Midwest Monday News 12.19.05
Posted by Steven Bellah on 12.19.2005
Santa is a Christian? The Patriot Act, and suicide. A winning formula.
Oh, for God's Sake
From Yahoo:
A group of religious protesters demonstrated outside a Wal-Mart superstore in Sacramento on Saturday, hoping to turn away customers by calling attention to the retailer's decision to use "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas" in its seasonal advertising.
But even shoppers who agreed with the protesters weren't willing to interrupt their quest for holiday deals.
"I believe in Christ, and I don't like the use of 'xmas' or the use of 'happy holidays,'" said Steven Van Noy, 39, as he left the store loaded down with packages. "The bottom line is that they had what I needed at Wal-Mart, so I went to Wal-Mart to buy it."
Controversy over the secularization of Christmas is nothing new, but this year religious groups are publicly taking on retailers who have decided to tone down the religious aspects of the holiday in their store decorations and promotional material.
In an online petition, the American Family Association recently gathered more than 500,000 signatures asking Target to include Christmas in its promotions. Stores such as Sears and Wal-Mart are facing boycotts.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Amy Wyatt said the company has made no effort to remove Christmas from its holiday ads. She said a promotion set to run from mid-November to early January was simply misunderstood: its slogan is "home for the holidays."
"It was a matter of choosing a slogan that carries through the entire season," Wyatt said. "The signs went up before Thanksgiving and won't be taken down until after New Year's. The idea was to focus on the family."
About 50 protesters took part in Saturday's demonstration, organized by religious leaders. Dick Otterstad of the Church of the Divide donned a Santa Claus costume and greeted shoppers with the message: "Don't forget about the meaning of Christmas".
"It is insulting that Wal-Mart has chosen to ignore the reason for the season," Otterstad said. "Taking the word 'Christmas' out of the holiday implies there's something sinful about it. ... This is a part of our culture."
---So a man claiming to be a Christian stands outside a Wal-Mart in a SANTA costume telling people not to forget the REAL meaning of Christmas? What about that JESUS guy?
Celebrating Christmas is not sinful. The majority of America does it. But there is a portion of our population that doesn't--and that is NOT sinful either. But what IS sinful, at least to me, is forcing your beliefs on people who do not share them.
Bill O'Reilly has been blowing a gasket over this whole thing, and I don't know why. OH NO! There are people in this country who don't think and act just like YOU do? NOOOO!! We can't have that, can we?
This is a major problem in our country. Some people just can't stand the fact that there are others who don't live the American Dream, "Leave it to Beaver" lifestyle, believing in God, Jesus, Santa, and Rudolph. It's because of this that we have non-homosexuals telling gays they cannot marry. It's because of this we have 75-year-old Senators with no children telling women what to do with their bodies.
It's OK to have an opinion on something. It's OK to express your opinion. I sure do. That's why I write this report every week. But I respect other people's views, unlike Mr. Christian Santa Claus. Some people just can't understand why others don't think and believe and act EXACTLY like they do. Well, I can tell you why--because they have the freedom to do so.
What makes our country so great is that we have the freedom to think and say what we believe. Yes, that includes Christian Santa as well. But when you try and force others to believe what you believe, well, then that isn't so great.
Christmas is a wonderful holiday. But, so are Hanukkah, Ramadan, and Kwanzaa. It isn't sinful to celebrate any of those holidays. But it IS sinful to try and force your beliefs on others. That is not what God, Jesus, or even Santa would want.
With that said---HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!
I respectfully disagree
Bill Gates, his wife Melinda, and U2 Singer Bono were chosen as Time Magazine's "Person's of the Year", which really annoys me because it should be "People of the Year", but what can you do?
Personally, I would have chosen Bill Clinton and George (41) Bush, simply because of their efforts with Katrina--when they didn't have to do ANYTHING. Several other people suggested Mother Nature, which would be cute, but um, she's not a real entity.
All 3 choices took me by surprise, as none of them really stood out this year. Other than Bono getting a photo-op with every world leader, I can't remember any of them doing anything meaningful. Barbara Walters' "Most Fascinating Person" of 2005 was Camilla Parker Bowles, who did nothing meaningful except finally marrying Prince Charles.
Man, these awards are becoming as meaningful as a Grammy.
See what happens when you disagree with me?
Also from Yahoo:
President Bush said Saturday that senators who are blocking renewal of the terrorism-fighting Patriot Act are acting irresponsibly and standing in the way of protecting the country from attack.
"In the war on terror, we cannot afford to be without this law for a single moment," the president said in a live broadcast from the White House of his weekly radio address.
Senate Democrats, with the aid of a handful of Republicans, succeeded Friday in stalling the bill already approved by the House. The vote to advance the measure, 52-47, fell eight votes shy of the 60 votes required to end debate.
"That decision is irresponsible and it endangers the lives of our citizens. The senators who are filibustering must stop their delaying tactics and the Senate must reauthorize the Patriot Act," Bush said.
Opponents of renewing the law, most of whom are Democrats, argue that it threatens constitutional liberties at home.
Most Republicans and other supporters say the act is essential for protecting the country against terrorists. The law was enacted in the aftermath of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Of the 55 Republicans in the Senate, four helped to block its passage while two of the 45 Democrats pushed to pass it.
Some of the most contentious elements of the Patriot Act include powers granted to law enforcement agencies to gain access in secret to library and medical records and other personal data during investigations of suspected terrorist activity.
The law allows the government to conduct roving wiretaps involving multiple phones and to wiretap "lone wolf" terrorists who may operate on their own, without control from a foreign agent or power.
If the law is not renewed, its powers would expire Dec. 31 only for new investigations of people whose criminal activity began after Dec. 31 and who were not associated with anyone who was under investigation before Dec. 31.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and a chief supporter of the original Patriot Act, said in a statement after Bush's radio address that the administration and GOP congressional leaders rewrote the reauthorization in ways that fell short of protecting basic civil liberties and then attempted to force it through Congress.
Leahy urged Bush and GOP leaders to support a brief extension of the law so that changes could be made in the reauthorization.
"Fear mongering and false choices do little to advance either the security or liberty of Americans," Leahy said. "Instead of playing partisan politics and setting up false attack ads, they should join in trying to improve the law."
The debate over the Patriot Act was fueled anew by a New York Times report that Bush had secretly authorized eavesdropping on individuals in the United States without first gaining permission from the courts.
In his radio address, Bush defended his decision to authorize the National Security Agency to conduct the secret probes much as he defended the Patriot Act, saying both had saved lives and prevented more attacks.
Noting that key provisions of the Patriot Act are set to expire in two weeks, the president said: "The terrorist threat to our country will not expire in two weeks. The terrorists want to attack America again, and inflict even greater damage than they did on September the 11th."
Bush added, "Congress has a responsibility to ensure that law enforcement and intelligence officials have the tools they need to protect the American people."
---This is exactly why the man won the election last year. It's also exactly why he gets away with things no other president ever would have. Read the bold text. Isn't he basically saying, "Renew the Patriot Act, or we will be attacked again."??
That is what has kept everyone in check for 4 years--fear. Hey, I don't want another attack as much as everyone else, but there are ways to do it without spying on what I check out from the library. We could have prevented what happened on 9/11. We had the intelligence to do it. Why should America suffer because of mistakes our government made?
To me, the Patriot Act is a good idea--if it is regulated. Giving our government too much power is NOT a good idea. No one wants that. And anyone who says they do has been scared into believing it.
9/11 happened because of inaction from the government. Mohammad Atta could have been stopped if the threat would have been taken seriously. People knew about it, and did nothing. Why should the American people have their civil liberties violated because of incompetence?
I'm all for doing everything possible to prevent another terrorist attack. But there IS a thing called the BILL OF RIGHTS, and the Bush Administration needs to realize that. They defend a 230-year-old amendment about getting to carry a gun around like everyone would die if it were revoked, so why not treat the other 9 the same way?
Geez, be a little gracious, guys.
Am I the only one that thinks that the surviving members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins are a little too proud of their unbeaten record? First of all, they weren't a very good team. I mean, they DID deserve to win the Super Bowl, but their unbeaten record is a little shaky. They only went undefeated because of their easy schedule. Sure, they dominated Washington in Super Bowl VII and deserved to win, but they have been walking around for 33 years acting like they are the greatest team ever assembled, just because they went undefeated.
And they keep telling anyone who listens that they hope no team EVER matches their undefeated record. Man, they sound like a bunch of bitter old farts. Dan Marino was extremely gracious when Peyton Manning broke his touchdown pass record last year. Walter Payton's family was extremely proud when Emmitt Smith broke his rushing record. Roger Maris' family was right there to hug Mark McGwire when he broke the single season home run record. So why all the non-love from Miami?
Well, the Colts lost on Sunday, thus keeping the Dolphins as the "only unbeaten team in NFL history", even though the 1984 49ers and the 1985 Bears were better by far. Now we'll get to see Larry Csonka and Bob Griese sitting in their posh Miami homes, celebrating the fact that they are still the greatest team ever......or something.
Anyone else just find that sad?
Feedback
More suicide mail......
"Mr. Bellah, I’m not going to piss and moan like the ‘fine young American’ you quoted in your last piece, but I vehemently disagree with what you think would solve the suicide issues plaguing this country, namely “… if we spend more time caring about each other.”
My apologies guy, things don’t work like that. I’ve been trapped in such deep, dark, dungeon-like depressions that suicide seems like the only viable alternative, and no time anyone spent caring about me was going to act as the rope to hoist me out of it. I’m reasonably offended you would take a problem so serious and mitigate by claiming to have some kind, any kind of answer. I’ll type this slowly so maybe you can understand:
It is selfish of you to be angry with someone who “would cheat you, and themselves, out of so many memories.” Who is to say those memories will be good for the person who avoided suicide to have them? It is impossible for anyone to judge the person who seeks death over life, because none of us will have lived through that person’s experiences or seen from their perspective. Those of us looking from the outside in will never know, and it’s wrong for us to act like we have answers for it.
I personally didn’t care who cared about me when I sought my early deathbed. Call it selfish, but it didn’t matter to me anymore. Life had become so painful that suicide was the only way out, and I’ll never apologize to anyone for that. Besides, a lot of us like to talk about what we would have, or could have done, but never take action until it is too late. Sadly, death is the only alternative for some people, regardless of how much more time we spend caring about each other.
Never be angry with your friends who opted for an early way out. If anything, feel sorry for them that they felt death was a better idea than continued life. As a matter of fact, don’t feel anything. Just try to understand that the choice made sense to them at the time, and for that reason should be respected. I’m not saying it’s good, and I’m not saying it is right, but it is reality.
More time caring will work for some, but not all. Never make generalizations when commenting on as complex an issue as suicide."
---I don't respect anyone who commits suicide, or his or her decision to do it. It's the easy way out. It's playing God. Those who choose suicide are very selfish people. I still care about my friends who did it, but lost all respect for them for making such a stupid, selfish decision. Defending your choice to end your life is incredibly, incredibly selfish. It was the wrong decision to make. And sitting there and trying to justify trying to kill yourself shows who the most important person in your life is--YOU. It was a terrible, dumb decision. You are still here, and you should be thankful.
It's one thing to disagree with me. I can understand that. But to sit there and tell me that it's OK and justified that you tried to take you own life? I can understand explaining WHY you tried it AT THAT TIME, but to look back on it and still agree with it? Please.
I have never attempted suicide. Have I thought about it? Yes. Seriously? No. I guess I am on the outside looking in, huh? Just because I'm not someone who has tried it doesn't prohibit me from speaking about it.
I have never, once again, NEVER said I have the solution to the suicide problem in the world. I have suggestions, but I have now had two different people ridicule me for acting like I know how to stop it. I don't. No one does. Just because I say to care about each other doesn't mean that is how suicide can be stopped.
I refuse to defend anyone who takes their own life. Why? Because they could still be here to defend themselves, and they chose not to. They automatically lose. I will never understand why anyone commits suicide. Things are NEVER that bad. They might SEEM bad, but YOU can make it better if you wanted it to. If you let yourself sink into a "deep, dark, dungeon-like depression", then I feel sorry for you.
Let me ask you this: If SOMEONE ELSE killed one of your friends, you would be mad at the person who killed them, right? Would you try and justify why the murderer killed your friend? No, because murder is a horrible, terrible thing. So if your friend committed suicide, thus murdering themselves, why should I respect THAT?
Another one......
Working retail is quite horrible, if not humiliating. I work at a CVS in a
MALL, and the shoppers terrorize the store in every way, everyday. They also have a bad habit of rushing up to me as I am cashiering and asking the stupidest questions such as, "WHERE DO YOU HAVE YOUR CHAPSTICK?"(we have the chapstick right in front of the cash register) and "WHERE ARE YOUR GIFTCARDS???"(likewise)
And I will have you know if I intended to be in the country in 2008 and Ralph Nader decided to run again, I would vote for him. Regardless of if my vote would have been thrown in the trash or if I could have much better spent the amount of time waiting in line to vote being intoxicated or ringing up the fat, doltish Americans noted above. It is a statement regarding the ludicrousness and similarity between both Parties. American politics are really a lost cause nowadays. You can't even tell the difference between either of them in this two-party, dictatorship of the wealthy system.
P.S. - The man who mailed you (from last week's report---Steven) is an obvious lout and probably suffering from some sort of mental disorder. However, the subject of suicide is very multi-faceted. While it is very naive for teenagers to commit suicide because of quarrels with their siblings or because of fights with their significant others, suicide is also apart of euthanasia and nihilists who just really do not care to live any longer. Can't really blame some of them considering how the world works. Either way, that idiot from Myspace killed himself because no one gave him any attention. He has the attention now though. Fuck him anyway. I doubt we lost a future pioneer.
---I work in an upscale rich section of Johnson County, Kansas, and after 3 years of working in that area (at Borders and Target), I'm a firm believer that it's just rich, spoiled people that want everything handed to them. I've had people actually walk to the front registers at Target and give us a list of items to go retrieve for them. I've had people ask for assistance with carrying out one small plastic bag of merchandise. At Borders, I lost count of the number of people who would walk right past the 20 or so people in line, walk up to me, and plunk down their books, wondering why I wasn't immediately ringing them up. After all, they were ready to leave, right?
I have finally decided not to help people like that, even if they get mad. People approach me all of the time and ask for gift cards, then when I tell them where they are, they hesitate, acting like I am supposed to go get one for them. I move on to the next person, and they HAVE to do it themselves. The horror! The HORROR! The problem is that Target believes in TOTAL respect of the customers, so much that they call them "guests". I don't. I'm not going to assist the 35-year-old soccer mom with her newborn twins with a husband that only got her pregnant because she threatened to leave him.
Sorry, went off on a rant there.
I love working in retail. I loved working at Borders, because I had the freedom to not grovel at every customer's feet. The management there respected us. Target does not. Heaven forbid a "guest" has to wait in line, or even feel slightly uncomfortable in a Target store.
With next week being Christmas, I honestly will not have time to write an all-new column. So I will be selecting some of my favorite blurbs from this year and adding my new two cents to them. Kind of a "Year in Review" type of report. Then, for New Year's, I'll be looking at 2006 and what I expect.
STAY CURRENT