I think it's number 2 that's really turned me into a Scrooge:

1. The fact that "this season" now starts in mid october and lasts until mid-january, forcing you to endure "holiday cheer" whether you like it or not for a full 1/4 of the year.
2. Watching a holiday which came into existence specifically to celebrate the humble birth of a religious figure morph into a season-long frenzy of unfettered decadence.
3. The fact that everyone suddenly becomes an aficionado of crappy music. NPR even has "experts" come on the radio to tell us stories of christmas carols that never made it as part of the cannon. That's right, a whole special on songs that aren't good enough to be part of the annoying set of songs we hear every year, at this time. (Okay, I'll be honest, hearing about "The Fruitcake that Ate New Jersey" was kinda funny.)
4. Even the television is stacked against us: TV "marathons" of the "best ever" Star Trek episodes? Just once I want them to show the worst episodes.
5. Kwanza jokes. Okay, seriously, if you still don't know what Kwanza is, it's because you don't care. Not caring is fine, but if that's the case, I don't actually see what the joke is: "I don't know what Kwanza is. Of course, I've never bothered to type it into google, but still, isn't it funny that I don't know. Ha ha!"
6. Having to listen to "Christmas persecution" nonsense. As if being asked to acknowledge that religions besides Christianity exist, and that Christmas is not the only holiday that people celebrate this time of year is somehow threatening to Christianity. (Of course, it doesn't help when the American Atheists, self-declared agents of "reason", put up billboards implying that people who believe in Christmas are stupid. Thank you, atheist.org, for teaching us what humanism is all about.)
7. The obligations and guilt. Er, I mean, I can't wait to see my family!
8. The need to prove what a wild and crazy NYE you can have.
9. Trying to make everything work out just right: travel arrangements so you can see everyone, top ten lists with exactly ten items. Know what I mean?
10. Top ten lists. Why does everyone feel the need to make top ten lists this time of year?

Dear Mayor Michael Bloomberg,

You didn't have to speak out in defense of the mosque, but you did. Not only was this the right message for non-Muslims to hear, that we must extend the same freedoms to others that we wish to have extended to ourselves, but it is also the right message to send to the Muslim world: that we are not as intolerant and hateful as we seem.

There are extremists out there who call themselves Muslim that want us to be hateful and spiteful towards Muslims. Who want you to reject the Mosque. By painting the US as intolerant of Islam they are able to gain new recruits willing to commit acts of suicidal terror. But when you defended the Mosque, you sent a clear message of tolerance and openness. You made it that much harder for terrorists to recruit and for the hate to multiply. By defending the Mosque, you defended our country against terrorism.

It takes bravery to break this cycle of hate. Thank you for being brave.

bjorn

Correction: it seems that the "Mosque" is actually a community center. There is a small Mosque about four blocks from ground zero that's been there for years that has no association with the current controversy.

I don't think people are going far enough in their attempts to get dangerous books out of the hands of our innocent children. Here is just one example of the kind of book that we must absolutely protect our children from. Why, the very idea that Jesus himself had two father figures is not something we need in our children's books! Instead, we need to remind them of the important parts of the bible, like love your neighbor don't kiss people of the same gender. Banning this book would be a step in the right direction, people! Let's do it! Let's be brave!