Political Correctness Gone Haywire

It seems as if the political correctness police have a new target: Santa Claus.

In Sydney, Australia, department store Santas have been banned from saying "Ho, ho, ho" to the children who come to see them, being instructed to say, "Ha, ha, ha, instead. The reason? The agency that sends Santas to Australian department stores says that it might frighten children and that it may offend women because it sounds to close to an American slang word for prostitute.

Feel free to allow your eyes to roll back into your head at this point.

Similarly, in the UK, department store Santas have been urged to lose weight. Some shopping centers have threatened to ban Santas who do not comply. Bluewater Shopping Centre in Greenhithe, Kent, has even gone one step further and set up a Santa boot camp. "Bluewater's Santa Boot Camp is getting Santa in shape and setting a good example to children who idolise him," Fiona Campbell-Reilly, spokeswoman for Bluewater said.

Has the world gone totally bonkers? Do some people have nothing better to do than to suck the fun and joy out of everything? Does nothing escape the attention of these busybodies? Let Santa be Santa, fer cryin' out loud!

Thoughts?