PM's (John Howard) call to save Christmas

[rooboy]

PRIME Minister John Howard has called for religion to be put back into Christmas.

In an impassioned plea to the nation, Mr Howard said Australians should stop downplaying the importance of Christianity at Christmas time for fear of offending other faiths or non-religious people.

"You don't demonstrate tolerance towards minorities by apologising for your own heritage," the Prime Minister told The Sunday Mail last weekend, speaking before the Sydney race riots.

Mr Howard said he had "contempt" for arguments that the religious aspect of the festive season should be toned down through the removal or banning of Christmas trees and symbols, nativity scenes and concerts.

It was not a sign of tolerance to "bland out" such things, he said.

http://www.thesundaymail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,17599661%255E902,00.html

[dsc]

1. His country has race riots which were front page news

world wide and all he can do is talk about this phony war on Christmas stuff. He is almost as worthless as Bush.

[WhiteTara]

3. more...he's reading the talking points

and then spewing them out 1000's of miles away.

[patdem]

4. And wouldn't this kind of talk just encourage those rioters?

since they are in the majority and are just more than happy to kick the ass of people minding their own business, because they have darker skin tones than those idiots?

[Violet_Crumble]

22. He's just mimicking his master...

Wasn't Bush and his mob carrying on about this war on Christmas stuff earlier in the week? As far as I know, John Howard's the only one in Australia trying to make a big deal about something that's not an issue...

Violet...

[C_U_L8R]

2. Monkey See. Monkey Do

These right wing politicians (everywhere) are absolutely nauseating...
Modern day philistines and pharisees... It's shameful

[MrPrax]

5. Am I missing something?

"the removal or banning of Christmas trees and symbols, nativity scenes and concerts"

My understanding that the 'banning' only goes as far as public institutions?

If I listen to these people, I would think that religious symbols hve been ban entirely.

Funny I distinctly remember a rather large Nativity scene we corrected at a Catholic church.

You see, the good Catholic folks never noticed that Jesus and his Mom were more appropriately dressed for desert climates and not a Canadian winter.

So we went to the 'free box' down the road and dressed them appropriately!!

The Church folks of course removed our efforts promptly--what people would let a baby freeze to death.

[rodeodance]

6. the weiner dog has a direct line to o'lliey.

[0007]

9. They're pals?

[Josh]

12. There is no ban

You guys have to understand this: in Australia there is no ban on prayer in public schools, in displays of religion in public (so long as they're peaceful).

As scarily conservative as our draconian government has become in recent years. we don't have laws protecting secularism from religion because we don't have the kind of Religious Right representation in our governments that you guys do, full of people who truly feel the country should be a Christian country governed by Bibilical laws.

That, however, might be changing with some of the people we got in during the last election, including an independent senator from "Families First" who just ensured the passage by one vote of the Voluntary Student Unionism bill, which will end all non-academic funding at universities, wiping out (unless the universities step in, and this depends on which one you're at) subsidised child care, free legal advice, student representation and activism, discounted food, free entertainment, leadership and training programs, accredited work experience programs, volunteering programs, free sporting clubs and facilities, and just plain old fashioned places to hang out and sit at chairs and tables without being charged by a restaurant or cafe.

It is people like this new senator (Fielding) who are making the culture eerily similar to some of the kinds of things you see in the United States. Politicians are being seen at churches a lot more nowadays, particularly some with a big link to the Hillsong church, which is massive - and growing still.

We do say "Merry Christmas" here though and no one complains. We're too cynical already to need a ban that people can then complain about. :)

[Voltaire99]

16. Hee hee, great post. (nt)

[PurityOfEssence]

7. patriotism isn't the last refuge of a scoundrel, religion is

Asshole. Total asshole.

[orwell]

8. Spread that anger...

...spread that hate. The true meaning of Christmas...

[Placebo]

10. The "War on Christmas" is as real as the "War on Terror"...

and that's all you need to know.

[depakid]

11. Notice that it appears in a Murdoch paper

Same one that was spreading that war on Christmas garbage a few weeks back.

If Australians don't think what happened to America- can (and maybe will) happen to them, they're sorely mistaken.

[neuvocat]

14. I guess I'm not surprised.

I was about to say "Stop watching O'Reilly. You're a head of state."

[foreigncorrespondent]

13. KIss my ass you fucking low life Bush* bot!

Howard, not you, Rooboy! :)

Can really see now that Howard is getting his orders straight from the WH.

Religion hasn't been in Christmas since the moment it became commercialized!

Want religion back in Christmas? Then cut out the fucking Christmas tree, the decorations, the gift giving. That is what it means to have religion in Christmas!

You don't demonstrate tolerance towards minorities

What tolerance towards minorities do YOU show, Mr Howard?

I can remember the children overboard. Was that tolerance towards minorities?

I remember Australia's sell out to the gay community by adding to the constitution that same sex marriage not be recognized. Was that tolerance towards minorities?

I remember the disaster of caging asylum seekers in Woomera. Was that tolerance towards minorities?

If you want people in this country to show tolerance towards minorities then as leader you need to lead the way. Cut your own shit out first.

On edit: typo

[melody]

15. Since when does Anglo heritage = Christianity??

I'm assuming Johnny means (as Georgie always means) the Anglo aspects of "heritage", but since when
does that equate to Christianity? If we're going to deny others their equal right to courtesy
we ought to at least be falling back on our actual heritage and not a borrowed middle eastern one.

Okay, we must start this for next year - us Amurkins and the Aussie folk too if they'd like to --
Just Say No to Christmas. We can have big pagan festivals and demand our heritage back, once and
for all.

[Voltaire99]

17. A commercial motive to this meme?

Is this recycled Bushism also intended, somehow, to motivate Xmas sales? Do our masters reason that this tribal call will make credit cards fly all the faster?

[twenty4blackbirds]

18. He's 2 years late...

http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=031220&&mode=weekly

Happy Holidays!

[wookie294]

19. Australia is more right wing than Bush

Australia is a creepy country. The next Hitler may come from Australia, imho.

[Violet_Crumble]

21. Actually, it's not...

No offense, but that's a pretty ignorant comment to make, so I'm guessing you know nothing much at all about Australia or it's politics. The Liberals are not as close to right-wing than the Republicans, let alone more so, but if you know something I don't know, feel free to fill me in...

Violet...

[Josh]

24. Thank you.

That was an extremely ignorant comment. I live in Australia. You guys are fucked without pants compared to what we've got going on here, though things have gotten a lot worse since the government took control of both houses of parliament - and there are no filibuster rules or anything like them here.

But to say the next Hitler is going to come from Australia and to say my country is "creepy" without anything to qualify it is just plainly puerile.

[daleo]

20. Why do Christians want non-Christians to mimic their language/ceremonies?

I would think they would find it offensive. Suppose people wandered around implying they were Jewish or Muslim when they weren't? Wouldn't that seem kind trivializing to those religions? For example, what would Muslims think if most non-Muslims started fasting during Ramadan, merely as a weight loss method?

Then again, many churches love to claim inflated memberships, even people who haven't stepped foot in said church for decades.

[Raine]

23. Oh boy, this 'war on Christmas'

shit has spread to other countries now. :eyes: :banghead: