08:14 – I see that a Bellevue, Washington USPS employee has been ordered to stop wearing a Santa outfit while he’s delivering mail, although he’s been wearing that suit around this time every year for the last ten years. Now, I’m certainly a radical Grinch, and I’m dead-set against any religion of any sort having any influence whatsoever on government at any level, but this strikes me as faintly ridiculous.
Apparently, one of the guy’s co-workers complained, and the postmaster had no choice but to cite the guy for being in violation of USPS dress-code requirements. The guy says he’ll keep wearing the Santa suit, but admits that he’ll probably get in trouble for doing so. He shouldn’t. This is clearly an example of a personal rather than an institutional celebration of Christmas. Now, if the USPS painted mangers on the sides of its trucks or if it encouraged its employees to distribute religious literature during their delivery rounds, that’d clearly violate separation of church and state and would rightly be banned. But it seems to me that this is not much different from a government employee wearing a necklace with a cross or a star of David on it or playing Christmas carols on the radio while at work.
12:52 – Apparently there are still at least a few people stupid, gullible, and/or desperate enough to fall for the Nigerian scam, but someone would have to be brain-dead to respond to one that just ended up in my inbox. It starts out, and I quote, “This to inform you that UPS company Benin Republic have moved your consignment fund of $3.6 deposited in our office to be delivered to through our diplomatic agent who just arrived your Air Port with your consignment fund.” Wow! Almost a whole four bucks.