I suppose it was a matter of time.
NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command) has been supplying satellite photos of Santa’s Christmas journey allowing delighted children and families to track the yuletide flight path. This year NORAD will include a fighter jet escort, with commentary like the following:
“An intelligence officer asserts that “intel can confirm that Jack Frost and the Abominable Snowman will not be a threat.” Ground forces then report that all rooftops have been checked to make sure Santa, whose call sign is “Big Red One,” and his reindeer can land safely. Could Santa’s navigation system be attacked by a a computer virus? Another officer in charge of cyber space chimes in that the “anti-Grinch-viral is up and will continue to monitor threats.”
So is there any scrap of the American consciousness left to militarize? Was the message of “peace on earth, good will to all,” just too pacifist and internationalist for us? Are children ever too young for the propaganda of empire?