REID DEALS “THREE CARD MONTE”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue raps the Senate health care bill:

In New York City, swindlers play a card game on the sidewalks called “Three Card Monte.” The card dealer, using a cardboard box as his table, identifies three cards, stating that one of them, e.g., the Queen of Hearts, is the winning card: the cards are placed face down and are then quickly scrambled. The dealer works with a confederate, another con man, who plays the game only to lose. But he is actually the bait to lure some tourist who thinks he can outsmart the dealer. With sleight of hand, the dealer winds up cheating the tourist.

This is what Sen. Harry Reid’s health care bill resembles—“Three Card Monte.” The dealer is the federal government with its “opt out” and “firewall” illusions regarding abortion coverage; the confederate is the insurance companies with its “segregation of funds” illusions; and the loser is the taxpayers, especially those who are pro-life.

The central difference between the card game and the health




CRAZIEST CHRISTMAS STORIES

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the craziest Christmas stories of 2009:

There is a Christmas tree inside town hall in Cary, North Carolina, but town officials couldn’t bring themselves to call it by its proper name, so they relabeled it the “Community Tree.” They used to have a “Holiday Tree” in Madison, Wisconsin, but even that was deemed too improper this year, so they opted for “The State Capitol Tree.” American Atheists threw a party decorating what they called their “Solstice Tree.”

Vineland, New Jersey opted to call their Christmas parade the “Holiday parade,” maintaining that because Urban Enterprise Zone dollars are used to fund the parade, they can’t call it the Christmas parade. In Howard County, Indiana they decided not to have a manger scene this year, and elected instead to have a lighted display of the Loch Ness Monster, a whale and other animals. Waterbury, Connecticut is awash in “Winter” concerts and the like, and the sages there even renamed their holiday parties “celebrations.” What they were celebrating remains a mystery, but one thing is for sure: Santa was not allowed to give out gifts as that job was assigned to Frosty the Snowman.

In Benton, Arkansas children put on Christmas skits, and in one of them the lead character wore a hula. Why? To show that the “Hula Girl” was rejected because she was not deemed “Christmasy.” It was announced by the woman in charge of this mess that “The meaning of Christmas is not to judge each other.” Santa was banned from the festivities in the Northern Lehigh School District in Pennsylvania; his role as gift-giver was taken by the district mascot, the Bulldog.

Finally, one corporate diversity wag (her actual title is executive director of diversity, inclusion and engagement) advises against saying “Happy New Year.” She recommends “Looking Forward.” By contrast, we at the Catholic League are old-fashioned. We are pro-Christmas trees and parades, pro-Santa and wish everyone—including the “Looking Forward” types—a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.




MANGER SCENE ERECTED IN CENTRAL PARK

The Catholic League erected a nativity scene today in New York City’s Central Park; it will be up for two weeks. Bill Donohue seeks to clarify what is at stake:

Our life-size crèche, paid for by the Catholic League, is right in the heart of New York City; it is on the corner of 59th and 5th.  Behind it stands the world’s largest menorah. That is how it should be: Christians and Jews should not be excluded from accessing land that is a public forum to display their religious symbols.

There is much confusion about this issue. The courts have made it clear that the display of religious symbols in a municipal building, or on a courthouse lawn, must be accompanied by secular symbols. But if the property is a public forum, a place where musicians, artists and others gather at various times of the year, then the government cannot prohibit the display of privately funded religious symbols, even when they are not accompanied by secular ones. That is why the New York City Parks Department allows Catholics and Jews to display their religious symbols (absent secular ones) in Central Park—it is a public forum. It is important to note, too, that a menorah is not a secular symbol, and attempts to deny its religious meaning are invidious.

We hope that public officials across the country take note of these differences and understand that if the Catholic League can put a manger scene in Central Park, then there is nothing to stop them from doing likewise in a similar spot.

Significantly, the public overwhelmingly agrees: in a Rasmussen survey released last week, only 13 percent of adults object to the display of religious symbols on public property; 76 percent approve and 10 percent are undecided. Women are more tolerant than men, and blacks are more tolerant than whites. Looks like we need to work on those white boys.




NO SEQUEL TO “THE GOLDEN COMPASS”

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on reports that there will be no sequel to “The Golden Compass,” the movie based on the first book of a trilogy by English author Philip Pullman:

Two years ago, the Catholic League launched a boycott of “The Golden Compass” in the hope that Christian parents would keep their children away from the film and thus not be inclined to buy them His Dark Materials, the trilogy of pro-atheist books aimed at young people. We also wanted to discourage the possibility that producers would make a movie of “The Subtle Knife,” the second book of the trilogy. We knew we succeeded in the first goal, and had every reason to believe we were going to win on the second one. Now Pullman has confirmed our victory: there will be no sequel.

Pullman has been widely quoted in Britain taking aim at me for my alleged “triumphalism.” The accusation is accurate. I am positively gloating. Cheers, everyone!

 




D.C. MOMS BEING SENT A MESSAGE

Catholic League president Bill Donohue speaks to the Omnibus Spending Bill just passed by the Senate:

The Congress is now officially on record approving a bill that tells mothers in Washington, D.C. that if they decide to take their baby to term, and elect to send their child to a private school—just like the one that President Obama and his wife have chosen for their own children—they can do it on their own dime: the successful voucher scholarship program that 1,700 poor kids were enrolled in is now dead. But if these same mothers decide to abort their babies, the same government will rush to pay their bills.

Most of those affected are black. The bill will soon be signed into law by America’s first black president. Is there anyone so stupid not to understand what is going on?




DONOHUE INTERVIEWS OBAMA ON ABORTION

Associated Press reports today that “A south Texas couple put an aborted 7-month-old fetus under a Christmas tree after they were unable to flush the remains down a toilet, authorities alleged Monday. Ruby Lee Medina, 31, and Javier Gonzalez, 37, of Mission, have been charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence.” It is alleged that the woman used pills to induce the abortion.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue envisions a discussion with President Obama:

Donohue: When asked when life begins, you once said that it was above your pay grade to answer.

Obama: Yes.

Donohue: But can you answer this much: Is a corpse a dead body?

Obama: Yes.

Donohue: Is it true that all dead bodies were previously alive?

Obama: Yes.

Donohue: Then if this 7-month old was previously alive, how is this abortion different from any other?

Obama: In this instance, no one was paid, the cops were summoned, the toilet was rendered inoperable and the corpse was placed in a gift box.

Donohue: That’s it? In other words, there are no moral differences?

Obama: My salary doesn’t justify an answer.




RAUNCHY CHRISTMAS PLAYS ABOUND

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

For whatever reason, there are more raunchy Christmas plays this year than ever before. Not surprisingly, many are gay-themed, most are confined to the east and west coasts, and all are loved by art critics. The plays run the gamut from the irreverent to the vulgar.

New York City is a natural for such fare. Naked performers can be seen in “Naked Holidays NYC ’09” and “Filthy Lucre: A Burlesque Christmas Carol”; the latter is the work of the anti-Catholic homosexual Christopher Durang. Gays will also flock to “The Gayest Christmas Pageant Ever!” and “Santa Claus is Coming Out.” Those who want to see baby Jesus electrocuted can see “Hot Babes in Toyland,” while those who want to see a fetal rabbit morph into baby Jesus are advised to see “A Very Sandwich Christmas.”

“XMAS!” is being hosted by Columbia University; it depicts the Virgin Mary begging for sex. “The Eight: Reindeer Monologues” is being performed in Philadelphia and features a discussion of Santa raping Vixen.

On the west coast, “How the Drag Queen Stole Christmas” is being shown in Oakland, and Seattle is home to “Ham for the Holidays: Lard Potion No. 9,” a play that sparkles with a “teeny-tiny Sequin Gay Men’s Chorus.” Also in Seattle is “It Came from Under the Tree!: A Pickled Puppet Christmas Special” that features nudity and a Michael Jackson character who envies Santa’s way with children.

Playing on both coasts is “Madonna’s Christmas Celebration,” one that features a sexual deviant dressed as the Virgin Mary: he/she talks about the difficulty of having sex with God, coining the phrase “Oh, my God” while having sex with him.

For some reason, we could find not a single play disrespecting Ramadan. Cowardice, of course, is a trademark of sissies.




CATHOLIC REPORTER UNJUSTLY FIRED IN MAINE

Catholic League president Bill Donohue explains why the Catholic League is defending Larry Grard:

For almost two decades, Larry Grard worked as a reporter at Maine’s Morning Sentinel. He was recently fired because he e-mailed a letter (using his own e-mail account) to the head of an advocacy organization that his boss, Bill Thompson, did not like.

To be specific, Grard, who is Catholic, was unhappy with the angry comments made by Trevor Thomas of the Human Rights Campaign following last month’s election results. Having just lost in his bid to secure gay marriage in Maine, Thomas blamed hatred of gays for the loss. Grard wrote back, blaming Thomas’ side for generating hate. That was it.

Interestingly, Grard’s wife, Lisa, who writes a bimonthly cooking column for the newspaper, was subsequently fired. It was suddenly decided that her work was “no longer a good fit.” Sounds like reprisal to us.

As a Catholic, Grard has a right to hold, express and defend the teachings of the Catholic Church with impunity. While the First Amendment does not apply to private organizations, the fact remains that if Grard can be fired for something like this, then the rights of all reporters are in jeopardy. This explains why the Portland Newspaper Guild is standing squarely behind him. So is the Catholic League. We have put Grard, and his wife, in contact with law firms that may want to sue Mr. Thompson and his newspaper.

Contact: bthompson@mainetoday.com




FAKE ANIMALS SUBSTITUTE FOR MANGER SCENE

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on the most novel assault on Christmas thus far this year:

Residents of Howard County, Indiana, were hoping to see a manger scene on the county courthouse lawn this Christmas season. Instead, they got a lighted display of the Loch Ness Monster and other animals. From the pictures we’ve seen, we like the big whale the best.

Commissioner Tyler Moore defends this exercise in censorship by explaining, “If we put the religious or Christmas decorations up, we’d be offending a whole other group of citizens and taxpayers.”

It’s not that easy. Some are offended because all the fake animals are oversized—there are no small lighted animals. Thus, we are appealing to everyone to inform Commissioner Moore that either he include a lighted ant, or he needs to take down this display. Since all it takes in America anymore to veto the rights of the majority is for one person to object, then those who are anti-ant should not be allowed to get away with venting their bigotry.

Contact Commissioner Moore: tyler.moore@co.howard.in.us




BABY CUT FROM WOMB SURVIVES

An AP story yesterday says the following: “A 29-year-old homeless woman has given birth to a baby girl after, police said, she was befriended by a Maryland woman who held her captive for several days and tried to cut the baby from her womb.” Officer Michelle Reedy, spokesperson for Prince George’s County police, commented on how the would-be baby killer behaved: “She bound the victim’s hands and proceeded to try to cut the victim’s abdomen to try to get the baby out. They believe she wanted the victim’s baby.” (Our emphasis.)

Here’s what Catholic League president Bill Donohue had to say:

Baby. That word is constantly invoked. Not fetus. Not clump of cells. Baby. That’s why we emphasized it. Now consider this: also yesterday, the Senate decided that the American people—the majority of whom are opposed to the federal financing of abortion—must pay for the work of doctors who routinely cut babies from their mothers’ wombs.

To put it differently, the taxpayers will now pay for the prison sentence of the unauthorized abortionist and are slated to pay the salaries of authorized abortionists.

Something to think about while we celebrate the birth of baby Jesus.