Wading In

There was a delay posting last week's column due to the holidays and a website glitch. Here it is in it's entirety. The murky, lurky side of Christmas By Kelvin Wade | | December 25, 2008 12:34 There is a war on Christmas. But not the one you're thinking about. I'm talking about Christmas contempt. Underneath a lot of the faux good cheer and syrupy entreaties to have a 'Merry Christmas' lies the beating heart of a Grinch. And I'm talking about the one that's two sizes too small, before the Grinch got his Christmas makeover. Christmas, far from being the most wonderful time of the year as the song goes, is probably the most stressful time of the year. Parking is atrocious. Granted most of us can use the exercise of walking a bit to get into our favorite store but its frustrating circling around a parking lot looking for an open space. Have you noticed that every store is packed at Christmastime? You wonder where all people were the othe...

Playing Santa is in the details By Kelvin Wade | | December 18, 2008 16:42 It's time for some practical advice regarding Santa Claus portrayals. If you can't get to the mall for your children to see Santa, it's probably best the kids don't actually see Santa. You can have them write letters Santa answers. Or shoot Santa an e-mail because I hear the North Pole has wi-fi now. You can even have your children set out the time honored glass of milk and cookies on Christmas Eve. It'll go a long way to keeping the magic alive. When the kids awaken to see an empty glass and trace evidence of cookie crumbs, they're amazed. It's like Santa CSI. If at all possible, leave the actual Santa playing to the professionals. Maintaining the integrity of the Santa Claus illusion is harder than it seems at first glance. No, you don't have to be Criss Angel to be Kris Kringle but you do have to realize, as most magicians can attest, children can be a toughe...

Gay advocates' efforts misguided By Kelvin Wade | | December 11, 2008 22:50 This week saw the 'Day Without A Gay' protest where gays were encouraged to call in 'gay' to work, take the day off and volunteer in their communities. It is patterned on the 'day without Latinos' protest that has been conducted on May 1 the past three years to protest immigration laws. This protest was fueled by the recent passage of Proposition 8 in California banning gay marriage. While volunteering in one's community is admirable, I don't think the day is going to be a game changer in the gay marriage debate. If we want to blame someone for Proposition 8's passage, first point the finger at the No on 8 campaign. The No on 8 campaign was an abomination. This was a measure that was losing by 17 points two months before the election. Complacency obviously set in because they seemed caught off guard when the pro-Proposition 8 ads hit. There was virtually no...

Dollar Tree ruling smacks of injustice By Kelvin Wade | | December 04, 2008 23:16 The 2006 murder of Taneka Talley at the North Texas Dollar Tree store was a brutal, shocking crime. It was also brutally shocking to find out that Dollar Tree stores' insurer is denying death benefits to Talley's 11-year-old son because the alleged killer said in a psychiatric report that he killed Talley because she was black. While I'm familiar with racial profiling and its various incarnations such as DWB (driving while black), I must confess I didn't know there was a category Dollar Tree apparently recognized as WWB (working while black). According to California workers compensation law, a claim can be denied if victim and killer have/had a personal relationship. Apparently, Dollar Tree's insurers see the suspect's alleged hatred of black people as creating a personal relationship between he and Talley and are thus denying the claim. Talley was, by all publish...