OK… so the FBI is just getting plain goofy and a bit scary.

I ran across this story earlier today: FBI Issues Alert Against Almanac Carriers.

According to The Associated Press story, the FBI wrote the following in its alert:

“The practice of researching potential targets is consistent with known methods of al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations that seek to maximize the likelihood of operational success through careful planning.”

Yes, and I would say that the practice of researching potential targets is consistent with know methods of tourists as well. OK, well, nerdy tourists like me. I’ll admit it: I love maps, tour guides, and almanacs.

Now, of course, I understand the point of the warning, sort of.

I appreciate the fact that law enforcement officers have a tough job to do and that all clues are vital in the prevention of future terrorist attacks. However, I think we’ve hit an odd point when the possession of reference materials can move the suspicion level up to “potential terrorist.”

I just used another reference guide to look up a few words.

The definition of terrorism is “the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.”

Terror is defined as “an intense state of fear.”

The “intense state of fear” is the spot we’ve hit. We’ve been here for awhile, but I think it is getting worse. We are intensely afraid. Obviously, we have good and legitimate reasons to be afraid, but we are becoming afraid of ourselves, of anyone who is not like us, and of people carrying reference books (?). That is not good. That is not healthy.

The definition of paranoia is “a tendency on the part of an individual or group toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others.”

My New Year’s Resolution for the United States: Stop being afraid. It only leads to paranoia.

My New Year’s Resolution for the FBI: Stop feeding the paranoia.

Advice of the Day from The Old Farmer’s Almanac: “On New Year’s Eve, kiss the person you hope to keep kissing.”

I went to college to become a journalist. I had a deep desire to learn the art of writing and the skill of reporting. I had dreams of being an amazing reporter who would break some incredible story and make headlines around the world. But early in my coursework, I wasn’t so sure that I really had what it takes to be a great journalist.

When I approached my academic advisor about my concerns, he said, “Here’s a situation: I’m your editor. I’ve just sent you to cover the aftermath of a tornado. You arrive on scene and make some preliminary notes. You learn from the sheriff that the storm has claimed the life of at least one person. The body of a missing farmer has been found. His wife positively identified the body. The sheriff points out the farmer’s wife to you. What is your first question for the wife?”

I knew then, and I still know, what my first question would be, but I realized that I couldn’t ask it. More than anything I hate asking the tough questions when it really isn’t any of my business. Of course, I don’t mind when the great journalists of the world ask the hard questions. I love reading the answers. I just can’t do it myself.

Unfortunately, I am finding that there are fewer and fewer great journalists left to ask the hard questions and to report about the difficult answers.

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I never made it into the ranks of the professional journalists, but I still love to follow the field. One of the best ways to keep up with anything in life is to read what the critics have to say. I love reading media and media-watchdog websites — left, right, moderate, you-name-it and I’ll read it.

A number of these sites compile year-end lists. Here’s a sampling along with some commentary from yours truly:

• Media Research Center’s “Best of Notable Quotables 2003: Sixteenth Annual Awards for the YearíƒÙs Worst Reporting”: Eight pages of quotes voted on by conservative-leaning journalists and talk show hosts.

  Also available as a PDF

  My favorite selection is the runner-up for the “Baghdad Bob Award for Parroting Enemy Propaganda”. It is amazing to me that intelligent people say such dumb things.

  Tom Brokaw: íƒ˙NBC News íƒÚIn DepthíƒÙ tonight. In the aftermath of the war on Iraq, new anxieties for some of the countryíƒÙs educated, successful women. Although many may be glad to be rid of Saddam Hussein, many are also worried that a new government could set them back….íƒ˘
  Mike Taibbi in Baghdad: íƒ˙While the end to the Saddam regime means a return to long-denied freedoms for all Iraqis, it may also mean at least a temporary rollback of some hard-won freedoms for millions of Iraqi women…. While SaddamíƒÙs regime brutalized women íƒÏ rape, torture, even beheadings íƒÏ his secular government also gave women more rights than their counterparts in many other Islamic countries.íƒ˘
  íƒÏNBC Nightly News, April 22. [47 votes]

• 2003 in Review: The Year’s Most Significant Press Issues as compiled by the Editor & Publisher staff
  

  Blah, blah, Blogs: Probably the most hyped online development in 2003 (along with growth in site registration), but will these self-important online journals actually change the way newspapers do journalism on the Web?

  I had to laugh a bit at this one. I like the defensive tone. To mutilate an old phrase: the ability to write about and comment on the news makes me a journalist about as much as standing in a garage makes me a car. haha.
  I know that this is a much talked about topic in the blogosphere, but in my opinion, there are very few blogs that are able to cross the line into journalism.

  Good journalism should not be changed in any way by the existence of blogs; bad journalism can always use a bit more criticism and commentary from the masses. Blog on.

• Project Censored’s “Censored 2004: The Top 25 Censored Media Stories of 2002-2003″

  These are really worth a read. There are a lot of stories that don’t make the headlines of any major newspaper or broadcast. Some of the issues raised in these stories are very important. Some of them are too complex for the standard news format; some are too controversial; and some probably get killed in the news cycle by the corporate powers that be. It is a shame that more of these stories weren’t picked up by the mainstream press.

A few other media sites of note:

• FAIR: Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting
• Columbia journalism Review
• Poynter Online

Two observations from my day:

This afternoon I watched the movie Canadian Bacon, in which the U.S. government, under the leadership of President Alan Alda, attempts to engage Canada in a cold war in order to improve a weak economy and boost the president’s sagging approval rating.

I read in the news that the U.S. Department of Agriculture believes that the slaughtered Washington state cow diagnosed with mad cow disease came from Canada.

Short post today. I have had an attack of allergies this week which is progressing into a sinus infection. Ugh.

I have a bit of Christmas gift wrapping to finish tonight. Then I think I’m going to bed early.

Merry Christmas everybody!

I mentioned in a post on Friday that I was having a difficult time deciding which songs to buy from the iTunes Music Store. I had received an e-mailed gift certicate from my parents and it was burning a hole in my virtual pocket.

I bought an audiobook by David Sedaris — David Sedaris Live at Carnegie Hall — and two albums: Live by Alison Krauss & Union Station and A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

I plan to fall asleep tonight to the sounds of bluegrass and then dream of a cool jazzy Christmas where I can dance like Snoopy.

I bought a knife tonight, but I can’t get the package open. I need something like… well, like a knife.

A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of my all-time favorite Christmas shows. It is a must-see for me each season. It always reminds me what Christmas should be about.

The website Everything2 explains what Charles Shulz, the creator of Peanuts, intended to express through his characters in A Charlie Brown Christmas.

“The plot and theme of A Charlie Brown Christmas were the result of Schulz’s devout Christianity. Thus, Charlie Brown’s search for meaning in the middle of Christmas commercialism didn’t result in him learning about ‘friends and family,’ or ”tis better to give than to receive’; no, he learned that Christmas was a celebration of the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Schulz demonstrates, through the character of Sally Brown, the commercial side of the holiday. She truly has a consumer’s understanding of the season. Sally is simply concerned about getting what she thinks she deserves. Giving is no longer the main consideration in her mind; the more important thing is getting. She doesn’t even miss a beat when Charlie Brown says that he doesn’t have much time.

SALLY BROWN: I’ve been looking for you, big brother. Will you please write a letter to Santa Claus for me?

CHARLIE BROWN: Well, I don’t have much time. I’m supposed to get down to the school auditorium and direct a Christmas play.

SALLY: You write it, and I’ll tell you what I want to say.

CHARLIE BROWN: Okay, shoot.

SALLY: Dear Santa Claus — How have you been? How is your wife? I have been extra good this year. That’s why I have a long list of presents that I want.

CHARLIE BROWN: Oh, brother.

SALLY: Please note the size and color of each item and send as many as possible. If it seems too complicated, make it easy on yourself — just send money. How about tens and twenties?

CHARLIE BROWN: Tens and twenties? Oh! Even my baby sister!

SALLY: All I want is what I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share.

And then there is Linus with his ever-present security blanket. Schulz explains the simple truth of the holiday — the celebration of our Saviour’s birth — through the voice of a young, insecure child who recites the words of the second chapter of the Book of Luke.

It is a scene which still sends chills through me everytime I see it.

[IN THE AUDITORIUM, CHARLIE BROWN AND LINUS ARE STAGE RIGHT, AND THE REST OF THE PEANUTS GANG ARE STAGE LEFT]

CHARLIE BROWN: I guess I really don’t know what Christmas is all about. [SHOUTS] Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?

LINUS: Sure Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. [WALKS TO CENTER STAGE] Lights please.

[LIGHTS GO DOWN, SPOTLIGHT ON LINUS]

LINUS: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

[LIGHTS COME BACK UP AS LINUS WALKS BACK]

That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

One final thought about the meaning of Christmas:

According to the Internet Movie Database: “During his famed speech, Linus, who is well-known to be dependent on his security blanket, actually lets go of it when he recites these words: ‘Fear not! For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.’”

Here’s to letting go of security blankets this Christmas. Here’s to celebrating a Saviour born unto us! Amen.

As I went about my shopping a few days ago, I was lamenting about how Christmas seems to have lost its connection with Christ. Everywhere I looked, there was nothing relating to God. No crosses, no nativity scenes, nothing that symbolized the true meaning of the season. I only saw winter wonderlands, reindeer, snow, elves, and a Santa around every corner. It seemed to me that the stores had made a special attempt to hide the Christ of Christmas. I was pretty certain that the modern American version of Christmas hadn’t left much room for Jesus.

That evening, I prayed that the people would not be blinded by all of the non-religious symbols of the holiday.

I prayed that they would be able to see God in each other as they shopped.

I prayed that they would not pass by any opportunity to acknowledge God and His wonderful presence.

The incredible thing about prayer is that God answers it, but sometimes in unexpected ways. God reminded me of a few things after I prayed.

One of the reminders is that I seem to forget on a frequent basis that when I pray for others, I should really consider praying for myself first. I don’t mean that in a selfish way. I mean it in the way of Luke 6 (verses 37 through 42) — pull the plank from your own eye before worrying about the speck in your brother’s eye.

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As I entered one of the stores that day, I passed by a Salvation Army bell ringer with a red kettle. She said, “Merry Christmas!” I said, “Merry Christmas to you too.”

I said “Merry Christmas” in the same way that I would say “Hello” to someone I pass on the street — to someone I don’t know. I was polite but indifferent. As I said “Merry Christmas to you too,” I was thinking “Can’t you stop ringing that bell for just a second. That is sooo annoying. Man, I bet you hate your job.”

I had a dollar in my pocket. It was loose. Not even in my billfold. I didn’t put it in the kettle because it was too much trouble at that particular moment. Besides, I was in a hurry. Lots of shopping to finish. And I was annoyed about the fact that I had not seen anything relating to Christ.

On the way out of the store, I passed by the bell ringer and her kettle once again. We exchanged “Merry Christmases,” and I went on my way.

Of course, I know that the lady with the bell works for The Salvation Army. Those very words are painted in white on the side of the red kettle. I saw that part. But the meaning of what I saw and didn’t see only started to dawn on me later in the evening. God started to slow me down and make me think about my day.

I can’t pretend to know much about this one bell ringer — I’ve exchanged less than a half dozen words with her — but I do know that The Salvation Army often staffs these positions with folks who are seeking an opportunity to work and to faithfully serve. People who are motivated by the love of God. People with a desire to share the gospel and help God’s people.

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.” — From The Salvation Army website

In my attempt to push past all of the things which I thought had ruined this holiday season, I blew right by God. I hadn’t left any room for the possibility that I would likely see God in the stores. I only needed to look and listen.

He was standing there with a rather loud and annoying bell in an attempt to get my attention. Eventually, He did. I’m very happy that He did.

Matthew 25:31-46

• Wakko (Jess Harnell) from Animaniacs

WAKKO: Dear Santa, I have been ever so good this year. I would like a new mallet and a shiny brass anvil.

• Peter Billingsley and Melinda Dillon from A Christmas Story

RALPHIE: I want an official Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle!

MOTHER: No, you’ll shoot your eye out.

• Linus Van Pelt (Christopher Shea) from A Charlie Brown Christmas

LINUS: Charlie Brown, you’re the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem.

• Gracie Allen and George Burns from The Burns and Allen Show

GRACIE: Well, you see one Christmas my father caught a wild turkey and he fed him corn and chestnuts. But then we didn’t have the heart to kill him so we let him get away.

GEORGE: Oh, I see.

GRACIE: But the turkey liked the food so well that he came back each year. And that way we always had–

GEORGE: A turkey for Christmas dinner?

GRACIE: Yes.

• Sally Brown (Megan Taylor Harvey) from Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tales

SALLY: This year I’m going to make all my Christmas presents. And guess what I’m getting everybody– paper airplanes!

I mentioned in a previous post that I love public radio. (I think I also mentioned that I am a dork. If I didn’t, you can consider it stated here for the record.)

I picked out a few of my favorite Christmas-related radio shows for your listening pleasure.

The Writer’s Almanac

• Poem: “Christmas-Day,” by George Herbert (Aired 12/25/02)
• Poem: “A Christmas Carol,” by G.K. Chesterton (Aired 12/25/01)
• Poem: “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening,” by Robert Frost from The Poetry of Robert Frost (Aired 12/26/01)

The Prairie Home Companion
The music in these shows is great! The monologues towards the end of each show are definitely worth a listen.

• Performance from December 23, 2000
• Performance from December 22, 2001

Morning Edition

• Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris
  This piece originally ran on NPR’s Morning Edition in December 1992. The diaries are about Mr. Sedaris’s two Christmas seasons working as an elf in Macy’s department store on New York’s Herald Square.

  It is also included in This American Life’s Christmas and Commerce episode, which unfortunately is not currently available. The file was working correctly when I posted this.

Weekend Edition

• Annoying Holiday Music with Jim Nayder
• John Henry Faulk’s ‘Christmas Story’ | Read

All Things Considered

• First Christmas

This American Life

• The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Suit | Listen
  The entire program is worth a listen, but my favorite part is Act Five: Santa Claus vs. the Easter Bunny. This is a classic. I roll on the floor everytime I listen to this.

  A Word of Warning: There is profanity (one bleeped; one not) and blatant sacrilege in Act Five.

  Fast forward to 47:15 for Act Five. If you listen to Act Five first, don’t forget to go back and listen to the rest of the program. The first part of the program includes the a conversation with Stephen Nissenbaum, the author of The Battle for Christmas, a compelling explanation of the origins of the the modern American Christmas.

• A Very Special Sedaris Christmas | Listen
  Stories from David Sedaris’ book of Christmas stories, Holidays on Ice, read onstage by David, Julia Sweeney and actor Matt Malloy.