Wildman Wildmon strikes again: The same bunch of cross-waving Bible-thumpers who boycotted Disney because it allowed gays to ride rides, eat food and buy junk at its theme parks are now going after retailers who eschew the term “Christmas” for the Annual December Retail Frenzy Season. According to Cybercast News Service, the mouthpiece for wingnuts, the American Family Association, led by founder and chairman Don Wildmon, analyzed the advertising inserts of two Southern newspapers and found them to be lacking in the “C” word.

AFA gathered inserts from 11 different companies placed in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal and Memphis Commercial Appeal on Nov. 27 — a total of 280 pages. Only one company — McRae’s/Belks — had a reference to “Christmas.” The other 10 used the term “holiday” a total of 59 times.

Who are these Grinches that failed to mention Christmas in 260 pages of insert promotions? Target, Kroger, Office Max, Walgreens, Sears, Staples, Lowe’s, J.C. Penney, Dell and Best Buy.

“Ask these companies why they banned ‘Christmas’ in their in-store promotions and retail advertising and they will tell you they didn’t want to offend anyone. They mean, of course, anyone except Christians,” AFA’s Wildmon said in a message to supporters.

“These retailers are willing to use Christmas to secure about 20 percent of their yearly sales, but they absolutely refuse to mention the Reason for the season,” he said.

Of course the AFA is mounting a petition drive to raise a million signatures to get the stores to start using “Christmas” in their advertising again by next year.

Is it just me or isn’t it absurd that Christians would want to link Christmas so closely with the secular suckiness of advertising and retail sales. So what if Target doesn’t want to alienate Jews who observe Hanukkah or African-Americans who celebrate Kwanzaa by including all “holidays.” Let’s hope the retailers don’t cave and the AFA’s effort is as pathetically unsuccessful as the Disney boycott was.