Poll Shows Most Americans For Christmas

It becomes a hot-button issue this time every year: Should religious symbols be displayed on public land, or is that a violation of the long-standing separation between church and state? While legal battles continue to arise, Americans still overwhelmingly support such displays.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 74% of Adults say religious symbols like Christmas Nativity scenes, Hanukkah Menorahs and Muslim Crescents should be allowed on public land. Only 17% disagree and feel these symbols should not be allowed.

Eighty percent (80%) of American Adults also favor celebrating religious holidays in the public schools, another area subject to repeated legal challenge. This includes 43% who believe all religious holidays should be celebrated in the schools and 37% who think only some of those holidays should be recognized. The question did not specify which holidays should be celebrated and which should be excluded.
Fourteen percent (14%) are opposed to celebrating any religious holidays in the schools.

An overwhelming majority of Americans celebrate Christmas, and for most of those who celebrate, it’s a religious holiday rather than a secular one despite the strong commercial overtones of the season.

Very few Americans are offended when someone wishes them a “Merry Christmas,” but most are more likely to say “Happy Holidays” to someone else rather than risk offending them. They also prefer being greeted by store signs that say “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays.”

Source: Ramussen Reports, December 14, 2010

AFA Targets Chase For Anti-Christmas Policy On Bank Decorations

JP Morgan Chase has strictly ordered all of its banks to take down any and all Christmas decorations that have not been supplied by company headquarters. This includes the mandatory removal of all Christmas trees from bank lobbies.

According to internal Chase documents the American Family Association has received, every bank has “received approved holiday decorations in your December One Box. These are the only (emphasis in original) decorations that may be displayed in the public areas of your branch. If you have any other decorations…please take them down.”

This draconian policy led to the forced removal of a Christmas tree in the lobby of a Chase Bank branch in Southlake, Texas, this week. This particular tree had been supplied to the bank at no cost to the branch.

The stated purpose of this anti-Christmas policy, again according to internal Chase documents, is that, “We don’t want to lose somebody’s business because of seasonal decorations,” and to “ensure that everyone who visits our branches is made to feel completely welcome and comfortable.” The official “Guidelines on Decorating for the Holidays” from Chase makes no mention of the word Christmas at all.

AFA president Tim Wildmon said, “This is an absurd policy. According to Advertising Age, 91 percent of the American people celebrate Christmas. The most welcoming, inclusive thing you can do this time of year is wish people a merry Christmas.”

Wildmon added, “In fact, Chase’s policy will actually be offensive to many people who bank there. When customers find out that Chase is deliberating disregarding Christmas, they may just be inclined to take their banking business to a Christmas-friendly institution. Christmas is a holiday we’ve set aside as a nation to honor the birth of Christ because of his impact on American and world history. It’s just bad business for any company to show this kind of disregard for our Judeo-Christian heritage.”

Randy Sharp, AFA’s director of special projects, added, “Chase is hurting the ability of local branches to nurture a connection with the members of their own communities. If Americans are offended by anything, it’s the disrespect that corporations are showing to Christmas as a holiday. We urge Chase to amend its policy and allow branches to freely celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.”

Source: American Family Association, December 3, 2010

“End-of-Life Consultation” Provision Being Implemented By U.S. Health & Human Services

By Daniel Downs

The LifeTree organization recently reported the U.S. Department of Health was implementing “death panels” measures under then newly passed Obamacare. The infamous Section 1233 of HR 3200 would have federalized voluntary end-of-life consultations, but the section was eventually dropped.

On 29 November, however, the Federal Register (page 73406) published a funding new rule for “voluntary” advance care planning consultations for Medicare and Medicaid patients.

A very enlightening analogy is LifeTree’s equivalence of the new regulation to so-called voluntary TSA pat-downs and full-body scans. It is like a thief asking you for money while pointing a gun at your head.

Some are trouble by the media’s failure to report the new ruling. However, silence of the part of the media is probably due to it similarity to current policy.

When my parent was in hospital, we were asked about living will. We were given information about making plans for emergencies and end-of-lie decisions.

LifeTree researchers are more concerned about the implementation of the other part of the original end-of-life consultation legislation that is already making its ways through Congress. The bill is called the “Advance Planning and Compassionate Care Act of 2009.” It was introduced by Democrats Earl Blaumer (OR) and David Rockefeller (WV) both proponents of assisted suicide. Blaumer is also an advocate of the health care rationing groups and process known as “Physician’s Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment” (POLST).

As explained by Ione Whitlock, POLST is similar to the current document based directive (living will) through which a person’s medical treatment preferences are stated and honored. Under POLST, the document serves the medical process of repetitive questioning by various health care givers. The process is rigged to pressure the patient and/or family toward accepting medical ethics committees’ goals. Those goals advance their policy about advanced illness and conditions as well as reducing inappropriate treatments (often life sustaining treatments).

Recent experience with my parent’s medical care seemed a lot like POLST. The seemingly endless questionnaires by all kinds of nurses, doctors, therapists, and other specialists were numbing. Each new treatment by a different specialist and each new place of care (even in the same hospital) were met with the same series of questions. The same things were asked over and over. What I’m not certain of is whether the goal was get us to accept a predetermined series of treatments–maybe in part. Maybe, it is a conditioning process for greater acceptance of the POLST legislation.

The bioethicists who devised the POLST Paradigm hyped the documents’ use as tools for dignity and autonomy. The documents do leave the door wide open to an “autonomous” decision to hasten death. Yet, POLST owes its existence more to Oregon’s experiment with health care rationing than it does to the state’s assisted suicide experiment, according to Whitlock.

Do you remember how Terri Shiavo’s life was ended by removing her feeding tube? That is the ultimate health care rationing measure under POLST.

The bottom-line is POLST facilitates not only assisted suicide but also imposed death. “It is also an effective cost containment device. It creates an illusion of ‘self-determination’ while fostering consensus ethics. In short, the POLST process rigs the system in favor of pressuring the patient and family [to choose death].”

Americans Still Strongly Favor Audit of the Fed

Looks like the Republicans want the fox watching the henhouse. Ron Paul, one of Congress’ sharpest critics of the Federal Reserve, has been chosen to lead the House subcommittee that monitors the Fed’s activities, and he promises to push again for a full audit of the nation’s central bank.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that Americans remain overwhelmingly in favor of auditing the Fed: 74% of Adults think it’s a good idea, and just 10% are opposed. Sixteen percent (16%) are not sure.

This is consistent with previous surveys and matches support for an audit found in July of last year when Paul’s audit proposal first began gaining attention in the House. Support has risen as high as 80% since then.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke opposes a public audit of the Fed’s monetary policies, but just 29% of Americans hold a favorable opinion of Bernanke. Only 36% of Adults now are at least somewhat confident in those who advise President Obama on economic policy.

Source: Ramussen Reports, December 10, 2010

Small Business Lending Fund Update

The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) is expected to soon release the criteria small banks must meet in order to participate in the $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund (SBLF) created by the NSBA-supported Small Business Jobs and Credit Act.

Meanwhile, Sens. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La..), chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and George LeMieux (R-Fla.) recently sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, urging swift implementation of the SBLF and the State Small Business Credit Initiative, which was created by the same legislation.

NSBA echoes this call for immediate implementation. The SBLF has been on the drawing board for long enough. It is high time that it be deployed. America’s small businesses still are struggling through a destructive credit crunch and the realization of the SBLF stands to help the situation.

According to an internal poll conducted by the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), nearly a quarter (24 percent) of their 5,000 community-banks members planned to utilize the SBLF. This means 1200 community banks stand poised to increase their small-business lending.

NSBA joins Landrieu and LeMeiux in urging Treasury to expedite the realization of the SBLF and State Small Business Credit Initiative.

Source: NSBA, December 7, 2010

Islamophobic Yodeling

by Adam Turner

Austrian “hate speech” prosecutors are very busy these days. In addition to going after Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff for “prejudicial incitement,” i.e., criticizing Islam and Sharia laws at a seminar, the Austrians found the time to crack down on yet another “Islamophobic” miscreant, a 63 year old Austrian retiree.

“Helmut G. was busy on Friday afternoon, mowing his grass. ‘And because I was just in such a good mood, I yodeled along with it and sang a few songs,’ says the retiree, speaking to the Styrian Crown. That was not all right with his neighbors — believing Muslims. They had gathered in their house at prayer hour, which was also broadcast into their yard by loudspeaker… Consequently, several of them felt disturbed in their religious exercises by the grass-mowing 63-year old — and promptly reported him to the police. ‘In the statement it said that my yodeling sounded like the call of the muezzin,’ Helmut G. shook his head, bewildered. ‘It was definitely not my intention to imitate him,’ the Graz native assures us. The court did not believe him and sentenced him to a fat fine.”

In a way, I am glad that the Austrians have helped to flesh out further the debate regarding Islam and Islamism. As you know, LP works to protect the right to comment on radical Islam, terrorism and related issues without fear of legal retaliation. It is often hard to discuss such politically charged topics without knowing exactly what the rules of the debate are. At the very least, we need to determine how far we can go before violating them and/or if we are going to be violating them. So, it is probably a good thing that in the past two decades, in a piecemeal, case-by-case fashion, the elites of the European nations – and to a lesser extent, the US – have been steadily compiling and revealing the rules of discussion regarding Islam, radical Islam, and Islamist terrorism to educate ordinary folks like you and me. These rules apparently include the following:

* Thou shalt not accurately describe Sharia law. See Geert Wilders. See Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff.
* Thou shalt not criticize any Islamic doctrines. See Geert Wilders. See Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff.
* Thou shalt not report on and/or criticize the funding of terror by Islamists. See Rachel Ehrenfield.
* Thou shalt not disparage – or even depict – the Islamic Prophet Muhammed. See the Jyllands-Posten Danish Cartoons. See South Park.
* Thou shalt not criticize the appropriateness of building any mosque, anywhere. See the Ground Zero Mosque debate.
* Thou shalt not admit to any politically incorrect thought(s) about Muslims, even if you immediately disavow it (them) as “irrational” and denounce it (them) on air. See Juan Williams.
 

Violating any of these rules – in the US and in Europe – is, according to the elites, a clear sign of “Islamophobia.” Violating any of these rules – in Europe alone – is also a sign of criminality.

So, thanks to the Austrians, we now know that we should add “thou shalt not yodel along with the call of the muezzin” as another rule to be followed. And I, for one, am thankful for this addition. Who knew that “Islamophobic Yodeling” was a problem?

This article was originally published by The Legal Project on December 2, 2010.

Buckeye Institute Announces Pretigious New Fellowship Program For Ohio College Students

In honor of William A. Diehl, former President of Defiance Milk Products/Diehl Inc., the Diehl Family Foundation has partnered with the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions to create a year-long fellowship program designed to expose college students to the leaders and readings that can provide insight into making Ohio prosperous again. The Buckeye Institute will use a competitive process to identify up to 25 of Ohio’s best students annually for this program.

The application period for the 2011 class runs from December 2, 2010, to January 31, 2011. The first class will occur in March 2011. Each class will begin at 6:00pm on a Thursday with an informal dinner and the viewing of a thematic movie. On Friday, the fellows will discuss the assigned readings and their relevance to Ohio, listen to an Ohio business leader share his or her experience, and tour a company to get a hands-on appreciation for how business works. The Buckeye Institute will provide all reading materials and will cover all hotel and food costs.

The topics include American exceptionalism, freedom & the rule of law, basic economics, the power of government, transparency & corruption, economic freedom & competitiveness, entrepreneurship, building a business, the regulatory world, the power of innovation, understanding politics, and overcoming big obstacles.

To graduate, each fellow must write a report on an economic issue facing Ohio and a proposed solution. A panel of experts will judge the reports, and the top three will receive cash awards of $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000.

Matt A. Mayer, President of the Buckeye Institute, stated, “If we want tomorrow’s leaders to carry the heavy weight of rebuilding our great state, they will need a practical and conceptual understanding of our nation’s founding, its economic system, and the relationship between business and government. William Diehl fundamentally understood the critical link between a vibrant and prosperous private sector and limited, but effective government.”

Details about the Diehl Fellows Program and the Application can be viewed at www.buckeyeinstitute.org/diehl or obtained by calling 614-224-4422.

2011 Anthropographia Award For Human Rights Call For Entries

Anthropographia is a volunteer-run non-profit organization that generates awareness of under publicized human rights issues through visual story telling. The volunteer board of directors and advisors consist journalists, photo journalists, professors of photography, and leaders in the multimedia industry.

The Anthropographia Award for Human Rights gives photojournalists working in various communities and cultures opportunity to share their story or stories of witnessed human rights issues with an international audience.

The Call for Entries for the 2011 Anthropographia Award for Human Rights is now open. This competition, which is free to all, offers an opportunity for photographers to exhibit their work and demonstrate their commitment to human rights issues.

Submission deadline: December 31, 2010
Notification of selected photos & multimedia projects: February 1, 2011

For the 2011 edition of the Anthropographia Call for Entries, we will be selecting 16 photo-essays and 8 multimedia projects out of the entries submitted. These will be selected by a team of curators, including Matthieu Rytz, Founder of Anthropographia, and two guest curators that Anthropographia has identified as definitive in their field. From the selected photo-essays and multimedia projects, two awards will be granted by the team of curators that recognizes the particular achievements of two photographers in representing human rights issues.

These awards are:
The Anthropographia Award for Photography and Human Rights
The Anthropographia Award for Multimedia and Human Rights

For more info, visit the Anthropographia website.

Bird Songs, Medical Therapy and Bird Brains

My dad always said we kids were a bunch of bird brains. I never knew exactly what he meant until now.

A news article by Natural News reveals that children who listen to recordings of bird songs behave more calmly when receiving medical treatment, according to those behind a new project at the Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool, England.

Recordings of birdsong, rain and wind — made by hospital children along with sound recording artist Chris Watson in Springfield Park — are now being played throughout the children’s ward to calm patients during injections, surgery and other stressful procedures. The birds singing include blackbirds, greenfinches, robins and songthrushes.

“We have seen tangible benefits for patients in bringing the natural world into hospitals,” said Laura Sillers, Artistic Program Director of the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology. “We also installed it in the corridors and there have been numerous requests for the Bird Song chorus to be reproduced on CD which patients then play at home. This research will be groundbreaking in demonstrating the role art can play in delivering health benefits.”

Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson attributes humans’ love of birdsong to our intrinsic “biophilia,” or an inborn need to connect with nature and other living beings, according to Natural News.

Even Genesis expresses soulish kinship of birds and homo sapiens. Hence, the justification for the paternal quip “bird brain.”

More startling is the wisdom saying of nearby college history professor: “May the bird of paradise fly up your nose.” To the uninitiated, the professor was saying may God’s spirit get into your brain. By implication, it meant God’s will is for us to be spirit filled bird brains. Connecting the divine authored songs of birds with the presence of the divine would naturally engender peace and tranquility.

To read the entire article, go to the Natural News website.

Pro-Life Terrorism

What is terrorism? Based on statements by pro-choice advocates, it is acts of violence aimed the goal of which is to end the policy and/or practice of abortion or, in this case, the legal practice of opposing abortion.

The following is a news story about abortionist attempting to terrorize a pro-life leader with the stated goal of changing his and his organization’s “ideas” and subsequent practice.

Joe Scheidler is a name pro-life advocates know because he has been one of the leaders of the pro-life movement for decades. Scheidler has become a frequent target of pro-abortion activist and now his home has been vandalized.

His home was attacked in the middle of the night, at approximately 2:00 a.m., with an abortion advocate throwing bricks of asphalt through two front windows.

One of them contained a threatening note making it clear the source of the vandalism supports legalized abortions.

“We are crazy feminist bi***** who will destroy your sexist ideas,” a note, containing an anarchist sign and scrawled in a child-like writing, said.

“P.S. I’ve had an abortion and no laws could ever stop me,” the note continued. “You can’t make Queen Anne’s lace illegal, a******.”

Troy Newman, the president of Operation Rescue, praised his longtime friend in an email to LifeNews.com as someone who has always had the best interests of the pro-life movement at heart and who has been selfless in trying to protect women and unborn children.

“We denounce in the strongest terms the cowardly violence that shattered the peace of the Scheidler home last night,” Newman said after learning of the attack.

He urged the Obama administration to investigate the attack in the same way it has assertively looked into incidents at abortion facilities and the shooting death of late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller.

“We demand that Attorney General Eric Holder order the Justice Department to launch an immediate investigation into this violent hate crime and to provide the same protections to Joseph and Ann Scheidler as they have in the past for unthreatened abortionists,” he said.

Newman is concerned about the rising levels of violence against pro-life advocates, as this attack on Scheidlers’ home comes after multiple other incidents of vandalism and after pro-life protester Jim Pouillon was shot and killed outside a local high school in Owosso, Michigan because his killer Harlan Drake didn’t like him using graphic pictures of babies victimized by abortions.

Operation Rescue’s headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, has been repeatedly vandalized, and staff threatened in recent months. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, sidewalk counselors were threatened by a man at gunpoint and police later discovered a cache of weapons in the man’s vehicle, he indicated.

Looking at hand written note displayed with the LifeNews.com article , the printed words cause doubt about whether they were written by a emotional youth or possibly by a relatively uneducated adult. The writing might reflect a highly emotional person and potentially dangerous. However, other domestic and foreign terrorist have mostly been either college educated or from highly educated families. One would think such a person would have display a more articulate message and refined hand writing. Of course, emotionally disturbed uneducated person could be just as dangerous as a emotionally-calculating educated person.