With the holidays upon us, religious righters and the politicians who pander to them are looking for any excuse to scream about a mythical “war on Christmas” and dream up new “threats” to religious freedom. The latest example comes to us from the city of Orange in Southeast Texas. Orange city officials have decided to remove a Christmas […]
war on Christmas nonsense
The Reason for the Season?
We suppose nothing says “Jesus is the reason for the season” better than a photo of … uh … Santa Claus. It’s amusing how the Austin-based, religious-right group Texas Values is promoting the so-called “Merry Christmas Law” it helped pass last year. The group says the law protects religious freedom. And this month it held a press conference to highlight the […]
This Is How Bigotry Works
So here’s a story about how bigotry works — and how religious-right groups feed off it. Schools across America typically close for important Christian holidays like Christmas. Some also close for major Jewish holy days like Yom Kippur. Muslims in Maryland’s Montgomery County asked officials to consider closing local schools in recognition of major Islamic days of observance like Eid al-Adha as well. […]
Santa’s Lawyer
Question: Did you do nothing today other than sit on the couch and watch TV? Congratulations, your day was far more productive than the folks over at the far-right group Texas Values, who spent the day at the Capitol fighting an imaginary opponent alongside state Rep. Dwayne Bohac, R-Houston, and others in the latest round […]
The Mythical ‘War on Christmas’ in Texas Schools
We thought it was revealing that Texas Values, the lobby arm of the Plano-based religious-right group Liberty Institute, was mostly AWOL during the science textbook battle at the State Board of Education (SBOE) this year. It turns out that the group prefers to scare its members with myths and fantasies rather than work on serious […]
