Hey, Jerry Falwell: I’ve Got a Holiday Message For You…

Fuck off.

Evangelical Christian pastor Jerry Falwell has a message for Americans when it comes to celebrating Christmas this year: You're either with us, or you're against us.

Falwell has put the power of his 24,000-member congregation behind the "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign," an effort led by the conservative legal organization Liberty Counsel. The group promises to file suit against anyone who spreads what it sees as misinformation about how Christmas can be celebrated in schools and public spaces.

The 8,000 members of the Christian Educators Association International will be the campaign's "eyes and ears" in the nation's public schools. They'll be reporting to 750 Liberty Counsel lawyers who are ready to pounce if, for example, a teacher is muzzled from leading the third-graders in "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."

An additional 800 attorneys from another conservative legal group, the Alliance Defense Fund, are standing by as part of a similar effort, the Christmas Project. Its slogan: "Merry Christmas. It's OK to say it."

For anyone who’s interested, I’m starting my own campaign. Its slogan: “Jerry Falwell: It’s okay to call him a fat pot of crap.”

A modicum of perspective:

"There is no war against Christmas," said Barry Lynn of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "There is no jihad against Christians. There is nothing going on around Christmas except these groups' incessant fundraising."

Hmm. Barry Lynn is a reverend, too. Interesting that he isn’t identified as such, though. I guess that might undermine the point that this isn’t a Christian v. Secular issue, but instead a wholly imaginary creation of hateful wingnuts who thrive on the outrage of their followers like Daddy Falwell.

Repeat after me: There is no War on Christmas. There is, however, a fairly significant assault on reality which, sadly, the media seem to have little inclination to contain.