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WASHINGTON, Dec. 23, 2009 – Brandy Flotten is tackling her first holiday season without her deployed husband, but she’s still determined to keep the holiday spirit alive for her two sons, she said. Navy spouse Vivian Greentree created a holiday card to keep her deployed husband part of the family’s holiday festivities. In the card, she and her two boys hold a “Daddy on a Stick” to represent her husband. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “It has been tough,” said Flotten, whose husband, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Flotten, is deployed to Iraq. “We’re just trying to keep...

Since the liberal reaction was overwhelmingly negative to our "11 Reasons Why Scrooge Is A Progressive," we're introducing 10 Reasons Why The Grinch Is A Progressive. Revealed for the first time: the Christmas-snatching Grinch is actually a politically-correct progressive. Here are the top ten pieces of evidence. 1. Instead of using a snowmobile prefers more environmentally-correct dog-powered sled. So he took his dog Max, and he took some black thread, and he tied a big horn on the top of his head. 2. As a vegan, the Grinch refuses to eat Roast Beast. 3. Out-of-touch mountain retreat similar to confines...

Polls reveal that 96% of Americans celebrate Christmas. How is it “inclusive” to exclude this vast majority? And 90% believe it is the birthday of Jesus. How is it “tolerant” not to tolerate expression of this widely held belief? Liberals claim that our Founders were deists or agnostics who wrote the Constitution to prevent any influence of religion on our public life. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This is the Howie Carr Show thread for the Christmas/New Year's holiday period, Dec 19 until Jan 3 or so. Howie will probably be off a week or so (I think his last show before he goes to Fla. is Wed 12/23) As you may have heard yesterday, Howie is making more use of the facebook account for the Howie Carr show. Soon you may have a very easy way, an easy to remember domain name that will bring you there. See below. Any Howie columns will be posted here, and of course we can discuss the show and stuff....

We hear it so often around this time of year: "Happy Holiday!" "Season’s Greeting!" Everyone seems to be in the mood for some kind of festive celebration. Exactly what is the holiday that we are celebrating? Are we allowed to say it? Is it a forbidden word? Are we afraid to say it? Will people be offended if we actually tell them what the holiday is? What ever happened to Christmas? What ever happened to the Christ of Christmas? Long ago there was no room in the inn. Is there any room for Him in today’s celebration? Are little children...

Feeling a little stressed over the Christmas holiday season? While it may be the official season to be merry, for many, the holidays are a time of stress, loneliness, anxiety and dysfunction according to ThirdAge.com. Family tensions, financial stress and physical demands are three areas that can trigger holiday stress or depression. So what does one do when it's the season to be jolly, but you're feeling anything but jolly?

A new addition to the New York Times annual Holiday Gift Guide has sparked a minor uproar after a blog devoted to critiquing the paper termed it "racist." Included in this year's guide, which was published in November, is a page titled "Of Color/Stylish Gifts." This first-time feature is described by the paper as "gifts created for and by people of color." After going virtually unnoticed by critics for a month, the guide's been widely slammed in the past week as a collection of "backhanded insults" which are "bordering on offensive" and "out of touch."

For the past 28 years, the village of Amelia, Ohio, has hosted a Christmas parade. It won't this year. One person threatened village mayor Leroy Ellington with legal action. Rather than duke it out, Ellington caved. He offered to host a " Holiday Parade." Village residents told Ellington where to stick the "Holiday Parade." Each year, it comes to this, a facile attempt to take the name "Christmas" from the Christmas season. How did we get to the point of political correctness where saying "Merry Christmas" risks a lawsuit or being kicked out of school? Christmas Day, Dec. 25, honors...

Are you sick and tired of how liberal political correctness has attempted to eliminate the "Christ" out of "Christmas," by replacing it with the more "tolerant," and acceptable "Happy Holidays," or even "Winter Solstice"? Are you fed-up with businesses being bullied into prohibiting their employees from greeting customers using, "Merry Christmas"?

Is it wrong for an American to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas? Sounds like a crazy question, but it’s actually at the center of a lawsuit that’s on its way to court. Promila Awasthi is a US citizen, originally from India. She lives in Silicon Valley, and worked for software giant Infosys at its Fremont, Calif. office in 2008. When she was there, she claims, she was routinely teased by two of her supervisors for celebrating American holidays. “Why, as an Indian, should you be celebrating Thanksgiving?” she says she was asked. “You should not be doing that,” she was told.

Elizabeth Smith says she cooked the ham the night before and asked her father-in-law to wake her up on Thanksgiving morning so she could cook the rest. But when she woke up at 7 a.m., she said, Donald "Junior" Smith was already stuffing the turkey. With celery. Elizabeth's husband, Tristan Smith, is allergic to celery. "It makes him sick," she said. She started crying. Junior yelled. Elizabeth's husband shouted at his dad for yelling at his wife. "You're not going to step in my wife's face," Tristan hollered, according to Elizabeth.

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 24, 2009 – How do you plan Thanksgiving dinner for 180,000 people more than 6,000 miles away? If you’re a food buyer at the Defense Logistics Agency, you start by making a shopping list in April for meals to be served to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Providing superb meals to our U.S. troops is a critical mission of the Defense Logistics Agency, and one we put a great deal of effort into,” said Air Force Brig. Gen. Scott Chambers commander of the DLA Philadelphia field activity, which provides all the food for U.S. military personnel worldwide,...

Another Blue Holiday Shopping Season Predicted Tuesday, October 06, 2009 By Teresa F. Lindeman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette After last year's sickening 3.4 percent drop in holiday retail sales, a mere 1 percent slide this season may not seem so bad. Retailers already have pared their inventory in preparation for a season dominated by list-checking, deal-hunting, practical shoppers. The shopping forecast comes from the National Retail Federation, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group that calculates spending in the months of November and December -- excluding cars, gas and restaurants -- should hit $437.6 billion. That compares to $441.97 billion in holiday 2008 and...

Adding to the Survivalist and Self-Reliant work of to nw_arizona_granny; Delawhere and so many others, I would like to start a decorations and gift thread ideas for these folks' benefit (and all comers). Please add to this list.

What makes a holiday a holiday? Or, what makes a holiday worthy of a celebratory logo on the world’s most popular website like Google? This question recently prompted me to talk with Michael Lopez, Google’s lead logo designer, to find an answer.September 19, for instance, is Rosh Hashanah. You’ll see synagogues celebrating the Jewish New Year and you’ll hear the “Shana tova!” greeting on the streets of New York. But if Google is true to form, you won’t find it a special Google logo marking the day. In the past, however, you will have found Google celebrations of both the...

The Iowa State Register praised Nebraska's innovation, calling Arbor Day a holiday "devoted to pleasurable business and happy usefulness." What a contrast to preachy Earth Day with its anti-business overtones and message of guilt and limits.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Just days before Valentine's Day, a young Saudi woman desperately searched for a red teddy bear to buy for her boyfriend. But all Nof Faisal could find were blue and white ones, minus the "I love you" she wanted hers to declare. It's not because the store couldn't keep up with demand. It is because fear of the religious police forced the store's owner to strip the shelves of all red items, including the hottest-selling item: heart-festooned red plastic handcuffs inscribed, "Take me, I'm yours." As Feb. 14 approaches, the police begin inspecting gift shops for...

In Florida, an atheist created a case against the upcoming Easter and Passover Holy days. He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians, Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days. The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate Presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring,"Case Dismissed!" The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, How can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom...

A woman was recently fired for refusing to say "Happy Holidays," because she felt it was a violation of her religious right to say "Merry Christmas" (see the article below). What is this world coming to? I swear, right has become wrong, and wrong is right. This whole liberal policy of everyone being treated exactly the same, and stepping on egg shells so no one is offended, is simply out of hand. If someone wished me a Happy Kwanzaa, or a Happy Hanukkah, I would not be the LEAST bit offended, in fact, I would return the good wishes without...

12/24/2008 - BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) -- An Airman here came up with two specials ways to help deployed Airmen connect with their families during the holiday season. Senior Airman Marco Palacios, a services technician deployed from Beale Air Force Base, Calif., offered to videotape holiday greetings and readings of "A Night Before Christmas" for Airmen at Bagram Airfield. He turned these recordings into a DVD for Airmen to mail home. He also took photos of Airmen with Santa and created e-cards for them to send to their friends and family. "One of the things I wanted to emphasize is...

Once upon a time, not too long ago, in a land where each of us has often been, there lived a very strange, yet vaguely familiar-looking character. He was not too big, but not too small. Not too short, but not too tall. He had big, over-sized hands, a terribly undersized heart, and, I’m afraid, a very sour-puss face. Yes, it was true. He was one of those terribly rude, often crude, rarely good creatures known as a Gimme.

Bad economy threatens traditional redneck Christmas.It’s a Christmas tradition. For the past 12 years, Leonard Pottsel, of Bellwood, would sneak into the glass jar that his old lady used as a makeshift Christmas fund and steal the hastily-collected money. Pottsel would then spend the money trying to wildly pick up local hoochies at neighborhood dives on Christmas Eve. He would also gamble wildly on sports and soap opera trivia. Pottsel is now worried that the poor economy will spoil yet another one of his family’s special holiday traditions. “It breaks my heart when I look at that painfully shallow jar...

(Hawaii – 12/23/08) – In informal discussions today with reporters during his holiday in Hawaii, Barack Obama said that people having to work during Christmas week is yet another example in a long line of failed Bush policies. “I find it hard to believe, during the week of the biggest holiday during the year, people have to actually continue working in order to afford the things they want. According to reports, this has been the worst Christmas season in years, and the problem is, you know, people can’t get to stores because they have to work. It’s a testament to...

Christmas is almost upon us, and this is the time of the year when Hollywood typically offers up the best of what its produced. Then again...

Black Friday has come and gone but the virtual version of Black Friday - known as Cyber Monday - is tomorrow, December 1st, 2008. Cyber Monday is when online retailers offer coupons, discounts and free shipping offers. It's a good day for consumers who can get some holiday shopping done and save some money at the same time. There will continue to be deals throughout December but they generally aren't quite as good as the offers you can find on Cyber Monday. Here are some Cyber Monday highlights. * The National Retail Federation says nearly 84% of all online retailers...

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Oct. 30, 2008 – The deadline is tomorrow for servicemembers to apply for the Sears “Heroes at Home Wish Registry.” In consultation with the Defense Department, Sears has expanded the popular program, enabling America to fulfill holiday wishes for up to 20,000 servicemembers and their families. Military personnel can log on to www.sears.com/wish through tomorrow to apply for the Wish Registry. Between Nov. 2 and Dec. 25, Sears will invite America to help fulfill their wishes with a Sears gift card. “Since 1916, Sears has been committed to America’s servicemen and women with programs to employ...

Posted on Wed, Oct 22, 2008 Operation Santa-USMC mails holiday cheer to Iraq By Joan Schultz; Correspondent Buckingham mom Katie M keeps a three-foot Christmas tree in the corner of her dining room all year long. It is covered with yellow ribbons, one for each day her son, Kyle, spent in Iraq during his second deployment."Every day he was gone, I said a prayer and tied a ribbon," she said. "Now, it reminds me of the service he gave as a Marine to this country, and it makes me grateful that he came home." The M's, like so many other...

For nearly two years, designers at Mattel Inc.'s Fisher-Price toiled to hide a maze of copper wires and microchips under the plush red fur of the company's newest Elmo toy. The resulting "Elmo Live" is its most advanced ever, able to cross its legs, flap its arms and fluidly mimic the famous television Muppet. All that wizardry, however, comes at a steep price. When Elmo Live arrives in stores on Tuesday, it will cost $60 -- about a third more than last year's model, and above the $50 tag that once was the high-water mark for most toys. Elmo Live...

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America From our rugged peaks and mountains to our shining seas, our Nation is blessed with remarkable natural treasures. These magnificent landscapes are places where families and friends can create lasting memories and enjoy the outdoors. On National Hunting and Fishing Day, our country honors the many contributions of America's hunters and anglers, who add to our heritage and keep our wildlife populations healthy and strong. Our Nation's sportsmen and women are among our foremost conservationists. They care deeply about our wildlife habitats, and they have contributed billions of dollars...

Labor Day Still Recognized at Tyson Foods Union Contract Provision only at Shelbyville, TN Plant Springdale, Arkansas – August 4, 2008 – Contrary to recent reports, Labor Day is still a holiday at Tyson Foods. This issue concerns only the plant at Shelbyville, TN. The majority of employees at the Tyson plant in Shelbyville, TN, are represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Stores Union (RWDSU), an American union that asked for and received Eid al-Fitr, as one of their eight paid holidays, in place of Labor Day. This applies only to the Shelbyville plant and resulted as part of...

Millions of Americans spent May 26 observing this year’s federally approved date for Memorial Day by chugging beers, burning meat, and participating in a host of other activities that had absolutely nothing to do with commemorating our nation’s war dead. Meantime, thousands of school children spent the day in classrooms, much to the dismay of some parents and talk-radio hosts. Although Memorial Day is a national holiday, it is not a federally mandated observance. At least not in the sense that states or public entities run the risk of losing federal funding or getting a wagging finger from Uncle Sam...

'French take most holidays in the world' By Henry Samuel in Paris Last Updated: 3:25am BST 18/04/2008 The scale of President Nicolas Sarkozy's challenge to "get France back to work" was underlined yesterday by a poll crowning the French world champions for the amount of annual holiday they take. The average working Frenchman spends 37 days en vacances, with Italy in second place on 33 days, according to Harris Interactive, the American polling institute. Britain trails with 26 days holiday per year - a rise of two days in two years. America comes last (or first depending on one's view)...

Mayor Bloomberg is rejecting calls from lawmakers to make two Muslim holy days official school holidays, saying students cannot afford more days off. "The truth of the matter is we need more children in school," Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday. "More, not less." Council Member Robert Jackson of Manhattan, who is Muslim, and 12 co-sponsors introduced a resolution this year calling on the state to require that New York City students be given days off for the Muslim holidays of Eid Ul-Fitr, typically in October, and Eid Ul-Adha, which falls in December this year. "Parents have had to make a decision...

Seasons Greetings for both Liberals and ConservativesForwarded from an unknown source -------------------- 1. For Our Liberal Friends: Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes For an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low- stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the...

While shopping for Christmas presents in the past week alone I have been hit with approximately 257 “Happy Holidays” and a grand total of zero “Merry Christmas” greetings. Although I managed enough politeness to resist the burning temptation to reply with “What holidays might these be?” I could only in good conscience wish others a Merry Christmas when I was the one initiating the goodbyes.

Mark Steyn’s review of the candidate’s Christmas campaign messages is a must-read today because it’s likely to be the funniest thing you’ll see all day. Here’s a taste: John Edwards’s message is the usual Dickensian affair about the two Americas. I forget the details, but the upshot is that one America is a land of spindly emaciated Tiny Tims with barely three farthings to rub together for their next cup of gruel, while the other’s a marshmallow world where Dick Cheney, high on wassail, shoots a brace of turducken out of season, and then chows down as the Radio City...

FORT HOOD -- The last 12 hours of 15 months is a very long time. "I have not slept," said Dianne Hunt, whose eyes welled up at the slightest provocation and who was prone to jumping up and down in anticipation. "My heart is just a-goin'!" All over the parade field in front of the 1st Cavalry Division headquarters, wives and moms, girlfriends and grade-schoolers proved that sometimes the best Christmas gifts don't require a minute's shopping. Sometimes the Army delivers the gifts home, just in time. "The kids are so excited," said Sarah Rogers, who confessed to her own...

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? The verdict is in and more Americans this year are opting to wish people a happy holiday. In its fourth annual survey, gift basket company GiftBasketsDeluxe.com analysed its gift card messages and found a record number of 60% of gift baskets were sent using the term holidays as opposed to a more traditional Christmas. The company said this was a stark reversal of the previous three-year trend when Christmas prevailed....

1) 50 Cent was hired to rap the sermon and give the service “street cred.” 2) When a recent visitor asked about advent services, a confused volunteer gave her directions to the nearest pharmacy. 3) Thanks to a new title sponsor, the service was renamed “The Starbucks Christmas Eve Extravaganza at Springfield Community Church” 4) Hannah Montana offered to sing in the service but was told she is “too over the hill.” 5) The sign language translator was sacked and replaced by someone who instant messages the sermon text to the PDAs of the hearing impaired. 6) The entire Christmas...

Honoring Heroes at the Holidays to be in New York, Sunday, December 16th * Honoring Heroes at the Holidays * - Holiday Cards for the Troops! - Gathering of Eagles is proud to announce the Move America Forward caravan will arrive in New York City on Sunday, December 16th, at 1 pm, culminating their 16 state cross country caravan collecting Holiday Cards for our young men and women serving overseas this Holiday season. If you did not have an opportunity to greet the caravan in your state, take advantage of this opportunity to send cards to the troops! Let's pull...

You can't find Christmas anywhere these days. There are holiday trees, holiday decorations, holiday parties, holiday sales, holiday lights, holiday parades, holiday plays, holiday concerts and holiday displays. Check your local paper on Sunday, and see if you can find the word "Christmas" mentioned anywhere... That is until today - 8 people get slaughtered by a madman in a mall in Omaha and VOILA! The media reports them as CHRISTMAS SHOPPERS!

. A heartfelt Christmas / Holiday Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGN4uvBCq-U Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday to you and yours. Thoughts and prayers go out to Military families and service men and women.

Now that the 2007 end-of-year holiday season is officially underway, I want to offer some heart-felt politically insensitive expressions of happiness and well wishes. Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It seems that each year another distortion or misinterpretation of the First Amendment generates another attack on our end-of-year season for thanks to God, celebration and hope. These attacks are intended to put the rest of us on the defensive about our faith, culture and history, and claim a victory for political correctness. The latest? A Washington state school district issued a memo to its teachers...

Hardship troopers Local group Move America Forward supports the troops—and the War on Terror By Kari Westerman More stories by this author... Diana Nagy croons at a Move American Forward rally. MAF contacted Nagy after hearing her rendition of "Where Freedom Flies," a song penned by Nagy’s mother during a sleepless night after viewing a television report of protesters burning the American flag. SN&R PHOTO BY MARY PEARSON Clad in an American flag-print tank top, a red leather jacket and gem-studded jeans, patriotic singer Diana Nagy kicked off Move America Forward’s 40-city Honoring our Heroes at the Holidays Tour with an...

Honoring Heroes at the Holidays Tour November 26 - December 16 Join Move America Forward for the “Honoring Heroes at the Holidays Tour” this November 26th - December 16th as we cross this nation holding pro-troop events in 40 cities across America to honor and salute the men and women of the U.S. military who will be thousands of miles away from their homes and families during this holiday season. Along the tour we will be collecting more than 100,000 Christmas, Hanukkah and holiday greeting cards for our troops that we will deliver to them in Iraq and Afghanistan. Get...

THE LAW IS THE LAW So if the US government determines that it is against the law for the words 'under God' to be on our money, then, so be it. And if that same government decides that the Ten Commandments are not to be used in or on a government installation, then, so be it. I say, so be it, because I would like to be a law abiding US citizen. I say, so be it, because I would like to think that smarter people than me are in positions to make good decisions. I would like to think...

TOM TANCREDO: Illegal immigrants. MITT ROMNEY: It's becoming too cold for flip-flops. MIKE HUCKABEE: Splenda. RON PAUL: The Internet. HILLARY CLINTON: A successful question-planting season. JOHN EDWARDS: No after-school detention for being tardy. FRED THOMPSON: The writers' strike. Maybe now somebody will have time to give him something interesting to say. JOE BIDEN: No time limit on Thanksgiving Day toast. JOHN MCCAIN: Not being tied up this holiday. BARACK OBAMA: The Obama girl. CHRIS DODD: A foxy wife. RUDY GIULIANI: November isn’t Gay Pride Month. DENNIS KUCINICH: Wife’s tongue stud.

Hello fellow California FReepers! It's Joe here from Move America Forward. We are working on the final planning for the "Honoring Our Heroes at the Holidays" national pro-troop tour that takes place November 26 - December 17. We have a small problem, that I need some help from a Bakersfield-area FReeper. We are submitting our permit application to hold our Bakersfield event at Beach Park in the national pro-troop holiday tour. Our event in Bakersfield will take place on Wednesday, November 28th at 9:00 AM. But we have been told we need a live, human body to turn in the...

SIERRA VISTA — If you notice a stagecoach parked in front of Safeway on Saturday, you may want to stop and check it out. The unusual looking vehicle — owned by Tim Cervantes of Cox Communications — is part of a food drive, with donations going to St. Vincent de Paul for its turkey box distribution, the Salvation Army’s Thanksgiving dinner and the Carmichael Family Resource Center. It’s part of a community service project that includes Cox employees and Girl Scout troops 217, 271 and 721. “Last Saturday was the first day of our drive,” Cevantes said. “We couldn’t believe...

I admit that I love Thanksgiving. I, like most, also love to celebrate Christmas and Halloween, but I have to say that Thanksgiving holds an especially important place for me. I observe the shopping frenzies that surround Halloween and Christmas, even coming to define the holidays for many, and yet Thanksgiving has no such rush, unless you want to count the stacks of frozen turkeys and stuffing at the local grocery stores. I was born on the 22 of November, a day that always falls on the fourth week of the month. Specifically, it falls on an important Thursday every...