The New York Daily News says a Muslim group is complaining about the first episode of Fox TV’s "24" because it features a Muslim terrorist.
The show hasn’t even aired yet, but a member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations got ahold of a preview trailer and described himself as "dismayed."
At issue is a scene in which a teenager helps his parents plot to kill Americans. "What we will accomplish today will change the world," the father tells the son over breakfast. "We are fortunate that our family has been chosen to do this."
CAIR’s Rabiah Ahmed said the scene "casts a cloud of suspicion over every American-Muslim family out there."
Banishing the Blue Bags
A Chicago atheist almost managed to scupper that city’s Christmas tree recycling program because he said it discriminated against everyone but Christians, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Local gadfly Rob Sherman called the city’s plans to give away blue recycling bags to people who bring their trees to one of a couple dozen recycling centers discriminatory.
"The concern was that the city had constructed a well-intentioned program, but the effect was that only Christians had the opportunity to participate," Sherman said. "Christians had the opportunity to receive the blue bags for free. Atheists and others would have had to pay."
The city will now offer blue bags to anyone who visits a center and brings a large bag of recyclable material.
Visible vs. Invisible
England’s Metropolitan Police will no longer use the term "Blacks" or "Asians" to describe ethnic groups there, reports London’s Daily Telegraph. The preferred terminology in all official reports come January will be "visible minority ethnics."
The term replaces the phrase "black and Asian minority ethnics."
The "visible" part is so that people in these communities can be distinguished from others — like the Irish and the Greeks — whose members are, according to the new terminology, "invisible" because they tend to be light-skinned.
Even black police officers said the new edict was a bit over-the-top.
"There has been so much emphasis on the issue of terminology, that the issue has become confusing for black police officers, let alone white ones," said Anna Scott, the general secretary of the National Black Police Association. "We are risking becoming too politically correct at the expense of being clearly understood by officers and the general public."
Multi-Culti Crappers
A university in New Zealand is installing a number of in-the-floor squat toilets in order to be more sensitive to the needs of its international students, reports the New Zealand Herald.
The university claims it has had trouble with confused international students standing on the regular toilet seats and creating "hygiene problems." One student even reported finding stiletto marks on one seat.
More 'Inclusive' Chapels
A hospital in Calgary, Canada, has apparently gone in for the trend of removing Christian symbols from its chapel in order to avoid offending non-believers.
CFCN-TV in Calgary reports that the Foothills Hospital covered stained-glass windows featuring an image of St. Luke in its chapel in order to make the facility more inclusive.
Shutters now cover the image and must be moved out of the way if Christians want to look at them. A spokesman says the hospital wants to avoid offending Jewish and Muslim worshippers.
"A representation of the human form in a sacred space is unacceptable to these two faith groups so this gives us much more of an option in terms of how we use this chapel," he said.
For more doses of politically correct nuttiness, head on over to the TongueTied daily edition.
Mailbag:
Greg F. corrects us:
I just want to correct your statement that Russell High School is in Lexington, Ky. It is actually in Russell, Ky., which is about 120 miles east of Lexington.
Randy K. writes:
I've been reading the news of the "Battle for Christmas" with interest. Being an American living in Russia, I think, gives me another view of the matters.
You see, here we don't celebrate Christmas, per se. Oh sure, ther are minimal Christmas celebrations on Jan. 7, the Russian Orthodox Christmas. But, the big celebration is New Year's.
During the Soviet era, with its banishment of religion as "the opiate of the people," any formal Christian celebrations were done away with. So, now there are decorated trees for New Year's and gifts are exchanged for New Year's and songs are sung for New Year's.
Strange, isn't it, how the teachings and dogma our country fought so hard for years to abolish are now being implemented into our system. Looks like someone would learn from history.
David S. writes:
Regarding the young man who wasn't allowed to go to a "holiday party" dressed as Santa: Since when did Santa Claus become a religious symbol or a deity? People really need to get over it.
Rick D. writes:
It is amazing to me that anyone would stop a band's performance simply because it mentions God in its lyrics. The public school system could use a good dose of Christian common sense. The concepts of the Golden Rule, personal responsibility, kindness, charitable works and yes (gasp) introspection would go a long way to correct the problems faced by society.
By removing the moral base for these concepts (i.e. God) from our schools, we have effectively guaranteed base, animalistic behavior.
This is clearly a case of discrimination and systematically marginalizing the Christian voice in the public arena. Such treatment of any other group would be an immediate scandal. Christianity is slowly being forced underground, however, history has proven that faith grows best in the fertilizer of persecution.
Respond to the Writer
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox