Myth: Suicides Increase Over The Holidays

There is no good scientific evidence to suggest a holiday peak in suicides.

• In a study of United States suicides over a 35 year period, there was no increase before, during, or after holidays.
  
• Data from Ireland on suicide in 1990-8 also failed to connect suicides with the holidays.

Around the world, suicides peak in warmer months and are actually lowest in the winter.

• In Finland, suicides peak in autumn and are lowest in the winter.
• In a 30 year study of suicides in Hungary, researchers again found the highest rates of suicides in the summer and the lowest in the winter.
  
• Studies of suicide rates from India also show peaks in April and May.
  
• Studies from the US reflect this pattern, with lower rates in November and December than in typically warmer months.

BMJ (British Medical Journal) 2008;337:a2769

Keep in mind that suicide is almost always connected to Depression (real, clinical, Depression, not the 'country-song-cry-in-your-beer' or 'Someone bought the dress before I got there' or 'my boyfriend just dumped me' "depression."

Depression is a physical disease — like cancer or diabetes — whose symptoms manifest, in part, in the form of mood disorders. Most mental illnesses are physical diseases that can be treated — as can most physical diseases — with medication and other therapies.

There you go.... 3 myths busted for the price of one.

Myth: Sugar Causes Hyperactivity In Children
At least 12 double blind randomized controlled trials have examined how children react to diets containing different levels of sugar.2 None of these studies, not even studies looking specifically at children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, could detect any differences in behavior between the children who had sugar and those who did not. The differences in the children’s behavior were all in the parents’ minds.

Cite the above as: BMJ (British Medical Journal) 2008;337:a2769
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/dec17_2/a2769

Myth:
Republicans are "strong" on national defense.
Democrats are "weak" on national defense.

You can't reach that conclusion from peace-time defense spending. Check out this chart (PDF, 30 KB).

• President Carter's defense spending was up nearly 50% over the Ford years.
• In his first 2 years, the increases in defense spending under Reagan matched the increases under Carter. Then the rate of growth in defense spending slowed sharply. This is because of the "Peace Dividend" hypothesis that in peace time it's OK to cut (or slow the growth of) military spending. Of course, that's only true when Republicans make those spending cuts.
• George H.W. Bush extended that thinking into actual cuts in defense spending - except for the Gulf War year, where the military budget increased.
• President Clinton continued the spending cuts trend in his first term in office. Note:
  • he did so with the encouragement of the new Republican majority in Congress
  • when Clinton (a Democrat) continued the trend started by the Republican God (Reagan) the Republicans' "Peace Dividend" became known as "gutting the military"
• For 2 years into his 2nd term, Clinton continued the "Peace Dividend" spending policies; in his final 2 years, military spending showed the largest annual increase since WWII (up 43.5% in one of those years).
• In George W. Bush's first year the defense budget was cut 22.6%. That one year's cut was nearly double the total of ALL of the cuts in Bill Clinton's 8 years. If there were ever a "gutting the military" - that was it.
  

Doing the math:

1. Both parties participated in increasing and decreasing military spending, occasionally boasting of the "Peace Dividend" resulting from spending cuts.
   
   • The Republicans implemented and pursued the concept of cutting military budgets and reaping the benefits on the form of the "Peace Dividend."
     
   • A Democrat - President Clinton - continued that trend (although Republicans derided their idea as "gutting the military"). Clinton also increased military spendingnear the end of his term.
   • George W. Bush disemboweled the defense budget. That action became known as "fiscal responsibility" or "incredibly stupid" - depending on who is opining.
2. Using a fiscal policy to measure a committment to national defense shows a draw.

Perhaps performance is a better measure?

• Who was in charge during World Wars I & II? Both were victories, both run by Democratic presidents. Advantage: Democrats.
• Korea? Eisenhower ran on a platform of getting out of that war. He delivered a stalemate. Non-advantage: GOP.
• Viet Nam? The GOP started it, but didn't really commit to the effort. Both sides fumbled for a while. Nixon ran, in 1968, on a campaign promise to use his "secret plan" to "win with honor." In 1972 he ran the same scam on Americans. End result - the USA "CUT-AND-RAN." Dishonorable mention: Democrats. Double down disadvantage: GOP.
• Middle East (Beirut, 1983)? CUT-AND-RUN. Another disadvantage for the GOP.
• Gulf War? With a true international coalition, and with funding by Kuwait (and some other oil-rich Arab states), the good guys won - but left the aggressor in power. Advantage: GOP, unless you count leaving Saddam as the head of the defeated aggressor.
• Somalia? The UN bailed out, leaving us a choice: leave with them, or stay to tilt at windwills that were armed with RPGs and AK-47s. Sounds like a stalemate: no win, no loss... not counting American lives.
• Balkans? A true "Mission Accomplished" story. Genocide crushed. War criminals captured and brought to justice. The cost in American lives, 2: one in a non-combat vehicular accident, one suicide. Total. Period. Oh - and they love us in that part of the world (even in the country most vanquished - Serbia). Huge advantage: Democrats.
  
• Afghanistan? Leaders of Al-Queda and Taliban still alive, still free, still mocking us. Afghanistan has reasserted its place as heroin supplier to the world. Our troop losses are increasing. The locals are ticked off because we placed in power a puppet government that is cruel to its citizens and is completely ineffective outside the capitol city. Purple thumbs? Hardly....
• Iraq? In time there will be shelf upon shelf of books describing the total, complete, utter failure of the mission. We got Saddam and a few other bad guys. Our cost
  
  • in lives lost
  • soldiers maimed
  • American families disrupted
    
  • long-term fiscal calamity
  • esteem in the eyes of the people whom we allegedly helped
  • strength of our military
    
  • world leadership
Our only hope is that we learned something from the fiasco.Triple-double disadvantage to the umpteenth power: GOP

When it comes to national defense there are 3 big lessons from the 20th/21st centuries:

1. Pick your battles carefully.
2. If real peace with real honor and a real good outcome matter, have the Democrats in charge. Democrats tend go to war with intention to win, always with the skill to do it.... and with the leadership to rally us 'round the flag. What's more, they learn from their successes AND their mistakes.
   
3. Whatever you do, don't go to war when led by Republicans. Their track record is terrible.
   

There is a new Tech Tip posted on my tech-oriented log, BlackBox.

The tip links you to instructions on how to set up your computer to run Windows AND Linux.

This produces the best turkey ever: moist, tender meat with a delightful smoky flavor. The skin will be crunchy, and will have a pronounced smoky flavor. The secret is to cook at high heat, cooking the the skin fast - thereby sealing in the moisture. Our turkeys usually cook in about 2 hours (much less time than oven-roasting).

Ingredients and Materials:

• A charcoal grill (20 to 22 in. wide) with a domed lid.
• A meat thermometer.
• 5 pounds of briquets. To start the fire, it is OK to use quick-start briquets (briquets that have been pre-impregnated with lighter fluid). However, as the turkey cooks you will add more briquets. If you add pre-impregnated briquets, the odor of the lighter fluid may contaminate the flavor of the turkey. Have standard (non-qucik-start) briquets available.
• Wood chips - hardwood chips only! Sporting goods stores usually have chips that will impart the best smoke flavor. I prefer Alder, but Hickory is good. Many people like to use fruitwood chips such as Apple or Cherry.
• For the ultimate in flavor, have 1/2 pound to 1 pound of fresh Rosemary or 1-2 ounces of dried Rosemary. I grow a rosemary bush whose primary purpose is to provide Rosemary for the charcoal and gas grills.
• A turkey. For generous servings, allow 1/2 to 3/4 pound uncooked turkey per person, more if you want leftovers. Tom? Hen? Damphyno. I don't notice any difference.
  

For the turkey's cavity:

• Whole, peeled onion, cut into chunks.
• 1-3 peeled garlic cloves.
• 3-5 celery stalks.
• Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme.... and Marjoram. Those are best fresh, but dried is fine.
• Note: the drippings might contain soot. Be prepared to use alternative ingredients for making gravy. Making gravy is beyond the scope of this article.

Preparing the Fire:

• On the firegrate, mound and ignite 40-50 charcoal briquettes.
• When coals are spotted with gray ash (in about 20 minutes), push equal portions of briquettes to opposite sides of firegrate.
• Place a metal drip pan between coals. An inexpensive disposable aluminum pan is fine.
• To each mound of coals, add 5 non-quick-start briquettes before adding the uncooked turkey to the grill at the beginning and every 30 minutes while cooking. Set grill 4 to 6 inches above coals. Set turkey, breast side up, on grill over drip pan.

Prepare the bird.

• Thaw turkey, if frozen, at least 72 hours in refrigerator.
• If stuffing the bird, do so just before cooking. Note: to prevent food poisoning, it is best to bake stuffing in baking dishes.
• Remove and discard the leg truss from the turkey.
• Pull off and discard lumps of fat.
• Remove giblets and neck. Reserve giblets, neck, and drippings for gravy. Cook these separately by boiling.
• Rinse the bird inside and out; pat dry with towels.
• Rub turkey skin with cooking oil.
  

Cook:

• Cook the turkey until the meat thermometer registers 160 degrees. To test the temperature, insert a meat thermometer straight down through thickest part of breast to bone, then back the thermometer out approximately 1/8".
• During the cooking process, add to each mound of coals, add 5 briquettes every 30 minutes.
• During the cooking process, place wood chips and rosemary on the grill - or on the coals - every 30 minutes.

Serve:

• Remove the turkey from the grill.
• Allow it to cool for 20 minutes prior to carving. The slicing will work better when the bird has cooled slightly.
• Lighten up. Let people grab little bits of meat before you serve.

A bit of history:
This cooking method is not unique to me. I did, however, independently invent the technique in an emergency. Over the decades I - and friends and loved ones - have refined the process. The original emergency occurred on a stormy Thanksgiving Day. As happens so often in the Great Northwet, the storm knocked out the electrical grid, thus preventing us from cooking the turkey. A Weber^® grill and some charcoal saved the day.

Somehow those wicked Northwet storms seem to know which days are festive holidays that warrant feasting. Since that storm many years ago, well, who cares?

Labels: charcoal, turkey

Earlier, in Obama 73, Bush 29 I reported that

A summary of polls shows that approximately 29% of adults disapprove of the way Bush is handling the job of being president.

A more recent poll shows that

1 out of 4 Americans think that Dick Cheney is the worst vice-president ever.

Dick Cheney's response? "Go F^%#k yourselves, Americans. And wipe up the mess with your G*&$&@n Constitution."

Labels: approve, bush, cheney, legacy, worst

When is a combat injury not a combat injury? It's when the Pentagon is trying to cut costs [consider that while thinking about the billions of dollars WASTED by the military and their civilian leaders].

The Pentagon has changed its definition of combat-related disabilities. The change is costing some wounded veterans thousands of dollars in lost benefits.

Examples:

• Marine Cpl. James Dixon was wounded twice in Iraq -- by a roadside bomb and by a land mine. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, a concussion, a dislocated hip and hearing loss. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Army Sgt. Lori Meshell shattered a hip and crushed her back and knees while diving for cover during a mortar attack in Iraq. She has undergone a hip replacement and knee reconstruction and needs at least three more surgeries.

According to Pentagon officials, benefits should be greater for veterans wounded in combat than for "members with disabilities incurred in other situations (e.g., simulation of war, instrumentality of war, or participation in hazardous duties, not related to combat)." Dixon and Meshell - and many other veterans - say their disabilities were caused by hostile enemy actions in combat.

Sgt. Meshell said that in the Pentagon's view, her wounds would be considered combat-related only if she had been struck by shrapnel. She was told why she didn't deserve better treatment from the Pentagon; many veterans say that they are not told why their disabilities are not considered combat-related. And ... there are those who don't even know that they are receiving reduced benefits.

Dixon said he did not realize he had been put in a noncombat-related category until he began questioning his disability payments. It took more than six months of phone calls, letters and appeals -- plus help from the Disabled American Veterans and a member of Congress -- to overturn his designation. "It was a nightmare," Dixon said. "Most veterans don't know how the system works, or how to fight it. They don't realize all the obstacles they put in your way to keep you from getting what you deserve."

Sgt. Meshell's military career includes five years of active duty, a combat tour in Iraq, and 12 years in the National Guard/Reserves. She thinks she deserves the full disability benefits authorized by Congress for veterans injured in combat.

"I'm a college graduate. I'm not a dumb person. But honestly, I can't begin to explain some of this stuff," Meshell said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-na-combat25-2008nov25,0,3851922,full.story

Commentary: while reeling from that atrocity, consider that of all of the heavy-hitters who lied us into the war, only two had served in any military capacity:

1. Donald Rumsfeld was a fighter pilot in peacetime.
2. George W. Bush broke his contract with the Air National Guard by refusing to take his annual physical, and then simply refusing to show up to fulfill his assignments (one weekend per month).
3. Dick Cheney has proudly proclaimed that he "had other priorities."
4. Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, and dozens more all avoided even basic training during war and peace.

My Imaginary Friend continues to berate my decision to turn my back on political "conservatives." So I sat him down and asked him to 'splain me the following:

Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while
slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay,
using "stop loss" to draft soldiers into extended enlistments,
and providing substandard safety gear and equipment.

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools.

A president lying about an extramarital affair is a impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which include banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness, and you need our prayers for your recovery.

You support states' rights, which means the Attorney General can tell states what local voter initiatives they have the right to adopt.

What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

It's going to be a long wait.

Labels: bart simpson.obama, Greg Palast, secretary of education

• A miss is as good as 1.6 kilometers.
• Put your best .3 of a meter forward.
• Spare the 5.03 meters and spoil the child.
• Twenty-eight grams of prevention is worth 453 grams of cure.
• Give a man 2.5 centimeters and he'll take 1.6 kilometers.
• Peter Piper picked 8.8 liters of pickled peppers.

Labels: metric

The Myth:

Republicans are good for the economy; Democrats are bad for the economy.

It depends on what you think are good and bad.

Category	Bush I	Clinton	Bush II
Median Income	- 4.9%	+ 14.5%	- 2.2%
Americans In Poverty (Compared to Predecessor)	- 6.5 Million	- 7.7 Million	+ 1.3 Million
Job Creation	+ 2.3 Million	+ 22.9 Million	- 1.5 Million
Unemployment Rate (Compared To Predecessor)	+ 1.9%	- 3.1%	+ 0.6% (peaked at + 2.0% in 2003)

Concept: Los Angeles Times: Sep 30, 2002; Ronald Brownstein;
updated with data from Congressional Budget Office

Final Year's Budget Deficit (Billions of Dollars)
President	Last Year In Office	Deficit In $ Billions	Increase In $ Billions	Increase %
Johnson	1968	25.2	1960 data n/a - this is a baseline
Nixon/Ford	1976	73.7	+ 48.6	+ 92.8%
Carter	1980	73.8	+ 0.1	+ 0.1%
Reagan	1988	155.2	+ 81.3	+ 110.9%
Bush I	1992	290.3	+ 216.5	+ 39.5%
Clinton	2000	125.6	- 415.9	- 45.5%
Bush II	2007	286.3	+ 286.3	+ 127.9%

Source: Congressional Budget Office

Non-Defense Government Employees Added or Subtracted
Kennedy/Johnson	178,000
Nixon/Ford	213,000
Carter	- 14,000
Reagan	3,000
George H.W. Bush	104,000
Clinton	- 115,000

Doing The Math:

• Under the 20 years of Republican administrations
  the number of non-defense government employees rose by 310,000.
• During the 20 years of Democratic administrations
  the number of non-defense government employees rose by 59,000.
• Of the 369,000 non-defense government employees added between 1962 and 2001,
  • 84% were added under Republican administrations
  • 16% were added under Democratic administrations
• In 40 years ALL 3 of the Republican administrations increased the number of non-defense federal employees.
• In the same 40 years, 2 0f the 3 Democratic administrations decreased the number of non-defense federal employees.
  

But Wait! There's More!
Under the G.W. Bush regime, the number of federal employees decreased, but the jobs did not go away. Instead, civil service employees were replaced by contractors. Add back in the number of contractors, and the number of people performing government tasks increased. The contractors cost the feds significantly more than did the former civil servants (even when you include the funding of civil service retirements). In addition, productivity decreased. The productivity problems have at least 4 causes:

1. the experienced employees left
2. inexperienced contractors replaced those employees
3. the contracting companies have no incentive to perform well - their incentive is to run up costs rather than to cut costs
   
4. the management put in place by the Bush Administration is notoriously incompetent ("Heckuva job, Brownie"); managers are placed, not on the basis of skill, but on the basis of political loyalty and ideological purity.

When all the facts are sorted out, the Bush administration will be proven to be the worst of all Republican administrations when it comes to increasing the size and cost of the federal government.

As pointed out here a few days ago,

1. Jesus of Nazareth (the place, not the hair band) was NOT born on the day that 2 billion people celebrate as his birthday
2. JC of N was not born in year 0 (it was sometime between 6 BC and 2 BC).

However, many people of note were born on December 25. Examples:

• Isaac Newton (1642) Mathematician, lawmaker, and bipolar whacko
  
• Clara Barton (1821) Nurse, founder of the Red Cross
• Helena Rubinstein (1870) Cosmetics merchant
• Mohammed Ali Jinnah (1876) Founder, Islamic Republic of Pakistan
• Giuseppe de Luca (1876) Opera singer (as if anyone who reads this can appreciate opera)
• Louis Chevrolet, (1878) race car driver who was named after an automobile
• Conrad Hilton (1887) Hotel executive and ancestor of actress who appears in grainy green-tinted movies
  
• Robert Ripley (1893) Cartoonist, "Believe It Or Not"
• Humphrey Bogart (1899) Actor and verb
• Gerhard Herzberg (1904) German/Canuck Nobel laureate (Chemistry)
• Ernst Ruska (1906) Nobel laureate (Physics), inventor of electron microscope
• Cab Calloway (1907) Band leader and advisor to Jake and Elwood
• Tony Martin (1913) Singer and Northern California-based heart transplant donor
• Anwar Sadat (1918) Egypt president when some famous dam thing was completed
• Rod Serling (1924) Writer, "The Twilight Zone"
• Nellie Fox (1927) Pro Baseball player
• Alan King (1927) Comedian who, ironically, is Jewish and doesn't celebrate Christmas (but neither did JC the Nazarian)
• Carlos Castaneda (1925 or 1931, depending on whom you ask) Anthropologist, best-selling author, and stoner; after decades of mescal-induced enlightenment, Castanada damn sure can't remember the year
• Little Richard (1935) Singer
• Gary Sandy (1945) Actor (TV sitcom WKRP)
• Jimmy Buffett (1946) Singer, surfer, and imbiber of Margaritas
• Larry Csonka (1946) Hall of Fame Pro Football player
  
• Barbara Mandrell (1948) Singer
• Sissy Spacek (1949) coal miner's daughter, bane of high school proms, and Mel Gibson's co-conspirator in a rainstorm
  
• Karl Rove (1950) Scumbag, liar, and nation-f%^$ker
• Annie Lennox (1954) Singer, your rhythmic
• Robin Campbell (1954) Reggae singer-musician (UB40)
• Steve Wariner (1954) Country singer
• Rickey Henderson (1960) Pro Baseball player and thief of much reknown
• Noel Hogan (1971) Rock musician (The Cranberries) and condiment served with turkey

and, of course, your favorite blogger, the one

• whose presents always said "Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas"
• never had a birthday party
• whose birthday, likely as not, got overlooked
• whom no one ever thanked for the school/work holiday [ end whine ]

Labels: Born On Christmas, Born On December 25

OK, just the snippet that resonates, that haunts.

Old dogs care about you even when you make mistakes.
God bless little children while they're still too young to hate.
When he moved away I found my pen and copied down that line,
'Bout old dogs and children and watermelon wine.
[ .... ]
That night I dreamed in peaceful sleep of shady summertime
Of old dogs and children and watermelon wine <sup>1

1</sup> Tom T. Hall, Old Dogs And Children And Watermelon Wine, ©1972

Labels: Old Dogs And Children, Tom T. Hall, Watermelon Wine

1000 Ways To Waste Time

The Diagram Group (London-based book packager) wasted nearly thirty years of working time to complete the necessary research for this project.

Examples:

Blow your own imaginary trumpet
Change the order of your keys on your key ring
Convince someone that an African elephant has smaller ears than an Asian elephant
Draw a map of Europe from memory
Evaluate how much spare time you have each week to do nothing
Exercise your tongue by trying to make it reach the tip of your nose
Imagine how cold it would be living in an igloo
Look to see if anything has fallen behind the radiators
Plan to dispose of a body
Read this blog
Think what you could do with three extra fingers
Write lyrics to Ravel's Bolero
Write your date of birth in Roman numerals

Labels: waste time

As I understand it, the only appropriate way to properly honor the Winter Solstice is to honor the date of Christ's birth. After all, we are a nation built by Christians, as Christians, for Christians. Anything that seems to be contrary to that notion is a part of the "War On Christmas."

Hmmmmm.

The fact is that for this country's first 200 years (early 1600s to early-mid 1800s), Christmas celebrations were rare. In many parts of the land, Christmas celebrations were outlawed - by code or by the equally powerful customs of, ummmmm, Christians who had immigrated from Europe.

Those Founding Fathers? Well, Congress was in session most Christmas Days from the beginning (1789) until ~1855. Why? It was a work day because Christmas was NO BIG DEAL to the FFs - or to the rest of "Christian" America.

Another fact: for the 1st 400 years of Christianity, Christmas as a day of feasting (or worshiping) did not exist. Even the most devout of Christians celebrated various pagan festivals and holidays involving the Winter Solstice. Around 400 AD the Christian church created a Holy Day in an effort to redirect the flock's attention to matters more Holy. The effort backfired, but that's a whole other story. The pagan celebrations continued - in Europe - to this day. In the colonies - and later in the USA - Christian celebrations of Christmas didn't catch on until well into the 19th century (the 1800s).

While we're at it.... scientists and Bible scholars agree:

• Christ was not born in the year 0
• Christ was not born on December 25 (however, several people of note - including your favorite blogger - were born on 12/25). The above-mentioned action by the Church is what pegged the day as December 25 - during the pagan feasts.
  
• The "manger story" is highly suspect; several elements of the story defy logic and the prevailing customs of Palestine 2000 years ago.
• The "Christmas Star" was probably not a star. More likely it was an astronomical phenomenon that only existed in the context of viewing the skies from the planet Earth. That same phenomenon would not display from any other angle, from anywhere else in the universe.
  
  The Christmas Star's only real significance would have been to astrologers.... people who explain everything in terms of how stars and planets appear in the sky (and only from the Earth). Astrologers are an anathema to Christians and to scientists. The "3 Wise Men" were simply astrologers who became curious about an astronomical anamoly. I hear they wrote fortune cookie texts and had an astrology-based advice column in the Daily Papyrus. They were what we would today call "Iranians" because they lived (and wrote their advice column) in what we now call Iran.
  

None of this screed is intended to diminish the significance of Christmas. My intention is to strip away the hogwash surrounding Christmas. With reality in mind, you readers can now contemplate or celebrate or ignore Christmas - for all the right reasons.

As for the "War on Christmas," it is simply a propaganda campaign designed to direct hate and discontent at people with whom some people disagree.

Take that, Bill O'Reilly¹ - and your fellow-traveling band of morons.

¹ Why Christmas Matters (by Wee Willy O'Reilly)

Labels: astrology, christian, christmas star, pagan, paid holidays, solstice, War on Christmas