VP Cheney Undergoes ‘Near Death’ Experience.

Walter Reed Army Hospital, Bethesda MD: Vice President Richard B. Cheney was rushed to the emergency room reserved for administration VIP’s in this hospital today. His aides believed he was suffering from another heart attack due to his obvious distress. However, an examination quickly showed he actually has no heart. His problem was traced to ‘bilious, bucolic like bowel secretions’ forming in the cavity which once contained his heart.

“You wouldn’t have thought so much bile could have backed up in such a pitifully small space.” said thoracic surgeon I. C. Morefester. “But, we were able to administer an oral enema which immediately provided relief."

Following the oral elimination, a regular rectal enema was also administered, but to the consternation of the doctors present, that proved almost fatal for the vice president.

"We very nearly lost the bastard.” said Morefester. “It was as near death as anyone ever should be without actually dying. I never would have believed it, but that last enema cost Mr. Cheney over 90 pounds in body-weight. I mean, he looked more like Barney Fife on the old Andy Griffith show than Dick Cheney when it was over. It is beyond me how so much rotten crap could ever be packed into one human being. No wonder he’s so damned grouchy all the time.”

“But, every cloud has it’s silver lining. The good part is that Cheney can now run around in the rain without ever getting wet!”

(Note: This item is a 'Spoof' and created out of whole cloth. It is entirely ficticious and the product of my imagination.)

The Righteous Super-Patriots On The Right

Ever since Ronald Reagan’s administration made it legal for money to dominate the media and buy votes, America has produced a crop of ‘Super-Patriots’ among so-called ‘conservatives’. Unfortunately for our country, they are neither patriots nor conservative.

They are the ones who are screaming loudest for war and invasion and blood - so long as someone else is in the line of fire, and not them. They are very aptly nick-named ‘Chickenhawks’.

Their ‘conservatism’ is in fact a preference for tax breaks permitting corporate economic dominance so that the richest and greediest 5% get every richer and continue feed their insatiable greed. Meanwhile, the public, the foolish citizen is saddled with ever more debt. Our national debt is now the highest in in history by several times.

These so-called ‘conservative leaders’ have propagandized many ‘conservative’ voters to the point of irrationality by demonizing any ‘non-conservative’ as unpatriotic. They define any liberal or progressive as traitorous - regardless of the facts.

They have used their money to hire their hack propagandists to spew a steady diet of distortion, deceit, slander and lies. Here are some facts about some of these ‘Super-Patriots’:

Super-Patriot Who Did Not Serve and drug addict Rush Limbaugh: Recently had the audacity to call actual combat veterans ‘PHONEY SOLDIERS’. But Rush himself sought and obtained a draft deferment during the Vietnam War because of an ‘anal cyst’. Very aptly named in my personal opinion. Perhaps it was the terminal end of the broad yellow streak running down his back

Rush is defended in Congress by none other than John Boehnert, Republican of Ohio, another Super-Patriot Who Did Not Serve - and who thinks our losses in Iraq are (direct quote) ‘a small price to pay’.


Rush is also defended by Republican candidate for president Fred Thompson, yet another Super-Patriot Who Did Not Serve.

So, many veterans are wondering; "If these Super-Patriots Who Did Not Serve are the 'real patriots', what does that make those of us who actually sacrificed to serve our country. Chopped liver?

And, what about those veterans like me, who violently disagree with and are disgusted with the greedy, fat-assed Super-Patrtriots Who Did Not Serve - are we really unpatriotic? Gosh, and all this time I thought my sacrifice was standing up for my country!

I must have been mistaken . . .

The Love of The Amazing Daisy Tucker

Oh, how I did love that girl! She was as lovable a girl as any man could hope to meet. Beautiful certainly, and impossibly sexy with a perfect, Venus body, but beyond that, she was as sweet and natural and wholesome as anyone could possibly be, ever. Just being Daisy Tucker's lover put a man on top of the world - with the sheer, soaring unfettered feeling of being 'the king of absolutely everything'.

Daisy was like that. My every moment in Daisy's company was like that. Somehow, without effort, she brought out those feeling in me. Bliss. Sheer, lover's bliss. There were no bad times, never, no time.

She used to tell me, "making love to you just makes me silly and crazy. You just make me a mess of quivering jelly and turn me into your love slave. I would do anything, anything for you!"

Preening with pride I'd grin and playfully answer, "Daisy, you are already silly and crazy. And, the quivering is just 'cause you're out of breath from all that thrashing and hopping around you do."

Of course, I would all out of breath and hardly able to talk myself, and clothing, bedclothes, pillows, everything would be scattered helter-skelter all over the damned place. Whew! Oh yes, how I did love that girl!

Then one day she was gone. Just like that. No notes, no letters, no phone calls, no nothing. She simply disappeared out of my life like she was never there. Broken hearted doesn't even begin to describe it. I was completely devastated and out of my mind and crazy with worry. What if something happened to her? Was she kidnapped? Run over by a train? Where was the love of my life, this beautiful girl who shared the past two months of sheer bliss with me? Was she in mortal danger, or, (gasp!), even dead?

But no, that wasn't it. All her things were gone too. Lock stock and barrel, she had packed up her things and left. Everything. So, it was by her choice and I had to live with that. I almost didn't. I briefly considered taking my own life. But, with the aid of a couple dozen bottles of rum I got past that crisis and began the healing process.

Then, one day while nursing a drink in the bar, I struck up a conversation with another guy down in the dumps just like me. His sad story was eerily similar to mine. Over more drinks we were amazed to discover that we both, each, had been dumped by the one and the same absolutely amazing Daisy Tucker!

Turned out that the amazing Daisy Tucker had more than one lover. In fact, over the next several weeks we learned the amazing Daisy Tucker had a great many lovers in her life. The more lovers we learned about, the more there seemed to come out of the woodwork. Soon, we, the ex-lovers, began to gather informally in a group on Friday nights - we had nothing better to do - and compare bittersweet notes over drinks about the love of the amazing Daisy Tucker.

We even formed a club we called "The Amazing Daisy Tucker Lovers' Club". We learned we all had many things in common: We were all ex-lovers of Daisy Tucker; We all shared six to eight weeks of sheer lover's bliss with her; And, she left us all totally without warning.

And the only thing Daisy left us with, each and every one of us, was broken hearts, and incurable cases of Non Specific Urethritis.

Your Tax Dollars At Work

All you never needed to know about US National Forests, or the US Forest Service, OR why I am sometimes called a 'dirty, rotten, stinking, pinko, liberal, commie, radical environmentalist':

You might be interested in how your tax dollars are sometimes spent. I have been involved with timber issues on the Tongass National Forest in Alaska for a long, long time. What I have learned in that time is that the US Forest Service - at least on the Tongass - is largely bought and paid for by the big boys in the timber industry. No matter what, they invariably come down on the side of the 'development' and 'managing the forest' (read 'industrial scale logging').

An aside, and old and dear friend of mine from Petersburg, AK, now deceased, used to say, 'It doesn't take a whole lot to manage stumps'. Truer words were never spoken!

So, the forest service has been subservient to the big boys in the timber industry on the Tongass for at least the past fifty years. They have spent MANY, MANY MILLIONS of taxpayer dollars on the Tongass 'managing' the forests for timber sales. Last fiscal year for example, they spent in excess of FORTY MILLION DOLLARS on the Tongass alone, 'managing' timber sales which produced an income for the treasury of - get this, slightly over $400,000! In other words, the return for taxpayer investment was approximately ONE CENT on the DOLLAR! If that is not subsidizing an industry, I guess I don't know what the definition is.

I'll try to explain how this came to be.

I am acquainted with some of the forest service players on the Tongass. Abigail Kimball, the current USFS head honcho (Chief) in Washington was once the supervisor for the Petersburg, Alaska district when I lived there. Forrest Cole, the current Tongass National Forest supervisor used to be a forester working for her there. I met with them both on numerous occasions during timber sale appeals during the 'nineties. Both are dyed-in-the-wool 'Timber Beasts', which is a term used to describe Forest Service personnel who invariably side with timber industry. Both are educated in forestry. Many professional 'foresters' are educated at the (inter-)nationally renowned University of Michigan School of Forestry, and I believe Forrest Cole at least, is one of those.

Unfortunately for 'National Forests' anywhere in the US, the U of M's forestry school's emphasis is on 'fiber volume' and not overall forest health - except as it relates to fiber volume. In other words, the 'production' of more fiber volume is the guiding mantra for professional forestry. Another way of saying this might be 'tree farming' since more volume is produced in new, second growth. Little if any emphasis is left for preservation of old growth, for environmental factors, fish & wildlife, or anything else - if it doesn't help 'fiber volume production' in the end.

Thus, 'Timber Beasts' are created.

It is now such a culture - at least on the Tongass, which is the one I am most familiar with - that any critics of any stripe, are automatically viewed as 'dirty, rotten, stinking, pinko, liberal, commie, radical environmentalists' - and often described that way by their political enemies - most of whom are bought and paid for by the big boys in the timber industry. You simply 'demonize' your critics, and many in the public will buy that hypocrisy, particularly when it is couched in 'conservative' vs. 'liberal' terms - and nothing could be less 'conservative' than US Forest Service timber policies! The entire Alaska Congressional delegation set great examples in so demonizing such critics. Further, the US Forest Service itself routinely disciplines any employee who dares to step off message.

The following case might interest you - particularly if you are a conservative taxpayer who is concerned how your tax dollars are being spent. This is about one FS employee, a wildlife biologist out of the Sitka office named Glen Ith. Glen did a study, paid for US taxpayer dollars, which was then ignored (left out of) an environmental assessment for a particular timber sale. Now, the Forest Service is trying to fire him for 'improperly' providing the study to critics of the sale. But, the real reason is that he was a 'whistleblower' on another earlier issue where the Forest Service was clearly in violation of the law.

(FOR THAT ISSUE, CLICK HERE)

Such is the danger of having a conscience and working in government service, particularly in a hostile administration. Attached below are the official documents in this case if you are interested in checking things for yourself - and seeing how the FS will go to such lengths to punish dissidents. It is particularly ironic to read about this employee having had FS 'ethics training' in his letter of termination! Most American citizens will be outraged by this hypocritical behavior and waste of time and money!

And, maybe that is why I am proud to call myself today "a dirty, rotten, stinking, pinko, liberal, commie, radical environmentalist"!

You could even feel the same way yourself after reading the documents below. If you do, please feel free to pass this along.

Double-click on the images below to expand:

An Open Letter to Alaska's Senators Murkowski & Stevens

Dear Senators:

Any horse will eventually wear out and no longer be of use - becoming an actual hindrance rather than an asset. Sometimes a horse just plain can’t go anymore and lays down and dies. In fact, there is an infamous place in Alaska known as ‘Dead Horse Canyon’ where hundreds - perhaps thousands of horses died when their owners failed to acknowledge the obvious, and stubbornly drove them long after they were capable of doing so.

But, a wise and truly conservative person will recognize reality. They will not keep "BEATING A DEAD HORSE”. There is no value in that at all. They will know when to take the load off that weak horse and put it on another more suited to the task.

Today, some Americans calling themselves ‘Conservative Republicans’ will not recognize the obvious. They keep beating that poor old horse. It is obvious to anyone the horse can’t go any further. But, stubbornly the Conservative Republicans deny the indisputable truth and say, “Oh just have some faith. Give this horse another chance - it will all work out. This horse is making it! Wait and see!”

This, as the poor horse is obviously now tottering and stumbling weakly to his knees - bringing his country down with him.

This horse has already had a six-year chance now, and has become an embarrassment to his owners who desperately want him put out to pasture. Still, this horse’s supporters will not admit the obvious, and just keep pushing for that which now will never be.

While they may perceive the obvious, they lack the required courage to admit it. Rather, they deny reality for partisan reasons than admit the truth to themselves, or heaven forbid, to the public. But Sir, I say to you now, “It is time”:


IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP AND SMELL THE ROSES;
IT IS TIME TO PUT THIS SAD, WEAK OLD HORSE OUT TO PASTURE!

AND, IT IS FAR PAST TIME FOR YOU TO SERVE YOUR COUNTRY RATHER THAN YOUR PARTY!

Let's Say You Have Two Cows . . .

* Say you have two cows;



* One is a 'right hand cow' and one is a 'left hand cow' - that's because they pasture on a mountainside and depending on the way they were facing when they started grazing, their legs are shorter on one side than the other. The right hand cow has longer legs on the right side, and the left hand cow on the left;


* Neither cow can stand up on the level without help;


* In the past, the cows were able to stand up by leaning together towards the middle, one supporting the other;


* You sell your cows to a mega-corporate, multi-national 'for profit' diary;


* The right hand cow becomes a Fascist and is nicknamed 'Ann Coulter'. Ann hates all other cows and says so and everyone believes her;


* The left hand cow becomes a Liberal and is nicknamed 'Hillary Clinton'; Hillary loves all other cows and says so, but few really believe her;


* The cows no longer help each other, and fall down without huge piles of money to support them when on the level;


* Hillary has her own bull named "Willie";


* Ann doesn't have a bull, but if she did, he'd be called either "Rush Limbaugh" or "Dubya";


* Ann secretly wishes she were a bull herself, and many people think she actually is one;


* Both cows dislike the old, worn out Libertarian bull Ron Paul, but Ann, really, really hates him for 'selling out';


* While Ann is incensed, Hillary is secretly pleased that Ron Paul calls himself a 'Republican';


* Whenever Ann & Hillary meet during grazing (about once a year as they circle their mountain), they curse one another roundly. About once in every two meetings they actually fight. It's always one hell of a fight and always produces a copious supply of 'milk shake';


* The milk shake is collected and sold at an exorbitant profit by the dairy which owns and controls the cows;


* The diary cares for both cows so they each prosper and keep producing the milk shakes;


* Sometimes the diary slips in a black or a brown cow to create chocolate milk or mocha. The black cow is nicknamed 'Oprah', the brown cow 'Obama';


* The diary is managed by secret 'managers' who have always managed such dairies, and prosper by playing one cow off against another, no matter what or who's 'on top' at the moment;


* No one really knows who these 'managers' are or where they came from - just that they've always been 'around';


* When the cows aren't fighting they produce only sour milk, which is nonetheless hyped and sold at an enormous profit to the public. The public doesn't need the sour milk, nor like the taste of the sour milk, and can't stand the smell, but they have been convinced they must have it to exist, so they buy it anyway;


* The dairy managers laugh all the way to the bank every day;


* The cows' managers insure the cows will exist forever to maintain the American status quo, and keep their owners in the latest model Lear jets and Armani suits;


* You, as a simple citizen are flabbergasted and amazed at what has become of your cows!

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind, and Out In Space Somewhere!

I, for one have never claimed 'George W. Bush' as 'my president'. Early on I knew this person could never be 'my president'. He might be president for 'some of the people' - those who helped and enabled him to steal the office in the first place, but he will never be 'my president'. Never, no time, thank you very much.

And, he is widely recognized today as the worst thing to happen to our country in history.

Oddly enough, George W. Bush seems to know this. And oddly, it seems to be about the only thing he 'knows' that is factual, or in the realm of reality. Everything else he says he 'knows' turns out to be exactly wrong. But, George W. Bush knows this, and the people around him know this.

Therefore, it is necessary to shield him. From reality that is. If there's one thing this person can't tolerate, it's reality. (I am very loath to call him a 'man', since there is very little 'manly' about him) And, that's why George W. Bush et al, must be protected from facts. That's why his handlers do that for him. There's even a policy manual for it! It's called the "PRESIDENT ADVANCE MANUAL" and is designed to protect George W. Bush from dissenters and dissenting views - facts if you will.

If he doesn't see or hear it, ipso, facto, it doesn't exist! Simple as that!

And so, in the disconnected fantasy world of George W. Bush - and his Neocon supporters we witness our government touting the wonderous achievements of our national nightmare. Whoever said propaganda based on the Nazi method had ever gone out of style?

THE HEROIC GEORGE W. BUSH ACCORDING TO THE US GOVERNMENT!

(and, this not incidentally paid for by the US Taxpayer!)

So far, it has proven to be very effective! Meanwhile, the nightmare continues . . . . .

The Ten Commandments

This is priceless - and a very great demonstration of the cynical use of religion for political purposes.

The reporter questions Lynn Westmoreland, the Republican Georgia politician on his introduction of his bill requiring the display of the 'Ten Commandments' in the House and Senate. The reporter, acting friendly and supportive, draws him out, then sucker punches him verbally. Westmoreland is shown to be the cynical fool he really is.

Eyes rolling Heavenward, Westmoreland is forced to admit he doesn't even know what the Ten Commandments are! Priceless!

Oh, how cynical politicians can be when they are after those votes! Here this idiot is playing to his redneck constituency, and it jumps up and bites him right in the old ass!

Why can't most people see through this hypocrisy?

"Everybody Complains About It, But Nobody Does Anything About it"

Mark Twain famously said, ‘Everybody complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it.” Twain has been dead now some ninety-seven years, and the weather is not considered a political issue, except in extraordinary circumstances as in Hurricane Katrina.

But if routine weather were a political issue and someone tried to do something about it, I know they would be slammed for it.

Such is the case with the health care system in the United States. Everyone knows it is broken, and that it fails to provide even minimally adequate care for the majority of Americans, and that it is overpriced. Michael Moore is being roundly slammed and criticized for daring to make a movie called ‘Sicko’, exposing the hypocrisy of health care in the United States, the richest and most powerful nation in the world. The government and health care industry are pulling out all the stops to 'prove' Moore is merely a 'rabble-rousing' radical.

But, the truth is the truth, even when presented sensationally as Moore does in his movie.

US health care costs are now *16% of our GDP. In 2005 we in the US spent $2 TRILLION, or $6,700 per person on health care. Yet we still have nearly 50 million people totally without coverage. Those who do have coverage often personally spend fortunes beyond their insurance to receive the care they need.

To compare, Switzerland spends 10.9% of GDP, Germany 10.7%, Canada 9.7% and France 9.5%. ALL these countries provide health care for ALL their citizens. France, which spends proportionally the least, is widely recognized as having the best health care system in the world. The US is the ONLY industrialized country in the world without universal health care.

Why is this? In a word ‘Corporatism’, which is now our de facto system of government. Forget ‘capitalism’ or ‘democracy’, or even ‘republic’. Today, the US is ruled by corporations in a system very close to outright Fascism. Corporations are in control. They regularly buy elections and politicians, who then favor the corporations over the people, always, invariably. Giant hospital conglomerates, and pharmaceutical manufacturers are given a free pass to gouge at will. We are even prohibited by law from buying drugs overseas and importing them into our country for our own use by laws in favor of pharmaceutical companies, some of which are not even American!

Other industrialized countries are more truly democratic, and not just in name and claim only as in the US. Canada promises health care for ‘the least of us and the best of us’. In Britain they say, ‘if we an find the money to kill people, we can find the money to help people.”

In the US, ‘no premium charge is too high, and no illness too small to be considered preexisting’. Anything to avoid paying and to up profits. After all, isn’t that what corporatism is all about?

It is a shameful fact that our political leaders have sold out to the corporations and turned democracy in the US into hypocrisy. But why should they care? They’ve got full coverage don’t they? Under the political retirement system, the politicians don’t even have to rely on social security like the rest of us - they’ve got their own cushy, special system which pays them a very comfortable income, and provides full and complete medical coverage for the rest of their lives.

But, only because we allow it.

* Source: National Coalition on Healthcare

"Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others"

To borrow a line from George Orwell’s ‘1984’, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”.

This was proved yesterday by United States President George W. Bush who ‘commuted’ the prison time for White House staffer Lewis ‘Scooter’ Libby. Libby is now a criminal convicted, a felon who, were he anyone else, would receive the full penalty for lying to Federal investigators and obstruction of justice.

The President’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence does not serve justice, condones criminal conduct, and is a betrayal of trust of the American people. The President said he would hold accountable anyone involved in the Valerie Plame leak case . . .

Nonetheless, Bush overruled the judge and the jury in the case, saying Libby’s sentence was ‘excessive’ and commuted any active prison time.

George W. Bush is the same president who:

• Sneered when Pope John Paul pleaded with him to spare the life of the Karla Faye Tucker and mocked the poor woman by pursing his lips and whimpering ‘please don’t kill me’;

• Oversaw the execution of 152 prisoners while governor of Texas - far more than any other governor in history. In 1/3 of those death penalty cases, the defendant’s attorney was later disbarred or otherwise sanctioned. Bush earned the title of ‘Most killing governor in US history’;

• Put to death the mentally ill and an extremely high proportion of black and Mexican-American prisoners;

• While Texas governor, vetoed a bill passed by the legislature that would have allowed Texas counties to set up limited public defender programs for the poor;

• As governor Bush was proud of eliminating parole for criminals, saying “My appointees to the board of pardons and paroles reflect my no-nonsense approach to crime and punishment. They believe people who commit crimes against innocent Texans should pay the consequences; they believe sentences imposed by juries should be carried out. The Texas prison system had become a revolving door earlier in the 1990s, when the prison population had far exceeded the capacity of the system. I am proud that Texas today has virtually eliminated parole for violent criminals.”

• Proudly and sanctimoniously calls himself a ‘compassionate conservative’.

Bush’s action in Libby’s case is a clear demonstration of conflict of interest. Widely suspected is that Bush is covering up for Richard Cheney and himself in their own criminal complicity in the Valarie Plame case. Given this administration's record for lying, deceit and dissemination, that concept is very plausible.

Yes, with Bush, some animals are definitely more equal than others. This man belongs in jail and not running the United States of America. While we’re at it, let’s jail some of his co-conspirators too:

To Draft or Not To Draft

One thing about the military draft of earlier times, is that is was much more democratic than our present system of 'outsourcing' the military to 'volunteers'. As long as we fight wars using a kind of 'mercenary' soldier it keeps the folks at home more docile and much quieter - and off the administration's back in what is now widely perceived as a stupid mistake of a war.

Bush's present dilemma is to keep his war going without bringing back a draft, which I believe would lead to an immediate and irresistible outcry to end the war. In order to avoid a draft, Bush in recent months has been forced to resort to:

• Drastically increasing recruitment and reenlistment bonuses
• Extending military duty tours in Iraq by 4 months;
• Issuing 'stop loss' orders to keep troops in the military once their enlistment has expired;
• Drastically lower recruitment standards, taking the less educated and even those with criminal records into service. (How do you suppose that makes the other troops feel?) ;
• Biggest National Guard mobilization since the Korean War;
• Re-deploy wounded and disabled troops who would have been invalided in any other war;

and, this may be the best one yet:

• Re-deploy troops with mental problems right back into the identical situation which caused their problems in the first place!

Oh, our boy Bush is a real doozie all right. We've never seen anyone quite like him. And yet, we sit here and watch while he does all these things in a war in our names, that was illegal to start with! Only a sufficient outcry by the American people now can bring an end to this nightmare.

This is not to disparage any of our brave soldiers who are helplessly caught in the quagmire of this war. They agreed to the terms of their enlistments and have no say in what they are sent to do. The full responsibility for that lies squarely on the administration that got us into this mess. Those of us with family friends or loved ones can only sit back and watch as our young military people are fed into the the grinder of what is essentially a 'corporate war' for profit - which ironically may not be there in the end after all.

Another huge and looming problem is that the damages caused by Bush's ill-advised war will inevitably lead to many, and expensive problems for our children and grand children, outside of the political arena. You hear a little about this, but no one has really exposed that voracious monster looming in our future

Some sobering statistics here: NATIONAL VETERANS FOUNDATION

And this doesn't even begin to address the mounting hatred Bush's war is generating among the Arabic peoples and third world countries which may haunt us for centuries.

Now, even those who eagerly (and mistakenly) supported this illegal war from the outset are beginning to see the realities and have begun calling for a halt. While they will always bear some of the responsibility for getting our country into this war, it is not too late for them to try to redeem themselves, at least in part. And, I would sincerely hope this catastrophe has taught them to look beyond the sort of self-serving propaganda and hype cynically dished out by the Bush administration in their drive to war.

I can't believe our country has been so stupid as to let this happen! It is time to call a halt in no uncertain terms.

Bush Government Finally Defined!

For over six years now Americans have been sorely puzzled by what to call the Government of George W. Bush. It is not a democracy or a 'republic' by commonlyunderstood definitions. The Bush government rejects communism even as it adopts many of it's symptoms, so it must not be that. It decries all forms of socialism, so that can't be it. At times it seems to be a dictatorship, but that assumes someone at the top smart enough to run a government, so that definitely isn't it.

Sometimes it seems to be a sort of theocracy, but then we witness its leaders act in most un-religious ways by the standards of any known religion, so that can't be it. So, we are left wondering what in the hell kind of government the Bush administration is running.

Well, we wonder no more! Watching those bright young boys and girls in the National Spelling Bee brought a revelation! One young lady, from Illinois I believe described her favorite word as “KAKISTOCRACY” and gave the definition. Of course, that’s it!

Language etymologists have now confirmed the exact definition of the Bush administration government, beyond any possibility of misunderstanding. Thank Heavens! Now we can begin to understand.

By unanimous agreement of word scholars, Bush's government is described, and can only be a

"KAKISTOCRACY"!

Pronunciation: kak-uh-STAH-kruh-see

"KAKISTOCRACY, (noun) is defined as:

(The) "rule by the least able or least-principled of citizens, (kakistocracy) is a form of government in which the people least qualified to control the government are the people who control the government."

Any Questions?

Musings On Humanity

In the history of our planet, humanity has been ruled many times by overly aggressive, cruel, brutal and ethically challenged Fascists.

Oh yes, "Democracy & Freedom" has taken root from time to time with limited success. From the heady beginnings of any newly grafted 'democracy', installed with the best of intentions, there is an easily charted progression from openness, and personal freedom, always, without exception to more 'control' and 'regulation' of people, leading finally to a diminishment of freedoms, loss of personal rights and personal deprivation.

It is inevitable that more 'conservative', selfish elements of any democracy always seek ways to 'protect' their own, mercenary interests at the expense of personal rights and freedoms. This culture is termed 'capitalism', and the rights of 'capital' and 'property' become co-equal and then soon begin to take precedence over the rights of humans. Associations of more aggressive individuals gather more and more property and capital under their control, seeking to protect it from others who may want or need it for survival.





The aggressives - today's NEO-CONSERVATIVES - always justify aggressions as their 'right' under the hallowed principles of 'democracy and freedom' and of course, 'capitalism'. No matter that they are crushing the 'rights' of other, less clever or aggressive individuals, often depriving and starving them in the process. That too, they consider as their 'right' under democracy and 'the capitalist system'.

Aggressive capitalists band together with the common interest of protecting 'property'. They use their wealth to 'buy' more control and regulation in their favor, until finally, the democracy transmogrifies into a capitalist 'corportocracy' with which much of the modern world is now afflicted. From corportocracy it is but one small step to true Fascism. At that point there is no longer any need to camouflage actions under the banner of 'democracy' and the true colors often then emerge. We have seen this from time to time in history, with the most recent being in Nazi Germany in the 1920's and 40's. We are pretty close to this now in the United States.

Fortunately for humankind, a 'tipping point' has always been reached where humanity reasserts its control, rounds up all the Fascists and hangs them, and reestablishes true democracy.

That is still ahead of us in the year 2007. When it happens, a new 'democracy' will take root for a while, until the next culture of greedy, selfish aggressives comes along and history repeats itself.

“Be Careful What You Wish For”

"More than you ever wanted to know about the ‘Wildfires’ in Georgia":












As a committed environmentalist (My enemies in Alaska eagerly insist I ought to be committed!), I want to share my personal thoughts about the current ‘wildfires’ in south Georgia and north Florida. The combined areas of these fires is estimated at 576,244 acres as of 5/27/07, or more that 900 square miles! This is the biggest woodlands fire in the lower 48 states since 1918, and threatens a community, wildlife refuge, railroad infrastructure and microwave installation. Smoke has affected most of the coastal states of the southeastern US.

My close friend in South Georgia sent me some pretty dramatic pictures of the ‘wildfires’ currently burning there, and for about the past month and a half. The term ‘wildfire’ in connection with these fires is misleading. Even though woodlands are involved, for the most part they are in fact ‘tree plantations’ on land cut over several times in the past.

The big timber companies own most of these lands and utilizing ‘silviculture’ (‘science of tree farming’), most of the area is in truth a big ‘tree farm’ of areas of trees, all in rows, all about the same age, species and size, with a tractor width of space between the rows. You can see this clearly in the attached pictures. There is about as much ‘wild’ about these ‘woods’ as in a corn or cotton field.

The fires are really just a marker or indicator, like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, of a much bigger, more serious problem. This problem comes under the heading of ‘Be careful what you wish for’, or ‘unwise and unrestrained economic development is not always beneficial for everyone’. This is also a serious problem which is being passed along to the generations who follow us. In other words, our children and grandchildren.

For, not only have big timber interests bought up the land, cut the timber and turned vast regions into monocultural tree farms, but they have also created huge mills (yes, they do employ thousands of people) which put huge demands on groundwater resources. In conjunction with other demands on the aquifer, like cities and farm irrigation, there are now ‘cones of depression’ in the aquifer, and the overall level of the groundwater has dropped significantly over the past 50 years. This can be seen empirically in water wells dug in the ‘thirties, ‘forties and ‘fifties which once supplied plenty of wanter but have now gone dry. In fact, almost all wells today are drilled well, and much, much deeper than earlier dug wells in order to reach sufficient water.

Why is it so dry? Besides the ever increasing demands on the aquifer, vast amounts of land once forested has now been turned into huge agricultural/industrial mega-farms of many thousands of acres. In fact a satellite view of the region is very telling, and shows vast regions of ‘brown’ which used to be ‘green’. These huge changes have helped change the climate and rainfall patterns and the entire region is now noticeably dryer than fifty years ago. The area is often in a drought status, especially when the jet stream shifts. In conjunction with a global warming trend things just seem to get hotter and dryer all the time, leading to conditions favorable to the current ‘wildfires’. If the trends continue, it will only get worse.

The huge ‘Floridan aquifer’ underlies this region. Having spent some years in this area in the distant past, and now having been away for many years, these changes are very noticeable - and disturbing - to me when I return. And, I’ll share a bit of research I’ve done on the aquifer:

“In some parts of south Georgia east of the Flint River basin, there have been long-term declines in the Floridan aquifer, indicating that withdrawals are exceeding recharge. Heavy industrial and municipal pumpage of the Floridan aquifer along the coast of Georgia, especially in Savannah and Brunswick, has resulted in large cones of depression in which hydraulic pressure has been significantly reduced. This has led to saltwater intrusion in Brunswick and Hilton Head, South Carolina, and the cessation of many flowing artesian wells.”

GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA
(http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1181)

WATERCRUNCH
(http://watercrunch.blogspot.com/search/label/flashpoint%20SC%20and%20GA)

And, if you want to see what the state of Florida is proposing to do with the same aquifer in order to save money, you really ought to read this article:

ST. PETERSBURG TIMES

(http://www.sptimes.com/News/032801/State/Georgia_opposes_aquif.shtml)

If you are at all interested in the environmental health of this region, maybe you should do your own research and get involved yourself. You could start here:

GEORGIA WATER COALITION
(http://www.gwf.org/gawater/faqs.html)

But be forewarned! All those big money and development interests (and their supporters) will slam you, and accuse you of being a ‘dirty, rotten, stinking, liberal, pinko environmentalist’! It won’t matter if you actually vote Democrat or Republican. I can tell you this from personal experience!

Yes sir, resisting the depredations of the big money boys is a big ‘no-no’!

Wheels Done Run Off

Mountains of West Virginia, 5/17/07:

A roving reporter traveling through the West Virginia mountains was surprised to see a Texakan style RV sitting all broken down and forlorn by the side of the road. Hung over from the evening's reveling from the night before, he wiped his bleary eyes to make sure of what he saw. Sure enough, it was a Texakan RV. Believing the RV'ers may need assistance he pulled over to offer aid. That's when he saw the license plate reading 'RNC-1' and did a double take.

"Doggone! That's the president's rig!" he said to himself. "Man, what's that thing doing out here all by itself looking so bad? Something sure doesn't look right!" He stopped his car and walked over to the RV and knocked on the door. He was flabbergasted when the president himself opened the door.

"What'n hell yew want?" demanded an obviously inebriated President Bush.

"Yes Sir. No Sir." stammered the surprised reporter. "Yes Sir. I just stopped to see if you needed any help."

"Wail, I reckon I might, see'ns how's ever'body done gone off and left me." answered the president. "They's sayin' the wheels done run off my administration bandwagon and they's ain't a-ridin' with me enny more. They's a-bailin' out on me right'n left. What ain't left they own self is gittin' run off. I mean jist lookit. Mos' of my Corrupt Bastards is gittin' caught or in trouble with the law. Then yew got Scooter Libby goin' to jail, an' my token wetback Alberto Gonzales in trouble, and then they's after Paul Wolfowitz. They're gonna have all my Bastards in jail before long."

"An' on top of that, now Jerry Falwells done gone and died! Hail, now I'm out here tryin' to drive my bandwagon all by myself and jist between yew an' me, I don't know shit from Shinola. Iffen it weren't for folks helpin' me, and picking up behind me I wouldn't git noplace. I think I may be in a heap o' trouble."

The reporter answered. "Well, if you don't mind my saying so Mr. President, things are looking pretty damned rough for you around here right now. Your administration bandwagon has sure gotten all off the tracks, and hammered, wrecked and shopworn around the edges. And, yes, all your people are jumping ship all right. Your generals are coming out against you. Your party's turning against you, your supporters are abandoning you. Even your most hard line supporters in the Senate are coming out against you."

"And, it damned sure does look like the wheels have run off things for you. Now, if you don't mind sir, I must be on my way!"

"Wait! Wait!" yelled the president as our reporter drove away. "Yew cain't leave me out here like this, dammit! I'm yer War President!"

Monsanto Demands Ban On Honesty

* St. Louis, MO: Perhaps taking a cue from the brave leader or our nation, Monsanto Company has written to FDA and FTC demanding that milk producers be blocked from telling the truth. Monsanto produces and sells an artificial hormone which increases milk production from diary cows when given to them. However, the US is the only industrial nation in the world where the hormone is approved for use. It has been banned in most other countries. An increasing number of US milk producers have refused to use the hormone for health reasons and notifying the public of that fact by using slogans like: 'Our Farmer's Pledge: No Artificial Growth Hormones'.

It is very unusual for a multinational biotech company to demand MORE government regulation, but that is exactly what Monsanto is now doing. The company contends is is 'deceptive and misleading' for anyone to claim they DO NOT use the hormone known as 'recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST). "Those darned farmers and dairymen are out to get us by publishing actual facts." said Monsanto spokesman Andrew Burchett. "and, we are looking to our government regulators to provide us protection."

"We produce the hormone by combining cow DNA with E Coli bacteria, and before you must ask, yes, it's 'that' E Coli bacteria. But it is totally unnecessary and uncalled for to share that information with the public as it could well affect our profits. Our artificial hormone is approved by FDA. We made darned sure of that by hiring a couple of their top staffers and providing them with dream jobs and salaries in the stratosphere. We now deserve and expect some protection for our investments."

"It is an artificial and contrived argument for anyone to claim they do not use our artificial hormone just to improve the marketability of their more natural products." said Burchett. "and I must tell you our company resents that very much. If we have to, we are completely willing and prepared to go to court to block anyone's freedom of speech on this issue."

"After all, nothing at all must be allowed to stand in the way of our deserved profits and CEO compensation. Least of all some bogus and trumped up issue like human health which has nothing whatever to do with profits."

The FDA and FTC are expected to grant Monsanto's ban on free speech. This is in accordance with established policies of the Bush administration favoring business over health or other public interests.

* The above is an imaginary press item utilizing imaginary statements based on FACT. The primary difference is this item includes certain addition information Monsanto may wish the public did not hear.

More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Mules

A mule is an mixed species animal obtained by cross breeding one variety of horse with one of several varieties of donkey or jackass. The cross is usually between a female horse (mare) and a male donkey (jack). Less commonly, the cross may also be between a male horse (sire or stud) and a female donkey (Jenny). In this case the resultant offspring is called a 'hinny' or 'she mule' and is usually much smaller than a mule.

Mules can be very beautiful and, they can also be ugly as hell. All mules have personality, be it playful, sullen or lazy. But, the one big thing all mules are noted for is their stubbornness - and, the origin of the expression 'stubborn as a mule."

Mules are noted for their patient endurance, and for their ability to carry heavy loads. In past years of animal powered farming, mules were often preferred for field work over horses for this reason. The breeding and sale of mules was a thriving business all over the country, and most particularly in the American south and West. Former President Harry S Truman was a mule trader in his early career for example. In the northeast, draft horses were sometimes more common.

But, normally, usually, a mule is very patient and placid. Mules are not easily moved to drastic action unless severely provoked or excited. Sometimes though, mules may be stampeded through a sort of contagious group excitement caused by something unknown, and puzzling to their masters. Sometimes a mule's master may cause excitement or a stampede amongst mules through some deliberate action on his part.

If provoked or pushed beyond endurance, a mule can be dangerous. Being intelligent animals - far more intelligent it seems than horses - mules might go along sullenly for days while brooding and plotting some sort of revenge over the target of its displeasure.

The mildest form of a mule's revenge might be a deliberate misbehavior, or destruction of property or crops. Worse, the animal might wait for a chance to bite or kick its master, sneakily and taking them by surprise. And, worst of all, the mule might even plot and carry out an attack which could kill its master. There are many recorded cases of such murders by mules on record.

Mules might be compared to America's mixed race electorate. We are patient, long suffering, carry heavy loads and mostly do what we are told. We can, and often are stampeded into some kind of crazy, drastic action through deliberate provocation by our masters - in our case by our elected officials. But, being patient, long suffering plotters ourselves, the electorate, like mules may sullenly lay in wait for the opportunity to take revenge.

The revenge may be mild if the offense is not too great, or we may even murder our masters, perhaps not in the literal sense, but by arbitrarily ending their political dominance and power. I think the mules of America have taken just about all they have the patience for.

Time to Load 'N Lock

Black buzzards were circling as we rode our horses out of the narrow canyon onto the grasslands, leading our pack mules behind us. Something in the distance was attracting the buzzards for sure. As we got closer we began to get a whiff of the smell - the putrid odor of decay mixed with a lingering scent of burnt gunpowder, deceit, cheating and perhaps a hint of sulfur.

"What in hell do you think it is?" I asked my companion, Witness.

"Don't know," he replied laconically. "Better go see."

Cautiously we approached the now obvious mounds of something, still and dead - couldn't tell just what.

"What's it look like?" I asked Witness.

"Nothing I ever seen." he answered. He dismounted his tired horse and walked slowly forward on foot. I jumped down from my horse as well and started to follow him.

"Better stay back." said Witness, short and sweet. He used a tone I recognized as no nonsense and serious. I stayed back.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Ah shit!" Witness spat. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"For Christ's sake, what in hell is it?" I demanded.

"Ah, shit," he said again. "Looks like Democracy just took it in the neck and back."

"Don't hand me that stuff Witness!" I cried. I didn't want to believe him.

"Yep." he confirmed. "An' here's Reality and Truth laying over here in a heap too. Damn, damn, damn."

"You gotta be kidding." I said. "I don't believe you!"

"Don't matter. 'S a fact. All of 'em. Deader'n hornets."

I peered around Witness' shoulder . And, it was true. I swallowed hard. "But, I thought Media was supposed to watching out for 'em." I protested.

"Me too." Witness said. "Sure looks like they might of even been in on it maybe. Signs of 'em all over the place. Neocon's definitely been here too."

"You don't think they were in on it?" I cried.

"Sure'n hell didn't help any." said Witness. "Whoops. Wait a minute. Here's some stuff I recognize. Used ammo. Stuff only Neocon uses. Yep. No doubt about it. Right there's your perp all right."

"What're we gonna do?" I asked.

"Load 'n lock." said Witness. "We'uns got some cleaning up to do."

George's Winter of Discontent

The president of the United States is a person favored by fortune and circumstance. He has lived a charmed life until now. As a child he had everything. His rich and important father, for whom he was named, was able to provide everything of a material nature for his children. Anything George, Jr. could wish or ask for was instantly provided. This material largesse followed him throughout his life.

When little George faltered, his father was quickly there to support him and pick him up whenever needed. His father's lofty political position allowed him to pull strings to get little George a safe, cushy spot in the Texas National Guard which made it possible for the son to avoid actual military duty during war time. And, when little George did not even bother to fulfill his minimal duties in the guard, there were no consequences. None whatever. The president's father provided loans when little George's business failed. By political arm twisting, the father got his son into an ownership deal with the Texas Rangers ball club which made the son personally rich beyond his wildest dreams.

Then, when it was time, the president's father provided the money and expertise to get his son successfully elected to political office. Little George never looked back, and with his father's continued help he was catapulted into the highest political office in the United States and the world - the US presidency. Little George didn't even break a sweat.

Even as president, George hardly lifted a finger. His father continued to provide massive support in the form of money, political help and advice from members of his own earlier presidential cabinet. Little George, total fraud that he was, coasted thru most of his first administration, oblivious as always to realties. Perhaps it was the boredom, but whatever it was, little George could not restrain himself from meddling. After all, he WAS the president, wasn't he?

So, with a bit of subterfuge, and a lot bending of facts, and a great deal of deceit, little Georgie started an illegal war and became by his own words, the 'War President'.

Feeling his oats, he blustered and bragged, 'Wanted, Dead Or Alive!' and 'Bring It On!' and then 'Mission Accomplished!', though like everything else in his life heretofore, it was all fantasy. But, a problem emerged when he began to believe his own fantasies and lies, and full of his own ego, started to reject the advice of his older, wiser father and other people with real actual experience.

By now, believing himself omnipotent, and ignoring all advice from others, little George stubbornly and blindly persisted in pursuing his failures, which were became more glaringly obvious to the entire world daily. No matter - the one single thing little George is very good at, is ignoring reality. But, big problem. Now that George had blithely moved off the path charted by his father and others, there is no one left to accept responsibility except George, his very own self. For the first time in his life the ball has stopped in George's own court.

And, it is not a pretty picture. There are glaring failures in every direction, and everywhere you look. The war is being lost, George's political party is in meltdown, high level people are quitting or being fired everywhere, the economy is on the verge of collapse, there are scandals throughout his administration.

After a life of denial of reality, the chickens are finally coming home to roost. The buck has stopped abruptly, and dropped heavily, soddenly like a hunk of lead, right in George's lap. For the first time in his life, little Georgie is staring reality right in the face.

It is the real beginning of his first and only Winter of Discontent.

Shut Up And Sing!

Just before the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks had the unmitigated gall & temerity to say she was ashamed 'the president' was from the same state she was. The mindless outrage of the Bush rednecks and the regressive controlled media controlled was immediate and hysterical. In this case it went far beyond the pale and culminated in an organized campaign to silence and punish the group as ‘traitors’. Following an organized campaign, 70% of US radio stations refused to play their records, their albums were collected and publicly trashed or burned. In fact, the events were frighteningly and eerily reminiscent of Nazi book burnings in the ‘thirties. Unbelievable.

Even though the Dixie Chicks had performed and published the most popular country music songs in history, Redneck rants seemed to appear everywhere country music was played. Web sites controlled by secret, incognito entities orchestrated a vociferous campaign to financially ruin the group for having the actual audacity to exercise their freedom to speak. There were even death threats.

Even that Godly Gasbag the very Reverend Jerry Falwell got into the act, calling the group "French hens" who "said unacceptable things about their president"

Even after the girls tried sincerely to defuse and mitigate the controversy, to the point of making a public apology and explanation for the original comment, their attackers only increased their fury. The result should have been predictable. THESE WOMEN GOT MAD!

It is now evident the regressives miscalculated on the courage of the Dixie Chicks, and particularly Ms. Maines. The group proceeded to ignore the attacks - they really had no choice if they wanted to keep their careers - and continued their work, moving away from the country music venue. Consequently, they recently made a clean sweep of the 2007 Grammy awards, winning all 5 of the top awards. Very sweet validation of their talents by anyone’s measure - though their detractors are quick to claim ‘Hollywood’ was bound to favor them! That they are having heartburn over the Dixie Chicks’ success couldn’t be more clear.

But, that’s not all. The group also made a full length documentary movie of the episode, now being offered to the public. Ads were prepared, with certain media refusing to run the ads! NBC for example - that’s as in ‘National Broadcasting Corporation’ - claiming to be all in favor of ‘free speech’ refused to run ads for the movie, saying in writing that it `cannot accept these spots as they are disparaging to President Bush.'"

Now, NBC is attempting to ‘spin’ their blacklisting of the group by claiming they were only in the ‘opening discussions of confidential negotiations’ when the Chicks went public with the refusal to run the ads. Yeah, right.

The entire string of events was such blatant hypocrisy to me that I immediately ordered my own copy of the movie which I have now received and watched. My comment is “WOW! These women have iron guts! And, any one of the three has ten times the balls of George W. Bush our current ‘War President’. If you want to see an enlightening and uplifting movie - don’t miss this one!

"Towards a More Perfect Fascist State"

‘Muchrakers’ is the term used for those looking through garbage for dirt on others. Generally, muckrakers are looked down upon by others in the news media. But, sometimes a muckraker does turn up something of real importance. Several of the more seedy Washington, DC area newspaper reporters employ others to literally look through the garbage bins of prominent personages in the hopes of turning up an important nugget of importance.

Suppose such a find appeared today in print in one of the more ‘yellow’ yellowsheets found around the city.? A muckraker strikes pure gold hunting through cans of rubbish left for pickup outside the Karl Rove residence. Rove is normally very careful about leaving incriminating written evidence lying around so the find was a surprise. Speculation is that perhaps Rove was distracted by the possibility of molesting a teenage boy or some other similar neocon joy. Nonetheless there it was, scrawled in longhand on yellow legal paper. We quote it here in it’s imagined entirety (spelling & syntax corrected of course!) :

“Towards a More Perfect Fascist State:

I. Convince the masses - any means that works. (First, you must get your man in office!).

A. Use any group that is easily convinced - like rednecks, simpleminded, militia groups, gun owners associations, etc.

B. Get the religious crazies working for you.
(Reward groups with taxpayer grants, educational funding, etc.)

II. Use fear. Fear is a great weapon. It causes people to stop thinking rationally. If you can convince people there’s something to be afraid of and you can ‘protect’ them, you are 3/4 of the way home.

A. A common threat is good.

B. Fabricate information to introduce fear. It is helpful to ‘doctor’ intelligence information if it doesn’t fit your view.

C. Shout down opposition - slam anyone who tries to get the actual truth out.

III. Use dirty tricks.

A. Blame the opposition for exactly what you are doing yourself.
(Example: say they are in control of the media!)

B. Use malicious propaganda. The truth won’t matter when you’ve won.
(See control the media below)

C. Fabricate outrageous stories about the opposition. (See the ‘truth doesn’t matter above)

D. Employ personal attacks on any opposition possible - these need not be based on fact as rumor and insinuation are often as good and sometimes even better.

E. Control the blogosphere for your side. Set up multiple ‘dummy’ sites staffed and controlled by your own operatives.

F. (For 'frig 'em!) - masquerade as the other side playing dirty tricks back on your side - insuring that they are found out of course! (This is a great, time proven tactic!)

IV. Gain control the media.

A. Encourage consolidation of media outlets under a few large companies under your control. (Not a big deal if you are in a position to dispense legislative favors!)

B. Control the media with threats against individuals - imprisonment if need be.
(Order actual imprisonment when needed - hold victim incommunicado, identity as ‘terrorist threat’, etc. This has the distinct advantage of silencing that entity.)

C. Encourage large corporations to pressure the media on your behalf.
(Use tax breaks, grants as rewards when needed. It's only taxpayers’ money after all)

D. Introduce misinformation to support your view whenever possible. Use your controlled blogosphere freely. Be lavish with the funding for this as it will pay off handsomely.

V. Guarantee continuity or your side.

A. “Dumb down” the constituency by reducing funds for public schools.
(Works hand in hand with funding religious crazies who will be promoting for your side!)

B. Control the vote counting apparatus.
(If called to account, throw up smoke screens, lay blame, excuses, etc., but importantly, accept zero responsibility. It helps to have a controllable court system!)

C. Cover up any unpleasant news for your side.

D. Blow out of proportion anything against the opposition possible. Manufacture bad news for the opposition if none available.

D. Claim the reverse of fact - i.e., ‘black is white’ tactics.

E. Constantly reiterate the threats to ‘public’ & ‘National Security’.
(Create out of whole clothe when needed)

Properly employed, the tactics above will guarantee success for your Fascist programs - even to the point of the 'huddled masses' cheering for your side!

AN OPEN LETTER TO NBC

Realizing you (NBC) do not really want feedback on policy decisions, but you do need to know there can be a cost for your improper actions, and I need to let you know the reason I will avoid anything and everything by or from or promoted by NBC in the future. You made a choice to be gutless and I am choosing to exercise my free will. Message I am sending to my mail list:

"I don't know if you were aware of or remember the flap in the 'country music' field where the Texas group "Dixie Chicks" got up and publicly said (2003, in England) they were 'ashamed' of Bush being from the same state as they. It caused a huge outcry amongst country music fans and rednecks who demanded they be punished. However, sweet vengeance came in the form of their having swept the top five grammy awards in country music - a genre which they no longer even claim!

Here's the "Dixie Chicks news:

(http://theedge.bostonherald.com/musicNews/view.bg?articleid=182541)

And here's just one of the gutless wonders (NBC) who fell in line with the NeoCons' outraged venting over anyone daring to criticize 'their' president, by either banning their music or their advertisements. Unbelievable this could happen in the US of A, but since Bush took power I've witnessed a lot of 'firsts' I never thought I'd see in the country I served honorably and sacrificed for!:

NBC REFUSES TO RUN DIXIE CHICKS' AD

(http://thinkprogress.org/2006/10/27/dixie-chicks-advertisement-nbc/)

My hat is off to the Dixie Chick group for having the guts to stick this out - they paid a heavy financial price since about 70% of the radio stations in the country caved in and banned them for their statement - as 'punishment'.

This just goes to show that although there is a lunatic fringe operating at large in this country these days, most of us keep trying to maintain an even keel. I sure hope someone is keeping score on outfits like NBC and their cowardly actions. I know that I personally will avoid anything connected with NBC like the plague in the future and hope you will too. They will need to do a lot of fence mending in order to rebuild any reputation with me. I'd hope they'd have the courage to 'fess up to their stupidity and offer a public apology, but very much doubt they will do so.

I'd imagine the Dixie Chick gals are on top of the world right now. Sometimes this kind of payback is just so-o-o- sweet!

(I'm going to find a way to send a copy of this to the NBC brass as well as post it to my blog at http://semperfidelisrus.blogspot.com/)

Cheers,
Erik"