Monday, December 22, 2008

Festivus: Holiday for the Rest of Us (and Gov. Jim Doyle)

Today is Festivus Eve.

From Festivus - The website for the rest of us:

According to the "Seinfeld Orthodoxy," Festivus is December 23. However, in the real world, many people celebrate it at other times of year, some throwing Festivus parties for friends and others they choose to be with in early December before they have to go home and be with the people they don't want to be with, namely their families. There are prominent Festivi all times of year. But if one adheres to the word of the character Frank Costanza, Festivus is the 23rd.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Festivus celebration without a magnificent Festivus pole.



Gov. Jim Doyle (left) poses with his Festivus pole.

Check out this site.

More Festivus pole photos
here.


Look at the joy on Gov. Jim Doyle's face as he stands beside this majestic Festivus pole at the Governor's mansion. Priceless.

The Festivus
Airing of Grievances would be an especially enthusiastic exercise for me this year.
Like everything else Festivus, the AOG has evolved some wild variations, but the core of it remains lashing into others and the world about how they have been disappointments. This usually brings participants into a circle of sorts in which each takes turns excoriating friends, enemies, relatives, acquaintances and strangers. When all who care to have taken a turn griping, there is no required hugging or making up.

One of the grievances that I'd like to air has to do with the presidential election.

John McCain was such a disappointment. He was a terribly weak candidate and he ran a really crappy campaign. He blew it. And now, instead of showing some remorse for his failure, he's back to sucking up to the Dems and other Lefties. Even worse, on occasion, he's been less than kind to his running mate, Sarah Palin. Maybe he's jealous. Palin has a future. McCain has reached the end of the road.

And Obama... so many grievances. I have a major problem with his lack of respect for the unborn.

Another grievance: Brett Favre. I thought he was really a decent guy, but the drama of his short-lived retirement and the manner in which his departure from the Packers played out revealed Favre to be selfish, spiteful, vindictive, and immature. Basically, he's a spoiled brat, a whiny kid pushing 40.

I'm not just blaming Favre for the mess with the Packers. I've had a problem with Ted Thompson for a long time. But Favre's behavior was a more of a disappointment because I thought more highly of him. As it turned out, he strung along the fans knowing that he had no intention of playing for the Packers ever again. When Favre staged that dramatic return to Green Bay and showed up at Lambeau during the live TV coverage of the Family Night Scrimmage, I lost a tremendous amount of respect for him. He upstaged the event, taking attention off the field, all the while knowing that he was pushing to be traded to Chicago or Minnesota.

When word came out during the season that Favre initiated contact with the Lions to offer up information about his former team's offense in an effort to undermine the Packers, it really ticked me off. I can understand him being angry with Ted Thompson, but he didn't hesitate to let his anger with Thompson potentially hurt his former teammates and the fans. Favre didn't care about the collateral damage. Really selfish. Classless. Jerk.

In terms of the Airing of Grievances, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

I don't like Festivus. It puts me in a bad mood.

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