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Voters in West Virginia will have to decide between Barack Obama, John McCain and Santa Claus. Santa is one of 14 write-in presidential candidates registered with the West Virginia Secretary of State's office.

On December 28th, 2004, I discovered a Kuiper belt object brighter than anything anyone had ever seen before. Being only a few days after Christmas, I naturally nicknamed it Santa... How would I have known back in 2004 that Santa would be the single most interesting object ever discovered in the Kuiper belt? It has a moon -- wait, no, two moons! It is oblong, sort of like a football (American style) that has been deflated and stepped on. And it rotates end over end every 4 hours, significantly faster than anything else large known anywhere in the solar system......

There are still 167 days until Christmas, but the Amalgamated Order of Real-Bearded Santas will try mustering up some early holiday spirit this coming weekend in Kansas City at their convention. If only they weren't at each other's bearded throats. The Amalgamated Santas, one of the nation's largest Santa groups, are dealing with a schism in their ranks. The rift has left burly bearded men accusing one another of bylaw violations, profiteering and behaving in un-Santa-like ways. Some Santas have filed complaints of wrongdoing against others in Kentucky and Pennsylvania. The once-fraternal Santa impersonators began to split last year when...

According to a report in New Scientist, the youthful looking family of objects were found in the Kuiper Belt, a ring of icy objects beyond Neptune. They appear puzzlingly fresh-faced, despite the fact that they probably formed in a collision more than a billion years ago. The largest member of the family, a rapidly tumbling blimp-shaped object called 2003 EL61, was discovered in 2005. In 2007, astronomers found five smaller objects travelling in similar orbits. Their paths suggested they all formed a single object that was broken apart in a collision more than a billion years ago. Now, a team...

Suspected Pedophile Nabbed Police arrested a suspected pedophile in New Jersey after launching a public appeal in the wake of a two-year international manhunt. Chip Reid reportshttp://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4081758n (AP) A rare international alert seeking a man shown in dozens of raw child porn images quickly led to the arrest of a small-time actor, who painted faces at children's parties and performed as "the best Santa Claus anyone has ever seen." Wayne Nelson Corliss told authorities he had sex with three boys in Thailand six years ago, an experience he described as "euphoria," a prosecutor said Thursday at Corliss' first court...

NEWARK, N.J. - A rare international alert seeking a man shown in dozens of raw child porn images quickly led to the arrest of a small-time actor, who painted faces at children's parties and performed as "the best Santa Claus anyone has ever seen." Wayne Nelson Corliss told authorities he had sex with three boys in Thailand six years ago, an experience he described as "euphoria," a prosecutor said Thursday at Corliss' first court appearance. The arrest of the bespectacled, gray-haired 58-year-old at his Union City apartment late Wednesday capped a two-day global manhunt, just the second time Interpol has...

We usually talk about the bad and ugly... but Christmas Eve, I witnessed the true Christmas Spirit... shopping at the local market for last minute stuffs, noticed a mom and her 2 daughters, not talking and mom looking stressed, just duty shopping. As they passed another female shopper, the shopper said something to the mom to the effect "did you hear, they spotted Santa a few minutes ago over China, and they think he'll be here around midnight" -- the girls got a look of surprise on their faces, and they gasped and put their hands over their mouths and...

For some Christmas Eve fun how far can you throw Santa? Click to throw Santa.

Even if recast from the unnerving red-clad (red, Republican, get it?) bearded geezer of yore to the more kid-friendly persona of Mr. Rogers, as David Grimes recommended in Sunday's Denver Post, Father Christmas remains a no-nonsense apostle of good conduct, rigorous standards, and time-honored traditions. The "Santa's Coming" song, even when butchered by Springsteen, is just the opposite of that favorite left-liberal anthem, "Anything Goes." Jeffrey Bell, writing in the Weekly Standard, offers a great Christmas gift for all of us on the right with this masterful summary of what the left really wants -- a total repudiation of St....

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Some gifts from Kris Kringle are better kept wrapped. A man in a Santa hat was arrested Sunday night for investigation of drunken driving after he was spotted outside Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood wearing a wig, a red lace camisole and a purple G-string, police said. ... The suspect was booked into jail after his blood-alcohol level measured just above the state's legal limit of .08, police said. He was later released on $5,000 bail. The man, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 280 pounds, also wore black leg warmers and...

Strange Santa Scene Makes Bremerton Man's Comment on Christmas By Steven Gardner (Contact) Friday, December 21, 2007 BREMERTON Santa's keeping watch over a West Bremerton neighborhood in a way that has some offended and everyone else at least a bit curious about the motive. In the front yard of a house on the 300 block of Olympic Avenue stands a crucifix about 15-feet tall, bearing Santa Claus in place of Jesus. Jake Tally of Bremerton walked by the display Friday and chuckled, but didn't pretend to understand the message. "I don't really know what to think. I know it's about...

We found this site a few years ago and my daughter still loves to watch NORAD track Santa's progress around the world on Christmas Eve! :-) Merry Christmas to those of you in the time zones where Christmas and Santa has already arrived! :-)

'Twas the night before Christmas, and Santa was busy loading his sleigh with presents and goodies, when suddenly Mrs. Claus ran out and declared, "Santa, your passport has expired!" Quickly, Santa called Homeland Security, only to get a recorded message saying the department was closed for the holidays. He went online to the U.S. Passport Services Office, only to find that applications for a passport were taking four months to process. Desperate, running out of options and in a panic, he called his cousin from south of the border, Pancho Claus, and told him of the urgency for him to...

Dear Santa, I've been a good mom all year. I've fed cleaned and cuddled my kids on demand, visited the doctor's office more than the doctor has, sold 62 cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years. Here are my Christmas wishes:...

So, we've got a deal then.....you wrap up and leave under my tree the nomination with a big red bow on top,and I won't have that @#%$#@* lead reindeer of yours, with his nose so bright, planted in Ft. Marcy park

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AFP) - Israeli guards beat five demonstrators, including one dressed as Father Christmas, during a protest on Friday against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank, organisers said. About 50 Palestinian, Israeli and international peace activists attended the rally in the village of Um Salomona, near Bethlehem, the Biblical birthplace of Jesus that is preparing to celebrate Christmas. Israeli border guards armed with truncheons briefly detained one activist and beat another five during the rally, the organisers told AFP, adding that one was wearing a Santa Claus costume. An Israeli army spokesman said there had been disorder...

BREMERTON, Wash. - Art Conrad has an issue with the commercialism of Christmas, and his protest has gone way beyond just shunning the malls or turning off his television. The Bremerton resident nailed Santa Claus to a five-metre crucifix in front of his house. "Santa has been perverted from who he started out to be," Conrad said. "Now he's the person being used by corporations to get us to buy more stuff." A photo of the crucified Santa adorns his Christmas cards, with the message "Santa died for your MasterCard." The display is also Conrad's way of poking fun at...

Dear Ellen, We punish our children for lying, but at Christmas we lie to them about Santa. Now what? Signed, Dad with a guilty conscience... Dear Dad, This Christmas conundrum plays out across the globe as perplexed moms and dads ponder just how to handle Santa Claus. What to do with Santa, the primo, culturally anointed Christmas icon? Santa placemats, greeting cards, candles, magnets, cookies, napkins and wrapping paper litter the house. Rover spends the day trying to chew off the mini-Santa suit a zealous celebrant couldn’t leave behind at the pet store. At Christmas, ordinarily non-fibbing parents find themselves...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 21, 2007 – Members of North American Aerospace Defense Command are gearing up to track Santa Claus’ travels on Christmas Eve, providing detailed information about his whereabouts on the command’s Web site and through a toll-free telephone line. Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, delivered a tongue-in-cheek assessment of the Santa-tracking mission. He reported a “consistent phenomenon” the command has tracked for decades. “Sometime around the 24th of December, this individual begins to take flight, and he makes a very rapid trip around the globe,” he said. When Continental...

Thrown Object Knocks Out Santa   Dec 19 12:31 PM US/Eastern   SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A man dressed as Santa Claus was knocked unconscious by a thrown object that hit his face while he was riding on the back of a truck decorated as a sleigh. Kevin Smith says he never saw what hit him Saturday. Whatever it was, it broke his nose and gave him a concussion and two black eyes. "One second I was up there waving to people, and the next minute I wasn't," Smith said. He was taking part in Santa Run, sponsored by...

Jingle-bang! Santa's chopper shot up over slumTue Dec 18, 2007 10:33am EST RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Not even Santa Claus is safe as the violent Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro celebrates the Christmas season. Drug traffickers in a Rio slum opened fire on a helicopter carrying a Santa to a children's party, apparently mistaking it for a police helicopter, police said Tuesday. "They thought it was a police operation and started shooting. Luckily, nobody was hurt," a police official said. The helicopter had to return to its base after the attack. Two bullet holes were found in its...

What I want for Christmas - Here link here

OTTAWA - There was absolutely nothing Ho Ho Ho about the letters Rosalyn Da Costa's children got from Santa on Thursday. In fact, they included filthy messages. They are two of 10 inappropriate letters dropped into mailboxes across Ottawa in the last two days and there could be more. On Thursday, Canada Post shut down it's Write To Santa program across the city while it joins Ottawa Police to hunt down the rogue elf.

Apple today posted the company's latest ad in their "Get a Mac" campaign to their home page and also to their "Get a Mac" ads section. The new ad features the familiar "Mac and "PC" characters, but with a twist for the holidays, as the ad is done in the Rankin/Bass animation style. Justin Long who plays the "Mac" and John Hodgman who plays the "PC" contribute voiceovers for the new ad and also "sing." In the ad, a desperate "PC" bastardizes the holiday spirit by injecting a plea for people to buy PCs instead of Macs while Santa and...

FORT HUACHUCA — Children’s eager voices escaped from the giant hangar into the dark night. Inside the huge aircraft building Tuesday night, the 305th Military Intelligence Battalion was throwing a family holiday party. The Libby Army Airfield hangar was an appropriate place for the celebration because Santa Claus was expected to arrive on an RC-12 Guardrail Common Sensor aircraft. “He sent me an e-mail and said he wanted to join our holiday party,” said the battalion’s commander, Lt. Col. Ihor Petrenko, who checked with the chain of command and received an affirmative. “So we sent out an airplane and picked...

Join the battle to keep the bulge and SIGN THE PETITION. Your support will do more than Keep Santa Fat. For every signature, we'll donate a pound of food to America’s Second Harvest to help feed the hungry in our communities.

Seattle - In an open letter to Santa last week and a speech to children at Seattle’s Annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Westlake Center, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels last week offered a Grinch-like tone, grumbling about climate change threatening Santa, telling kids “I hope the reindeer can swim,” and blaming them and their energy-sucking video games for melting Arctic ice. As Nickels spoke, his assistants handed out stickers admonishing the crowd to “Save Santa.”

Carl Von Clausewitz is often quoted as saying, "War is the continuation of politics by other means". I am not nearly so frequently quoted as saying, "The war on Christmas is the continuation of political correctness by a bunch of meanies". Of course, I probably haven't been cited much for that since I just came up with it. Perhaps it will take off and help me procure a spot in Bartlett's.  That will have to wait as I focus on the very real attacks on Christmas and Santa. I offer the following stories pulled from recent events. I call them,...

And the endorsements continue to pile up: Click here for video.

12/6/2007 - LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- A skydiving Santa dropped into Lackland Air Force Base Dec. 4 to help launch the state's annual drunk driving prevention campaign. Texas Department of Transportation officials chose Lackland AFB as a backdrop to announce the beginning of its annual four-week drunk driving prevention campaign. The Air Force's commitment to safety and taking care of its Airmen made the base a perfect backdrop for the start of the Texas DOT's awareness rally, said Brig. Gen. Darrell D. Jones, the 37th Training Wing commander. After landing on Lackland AFB, Santa and General Jones...

SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. quickly shut down Santa Claus’ Web privileges after it found out the automated elf it created for kids to instant message with was talking naughty, not nice. Last year, Microsoft encouraged kids to connect directly to “Santa” by adding northpolelive.com to its Windows Live Messenger contact lists. The Santa program, which Microsoft reactivated in early December, asked children what they wanted for Christmas and could respond on topic, thanks to artificial intelligence. The holiday cheer soured this week when a reader of a United Kingdom-based technology news site, The Register, reported that a chat between Santa...

A shop has sacked its Santa Claus for saying Ho-ho-ho. John Oakes, 70, got his marching orders after the store decreed that women might be offended because 'ho' is American slang for a whore. Instead, he was supposed to say Ha-ha-ha. "They're are trying to kill the spirit of Christmas," said Mr Oakes, who has been a Santa for ten years. \ He was also found guilty of singing Jingle Bells at the Myer department store in Cairns, Northern Australia. He said: "The manager told me my services were no longer required. "When I asked her why, she replied, 'You...

Research Study: Santa Claus story is detrimental to child development BERKELEY, Ca—The story of jolly Santa with his “Ho-Ho-Ho�, Elf workers, North Pole toy factory, and admonition that “you’d better be good�, is no longer an innocent children’s tale. Instead, it is a sinister story of sexual innuendo, labor exploitation and a blatant ignorance of global warming, so says a team of sociologists at the University of California at Berkeley. The Berkeley team recently submitted it’s findings in a report at the National Children’s Sociology Symposium after two years of painstaking research evaluating hundreds of Santa and Winter Holiday related...

12/3/2007 - ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. (AFPN) -- Santa, took a break from making his list and checking it twice, to attend a children's Christmas party at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., Dec. 2. Instead of arriving by the power of nine reindeer, Santa made his grand entrance in a 150-horsepower specially-outfitted 1967 Cessna float plane. More than 500 party attendees crowded the shoreline to cheer his arrival at the Arnold Lakeside Club. "It was great to see him out here today," said 9-year-old Caleb McAffe. "Seeing Santa makes it feel like Christmas." The party in addition to Santa;...

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) - A college student accused of shoving a pumpkin pie into the face of a shopping-mall Santa Claus has been charged with misdemeanor assault. Clint Westwood, 22, said he "lightly smooshed" the pie into the man's face Friday and shouted, "What do you think of that, Santa?" Westwood, a drama student at the University of Montana, said he videotaped the encounter and plans to include the clip in an upcoming film. He said that after the pie ruckus on Wednesday, he expected to approach Santa for a signature on a film-release form, but police arrived first. "It's...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26, 2007 – The Alaska National Guard is bringing Christmas a month early to children in remote Alaskan villages, some whom might otherwise not get to see a Santa Claus or receive a holiday gift. Santa and Mrs. Claus disembark from an Air National Guard C-130 Hercules aircraft that brought them to Togiak, Alaska, Nov. 13, 2007, for Operation Santa Claus. Photo by Sgt. Karima Turner, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Guardsmen from the 144th Airlift Squadron are slated to fly a C-130 Hercules aircraft from Kulis Air National Guard Base to Kotlik, Alaska,...

18 retailers are having their Online Black Friday Sales today! Walmart's sale starts at 5:00am EST, while Staples starts at 6:00am EST and Amazon's starts at 3:00am EST, all other sales are either going on right now or will start very shortly

School bans Santa from wearing red - because it reminds pupils of Coca-ColaLast updated at 16:37pm on 21st November 2007Santa Claus is being forced to wear a green suit when visiting a school this year, after teachers decided the traditional red outfit would remind pupils of Coca-Cola.  Education chiefs have also banned the annual Christmas grotto - favouring an eastern European version of the festive season instead. Staff at the Steiner School in Brighton, East Sussex, claim the red-suited Santa is a symbol of "modern commercialism" and reminds children of Coca-Cola adverts. Scroll down for more... Father Christmas and...

A Winchester principal who bowed to some parents’ objections and scrubbed a seventh-grade field trip to “Miracle on 34th Street” said the classic Christmas tale is too focused on Santa Claus and doesn’t tie into the school’s curriculum. McCall Middle School Principal Evander French Jr. has axed the trip to a Dec. 19 performance of the play at the Stoneham Theatre, a Scrooge-like move that has angered parents. “The people who complained were concerned about the very narrow focus on Santa Claus,” French said yesterday... On Friday, an e-mail was sent to parents telling them the trip was canceled. French...

Santas in Australia are being told not to say "ho, ho, ho." http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22761386-2,00.html And why on earth are they being told that? Because the term "ho" could frighten children and even be derogatory to women. A Santa recruitment firm, Westaff, supplies Santas across the country but has been training them to say "ha, ha, ha" rather than "ho, ho, ho." But apparently Santas across Australia are rebelling. Two Santa hopefuls have already quit after being told he would be propagating an American slang for a prostitute. Westaff's national Santa co-coordinator says that the advice given to Santas is that they...

SYDNEY (AFP) - Santas in Australia's largest city have been told not to use Father Christmas's traditional "ho ho ho" greeting because it may be offensive to women, it was reported Thursday. Sydney's Santa Clauses have instead been instructed to say "ha ha ha" instead, the Daily Telegraph reported. One disgruntled Santa told the newspaper a recruitment firm warned him not to use "ho ho ho" because it could frighten children and was too close to "ho", a US slang term for prostitute. "Gimme a break," said Julie Gale, who runs the campaign against sexualising children called Kids Free 2B...

He’s white. He’s male. He eats trans fat, smokes tobacco and is married to a woman. No wonder they hate Santa Claus in the Massachusetts public schools. OK, I’m exaggerating. As of this writing, only McCall Middle School in Winchester has formally sanctioned Ol’ St. Nick. But the day is still young. As the Herald reported yesterday, McCall’s seventh-grade field trip to see Stoneham Theatre’s stage production of “Miracle on 34th Street” was cancelled by Principal Evander French Jr. And the reason he intervened is “the objectionable nature of the content.” Fans of the original Academy Award-winning film - ninth...

Santa is being told to shift the pounds before Christmas - because the obese saint is failing to set a "good example" for children. The traditional children's hero, best known for feasting on mince pies left out on Christmas eve, has always sported a bulging midriff. But shopping centre bosses are giving the well-wisher his marching orders - to the nearest gym - to tackle the increasing problem of obesity. The revelation comes after a medical report earlier this month stated that by 2050 more than 50 per cent of Brits will be obese. Santa has been told he must...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2007 – A Utah-based troop-support group is providing anyone who wants it the opportunity to play Santa Claus to troops serving in Iraq through the holidays. Paul Holton, founder of Operation Give, sifts through donations received for the 2006 “Operation Christmas Stocking” project at the program's warehouse in Salt Lake City. Items will be sent from the warehouse to troops stationed in Iraq in time for the holidays. Last year’s program reached servicemembers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Courtesy photo by Operation Give  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Those interested in brightening the day of...

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2007 – For three years, an Illinois group has made sure troops serving overseas have something to look forward to during the holidays. “Last year we shipped over 10,000 homemade Christmas stockings filled with goodies to our deployed troops,” Patti Smith, a founder of “Central Illinois Proud Families of Marines” and mother of two Marines, said. “Our goal is to do many more (this year), as the need is great due to the recent troop surge.” This year’s drive is already under way and will conclude Nov. 1. The group is hoping for donations of comfort,...

PARIS (AFP) - Astronomers have pieced together the remnants of a mighty collision that smashed apart a planet-sized rock in the Kuiper Belt, on the far-flung fringes of the Solar System. First identified in the 1950s by Dutch-US skygazer Gerard Kuiper, the disk-shaped belt is believed to be populated by tens of thousands of icy bodies, encircling the Sun beyond the orbit of Neptune. A team led by Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) took a close look at the belt's third largest object, 2003 EL61. Nicknamed "Santa" because the team spotted it at Christmas-time, 2003 EL61...

Well, this may be a tad late in the season, but this is such a heart-warming story I decided it had to be posted. Enjoy! INTRODUCTIONContinuing with the inspirational stories is a heartwarming story about a Mall Santa, a little girl and God. Enjoy. THE CHRISTMAS MIRACLEWhen I recall precious Christmas memories, I think of a very special story, one which represents the magic and glory of the season. This is a true story, as told to me by my husband -- a professional Santa Claus -- of a real Christmas miracle which he experienced. A story that I think...

NEW YORK (AP) - There's nobody nice on this Christmas list: snowman stabbers, Grinch snatchers, wreath-robbing weasels. 'Tis the season for strange crimes by even stranger people, with police blotters expanding faster than a 6-year-old's wish list of gifts. David Allen Rodgers, 42, was arrested Dec. 3 for driving while intoxicated - at the wheel of a float during the annual Christmas parade in Anderson, S.C. According to witnesses, Rodgers sped down Main Street in the Steppin' Out Dance Studio float with 19 people aboard, ran a red light and led police on a 3-mile chase. Police said that when...

ITHACA--A long running private Christmas light display was vandalized in the days before Christmas, with the perpetrators singling out the crosses.According to the Ithaca Journal, "vandals cut wires supplying electricity to a large merry Christmas sign and three large crosses that stand 12- to 15-feet tall" on the property of Ithaca resident Bill Lower.Jay Gartlein, who helps Lower put up the decorations, said he found some of the vandals' targets curious."They bypassed other decorations and went out of their way to wreck the crosses,” he said.The Lower property has 300,000 to 400,000 lights on it, most of which were not...