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. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

A Florida woman allegedly sicced a 103-pound Rottweiler on her boyfriend's 9-year-old daughter. The vicious dog attack was fatal. Now, prosecutors are calling for the death penalty against the suspect. Tyshael Elise Martin, 34, was arrested in August in connection with the death of the girl, Jamaria Sessions. Martin was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and child neglect, according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office.'I’m fixing to kill her.'The young girl was found dead June 17 at a home in Montverde — about 25 miles west of Orlando. Shortly before 5 a.m., officials answered a call regarding an unresponsive child and found Jamaria naked with “a significant number of abrasions, small punctures, burns, possible bite marks, and bruising covering her body, all in various stages of healing,” according to the probable cause arrest affidavit.According to the sheriff's office, the girl's injuries were “consistent with physical abuse.”The girl had suffered "superficial lacerations indicative of being pinched with significant force, her face was swollen, some of her teeth were broken, she had blood in her left ear along with a penetration wound behind her ear, and contusions all over her body," the affidavit stated. The document also said "the medical examiner noted the number of superficial injuries covering the majority of her body, and advised it appeared to be torture inflicted by fingernails and injuries consistent with being struck by something, possibly wire."Sheriff's detectives obtained more than 2,800 surveillance videos from inside and outside the home. Six videos from the night of June 15 show a large dog attacking the girl. The affidavit stated, “Jamaria Sessions being viciously attacked by the family pet, a 103-pound male Rottweiler as Jamaria was just out of frame, however, Tyshael Martin could be seen holding the leash of the dog and is heard encouraging the dog to bite Jamaria Sessions as Jamaria laid on the floor, ending with Jamaria Sessions attempting to stand up in the doorway coming into frame."Authorities said the video shows the dog biting Jamaria's head "at the command of Tyshael Martin."Martin allegedly ordered the "staggering, nude, and disheveled" Sessions to stand in the room with her arms up."This prompted Tyshael Martin to deliver a kick to the rear of the child causing her to collapse to the floor," according to the arrest affidavit. "The child lay motionless, moaning in pain, as Tyshael Martin continued to kick her hip and eventually her stomach area at full force."Martin reportedly grabbed Sessions by her hair and dragged her across the floor and continued to command Jamaria to stand up, but the girl "physically could not comply."The affidavit said, "The next video clip begins with Tyshael Martin stating what sounds like, ‘I’m fixing to kill her.’”Sheriff's detectives said the girl had previously been hit with objects, kicked, punched, and pinched.According to Law & Crime, state attorneys in Florida’s Fifth Judicial Circuit filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Tyshael Martin.Jamaria’s father – 27-year-old LoJuan Sessions – also was arrested in August and has been charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child. Martin and Sessions are both in Lake County Jail without bondLike Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Democratic "blue wall" Senate candidates have turned away from Vice President Kamala Harris in an attempt to regain their footing amid their dwindling polling advantages.Most recently, Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania released an ad campaign Friday distancing himself from his own party and aligning himself with former President Donald Trump. The ad paints Casey as an "independent" who has "bucked" President Joe Biden and "sided with Trump." The ad notably omits his Democratic Party affiliation and his lockstep voting record. The tonal shift in Casey's campaign comes as his Republican challenger, Dave McCormick, narrows the incumbent Democrat's lead. Casey currently holds just a 1.9-point average lead, a far cry from his 7.7-point advantage in August. With just two weeks until the election, Cook Political Report shifted the race on Monday from "lean Democrat" to "toss up." “We knew this race was a toss-up when Bob Casey started running ads claiming he was President Trump’s best friend even though he voted to impeach him twice," Philip Letsou, a spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement Monday. "Bob Casey is desperately trying to throw Kamala Harris under the bus to save his own political career — it won’t work.” Democratic incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin has similarly avoided tethering herself to Biden and Harris. During her Friday-night debate against Republican candidate Eric Hovde, Baldwin focused on issue areas while her challenger hammered her as an extension of the Biden-Harris administration. A recent ad from Baldwin's campaign also focused on her bipartisan policy achievements, saying she "got President Trump to sign her Made in America bill" as well as getting "President Biden to make it permanent." Baldwin's reliably blue voting record, however, disputes her attempts to appeal to key moderate and independent voters she will need to secure her re-election. “These Senate Democrats all voted to impeach President Trump twice, so it is surprising that they are now running ads praising his work as President," Mike Berg, communications director for the NRSC, told The Hill. 'Disingenuousness aside, these are the type of ads you run if you think your nominee for president is going to lose.'Baldwin's poll numbers may have been what sounded the alarm, with Hovde trailing the incumbent by just two points compared to his 6.7-point deficit in August. The Wisconsin Senate race also went from "lean Democrat" to "toss up" in early October, according to Cook Political Report. Democratic candidate Elissa Slotkin, who is wrapping up her third consecutive term in the House, is also competing for the Michigan Senate seat against Republican candidate Mike Rogers. Although she has campaigned alongside Harris, Slotkin has also tried to moderate her positions and appeal to independents. While Slotkin has turned her attention to her bipartisan accomplishments, her voting record regarding electric vehicle mandates specifically may come back to haunt her. EV mandates, which would require manufacturers to boost production and uphold EV quotas, are particularly unpopular among Michiganders. Despite distancing herself from EV mandates, Slotkin has repeatedly voted to support them."Autoworkers are the backbone of Michigan's economy, but now their jobs are at risk because Elissa Slotkin refuses to stand up to Harris-Biden EV mandates that will devastate Michigan's auto industry," Maggie Abboud, spokeswoman for the NRSC, said in a statement. "Michigan autoworkers deserve a senator who will stand up for them." Like Casey and Baldwin, Slotkin's change in tone comes after concerning poll numbers show the Democrats' advantage is slipping. Slotkin is currently an average of 2.1 points ahead of Rogers, which is less than half of her 5.4-point advantage in September. The Michigan Senate race is also rated as a "toss up," according to Cook Political Report. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

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