Tea and Vitriol

The Christmas season is upon us again. And Hanukkah. Both are religious holidays. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, whom all Christian faiths regard as mankind's savior. Hanukkah celebrates the purification and rededication of Solomon's temple after it was defiled by the Hellenizing actions of the Seleucid Empire. As such, the proper greeting this time of year would be "Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah." Especially in years like this one, where the holidays overlap. Yes, both holidays feature gift-giving and as such a great deal of commercialism. But still, it is a happy time of year for most people, who will still use the greeting "Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah" when they meet people. It takes us back to an earlier, less complicated time when people were less apt to take offense at everything, when such greetings produced a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. I am referring to the days before progressive liberalism sought to pervert traditio

  Well, I'm back in Rochester. God alone knows why. I spent two of the last three months visiting my mother-in-law in Germany. Anyone who knows her can tell you it wasn't a vacation. But that isn't the issue here. While I was there, some friends and new acquaintances were curious about the United States in general and my hometown in particular. They have been familiar with my less than glowing reports about Rochester and were really surprised about what I had to say about our city. I encouraged them to Google anything that they really wanted to know about Rochester. They did and were shocked. They couldn't believe that I would choose to live in such a violent dangerous city, complete with a scandalous mayor, ex police chief and a more incompetent and uncaring than usual city council. Even more shocking and amusing to them was the violence in our schools, the dangers faced by teachers and students alike from feral urban humanoids there and the terminal assholism exhibite