Caleb Howe, at Political Machine on the AOL news website, has been posting a series of fine essays on the War against Christmas. 'War on Christmas' Controversies Spread , [December 7th 2008,] which began the series, was particularly incisive:

A few years ago, I also thought the phrase "War on Christmas" was over the top, and I said as much in a blog entry about Bill O'Reilly. I've come to see, however, that the term is increasingly accurate, despite being sensational… For a large and still growing portion of the American left, there is only one form of evil: western culture. In universities and Moveon.org meetings, the only oppressor, the only representative of evil, is western culture. It's a culture which celebrates Christmas as well as Christianity, and it's a culture with traditions and observances like any other…. In short, the war on Christmas is just a symptom of the greater culture war… What is the war on Christmas? It's a symptom of a war on American values by hateful left-wing activists who despise this country and all that it is, has been, and will ever be. It's not about inclusion, it's about excision. The removal of Christianity and anything associate with Christianity from these shores. It's time to choose your side

War On Christmas: Pelosi Mugged?, Political Machine December 9, 2008 dealt well with the extraordinary remark by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that she was ”mugged” for insisting that the US Capitol Hill Christmas Tree be called a Christmas Tree:

...she repeated "No, you ought to know, I really got mugged for that." His impression, from her demeanor and expression, was that someone had really gotten to her in a way that she really didn't see coming. Her expression conveyed "consternation" and "frustration"… it sounds clear that the Speaker endured some type of hardship. For what? Perhaps for insisting on calling the ceremony a Christmas ceremony rather than a holiday ceremony… That someone like Speaker Pelosi can be victim of what appears to be a callous ambush over something like the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree lighting should tell you much.

War on Christmas: I Saw Someone Killing Santa Claus , Political Machine, December 11,  2008 cites further incidents and concludes

Organized groups are taking on Christmas, as they do every year. The fact that they aren't winning isn't germane. The question is, why is such an assault on our American culture and traditions so readily accepted by the left in the name of some phantom fairness that was never transgressed against in the first place? This Christian and secular holiday is indeed called Christmas, and it is indeed predicated on the historic recognition of the birth of Jesus Christ. It takes a special and sick mind to be offended by such a mere statement of fact, to feel wronged by the mere act of a nation and culture engaging in a long-standing religious and cultural tradition…. There is a war on Christmas. It exists. It is a war being conducted by groups who have a visceral hatred of religion, who routinely, on talk shows and in op-ed columns, blame religion for all the world's woes. What we have learned this year is that some states are going to allow them to use the flimsy excuse of equal display space to get away with blatant attacks which would never be tolerated from other groups… That is the war on Christmas, and the media just keeps helping it along.

The comment threads attached to these essays look like being a gold mine. But I have to break away from this first-class work to deal with the oafish Keith   Olbermann.