From NewsMax.com, a decidedly conservative op-ed (not news) outlet: "Writing on the op-ed page of Wednesday's New York Times, Broadway star Harvey Fierstein announced that he'll be cross-dressed as Mrs. Santa Claus on a float dedicated to his hit Broadway show Hairspray." (Full story.) Wrong. Fierstein portrayed his character from Hairspray and dressed in a Christmasy costume, but Mrs. Santa Claus, who appeared with Santa on his float at the end of the parade, was decidedly a little old lady. Macy's put the kaibosh on Fierstein's plans, which were apparently his own: "By the end of the day, it was clear that tradition would hold: Santa Claus would be on the final sleigh float, accompanied by Mrs. Claus, a woman. Mr. Fierstein would be on a separate float. But the confusion set Macy's, owned by Federated Department Stores, on a madcap public relations campaign to distance its parade from his opinions without addressing the topics he raised. [. . .] The statement emphasized that Mr. Fierstein would be dressed not as Mrs. Claus but as "his beloved character Mrs. Edna Turnblad of the Broadway hit musical Hairspray." (Full story.) The NewsMax article was headlined, "Macy's Thanksgiving Parade to Celebrate Gay Marriage." What a nice way to scare conservatives and middle-class America for Thanksgiving.