We’re off til Monday morning bright and early, so blogging,
tweeting, and all other activity in these parts will be minimal to
the maximum.
We wanted to leave you with some holiday cheer, however, so
here’s a sampling of Reason offerings over the years that relate to
the Christmas season.
On behalf of the Reason staff, here’s wishing you a great
holiday.
And now, on with the show.
First up is our 2010 Christmas video, “A Joe Biden (War on)
Christmas,” which many early viewers took seriously (really, read
the comments at our YouTube channel and then be very, very afraid
for the future of your country).
Last year, we rolled out “Be Happy! Why this is the best holiday
season ever,” which didn’t perplex viewers, though it enraged more
than its fair share with its upbeat celebration of continuous toy
improvement (CTI). Those of us who remember shock-tastic electric
football games (clearly, the origin of today’s over-the-top
touchdown celebrations stem from the St. Vitus Dance-like gyrations
of players too close to the corner of the field with the vibrator
in it!) will beg to differ.
For some reason no one can quite remember, we skipped an actual
Christmas video in 2008, though we did feature Christopher Hitchens
at our Very Special, Very Secular Christmas Party in 2007, where
the author of, most recently, Hitch-22, led the crowd in a dramatic
reading and dolorous sing-along of Tom Lehrer’s “Christmas Carol.”
Mr. Potter never treated George Bailey as tough as Hitchens’ treats
Santa Claus below.
Then there are the stories, the good old-fashioned writings
we’ve produced over the years that are like carols not set to music
or sung by roving bands of annoying, well, carolers.
Highlights include:
2008′s “Peace,
Love, & Misunderstanding: What’s so funny about Christmas as a
secular holiday,” by Jacob Sullum.2008′s “Merry
Christmas, Kwanzaa is Over,” by Michael C. Moynihan.2008′s “The
Fight Before Christmas: Why the War on Christmas is even less
winnable than the War on Drugs,” by Greg Beato.2006′s “Oy,
Tannebaum: You’ve got your Christmas in my Chanukah,” by Jacob
Sullum.2005′s “Santa
Claus Conquers the Martians: The War on Christmas is over. Guess
who won,” by Jesse Walker.2004′s “The
True Spirit of Xmas: How 4/5 of the country became an oppressed
minority,” by Julian Sanchez.
And for a holiday-themed buzz-kill that remains as relevant as
it did when it first ran in 2005, check out “Who Grew
Your Tree?: If you like Christmas, thank an immigrant,” by
Jesse James DeConto and me, which calls attention to the
hard-hearted and misguided immigration laws of these United
States.
For readers employed by the TSA and other jobs with lots of
down-time where concentration and attention really aren’t required,
check out every mention of Christmas at Reason.com by
going here.
And as the year’s end approacheth, two things to remember:
1. Reason’s first-ever cruise sails from Florida January
30-February 6. It’s chock full of Reason staffers (Welch,
Sullum, Bailey, and myself), Reason contributors (Dalmia and de
Rugy), and scintillating guest stars (Matt Ridley, Patri Friedman,
and Ben Rast), and exotic ports of call (Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands, the Lost City
of Atlantis). It’s also suprisingly affordable, with cabins
that include meals and all Reason fees starting at around $1,500.
Cheaper than a hotel, plus Matt Welch playing shuffleboard!
2. This is a great time to make a tax-deductible
donation to Reason
Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes this website,
Reason magazine, and Reason.tv. If you’ve got unexpected or unspent
stimulus burning a hole in your pocket, consider giving a gift to
us. Your donations – have I mentioned they are tax-deductible -
help us fight for “Free Minds and Free Markets” in our own
publications as well as in the nation’s leading newspapers, opinion
journals, and talk shows. Go here for more info
on that.
Our top shovel-ready project for 2011 is to make more
politicians cry. Click below for details.
