White House Declares War on the Easter Bunny in Latest Sequester Stunt

Originally posted by mugger
reply to post by captaintyinknots

 

By sham of a holiday, I mean the fact that it is a stolen holiday. A money making holiday. And a holiday that means nothing.

Means nothing? If you are an atheist or non -Christian. The resurrection of Jesus is a pretty big deal to most Christians.I agree the holiday was stolen to market all that candy garbage.

I hope they cancel it, another stupid political stunt to showcase the other waste still being spent by this current regime while they cancel the egg hunt.

You think Easter has anything to do with the resurrection of Jesus? Hate to break it to you, but it doesnt. It was the Pagan Fertility Holiday, and was usurped when the Christians decided to attempt to convert, and subsequently eradicated the 'heathens'.

Resurrection? Its closer to the celebration of a Genocide.

Originally posted by Kali74
Everything having to do with the White House is going to get cut or reduced. Tours of any kind, public access of any kind... why? The Sequester cut funding to the Secret Service and thus some of the White house agents were laid off. So it's a security issue.

Jay Carney is a little confused. He contradicted the disclaimer that was printed on the tickets that I pointed to earlier.

Last week, Carney was giving the bully beat down to a Fox News host.

Carney snapped “Well, actually, Jenna, again, if you did a little reporting you’d know that the Easter Egg Roll is open for a lot of military families. It’s paid for by the sale of those eggs that come out as well as donations from the outside."

What a difference a weekend makes. The egg roll went from being paid for by selling eggs and from donations to being a potential victim of the sequester.

It was a churlish and condescending moment for a man known for reserving special vitriol for journalists from outlets not used to acting as stenographers for his operation. Now it appears maybe Carney is the one who did sloppy homework and incomplete reporting. It turns out the Easter Egg Roll is in danger of being cancelled according to a disclaimer printed on invitations that went out this weekend. Maybe if Carney did a little reporting he'd know that this White House would stop at nothing, even disappointing little children of military families who look forward to an Easter tradition on the White House lawn, to score political points with "low information voters."

www.breitbart.com...

Clearly, they are politicizing specific events. Just like Reid blaming sequester for the explosion that just killed 7 of our servicemen in Nevada.

Originally posted by captaintyinknots

Originally posted by mugger
reply to post by captaintyinknots

 

By sham of a holiday, I mean the fact that it is a stolen holiday. A money making holiday. And a holiday that means nothing.

Means nothing? If you are an atheist or non -Christian. The resurrection of Jesus is a pretty big deal to most Christians.I agree the holiday was stolen to market all that candy garbage.

I hope they cancel it, another stupid political stunt to showcase the other waste still being spent by this current regime while they cancel the egg hunt.

You think Easter has anything to do with the resurrection of Jesus? Hate to break it to you, but it doesnt. It was the Pagan Fertility Holiday, and was usurped when the Christians decided to attempt to convert, and subsequently eradicated the 'heathens'.

Resurrection? Its closer to the celebration of a Genocide.

Re: Easter:
"Resurrection? Its closer to the celebration of a Genocide."

A celebration of genocide?
OMG...Does the new Pope know this?

Actually, captaintyinnots is correct in that the origins of Easter precede Christianity; it actually goes back to ancient Sumerian religious mythology...and it has been adopted by various religions and cultures ever since.

The Easter Bunny is evil. he's just one rabbit that gets around the whole world in one day and like Santa, no one ever sees him. His covert actions prove his evilness because if you were doing good there would no need to hide it.

He's an evil, evil bunny and the US should focus all their resources on finding him and executing him immediately before kids grow fatter with the chocolate he so surreptitiously spreads around.

They could deal with Santa next, or at least put him on Weight Watchers as an example to all the fatties of America.

Originally posted by pacifier2012
The Easter Bunny is evil. he's just one rabbit that gets around the whole world in one day and like Santa, no one ever sees him. His covert actions prove his evilness because if you were doing good there would no need to hide it.

He's an evil, evil bunny and the US should focus all their resources on finding him and executing him immediately before kids grow fatter with the chocolate he so surreptitiously spreads around.

They could deal with Santa next, or at least put him on Weight Watchers as an example to all the fatties of America.

One word answer: Drones.

reply to post by captaintyinknots

You think Easter has anything to do with the resurrection of Jesus? Hate to break it to you, but it doesnt. It was the Pagan Fertility Holiday, and was usurped when the Christians decided to attempt to convert, and subsequently eradicated the 'heathens'.

actually it was adopted so that the former pagans would feel more at home with christianity. just as some vegans enjoy imitation foods, the new converts wanted something resembling the rituals they were used to. the christmas tree, triquerta (though not exclusively a pagan symbol), and other similar things have been adopted for similar reasons, and to preserve culture.

in short, it was created as an excuse to party so that the new christians would feel more comfortable.

you talk of blowing things out of proportions and twisting meanings, yet you do it yourself when it fits what you want to believe.

my best friend is a pagan, and we get along very well.

reply to post by Bob Sholtz


You're close. It was adopted so that when faced with the choice of conversion or death, conversion would look a little more appealing.

tell me, what did I blow out of proportion and what meaning did I twist. The christians ERADICATED the pagans. They stole their holidays. They FORCED conversion.

This is historic FACT.

reply to post by captaintyinknots

You're close. It was adopted so that when faced with the choice of conversion or death, conversion would look a little more appealing. tell me, what did I blow out of proportion and what meaning did I twist. The christians ERADICATED the pagans. They stole their holidays. They FORCED conversion. This is historic FACT.

if you do some research, you'll find that easter (spelled ishtar, one of the names attributed to a babylonian queen turned goddess) arose due to nimrod, also known as one of noah's great-grandsons. he became the sun god. their practices included ritual human sacrifice. over time, nimrod became known as baal, and queen semiramis (her original name, later to be ishtar, et al) became known as baal's wife. he is also known as molech, baalim, bel, and probably many more.

so for your accusation that the holiday was stolen, you should look to the past. is ritual human sacrifice really something you wish to keep around? would not anyone practicing ritual human sacrifice be up for the death penalty in america?

but i digress. i would like to see your sources for the forced conversion. i don't deny that people under the guise of christianity have done such things, but northern europe's conversion to christianity beginning around 300 a.d. and continuing until about 1000 a.d. (perhaps a bit longer) was very gradual and voluntary.

the church slowly became more and more corrupt as the middle ages progressed. to answer that charge, i deny that those men were christians. jesus took his teachings to the people openly, he didn't use a language like latin, so that the common people couldn't read for themselves as is the case with the catholic church.

reply to post by Bob Sholtz




If you ignore the fact that it was a fertility festival predating written history...i suppose your explanation holds.

As for sources, there are plenty out there....I'll start you with a simple one:

Forced conversion was a major means in the Christianization of the Roman Empire. In 392 A.D. the emperor Theodosius I instituted a law making Christianity the only legal religion of the empire, and forbidding Pagan practices by law as a means to stabilize the declining empire:

"It is Our will that all the peoples who are ruled by the administration of Our Clemency shall practice that religion which the divine Peter the Apostle transmitted to the Romans....The rest, whom We adjudge demented and insane, shall sustain the infamy of heretical dogmas, their meeting places shall not receive the name of churches, and they shall be smitten first by divine vengeance and secondly by the retribution of Our own initiative" (Codex Theodosianus XVI 1.2.).[1]

This law led to the destruction of most pagan temples in the empire.

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by captaintyinknots

If you ignore the fact that it was a fertility festival predating written history...i suppose your explanation holds. As for sources, there are plenty out there....I'll start you with a simple one:

if you cared to look up any of the names i mentioned, you would find that it's history is indeed traceable.

Any effort to trace the origins of the myth, legend, and lore of goddess-worship will eventually lead one back to a single historical figure---Semiramis, wife of Nimrod and queen of Babylon, and this is especially true when considering the goddess/planet Venus.

ldolphin.org...
a facinating read of the origins of this "fertility festival"

In the 4th century, the early process of Christianization of the various Germanic people was partly facilitated by the prestige of the Christian Roman Empire amongst European pagans. Until the decline of the Roman Empire, the Germanic tribes who had migrated there (with the exceptions of the Saxons, Franks, and Lombards, see below) had converted to Christianity.[1] Many of them, notably the Goths and Vandals, adopted Arianism instead of the Trinitarian (a.k.a. Nicene or orthodox) beliefs that were dogmatically defined by the Catholic Church in the Nicene Creed.[1] The gradual rise of Germanic Christianity was, at times, voluntary, particularly amongst groups associated with the Roman Empire. From the 6th century, Germanic tribes were converted (or re-converted from Arianism) by missionaries of the Catholic Church.[2][3]

en.wikipedia.org...
not the violent bloodbath you make it out to be.

The Christian persecution of paganism under Theodosius I began in 381, after the first couple of years his reign in the Eastern Roman Empire. In the 380s, Theodosius I reiterated Constantine's ban on Pagan sacrifice, prohibited haruspicy on pain of death, pioneered the criminalization of Magistrates who did not enforce anti-Pagan laws, broke up some pagan associations and destroyed Pagan temples.

reply to post by Bob Sholtz

Between 389-391 he emanated the infamous "Theodosian decrees," which established a practical ban on paganism;[31] visits to the temples were forbidden,[30][32] remaining Pagan holidays abolished, the eternal fire in the Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum extinguished, the Vestal Virgins disbanded, auspices and witchcraft punished. Theodosian refused to restore the Altar of Victory in the Senate House when asked to do so by Pagan Senators.

In 392 he became emperor of the whole empire (the last to do so). From this moment till the end of his reign in 395, while Pagans remained outspoken in their demands for toleration,[33][34] he authorized or participated in the killing of pagan priests, destruction of many temples, holy sites, images and objects of reverence throughout the empire[1][35][36][37][38] and participated in actions by Christians against major Pagan sites.[39] He likely suppressed the Ancient Olympic Games; the last record of the Olympics being celebrated in ancient Rome is from 393.[40]

"Paganism" continued to be practiced by a large portion of the population, although the Pagans increasingly had to worship their gods undercover in order to comply formally with the edicts.[57] There were many who pretended to convert to Christianity while secretly continuing Pagan practices,[58] and many Christians converted back to Paganism; numerous laws against apostasy were promulgated and penalties increased from those in the time of Gratian and Theodosius.[59][60][61][62] Pagans openly voiced their resentment in historical works, such as the writings of Eunapius and Olympiodorus; some writers blamed the Christian hegemony for the 410 Sack of Rome. Christians destroyed almost all such Pagan political literature, and threatened to cut off the hands of any copyist who dared to make new copies of the offending writings.[63][64]

Shortly thereafter, in 476, the last emperor of Rome, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed by Odoacer, who became the first "barbarian" king of Italy. In spite of this disaster, the Pagans made one last attempt to revive the Pagan rites. In 484, the Magister militum per Orientem, Illus, revolted against Eastern Emperor Zeno and raised his own candidate, Leontius, to the throne. Leontius hoped to reopen the temples and restore the ancient ceremonies; as such, many Pagans joined in his revolt against Zeno.[72] Illus and Leontius were compelled, however, to flee to a remote Isaurian fortress, where Zeno besieged them for four years. Zeno finally captured them in 488 and promptly had them executed.[74] Following the revolt, Zeno instituted a harsh persecution of Pagan intellectuals. With the failure of the revolt of Leontius, some Pagans became disillusioned and many became Christian, or pretended to do so, in order to avoid persecution.[75] The subjugation of the Roman Empire to Christianity became complete when the emperor Anastasius I, who came to the throne in 491, was required to sign a written declaration of orthodoxy before his coronation.

The caverns, grottoes, crags and glens that had once been used for the worship of the Pagan gods were now appropriated by Christianity: "Let altars be built and relics be placed there" wrote Pope Gregory I, "so that [the pagans] have to change from the worship of the daemones to that of the true God."[76][77]

en.wikipedia.org...

I get it now....these things were SUGGESTIONS and not rule of law....

reply to post by captaintyinknots

you speak of rome, while i speak of the majority of europe.

seriously. read the history about the origins of paganism starting with babylon, it isn't pretty. queen semiramis enslaved the people by claiming godhood, she then had king nimrod tied at the hands and feet, and pulled apart. they did it every year, but usually to a calf. yay, fertility festival then she proclaimed her son as a god, and tradition dictated that he would have to be ripped apart in the same way that nimrod was, but instead she had one of her followers used. it was a "great honor" and she promised that he would attain godhood upon death as an incentive.

this is the fertility goddess the pagans worshiped. her son was claimed to be nimrod reincarnated, and she ruled in his stead for some 42 years. he was also worshiped, and became molech (promoting child sacrifices) among others.

forced conversion isn't right, but you speak as if paganism had it's origin in love and happiness instead of human sacrifice, not to mention the queen and king who "became" gods for political and religious power, then turned on each other.

we have religious freedom in the U.S., but try practicing child sacrifice or quartering calfs alive at the beginning of your "festival". i think you'll find it is not only immoral, but illegal. rome took a similar stance, but you demonize them for it.

reply to post by Bob Sholtz


1)Please quote for me where I said ANYTHING about pagan origin in love and happiness. As always, I'll wait....

2) You speak of pagans as though each practiced according to some rule or scripture-they did no such thing, in fact, most had no affiliation with each other.

3)What is a pagan? I ask honestly, because I get the feeling you do not know (hint, it was a term coined by christians)

4)Your stance is clear. You think pagans are evil. And you are welcome to feel that way. To deny that an entire generation of people was either forced to convert, imprisoned or killed, their history all but destroyed, is willful ignorance.

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
reply to post by Bob Sholtz

 

1)Please quote for me where I said ANYTHING about pagan origin in love and happiness. As always, I'll wait....

2) You speak of pagans as though each practiced according to some rule or scripture-they did no such thing, in fact, most had no affiliation with each other.

3)What is a pagan? I ask honestly, because I get the feeling you do not know (hint, it was a term coined by christians)

4)Your stance is clear. You think pagans are evil. And you are welcome to feel that way. To deny that an entire generation of people was either forced to convert, imprisoned or killed, their history all but destroyed, is willful ignorance.

edit on 21-3-2013 by captaintyinknots because: (no reason given)

you imply that it is morally better than christianity, where i was pointing out it's origins in human sacrifice that still continues to this day. you called it genocide when christians punished those who would sacrifice humans.

paganism is a religion with many different tenants. i've tried to show that the "gods" they worship have man-made origins, and that many offshoots have developed since it's inception. there are probably over twenty combined gods and goddesses that stem from the two babylonian rulers. some hold different views than others, but to argue that they have no affiliation directly contradicts your opinions on the fertility ceremony.

i would define a pagan as one who worships an offshoot of, or the original babylonian rulers who started the religion. this includes the "god and goddess" of today's neopagan movement (though i have to say their morals have greatly improved, but it does not change the fact that the religion is a farce)

i don't hate pagans that practice peacefully (worshipers of molech, or black witches do earn my ire due to their sacrifices), though why one would continuously worship gods and goddesses that obviously aren't real is beyond me.

todays neo-pagans worship the same humans that declared themselves gods and set themselves up to rule, and while i am very happy that most have adopted the rule of three as a moral incentive, the fertility festival came into being with human sacrifice. these days it's more about bonfire circle dancing, personal rituals, and sex. they harm no one, so while i may disagree that their religion is in any way real, they're free to do as they wish so long as they don't harm others.

The Roman writer Tacitus is quite clear that the Germanic tribes in Continental Europe used human sacrifice in the 1st century AD: Mercury is the deity whom they chiefly worship, and on certain days they deem it right to sacrifice to him even with human victims.

Adam of Bremen, writing in 1070, described extensive human sacrifice at the temple of Old Uppsala in Sweden:
There is a festival at Uppsala every nine years […] The sacrifice is as follows; of every kind of male creature, nine victims are offered. By the blood of these creatures it is the custom to appease the gods. [...] There even dogs and horses hang beside human beings.

www.carlanayland.org...

now, what would be the response of our government should such a religion be practiced in the u.s.? murder and animal cruelty charges would be levied, and the death penalty could be imposed. rome made it illegal and went after those who practiced it. you call this genocide and say that christians are evil because of it, which logically means you're either being hypocritical, or you support a group's right to sacrifice humans.

we've gotten a bit off topic from the OP, probably my fault for being pedantic.

I'm more upset about the tours.. i assume that means white house tours. Doesn't Obama understand the power of morale? This reads like a bad science fiction movie where the draconian elite lock themselves away and hide from the public who never know their rulers.

They can't be spending That much money on those tours or on the Easter egg hunt. Hey Obama, I have a better idea for you to save money.

1) Dont accept a salary for your job as Dic-tator
2) Dont go on vacation to Hawaii or to play golf.
3) Sell your house in Hawaii and give the money to the homeless.

Oh yeah and one last thing Obama, F-U.

reply to post by Bob Sholtz

you imply that it is morally better than christianity, where i was pointing out it's origins in human sacrifice that still continues to this day.

I did no such thing. I spoke of the historical FACT that easter was stolen from pagans, and said that celebrating it is on par with celebrating a genocide. Quit making stuff up.

you called it genocide when christians punished those who would sacrifice humans.

No, I call it genocide when christians eradicated an entire generation of people, their places of worship, and their texts, solely based on religious beliefs. The goal of the christians was to wipe any record of paganism from the history of this earth.

paganism is a religion with many different tenants. i've tried to show that the "gods" they worship have man-made origins, and that many offshoots have developed since it's inception. there are probably over twenty combined gods and goddesses that stem from the two babylonian rulers. some hold different views than others, but to argue that they have no affiliation directly contradicts your opinions on the fertility ceremony.

You try to show the 'gods' they worship, ignoring the fact that for most pagans, 'gods' had nothing to do with it.

i would define a pagan as one who worships an offshoot of, or the original babylonian rulers who started the religion. this includes the "god and goddess" of today's neopagan movement (though i have to say their morals have greatly improved, but it does not change the fact that the religion is a farce)

And by defining it as such, you are professing your ignorance on the subject to the world.

i don't hate pagans that practice peacefully (worshipers of molech, or black witches do earn my ire due to their sacrifices), though why one would continuously worship gods and goddesses that obviously aren't real is beyond me.

a bit hypocritical, considering you are defending the use of intimidation and murder by christians (another religion whose 'god' is obviously not real)

todays neo-pagans worship the same humans that declared themselves gods and set themselves up to rule, and while i am very happy that most have adopted the rule of three as a moral incentive, the fertility festival came into being with human sacrifice. these days it's more about bonfire circle dancing, personal rituals, and sex. they harm no one, so while i may disagree that their religion is in any way real, they're free to do as they wish so long as they don't harm others.

Today's 'pagans' are completely irrelevant to what I said.

now, what would be the response of our government should such a religion be practiced in the u.s.? murder and animal cruelty charges would be levied, and the death penalty could be imposed. rome made it illegal and went after those who practiced it. you call this genocide and say that christians are evil because of it, which logically means you're either being hypocritical, or you support a group's right to sacrifice humans.

Again, this has nothing to do with what I said. I will ask, though, once again, for you to quote for me where I said christians are evil. You have a habit of taking what you infer, and stating it as what was actually said. Its a very poor habit to have. Nowhere have I said christians are evil. Nowhere have I said that I support anything pagans do. I stated a historical FACT, and you are reaching off to any tangent you can to try and discredit me-which isnt working.

we've gotten a bit off topic from the OP, probably my fault for being pedantic.

Pedantic. Great word for it.

No, I call it genocide when christians eradicated an entire generation of people, their places of worship, and their texts, solely based on religious beliefs. The goal of the christians was to wipe any record of paganism from the history of this earth.

or based on the fact that they were sacrificing humans in the name of paganism?

You try to show the 'gods' they worship, ignoring the fact that for most pagans, 'gods' had nothing to do with it.

oh, so they sacrificed humans to appease..not-gods? they had statues and temples dedicated to worshiping not-gods? i would have to agree that they were sacrificing humans and worshiping false gods, but if you're denying that their gods had anything to do with it, you'd be completely wrong.

And by defining it as such, you are professing your ignorance on the subject to the world.

funny, it seems history supports my conclusion.

a bit hypocritical, considering you are defending the use of intimidation and murder by christians (another religion whose 'god' is obviously not real)

murder is a legal term. i'm stating that human sacrifice is wrong, and should be treated as such. apparently you don't consider human sacrifice "murder".

Again, this has nothing to do with what I said. I will ask, though, once again, for you to quote for me where I said christians are evil. You have a habit of taking what you infer, and stating it as what was actually said. Its a very poor habit to have. Nowhere have I said christians are evil.

on one hand you accuse christians of committing genocide and being iconoclast, then on the other you say you never claimed that christians were evil.

Nowhere have I said that I support anything pagans do. I stated a historical FACT, and you are reaching off to any tangent you can to try and discredit me-which isnt working.

using words like "genocide", "murder" and the concept of iconoclast behavior denotes your bias. the fact is that sacrifices were made illegal, as were practices that used them. the result was that rome cracked down on pagans. you say you don't support the pagan practices, then why do you call the movement to punish human sacrifice "genocide"?

reply to post by Bob Sholtz




You're still attempting to deflect by stating how bad you think pagans are. It's IRRELEVENT to what I said, no matter how hard you keep trying to come back to it.

funny, it seems history supports my conclusion.

Again, putting your ignorance on display for all to see. Do you even know what the word 'pagan' means?

murder is a legal term. i'm stating that human sacrifice is wrong, and should be treated as such. apparently you don't consider human sacrifice "murder".

And yet another flat out lie. Where did I say anything even remotely close to this?

on one hand you accuse christians of committing genocide and being iconoclast, then on the other you say you never claimed that christians were evil.

Both of these things are fact. I never said a word about 'good' or 'evil'-you are the one putting such labels on things. I am speaking of historic fact, nothing more, nothing less. Ill leave the judgement of good and evil up to you

using words like "genocide", "murder" and the concept of iconoclast behavior denotes your bias. the fact is that sacrifices were made illegal, as were practices that used them. the result was that rome cracked down on pagans. you say you don't support the pagan practices, then why do you call the movement to punish human sacrifice "genocide"?

You are inferring a bias. Nothing more. Your entire string of posts on this are based on what you *think* i believe. Again, I am stating historical fact, no more, no less.

reply to post by captaintyinknots

everything comes down to whether or not you support sacrifices, particularly human sacrifices. i supplied quotes and links to research that human sacrifice was a staple of pagan practices back then. rome made such sacrifices illegal under the influence of christianity.

christians were persecuted for a long time prior to the christians committing "genocide", and were executed for NOT making sacrifices to the pagan gods.

Normally, non-Romans who refused to sacrifice to the state gods were simply executed and Roman citizens who did the same were sent back to Rome for trial.

atheism.about.com...

not a word from you about christians being the originally persecuted group. i guess killing christians doesn't count as genocide to you. constantine made the persecution of monotheists illegal, and later another emperor made sacrifices illegal.

christians were forced to "sacrifice and convert, or die". it doesn't make the new policy of rome (and these are all roman policies, established by the emperor) to make christianity the only form of religion, but you can see where the idea came from, as it was formally "practice paganism, or die" and it was the heads of state in rome that changed and enforced the law, not "christians".

in your hate you are simply unwilling to determine what is actually true. i've now posted the history of how paganism came to be, some of their practices, and the persecution of christians by pagans.

look at it if you want, but i doubt you will. i am bowing out of this sidetracked conversation, it has gone on long enough and this is not the place.

reply to post by Bob Sholtz


No, it really doesnt, as that has nothing to do with what I stated. Its funny though-your posts have shifted from "nuh -uh, they did not!" to "well, pagans are bad, so they were justified.". Really, truly, well done

christians were persecuted for a long time prior to the christians committing "genocide", and were executed for NOT making sacrifices to the pagan gods.

Pagan gods . Thats fantastic, what does it have to do with what I said? Again, you're reaching at tangents that are completely irrelevant to the statement I made.

not a word from you about christians being the originally persecuted group. i guess killing christians doesn't count as genocide to you. constantine made the persecution of monotheists illegal, and later another emperor made sacrifices illegal.

So, because I didnt speak of christian persecution (as, again, it has NOTHING to do with the statement I made), that somehow negates the HISTORICAL FACT that christians destroyed pagans? This is starting to REEK of desperation.

in your hate you are simply unwilling to determine what is actually true. i've now posted the history of how paganism came to be, some of their practices, and the persecution of christians by pagans.

Hate? I have spoken nothing of hate. You have professed your hate for those evil pagans. I have said nothing of hate. This is just sad....

look at it if you want, but i doubt you will. i am bowing out of this sidetracked conversation, it has gone on long enough and this is not the place.

probably a good idea, as you have presented absolutely NOTHING that negates my original statement. Youve tried to divert, to deflect, to pass you inferences as what I said...now that all of that has failed, you bow out.