So reported major French newspapers on Tuesday, October 31. It seems the celebration of Halloween which was pushed in France in the late 1990s is losing popularity. The daily French newspaper Le Monde quoted the head of costume company Cesar who said that Halloween in France is “pretty much buried” due to “a cultural reaction linked to the rise of anti-Americanism.”

The holiday has always been controversial in France, and many have lacked interest because they do not understand what is being celebrated. The pushed trend is dying down now so much so that a group called “Non a Halloween,” established to fight the popularity of Halloween in France, has disbanded, their mission complete.

“Halloween was a marketing gimmick aimed mainly at children,” said former president of the group, Arnaud Guyot-Jeannin. “It’s a big festival of consumption selling outfits, masks, gadgets and it couldn’t last forever.”

They’re Christian. They follow the Quaker faith. And they have something against clothes.

The Natura Christian Fellowship has 36,000 members so far and, according to an advisor of the fellowship, attracts Christians who want to live a “naturist” lifestyle. The advisor also said that their group has seen naturalist facilities that turned into sex facilities, and that their group is different—“We’re very family oriented,” he said.

The Quaker church has had nudist camps for 65 years, basing their practice off the book of Isaiah, and suggesting three years of nudity in order to convert others. But although the original group was Quaker, they have attracted many Catholics, Southern Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and more.

Opponents of the nudist community have concerns about Natura Christian Fellowship’s newest plan to build a 103.83-acre community of homes, townhouses, and a campground next to the city of Belton, South Carolina. Although the fellowship has insisted that they will keep the community’s common areas “clothed” and the “nude” areas hidden from non-members, the city council is trying to come up with ways to prevent the community from being built.

While some are hoping to collect signatures to try to change the zoning in the area, other members of the city council have some more…practical suggestions, such as importing yellow jackets and poison ivy. One man living in the county where the community may be built said it was hard enough having so many people today wear skimpy clothes. “You have to lead by example,” he said. “We’re supposed to be modest.”

The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States by France in 1885, and it stands in New York Harbor as a welcome to all visitors, immigrants, and returning Americans. This copper statue is one of the most recognizable icons of the United States worldwide, and it is a symbol of liberty and escape from oppression to freedom. For over a century, the Statue of Liberty stood bravely extolling the American values to the world. Now, however, it doesn’t seem our lady of liberty stands quite so boldly.

Since the terrorist attacks on America a little over five years ago, access to the statue has been severely limited. The interior of the landmark was completely closed for nearly three years following September 11, but in 2004, the National Park Service reopened parts of the complex, though only allowing visitors to go as high as the pedestal on which Lady Liberty stands. The Park Service said letting people climb the cramped spiral staircase again is simply too hazardous, due to risks from fire and terrorism.

In Charita Goshay’s “This ‘n’ that: Statue of Liberty should remain a beacon of freedom to the world,” she writes, “…the National Park Service’s recent decision to keep closed the crown of the Statue of Liberty is disheartening. Officials say concerns about overall safety, but particularly terrorism, were factors. Wanting to ensure public safety is understandable, but what message does it send to the world that the single greatest public symbol of freedom isn’t exactly, well, free?”

Senator Charles Schumer also has concerns, “In this case, freedom has given way to fear,” said Schumer, D-N.Y. “One of my favorite memories as a child was going up to the top of the Statue of Liberty and looking out of her crown to what I thought were the ends of the earth. Now, generations of kids and adults will be denied that opportunity.” New York State Rep. Anthony Weiner called it “the final victory of the terrorists on Sept. 11.”

Is the Statue of Liberty still a symbol of freedom or has it been deprived of its very meaning?

There’s an extremely interesting and thought provoking post at the blog Crystal Spirit about the objectification of women. Not just any women, but “traditional Christian conservative homeschooling” women:

[Objectification] even exists among your “traditional Christian conservative homeschooling” circles. Oh, they’d deny it, I’m sure. After all, God created men and women equal. It’s just that men are more equal than women. Gotta love the Animal Farm twist there.

But how in the world are women being objectified in such a circle? They don’t treat women as sexual objects, after all. Well, maybe not…but I’d venture a guess that they do treat them as objects. See, in your traditional circle, women are expected to stay at home, raise 10+ children, submit to their husband in everything and not question what he says. The man’s word is law. Women are not allowed any say…they are under the authority of their husband. I’ve seen too often this “women can’t have any opinions other than their husband’s mentality”, and it IS objectifying women.

You can read the rest of the post here. It definitely provides an intriguing view point that I haven’t seen addressed before, but does seem worth some consideration.

There’s an Associated Press story out today, and it’s one of the oddest stories I’ve seen in quite a while. It’s about this man who is suing his city for damages when a dump truck backed into his car. The only problem? This man is suing himself, because he was the person driving the dump truck!

LODI, Calif. – When a dump truck backed into Curtis Gokey’s car, he decided to sue the city for damages. Only thing is, he was the one driving the dump truck. But that minor detail didn’t stop Gokey, a Lodi city employee, from filing a $3,600 claim for the December accident, even after admitting the crash was his fault.

After the city denied that claim because Gokey was, in essence, suing himself, he and his wife, Rhonda, decided to file a new claim under her name.

City Attorney Steve Schwabauer said this one also lacks merit because Rhonda Gokey can’t sue her own husband . . . . But Rhonda Gokey insisted she has “the right to sue the city because a city’s vehicle damaged my private vehicle.”

In fact, her claim, currently pending at Lodi City Hall, is for an even larger amount – $4,800.

“I’m not as nice as my husband is,” she said.

I feel for a person who is unfortunate enough to back one vehicle into another vehicle he owns. It’s a bit hard to sympathize with someone who then files such a ridiculous lawsuit, though. File this one under the “what is our country coming to?” category.

Another brand new issue of Virtue Magazine will be coming out this Saturday, featuring a number of articles definitely worth checking out!

Among the highlights:

President Without A Party by Samuel Ashwood
A look at John Tyler, one of the most obscure presidents in United States history.

Unwanted: Jayde by Theresa Moss
A 16-year old discovers she is six-weeks’ pregnant with twins, and aborts them both. But what happens when one of the twins survives the abortion?

Remembering Mayberry and Looking Beyond The Headlines by Derek Wallace
A look back at The Andy Griffith Show and actor Don Knotts; and a book review of Charles Colson’s Burden of Truth: Defending Truth in an Age of Unbelief.

In addition, Alessandra Kroger and Noah Stansbury engage in a friendly point/counterpoint with each other over the question: were the Articles of Confederation originally passed by the Continental Congress in 1777 flawed? Was the U.S. Constitution the right answer?

Also in this issue: Samuel Ashwood continues his series on World War II, and Derek Wallace continues his series, Gunning for the Presidency!

There’s an AP article about how this serial killer—who murdered a total of 29 different people—has received 11 consecutive life sentences.

Last year there was another trial where a serial killer recieved 10 consecutive life sentences, and I expressed my dismay in a blog post, asking:

What on earth do ten life sentences accomplish that one life sentence doesn’t accomplish?

I didn’t understand then, and I still don’t understand now. We need a death sentence, and we need it for these serial killers who think nothing of brutally slaughtering 10 or 20 people for absolutely no reason other than their own perverse enjoyment and pleasure. And we need people who will enforce the death sentence, and not doctors who refuse to participate, thus allowing cold-blooded murderers to continue to live.

This story really has nothing to do with politics, but it’s so amazing that I felt it was worth mentioning. A woman who had been blind for 25 years suddenly regained her eye sight when she woke up at a hospital after suffering a heart attack.

I first read about the story at Dewaine Cooper’s blog, who reported that the Drudge Report had the story from the U.K. Telegraph.

Isn’t that incredible? Blind since 1979 , and she regains her eye sight at age 74—after suffering a heart attack!

Since 1979, Joyce Urch had lived in a world of shadows and near-darkness, but was astonished to find her sight restored when she came round after being resuscitated.

Doctors have been unable to explain what happened, but Mrs Urch, 74, was happy yesterday to put it down to a “miracle”.

She said: “When I first came round I just opened my eyes and shouted, ‘I can see, I can see.’ When I looked in the mirror I said, ‘Oh.’ I said to [her husband] Eric, ‘You’ve got older haven’t you?’ But I thought, ‘I’m old myself, my husband must be too.’

“The first time you look in the mirror you look at yourself and think, ‘Is that really me?’ But a lot of things have changed.”

Mrs Urch had been unable to see her five children properly since they were young adults and, for the first time, was able to look at her 12 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She said that despite suffering from glaucoma, doctors did not think this was why her sight went, although they were unable to pinpoint the reason.

Our newest issue of Virtue Magazine will be coming out this Saturday, and with it a number of articles you won’t want to miss!

In “To Lose Or Not To Lose,” Sarah Meholick examines the war in Iraq and explains why America must stay the course in the war on terror. Theresa Moss takes a look at the possibility of a woman being elected president of the United States, Sam Ashwood continues his series on World War II, and Lita Harman takes a look at our current tax system and the benefits of having a flat tax.

Also in this issue:

Is President Bush a social conservative?
Christian Soldiers: Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson
Martin Luther King’s greatest speech
Samuel Alito
Senators who talk too much
And more!

Make sure you check out our latest issue of Virtue Magazine this Saturday!

It was one year ago today (January 10th) that the first ever issue of Virtue Magazine was launched. We decided not to do anything marking this occasion in the current issue of the magazine, but—at the risk of making it sound like we’re tooting our own horns—I thought it was worth a mention on the blog.

For anyone interested, you can check out our very first issue and other issues in our archives section.

The idea of doing a magazine began in an informal chat session for students taking an online Constitutional Law class last year. While the idea was batted around for a while, I don’t know if many people really thought the project would ever truly get off the ground. But thanks to the hard work and efforts of a number of people—including Alessandra Kroger, the person we selected as our editor—the project did get off the ground, and is still chugging along today.

The past year has certainly gone by quickly, and it’s amazing to think that we’ve done 25 issues already. A lot has changed since then—we originally didn’t have a blog, the site design was quite a bit different then what it is today, and the Virtue staff has changed considerably: of all the participants who have come and gone through the past year, only about half a dozen or so who are still with us today have been involved in the Virtue project since the beginning.

We would like to thank everyone for all the work they’ve done to help us, and thank our readers for actually reading us! We hope that we continue to improve our writing and content over the next year, and we hope that, in some small way, we will be able to help make a difference in the world today.