December 3, 2004 by s.z.

MY Christmas Crusade Michelle Malkin is in a high dudgeon (but not, alas, a dungeon or internment camp): My Christmas Crusade The persecution never ends. Denver has launched war against a church group that wanted to march in the city's Christmas parade "Parade of Lights." (I hate, hate, hate that p.c. euphemism.) From the Denver Post: Parade Organizers Say Christmas Carols May Be Offensive To Others Well, per the story Michelle linked to, Denver really hasn't launched WAR against a church group -- it's just that the "Denver Downtime Partnership" which sponsors the Parade of Lights (it culminates in tbe lighting of the holiday decorations) parade told the Faith Bible Chapel (an evangelical "mega-church" in the Denver area) that they couldn't build a Christmas float and sing Christmas carols in the parade because the organizers don't allow overt references to religion.   Oh, and the mayor recently announced that starting next year, the phrase "Merry Christmas" will be removed from the city building and replaced with "Happy Holidays."  So, no Christians were actually tortured during the course of this offensive.  But that hasn't stopped Michelle from launching her own war ... I mean, crusade: I am hereby launching the Lump of Coal campaign. Later today, I will box up a lump of charcoal, mark the package "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" and send it to the Denver Mayor in protest of his idiotic policy. Please join me in doing the same (and if you take a photo of your creatively designed package, I will link/post). And that gave me the idea for MY Christmas crusade.  If you were really going to spend the money to buy some charcoal, package it up, and mail it to the mayor, I challenge you to instead send the amount (which would be at least a couple of dollars) to this group profiled by the Denver Post: Nonprofit treats Medicaid kids who would be turned away elsewhere Erika Barragan never expected to be a stay-at-home mom, but when her son, Rafael, was born with Down syndrome, she soon realized he would need 24-hour care. It also meant Rafael would need costly medical attention, and that she and her husband, a construction worker, would have to get Rafael on Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program. Shopping around for a doctor was tough. Many private practices don't accept Medicaid patients. A friend suggested Rocky Mountain Youth Medical and Nursing Consultants, a nonprofit organization that has three full clinics, two mobile clinics and 25 other sites where it offers care. There, doctors see patients who are in danger of falling through the cracks of the medical system: those who are underinsured or have zero health insurance. [...] "We are trying to accommodate the demand that is out there," Wolk said. It's been rising as more families find themselves without health insurance because they are out of work or their employer doesn't offer insurance. Wolk created the nonprofit agency shortly after finishing his pediatric residency at Children's Hospital. He found the children who needed care the most weren't getting it because their families didn't have insurance. Doctors were turning away Medicaid patients because the reimbursement rates are low. He found it frustrating. "Maybe I was just naive, but I thought that our job was to help the children who needed it the most," Wolk said. "I was surprised to find that health care was scarcest for those sickest children." [...] How to donate Post-News Season to Share, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, gave more than $1.6 million to 60 agencies last year serving children, the hungry and the homeless and providing medical care to the indigent. Donations are matched at 50 cents for each dollar, and 100 percent of all donations go directly to charitable agencies. To make a donation, please see the coupon in today's paper, call 800-508-2928 or visit denverpost.com I bet that if you sent your donation, and told them it was to teach Mayor Hickenlooper a lesson about taking the phrase "Merry Christmas" off the public buildings (and for being the mayor of a city whose parade organizers won't let a church group sing Christmas carols), they would pass the message along.  Plus, you would actually be doing something for the least of these your brethren, which would probably make Jesus happier than mailing charcoal to a mayor. Or, just give a couple of bucks (or donate food or toys or something) to a worthy local charity, and tell Michelle that you did it to teach Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper the true spirit of Christmas -- that should work just as well.  (And since the Pastor of the shunned Faith Bible Church is going to be on the Bill O'Reilly show today, you could also tell Bill what you did.)  I'm sure they would much rather have you using your money to help people who need it, rather than on some silly stunt. If you need more ideas on ways to use that spite money, here's another one: The Boston Globe's "Globe Santa" project: Tia (not her real name) writes that she is doing it all: working part time while attending school full time, and raising three children. One is her 11-year-old sister. This 24-year-old single mother became the girl's legal guardian to keep her from entering the Department of Social Services system; their father died and their mother is a drug addict. Just recently, Tia found a part-time job and is frantically trying to pay overdue bills and attempting to prepare for Christmas. ''It gets hard to provide for everyone, so I am asking for help this holiday season," Tia explained. ''I would be grateful for any help you could provide for my family." Janet (not her real name) writes, ''I'm a food stamp recipient looking for help for my child. The child is 7 years old. [She] has been through a lot in the past four years. Her father is in jail, her baby sister died, and her stepfather and I are divorced." Doctors have diagnosed the girl with bipolar disorder. Janet is also still paying bills from an organ transplant the baby received before her death, which continue to come from out of state. ''Please, any help you can give me to give my daughter the best Christmas I can. I'll greatly appreciate it." Josie [also not her real name] needs help this year with her 8-year-old boy, who cannot speak or understand what people say to him. She says, ''If you could read this letter I wish you could help me. My 8-year-old sweet boy is a special needs kid. I would like you to help me with some toys that might be helpful for him. . . . Anything that might help him. I'll appreciate anything you give him. Thank you so much. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year." Hey, if you're somebody who does Michelle's bidding, you probably voted for George Bush because you believed that the government should spend less money helping people and on insuring children, so that taxes could be lowered and the needy could be helped by private donations.  So here's your chance to do just that. 3:00:28 AM

Tsk, Tsk From the Wash Post: Britain's homeland security czar, one of the most powerful members of Prime Minister Tony Blair's government, is embroiled in a political sex scandal with his former mistress that threatens to torpedo his career. Home Secretary David Blunkett, 57, is struggling against allegations in newspaper reports that he fast-tracked a visa application for his married lover's nanny and committed other abuses of office. What makes the allegations particularly striking is that they appear to have originated with the former lover herself, American-born magazine publisher Kimberly Quinn, 44, in retaliation for Blunkett's attempt to establish that he is the father of her 2-year-old son and unborn child. Of course, nothing like that could happen HERE, where our party in power is unfailingly moral and family-oriented.   So, the rumor that Tom Ridge's resignation was prompted by the fear that his lover, Peggy Noonan, was going to allege that Tom raised the threat level to Code Orange a few months ago just so her son could indulge in some underage drinking is probably something I made up. Anyway, Kimbery Quinn is the publisher of the Spectator.  And as the Post notes: Extramarital affairs that turn excruciatingly public seem to be an ongoing theme at the Spectator. Recent newspaper reports revealed that the magazine's editor, Boris Johnson, a Conservative member of Parliament who is married and has four children, had conducted a long-running affair with columnist Petronella Wyatt. Meanwhile, Rod Liddle, 44, an associate editor, left his wife for Alicia Munckton, a 23-year-old receptionist at the magazine. Liddle, Munckton and Liddle's estranged spouse, Rachel Royce, 42, have all written extensively about these affairs in various newspapers. Mark Steyn is a columnist for the Spectator.  Inquiring minds are wondering if he will he be the next conservative associated with the paper to make headlines for having a scandalous extramarital affair .  An announcement at his site states: "For personal and family reasons, this website will be on hiatus for a while."  So, either his relationship with Hugh Hewitt is becoming problematic, or, even though Bush won the election, Mark is following through on that idea of becoming a mercenary in Africa. 1:22:25 AM

The Hell ... ? In honor of Chris V., we offer you this disturbing 1949 ad for Post Toasties, and request that you comment on it: We hear you say that it isn't really all that disturbing, and is in fact a rather charming  illustration of a day in the homeschool where a young Rush Limbaugh, Linda Chavez, and Ann Coulter were educated. Well, take a closer look at Mom/Teacher and tell me that there's not something wrong here in Happy Toastie Land: Anyway, your job is to caption this, and/or offer some insights into what the heck is going on here. 12:43:19 AM