God, I miss the days when social conservatives sat around grumbling about how the true meaning of Christmas was being lost in a tacky, commercial wave of neon Santas and animatronic snowmen.
Instead, the evolving culture wars have turned St. Nick into some kind of conservative hero--a roly-poly, fur-clad warrior for Good in the insidious "war against Christmas."
As a result, one now encounters yard decor like the incongruous scene erected on a lawn not too far from my house: a fat, glittery Santa grinning wildly as he kneels low over Baby Jesus in his makeshift manger bed.
In a word: Creepy.