War on Christmas: The 2007 Grinch-o-Meter Awards, Part 1

2007 Awards for Attempting to Destroy Christmas

I came across a wonderful article by Kristen Fyfe on Townhall.com. She is a senior writer at the Culture and Media Institute, which is a division of the Media Research Center. The article summarizes some of the battles incurred this past year in the War on Christmas and Christianity in our beloved country. The “American” Civil “Liberties” Union (ACLU) has lead the charge in many a battle for quite a while in an attempt to destroy our traditional Judeo-Christian culture, Christmas seems to be a rallying point or point of emphasis for this wicked effort.

The Grinch-o-Meter is Culture and the Media’s (CMI) new tool for “measuring the Grinchiness of those seeking to secularize, diminish or tarnish the celebration of Christmas in America.” A rating of 10 is given to people who actively seek to destroy or harm the celebration of tradition Christmas. One example is ACLU lawsuits filed against government entities and others regarding the display of nativity scenes in public and other areas. On the other hand, a “0” is given to those who promote or defend Christmas.

Here is the CMI’s list (text in red is directly from Fyfe's article) of Grinch-o-Meter Ratings for 2007. I include a few of my own comments and links to recent articles I have done on some of these “winners”.

§ TOP Grinch-o-Meter Award: The 17 congressmen who supported a resolution recognizing Islam and Ramadan but voted “no” or “present” (that is, there but wouldn’t vote) on a similar resolution introduced by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) recognizing Christianity and Christmas. Lawmakers who voted “no” for Christianity and “yes” for Islam are: Reps. Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Fortney Stark (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). Those who voted “present” on Christianity and “yes” on Islam include: Reps. John Conyers (D-MI), Barney Frank (D-MA), Rush Holt (D-NJ), Donald Payne (D-NJ), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Peter Welch (D-VT) and John Yarmuth (D-KY). [Grinch-o-Meter: 10-Plus]

Comment: This has to be the biggest affront and insult to America since the Supreme Court took God out of our schools. Imagine preferring the hate-filled bigoted “religion” over the faith of our Founding Fathers, Christianity! There was another resolution that honored some Indian (Asia) god as well.

§ Ft. Collins, Colorado – The city created a Holiday Display Task Force, which recommended banning red and green lights and using only white ones and only secular symbols. A local ACLU representative was on the task force. Fox’s Bill O’Reilly reported on November 27 that the task force’s recommendations were “rebuffed.” The Council voted 6-1 to keep their Christmas decorations. [Task Force gets a Grinch-o-Meter 10; the council gets a 2]

Comment: In my article about this incident I praised the bravery of the county Sheriff who stood up to this Task Force for its ridiculous recommendations.

§ Ridgeland Schools – The Oak Lawn, Illinois district was going to do away with Christmas parties. But parents raised a fuss, so the school board decided that rather than take Christmas parties off the agenda, they would include celebrations of Ramadan and other Muslim holidays. [Grinch-o-Meter initially registered a 10, but dialed back to a 5]

Comment: This happened in Senator Barack Hussein Obama’s state. It is not too far fetched to imagine that he would concur with the original school district’s decision.

§ Companies that operate government-assisted housing for senior citizens – In Plant City, Florida and Troy, Pennsylvania, residents were told they cannot decorate common areas in their buildings with religious symbols at Christmas. After being contacted by Liberty Counsel these companies reversed their decisions. [Grinch-o-Meter initially registered a 10, but dialed back to a 2]

Comment: I heard an interview with an elderly woman who was told she could not decorate her apartment for Christmas she fought the “law” and won.

§ Spokane, Washington – The Associated Press reported that the Spokane Public Schools sent home a calendar for elementary school students with “important dates” for December. Hanukkah, Human Rights Day, winter break, first day of winter, Kwanzaa and the Islamic holy day of Eid-al-Adha were on the list, but one rather significant holiday beginning with a “C” didn’t make the cut. A school spokesperson said, “In our efforts to be inclusive we missed the obvious.” The school corrected the omission in the online calendar. [Grinch-o-Meter registered 10 initially but dialed back to 2]

Comment: An “innocent” mistake? Yeah, right!

§ Barbara Walters – During the December 13 episode of ABC’s The View, Walters whined about the White House Christmas card because it quotes the Bible’s book of Nehemiah. “Don’t you think it’s a little interesting that the president of all the people is sending out a religious Christmas card?” she asked her co-hosts. [Grinch-o-Meter: 9]

Comment: In my recent article I called Barbara Walters a geriatric journalist apparently with little substantive stories on which to report.

§ New York City officials – gave the Christian Defense Coalition a Scrooge-like two-hour window to display a small nativity scene in midtown Manhattan. The display is part of “The Nativity Project,” a nationwide campaign to set up nativity scenes in well-traveled public areas. [Grinch-o-Meter: 9]

Comment: Only two hours to display the nativity scene during the Christmas season, what insanity, what bias when all forms of perversion are on 'tolerated" and display 24/7 in this most decadent city.

§ Seattle-Tacoma International Airport – The airport made major headlines last Christmas when it removed all of the Christmas trees on display throughout the airport after being threatened with a lawsuit if a menorah was not also included in the display. This year, the airport convened a “holiday decorations advisory committee” which determined that the airport would not use any decorations with religious connotations. The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports this year’s décor is a “grove of luminous birches up to 30 feet high and hung with crystals and mirrors to reflect colored, low-energy lights.” Above the trees will be a “spiraling flock of migrating birds cut out of foam.” Wind chimes will occasionally ring as well. [Grinch-o-Meter: 9]

Comment: Sea Tac Airport is where New Age crock replaces Christian and American tradition.

There are more award “winners” outlined in Kristen Fyfe’s article, but I want to highlight only two more, which are from my home state of Ohio:

§ Oberlin, Ohio artist Keith McGuckin – Last year it was gingerbread Nazis with Swastika-labeled candles. This year, McGuckin has created a murderous snow woman and a drug smuggling elf. His art is on display at the Oberlin Public Library and a local crafts store, according to WEWS in Cleveland. [Grinch-o-Meter: 7]

Comment: Oberlin College, founded by Rev. Charles Finney a dynamic and powerful 19th century evangelical leader, constantly amazes me with the depth it has fallen from its origin mission. It seems that they have changes side, Satan instead of God now directs the affairs of that once godly institution and its perversion affects its community in profound ways.

§ The Ohio Department of Natural Resources – Bureaucrats initially ordered all state parks to remove Nativity scenes because of one complaint. After being contacted by Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal defense organization, the ODNR changed its stance and decided to continue “prior holiday traditions.” [Grinch-o-Meter: 6]

Comment: Bureaucrats most likely influenced by the new radically liberal Governor Ted Strickland or his appointees. One of the first things this popular governor did was take abstinence funding out of the state budget and approve benefits for homosexual “partners” in the state government.

You can read more about additional award “winners” as well as Santa’s Helpers 2007 in Fyfe’s article. Among the organizations who have stood for Christmas during 2007 include Focus on the Family, American Family Association, Concerned Women for American, Liberty Council and the Alliance Defense Fund. Outstanding media defenders of Christmas in the media include Bill O’Reilly and John Gibson at Fox News and conservative talk show host Mike Gallagher.

Kristen Fyfe closes her article with a poem, a version of which I posted on AGC a month ago.