Leftists melt down after organizers of Christmas parade express Christian beliefs



The organizers of a Christmas parade in Tennessee angered many on the left after they included a statement of faith in their parade application.

For decades, folks young and old have gathered for the annual Christmas parade in Cookeville, Tennessee, a city of 35,000 residents about an hour and a half east of Nashville. In recent years, the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce, a nonprofit, hosted the event.

However, in 2024, a private group mainly comprising members of local churches took over the event. In keeping with the season honoring the birth of Jesus Christ and this year's theme of "Celebrating the Light of CHRISTmas," organizers included in the parade application a statement of faith that recounts basic tenets of Christianity.

The statement of faith affirms belief in Jesus as the second person of the Trinity, the circumstances surrounding His birth, and the primacy of the Bible.

The statement also reiterates Christian teaching on social matters, including gender, marriage, and the dignity of the human person:

  • "Marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female."
  • "God’s plan for human sexuality is to be expressed only within the context of marriage."
  • "God instituted monogamous marriage between male and female as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society."
  • "Human life is sacred from conception to its natural end."

'Maybe the church groups involved just didn’t want to catch gay cooties.'

Contrary to reports, those submitting an application to participate in the parade need not personally believe everything listed in the statement of faith. Instead, the application asks only that they initial below the statement to acknowledge that they have read and understood it.

The application further requires all participants in the parade to "act in alignment" with the statement of faith to keep the event family-friendly.

Thus far, Cookeville officials have seemingly washed their hands of the parade and the organizers' statement of faith.

"The City had nothing to do with the handoff to this group and still has nothing to do with the production or operation of the Christmas parade. The private group simply applied for a temporary street closure for a parade, as any other private group is permitted to do and as any kind of parade-type event requires," city officials said in a statement posted to Facebook.

"It is extremely unfortunate that something like a Christmas parade has become such a controversial event in this day and time, but the City of Cookeville government is not involved with this event at all. Any requirements by this private group concerning participation in the parade are not enforced by, are not approved by, and should not be attributed to the City of Cookeville."

A Substack called the Friendly Atheist went farther, describing the statement of faith as a form of "bigotry" and insisting that the parade is "no longer a celebration of the holidays" because of it.

"The event has become even more explicitly Christian," the atheist writer railed. "Jews are not welcome. Atheists and Muslims and LGBTQ people are not wanted."

The word holiday, of course, derives from the concept of a "holy day" on the Christian calendar.

Cookeville resident Antonio Pedro is likewise appalled by Christians adopting a Christian statement of faith for a Christian event. He and others, including the owner of a "little witchy shop" in Cookeville, have attempted to organize a more "inclusive" counter-event "to get the Christmas parade to what it once was to where the community comes together as a community and not just a religion."

One reason they and other leftists are so incensed that Christians control this year's Christmas parade is that Upper Cumberland Pride — a local group of sexual deviants, according to biblical standards — was denied the privilege of participating in it last year.

"It was stated when asked why that they saw it as 'a kid/family event' [and] that we might not be kid/family-friendly,'" UCP told WKRN.

UCP characterized the denial as a capricious act of exclusion, but in fact, even a secular group like the chamber of commerce was right to be wary of UCP's participation in a Christmas parade meant for children and families.

"Our theme was 'Don we now our gay apparel.' We were planning to come out in contour [sic] fashion and voguing," said Upper Cumberland Pride president Jessica Patterson, according to the Friendly Atheist.

"Oh no! Voguing! It’s the leading cause of death for children if you ignore guns and pools and peanuts!" the Friendly Atheist sneered. "Did they think the voguing would injure someone? ... Maybe the church groups involved just didn’t want to catch gay cooties."

Blaze News reached out to the current parade organizers but did not receive a response.

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Man drives Santa's Train while possibly under the influence of meth and narcotics during family Christmas event



A Tennessee man has been arrested and charged after he allegedly attempted to operate a vehicle in a family Christmas parade while under the influence.

At around 5 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, folks young and old gathered along Main Street in Tazewell, Tennessee, a town with a little over 2,000 residents about an hour northeast of Knoxville, for the Claiborne County Christmas Tractor Parade. However, as one writer put it, one participant may have gotten "a touch too into the holiday spirit."

Just as the parade was about to begin, families started piling into the rear of Santa's Train, basically a high-powered lawn mower with a few wagons in tow. However, those nearby noticed that the vehicle's driver, later identified as 40-year-old Henry Meade, was behaving erratically and reported him to police.

Police then subjected Meade to a field sobriety test, but it didn't get off to a promising start. On his way to comply with the test, he apparently tossed a prescription bottle at a cop.

Perhaps not surprisingly, he then failed the sobriety test, compelling police to place him under arrest. He was charged with multiple intoxicant-related offenses, including driving under the influence and possession of methamphetamine. Officers also reportedly found a syringe, meth, and other narcotics on his person.

A joint statement from Tazewell Mayor Bill Fannon and Chief of Police Jeremy Myers assured the community that everyone remained safe at all times during the day's festivities. "[I]n a 1/8 mile radius on Main Street during the event," the statement read in part, "we had 14 police officers on foot patrol for several thousands attendees. Public safety is paramount on any day at any time and this event was no different."

The statement also noted that the city did not hire Meade or any of the other vendors associated with the Christmas parade. "[V]endor hiring is not under the city's jurisdiction," the statement added. "Vendors are independently contracted, and their selection is not managed by the city."

There have been no reports of any injuries associated with Santa's Train, the tractor parade, or any of the other Christmas events held in the area that day.

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Wisconsin DA admits Waukesha Christmas rampage suspect was released on 'inappropriately low' bail



The Milwaukee County district attorney admitted on Monday that the person suspected of driving his vehicle into crowds of people during a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin Sunday night was released from jail on "inappropriately low" bail.

Darrell Brooks Jr. (39) was taken into police custody Monday morning as a person of interest in the tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of at least five people and injuries to at least 40 more. He is suspected of plowing his Ford Escape SUV into the ongoing holiday parade, striking dozens of bystanders — including children and the elderly.

Shortly after his arrest, news surfaced that Brooks was also the suspect in multiple pending criminal cases but had recently been released from jail after posting bail.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that Brooks "has been charged three times in less than two years with recklessly endangering the safety of others, most recently in an incident in which he is accused of running a woman over with his vehicle in Milwaukee."

According to Milwaukee County District Attorney John T. Chisholm, the suspect should never have been afforded the opportunity for release on such a low bond amount. Brooks posted bail on Nov. 11, just ten days before the mass casualty incident.

"The State's bail recommendation in this case was inappropriately low in light of the nature of the recent charges and the pending charges against Mr. Brooks. The bail recommendation in this case is not consistent with the approach of the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office toward matters involving violent crime, nor was it consistent with the risk assessment of the defendant prior to setting of bail," the district attorney said in a statement.

BREAKING: The Milwaukee Co. District Attorney says Waukesha suspect Darrell Brooks should not have been released on such a low cash bond earlier this month. They are conducting an internal review.\n\n#Waukesha #waukeshaChristmasParadepic.twitter.com/GmUNOkwLpg
— Kristen Barbaresi (@Kristen Barbaresi) 1637601936

On Nov. 5, Brooks was charged with second-degree recklessly endangering safety, felony bail jumping, battery, obstructing an officer, and disorderly conduct for which a cash bail was set at just $1,000, WTMJ-TV reported.

On top of that, he had another pending case involving charges of second-degree recklessly endangering safety and felon in possession of a firearm.

Chisolm added that his office is "currently conducting an internal review of the decision to make the recent bail recommendation in this matter in order to determine the appropriate next steps."

Unfortunately, no matter what retroactive steps are taken, they will not result in the return of lost loved ones to the grieving families.

Debate over low cash or zero-cash bail has been a hot political topic of late, especially in progressive areas of the country where such policies are being tested as an alleged means to bring equity into the criminal justice system. But releasing dangerous criminals onto the street often times brings about grave consequences, as is apparent in the case of Darrell Brooks.

Democrat disgustingly called Wisconsin Christmas rampage 'karma,' 'probably just self-defense' — and the internet let her have it



A Democratic Party official in DuPage County, Illinois, has resigned following intense backlash to insensitive comments she made on social media about the tragic Christmas parade massacre in Waukesha, Wisconsin, that has left at least 5 dead and 40 injured.

What are the details?

Mary Lemanski, who formerly served as the social media director for the local Democratic Party, was hammered online over the weekend for seemingly shaming victims in the incident, which involved an SUV ramming through a crowd of people, including children and the elderly.

According to Fox News, in multiple since-deleted tweets, Lemanski belittled the tragedy by using it to express her anger over the verdict reached in the Kyle Rittenhouse case, at one point even calling their deaths "karma" for the teenager's acquittal.

"I'm sad anytime anyone dies," she reportedly wrote. "I just believe in Karma and this came around quick on the citizens of Wisconsin."

Elsewhere, Lemanski stated, "It was probably just self-defense," attempting to mock Rittenhouse's claims of self-defense in the trial.

"Living in Wisconsin, he probably felt threatened," she added in reference to the suspected driver, 39-year-old Darrell Brooks. "I'm sure he didn't want to hurt anyone ... He came to help people."

At one point she wrote, "The blood of Kyle Rittenhouse's victims is on the hands of Wisconsin citizens, even the children," and added, "You reap what you sow, Wisconsin."

Rittenhouse was acquitted of multiple counts, including felony murder, last week after a jury agreed that he had in fact acted in self-defense when he fatally shot two men and wounded a third during the Black Lives Matter Riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin last summer.

What else?

In a tweet posted Monday morning, the DuPage Democratic Party condemned Lemanski's tweets as "incredibly insensitive."

We are deeply saddened by the tragedy in Waukesha.We are aware of statements made by a former member of our organization and find them to be incredibly insensitive and not in alignment of who we are as an organization. Our organization does not support hate in any form
— DuPage Democrats (@DuPage Democrats) 1637593764

Lemanski, too, shared a statement she made on the DuPage Democrats page on her own Twitter account, in which she mustered up some form of an apology. Lemanski's account has since been made private, but a screenshot of her post can be seen below.

Image Source: Twitter screenshot

In another post, Lemanski complained about people being outraged over what she characterized as just a "stupid remark."

Image Source: Twitter screenshot

Anything else?

Commenters online roasted Lemanski for her incredibly insensitive remarks, the New York Post reported. Here are a few examples gathered and published by the news outlet:

"Seriously how does it feel to completely flush your career down the toilet via tweet? Was it fun?" one user wrote.

"What career. She's yeah and will always be. The entire country will see her tweets tomorrow and she will never recover," another said.

A third user wrote: "I hope you never know the pain of losing a child. I hope the parents of those lost today in Waukesha never know you. I feel sad for both you and them."

And yet another one said: "I don't understand how you can be this hateful and glib. I was going to pray for the families of those who were killed tonight. But I will add you into my prayers as well. I think you could use some."

"For those that don't believe Demonic Possession exists, think again and have a look at Mary Lemanski," Illinois Senate candidate Bobby Piton wrote.

"And she's gone," another commenter added after Lemanski's Twitter account went private. "Let's pour a 40 oz bottle of bug-b-gone on the decrepit remains of Mary Lemanski's Twitter account."

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