"60% of what you say is crap," Letterman to Bill O

[MK]

Try 66%. O'Reilly gave three examples on the war on Christmas. Here's what two of those claims turned out to be:

O'Reilly falsely claimed a Texas school district banned red and green clothing, called move "fascism"

Summary: On both The Radio Factor and The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly falsely claimed a Texas school district "told students they couldn't wear red and green because they were Christmas colors." The school district has since released an official statement refuting O'Reilly's false contention.

On December 9, Bill O'Reilly falsely claimed on both Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor and the nationally syndicated The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly that the Plano Independent School District (Texas) "told students they couldn't wear red and green because they were Christmas colors." He labeled the alleged ban "fascism." On December 12, the school district released an official statement by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Doug Otto refuting O'Reilly's contention:

"The school district does not restrict students or staff from wearing certain color clothes during holiday times or any other school days," noted Dr. Otto, who said that the school district's attorney has requested that Mr. O'Reilly retract the statement.

Last year, four families filed suit against the Plano Independent School District for allegedly prohibiting the distribution of religious materials at holiday parties and on school grounds. Among the allegations was the claim that the district excluded the use of red-and-green colored napkins at the annual school holiday party. The complaint made no mention of restrictions on red and green clothing, though the plaintiffs did allege that the school district banned red pompoms. According to the Associated Press, a day after the suit was filed, a federal judge ordered the school district "to let students distribute 'religious viewpoint gifts' at a party the following day." By then, though, the AP reported, "the district said the order was unnecessary because officials already had decided to allow students to distribute all materials -- religious or otherwise -- at the party."

According to an April 21 Dallas Morning News report, the plaintiffs rejected a settlement offer from the school district in April. The Liberty Legal Institute, which represents the families, said that the lawsuit is ongoing.

From the December 9 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: In Plano, Texas, just north of Dallas, the school told students they couldn't wear red and green because they were Christmas colors. That's flat-out fascism. If I were a student in Plano, I'd be a walking Christmas tree after that order. Have a little thing on my head.

From the December 9 broadcast of Westwood One's nationally syndicated The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly:

O'REILLY: Plano, Texas, north of Dallas. Students were told they could not wear red and green because they were Christmas colors. Let me repeat that. Plano, Texas. Students can't wear clothing that have red or green colors because they were too close to Christmas colors. Can you believe this? This is fascism. In addition, it'd be grossly disrespectful.

Secularization of Silent Night

On Friday, Bill O’Reilly took to the airwaves to share the latest “War on Christmas” outrage:

In Dodgeville, Wisconsin, the Ridgewood Elementary School has changed the song Silent Night to Cold in the Night and forced the kids to sing the lyrics, “Cold in the night, No one in sight, Winter winds whirl and bite,” to the tune of the original Silent Night.

O’Reilly was by no means the only conservative to repeat this story. During a Dec. 10 appearance on Fox News, Mathew Staver of the Liberty Counsel said the presentation at Ridgewood Elementary had “no balance here. They have no Christian Christmas carols.” He even threatened to sue the school:

People are outraged. We sent a demand letter asking them to immediately change the song and allow the actual lyrics of “Silent Night,” and if they do not, if they insist on this ridiculous course of action, we’ll file a federal lawsuit.

As it turns out, the entire story is a fraud.

Ridgewood Elementary didn’t change the lyrics to “Silent Night.” What they did was perform a 1988 copyrighted play called “The Little Tree’s Christmas Gift.”

That play actually contains numerous songs about Christmas, including the grand finale, an audience-led group singing of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.” The play’s creator, Dwight Elrich, happens to lead the New Covenant Singers of Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles.

In fact, “The Little Tree’s Christmas Gift” has been performed in several churches, including the Oakwood Forest Christian Church in Kingsport, Tennessee, the St. Anthony Parish School in Des Moines, Iowa, and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church of Abeline, Texas.

So why are the Silent Night lyrics changed in “Little Tree’s Christmas”? Because the play is about a small, lonely Christmas tree that is told it is “too scraggly, it will never sell.” That character sings the revised lyrics — “Cold in the night, No one in sight, Winter winds whirl and bite” — in a scene lamenting his sad state. The rewording has absolutely nothing to do with “secularizing” Christmas time.

[lukpac]

Letterman rocks. Clip here:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200601040009

[MK]

The "exclusion" of red and green napkins also seems to be hysteria. It looks more like a wild, paranoid accusation flung against a school that used generic, white napkins for really no motivation in terms of the choice of color (i.e. those were the napkins they had so they used them).