Chipmunks roasting on an open fire

Okay, I've had it. Where do I sign up for the war on Christmas^TM?

Phoenix, being a cesspit of mouth-foaming religious right lunacy, has embraced the phony "war on Christmas" talking point with unseemly glee. But today's lead story in the Arizona Repulsive really goes over the top.

Note the headline: "Americans demanding end to generic holiday". And note the file name: 1210merryxmas1210.html. Good grief, they aren't even pretending to make any attempt at objective journalism! They're mindlessly regurgitating the frenzied vaporings of Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association in Tupelo, Miss., who is quoted favorably five times in the article. Wildmon is a stark raving insane fundy wingnut who thinks that "liberals don't have the kind of family responsibilities most people have, and certainly not church responsibilities" (Link), and sees evidence of homosexuality in HGTV and Animal Planet (Link). Like many fundy berserkers, when he isn't protecting Christmas from a non-existent war, Wildmon is waging his own war against gay people.

But what really made me lose my lunch was a quote from Joe Arpaio, the self-aggrandizing buffoon of a sheriff in Maricopa County (metro Phoenix area). Arpaio is famous or notorious, depending on your point of view, for his petty, brutal and humiliating treatment of his inmates, most of whom are awaiting trial and therefore innocent until proven guilty. So barbarous is Arpaio's reign of terror that he has come to the attention of Amnesty International, and an Irish court recently refused to extradite an alleged pedophile priest to Arizona, citing Arpaio's "gulag" and his inhumane treatment of prisoners.

Anyway, here's the money quote:

Even Sheriff Joe Arpaio joined the fray, announcing Thursday that he'll be playing religious holiday music all day, every day in Tent City Jail and other Maricopa County Sheriff's Office jails. He'll include songs by the Chipmunks for the atheists, he says.

My gawd - talk about cruel and inhuman treatment! What an unmitigated ass.

You know, I'm one of many atheists who celebrate Christmas - not as a superstitious ritual but as an occasion to spend time with people I care about. It's my holiday too (and it's far older than Christianity.) I'm sick of these acephalic imbeciles turning it into yet another chance to show their hostility and aggression!