There's no need to be afraid at Christmastime

It's that time of year, when good cheer, egg nog, and ubiquitous baked goods warm your cockles, or something like that.

It's the time of year when, for no good reason other than my own curiosity, I check to see if there is snow on Manua Kea. And indeed, today there is:

Someday I will see and touch snow in the tropical Aloha State. And possibly go snowboarding or even skiing for a few yards. It's like the Holy Grail to me.

It's also that time of year when various Protestant groups in South Korea put up "Christmas trees" close to the border with North Korea, at a place called Aegibong (애기봉전망대), to remind them that there is peace, love, and religion outside of the Juche faith of self-reliance on the Dear Leader.

This is last year's "tree," which actually contains no real tree.

What SoKos see as thumbing their nose at Kim Jong-il, the NoKos see as giving the finger. Pyongyang has warned of "an unpredictable situation" if the techno tannenbaum remains.

Well, I hate to break this to you, honey, but thanks to y'alls, we're always in an unpredictable situation. Call us when your crazy is mo' crazy. The only war on Christmas I foresee is the one that's happening in the imagination of conservatives.

Well, no. Scratch that. Just be normal for a change. Like your friends and benefactors the Chinese. Oh, wait. No. Scratch that, too. (An epic rant on that is coming, just be patient.)

Peace on Earth, good will to all men.

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