From The Los Angeles Times, 12/23/06:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-christmas23dec23,1,1060410.story?track=rss
War on Christmas' has a new jingle: money
Christian groups raise funds as they sell items to counter a perceived
assault on the holiday.
By Stephanie Simon, Times Staff Writer
The "War on Christmas" has never been so profitable.
For the fourth year running, conservative Christian groups have spent
much of December mobilizing against what they see as a liberal plot to
censor Christmas.
But this year, it's more than a cause.
It's a heck of a fundraiser.
The American Family Assn., a conservative activist group, has rung up
more than $550,000 in sales of buttons and magnets stamped with the
slogan "Merry Christmas: It's Worth Saying."
Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit law firm affiliated with the religious
right, has taken in more than $300,000 with its Help Save Christmas
Action Packs.
The kits include two buttons, two bumper stickers and "The Memo that
Saved Christmas," a guide to defending overt religious expression,
such as a Nativity scene in a public school classroom.
Also for sale through conservative websites:
Christmas bracelets, tree ornaments and lapel pins intended to send a
defiant message to those who would turn December into a multicultural
mush of "winter parties," "seasonal sales" and "Happy Holidays"
greetings.
Christmas warriors can also download — for free — lists that rank
retailers as either "naughty" or "nice," depending on how often their
ads refer to Christmas rather than a generic holiday.
"You're seeing people really wanting to take this battle forward,"
said Mat Staver, the president of Liberty Counsel, based in Orlando,
Fla.
With minimal advertising on Christian radio stations, Liberty Counsel
rang up more than 12,000 orders for a glossy copy of the legal memo
(which is also available online for free).
The minimum donation to get an "action pack" was $25; many supporters
kicked in more. Liberty Counsel also sold 8,000 buttons ($1 each),
with slogans such as "I {heart} CHRISTmas."
Staver's conclusion: "A lot of people have strong feelings about
Christmas."
Apparently so.
A Zogby International poll conducted last month found that 46% of
Americans are offended when a store clerk greets them with "Happy
Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas."
More than a third of the 12,800 adults surveyed said they had walked
out of a store or resolved to avoid it in the future because the
clerks didn't show enough Christmas spirit.
"It's the whole peace-on-earth and goodwill-toward-man thing. It lifts
us up when people can say 'Merry Christmas' without worrying about
whether it's politically correct," said Jennifer Giroux, a Cincinnati
entrepreneur.
She began marketing rubber bracelets urging "Just Say 'Merry
Christmas' " last December; this season, she has sold more than
50,000, at $2 apiece.
She plans to donate her profits to a Christian charity.
"It's never been about the money," she said.
"It's about the message."
But if the message can make money, so much the better.
Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Assn., said he was
delighted with the revenue from "War on Christmas" merchandise, which
supplemented the ministry's $13-million annual budget.
All 500,000 buttons and 125,000 magnets were sold out by early
December.
"It was very successful for us," Wildmon said.
Liberty Counsel too rated the sale a success.
"It did help with donations, but more than anything else, it helped
with exposure," said spokeswoman Robin Bryant.
She said the group had added many names to its mailing list for future
fund drives.
"It just ballooned," Bryant said.
In fact, the fundraising went so well that the religious right plans
to branch out.
Next up: the War on Easter.
Scouts for the American Family Assn., which is based in Tupelo, Miss.,
will keep a keen eye out for stores that promote "spring baskets" or
"spring bonnets" instead of celebrating the Resurrection.
The group already has laid in a stash of Easter buttons, featuring
three gold crosses and the words "He Lives."
They'll go on sale in early January.
Critics call such fundraising a scam that feeds on lies that the
atheist left has a plot to undermine Christianity.
"It's too ridiculous," said the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.
"They're raising money for a nonexistent war."
Those on the front line, however, insist the war is very real — and
say wearing their Christmas buttons and bracelets is a morale boost in
these last frantic shopping days.
Strangers who spot the buttons flash smiles and thumbs-up, or approach
to trade horror stories about chain stores that sell "holiday trees"
and teachers who ban sacred songs from school concerts.
"I've hugged people I don't even know," said Dr. Sarah Brown, a
physician in suburban Philadelphia.
Brown spent $200 this year for 100 lapel pins from the conservative
Alliance Defense Fund.
She put the pins, which declare "Merry Christmas — it's okay to say
it," in an envelope on her office door and invited patients to help
themselves.
"No sooner would I fill up the envelope than it was empty," she said.
"It must please God so much to see that there are still people who
want to celebrate."
______________________________________________________
You wondered what motivated the right wing's phony "War On Christmas?"
It's rightard money money money.
Harry
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