Drooling and Dribbling over a White Christmas...

Following an online order of a battery-operated, realistic, furry puppy, the Indian Roller received two Christmas shopping catalogues from Taylor Gifts and Get Organized. Both catalogues share the same address (600 Cedar Hollow Road, Paoli, PA) so it makes sense that they were bundled in the same online order. But that's not the all that the catalogues share -- the Indian Roller also wondered why each solely featured caucasian models. Aren't we beyond "whites only?"

Indeed, the "only" other ethnic representation in the entire catalog for Taylor Gifts (estd. 1952) was an African-American figure -- Item # 29017A -- a plastic figurine of President-elect Barrack Obama. He also appears in a campaign collectible, genuine, legal-tender, dollar coin -- Item #29033A --displayed in an airtight, protective, acrylic coin holder with felt box. You can also get a John McCain version of both.

These items did make Indian Roller wonder about something else:

Source: http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/coins/portraits.shtml#q13

Question:
Is it illegal to damage or deface coins?

Answer:
Section 331 of Title 18 of the United States code provides criminal penalties for anyone who “fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the Mints of the United States.” This statute means that you may be violating the law if you change the appearance of the coin and fraudulently represent it to be other than the altered coin that it is. As a matter of policy, the U.S. Mint does not promote coloring, plating or altering U.S. coinage: however, there are no sanctions against such activity absent fraudulent intent.

At taylorgifts.com, there's a sombre-pale-faced Santa who reminds you that there are only 10 days left until Christmas. It's his busiest time of the year and it appears that he might even be forced to work while sitting on the throne using one of the top Christmas decorations featured on this site, The Singing Toilet Paper:


Here's a plug for The Singing Toilet Paper from the Taylor Gifts catalogue:
"Plays a medley of Christmas tunes, including Jingle Bells, Santa is Comin' to Town, and We Wish you a Merry Christmas, as the paper pulls from the roll. Miniature device installs undetected, serenades the unsuspecting. Batteries included."

Ah, would the "unsuspecting" be the ones who will discover the day after Christmas that they are head over heels in debt?