Free Republic

Grapevine police investigate the scene where they found seven people dead outside Dallas in Grapevine, Texas, Sunday, Dec. 25, 2011. Four women and three men who police believe to be related were found apparently shot to death, and authorities said they believe the shooter is among the dead. Six members of a Texas family apparently opened Christmas presents just before a relative dressed as Santa Claus showed up, opened fire and killed them before killing himself, police said Monday. Grapevine police spokesman Sgt. Robert Eberling said the shooter showed up in the Santa outfit shortly before gunfire erupted and was...

Seven People Found Dead in Dallas-Area Apartment Published December 25, 2011 GRAPEVINE, Texas – Seven people believed to be related had opened their Christmas gifts and started cleaning up the wrapping paper when they were shot to death in a suburban Texas apartment, police said Sunday. Authorities said they believe the shooter is among the dead, but got a warrant before doing a full search on the small chance that it was otherwise. Four women and three men, aged 18 to 60, were found in an adjoining kitchen and living room area when police entered the apartment around midday, said...

As a non-Christian with a deep affection for Christmastime, I've always felt a little left out around this time of year, but not in the way you might think. I've always felt a bit out of place with the venerable conservative tradition of denouncing the "war on Christmas." I should offer some background. When I was a kid, my parents cut out a jokey headline from a local newspaper that read "Santa Knows We're Jewish" and put it on a cardboard Christmas tree ornament. My father insisted I be raised Jewish. (I went to a Jewish day school and was...

The reign of Constantine proved to be a turning point in history. The Edict of Milan helped transform Christianity from a persecuted religion into a popular faith. Christianity spread faster than ever before. Jesus’s message offered comfort in a world full of peril and suffering. His call to love God and neighbor gave meaning to hard lives.Constantine’s own enthusiasm for Christianity helped promote it through all classes of society. The emperor bestowed presents and property upon Christian congregations. He funded the construction of churches and basilicas, including St. Peter’s in Rome. He declared Sunday a day of rest, placed Christian...

    Dear Editor—     I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?     Virginia O'Hanlon     115 West Ninety Fifth Street Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's...

IS THERE A SANTA CLAUS? We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of "The Sun": Dear Editor: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says "If you see it in "The Sun" it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? Virginia O'Hanlon 115 West 95th Street Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age....

Last Christmas, I shared this editorial with all my FRiends here, while I was icebound in West Virginia heading back from leave to report for mobilization. This year, at my station in Ramadi, Iraq, on Christmas morning, as tracer rounds thread the sky southeast of me, I offer this simple story, a very favorite of mine, for all my FRiends again. Take the time to read it - REALLY read it - and understand that Santa has visited your troops, and he left the greatest gift of them all. A Soldier's Merry Christmas to you all!

Yes America, There is a Santa Claus By: Amy Lutz In 1897, a young girl named Virginia wrote a letter to The New York Sun, asking if Santa Claus did in fact exist. Newsman Francis Pharcellus Church responded with a now-famous editorial entitled “Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus.” Virginia worried, since she had neither seen Santa Claus nor did she possess tangible proof of his existence, that the jolly man was not real. Francis Church reminded Virginia, and all of us, that seeing is not believing. We must first have faith and believe in the existence of Santa...

Christmas in America is a season of time-honored traditions: The sacred performance of the annual ACLU lawsuit over the presence of an insufficiently secular "holiday" tree. The ritual provocations of the atheist displays licensed by pitifully appeasing municipalities to sit between the menorah and the giant Frosty the Snowman. The familiar strains of every hack columnist's "war on Christmas" column rolling off the keyboard as easily as Richard Clayderman playing "Winter Wonderland" ... This year has been a choice year. A crucified skeleton Santa Claus was erected as part of the "holiday" display outside the Loudoun County courthouse in Virginia...

Eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon wrote a letter to the editor of New York's Sun, and the quick response was printed as an unsigned editorial Sept. 21, 1897. The work of veteran newsman Francis Pharcellus Church has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial, appearing in part or whole in dozens of languages in books, movies, and other editorials, and on posters and stamps. "DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' "Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa...

What do the Occupy movement, foreskins, an ice rink, international human rights and the world’s largest gathering of naked Santa Clauses have to do with each other? Under normal circumstances, nothing — but this is San Francisco after all, where anything is possible, so come along on a guided photographic tour of several separate socio-political events that inevitably overlapped and coalesced into an unforgettable political mashup. It’s not often that one must wear a Santa costume as part of one’s job, but on Saturday, December 10 that moment had finally arrived for me: I suited up and made my way...

December 5, 2011. (Romereports.com) December 6 is the feast day of St. Nicholas of Bari, otherwise known as Santa Claus. He was bishop of the city of Myra, in present day Turkey, where he died in the fourth century. When the city was conquered by Muslims, his remains were moved to the Italian city of Bari. When his parents died, he divided his fortune among the poor. Because of his generosity, tradition remembers him as Santa Claus, who every year would deliver gifts to everyone. He is also the patron saint of Russia, Greece and Turkey. In Rome, a temple...

Ho, ho, ho is the same in any language. It’s Santa’s other expressions that can pose a challenge in multicultural South Florida. Although St. Nick is known more for listening than his gift of gab, children can better relate to a Santa who talks like them, advocates say.

Even the Grinch would not be this mean. A sourpuss teacher in Rockland County ruined Christmas for a class full of second-graders this week, when she told them that there is no Santa Claus during a lesson about the North Pole. The evil educator even told the youngsters - mostly 7- and 8-year-olds - that the presents under their trees were put out by their parents, and not St. Nick. The stunning Scrooge-like behavior has caused a blizzard of outrage at the quiet George W. Miller Elementary School in Nanuet, where angry parents would like to see the teacher roasted...

As liberals breathlessly report the drop in unemployment during the holiday shopping season is a sign the economy is roaring back...

It's not even December, but Santa has already been fired from Charleston's Hollings Cancer Center. For each of the past two years, hospital volunteer Frank Cloyes spent one day as St. Nick, spreading good cheer and snacks to patients sitting through chemotherapy treatments. The 67-year-old James Island resident, a retired insurance executive who calls himself a "gregarious guy," paid for his own costume rental. On Tuesday morning, a volunteer coordinator told Cloyes his services no longer were needed. "Because of our state affiliation, we decided not to have a Santa presence this year," Hollings spokeswoman Vicky Agnew said. Hollings is...

The following is a transcript of her conversations. OPERATOR: We have Max. MRS. OBAMA: Hello, this is the First Lady, Michelle Obama, with NORAD, tracking Santa. How can I help you? MAX: Hi. MRS. OBAMA: Hi. What's your name? MAX: Max. MRS. OBAMA: Hi, Max. How old are you? MAX: Eight. MRS. OBAMA: Eight? Okay, well, this is the First Lady. And I'm helping them track Santa tonight, so how can I help you? You want to know where Santa is? [the rest of the transcript, if you can stomach it, is at the link]

You're on my naughty list this year

What a year it has been. If 2010 is remembered for anything it will be the fact that America started off on January 1st with President Obama and by Christmas we ended up with President Reagan. Or at least that is what the White House wants us to believe. You doubt that this is the message from the White House? Consider the following: 1) President Obama got the US Senate to ratify an awful arms control agreement with Russia called START by claiming that President Reagan would have supported it. Of course, President Reagan believed in negotiating from a position...

The true story of Santa Claus begins with Nicholas, who was born during the third century in the village of Patara. At the time the area was Greek and is now on the southern coast of Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while...

He's a lost Claus. A politically correct West Village YMCA has fired Ol' St. Nick in favor of Frosty. Kids who once thrilled at sitting on Santa's lap at the 14th Street McBurney YMCA's wildly popular annual holiday luncheon will now suffer the icy embrace of a talking snowman and his sidekick, an anonymous penguin, at today's event. Forget about bringing a list or checking it twice -- Frosty doesn't take gift requests, and doesn't care if you're naughty or nice. YMCA officials, who say they are in the midst of "rebranding" the Young Men's Christian Association to "The Y,"...

Dear Uncle Warren, When I was at school, there used to be an annual picture taken of all the pupils. Since there were quite a lot of us, the remarkable technology employed (at least it seemed remarkable at the time) was that of a still camera that panned from one end of the assembly, which stood in a curved formation, to the other. This produced a long, thin, photograph. On several occasions, I recall, some young prankster, once his image had been captured at one end of the line, would attempt to sprint behind the wall of boys and install...

From time to time, an event occurs that makes people believe in Christmas miracles. Ed and Lynn Silliman's miracle came a few weeks ago. The Sheppton, Schuylkill County couple's 5-year-old daughter, Delaney, walked for the first time on her own after receiving a special gift from Santa Claus, according to her mom. Delaney has developmental disabilities that make it hard for her to talk or walk more than a few steps by herself. But like most kids her age, Delaney loves visiting with Santa. Last year, Lynn took Delaney to Country Folk, a shop in Nescopeck where Santa was scheduled...

During the 19th century, improvements in various printing technologies, including lithography, chromolithography, and the rotary press, ushered in an era of popular art. Currier & Ives (and others) produced inexpensive prints; L. Prang & Co. (and more) sold Christmas cards; periodicals such as Harper's New Monthly Magazine included drawings by Thomas Nast and others. Because they were mass-produced by the standards of the time, many of these works have survived to the present day, giving us a kind of window on the past -- images of Christmastime in the 1800s.

Welcome to NORAD Tracks Santa

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Police said a man dressed in a full Santa Claus suit robbed a Hermitage bank Tuesday morning. The robbery occurred just after 10 a.m. at SunTrust Bank on Old Hickory Boulevard, just north of Lebanon Road. The thief, described as a white male between 6 feet and 6 feet 4 inches tall, was dressed as Kris Kringle and armed with a 9-millimeter handgun, said police. Witnesses said when two bank managers tried to get him to remove his sunglasses, that's when they said he pulled out the weapon and demanded money. "It was a little unbelievable. He...

WHAT WOULD Santa drink? Listen, kids, contrary to the tales Mom and Dad told you, Father Christmas did not get that round belly and red nose from gulping down glasses of skim milk. Not to destroy your innocent visions of sugar plums and candy canes, but when it comes to treats on a long winter's night, if it's all the same to you, Santa Claus would rather have a beer. Sacrilege, you say? The very symbol of childhood innocence guzzling alcohol? What's next, Frosty the Snowman doing Jell-O shots? In fact, from the very beginning, Santa Claus was a man...

Found this on a web site I frequent.

All Proceeds Donated To Local Charities The Katy Holiday Fun Festival was established in 2008 for the purpose of providing an exciting community based holiday event in the Katy area, to take place during an exciting time of the year, and to creating a venue to raise donations for local charities. All proceeds will go to assist non-profit organizations and local families who are in need of cash, clothing, food, toys and gifts for the holiday’s and much more.

The Congress of the United States of America is consigning you, your children, and your children's progeny to slavery. Maybe it's the Scottish strain in my DNA, but I've been concerned about the national debt since before it breached the $1 trillion mark. That was way back in 1982. So it's heartening to see folks finally getting concerned about this issue. Debt matters. From the installation of America's first government in 1789, it took 193 years to rack up that initial 13-digit debt. To put such an ungodly bar tab in context, here are some key debt benchmarks. Each benchmark...

Trying to rain on Jolly St.Nick? The United States Post Office will not be forwarding letters to Santa at the North Pole this year. Other programs and private efforts go on, but some are questioning why the USPS is unwilling to forward letters to the North Poll where volunteers – not employees – respond to the kids with letters including sought-after North Pole postmarks on the letter.

www.catholicnewsagency.com German diocese creates ‘Santa-free zone’ Related articles: Santa ClausAdvent Christmas Tree BlessingHail to Thee, True BodyChristmas Tree Speyer, Germany, Nov 11, 2009 / 05:09 pm (CNA).- In an effort to encourage people to replace the commercialization of the Christmas season with a true devotion to Advent, Christmas and the “true Santa Claus,” several groups within the German Diocese of Speyer have initiated a “Santa-free campaign.” The Federation of German Catholic Youth (BDKJ) of Speyer has partnered with other organizations to champion the cause of St. Nicholas of Myra, a friend and helper of children and those in trouble....

Well I must say, I had a great time reading the comments, critiques and insults that came in after my last post with its modest attempt to define "atheism". In particular, many self-described atheists took umbrage to my claim that atheism is denial of the proposition that God exists. (Apparently my smarmy attitude was also ripe for verbal assault.) One of my most spirited opponents drew comparisons between belief in God and unicorns as he/she asked: "do you believe in unicorns? Can you disprove the existence of unicorns?" The idea, presumably, is that belief in unicorns and God are equivalent....

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. "Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. "Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' "Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus? "VIRGINIA O'HANLON. "115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET." VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, VIRGINIA, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe...

At least in this case study from Absurd Britannia, the backtracking began almost immediately. "Mother told to take down her Christmas lights... in case they offend her non-Christian neighbours," from the Daily Mail, December 16 (thanks to James): A woman has spoken of how she was told to remove her Christmas lights by a housing association worker - in case they offended her non-Christian neighbours. Dorothy Glenn decorates her home in South Shields with hundreds of festive lights every year, including a giant tree and a 4ft Santa Claus. But she was left stunned this year when a South Tyneside...

A staged shootout during a mock train robbery Sunday in Random Lake turned out to be far too realistic when two people were shot with a gun mistakenly loaded with birdshot, according to the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Department. The incident occurred about 11 a.m. as re-enactors were performing the simulated train robbery as part of the weekend-long Santa Steam Train event, said Capt. Dave Adams. The re-enactment unfolded with the actors engaging in a simulated shootout with police on Second Street near Harris Bank, after pretending to steal dynamite from a local hardware store for use in robbing the train,...

PHARR, Texas – A Texas man has been arrested after a 9-year-old girl wrote to Santa Claus asking that a relative stop touching her and her sister. The Monitor of McAllen reports that a man from the town of Pharr was arrested Friday and is in the Hidalgo County jail.

A Kansas-based church that has blamed deaths in Iraq on U.S. tolerance of homosexuality has asked Gov. Christine Gregoire's office to approve a "Santa Claus will take you to hell" message to display among other religious statements in the Capitol's third-floor hallway.

A Muslim lawyer has launched an extraordinary rant against Christmas, branding the celebration 'evil'. Hate preacher Anjem Choudary claimed the festival was the 'pathway to hell' and urged his followers to boycott it. 'In the world today many Muslims, especially those residing in Western countries, are exposed to the evil celebration Christmas,' he raged in a sermon broadcast on the internet. 'Many take part in the festival celebrations by having Christmas turkey dinners. 'Decorating the house, purchasing Christmas trees or having Christmas turkey meals are completely prohibited by Allah. 'Many still practise this corrupt celebration as a remembrance of the...

It’s the time of year when people begin asking the very pertinent question: How does Santa Claus do it? How does he get all those presents to all those kids in just one night? Some people think that the old man still personally hand delivers each and every toy—with the enthusiastic help of Dasher and others, of course. That used to be the case, a very long time ago, but there are too many kids in the world now, and the traditional sleigh-bearing method has become obsolete and even impossible. About a century ago, Santa saw what was coming and...

Having just turned five years old, I was a little young (at least back then) to question the “Holiday” law-of-the-land. Of course five-year-olds believed in Santa Claus! But it was back in the day when several ages of neighborhood kids used to hang around together, and I was running with some seven and eight-year-olds who were feeding me some pretty good reasons not to believe in that benign big man. Most of you are at least vaguely familiar with the various Protestant Reformation (and later secular) traditions that transformed Saint Nicholas into Santa Claus, so it is not necessary to...

President, Savior, or Santa Claus? By Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson FrontPageMagazine.com | Tuesday, January 15, 2008 Let’s consider a simple question: What exactly are we electing when we choose a president of the United States? The traditional answer would be: “Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces and the CEO of the executive branch of government.” Those two roles alone make the president the most powerful person in the world, but for some Americans, the presidency has taken on an overtly messianic character. One of the leading candidates for the next president, Hillary Clinton, once stated, “I can’t save every undercapitalized business...

The original server has been overwhelmed, so I'm using the Fark mirror to post. Watch out, the comments can get a little on the wild side, as most of the members are younger. Still worth posting. 'It was your dad that answered all those letters that the kids wrote to Santa every year' Background: Tim Russert's Wisdom of Our Fathers has hundreds of stories men and women tell about their fathers, including the one below. It's a remarkable book--to learn more, see my co-authored column America's Father Hunger (World Net Daily, 10/13/06). The story below is "The Mail" from John...

New York has given the country and the world many things in its 380-year history — the hot dog, the American musical, the martini, electric signs — but who knew it also gave us what the modern world thinks of as the traditional way to celebrate Christmas? Christmas was originally a combination of the day of worship of the birth of Christ and the Roman winter solstice festival called the Saturnalia. The latter was a very raucous, townwide affair, and its raunchy and riotous ways persisted until nearly modern times. Then the Puritans outlawed Christmas altogether. When it was revived...

We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun: Dear Editor— I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? Virginia O'Hanlon 115 West Ninety Fifth Street Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see....

Executive Order: Closing of Executive Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government on Monday, December 24, 2007 By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. All executive branch departments and agencies of the Federal Government shall be closed and their employees excused from duty on Monday, December 24, 2007, the day before Christmas Day, except as provided in section 2 below. Sec. 2. The heads of executive branch departments and agencies may determine that certain offices and installations of their...

A 70-year-old man working as Santa Claus says he was sacked from a Cairns department store for saying "ho, ho, ho" and singing Christmas carols. In a case of political correctness seemingly gone mad, retired entertainer John Oakes says he was fired from his job at Myer for his rendition of Santa’s famous laugh. His employer, Westaff, last month sparked national outrage when it ordered its Santas to say "ha, ha, ha" instead of "ho, ho, ho" because it could be derogatory to women but denied the words were a factor in Mr Oakes’s case. The word "ho" is also...

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...

When kids hear Santa Claus bellow, "Ho, ho, ho," is their first thought prostitution? That concern has prompted an attempt to gag the traditional greeting, and many Santas are now fighting back. According to the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Santas across Australia are rebelling against attempts to change their saying to a more politically correct, "ha, ha, ha." It all started when the recruitment firm Westaff – which has offices both in the United States and Australia – told its Christmas trainees that the "ho, ho, ho" phrase could frighten children and possibly be derogatory to women.