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 persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all . . .

and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2011, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great, (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only “AMERICA” in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.

(By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.)

And I mean that sincerely!

• Declaring War On “The War On Christmas”
• Declaring War On “The War On Christmas”
• Ron Paul On Mitt Romney
• Ron Paul On Mitt Romney
• Obama Derangement Syndrome Meets The So-Called “War On Christmas”

Whereas most vocalists might prepare to record by getting plenty of rest and sipping warm tea with honey and lemon, Dylan sounds as if he just closed down the bars in Bethlehem with the Three Wise Men and then smoked some frankincense and myrrh as a nightcap.

Heh

H/T: Virginia Virtucon

• Bob Dylan Meets The Police State
• Bob Dylan Meets The Police State
• Glenn Beck Mocks Malia Obama’s Intelligence
• Eric Cantor To Jeff Frederick: Move On
• Eric Cantor To Jeff Frederick: Move On

H/T: David Boaz @ Cato

• Freedom In Crisis
• Freedom In Crisis
• ObamaCare = RomneyCare 2.0
• Tax Tips For Democrats
• Tax Tips For Democrats

Tysons Corner Center and the longtime mall Santa whose dumping triggered a local uproar might work things out in time for the Christmas shopping season after all.

Less than 90 minutes before a scheduled news conference, Santa’s publicist e-mailed reporters saying “Tysons Corner Center management and Pam Deese, attorney for Mike Graham (aka the Tysons Corner Center Santa), have reached an ‘agreement in principle’ that will allow Graham to retain his position . . . for the 2008 holiday season.”

“With the actual terms of our agreement still under discussion, it was only prudent that we cancel Thursday’s media event,” said Pamela Deese, Graham’s lawyer and a partner at the law firm of Arent Fox. It was not immediately clear whether the pending agreement also meant Graham would cancel his planned appearance a CBS morning news show.

Seems like a sensible solution under the circumstances.

None Found

Tysons Corner Center officials apologized yesterday for leaving Santa Claus out in the cold this holiday season.

Responding to hundreds of calls, an online petition and threats to boycott the mall for giving its longtime Santa the heave-ho with little notice, a spokeswoman said company officials were working with Michael Graham to reach a financial settlement and find a chair for him in a Santaland — somewhere.

“We offer a deep apology to Mr. Graham and to our shoppers,” said Allison Fischer, a spokeswoman for Macerich, which operates the mall. “We hope that Mr. Graham, our shoppers and everyone across the country who has been affected by this situation will understand.”

It was not clear whether there was a possibility that Graham could continue working at the Fairfax County mall, where his special touch created a following that transformed the Tennessee carpenter into a local celebrity.

But Pamela Deese, an attorney for Graham’s pro bono case, said last night that no one has directly apologized to her client and that no arrangements have been made.

“I’m happy to try to broker a deal,” Deese said. “Let’s do something that would be a win-win situation for both.”

News that the mall had given Graham a pink slip after 18 years generated an outcry.

“That’s a devastating move they’ve done over at Tysons Corner Center,” said Pat Chambers, whose daughter surrendered her pacifier to Santa when the time arrived to give it up. “We bring him cookies every year. There’s no way I can go back there if it’s another Santa.”

People whose families went every year to see him called the mall, burned up e-mail group lists with commentary and threatened to boycott the shopping center. CBS News booked a TV appearance for this morning, a radio station in Green Bay, Wis., ran the story and SantasForHire.com, an online booking agency for Santa’s helpers, wanted to track down Graham to offer him a job. Graham, with the help of a publicist and Deese, has arranged a news conference on a public sidewalk next to the mall after his television appearance.

“We’re taking our lumps, and we know we made an error,” Fischer said. She said officials had erred in handling the timing of the notification to Graham and were working to correct the situation by a financial arrangement and an offer of employment somewhere.

This is turning into a text-book example of how not to handle a problem.

• Maybe Their New Marketing Slogan Will Be “Bah, Humbug”
• Maybe Their New Marketing Slogan Will Be “Bah, Humbug”
• I Saw Mommy Groping Santa Claus
• I Saw Mommy Groping Santa Claus
• No Ho, Ho, Ho

Santa just got the boot. And not just any Santa.

Michael Graham has been Santa at Tysons Corner Center for so long that many who visited him when they were young have brought their own children to experience his magic: a real snowy beard, a twinkle in his eye, a way with children that conveyed the presence of a kind and timeless character. He drew family members from the Washington region and beyond who stood in long lines for hours and brought albums with pictures taken in his lap from Christmases past.

But after 18 years of planting children on his knee, Graham said yesterday that the Fairfax County mall is not inviting him back this year. Graham said he’s not sure why, particularly because he had a contract until 2012. A spokeswoman for the company that manages the mall said Graham has done nothing wrong. It’s just that the company wanted a different Santa signed on by the new photo operator who will run the event.

That leaves Graham, 51, without work this holiday season and with visions of foreclosure dancing in his head. Graham, who works as a carpenter in a small Tennessee town when he’s not minding the store at the North Pole, said he was counting on the $30,000 he would earn as Santa when he bought a new house last year.

Now it’s too late to book another mall, and he has already spent a good bit of money preparing for Christmas. It’s not elves who make each of the three $900 custom-tailored velvet suits he goes through each year, or the boots that go for $725 a pair.

Firing Santa ?

Santa getting foreclosed on ?

Not exactly the kind of press you want in a bad economy, guys.

• The Saga Of The Fired Santa Continues
• The Saga Of The Fired Santa Continues
• I Saw Mommy Groping Santa Claus
• I Saw Mommy Groping Santa Claus
• No Ho, Ho, Ho

None Found

If you’re looking for something to read, head on over to The Liberty Papers, where we’re celebrating the beginning of our third year.

Enjoy the holiday.

• And We’re Back….Finally
• And We’re Back….Finally
• Countdown To The Holidays Part II
• Countdown To The Holidays Part II
• Countdown To The Holidays

Happy New Year !

• Finding Great Restaurants In the Washington, D.C. Area
• Finding Great Restaurants In the Washington, D.C. Area
• A Below The Beltway Restaurant Review: Landini Brothers
• A Below The Beltway Restaurant Review: Landini Brothers
• Thursday Afternoon Dog Report

A lot of driving, but a lot of fun too.

Regular blogging to resume shortly.

None Found