religion but also freedom from religion.   (I’m looking at you, Rick Perry.)

There are two parts to the 1st amendment. The Free Exercise Clause allows you to worship in your own way (well, within the laws that apply to everyone). But there’s also the Establishment Clause, which says that the government cannot promote religion or favor one religion over another. Oklahoma_monument

This is the one that many Christians ignore. “Well, they don’t mean our religion!” they argue illogically. They think that it’s perfectly fine to have government promote their religion and their religion’s laws concerning, say, abortion or gay marriage, but scream angrily at any thought of someone else’s religion being imposed through our laws (or no religion at all).

Lately, other religions (and non-religions) are demanding equal rights, as the Constitution provides. If a Christian group is allowed to put a monument to the Ten Commandments up in a public park, then the atheists cannot be denied the right to place their own monument up in the same park.

The latest incident is occurring in Oklahoma, where both Satanists and Hindus are demanding equal space on the State House grounds after the announcement of a huge Ten Commandments display. This has astounded some politicians who have never read the Constitution.

Oklahoma legislators are outraged at this. “This is a Christian nation and Oklahoma was founded on Christianity!” they say, ignoring the fact that (a) the United States specifically was not founded on Christianity and (b) Oklahoma specifically was formed as an American Indian state (well, at first…).

If you don’t want to see satanist or atheist displays on our public property then the obvious solution is to stop placing your own religious monuments there. The Establishment Clause requires that the other beliefs get equal time. Instead, use the money that would have been spent on this monument in other ways — you know, feed the poor or establish an orphanage. Wouldn’t that be the Christian thing to do?

And best yet, because of the Free Exercise clause, the government would not be able to do anything about it.

Editorial cartoon of the day

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Santa’s Coming!

Let’s take a break from the serious stuff today and listen to a funny Lennonesque Christmas song, which just happens to be by my brother Philip.

“Santa’s Coming” is from the CD he made under the name “Inspector Muffin” — a psychedelic tribute to 60s music (and I play bass and co-wrote one song).

“Santa’s Coming” is not necessarily a song you would play for your kids if they are old enough to get the double entendres.  Lyrics are below.

Santa comes only once a year
So when its time for him to come, everyone stand clear

His sack is full with good things for me and you
and if you’ve been a real good boy, he’ll drop a load or two on you

Everyone beat the Christmas drums
Everyone’s glad when Santa comes

When he comes
Santa’s coming
All over the world for all the boys and girls
Santa’s coming

Don’t be shy; Santa’s quite the handsome chap
You can feel the love he brings by sitting in his lap

So sit right down, there’s a package just for you
but don’t open til Christmas day or Santa’s gonna come too soon

Santa will bless the old and young
If your stocking is well hung

When he comes
Santa’s coming
All over the world for all the boys and girls
Santa’s coming

Before you go down, please make sure the chimney’s clear
If its too tight, you should go ’round back and enter from the rear
For the climax of the year

Christmas day the bells have rung
Santa Claus on every tongue

When he comes
Santa’s coming
All over the world for all the boys and girls
Santa’s coming

Download it here.

Editorial cartoon of the day

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Merry War on Christmas, Everybody!

OK, here’s my challenge:

Find me one example of anyone trying to prevent people from celebrating Christmas.grinch1

What you’ll find are a bunch of whiners complaining that they don’t get to force their religion on everyone else.

Every example Fox News gives for a “War on Christmas” always boils down to something like “They won’t let us force kids to sing our religious songs!” or “They want to be polite and acknowledge that not everyone is a Christian by saying ‘Happy Holidays'” or “They are refusing to allow us to use taxpayer dollars for a religious display.”  (And yes, I used Fox News specifically because absolutely no one spoke of a “War on Christmas” until Fox invented it and saw their ratings boost.)

I submit to you that every so-called attack on Christmas is, in reality, fought in defense and wouldn’t even exist if these Christians weren’t trying to require everyone to obey their beliefs.*

Instead, there are some Christians who apparently are so insecure in their beliefs that if you say something like, “I respect your beliefs even though I do not share them and sincerely hope you have a happy holidays,” they are convinced that you are out to destroy everything they believe in.

So there’s my challenge.  Find me an example where that’s not the case — where someone is trying to prevent Christians from celebrating Christmas.

(And I mean real examples, because no matter what, there will always be some lunatic who is trying to prevent his neighbors from displaying a religious symbol because they wrongly think the Constitution requires it or because aliens told him to or something.  No matter what, there will always be one or two idiots on every issue.)

* and yes, I acknowledge that most Christians are good people who do not act this way, and are more concerned with keeping the Christ in “Christian” than the Christ in “Christmas.”

Editorial cartoon of the day