In a column that didn’t make it to A1 — selling cop porn / copyright violations being today’s A1

Amusement — Jim Belshaw provides the QOTD (though not yet in the HTML edition):

It’s all part of the Merry Christmas-Happy Holidays

mythical war. … Are you tired of all this yet? You should be. I know I am. There is no war on Christmas.

There are incidents from each side of the trenches with nuggets of truth and bad judgments and bad decisions. But there is no war against

Christmas. There are only people in need of creating one where none exists.

Take if from

this atheist/antaganostic/anti-theist (if there were a god, I’d hate him): Merry Christmas! It means no more or less to me than Happy

Holidays or Season’s Greetings! And those well-wishes do mean something to me: Xmas is the time of year in the US when more people are

spontaneously happy. Who would make war on that?

No one, obviously. And just as obviously, FUD and anger are tools for controlling your base. Tell your folks everyone is out to get them and they’ll stay closer

to the fold.

The only time I’ve gotten a negative response to saying “Merry Christmas” was from a church-goer who told me “we

don’t celebrate Christmas.” Hell, even my Jewish friends celebrate the season. I don’t celebrate Christ, just Christmas, that mongrel

holiday of happiness and optimism in the midst of dark and cold.

Happy Saturnalia, everyone! Happy Long Night! And a joyous New

Calendar to you and yours! mjh