Meth,Oxycontin, And Other Kentucky Recreations

Kentucky is really being hit hard by the various scourges of illicit drug use, especialy the eastern and southeastern sections. Meth, Oxycontin,crack cocaine, you name it, the state is really being hit hard, and there seems to be no end in sight. A few months ago, a man who is a cousin of one set of cousins of mine, though he is no relation actually to me, was murdered after he was robbed while delivering a pizza to the home of the girlfriend of an Oxycontin abuser, who beat him to death with a baseball bat. Just the other day, two women were arressted for maintaining a meth lab in their homes. They had just recently gotten out of prison, on parole, after serving only a couple of years of a sentence for his very crime, having been arrested in this first instance when poice responded to a domestic violence call to their home. On the same day, police announced the arrest of a man awaiting trial on charges of selling Oxycontin, when they found a large stash in his home in Laurel County, in addition to finding fifty thousand dollars cash sewed into a pilow cover. He insisted he didn't know where any of that stuff came from. Oh, really? Now, I've heard stories of police busting targets by planting evidence on them, such as a joint or a bag of cocaine, etc. But fifty thousand dollars, now that would be different.

But this brings up an interesting point. The fact that this guy was out on bond to begin with, the idea that two women would be paroled after only a couple of years for producing in their homes such as volatile and explosive a concoction as Methamphetamine, the mere presence of which is a safety hazard to an entire neighborhood,to say nothing of the dangers of ingesting it. Indeed, the man responsible for the murder of my cousins relative had himself been recently paroled after serving just a portion of his sentence. And it goes on and on.

In the meantime, there are numerous doctors and pharmacies who turn a blind eye to the abuse of Oxycontin and other prescription drugs, and continue to prescribe them, knowing full well what the devastating results are not only possible, but probable, to be. The money is just too damned good. That's why they are prescribd to begin with, even in cases where they are not really necessary.

And law enforcement is just way behind the times, as courts hand out too light sentences, and parole boards release potentialy violent offenders, knowing fullwell they are likely to reoffend, and what the many times violent implications of that actually are.

True, efforts are being made to improve the siutuation, to raise awareness therough public education measures and stepping up of law enfocement and encouraging stiffer penalites for repeat offenders, and first time ones, with the requirement for enhanced rehabilitation requirements and follow up. Congressman Hal Rogers, of the Fifth District, has been instrumental in his ground breaking efforts in establishing these much needed programs and policies. I only hope it's not way too little way too late.

Livingston Kentucky

The town of Livingston is a small little town in Rockcastle County Kentucky that was founded in the late 1800's as a railroad town, when the old L&N railroad was buildt. It ws never a large town, I don't think it ever went past a thousand person population, but it was at one time a thriving little community. Hey, it had a whore house at one time, if that's not thriving nothing is. Of course, as time went on, and the railroads became of less and less importance, the town declined, until now it looks like something that never quite crawled it's way out of the Great Depression. I blame it to begin with on being another example of the evils of the anti- alcohol fanatics, which has infested so many rural Bible belt towns like a malignant cnacer, and utterly wasted their economies. But Livingston's problems go deeper than that.

The people of Livingston have quite a bit of community pride, and rightly so, and every year there is a Homecoming in the town, which draws present and former residents from far and wide, despite the fact that the towns old school has been closed now for going on thirty years, due to county school consolidation. Yet, despite this apparrent hometown pride, the school was in a shambles, falling in, windows broken, graffiti eeverywhere, etc., until funds were established to renovate the school. This was to be done using prisoners of the Rockcastle County jail in a work release program. It had been tentatively decided to use the school as extra space for the jail, for certain types of offenders, the non-violent ones though.

It looked as though Livingston, which had become almost a ghost town, the only business being a restaurant and a garage, was about to undergo a renaissance, as the renovation of the school would have provided additional employees for the city, and extra revenues, etc. Then, just the other day, the shit hit the fan. The mayor, J.C. Griffin, resigned amid charges that he was being hampered in his efforts to improve the city's finances, by none other than the Livingston City Commission itself. They fought him tooth and nail in his efforts to "change things" as one member put it (saying he would fight the mayor tooth and nail to keep him from doing so).

Among their alleged wrondoings:

*they have reneged on paying federal taxes on taxes they had collected. When arrangements were made to pay off the interest of the debt they had accrued, and to further pay off the back taxes themselves, in a very fair manner which had been arranged by Republican Fifth District Congressman Hal Rogers-they reneged on that as well.

*They had reneged on paying the bill to the city's water supplier, and were far behind on that as well, to the point they were threatened with having the city's water paid off.

*Documentation of former elected officials paying themselves high salaries and bonuses, and of hiring a full time clerk that was not needed, in addition to the one legitimate employee.

*Cancelled Livingstons insurance with the state, on the false grounds of the mayor's illegal use of city vehicles to transport prisoners to work release, when the mayor actually had used his own vehicle.

*When given a 4000 dollar grant for a fire truck, they paid two thousand of it, but renenged on paying the other two thousand, which now can not be accounted for. This has resulted in the County Judges decision to no longer grant any municipality money for fire equipment, and presumably any other purpose.

*Numerous city employees were paid high salaries to pretty much comeand go as they pleased.

*Commissioners voted themselves free water. When the mayor informed them they would have to start paying like everybody else, they balked, on the grounds that they are "friends of Livingston".

Yeah, some motherfucking friends. After all is said and done (including the destruction of innummerable city records in a blatant attempt to prevent no telling what else from being found out) Livingston is now a town in the grips of foreclosure. All the assets of the town had at one point been seized.

The good news in all this turmoil, that puts me in mind of the shenanigans you would expect to see in a Third World nation along ther lines of the Sudan, is that there is a perfect opportunity here for somebody to step in and take over, and I'm talking here about a consortium of business developers who might recognize the potential of the city of Livington. Livingston is a beautiful place, surrounded by thick, lush, green rollinghills,and it has an interesting history as a one time vital railroad town of the late eighteen hundreds. It has resort town written all over it. The development of a good sized lakeis foreseeable, in additon to hunting lodges, fishing cabins, a good hotel.

Before anything like this can come about, however, which would be good not only for Livingston but the entirety of Rockcastle County, sombody is going to have to break the stranglehold of the mind-set that has kept Livingston, like the rest of Rockcastle County, mired in the nineteen thirties. And if someone were going to invest their money, time, and resources in the area, then they certainly have a right to expect cooperation in this regard. Otherwise, they should simply invest elsewhere.

Unfortunately, I don't expect to see many changes.

On The Road Again Soon

The last few days have been hectic, what with all the time I've had to spend into making arrangements to get this new car, the lack of which has been a real drag. On the other hand, being without one was making me realize how badly out of shape I've gotten, so I plan to continue walking whenever I can. But it sure will be nice to have a vehicle back for those occassions when you really shouldn't have to do without one. It's a drag having to depend on neighbors and relatives to take you shopping, etc.

On a somewhat related note, I'm going to have to make a real concerted effort to really make myself work on my novel about thge Ku Klux Klan. By the time I get around to finishing the thing, they'll be taking black members. Well, I doubt they'll advance that much, but still. Unfortunately, that means I'm going to have to hold to my schedule of up-dating my Blog on a once a week basis. So, after today, I'm going to this Blog probably on a Thursday. That way, it will be availiable for people to read over the weekend, by the time the weekend starts. Plus, there won't be that much difference, there will still be roughly the same amount of Blog items over a weeks period. The only difference is, they'll all be there in one days time, as oppossed to one or two or three every so many days. Actually, when you stoip to think about it, that will make it more worth a persons time to log onto the site, as there will be more to read at one time. Hopefully, I will be able to make it worth the wait. Plus, I wouldn't be adverse to bending the rules to allow for a special update on a Friday or a Saturday, on those cases where newsmakers try that tired old tactic of releasing important and controversial news items and information over the weekend, thinking that people are too dense to notice it.

Until the next time, have a good weekend, a good up and coming week, and hope to have something of interest for you by next Thursday. In the meantime, keep an eye out for those nasty spell trolls.

Mushariff Cracks Down On Madrassas

It's about goddamned time. Thanks to the discovery that three of the four bombers involved in the recent London attacks were of Pakistani descent, and had made recent trips to Pakistan, I guess Mushariff has finally gotten the message. These Madrassas are a big problem, to say the least. These are the places where young children are taught hatred toward western civilization, and especially America, as a part of their Islamic education. And from all indications, it is an education of the most perversely virulent and violent kind. Where jihad in the form of assault on civilians, even innocent children, is not only justified, it is encouraged. It is the worse kind of brainwashing cult imaginable. It has been funded for the msot part with money from wealthy Saudis, including members of the Saudi royal family, and according to some reports, from the Saudi government itself. This has been explained as a means of gaining acceptance for the Saudi Royals with the fundamentalist Islamic Whahabi Sect. A way of buying time through a process not unlike that of keeping a tight lid on a boiling stew, which threaens to blow up more and more with every passing day.

In the meantime, the Wahabi instructors of these Madrassas continue to spew their venomous philosophies to the young and the impressionable, the immature young Arab and Muslim child, who are taught hatred and prejudice with the same intensity and passion they are taught reading and writing and mathmatics, only probably more so. And where are the most of these madrassas located? Of course, Pakistan is not the only place, but it seems to be one of the major centers of the practice, in fact the most important center.

Now, finally, after years of diplomacy and complaints from the U.S. State Department, which has done little if any good, Mushariff has finally cracked down, in the aftermath of the London bombings. 100 suspected extremists have been arrested. Of course, Mushariff will be the object of criticism in his own country for this, but his life is in danger everyday anyway, due to what little he has done on our behalf, which up till now has been vital, and appreciated, but still nowhere nearly enough. Will this continue, or is this only a temporary reaction? Time will tell, but I sincerely hope that he is serious, and that he cracks down on Madrassas everywhere in hs country, to the extent that he executes every teacher guilty of teaching this virulent strain of Islam. After all, these people only want to teach young children to be suicide bombers and murderers. They aren't so willing, I would wager, to put their own lives on the line, at least not for the most part. And if they are, they should certainly be obliged. At least there would soon be nobody to teach this evil scourge of a perverted religion.

As far as Mushariff's own dictatorial tendencies, of which he has been the object of criticism, not only in Pakistan, but in Western countries, I have learned the hard way, don't look a gift goat in the mouth. Some people, I am afraid, simply do not deserve democracy, or freedom. That is just a cold, hard fact. If they did appreciate democracy, or the prospect of freedom, they certainly wouldn't hand power over to groups of people that would lead them straight down the proverbial primrose path to destruction. And they certainly would not approve of their children being sent to madrassas, where they are taught, more than anything, the hatred they are taught and brainwashed with there everyday

Supreme Court Nominee John Roberts

Time will tell how accurrate my last Tarot Card Reading turns out to be, but some aspects of it at least for now turn out to be dead on, beginning with the very first card, the Three Of Pentacles as Significator. It so happens that John Roberts was on the Fifth Circuit Appellate Court for Washington D.C., which upheld the validity of Bush's action in the war on terror, I believe, pertaining to the process of holding suspected terrorists for potential trial by military tribunal, and upholding the whole controversial aspect of the Guantanamo detentions. So this appointment could indeed be pay-off. Not that I necessarilly have a problem with that as such.

Also, the Two of Wands covering card that hinted this man really wanted this appointment. Turns out he loves the Supreme Court, has argued 39, I think, cases before them, and has won 25 of those arguments. He is a conservative, yes (he was appointed by Bush-duh)so again, a possible pay-off to a loyal conservative team player. This might be his main problem going into confirmation, as suggested by the Crossing Card of the Six of Wands.

However, not much is known about his stands on the more controversial issues of the day, in fact next to nothing is known. As is suggeted by the card of the Hermit at the position of Base of The Matter. Remember, he has basically been an attorney, so his arguments on behalf of his clients is just a matter of him being a good advocate for his client. A good lawyer can advocate for either side.

Yet, this man has little judicial experience. He is a brilliant lawyer, but that is almost the extent of his experience. He has been a judge for all of two years, on the Fifth Circuit Appelate Court. And this is where the Final Outcome Two Of Pentacles comes in. He will pretty much be not only a Supreme Court Associate Justice in training, but when you get right down to it, will be a judge-period-in training. Asumming he is confirmed, of course, which I feel confident he will be.

Stay tuned. The democrats had better go along with this one. He may turn out to be conservative as Clarence Thomas or Antonin Scalia, or Rehnquist, true enough. On the other hand, with an unknown quantity, there's a chance he might be moderate, or slightly right to center, as oppossed to being a hard-core right winger. With most other nominees, there's little chance that his or her views would be so unknown, and those known views are likely to be conservative. And of course Bush will nominate a conservative, as is his right. Remember, he won the election. If democrats and the far left don't like that, then that simply means they should go about adopting raional policy positions and undertaking sensible campaign strategies so that they can win the elections necessary to appoint the judges they would prefer. Of course, they will have to be dragged kicking and screaming to this way of thinking, as they seem as of yet to have far from tired of loosing elections, of out and out blowing elections, in fact. It's one of those facts of life in American politics, when you lose elections, you lose the agenda. And that includes judicial nominations.

And face it, the conservatives are right on some issues. And by right I mean correct. Most of the time they are wrong, granted, and on a lot of different levels. But I do take some comfort in those areas where they are correct. Such as in adopting sensible strategies to combat the war on terror, or at least they are better than the democrats on this issue. They also are better, for the most part, on issues of overall national security and defense. To deny this, you would have to not only be a 24 hour a day BlueKool Aid drinker, you would have to be snorkeling in the shit.

I won't go into the other areas where they are correct, not in this post. But the democrats had better start to come to grips with their heads and their hearts, and come to the realization of one hard truth. After some fifty years of dominating the Congress, both the House Of Representatives and the Senate, as well as the Courts, and of maintaining more or less overall support by way of the media, they have lost in a big way for going on eleven years now. They started to feel complacent, even, I am afraid, entitled. And they just haven't learned to cope with reality in a logical, rational, and more importantly, a strategically sound and sensible way. Until they do, look for more and more democratic losses, in the Senate, the House of Representatives, and in the Presidency.

And if it keeps on long enough, you can expect a Supreme Court of nine-and maybe eventualy more-conservatives. We might be lucky with John Roberts, who knows? But a long enough stretch of Republican judicial appointments, to the Supreme Court, eventually can not help but infuse it with a series of nothing but those types of nominees Bush stated in an interview some time back he considered the models-justices along the lines of Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia.

Does that sound like a horrible thought? Yeah, it does to me to. But if the Republicans continue to win election after election, and nominate such people, and suceed in having them confirmed due to the inability of democrats to win elections, don't blame the Republicans. After all, they are only being true to their own for the most part sincerely held phiosophies of law and government. No, the people you should place the blame on are the democrats. Be kind to them, though. Give them a little time. They'll have to stop whining and ranting, after all, before they can hear you good.

Tarot Reading-Bush's Coming Supreme Court Nominee

I couldn't resist giving this a try. This of course is tentative, and it's accurracy is dependant on whether or not Bush has all ready made his decision, or on whether he is leaning toward a specific individual, and events are now in motion which is leading toward the announcement of said individual. This reading then would be pertaining to that person. And it starts out interesting from the get-go.

The SIGNIFICATOR for the Celtic Cross Tarot reading of our potential nominee is the THREE OF PENTACLES. In other words, there is every indication just from this one opening card that the person is somebody who might well be offerrd the position as a kind of reward for that person's loyalty to Bush and to his administration. Interesting, indeed. Moreover the COVERING CARD is the TWO OF WANDS- in other words, this is a person who wants the position, and has made his availiablility for the position known. However, the CROSSING CARD is the SIX OF WANDS. This seems to indicate that it might be a little too obvious that the position is being offerred to the person out of political considerations, and as a reward. THE CROWNING CARD in this reading is expressed by the card of the QUEEN OF PENTACLES, and she is reversed, which could signify an oppossition to the appointment by a person of influence, or that that person, probably a woman, is pushing the nomination. Or that the nominee is a woman, and that this is a major consideration in making the nomination of this person. At the position of the BASE OF THE MATTER we see the card of THE HERMIT, which is also reversed. This might be an indication that the person is a relative unknown, and/or that the persons views on certain controversial matters are unknown, which might be another attraction for the nominee, and yet at the same time a drawback to certain pesons of interest. It coudl be that the person is a big privacy advocate, also. Or that the person is seen as an independant type of thinker, not prone to party line thinking. In the position of PASSING INFLUENCES, we see the card of STRENGTH, which means the person will initially encounter some opposition due to the fact that he or she is such an unknown quantity, yet will in time make it out of committee, to be voted on by the full floor of the Senate. UP-AND-COMING INFLUENCES, however, bodes ill in the form of the TEN OF WANDS, which is reversed, and could mean the person could be subjected to a long drawn out Senatorial debate, and his patience will be sorely tested, a la Clarence Thomas. However, the card of WHERE YOU FIND YOURSELF reveals the card of the KING OF CUPS, which means that due to the influence and persistence of Bush, and other allies and supporters, the person will be handily confirmed, if not overwhelmingly. However, this King of Cups is also reversed, which means probably that this person will have to undergo a lot of questioning on the floor of the Senate, as regards his or her basic judicial philosophy. He or she will be questioned, doubtless, on specific views, but will resist elucidating on these, other than to assure that the person believes in fully interpreting the law and the constitution and does not believe in judicial activism. Which is of course not an answer at all, as judical activism is in the eye of the beholder. However, this assurance not to allow personal beliefs to interfere in the interpretation of the law is expressed in this reading by the card of THE HANGED MAN, which is also reversed, in the position of VIEW OF OTHERS. In other words, this is the manner in which the person will project him or herself. We now get to the card and position of HOPES AND FEARS, which is here represented by the card of the FIVE OF CUPS. And this is another reversed card, and seems to indicate that the person will be divided as to betraying the persons own personal set of ethics, but at the same time the individual will be torn by the prospect of betraying those from whom he derived his influence, and his ultimate position. In other words, he might feel inclined to make decisions based more on political considerations on the one hand, and out of personal opinions on the other.

The card of the FINAL OUTCOME then, is represented by the TWO OF PENTACLES, which will come to pass within the next six months to a year. This seems to hint that the person will actually be in the process of growing into the job, as though he or she were not truly qualified to be nominated to begin with. Actually, the card seems to imply that the person will not have a fully formed judicial philosophy as of yet, strange as that sounds, which could be an indication of a relatively young nominee. Whatever the case, the person will actually prove to be a perfect replacement for Sandra Day O'Connor-a swing vote-and this will be to the consternation of Bush and conservative activists far and wide.

Karl Rove-Spin That Top To The Right

I've heard it all now. Talk about perjury. Talk about manipulation. Let's see here, if I've got my facts straight-yes, of course, I do. Karl Rove didn't reveal to Robert Novak, or Judith Miller, or anyone else, the identity of Valerie Plame, the wife of former U.S. ambassador Joe Wilson, as being a CIA agent. They revealed this information to Karl Rove. Uh huh. Suuurrre. That would be a bit like me giving an Egyptian archaeologist a tour of the Great Pyramid.

Let's face it here, Rove is a high ranking offical, one of the most trusted such, in the Bush administration, one of the most secretive and close lipped administrations in the history of modern Amrican politics. An administration that, in common wiht all others, would have imediate access to all classified secrets and verifying documents that are availiable and can be reaosnably produced. And we are talking here about a man who, based on a trip to the African nation of Niger, in an Op Ed article disputed the assertions by Bush in his State Of The Union speechthat Saddam Hussein had tried to purchase nuclear materials from that nation. Who further stated that Vice President Cheney knew about and sanctioned the trip, which the administration asserts is false. Why in the hell wouldn't the administration immediately try to find out all there was to know about Joe Wilson, as quickly as possible? They were certainly enraged enough at him. Of course they found out everything there was to know about him, and this bit of information would naturally include the fact that his wife was a mid-level CIA operative, and that in fact it was probably she who recommended him for the trip, which they now insist was done specifically to disprove the assertions making the rounds about Saddams activities in the region.

It seems plausible and understandable that they would deny the Vice-Presidents knowledge and association with Wilson's trip, if he had no involvement, and that they would insist this was a trip made at the behest of mid-level CIA officials. But they didn't stop there, they were determined to exact vengeance on the offending agent by outing her, in the most cowardly way imaginable. I can imagine the conversation went something like this

ROVE: We believe that Wilson was sent to Niger by someone at the CIA, we know he was lying about the Vice-Presidents involvement, we think somebody sent him there specifically to discredit the president, though we can't prove that right now. But we don't know why or how they come ot send Joe Wilson. It has us baffled.

NOVAK: Hey, you know, Wilson's wife is a mid-level CIA agent.

ROVE: Yeah, I've heard that.

NOVAK: Maybe she had something to do with it. Her name isn't Wilson though, it's Plame, Valerie Plame.

ROVE: You don't say. Yeah, Bob, I bet you're right.

So yeah, technically, Rove may not have broke the law. But in the grand scheme of things, he most certinly skirted every ethical standard in the book. And I would be willing to bet the President was kept abreast and totally up to date on every second of this sorry drama, and signed off on it. After all, why was Karl Rove involved in this to begin with? The man is a political consultant, and it seems out of the line of his job description. But maybe it was assummed the damage would be done, and if any suspicions were aroused they could lay it off on somebody like Coli Powell, not outright of course-but hey, Powell was obvviously a pain in the ass for the administration from day one. That is total supposition about Powell, but it is obvious there was sme skullduggery afoot. After all, if everything was all nice and innocent, and no harm was meant, then why was Karl Rove not quoted outright, instead of being referred to as an anonymous source, What would be the need for anonymity?

No, the more I think about it, this brainchild was perfectly hatched in the mind of a deviant though brilliant political consultant-but someting like this could only have been approved by the President. Or the Vice-President. Or some person of a higher authority, as I doubt seriously Rove would do this without approval, on his own. That is just not the way this White House works, and nobody is more cognizant of that fact than Karl Rove.

Thorougbred Busting And Crack Cocaine

Just recently ran into an old acquaintance I hadn't seen in years, so I sat down and talked for a few minutesd, just catching up on the latest goings on. Now this guy I'll be the first to admit, and so probably would he,used to be a real pain in the ass when we went to school together. I mean, this guy loved to fight, and he wouldn't have it any other way but me and him were going to trade blows. The funny thing was, it wasn't out of any kind of malice on is part, the guy just loved to fight. I fought with him, once, just to shut him up, and besides he was really pissing me off, but the local cop broke us up, right in the middle ofthe school Halloween carnival. It wasn't really a fair fight anyway, he was a fighter, I was not, I ws wearing a big bulky band uniform that I could barely move around in, he was dressed in jeans and light shirt, and he hit hard and fast while I just flailed around. But I was so pissed that when he hit me in the face, I could barely feel it, and the next day he laughed when he showe dme how he bruised his knuckles on my band uniform buttons. After that, we got along more or less okay. We became quite friendly actually.

Today, as I talked to him, he told me how at one pioint he had worked in Georgetown Kentucky breaking thoroughbred horses. He talked about how before thye would do this him and his partner did cocaine, as he put it, "we rocked it up wght there". According to him this made it easier. He also told me the persn he worked for was a Venezualan who practically owned the town of Caracas, before the recent revolution, in which he had lost his life. His wife and children had barely managed to escape with their lives, he was glad now that he had turned the guy down on is offer to go to Caracas to work for him. Which I could easily imagine. He said that "those sand niggers all bowed down when he came by". I could well imagine that, too. I told him he probably made the right decision, even if he had gone and left before the revolution, which lasted all of a week or two before Hugo Chaviz then regained power, who knows what was boiling down below the surface leading up to all that.

All that makes me wonder though, about the current drug situation, and the political climate in Venezuala even to this day, and the potential for future conflict with the curent or future administration which could occur for a variety of reasons, on a lot of different levels. Oil, drugs, the human slave trade that purportedly goes through Venezuala, and the general turmoil in the region. And the tentacles of this monster reach up all ready to the U.S. evidently, as far north as Kentucky.

Luckily for him, he got out of the situation before it may well have been too late, despite the obvious allure of money, drugs, and potentially even position. And good for him. He was always a fighter, but he was never stupid.

Utopia In A Bottle

For beer lovers evrywhere, Samuel Adams Brewery will soon release an 8,500 bottle limited edition of a 25% alcohol beer it calls Utopia. Only it's not really for beer lovers everywhere, unless you can afford to pluck down 100 dollars. You read it right, 100 dollars a bottle. Of course, I have no doubt it will sell out, and a good lot of the bottles will probably never be opened. So Samuel Adams will gross on this product a cool 850,ooo dollars. Me, I couldn't afford to buy a drink of the stuff. I bet it will be damned good though. And I bet there will be more, probably under a different name. And look for other breweries to follow suit. Me, I'll stick to Heineken.

Tarot Reading-The Murder And Disposal of Natalie Holloway

I couldn't resist doing this, so I did it, after putting it off for as long as I could. This Tarot Reading is based on Joran Van Der Sloot, and his actions immediately precceding the murder, the murder itself, and the aftermath of same. For Joran's SIGNIFICATOR I drew the card ot the TWO OF WANDS, which describes his bjective of seducing the Alabama vacationing high school student. The remainder of the cards show the rpogression of events, from Joran's perspective. The first card I drew was THE EMPRESS, which seems to suggest that he felt like he was being lead on in such a way that natalie semed to be welcoming, encouraging, maybe even overtly submissive in a tantalizing kind of way. This card was reversed, however, so it could be that he was misreading her, reading what he wanted to read into her personality. However it was, the next card I drew was the FOUR OF PENTACLES. This seems to indicate that we are now at the period of time where he has successfully gotten her out into an apparently porivste area, where he could do pretty much hat he wanted, she was now at his mercy, and it is obvious he is not going to take no for an answer. He knows what he wants, and he is going to get it, if he has to take it by force. The next card drawn in this progression is the NINE OF CUPS, and since this card is not reversed, this would imply that she "gave in" to his demands, so that in his mind, to his way of thinking, he didn't actually rape her. Next comes something that is really strange, the card of TEMPERANCE. What this all but screams out to me, is that since Joran got what he wanted, it seemed only fair in hi smind to let his buds in on the action as well. And so they probably availed themselves of the situation, to whatever extent they desired. Remember, the girl was in no position to resist at this point, nor would it have done her any good whatsoever if she had. I surmise that these series of events took place along the area of the Lighthose, caled the Caliornia Lighthouse, that was at first mentioned so widely.
They then returned to the area from which they left, and Joran and Naalie was left on the beach. So far, so good. But now, Natalie is incensed at the way she has been treated. There is a very good chance this girl was a virgin prior to this, and if so this would have been all the more traumatic, and enraging, especially seeing as how Natalie was a girl who pretty much had her future all mapped out, had goals in life, and took her self and her values seriously. She was probably enraged at the treatment she had received, and at this point vowed revenge on Van Der Sloot. A bitter argment ensued, as suggested by the card of THE LOVERS, which is reversed. The argumnent unfortunately turns into a shouting match, and then gets physical, and at one point, Joran strikes the girl in the face as hard as he can with his open fist. Whether there is any other pysical assault followng this or not is unclear, but whatever the case, the girl dies.
That leaves the question, what to do with the body. For the answer to this, I drew the card of THE HERMIT. The obvious implication here is that he body wa stken to some remote, generally inaccessible, foreboding spot, and dumped there. But not buried. I think th ereasoning here is that a grave would offer some short term protection for the body, making it easier to be found, as experts undert\stand how to look for shallow graves, and search dogs as well know how tosniff them out. What is suggested by the final card THE SUN, is that by leaving her out pretty much in the open, this would add to the decomposition by way of exposure to the elements, and especially the heat of the sun, and in addition would allow more access to predatory birds and animals, which would make short work of her. Making it far more unlikely that the body would ever be found. And, if I am right, unfortunately, it probably never will be found. Abotu the best that might be hoped for is the eventual discovery of a skull, a large femer bone, etc. But if the disposal tok place in a truly remote, wild, rugged area, this too is very unlikely. And, seeing as how things have turned out the wya they have, it is somwhat fairly likely that Van Der Sloot, and the Kalpoe Brothers, will never be charged with a crime. Or, if they are, and are found guilty, I would suppose they will spend very lttle time, if any, behind bars afterwards.

The Trojan Donkey-PETA

I am a democrat, because I basically believe in the traditional tenets of that party, more or less, but more so than less so. I would basically describe myself as being a liberal on about eighty percent of the issues, a conservative on probably a mere twenty percent of them. But more and more I'm starting to realize my party is undergoing a severe meltdown from within. And I blame it on the special interests that have infected the party, by infesting the party, and turning it into little more than a trojan horse for a radicalized, mestastisized version of honorable liberalism that can only be described as far left, extremist to the nth degree, in a great many cases. In other cases, they are not so much far left as they are mere careerists, people who have become so embedded that they are an entitlement in their own right, or think that they are.

And then there are the totally, uncomprehendingly silly. Such an example of this would be PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals). The first time I heard of this group was a long time ago, by way of commercials in which their spokesman of the time, Mike Farrell (B.J. Hunnicutt of televisions M.A.S.H. fame). They sounded extremist to me then, but I had no idea at the time how goofy this bunch actually was.

I love animals as much, and to tell you the truth I would imagine more, than the average person, more so than even the average animal lover. But this is an example of a group that does a potentially worthy cause a grave disservice. It's easy to laugh at the antics of these people, and to not take them seriously, but then you realize, these people are actualy sitting around in board rooms and being paid to come up with this goofy shit. And they have obviously recently scrapped the bottom of the barrel, having way too much time on their hands, and possibly, when you get right down to it, have too much money in their coffers. Where is it coming from? From the usual suspects of course, and seeing as thy are a non-profit agency, tey have to spend it all in a given amount of time, as they aren't allowed to make a profit.

Now this is where a certain little town in New Yoprk State comes in, a little town by the name of Fishkill. Yes, that's right, Fishkill New York. Bear in mind that New York, back in the early days of it's origins, was not an English, but a Dutch colony. Therefore, a great many of the place names in New York State are, as you might expect, of Dutch extraction. Fishkill is an ov\bvious example. It was probably originally Fishkyll, or some such like that, and was later Anglicized, not so much purposely as due to a naturl linquistic evolutionary process. Whatever the case, the name oiginally meant "Fish Stream".

But the good people of the board of PETA are now on record as having embarked on a campaign to urge the city council of the town to change it's name to somehting that is more "fish friendly". As soon as I heard this, I thought to myself, are they kidding? They aren't really serious, are they? Could they really be that idiotic, that stupid? To be honest with you, I keep thinking that maybe after all it will turn out ot be a good natured jibe, just a way to exhibit a sense of humor, to show people they are capable of self-effaccing humor, that they know they have a reputation as being a bunch of extremist nuts, why not embark on a good little good natured fun at their own expense. But I kind of doubt it.

They suggested as a replacement for the name of Fishkill, the name of a web-site which they are affiliated with, I think it is called, if I heard correctly, "Fishfriends.org". Yes, I know I should have googled it before hand so I would know for sure, but I'm kind of afraid to. Who knows what kind of viruses you can be infected with these days, and besides, I just had one hell of an idea. Failing the proposition of keeping the name of the city the way it is-my preferrence-wy not simply change it to it's English translation, "Fishstream". But of course, most fishstreams these days are quite polluted.

The Golden Ass-Edward M. "Teddy" Kennedy

It doesn't do much good to have a Trojan Donkey, if you don't have enough resources to adequately feed "The Golden Ass", but of course you can rest assurred you will get it al back, and then some. In other words, it's "The Golden Ass" that makes "The Trojan Donkey" a worthwhile abode. And this weeks "Golden Ass" would most certainly have to be the senior Senator from the state of Massachussetts. Some may wonder exactly why Teddy needs to be more of an ass than he all ready is-golden wise, that is. After all, the man has plenty of money, he's obviously a multi-millionaire, and can draw on all the resources of the Kennedy clan, but of course you have to remember how those resources were accumulated to begin with, which is of course to say political and business interests, such as banking. Besides, one's own monetary resources can only buy so much loyalty and influence, one might say lukewarm at best. A great deal of the time, it can only get you a certain level of tolerance based on the proposition, "well, he's better than the other option."

But to get the unquantified support of a network of liberal PACS, which might after all be the difference in achieving your overall policy aims, and thus ensuring the continuation of your legacy, and in this case dynasty, sometimes you have to take a step back, take a deep breath, hold it for as long as possible, shake off the malaise, pull yourself together, maybe take another deep breath, hold it for longer now than humanly possible, and finally take a stand-by saying the most outrageous, ridiculous, utterly baffling load of shit you could ever imagine entertaining in your mind, to say nothing of spewing out of your mouth.

This week, Teddy stepped up to the plate, and hit a homer. He took a nice little tour of the prison at Guantanemo Bay, after which he reitierated that the base should be closed, in that it obviously had been used forthe mistreatment of the prisoners, and for the disrespect of Islam. In otehr woreds, Teddy has paroted the party line of such stalwart organizations as MoveOn. org., Amnesty International, The International Red Cross, and, well, Al Queda.

In the meantime, while certain of the prisoners believed to hold vital information necessary to fighting the war on terror at Guantanamo Bay have been cussed and manhandled from time to time (though otherwise ensured their religous rights, prayer times, rituals, and required diets are strictly adhered to, in addition to receiving the best of medical care and time in the exercise yard, and for the most part, with some exceptions are actually treated in such a way that they are living better, for the most part, than they have ever lived in their lives) just this week in Iraq, we saw instances of the utmost brutality, when a suicide car bomber drove an explosive laden vehicle into the middle of a group of children who were receiving candy being passed out from an American soldier. 26 of the children were killed, along wiht the American soldier, while htree other soldiers and a lot more of the children were wounded, some seriously.

Hey, Teddy, guess what? If torture of these animals in Guantanamo is what it would take to ensure incidents like this never happenned again, especially on our own soil, I'm all for it. And until you and the rest of the Democrat Party-my party, I can't emphasize that enough- gets with the program, and gets that throught your thick skulls, you can count on losing more elections, and with my blessings.

Vacation Aruba-A Nice Place To VISIT, Not Stay

It has occurred to me that I may be coming across as somewhat insensitive in my posts pertaining the the semi-regular "Vacation Aruba" series, so I will take theopportunity here to try to explain in no uncertain terms, in a serious matter-but just this one time-why the media is really making a big mistake.

Naturally, I am as sympathetic to the plight of Ms. Beth Holloway Twitty as anyone. Any woman who has sufferred the loss that she has by now it would seem obvious to have sufferred, deserves everyones sympsthy, support, and respect. All the more so, when you consider what the apparently deceased natalie Holloway went through during her final moments, would any normal, feeling person be inclined to have sympathy and respect for her. As such, I applaud the media in their initial efforts to ensure that this story is not swept under the rug, that it is investigated fully and competently, and that it is not allowed to fade until an answer is forthcoming. The family of Natalie do indeed deserve answers, and, if possible and appropriate, justice should be meted out to those respoinsible for her fate.

However, there comes a point in time when enough is enough. One fifteen minute segment on twoor three shows, maybe three or four times a week, should be more than sufficient. However, it seems that this story has taken on such a life that one eight minute, or ten minute, or fifteen minute segment is not deemed sufficient. Without referring here to specific programs and individuals-for I do want to be kind here-it seems to me that certain ones are bound and determined to devote the entirety of their programs, or at least half of them, to this story. And more than just one time, some programs have done this numerous times. There are a number of reasons why this is problematic.

1. As I have mentioned, the vagaries of Dutch Law, as practiced on the island of Aruba, requires that investigation be kept secret, and as such any leakds to the media may be grounds for dismissal of charges. That is just the way it is. The fact that a handful of powerful and influential AMericans don'tlikethat law doesn't mean that law is going to or should be changed to suit them. Therefore, their insistence on knowing every single detail of the investigation could in the long run prove detrimental to the prospect of justice being served.

2. The reason this is being done is obvious to any thinking person. It is of course ratings driven. To the credit of certain in the media, such as Bill O'Reilley of Fox's The O'Reilley Factor, and Bernard McGurk, of MSNBC's and WFAN Radio's Imus In The Morning, they have been more than vocal in poiinting this out on occassion, and they should be applauded. But that hasn't stopped the shameless exploitation by some of the most eggregous members of the media, who are milking this cash cow for all it is worth, with the apparent blessings of the pantheon of network and advertising deities. And it is really quite shameful.

3. There are other news of far greater importance on a mass level that is being under reported, or not at all, due to this indulgence. The Natalie Holloway story, as tragic as it is, and as sympathetic as I repeat that I am to the girl and her family, does not deserve the same degree of consideration as stories about the London terrorist bombings, the war in Iraq, the constant friction in the U.S. Senate, the Karl Rove fiasco, or the coverage of the coming Supreme Court nomination. And mind you, these are stories that have still somehow managed to get enough coverage that I am able to point them out. Who knows what is being missed.

In conclusion, I hope that it isn't taken badly when I post this continuing "Vacation Aruba" series. I certainly don't mean to imply that Beth Holloway Twitty, and other members of her family, are taking advantage of events to secretly enjoy their stay on the island of Aruba. My criticism is directed at the media-not, I will repeat, for keeping on the story and reporting on it on a regular basis. But for going way, way, way overboard on it. And there is absolutely no legitimate excuse for it.

The Lincoln County Fire Sale

In this case, the fire sale in question is that of the Lincoln County Fire Department, who have evidently decided that the best way to selll themselves is to proe their worth, who knows why. Maybe they are up for funding, and are after increased funding. Maybe somebody figures some of that extra money could be diverted into investments in cockfights, or a brand spanking new Meth Lab, the capital venture of choice for all prospective Eatern and Southeastern Kentucky entrepreneurs. It muist be something like that, becuae after all, The Lincold County Fire Department is a volunteer fire department-suppossedly.

So why then, do thee hootzpahs go around setting fires, which they then arrive too late to put out. That's another thing guys, if you're after extra funding, and you want to prove your worth, it might help were you to show up on time to actually put the fucking fires out before they get too out of hand.

Of course, thee could be somethign I'm missing here, but I don't think so. They have been pretty much caught red handed, and as many as seven of the volunteer fire fighters seem to be involved in this scam. But to what end? There must be some reasoning behind it. Surely there si more to it than tying to cover up the theft of some expensive tools and some antique furniture. But maybe not. I forget sometimes, I am talking about Crab Orchard Kentucky here, one of the many communities where people have collapsed their local economies by voting their towns dry-in other words, alcohol is illegal. Of course, boot legging is rampant, the economy is shot to hell, there are dozens of drunks on the road at any given time making the long haul to wet areas to purchase their booze, which of course they then drink while in the process of driving on the Interstate on the return trip home. And if anybody wants to do anything for fun, other than go to a Church to hear some jackass preach about the evils of alcohol, then they are going to make yet another trip to a wet area, where they then contribute to that local economy, while other businesses in their own hometowns either go belly up or barely make ends meet.

A good many others simply move out of these towns, and live where their jobs are. As a result of all this, state funding is piecemeal, and frequently insufficient. So you got these bozos going around setting fires. What can you say?

The tragedy is even now of historic proportions, literally. As one of the three houses that is known to have been purposely set by the Lincoln County Volunteer Fire Department, is-or was, rather-get this now, an historic landmark. Yep, that's right, in fact, not only was it one hundred and fifty years old, but it is believed to have been a house which prior to the days of the Civil War, functioned as a stop on the famed Underground Railroad, which of course, was a euphemistic term to describe places where runaway slaves, on their uncertain way to freedom in the north, were allowed to hide out, in order to rest, get some food and sleep, maybe a clean change of clothing, and some much needed supplies. After a few days, they would be on their way. Now, all that is left of the house, besides a pile of burnt out rubble, is a set of concrete steps that were a part of the property.

It's really a shame. Or, as the present day owner of the house said, "It takes a prety low down person to do something like this."

Vacation Aruba-Arlene Ellis, Attorney

If you ever go to the sun drenched Caribbean tropical island of Aruba, be sure and drop in and say a nice big howdy to the prettiest little lady lawyer you could ever want to feast your sex crazed eyes on. Her name is Arlene Ellis, and the minute you see her, you're going to want to say something witty yet stupid, like, a purty little thing like you shouldn't be taking up all your time on this dirty lawyerin' business, you should be married to a lawyer, living the good life. You could have your pick of the best, most high powered, expensive attorney on Aruba.

But the little woman doubtless loves her work, feels a special calling to it. Lately, she has been called innumerable times, on America's Cable News Channels, such as Fox, just last night in fact she appearred on "The O'Reilley Factor For Kids". Wait a minute, that's not right. What is it here? Oh yeah, for Pete's sake, :"The O'Reilley Factor For Kids" is a children's book Bill is constantly hawking. The show is just simply "The O'Reilley Factor". That's okay, I think Bill gets them mixed up himself from time to time.

But Miss Ellis-I don't think she's married, fellas-has contributed very handily to Bill's show, among others, and my, wouldn't you be surprised at how the little lady explains, in simple and straightforward fashion, the ins and outs of Aruban law, which is of course based NOT ON THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM BUT ON THAT OF THE DUTCH LEGAL SYSTEM!!!

Now get this, guys. Not only is the little lady as cute as a bug in a rug. She's actually smart. Sometimes I think she really is an honest to gosh lawyer. And to think that there at first I thought she was just put on TV to be another pretty face, like Greta Van Sustern. She even has a better tan than Greta. Greta is catching up with her though.

But to recap what the little lady explained, with a cute though at times nearly imperceptible impertinence, is that Joran Van Der Sloot will have to be released if no evidence is presented to warrant holding him. Not that he won't ever be charged, mind you. It depends on evidence, such as is required to hold one in American jails, prior to being officially charged with a crime. It's called probably cause. It would be helpful, the little lady pointed out, if there could actually be presented PROOF THAT A CRIME HAS BEEN COMMITTED!!!! Such as is required for one to be charged in, again, an American court.

After Miss Ellis's segment was over, Greta made another appearrance. She pointed out that were it not for the media, the case might never have been brought to light to begin with. Well, now, the case has certainly been brought to light. We see clearly now, the following: If the information the investigators have uncovered were ever to be leaked to a media outlet-such as, say for example, "The O'Reilley Factor" or, weellll, I don't know, maybe ON THE RECORD WITH GRETA VAN SUSTERN- then it so happens that this might very well cause any potential case against any prospective defendant TO BE THROWN OUT OF MOTHERFUCKING COURT BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE DUTCH LEGAL SYSTEM AS ADHERED TO ON THE ISLAND OF ARUBA.

I think Miss Ellis explained this quite well, in fact, at one point, at one time or another, on somebody's show, I don't remember now which one, but I'm sure she did, or somebody did, I don't remember, I don't think too clearly when purty little lawyers like Miss Ellis are on-screen.
There's just something about the way she smiles, then pouts, and kind of explains simple little things that even a child should be able to comprehend. Maybe she should have been a school teacher.

Jessica Lunsford

I am a Lunsford, that is to say my great-granmotehr was a Lunsford, from the hills of Clay County Kentucky. Whether or not I am closely or even related at all to this family, though, I am not sure, but the name caused the case in Florida to get my attention, more so than such cases ordinaily do. And, like Bill O'Reilley, on Fox News' The O'Reilley factor, I am more than a little pissed off that these cretins held this eight year old girl in a trailor for at least three days, pretending they didn't know that the one woman's brother, John Evander Cooey, a convicted sex offender, was staying there, when the sheriffs department deputies came to check out the place. All the time, Jessica was hidden there, in a closet, where Cooey held her for those three days, repeatedly raping her, in who knows how many different vile and despicable ways. Before he left town, courtesy of a bus ticket purchased by his sister, he buried her alive in the back yard. His sister, niece, and sisters boyfriend, all claim they knew nothing about his holding her in the closet of the room in which he slept, but this seems unlikely. According to one report, they were seen at a neighborhood dive, laughing and cracking jokes about the case of the missing girl.

Yet, Brad King, the prosecutor in the case, claims that he is unable to prosecute them, even though they lied about Cooeys whereabouts. Maybe so, it could be his hands were tied by the restraints of then current Florida law. Worse, Cooey was not read his rights, apparently (though I'm not all together certain abut this), and was refused access to a lawyer when he requested one (which I am very certain of). So, his entire confession may be thrown out. Incompentence reigns supreme from day one, and has only recently began to come to the surface. But I believe there are aspects of this case that O'Reilley even hasn't mentioned (though I would be very shocked if he has not considered them)

Cooey's sister, niece, and sister's boyfriend are all drug users, in fact they are crack heads. According to Cooey, the whole lot of them, including himself, were high at the pertinent time in question. That brings up an interesting proposition. I have long been aware, and I would think that it is pretty much common knowledge, that in order for a drug culture to thrive in any given town or area, the people in power, including law enforcement, have to at the very least turn a blind eye to the problem. More often than not, they are more or less active participants. In all cases, the chances are better than not that palms are being greased, with cold hard cash. In other words, without coming right out and making the accusation, I have to wonder whether Sheriff Dawsey, or individuals within his department, or both, might have been all too willing to turn a blind eye however reluctantly- to what should have been an obvious and understanably suspicious set of circumstances. Turn a blind eye, and hope it turns out okay. Hope that if the girl does turn up raped, and murdered, it would be in another neighborhood, due to the machinations of a suspect or suspects previously unknown to them.

Crack cocaine, like all other drugs of abuse, is a very lucrative market in very uncertain times. And the people who stand to gain-or lose-from it's vitality, are more than just the dealers, most of the time, there are shadowy forces at work. Way too often, they are forces that should be shining beacons of light and justice, but all too often may turn out to be the boogeyman inside the closet.

The Ku Klux Klan

I keep wanting to join the Klan, I don't mean really join them, and become initiated into their cult-and that is what it is-but I guess what I'm getting at is, I feel since I am writing a novel based on the life story of a fictitous Klansman, I should go out of my way to be fair to these people. And the only way I can think of that would come close to accomplishing this, is by associating with them. On the other hand, to be as honest as I can possibly be, I'm afraid of them. And I don't mean only that I'm afraid of what they might do to me, although this is indeed a part of it. But I am also afraid of what damage might be done to me due to any association with them, insofar as how that might be perceived by the general public. It's a nagging, gnawing fear, and one not really based on reality. Now, the fear that I might wake up one morning with a cross burning in my yard-that's a fear based on reality. And from what little I know of these people, that would be a mild rebuke.

Still, I keep telling myself, these people do maintain a web site, several in fact, related to nearly every state. Moreover, on this web-site there is a Forums section. This is the area I'm most interested in. But I don't want to be dishonest with them, by coming across as something I'm not. Still, if I posted on their Forums, and identified myself as a Hellenic Wiccan who was researching the Klan for the purposes of writing a novel-even if I assurred them that I intended to be fair to them-I wonder what their reaction would be? Not good, I would imagine.

But at least I can visit their web-site, which contains much information as to their beliefs on about every subject. Their views on Martin Luther King, Jr., for example, are pretty much what you would expect. On the other hand, there is much of interest there. For example, I always wondered exactly what their problem is with Jews. I expected it to be a lot of nonsense about them being "Christ Killers". But there is more-a whole lot more-to it than that. In fact, their fairly extravagant beliefs about the Jewish race are very, very enlightening. In fact, they are very complicated, and apparently drawn from the Bible itself, or at least their interpretation of the Bible.

So I have learned quite a bit about the Ku Klux Klan, without having asociated with them. And I am sure that I will learn a great deal more. Still, I feel as though I am cheating not so much them, as myself, by avoiding direct contact with them. I feel as though I could gauge much from their mind-sets, and perhaps even get honest answers to questions that I have, that they are not forthcoming about. But I'm not very likely to accomplish this by identifying myself as a Wiccan or Pagan. I keep telling myself, the best news reporters, investigative reporters, have to engage in subterfuge, hypocrisy. And why should I worry anyway about deceiving a bunch like this to begin with?

And then it occurred to me. They are likely, to some extent, to welcome any such opportunity for outreach. After all, we do have one thing, possibly only one thing, in common. We both have an appreciation for, and a love and respect for, our mutual European traditions and heritiage. And, yes, that includes racial heritage. So that does give us the one common bond. After all, this respect and love for my heritage is one of the main reasons I am a pagan to begin with. The Middle East holds no attraction for me at all, with it's constant strife, warfare, bitterness, hatred, all a result, in my opinion, of their monotheistic mind-set, with it's "My way is the only way attitude".

It's ironic as hell that the things the Klan are most well known for, bigotry and intolerance, and cultural hatred, and religous intolerance, originated from the Middle East, from those Jews they purport so much to dispise. Maybe, if I ever do get around to initiating a dialoque with them, I just might point that out to them.

Vacation Aruba-Playing The Fool

Last night, I think a rift of sorts came to a head on the Fox News Network, on The O'Reilley Factor, and it came during a roughly ten minute interview with wandering Aruban vacationer Greta Van Sustern. Greta insists there is a good possibility the Kalpoe Brothers may be rearrested on evidence the prosecutors eventually overlooked submitting the first time around. Also, someone had evidently made "a confession". Joran Van Der Sloot, it seems, had told someone-who is yet to be revealed-that he and the Kalpoe Brothers buried poor Natalie Holloway. Greta posited that, perhaps, the recent trip to the beach the investigators treated the three main suspects in the girls disappearrance to, seperately, of course, was done with the intention of ferretting out where this obscure hiding place might possibly be.

O'Reilley laughed. O'Reilley laughed openly. Greta's slightly sunburned face then grew yet a deeper shade of red. O'Reilley somewhere along the line made a statement to the effect that the media has played this story for all it was worth. Not them, of course, but the media in general. Greta kind of stammerred. She did hold her composure, I'll give her that. Come to think of it, I think O'Reilley laughed a second time, maybe even a third, somewhere along the line, but I'm not sure, probably because it was an inconspicous chuckle.

Nevetheless, O'Reilley told Greta to keep up the good work, and in so many words to keep them posted. Of course, Natalie Holloway has yet to be found, nor is there any explanation forthcoming as of now, as to what may have transpired, and what may have occurrd in the aftermath of what is almost certainly a personal family tragedy.

Greta does have a nice suntan.

Invoking Aphrodite By Eating Her Pussy

Yeah, I know, to some people, that sounds downright disrespectful, maybe even sacrilegious. After all, this is a GODDESS we are talking about, right? Well, first, you need to get out of that monotheistic Christian mind-set. The deities are not out to denigrate or degrade us. They have their likes and dislikes, and their everyday pleasures and past times, and it's only a matter of finding out the ones that are appropriate to them. There are, in most branches of paganism, certain deities that are extremely sexual oriented, and there is to them no shame in this.

With this in mind, for a man to invoke the goddess, is quite a simple process. The setting is everything. A nicely decorated room, dark with pink and/or violet candles and flowers, wafting incense of patchouli, sandlewood, or lavender. Speaking of lavender-try a nice warm essential oil of lavender and cinnamon mixed evenly, perhaps with a drop or two of Ylang Ylang, added to a couple of ounces of heated olive oil. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, you might want to add a bowl of rice. If you want to really be extravagant, make it a bowl of rice pudding, with plump juicy raisins. Arrange the bouquet of flowers, the candles, incense, oils, etc., along with maybe a bottle of wine, and you are ready to go. All you need then is a comfortable mat, and one more thing-the goddess.

Now, of course, you are not going to physically acquire the goddess. Or are you? After all, the deities are in-dwelling, in us all. So, you know a woman, perhaps a married one even, who is not all that satisfied with her marriage? A prostitute, perhaps, though you should make sure she is free of disease. Hhhmmm, maybe you'd better just stick to the sexy neighbor. Don't be concerned that she may be a Christian woman, or a non-pagan. The deities dwell in us all, including non-pagans. Just the same, she doesn't necessarily have to know what you are up to, as far as you using her for a surrogate substitute for the goddess. And that is what you are going to do, use her as a vessel to invoke the goddess Aphrodite. First, by massaging the oil all over her body, as sensuously as you can. Silently invoke the aid of the goddess as you allow her to guide you in your endeavors.

Then, begin the oral stimulation. You will know you have succeeded when you hear her crying out in ecstasy. Especially, if she says "oh, God!". But you shouldn't get the big head over this. Remember, this is a method of servicing the needs of the goddess, not of pursuing your own lusts, of satisfying your own desires. Put the needs of the goddess first and foremost, and you will be rewarded accordingly (though this should not be your goal or intent).

A word of warning, however. Do not perform oral sex on her if it turns out that she is in the middle of her menstrual cycle. That is not how you would go about invoking Aphrodite. That is how you would go about invoking Hecate. But that will be the subject of a different, future blog post.

The Prince Of Darkness

Robert Novak is a double conservative. He has always been a fiscal conservative, but his social conservatism lagged behind until the last few years, when he converted to catholicism. But he is still CNN's The Prince Of Darkness, a conservative commentator who takes no prisoners in his support of conservative ideology there and in his role as a newspaper columnist. Over the last coupe of years he has earned his nickname, as relted to the Valerie Plume affair, in which he preinted the name of this CIA operative as being the wife of former ambassadoe Joe Wilson, who had rebuffed the Bush administrations assertions that Saddam Hussein had attempted to acquire "yellow cake", used fr the making of nuclear fissionable materials, from contacts in the African nation of Niger. The Bushies were beside themselves with fury at Wilson over this, and this was their pissy little revenge. And they used columnist Novak to put out the information that valerie Plume was indeed a CIA operative, thus ruining her as far as any future use in this position goes.

Evidently, Novak got this bit of information from Karl Rove, Bush's chief poiltical consultant. Rove, and his friends, are now trying to play damage control by ptting it out that they never mentioned Valerie Plume by name, only that they identified the agent as the wife of former ambassador Wilson. Which of course is about the stupidest excuse I have ever heard in my life.

Rove should be tried for treason, or at the very least for potentially endangering the lives of Ms. Plumes past contacts. What a shitty thing to do. I mean, really, this is the most unprofessional, mean spirited thing I have ever heard of, to say nothing of being a prime example of callus disregard for every standard of ethical conduct of national affairs, and national security concerns, I could ever imagine.

As for Novak, he is typical of the Christian Conservatives. As long as what you say or do furthers the cause, the conservative cause, the Christian cause, the cause of morality, then it can be excused, it can even be lauded. Privately, of course.

Hurricane Dennis

I knew before the first hour I had heard the name that somebody, some fool, was going to call this thing "Dennis The Menace", and sure enough, it took a whole day, but who else but Geraldo Riviera would refer to something as potentially devastating as a hurricane by a term that might otherwise be endearing. I wonder if there were any "Mr. Wilsons" that bore the brunt of this not so cute manifestation of nature's savagery. But more importantly, I wonder why local and state governments don't do the sensible thing, and turn off their power in advance of the storms arrival, any storm. I mean, when you know a hurricane is coming, it seems the sensible thing to do, while you're encouraging peoplke to get out of Dodge, that you might want to consider cutting the power, therefore negating the potential hazards of downed live power lines. Now, they might do this in some areas, but I know they dn't do it in Kentucky when there are severe thunderstorms, even when there have been tornadoes spotted. You would think that would be the first order of business. After all, a few ruined groceries couldn't be as bad as a live wire hanging down on the road, maybe being blown up on top of saomebody's roof and setting the whole damned house on fire.

For that matter, I don't understand why power lines, in this day and age, should have to be above ground to begin with. Why not have them undeground, in heavily insulated pipes, like sewers? can you imagine what it wouldbe like if sewer lines wee run above ground, with the pipes snaking through the air in the trees. Okay, maybe it would be worse.

Still though, it should be relatively easy. If there was a power problem in any one area, this could be found easily. Then, after setting up a temporary by-pass system, the affected area is shut off, and the, through use of a manhole, the entire affected wires are extracted, and all of them then replaced. The whole operation would take an hour or less, and in the long run the maintenance issues would probably not be as many as they currently are. There certianly would be no problems with the wind, or the rain (so long as, like I said, they were properly insulated).

There would be a smaller underground pipe going to each individual residence, which would then connect to the house at the base, perhaps at the foundation, going up, not from the rood, which would be far easier to catch fire in the event of an exposed wire, etc.

Why does this matter? Why do I even take the time to think of things like this? Who knows. I guess I'm just wanting to Blog about something.

Shasta Groene

Well, I was pretty far off the mark in my June post entitled "Sex Slaves", which you can find by clicking on the June Archives link. I had determined the Groene children had been taken from their home in Couer D'Alene, Idaho, with the permission of hteir mother, in lieu of money owed to drug dealers, whom I suspected of being connected to the one time White Supremacist movement that was prevalent in the town. I further theorized that, after taking the children, the people than murdered the family anyway. Now, of course, the truth has come out, or at least partially so. In fact, you can read the archives of Joseph Duncan's Blog, "The Fifth Nail, right here on Blogger, or you could anyway, the last time I tried to. I read it to see if I could establish some connection with Coeur D'Alene, but unfortunately as of what few posts I read so far, was unable to.

Perhaps it is like they said, it was a random hit by a sick, disturbed individual. It's possible he was even updating his Blog right in Couer D'Alene the last few posts, and may have iunadverdantly overheard a conversation by one of the children, who may have been at the library where he may have been using public access computers, and somehow got their address. Or, perhaps, as has been said, he simply spotted their house from the Interstate, noticed a party going on, the children playing in the yard, and the people were leaving, and he knew they were easy targets.

Possibly while he was in prison, he had associates who had been involved in the White Supremacist movement in Couer D'Alene, and he may have even become aware of the Groene's or the MacKenzies. Possibly we will never know. One thing we know for cerain, is this was one sick individual, and he was right about one thing that he posted in his Blog. He is sufferring from a disease that he contracted from society. Not to excuse him, by any means. But exactly what is it that creates this kind of monster, and what can be done about it, without fostering and encouraging a kind of frenzy in which no stranger, and very few non-strangers, can be trusted to even the slightest degree? Sure, a reasonable amount of suspicion of anyone is healthy, but too much of it, on the other hand, can be malignant, like a cancer on society that might end up as bad, and even conceivably worse, than the disease that spawned it.

Of course, I always said, I never trust anyone, but myself. Me, I know. I can't say the same for anybody else. And a deck of Tarot Cards, as I found out quite some time ago, can only tell you so much.

Caligula And George W. Bush

Is George W. Bush sufferring from the same mental/emotional malady that best the Roman Emperor Caligula (37-40 A.D.)? There is very good reason to think so. Caligula thought he was a god. He believed this quite literally, and fervently, from all accounts. Unlike his predecessors, who adopted a kind of benign, exalted godhood out of a need to establish a social structure that was consistent and orderly, he took it quite seriously. Bush is similar in this regard. American Presidents have always believed they had a special status, as guardians of a divinely ordained institution. Bush, on the other hand, seems to go well beyond this. If I didn't know better, I would think the man believes he is the messiah, to all intents and purposes The Second Coming Of Christ. And, this would fit in well with the conservative Christian view of the present age as an end to "The Millenium", with all it's myriad supposed signs of the encroaching apocalypse. After all, Bush has made claims as to his special relationship with his supposed "Creator". The implications are obvious, and frightening.

There are other similarities. Caligula, as well as Bush, wrecked the treasury of his nation, which had previously been on not only sound financial footing, but was a repository of up until then unheard of wealth. Caligula, like Bush today, went through the treasury like it was Kool-Aid, and soon the country was bankrupt.

But what really got me interested in this possibility, and caused me to take notice of it, quite by accident, was astrology. I had long been intrigued by the possibilities inherent in the prospect of astrological planetary returns. For example, Neptune is now at roughly the 14th degree of the sign of Aquarius. It takes Neptune roughly 163 and 3/4 years to make a complete orbit around the sun, therefore that amount of time to make a complete run throughout the zodiac. Thus, one return. What do you see then if you multiply that times twelve? Twelve, of course, being a significant number astrologically in that there are twelve signs of the Zodiac. You run it back from there and, sure enough, the twelth time going back that Neptune was at the 14th degree, or thereabouts, of Aquarius, was during the year 40 A.D.-the year Caligula was assassinated.

One needs now to bear in mind that Neptune is the planet of illusion and delusion, of deception and mystery. What it's presence in the sign of Aquarius brings to bear is not to me immediately clear, as I am not, I am sorry to say, that great an astrologer insofar as comprehensive depth of knowledge goes. On the other hand, I did discover these aspects and similarities between Bush and Caligula, so go figure.

Another thing I noticed, quite by accident, is that in 40 A.D. the planet Pluto was at, roughly, the 26th degree of Saggittarius-about where it is at this present time. So we have a double whammy, a double matching aspect pertaining to the two men. What does it mean? I wish I knew. Does it mean Bush will be assassinated. Maybe not. It could augur, however, that he will come to an ignonimous end, though this might not necessarily entail a physical death. It could simply mean a political downfall, one from which he will never recover. And one which, more likely than not, he will have brought on himself.

I will be watching, and paying close attention, that is for sure.

Olympic Gold

Well, there you have it, exactly one day after the announcement that London beat out Paris to be the host city of the 2012 Sumer Olympics, a terrorist attack, courtesy of Al-QAueda Europe, has claimed, at last count, 43 lives, and this shall doubtless grow. By the time I have finished with this post, I wouldn't be surprised to hear there have been another one, or others. If not by then, perhaps by sometime in the day, or the next one, or the next, etc.

The irony is, I for one believe London was chosen to be the host city of the 2012 Olympics for security reasons, more than any other single reason. What amazes me was even that Paris was in the running to begin with, to say nothing of making it up to the top two. True,m there have been no terrorist attacks in Paris. But think about it. There is a large Muslim population in France, more so than in most other European countries, and this has had a heavy, considerable impact on French politics. One need only to look at the recent rejection of the EU Constitution to see this. One of the major reasons the French people voted overwhelmingly to reject the EU blueprint, besides a growing dislike for Jacques Chirac, and dissatisfaction with the state of the French economy, is their wariness, and weariness, with immigration. Specifically, with immigration from Muslim countries. This has been a bad problem which the EU does not deign fit to address, probably due to the fact that Turkey is an important member. Still, the French people spoke with a huge voice on the matter. As did the Dutch.

There are many Arabs and Muslims, currently living in European countries, who have no respect or regard for European people or culture. It seems to be an ongoing policy of immigrate, breed like rats, do not assimilate any more than necessary, and then one day become the majority. Then, rule with an iron fist, doubtless, over a European Islamic state. This I have heard is actually a stated goal of a certain Turkish Islamic fundamentalist group, who are in fact responsible for recent violence in the Netherlands, culminating in the death of Dutch film maker Theogh Van Gogh.

But as uncertain as the situation is in The Netherlands, it is worse in France, in fact, France is a powder keg, getting ready to blow up at any time. Small wonder the Olympic Committee chose London. To be sure, Britain itself has a sizable Muslim population, and liberal policies towards it's immigrants, but it's record and policies toward security are far more comforting.

Until today. I believe the Al-Queda network has really screwed up now, though. I remember when Argentina thought they could bulldoze their way into the Falklands, a small group of islands that belongs to Britain, off the coast of Argentina, that contains a larger population of sheep than it's few thousand citizens. The war that resulted could have almost been missed had we blinked long enough. The British made short work of this bunch.

And Britain has without a doubt the best intelligence service in the world, with the possible, arguable exception of Israel's Moussad. I have always been of the opinion that Britains major contribution to the Allied cause in World War II was not so much it's military (though it's contribution here is more than is generally recognized) as it was it's intelligence services, particularly MI5. I have no doubt the British tradition of efficiency in intelligence gathering and consequent appropriate actions taken will result in a massive apprehension of Al-Queda terrorists, not only in Britain, but probably as well in Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, and France. It may take a while, and there may well be more terrorist incidents in Britain in the meantime, as well as in the aftermath, but the British will do what they have to do, and will not allow themselves to be hamstrung by the so-called "liberal" politics which has afflicted the United States, and so many other European communities. The British, I am certain, will stand together as one people, much like the Americans in the aftermath of 9/11, only the difference will be they will stand united. Those who oppose any necessary actions will be marginalized and shunned, as they should be.

There is just too much at stake, for Britain and for the civilized world, for the British to not take a firm, just stand against this barbaric savagery.

The DaVinci Code: A Big Disappointment

Having finally taken the time to read the book, I have to say, although it was good, it wasn't nearly as good as I had hoped and expected. Maybe it just didn't live up to the hype in my mind. Or maybe it was because parts of it were just too stupid to be believable. For example, when the initial murder occurs, the man somehow knows he has about fifteen minutes to live. So instead of leaving sensible letters identifying the killer (a large albino wearing the cassock of a catholic monk) and maybe a letter to his granddaughter telling her to go to a certain church in Scotland and to ask to speak to a certain person (who she would then learn was her long thought dead grandmother, living there with her likewise long thought dead brother) this dying man goes through a series of incredibly bizarre physical contortions and cryptic clues (which themselves are so well hidden it would take a monumental work of genius to find them) designed to send his granddaughter on an old fashioned treasure hunt. He in effect makes a great leap of faith that she will even realize where or what the clues are, let alone whether she can solve them.

It was just a dumb, dumb, dumb concept. I have this feeling that it was the reaction, and overreaction, and controversy, that made the book an overnight success and international best-seller, and soon to be a major motion picture. I still say it wasn't that good. I did, however, learn one important detail from reading the book. Christians took it far more seriously than it deserved to be taken, and made complete asses out of themselves in deeming it fitting to spend time refuting the allegations in the book. Yet, the book itself treats traditional Christianity, and Catholicism, and for that matter even Opus Dei, in a fair and respectful manner, making it clear that it was fringe elements that were responsible for the crimes being committed.

As for the matter of Mary Magdalene, and the prospect that members of the old Merovingian dynasty of France were descendants of her and Jesus Christ, and that Magdalene was meant to be the feminine counterpart of Christ-"The Divine Feminine"-although this was presented as an intriguing theory, with potentially explosive evidence to support it, this was in no way presented as hard proof, by any stretch of the imagination. Just another belief system, when you get right down to it, that may well have been believed by certain sects and secret societies stemming from the Renaissance Age. But that is all.

So what is the problem? Simply put, The DaVinci Code dares to question Biblical authority, the authority of the Catholic Church in particular, and in general raises serious questions about the history of Christianity, Christian beliefs, and the Church. In other words, The DaVinci Code commits the ultimate sin, that in daring to question Christian authority and supremacy. And in urging that people might possibly want to think for themselves, instead of blindly following and believing Catholic and Christian dogma. For that reason and that reason alone, The Da Vinci Code has turned out to be an important work, important in fact in a way that extends well beyond it's literary merit.

07/02/05-Saturday Random Tarot Reading

Significator: Seven Of Cups; Covering Card: The Devil; Crossing Card: Ten of Pentacles; Crowning Card: The Fool; Base Of The Matter: King of Wands; Passing Influences: Seven of Pentacles; Up-And-Coming Influences: Queen of Swords; Where You Find Yourself: Five of Wands; View Of Others: Death; Hopes And Fears: The Chariot; Fibal Outcome: Three of Wands

Just yesterday, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced her impending retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court, after nearly a quarter century as a voice of moderation on that ideologically divided body. Having begun as a Reagan appointee, she has engendered the ire of many on the Far Right by refusing to weigh in on the side of the judicial conservatives on such matters as the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Bush will now feel an opportunity to ensure his conservative support, and his legacy, by seeking to appoint a conservative along the lines of Rehnquist, Thomas, and the Vice President's good hunting buddy, whose name inexplicably escapes me at the moment. Probably I just want to forget it. Bush knows, however, that he will come under fire by both sides in this matter, so he is probably going to announce, or maybe leak, a potential replacement that will draw the ire of liberals throughout the nation. This could well be a ruse, a trial balloon of sorts, and though the person will indeed be of his own liking, he will come to understand the reason in choosing a person more in the mold of O'Connor herself. Unfortunately, when that announcement is made, the person will come under some criticism from the Right, so Bush will make every effort as to ensure her conservative credentials.

There will be a great deal of angst on both sides, as they feel the approach of the end of an era. However, after a lengthy battle and confirmation hearing, Bush's ultimate choice to replace O'Connor will be confirmed. He will need to be aware, however, that his victory may be a pyrrhic one, in two ways, in that neither side is likely to be completely satisfied.

It has also occurred to me that he might try to nominate, or rather renominate, none other than Robert Bork himself to the position. Interesting to see what the reaction to this would be, and what the ultimate outcome would be. Would it turn out different this time around?

Vacation Aruba-Paulus Van Der Sloot's Huge Penis

There are many natural scenic wonders on the small Caribbean island of Aruba, just off the coast of Venzuela. Not the least among these is the recently filmed bulge in the slacks of Paulus Van Der Sloot, filmed as he was leaving the islands lone prison in the company of his wife, having gone there for the purpose of visiting their 17 year old son, Joran. He, of course, has been held recently, along with two friends, in connection with the mysterious disappearance of Alabama High School student Natalie Holoway. For a brief time, Paulus himself was detained on suspicion of complicity after the fact in relation to the disappearance, and is still considered a suspect, though no grounds have yet been provided which are sufficient to detain him further. As he and his wife walked from the prison, hand in hand, the camera crew for MSNBC felt compelled to zoom in on Van Der Sloot's crotch, an event which was then aired on the cable networks "Scarborough Country" with Joe Scarborough.

Someone was reported to have said, "Damn, how long has she been in there, thirty minutes, an hour? He must stay happy to see her."

"Nahh, man, he's just hangin' ten," another is reported to have said. "At least"

Afterwards, in a further development which may in part or in whole be related, or may not be, the various media networks have extended their weekly lots in drawing for which anchors, analysts, and news crews will migrate here in the hopes of covering the story of Miss Holloways disappearance, and of hopefully rescuing her if alive, or otherwise retrieving her body for a return home and proper burial. Many are determined to assist in any way possible in uncovering the truth behind the crime, if indeed a crime has been committed. To these ends, they have all joined together, these media outlets from all over the U.S. , and set up camp in Aruba-a beautiful Carribbean island which has long been noted for it's tropical climate and it's balmy ocean breezes, it's endless miles of sandy beaches and surf, an island paradise of which ease and comfort and leisure is matched only by the glamor and excitement of it's nightlife, it's casinos and nightclubs and discotheques, it's first rate food, it's golf courses and tennis courts, and the many beautiful and natural scenic wonders, in a setting noted for it's cleanliness, and unusually low unemployment, poverty, and crime rate.

They have come, and will continually do so, from a variety of outlets, from all the major television networks and 24 hour cable news channels, and possibly, it is rumored, from other cable channels, as diverse as Nikolodeon, Bravo, USA, Animal Planet, and Turner Clasic Movies. The print media as well may end up being fully represented, from such varied outlets as Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, High Times, Playboy, The Wall Street Journal, Rolling Stone, The Christian Science Monitor,and a contingent of some fifty odd cub reporters from the Weekly Reader.

Beth Holoway, the mother of Natalie, (who has by now been missing for about a month to the day since she failed to show up for the return trip home from her unofficial High School Senior trip to Aruba), was heartened at the news of the ever increasing interest of the news media, as were other family members and friends. She hopes that this will turn the tide of the investigation, and lead finally to results. She is certain that young Joran is hiding something, and that Paulus, her father, is involved as well.

One things for certain, Greta Van Sustern, of Fox News Channels "On The Record", plans to follow the story as long as it takes, and seems determined to stay in Aruba until the mission is accomplished, however that might turn out. Some may recall that it was an interview with the elder Van Der Sloot, conducted by Greta in the presence of Mrs. Holoway, that lead to the Dutch nationals temporary incarceration on suspicion of aiding and abetting his son and his friends. Despite the fact that he has now been released, Greta is unwavering in her determination to get to the truth.

"Paulus seems to be trying to hide something", she is reported to have been overheard confiding. " I have this idea that it's huge. I mean, it's just too obvious."

A Vacation Guide To Aruba

I have an idea that all the news reporters and pundits of cable news channels, and other media outlets in addition, have a weekly lot drawing contest every week, probably on a Monday, to see which one will get to go the next week to this beautiful Carribean Island off the coast of Venezuela. Ostensiby in search of a month long missing student from Alabama, more than likely long dead, and in hopes of a media exclusive. Perhaps in the hopes of solving the mystery of who committed the crime, and why. Or, rather, of proving what everybody seems to think they know, as to the guilt of one Joran Van der Sloot, with possible aid after the fact from his father Paulus, a "Judge in Training". All they have done so far is got in the way of the investigation, and frankly, enough is enough. Even the normally fastidious Bill O'Reilley, of Fox Channels "The O'Reilley Factor", has gotten caught up in this ratings bonanza.

They just can't help themselves, probing and prodding, knowing full well that, according to the islands laws, which seem to be modeled after that of The Netherlands, of which Aruba is a protectorate, the police are obliged to keep all pertinent information as regards the investigation secret. Any leaks of any consequence would result in the case being thrown completely out of court. Still, Greta Van Sustern, Bill O'Reilley, Joe Scarborough, etc., etc., keep shooting at the walls of the dyke. And Natalie Holloway's mother, step-father, and other relatives, are encouraged to keep digging, keep probing, until they find the truth. This was understandable at first, as it was beginning to look like the authorities had bungled the investigation, and there might even have been a hint of favoritism going on. And I'm not suggesting that the media should totally back off. But they should moderate their stance somewhat. Otherwise, the girl or her body might never be found. Worse, there may never be a criminal case. Now that would be a bungle of monumental proportions.

The Bread Basket Of The Middle East

It just occurred to me, in addition to being one of the wealthiest states in the world in regards to it's oil reserves, Iraq could well revert to it's ancient status as a land of fertility and abundance, with just a modicum of help from us. Of course, first we have to ensure a peaceful existence for the people before any kind of economic vitality can take hold. But Mesopatamia, Sumer, ancient Assyria and Babylon, was long noted as the "Fertile Crescent", as the rich soil that lay between the Tigris and Euphrates provided the nourishment for the developing of the worlds first, most ancient of civilizations.

Three thousand years later, of course, the land may not be that fertile, through centuries of overuse, and out and out abuse and neglect. But this fertility might be restored, with scientific and technological aid from the U.S. This is an important point to consider, as well as the prospect of resettling what may hopefully be left of the so-called "Swamp Peoples" so brutally displaced by Saddam throughout the years of the tyrants reign, despite the fact that these were indigenous people to the land between the rivers since time immemorial. If at all possible, care should be taken to revive this ancient and time honored tradition, in addition to restoring the abundance potential of the region.

This would be important to us, as well. As it would provide an agricultural trade base for Iraq throughout the whole of the Middle East, and serve more than anything to demonstrate the benefits of economic as well as political reform, and could provide a partner in the much needed relief efforts in regards to the famines that, at one time or another, seem to ravage the general area of Africa and South Central Asia.

Of course, efforts have to be made to get this off the ground, after peace and security is established. A good start would be in opening up contracts to companies outside the U.S., and others in the U.S. Caterpillar, for example, as well as John Deere, in addition to other agricultural and construction corporations. By allowing contractual bidding between different corporations, the U.S. can still assist the Iraqis in providing security and oversight, and in more importantly ensuring that the people of the country don't get hosed by crooked would be robber barons who might make crooked back-room deals with the inevitable corrupt politician. As well as providing potential havens for would-be saboteurs and political buccaneers. These problems taken into consideration, it could only be beneficial to opening up the bidding for business contracts, and perhaps more importantly, opening up the flow of capital in the form of loans and grants to qualified entrepreneurs within Iraq, who might help to build the nations economy for the benefit of, first and foremost, the Iraqi people.

I can even envision the return of the ancient splendor of Nebudchadnezzars "Hanging Gardens of Babylon", and maybe even a return to the old days of paganism, in it's more positive aspects. Of course, I realize that would doubtless be expecting way too much. For the time being, at least.

We've Got To Pay For This One Day

Another troubling aspect of the Iraqi War is the funding, which is surely, and not too slowly, draining our reserves, our financial ones, that is. We are going more and more into debt everyday. All because our buffoon of a president, who got us into this mess to begin with under false pretenses (possibly knowingly, but that's another issue) further refuses to fund the war. With this in mind, I have come to the conclusion that there is one, and only one, solution to this dilemma. And that is simply to do something Bush has sworn to never do, which is, raise taxes. Not on the middle class. Not on the working poor. But, quite simply, on those who make more than 200,000 dollars a year. They should be hit immediately with a special ten per cent tax, to fund the war. And, in order to prevent them from passing this tax along to the consumer, we may have to initiate a temporary Price Control Agenda. Not by law, but by levying a further tax on any business or corporation that raises it's prices, or cuts back on it's work force, in the aftermath of this.

If the nation would do this, if Congress would pass this law, which they might have to pass over Bush's veto with a two thirds majority (which might not be all that hard to accomplish as one might initially think) not only would the war be adequately funded, we could probably in the meantime keep all over necessary spending sufficiently funded, and at the same time ensure that the war would soon be brought to a reasonable conclusion. In fact, if this were made the permanent law of the land, I have a feeling the nation would find itself embroiled in very few, if any, wars. And what wars we were to become involved in,you can rest assured, would definitely be necessary.

Moreover, this would be one way to equally share the burden of war, as for the most part it is the sons and daughters of the working poor and middle class who fill the ranks of the military. The wealthy are seldom to be found on the ground in military conflicts. Yet, they seem to be the ones who are the quickest to push for military action. It is the big business corporations who profit in the way of military contracts, but it is the blood of the poor and middle class that is being shed to fight the wars. This policy would eliminate that disparity.

If a policy such as this isn't enacted, on the other hand, the mountain of debt that will be accrued over the years might turn this nation into just another Third World debtor nation, where the wealthy lord it over everybody, and there is no middle class to speak of. Just islands of serfdom in an ocean of feudalism.