With the Christmas season ending, people are taking stock of their gifts - those to keep and those to return. And they're thinking about all those after-holiday sales and specials (as opposed to the holiday TV specials like "It's a Wonderful Life"). One "special" in particular -- Rep. Jo Ann Davis's drama about poor little candy canes -- has got a lot of people talking. And not in a good way. I'll start posting the reviews for your reading enjoyment.Here's the first one:
Robert Seltzer of the San Antonio Express News:
"Who would have thought that we would live in a society where the display of Santa Claus and the mentioning of a Christmas tree would bring out the speech police?" Jo Ann Davis, R-Va., who introduced the resolution, asked in a press release.But if she thinks all the speech police are Democrats, forget it. Of the 50 governors, 36 ? 18 Democrats and 18 Republicans ? are sending Christmas cards without referring to Christmas this year, according to a recent survey by Stateline.org. Poor Davis; it must be tough to defend herself when her friends are her enemies.
If Christmas were truly special to her, the lawmaker would abide by its spirit no matter what people called it. Is an apple less of an apple if you call it a fruit? Is a Toyota less of a Toyota if you call it a fuel-efficient vehicle?
And if helping others ? which is, after all, the principal mandate of Christmas ? were part of her agenda, she might have focused on more pressing problems. A few come to mind, including a real war. The war in Iraq.
More on the way ... (believe me, this was one of the better ones).