Anyone been reading Nick Coleman's columns the last few days?

[dflprincess]

On Wednesday, he published a heartrending column about the homeless.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/357/5137660.html

He ended the column with this:

"If we can't do that, you have to wonder what we're celebrating this Christmas. After all, once upon a time, a homeless couple came to Bethlehem, looking for shelter."

Today he had a column about the negative feedback he received from people about the first column. I've put some snips here, but read it's worth reading the whole column:

http://www.startribune.com/stories/357/5141957.html

<snip>
This week, a number of my fellow Christians took time from worship to criticize a column I wrote about the homeless. They didn't write to tell me about their concern for the 8,000 homeless in Minnesota or the fact that half of them are women and kids or that 100 of them died this year.

"These homeless are bums, nothing but leeches on society," wrote a guy who signed himself Trav. "If we could push a button and make the homeless die and disappear without repercussions, nearly everybody would do it. I would. Good riddance."

I thought it was pretty straightforward: The Gospels stress the strong identification Jesus had with the poor. But sharp-eyed Christians saw through the scriptural smokescreen to reveal my agenda: There I went again, shoving liberal dogma down their mouths. Thankfully, the righteous are smart. Especially the self-righteous.

"Your allegation that Mary and Joseph were homeless is just a plain lie," wrote Jerry. "They were no more homeless than you would be if you showed up at a posh hotel without a reservation and were turned away."

"Joseph and Mary were NOT homeless," wrote Steve. "They were forced to go to Bethlehem by Caesar Augustus, who undoubtedly was the world's first liberal Democrat."

I guess the point these compassionate Christians are trying to make is that Jesus wouldn't give the homeless a second glance if he came back. And you know what? They might be right. Jesus might walk right past the homeless, the poor and the sick, and march straight into our churches.

Because he'd have a lot of tables to overturn.

<end snip>

What the hell is wrong with these people? Jesus was born in a stable because Joseph or Mary neglected to make sure they had a confirmed reservation at the inn?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. I loved today's column.

He sure let the phony "Christians" have it.

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Republican=H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y, as usual n/t

[GetTheRightVote]

3. Repubs = sick people, they forgot their bible, open to which page ??

[babylonsister]

4. I am just about angry enough to go anywhere

to get our message across... We Are Not Agreeable, Happy, and We Are Mad As Hell.
I think it would be perfect, timely, and way after the fact if this could be communicated to anyone who gives a shit.

[babylonsister]

6. OMG, I LOVE Minnesota!!

[Warpy]

5. So the story goes

They arrived late, probably slowed down by Mary's near term pregnancy. Alternative accomodations in a stable were quite usual, even into the 19th century. Stables were warm and the straw was soft, and there was a roof over their heads.

Yes, they had a home. They were traveling. If the story's correct, they had enough money for a room at the inn, had it not been full.

However, these sanctimonious SOBs who call themselves Christian wouldn't even give them the comfort of alternative accomodations. They'd just turn them away, tell them they were on their own.

[DFLforever]

7. Nick Coleman tells a wonderful story

entirely in the Christmas spirit.

[cynthia]

8. loved today's column

and wasn't that the same Nick Coleman filling in on the Wendy Wild radio show the other day? I was listening to it on the way home, so I didn't catch the intro where maybe he might have received a more complete introduction.

[katinmn]

9. After some of these pseudo- Christians lose their jobs

and become homeless themselves, we'll be there taking care of them.

There's always going to be selfish ignorant people in this world. For the time being, they have a mandate to be brazen about it.

[question everything]

10. Posted the second column on GD

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2840956

and someone called him a bigot..

[dflprincess]

11. I checked out your link and, as someone pointed out,

they had to go back 13 years to make that claim about Coleman. If I recall that World Series correctly, it was Minnesota's first major exposure to the Atlanta Braves "tomahawk chop". I recall being awfully fed up with that at the time and it's probably what precipitated any negative comments Coleman made about the south.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. Today's column about Maxwell School in St. Paul was great, too

How some right-wing blogger was using the shortage of recreational reading books and the drive to get donations at that school as a means of blasting public education.