Usenet

Does anyone actually know how to use Usenet/newsgroups/whatever? 'Cause no program or "free" "server" I've tried actually downloads the files I want. And heck if I'm going to buy a subscription just so I can download things that I technically shouldn't be downloading.

There are a number of things I can only find on newsgroups, but nothing I try actually works. At all.

It's like the whole thing is a massive internet prank.

The war on Christmas

Certain naysayers claim that there is no "war on Christmas" and it's all in our paranoid Christian minds. "Christmas is alive and well!" they'll say. "Look at all the TV specials and trees and fruitcake! It's crazy!"
But that's not the point. Christmas as whole is fine- it's not going anywhere. No, the war on Christmas is not a war on the entirety of Christmas, but a war on the religious aspects of Christmas. Santa Claus, lights, eggnog, yule logs, all of them are pagan or secular aspects of Christmas.

The war on Christmas is when mall employees tell you "happy holidays". When every TV commercial talks about the "holiday season". When Santa Claus himself can't even say the word "Christmas" in a Disney cartoon.
The war on Christmas is when all of the above try to be inoffensive when they obviously mean Christmas alone and none of the other holidays. You hardly ever see a menorah or a kinara among the decorations. Even if they do appear, there's only one of each, possibly a dreidel, and the rest is just more Christmas. It's a war of hypocrisy.

You're not allowed to say "Merry Christmas" in public anymore. Overzealous political-correctness advocates forbid you potentially offending non-Christians. The problem is, many people who aren't Christian at all celebrate Christmas- they just skip the Jesus part.
There's no rule that says you can't decorate a tree or hang up a stocking just because you're non-religous. Heck, I'm sure atheists and even Jews celebrate.

There's also some weird rumor that "Xmas" is an attack on Christmas.
I have absolutely no problem with Xmas. Xmas is just a contraction- it's been around for decades and no one has ever had a problem with it. The X represents a cross anyway- it comes the Greek letter "chi", which is the first letter in the Greek word for Christ, "Χριστός".

Santa will never be suppressed because he's neutral. Jesus however, has always been divisive.