This would really be funny if it wasn’t so sad. What do they think Jesus would say?

From CNN:

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests attacked each other with brooms and stones inside the Church of the Nativity as long-standing rivalries erupted in violence during holiday cleaning on Thursday.

A general view from the Church of the Nativity compound in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

The basilica, built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born, is administered jointly by Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic authorities.

Any perceived encroachment on one group’s turf can touch off vicious feuds.

It is Christmas Day. It is not “Season’s Greetings” day or “Happy Holidays” day. Those generic politically correct terms really grate on my nerves. What is “Season’s Greetings?” What holiday is that?

In 2007, Hanukkah began at sundown on December 4 and ended on December 12. The winter solstice occurred on Dec 21 or 22. Kwanzaa is on December 26. There are no other holidays for any other major religions taking place at this time.

So I suppose if you were in room packed with Christians, Jews, Pagans, and black Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa (which by the way, was a holiday that was created in 1966, a time of great social change for blacks in the U.S.)–and the date happens to be at the beginning of December–well, then I supposed “Happy Holidays” might be appropriate.

But just mindlessly spouting it, or sending “season’s greetings” cards to people who know celebrate Christmas, is really silly and just in keeping with making everything generic so as to not hurt anyone’s feelings.

Bleech.

Today is Christmas Day, so say it. Merry Christmas.

I almost lost my domain! Just in case you tried to access my site and instead of finding my witty and endearing remark of the day, saw a message that the page couldn’t be accessed….well, that’s because in all the frantic activity of the past few weeks, I completely forgot about renewing my domain.

Fortunately, we caught it in the nick of time, before it forever vanished into the annals of cyberspace.

This has been the busiest December of my life I think. I had two conferences to attend on opposite sides of the country back to back during the first 12 days, and then came home only to finish packing and move 80 miles from where I was currently living. Add to that Christmas creeping up at an extraordinary rapid pace, and a ton of work to get done. Plus we still haven’t finished this move. I am donating some old furniture which will be picked up between now and New Year’s. We still have to get odds and ends out of our Seattle apt and clean it up.

But having a new house is the best Christmas present yet. So even if we’re a little late with putting up a tree and decorations (bought two tiny trees at Trader Joe’s and hung stockings over the fireplace) it is a truly awesome Christmas.

Better yet, I saved my domain name.

I am no longer a citizen of Seattle, but have moved north into the forest. Well, sort of. We moved to Bellingham yesterday, which is about 80 miles north of Seattle, and 50 miles south of Vancouver BC. We now have plenty of room to spread out, ie, no more cramped city apartment.

It’s great. It’s quiet. No more drunks screaming on the street at night. No more people who think its fun to share their conversations at 2am on a public street, while standing beneath apt buildings that are obviously occupied by people who are undoubtedly asleep.

Anyway, there’s still much to be done, and we still have to go back to Seattle to finish cleaning up the old place. And since we got rid of almost everything, we need lots of new furniture. But all in due time. In the meanwhile, I also have deadlines galore….that’s a good thing because moving can be expensive.

I’m just a little too busy to write anything intelligent right now–being in the middle of writing up conference reports and packing to move house on Monday–but here’s a few tidbits from the news.

If you’re a parent and thinking about getting your kids vaccinated…Vaccine Recall: What Parents Need to Know

Merck announced that it is voluntarily recalling 1 million doses of two common childhood vaccines, routinely given to children under 5. Here’s everything you need to know about the recall.

During a routine inspection of their manufacturing process, Merck officials found that some equipment was contaminated with a bacteria called Bacillus cereus.

Contaminated vaccines, how novel. Just another day in paradise.

Next on the agenda, our compassionate conservative president does another stunt to benefit the human race.

President Bush vetoes child health bill again. What does the man have against children? Oh, I forgot, he only cares about children who are still embryos, or still cooking in a petri dish.

President Bush vetoed an expansion of the federally funded, state-run health insurance program for poor children for a second time Wednesday, telling Congress the bill “moves our country’s health care system in the wrong direction.”

In his veto message, President Bush calls on Congress to extend funding for the current program.

In his veto message, Bush said the bill is almost a duplicate of the proposal he spiked in October.

“Because the Congress has chosen to send me an essentially identical bill that has the same problems as the flawed bill I previously vetoed, I must veto this legislation, too,” he said in a statement released by the White House.

The bill would have expanded the State Children’s Health Insurance Program by nearly $35 billion over five years, the same as the measure Bush vetoed October 3.

Moving our health system in the wrong direction? Pray tell, what does he suggest? You just gotta love the guy.

Duh, why can’t kids just stay in petri dishes?

Just a quick note–heading back to Seattle today. Hopefully, after this marathon of travel to two conferences, posting will get back to normal.

Am jumping from location to location to cover to back to back conferences. Makes for one very busy little medical writer. Anyway, I haven’t much time for blogging, but just wanted to update the page, so as to allow too much to pass between entries.

I finally got to see Phantom of the Opera, as it was playing at my hotel in Vegas. There were no more excuses. It was great, and a much needs 90 minutes of rest–away from all things medical, pharmaceutical, nursing, etc.

I guess I was so overwhelmed with being in Vegas, that I forgot that yesterday was the first Advent. The countdown to Christmas. Somehow, Las Vegas just doesn’t evoke the Christmas season for me, despite the lavish decorations.

But shock of shocks, I’ve been here 33 hours and not one Elvis impersonator sited so far.

Yes, I’m in Vegas. What a land, sort of like Disneyworld for grownups. I was looking at one of these little convenience stores in one of the fancy hotels, and half the wall was covered with remedies for either hangovers or indigestion. And of course, condoms. Interesting selection.