Free Republic

'Still investigating churchgoers?' ... The FBI of the days when it pursued and captured criminals and protected American citizens apparently is gone. In recent years it has been documented to have colluded with Democrats to make up stories about President Donald Trump to try to hurt him. It has interfered in an election by telling media corporations to suppress accurate, but damaging, information about Joe Biden. ... Then it suggested traditional Catholics were domestic terrorists. And threatened pro-life protesters trying to keep unborn babies from harm. And more ... So when it released an innocuous holiday greeting just days ago,...

NORAD SANTA TRACKER LIVE STREAM Merry Christmas Freepers

George Conway, the husband of White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway and a harsh critic of President Donald Trump, called Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik “lying trash” on Saturday, and urged voters to support her Democratic challenger. Conway, a Republican attorney, was seemingly miffed by Stefanik’s battles with Rep. Adam Schiff during the Trump impeachment hearings. Stefanik, 35, won praise from conservatives following the hearings for going toe-to-toe with Schiff, and questioning how the House Intelligence Committee chairman has conducted the impeachment inquiry so far.

According to a recent survey, Americans prefer “Merry Christmas” to “Happy Holidays” by 20 percentage points. The Marist poll was sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, who released the findings on Thursday. Among the 1,005 adults surveyed, nearly six in 10 (57 percent) said they prefer “Merry Christmas,” and fewer than four in 10 (37 percent) preferred “Happy Holidays.” “The vast majority of Americans celebrate Christmas and prefer ‘Merry Christmas’ to a generic greeting,” said Knights CEO Carl Anderson of the results. “Celebrating Christmas is a reminder that Christ came into the world out of love for us and to...

In a recent discussion about political correctness and whether it has gone too far, President Barack Obama said it's a “tricky issue,” because "the definition of political correctness is all over the map.” At one point in his pre-vacation interview with NPR, Obama used himself as an example: “I had to live through controversies like the notion that I was trying to kill Christmas. Right? Well, where’d that come from? Well, I bet, you know, well, he said ‘Happy Holidays’ instead of ‘Merry Christmas’. So, that, you know, that must be evidence of him either not being a Christian or...

Seeking to spread some cheer, President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government has set aside its distaste for consumerism and sent a small army of bureaucrats and soldiers to force more than 200 retail stores in Caracas to hold Christmas sales. "Our worker-president has ordered us to guarantee fair prices for the people, and we are complying. These economic hitmen can't take away our merry Christmas," said William Contreras, head of the National Superintendency for the Defense of Socioeconomic Rights, known by the acronym Sundde. The government accuses the owners of the targeted stores of jacking up prices by 300 to 500...

Three children, ages 5, 6 and 9, were killed in a shooting in the Four Hills neighborhood Monday night and the suspect is dead, according to Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden. Eden said a man broke into a home on Stagecoach SE and laid in wait for a 36-year-old woman who lives there to arrive home with her three children. When they arrived, he gunned them down. The three children died, and the woman was rushed to the hospital where she was in critical condition Tuesday morning. The suspect, a 45-year-old man, was also rushed to the hospital with a...

'Tis the season for some to take offense when a store clerk says "happy holidays" instead of "merry Christmas," or when a coffee chain converts to plain red cups for the holiday. The "war on Christmas" trope seems to surface with Black Friday sales, but who is actually at war? It is easy to imagine saying "merry Christmas" as another cudgel in the culture wars between Christians and the irreligious. The actual story, however, is much more nuanced. Public Religion Research Institute asked a nationally representative sample of Americans whether retailers should greet their customers with "happy holidays" or "season’s...

Seasons GreetingsFor Our Liberal Friends:Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes For an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low- stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year [2015], but not without due respect for...

A Facebook group criticizing the Staten Island Mall for canceling its Christmas tree-lighting ceremony and Santa parade has attracted tens of thousands of followers, energizing debate about the loss of holiday traditions. The mall later apologized, announcing it would host a holiday celebration on Dec. 4 featuring Santa, a tree lighting and a toy drive. "We heard the disappointment in your shopper feedback regarding the cancellation of the annual Santa Parade. At Staten Island Mall, we pride ourselves on being a community partner and take our shoppers' sentiments to heart -- good and bad," mall officials said in a statement.

A Boston woman is asking the city of Boston to include a menorah next to the wreaths at the Boston Public Library. According to WHDH, Esther Weissman considers a wreath to be a symbol of Christmas. “The wreaths are a seasonal display; they are secular symbols and do not represent any religion,” the Boston Public Library said in a statement to CBS Boston. Weissman thinks otherwise. “If this is a city of inclusion and diversity and fairness for everybody, then it seems like an easy thing to do,” Weissman told WHDH.

Troopers all across Texas are going after drunk drivers this holiday season. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is aiming to lower the amount of drunk drivers across the state by increasing the amount of troopers, working overtime, and enforcing stricter rules. No refusals are among the stricter rules being enforced, meaning if an officer believes you are drunk and asks you to take a blood test you will most likely have to still take one. If you say no, the officer will get a warrant from a judge immediately to get your blood specimen. Saying no to a...

Most Americans still prefer signs in stores that say “Merry Christmas” rather than ones with “Happy Holidays.” A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 68% of American Adults prefer Merry Christmas. Just 23% like Happy Holidays instead.

Americans overwhelmingly prefer the traditional “Merry Christmas” greeting over the “Happy Holidays” that some stores and businesses require their employees to utilize at this time of year.  A new Marist Poll of 1,026 adults nationwide finds that 64 percent – nearly two-thirds – think the appropriate greeting should be “Merry Christmas,” while 31 percent favored “Happy Holidays.” The sentiment was strongest in the Midwest (70 percent) -- but income level made no difference -- with the same level of support (64 percent) for those who made under $50,000 as those who made over $50,000 a year. People 45 or older...

What do you think? Are you offended by 'happy holidays' instead of 'merry Christmas'?

For increasing number of retailers this year, no more 'Happy holidays'... NEW YORK — The War on Christmas may be in its final days. This season, merry Christmas — not happy holidays or season's greetings — will dominate retailer's marketing messages. There will be Christmas sales and Christmas trees and Christmas carols galore. That has the American Family Association, arguably one of the loudest voices advocating the use of Christmas in retailer's marketing messages over the past few years, predicting that its crusade could conclude in the next year or two. Randy Sharp, director-special projects at the AFA, said that...

If I came up to you and asked you how what the spirit of Christmas means to you, how would you respond? Let’s see if your answers would match the answers I would expect if I did ask. I think that if I asked that question some would answer saying that the Spirit of Christmas is about being with your friends or relatives for the Holidays. Yet the reality for too many people is that spending Christmas with their loved ones, if they go so far as to actually call them “loved” ones often becomes a chore, as many people...

Just about everybody is in some way or another acquainted with the classic Charles Dickens story “A Christmas Carol”. A Christmas Carol was released in 1843 and it was essentially a story about the coldness of the human heart and the greed affiliated with it. The story’s character, Ebenezer Scrooge is so greedy and yet so wealthy, that he holds contempt for those who need money for charity, those who need money to survive, and those who want to spend money on gifts for other people. To Scrooge, everybody is more or less a being of consumption in the sense...

CHRISTMAS IN JAPAN can be a little lonely and isolated for the Westerner here. What with the distance from “home” and cultural differences. Little things, here and there. Missing some of the usual things from back home, especially for people like one particular 'American in Tokyo'. This year 2009 is again no different. However, in many respects I must say there is nevertheless one little thing that is so refreshing about being stuck in Japan during Christmas—after a few years—and for the occasions one cannot make it back "home". It is almost like the clock has been refreshingly and...

I’d like to specifically request that retailers all over the U.S. stop saying “Merry Christmas” altogether. In fact, I want retailers to remove the word “Christmas” from all of their print ads, radio spots, TV spots, billboards, and in-store displays and decorations. I think it’s the least we can do for our Savior.