Whatever the opposite of a war on Christmas is, this must be it. But I’m glad I’m not this guy’s neighbor. Living next to this must be a little like living next to a Kenny Rogers Roasters.

The Washington Times’ Christmas Holiday Blog has another video plus the story. It’s impressive. From a safe distance.

But speaking of marking out Christmas, Oklahoma attorney general Drew Edmondson is attempting to scrub the holiday that shall not have its name spoken from the state of Oklahoma.

“Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU), has issued a disturbing policy which requires all employees to refrain from using the word ‘Christmas’ in oral or written form. This directive was given by the university upon legal advice of the Oklahoma Attorney General, W.A. Drew Edmondson. Liberty Counsel sent a demand letter to SWOSU following a complaint from a university affiliate.

“John Misak, the Director of Human Resources, recently visited various university departments and employee groups and informed everyone that any decorations featuring the word ‘Christmas’ in any work or public areas of the university must be immediately removed. He also instructed everyone to discontinue the use of the term ‘Christmas’ in their speech while on the job. This censorship specifically includes exchanging greetings of ‘Merry Christmas’ among employees or with non-employees, whether initiated by a non-university employee or not. Christmas remains a legal holiday for state employees, including those at SWOSU. The directive does not include any other legal holidays such as Thanksgiving or New Year’s.

Unbelievable. Also, probably illegal. Certainly a sign that the war on Christmas rages on in some quarters. Stop the ACLU is also on the story.

Update: The Okie Napoleon is innocent.

I’m putting this at the top because early callers to the AG’s office claims this isn’t true, and they are wishing people a Merry Christmas when greeting callers. So I called there myself, and spoke with Emily Lang, spokesperson for the AG. Ms Lang confirms that they are greeting callers with “Merry Christmas” as a means of refuting this story. AG Edmundson did not issue this order, she insists; they are checking with assistant AGs to see if the advisory ever existed at all. At any rate, the AG does not believe state workers should refrain from Christmas greetings.

Ms. Lang wants people to know that they have a Christmas tree in the office, and hopes everyone has a Merry Christmas.

And yes, I consider this sloppy work on my part. My apologies to readers and the Oklahoma AG’s office.

Same here. My mistake for posting the story.