Kentucky Pride

Ask a native Kentuckian what he is most proud of about his state, and you will get several different answers, depending on who you ask. Some might even get defensive about it. Others might honestly tell you that, these days, there is very little to be proud of. But there would be a list that, surprisingly, would be quite remarkable. Some would be predictable. Like almost all states, a native Kentuckian would list as among the states assets, it’s natural, scenic beauty. Of course, this is a given for almost every other state as well. Still, this would be toward the top of the list for Kentuckians, if not at the top.

Others would include Kentucky's remarkable history, from being one of the first two states admitted to the union after the original thirteen, to it’s dominant role in the two wars preceding the Civil War in terms of volunteers, on to it’s obviously important role in that last mentioned war.

Others would talk of it’s reputation as the originator, and main producer, of bourbon whiskey, at it’s standing in the world and history of throrouhbred and harness horse racing. Some might even point with pride, still today, over it’s most controversial contribution, that being one of the largest producers of burley tobacco in the world. And naturally, though this too has been the center of controversy, it’s standing as one of the largest coal producing states, and the fact that this might well become of even greater economic importance in the decades ahead, not only to Kentucky, but to the nation.

Still, if you were to make a list of the things Kentuckians are most proud of, I have no doubt what the one thing is that would stand out as the thing that Kentuckians have by far the most pride in, at least by average. The University of Kentucky Wildcats.

I’ve never quite been able to figure out exactly why this is. It’s certainly understandable why this should be the case with UK alumni, students, and Lexington Kentucky area residents. But take my word for it, this extends nearly statewide. It goes beyond a mere love of sports. If you are a native Kentuckian, you have to support “Big Blue”-it is almost a patriotic and religious duty. It is a matter of state pride,and has been from the earliest days, from the days when Coach Adolph Rupp expanded on what was already a winning tradition, on through Coach Joe B. Hall, on through the days of the Traitor Rick Pitino, who went on to a failed career as a pro basketball coach before returning to Kentucky, and further his memory, and that of UK, by becoming head coach of the hated Louisvile Cardinals-UK’s main Kentucky rival. Now, Coach Tubby Smith carries the mantle, and the awesome responsibility, of carrying on the Big Blue tradition.

Basketball is indeed a passion and a religion here in Kentucky. It used to be quite common for rival high school teams to produce fights between their respective student supporters, one thing that all but turned me against the sport. It was similar in spirit, if not quite the intensity, of fights that break out in Europe between fans of rival soccer teams. Only this is high school students we are talking about here.

And the University of Kentucky represents Kentucky basketball in all it’s glory and full blown tradition. Whereas a scholarship to play on the University of Kentucky football team is nearly the kiss of death to a football career, a scholarship, or even the acceptance onto the second squad of the Wildcats, is tantamount to membership in an elite club. On the University of Kentucky campus, you are not just a basketball player. You are the next closest thing to a god. For just a little while anyway. You have to prove you are worthy of this honor, of course, for the adulation to hold up for long. If you accomplish this task, then it’s settled. You definitely ARE a God.

And when Gods play, nothing else matters. On Sundays, pastors are kindly informed that they should not let their services run over the allotted time when the Wildcats are playing. Especially during tournament time. The SEC tournament is a sacred festival. If you can’t be there, you should damn well be watching if at all possible. After the SEC, of course, comes “March Madness”.

This has been a colder than average March, but it is even colder this year. The beloved cats lost their game in the second round of play, the the top rated University of Conecticutt. They almost pulled off an upset, despite the fact the Big Blue, this year, had their worse season in a long, long time. Still, I found myself rooting for the “home team”, quietly excited at the prospect they might pull off an unexpected victory. This year, it didn’t happen. The Cats didn’t even make it into the Sweet Sixteen.

Kentucky’s glory, therefore, is in the dust, for the next year. Their pride shattered. And that is what it is all about. Kentucky pride. Not so much pride in the Wildcats. Just pride in something bigger than ourselves, that is at the same time, a part of our heritage and tradition. The following typical conversation will serve to illustrate the point.

Jim and Bob were at the Rockcastle River, having just pulled up in thei pick-up, and opened a couple of beers.

Jim: Damn those cats. What about that? I could have swore they were gointo beat those damn Uconn punks. Those refs should be investigated, I’m tellin’ ya.

Bob: Naw, it’s that damn Tubby, they should fire his ass.

Jim: Well, hell, we’ll get ‘em next year, just wait.

Bob: Yeah, guess ya can’t win every year. Shoud’ve at least made the Sweet Sixteen though.

Jim: It’s even too cold to fish, dam, I’ll be glad when it warms up.

Bob: Who the hell cares about fishing at a time like this. Guess you’re right though, it would at least be something to look forward to to take our minds off all this. Damn,this has about ruined my whole month.

Jim: Well, lets get this over with.

(Our heroes climb out of the pick-up and head to the back of the truck, staring morosely at their cargo)

Jim: This was a damn good refrigerator in it’s day, huh? If the new one lasts half as long as this one did I’ll be satisfied. It’s chilled a lot of beers for a lot of Big Blue games.

Bob: Yeah, well nuthin’ lasts forever. Here a good place?

Jim: Naw, see those tires over there? Waters way too shallow here. Let’s drive on down a ways to where the waters deeper.

A Community Project

Mt. Vernon Kentucky has just been turned down for a grant from the Stateof Kentucky, and I have to wonder if they have even figured out why. I could tell them, though, not that they are asking. But somebody should, because I have the idea sometimes that they either don’t know, or don’t really care.

A few years back, Governor Paul Patton initiated a Kentucky Communities revitalization project, aimed at restoring and revitalizing small towns. Small communities have taken a hit in recent years wtih the expansion of large shopping centers and superstores such as Wal-Mart and Target. It’s easy to see why, everybody wants to get out of town for a while, so even as much as a twenty mile drive to Wal-Mart can seem like an excursion, and in the long run you can even save money shopping there despite the gas expenses, at least until recently.

The money granted to small towns that qualified was meant to spruce up the downtown areas, make them attactive to business investment, and to the communities populations, many of whom on the one hand longed for a return to the “good old days” of small town prosperity, while on the other hand taking their business elsewhere. This was meant to change all that, at least up to a point.

Mt. Vernon received their grant in 2002, and one of the first things they did with it – officially – was use it to repair and renovate the old Brown building, one of the oldest buildings in Mt. Vernon, which had stood proudly on the edge of town for over a hundred years. As the oldest landmark in the town, I guess for well over a hundred years, as everything else that had been older had either been tore down or burned down.

The Brown building had quite a history. At one time, back in the 1920’s,going back perhaps to the last century, it had been a private school for girls. Follwing this, beginning in about the 1940’s, it had been a grocery store owned by the Mr. Brown by whose name it became known. Following this, beginning in about the 1960’s, it became a boading house.

At some point in time, it was bought by a family who shall remain nameless. Suffice it to say they eventualy let it fall into a state of disuse, disrepair, and ultimatley to the point where it was no longer habitable, and should have been condemned, really-as was the case with all the properties owned by this particular family.

When the town finally acquired the property, they set to work restoring it, and used jail work release prisoners at least in part to paint it, repair the doors and windows, and haul out all the garbage. It had in recent years become a hangout for the indigent, a place to drink, shoot up,and hang out. But it was soon fixed up to where it looked almost as good as new-at least on the outside. Still, two or thee years had passed, and it was utilized for nothing. It’s main function seemed to be that it was no longer an eyesore or a health hazard. No businsses moved in, no offices opened in it, and no one dwelled theirein, at least not officially and legally.

Then, over the last few months, a new round of grants became availiable, and of course Mt. Vernon applied for their share. Sometime during the waiting and evaluation process, the old Brown Building, by all rights an historical landmark, suddenly burned to the ground, leaving in the totality of the destruction nothing save the old chimney. It was totally destroyed by the fire, right on the spot where it had existed for over one hundred years-

Not so much as half a block from the Mt. Vernon Fire Department and City Hall!!!

They were tuned down for the latest grants. They were also refused grants for the purpose of improving the city water system. Should anybody wonder why?

Incidentally, just across the street from the City Hall and Fire Department is a road that goes to the Rockcastle County Hospital and Respiratory Care Center. Not too long after you turn onto that road, the first thing you will notice is the road to the right could use something it has never had-a guardrail. Of course, to construct a guardrail, you would have to finally get around to cutting the waist high weeds which, from the road, hides the drop off that leads straight down onto the railroad tracks, more than six feet below.

A High Stakes Gamble

Gambling is a worthless endeavor that can get you killed, or otherwise ruin what you might have left that passes for a life. So to that extent I can understand the reluctance of Kentucky legislators to pass bill 600, which recently got moved to committee. This was a way some few legislative supporters had of holding off what had been the almost certain defeat of this bill , which would allow some Kentucky race tracks to operate as casinos. The main proponents of the bill is an organization called KEEP, for Kenucky Equine Education Project, and it is an obvious boondoggle. Racetracks in Kentucky have traditionally been opponents of any measure to extend any form of legalized gambling outside their purview, but this was meant to be to their benefit, in fact, it was meant to insure a monopoly on the gambling industry, aside of course from the state run lottery.

This was only one of the reasons it ws doomed to failure, there was also the very real and legitimate concern about the impact on society, especially among the poor, who are traditionally the heaviest investors in the gambling industry. Casinos would only be seen as exacerbating the problem, opening up doors to prostitution, increased crime and alcohol related problems, etc.

Still, the main point is that the state could definitely use the money which is now being spent in neighboring states by those who will gamble regardless. The bill should pass,. but the racetracks should not be the only benefiiaries. The current consideration of the bill is a proposal to extend the range to thirteen casinos in as yet unspecified ares of the stae, with only five or six of these being racetracks.

I definitely agree with KEEP on one thing. They should let the people decide. Then again, maybe they shouldn’t. The religious right will probably just flood the airwaives and newspapers with a deluge of ads, most of them misleading and exxaggerated, in an effort to defeat the bill,and their efforts would probably be succesful.

Instead, the legislators should decide to have some backbone and vote for the bill. After all, no one that I know of lost an election in Kentucky by supporting the state lottery, and I have no doubt the same would be the case here.

I’m not much of a gambling person myself, though I have done it from time to time, a pick three here, a pick four there, a Powerball ticket every now and then. I’ve even played some penny ante poker a few, a very few times. My gambling drug of choice is, in fact, the throughbred races. There, you do have a chance of winning, and I don’t believe for a minute that the races are rigged, not the major stakes anyway,though this was a minor problem in the past. Regardlss, it is fun, as long as you don’t let yourself get caught up in the excitement of a few wins and end up losing your winnings and more, as I did once to the tune of 200 dollars on one race. I bet on one of the best jockeys in the business at the time to come in third, or show, in a field of five, in a race where he was ranked fourth, which is what he came in at.

So, I put my hand up to the burner and learned the consequences, and that is a lesson that has stayed with me to this day. And, though other people may not be so adaptive, the opportunity should be legal and availiable, which it is in Indiana, which is draining millions of dollars in sorely needed revenue from the state.

With all it’s potential downside, bill 600 should still be passed, but it probably will not be. Our state legislators and governor though will gladly pass bills such as the one recently signed into law that allows the Ten Commandments to be erected on the Frankfort state capitol grounds. In the context of a “historical display”, of course. I don’t expect, however, to see any statues of Hammurabi in any Kentucky courthouses and schools anytime soon. And that of course is where this is all eventually heading, if this bunch has their way.

That I would almost bet the farm on.

Mythic Proportions

It occurred to me, after my last post, that some may misunderstand my views on mythology, so I thought that I should take a little time to expand on them more thoroughly. To begin with, I have nothing whatsoever against mythology. It can be enlightening, an important aspect of the life of a devotee of any spiritual path. As a matter of fact, it is actually an essential component of it. And I say this not only as regards the actual ritual practices that are part and parcel, the inner workings of any cult or religion, thought this is certainly true, it is actually an indispensable means of understanding and achieving communion with the deities by means of ritual conscouness (though certainly not the only such means).

My problem with mythology is, in fact, the point that it is not used as effectively as it should be. Most people tend to take myths at for the most part their face value, without trying to look beyond the outer surface presentation down into what is actually the kernal of truth it contains, that deeper meaning wrapped in symbolism. That is pretty much akin to judging a person solely by the clothing he or whe wears. It may tell you a little about them. It may in some cases even tell you quite a lot about them. But it’s not the entire story. For that, you need to look beyond the outer appearrance, by looking deeper inward.

Some mythologies, in fact, served the people in the time in which they were developed well, but have little meaning for us today. But that is because they haven’t evolved with the times. And in order for them to remain relevant, that is essential, and inescapably so. I am currently at work on a revision of the myth of the birth of Athene, which I intend to one day publish as part of a collectionof such retellings. This too, as has been pointed out to me, can be dangerous.

One recent example of a self-serving retelling that was pointed out to me by a friend that I communicate with prvately on a somewhat regular basis, is the recent change in the personality of the Goddess Artemis. This deity is of course the pure and chaste virgin Goddess of the Hunt, and in Classical Hellenic art was generally depicted with a bow. She was one of the Twelve Olympians, one of those Goddesses who were of paramount importance among the anciet Greeks. She had many attributes, and possibly chief among these was her status as the Patron Goddess of hunters, and of the hunt itself.

She was invoked for other reasons as well. She was the patron Goddess of several cities, was a Goddess of fertility, and was invoked to insure ease of childbith. But mainly she is remembered as that Goddess whom hunters invoked to insure a successful hunt.

But for some odd reason that I have never been able to wrap my mind around, she is invoked by a good many mainly eclectic Wiccans these days, a great many of whom are vegetarians, and vegans. These are staunchly environmental types. I am too, but I am talking here about extremists,some of whom might even make the folks at Greenpeace look like Neo-Cons. These are the type of environmentalists who are outraged at any encroachment of mankind upon nature, however slight or even unnavoidable, and decry with a passion the killing of any animals. And this extends from the slaughter of farm animals to the hunting of wild animals, not only for sport, but for food as well.

To them, the Lady Artemis has suddenly evolved into “the gentle protectress of animals”. WHAT?!!!! Yes, it’s true, now if this isn’t an evolution, there is no such thing. This is off the charts. For one thing, yes, Artemis is the protectress of animals, and of the environment in general. Unfortunately, a great part of that protection comes in strengtening the herd by means of thinning it out. The art and science of responsible hunting therefore isn’t an abomination to her, in fact, it can be viewed as a sacred act. It is actually aiding in the process, which without that aid would be even more bloody, torturous, and ultimatley catastrophic. Most hunters when killing their prey aim at precision, in a clean, fast, and relatively merciful kill. Even the slaughtering of livestock, as heartwrenching, and to the animal terrifying, as this can be-and the methodology here should definitely be improved-even this is a vast improvement over what would normally be the fate of these animals were they allowed to roam free as many of these radicals would hold that “nature intended”. In the wild, natures way of thinning out the herd usually involves the old being left behind to be ultimatley torn to pieces by predatory animals. Or even worse, to die a long drawn out death of starvation and thirst as they are, before death, gnawed away at by insects and rodents.

So no, Artemis is not “gentle”, by any stretch of the imagination. She is, in fact, quite feral. And for any group to develop a mythology that asserts otherwise is not true mythology. It is wishful thinking. It is self-serving aggrandizement on an arrogant scale.

Still, mythologies, again, do have to evolve to fit the times in order to be and remain relevant to them. But you have to be true to the basic nature of the God or the Goddess involved or they are meaningless, and in fact all the more irrelevant, even to a degree deceptive. That is why you have to exercise a degree of caution when reworking these myths. I think of it more as a prospect not of changing the myths, but of expounding on them explaining them more fully than an ancient adherent might have been capable of. The beautiful thing about the ancient Hellenic myths are, to a point they contain the seeds for growth and evoltuion within their own paradigms.

Furthermore, I am really not talking about anything new here. Even ancient socieities reworked their own myths. They themselves evolved and expanded on their ancient myths. The conquering Achaeans, the Dorians and others who infiltrated ancient Greece and eventually gave rise to the Hellenic civilization that we know as Classical Greece, did this themselves with the myths and folklores of the preceding Mychaenaeans, who likely themselves did the same with myths borrowed from the earlier Minoans.

Nor do you even have to study the ancient past to see an on-going modern day example, in the mythology of the Hindus of India. I am thinking here specifically of the myth of the elephant headed God, Ganesh. According to present day Hindu mythology, Ganesh was the son of Shiva, The Desroyer. One day while Shiva was out, Ganesh’s mother decided to take a bath, and cautioned her son Ganesh to guard the house from intruders. He dutifully stood watch at he door, and when Shiva returned home early, he did not recognize him, and so refused him entrance into his own home. In a rage, Shiva sliced off the head of Ganesh. Seenig what he had done, he determined to bring ganesh back to life and supply him with a new head. Coming upon the first animal he saw-an elephant, of course-he took off the unfortunate creatures head, and attached it to the body of Ganesh.

Anybody should be able to discern what is going on here. In fact, I would submit that Ganesh was seen as always having had the head of an elephant, to his devotees this was nothing unusual. It was symbolic of the power of this particular God. This was a common attribute of deities in ancient Egypt, less so in India, but Ganesh is one of these examples. But somewhere along the way, as times progressed, people started to question this remarkable oddity. Why did Ganesh have the head of an elephant? Perhaps the worship of Ganesh preceded the arrival of what came to be the predominant population on the continent, who needed something in the way of an explanantion, and so invented one.

Whatever the case, this rather fanciful explanation I hold to be a relatively recent innovaton. An evolution of the myth, if you will, and not a very good one at that, in my opinion. The earlier devotees of this particular deity obviously viewed the elephant as sacred, a divine manifestation of the God. The latter day observers, whether native or foreign, had to have an explanation.

At any rate, the point is that all things must change, must grow and evolve, in order to remain relevant. And this is equally true of mythology, maybe more so. But you have to proceed, again, while being true ot the natue of the Deity in question, and while keeping the faith with the spirit of the original myth in question. Otherwise, you are just making shit up. And that is something I do not ever intend to do.

As for those who might take exception to my thoughts on this matter, I will address the two of you.

To the “Fluffy Bunnies”-It’s not all peaches and cream, no matter how much you might wish that were the case.

And, to the “Recons” - No, I am not going to go to hell for violating the ancient myths. Since you believe so strongly in the inviolability of the ancient myths, you DO believe in hell, don’t you? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Secret Societies

There is a disturbing trend amongst Wiccans and other Pagans which exhibits itself in the form of a yearning for religion. I guess this is natural, in a sense, since Paganism is a religion, right? Well, I guess that all depends on how you define the term religion.

Bear in mind that the majority of pagans, at least American ones, come from a religious background, in one form or another. Even if they themselves were not regular churchgoers, or otherwise religously inclined, there is a better chance than not that there is some degree of religious influence in their background. Face it, it is just the way our society has been structured, if it’s not a family tradition, it is at the very least an environmental and a societal influence.

As such, there are various pagan organizations that feed off this influence, in a variety of ways and forms. I don’t know how often I have been either an observer of or a participant in conversations that revolve around the aspect of transforming Paganism into a religion, with at least the implication of all the hierarchical structuring this entails. Well, it’s a rocky road, with lots of hills and deceptive curves. And many of the would-be leaders of such movements can at times exhibit undue frustration at their lack of progress.

“Leading pagans is like trying to herd cats,” I have heard more than one of these people complain. Then follows the usual litany of woes- the backbiting, jealousy, suspicion, stubbornness, uncooperativeness, etc., etc.

Yet, most pagans seem to be looking to be led. Many of them in fact betray at least a hint of fundamentalism, of literalist interpretation of the ancient pagan mythologies, that are at least naïve, if not borderline psychotic. And I fear there are more than ample opportunities for them to be taken advantage of. I am talking here about the kind of people that will throw their money into useless endeavors such as illustrated by, for example, charlatans such as Miss Cleo. They are obviously looking for something in their lives that has been lacking. But what is it?

They are to an extent conflicted about spirituality, about religion, and yet are superstitously inclined. And so, there is a lack of wholeness. They are looking to be accepted into a group that will give them meaning, and guidance, but Wicca and Paganism can only afford this to a limited extent. And that is why it will never be a major religion. And why is that? Well,the answer to that will be surprising, but it is a really simple concept.

Paganism was never a religion. Think about that. I know it sounds crazy, coming from a pagan, but it is the truth. Again-Paganism was never a religion.

That is because, in any given culture you consider from the long ago past, paganism was never one religion, but a mixture of them-a mishmash, if you will. Take ancient Greece, for example, and the ancient Hellenic deities. This is the Pagan philosophy to which I have gravitated. But look at it closely. There was never an overreaching, monolithic Hellenic Pagan hierarchical structure, as such.

The closest you came to this was during certain festivals, in which the communities would gather to feast and celebrate, and worship as a community, in celebration of one or in some cases more of the deities. Certain calendar dates were sacred to certain deities. That, folks, is as good as it gets. Even at this, there was no overarching common standard that bound all the various Hellenic communities. Here, the closest you might come would be in the celebration of the Olympics.

As for the various mythologies of the different deities that many will point to as evidence of a common religous structure, this has for far too long been taken at face value. These mythologies were meant mainly for public consumption. They offerred evidence of the values of moral living, for example. After all, if a God or a Goddess could bring harm or disaster or shame upon him or her self by engaging in immoral activities, then how more so should this be taken as a warning to mortals as to what their fate would surely be by doing likewise? It also offerred explanations as to various natural phenomenon, theorized how the universe came into being, and any number of other such things.

Still, it’s important to realize that, as valuable as these old mythological stories are to a point-they are not religion. And here’s where we get right dow to the nitty gritty.

All the various deties, the Goddesses and the Gods, had their own cults. Their own individual priesthoods. Their own-well, their own religions. Now, people could, and did, go to their various temples and partake of prayer services and made offerrings to these deities at their temples in the hopes of gaining this or that good fortune. And, as mentioned earlier, there were various community festivals in honor of these deities that were officiated by their individual priesthoods.

But to be an actual practising member of a religious cult entailed far more than merely showing up to temple, offerring a few prayers and a song or two and listening to a sermon here or there. This was true regardless of the sincerity of the worshipper. Being a member of the religious cult involved usually the payment of a fee, along with a requirement of a minimum of social standing within the community. It also required the regular payment of dues. Finally-and this is perhaps the most improtant point of all-it required a degree of secrecy. You wee, after all, a member of an exclusive sect.

Some cults were more rigid about this than were others. There is still little known for example about the cult of Demeter. Yet, she was a very imprtant Goddess, one of the major twelve Olympian Gods considered of the utmost importance. She was originally perhaps a barley goddess, but eventually came to be viewed as the Goddess of agriculture in all it’s forms.

The cult of Ares, God of War, is even more of a mystery. Almost nothnig of the beliefs of his cult has survived. Almost everything that has survived concerning him on a mythological level is negative, in some cases to an almost absurd degree. And this brings up another interesting point concerning the Hellenic Pagan religious cults. They were very competitive. The cults of Ares and Athene are sterling examples of two cults which were evidently as competitive in their own way as, to give a more modern example, Islam might be seen by many as being a competitor to Christianity, or as Protestantism was until the not too distant past seen as competitive with Catholicism, and to a degree still is.

So there you have it. Even those cults which were most widespread in their respective lands and cultures-Zeus to the Greeks, Amon Ra to the Egyptians, and Vishnu to the modern day Hindus, are themselves manifestation of one religious cult. A cult which recognizes and affirms the existence of other lesser deities, and allows even for honors to them, yes. Still yet, they were and in the case of Vishnu is, religions that are sacred to that one diety to whom the priesthood, and devotees, owe their allegiance.

The wealthier classes of course could afford to belong to more than one cult, and oftentimes did. In this case, of course, they were members of multiple religions. So what is this all leading up to? Simply put, if there ever is one umbrella “Pagan Religion”, as many would assert, they are creating an animal that has never before existed, or at least was extremely rare, to say the least.

This is not to say that it can’t be done, of course, nothing is impossible. But is it practical. Is it even desirable?

I have always been attracted myself to the concept of coven worship. Also, to the idea of Secret Societies. In such a society, you do not come “just as I am” and are accepted with love and open arms. In fact, you do not come at all without an invitation. Even at that, you are by no means assurred of a place in the order. And if you are accepted into it, you are definitely expected-make that required-to contribute, either in money, talent, or time.

Does that mean we consider ourselves better? No,we just consider ouselves members of an exclusive club, who share the same common interests and heartfelt beliefs. Otherwise, we would like to be responsible members of our society and contribute to the welfare of it. Hell,you might even see us in your churches from time to time. After all, a tue pagan does believe in giving honor to all deities of all peoples. Even to those who might be presented in an overly ostentatous fashion by those who take him, and themselves, a bit too seriously.

But of course, all religions take themselves seriously, as do their adherents, and were paganism ever to be transformed into a hierarchical umbrella structure-assumming for the moment that were even possible-I contend it would quickly dissove into factions, rival ones, in many cases, just like in days of old. And, even if this did not occur, the overall result would be just another hierarchical power sturcture opting for socal and politcal power and influence. Soon,it would fall to the same degree of corruption and decadence as all the others. The signs are there, in fact, that the seeds have allready been planted for this.

That is just a fact of human nature, unfortunately, inherent as well, I fear, in mankinds innate spiritual cravings.

The Black Vulture

Sometimes the concerns of environmentalists are not paid near enough attention to, and their warnings go unheeded, with oftimes tragic consequences. And, sometimes, it just so happens, more often than you might expect, the opposite extreme is the case, and the results can just as often be just as disastrous. The case in point here would be the sudden burgeoning of the population of a most unusual and interesting species of bird known as the Black Vulture.

The Black Vulture doesn’t just give lip service to family values-it lives them, it’s a part of it’s natural genetic make-up. It is, in effect, instinctive to the Black Vulture to care for and nurture it’s young, and to engage in a monogamous relationship with it’s one mate, with whom it stays bound for the entirety of it’s life. The Black Vulture even has what seems to be what many might think of as a rigidly regressive, perhaps even puritanical, sexual code of conduct. When engaging in sexual relations, the Black Vulure will always opt to do so in as private a setting as possible. If a Black Vulture were to ever make overt sexual advances toward another, and this was witnessed by others in the flock, they will berate him mercilessly, as though to shame him for his wanton immorality.

If you are a magical practitioner and you are in search of a patron power animal, the Black Vulture may well be the way you want to go, especially if it is your goal to attract a mate with whom you will share a lifelong monogamous relatioship and to have children and raise a family with strong, life long bonds of attachment and caring. Of course, the one drawback to this is that you might well develop a bizarre craving for road kill and other carrion, as the Black Vulture, like his more familiar, better known and more easily identified cousin, the Turkey Vulture, lives chiefly off the carcases of dead animals.

For this reason the Black Vulture, like the Turkey Vulture, was years ago put on the Protected Species list. It is against the law to kill a Black Vulture. Kill a Black Vulture, and get caught doing so, and you will pay a hefty fine and possibly be faced with a jail sentence as well, and this is Federal Law, not state.

Due to this, and a number of other factors, the population of the Black Vulture has grown, in fact has greatly expanded, throughout the nation. Among the other reasons for this unforeseen population explosion is the long ago ban of DDTs, which themselves proved instrumental in thinning out the flocks. Finally, the atmospheric phenomenon of global warming has as well, it is believed, played a significant role in the population explosion of the Balck Vulture. And this has caused some problems;.

Happen upon a nesting place of Black Vultures and you can fairly easily discern what one of these problems are. Due to their, to humans, sickening dietary needs, accompanied by the acts of defecation, to say nothing of the constant vomiting as a means of feeding their young, their nesting places carry the stench of death itself. Problem number one then, is the possibility, if not the probability, that they are carriers of disease which, while having for the most part no effect whatsoever on them, can, in such significantly increased numbers, pose a health hazard to humans, to say nothing of other animals.

Problem number two: Black Vultures like to nest in and around landfills,which, unfortunately, all too often put them in proximity to various airports, where they tend to pose a profound threat to airplanes and jets, especially those that are taking off. They are easily sucked into the engines of jets, and can cause engine failure, resulting of course in crashes. Bear in mind that jets when taking off tend to be loaded with fuel, and this easily becomes a life threatening situation for all aboard. The greater the population of Black Vultures, of course, the greater the probability that incidents of this nature will become more likely.

Finally, problem number three-and this is where it really becomes frightening: Black Vultures feed primarily off carrion, yes-but not exclusively. They are also known to feed off of young and apparrently helpless calves, and other newborn livestock, especially ones that have strayed. One farmer here in Kentucky came across a Turkey Vulture feeding upon the carcase of a newborn calf, and in this case, the calfs mother stood helplessly nearby. Another farmer rescued a stray calf just in the nick of time. Having noticed it missing he set out to search for it, and found it just as a Black Vulture had swooped in just getting ready for the kill.

This has become quite a problem for farmers in Kentucky, and in fact Balck Vultures, once relatively rare in the state, have been spotted in all Kentucky counties with the exceptions of Kenton, Campbell, and Boone, the three northernmost counties of the state.

And the potential problem isn’t confined to Kentucky. While researching this piece I ran across a Blog by a peson who reported a Black Vulture at his residence, staring coldly at him and his dog, and the pound where he kept his dogs. He explained how it seemed to be unconcerned as to his presence, seeming to ignore him as he shouted at it. He then tried throwing rocks at it, whereupon it flew up to the top of his house, where it perched fo some time.

I decided I should immediately warn him as to the danger to his dogs, but wouldn’t you know it? He had for some unexplained reason disabled comments to his Blog, which wasn’t on Blogger. So I had to let it go.

Yet, it brings up a salient point. If Black Vultures might prey upon helpless newborn livestock, what about a large dog? Even if the dog succeeded in fighting him off, it could suffer serius injury.

Then, there is the prospect of children. Young children between the ages of four and eight that live out in the country like to get out and play in the woods and the surrounding areas, one of the more appealling aspects in fact of growing up “in the country”.

Yet, such a child, especially wandering off on his or her own,as they are unfortunately wont to do from time to time, might well prove a tempting target to a hungry Black Vulture, whom the child in fact might not be aware is a danger to him or her.

Then, there are the elderly to consider, or any adult who might fall victim to an accident, or a sudden illness. If this happens to you, and a flock suddenly gathers around, hope and pray they are Turkey Vutures. They are kind enough to wait for you to die. Black Vultures would prefer not to do so.

Because of all these things, you would think the law protecting them from being killed would be rescinded, at least temporarily. But no, unfortunately, there is a matter of bureacracey to contend with in matters such as these, to say nothingof the hordes of radicals who, if they had their way about it, would prosecute you if you so much as killed lice in your hair.

Instead of doing this, the common sense thing, it would seem to me, they have opted for the overly complicated and time consuming procedure of forcing people to buy a license in order to allow for the killing of a limited-repeat, limited-number of these birds. And, of course, you have to have a good reason, i.e., a farmer protecting his livestock. Note as well they included a provision by which they can make money out of this most serious matter. They are going to make you pay for it.

Vultures will be vultures. They will look out for their own interests. Whether they are Turkey Vultures. Or Black Vultures. Or Governemnt Bureaucracey Vultures-perhaps the most vile kind of all.

Finally, if you are a magically inclined Wiccan, or other Pagan, and you happen upon a Black Vulture, and he perches near you and checks you out-well, some people tend to look upon such events as an omen of sorts, a magical harbinger. Most modern Pagans try to look for the good in such signs. Perhaps that will be the case if this were to happen to you. It might even be a sign from the Vutures patron God, Lord Ares.

Or, he might just be considering eating you alive.

Running With The Pack

If anybody ever had any skepticism as to environmental claims about how tenuos is the balance of nature, and how easily disrupted it can be, a story from ou oft Isle Royole National Park in Michigan should serve as an example of just how serious it can be. It concerns a story as old as life itself-the struggle for survival, and it’s a story of life on earth, told in miniature. The native wolf population in the park numbers 30, in a total of three packs, which are now at war, in a life and death struggle for territory. The prize over which they fight for their lives, agaisnt each other, to the death?

450 head of moose, down significantl from the 540 head from just last winter. So, why such a drastic decline? To answer that question, you need to trace back to the early 1990’s. Then, the wolf packs all fell prey to a common enemy-a paravirus outbreak, which decimated them, to the seeming benefit of the moose, who suddenly engaged in a moose mini baby boom, which resulted in a population explosion. You would think this would be the best of both worlds. Very few wolves for the moose to worry about, yet those very few wolves were presented with a banquet of mostly the elderly moose, and the younger strays. Plenty of food for the wolves, and yet a relatively peaceful existence for the moose, most of whom were young and strong and could protect themselves from the packs, especially as long as they didn’t stray off too far from the herd individually, on their own.

Unfortunately, the baby boomers suddenly themselves started to become old and decrepit and, being the majority, suddenly found themselves easier and easier prey. Worse, during the period of time when their numbers were so prolific, they ravaged the natural food of their native habitat. There were too many of them, and not enough of the primary birch and aspen, which they ravaged through quickly, leaving mostly the much less nutritous, for them, spruce and balsam fir, which soon grew disproportionately. As a result, the National Park has now evolved into mainly this type of vegetation, which has taken over, as not enough of the mooses primary food supply was left to hold the less desirable growth in check.

Then, as though to seal their fate, the moose fell prey to a tick infestation, which weakened them, thus making them even easier prey. But alas, their numbers have now dwindled to such the wolves are now left with slim pickings, so they have to hunt for their secondary food source-the beaver. Unfortunately, as you might have guessed, the beaver population has likewise declined.

Now,there are several points to this story, besides my opening assertion as to the evidence herein of the precariousness of the balance of nature, and therefore of life on earth. One point is that, in this case, mankind seems not, for once, to have been the culprit. Not directly, at any rate. Ah, but there is a caveat. Remember where this all took place? Need I remind you?

The Isle Royole NATIONAL PARK

So, during the entirety of two terms of a Democratic Administration, and going into the sixth year of a Republican one, a total of fourteen years have elapsed during which something could have been done to head off this ecological disaster, which should have been noticed from the start. It should have been easily discerned, what the potential problem was or would be heading towards, and it would probably have taken nothing more compicated than ensuring the continued growth and thriving of the birch and aspen.

This should have been done during theClinton Administration, but was allowed to go on, as during most of this span of time the problem was probably not that bad. But by the time of the Bush Administration, certainly by the second or third year, drastic measures may have been called for, that might have reversed the trend, late though they may have been. But the problem continued to be ignored.

“Oh, so what?”, some will say. “These are only moose and wolves, and a few beave, you’re talking about here. What’s the big deal, it’s not like we’re talking about human beings.” Some would even assert that this is natures way of killing off the weak species to make way for the strong. And in a sense, they might be right, but they forget. Ah ha, mankind is the culprit after all. How? Bcuase mankind has limited the environment of these animals. Neither wolves nor their prey have the range of travel as they did, and their range shrinks less with each passing year. As a result of limiting that range, we actually owe it to them, in my opinion, to ensure that we redress the balance of natue which mankind, much like a virus, has decimated.

We owe it to ourselves, as well. After all, as mankind continues to grow and expand, they too will need more and more natural resources in order to survive. Otherwise, we too will continue on the path we never really ever left-engaging in warfare and destruction, in a battle for survival-much like packs of wolves.

Gayle Norton-Goodbye And Good Riddance

It looks like somebody in the Republican Bush Administration decided Secretary of The Interior Gayle Norton needed to spend more time with her family. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Especially in the wake of the on-gonig investigation into the shady dealings of lobbyist Jack Abramof. Yeah, the guy that funneled money from Indian tribes, and gaming casinos, into all kinds of shady deals and illegal campaign contributions and the like. See, Gayle Norton, being Secretary of the Interior, is in effect over the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which is supposed to see to the welfare of the various tribes. So whether she herself is guilty of any wrongdoing or not, or regardless even if she knew about it, it happenned on her watch, in fact, you might say, right under her nose. And so, despite what reasons she might have given as to the reason for her departure from the cabinet post she has held from the beginning of Bush’s first term in office, it seems likely that the Abramof fiasco has sudenly turned her into a liability, to the Department, and more importantly, to Bush, who still denies even more than a passing familiarity to Abramof, if that.

So, my guess is she had to go, before she was faced with a court order to turn over any documents which might now be helpfully shuffled into a bureaucratic labrynthe by her successor, who will of course be “unaware” as to their significance. It’s a longshot strategy, to be sure, but one that might save Ms. Norton possible jail time, and Bush further embarrassment.

However it all turns out, she will not be missed, certainly not by those of us who care for the environment of the world in which we all must live, however tentatively thanks to the likes of her. In fact, I would submit that she is probably the worse Secretary of the Interior in the last half century-and that is saying something.

But what is truly profound is that, taking the entirety of past Interior Secretaries in the context of the times in which they lived, she might well arguably be the worse of the bunch.

The Best Page In The Universe?

Well, it damned sure is if you are looking for a place where, sooner of later, you just have to feel insulted. I am talking about the website of the same name, written by a man that goes by the name of Maddox. The URL is

http://maddox.xmission.com/ (The link is supplied in the title of this post)

And it's well worth checking out. For one thing, it's funny as hell, This guy has been going since 1998, and seems intent on insulting every livng person on the face of the earth. He even has a page, a couple of them really, devoted to a critique of children's "art". You know, those generally terrible drawings little kids the world over do that we are all suppossed to outwardly pretend to admire and appreciate for the sake of their self-esteem.

He pulls no punches in his rants, for example as pertains to his hatred of various people-for example, Cameron Diaz. I have to wonder how serious he is, frankly I think he would knock me to the floor to beat me into the sack with her, so maybe a lot of this is frustration speaking. On the other hand, maybe not.

The amazing thing is, more than 4000 blogs have linked to his site, despite the fact that he obviously hates-yes, bloggers. The word blog, and all its variants, he counts as something he would support genocide of if they were people.

He hates Trekkies. He hates environmentalists. This guy hates everything, at least everything he puts on his website, it seems. So why should I promote him? Well, because he says a lot of things that I wish sometimes I had the guts to say, about different matters. Unfortunately, I have lately gotten into the habit of pulling my punches somewhat, in order to keep from ending up on the accurrsed "Flagged" list.

I want to thank Maddox for awakening me from this nonsensical reserve, which is a drain of energy and counterproductive. Why the hell blog if you can't be yourself? So-thank you Maddox.

I have restrained myself from e-mailing his site, though, to thank him personally, though maybe I should. Yet, he only prints hate mail, which he has a whole section devoted to, in which he individually, after displaying the e-mail from outraged viewers, picks it and the sender apart, in usually hilarious fashion.

Check him out, and prepare to be offended. Hell, it wil probably be good for you. Prepare to laugh as well, as I'm certain there will be some tidbits on this site that will make you say, "damn, that's just what I've been wanting to say".

And that, after all,is what makes this website so damned good. It's not what he says-it's the way he says it.

There Should Always Be A Place Called Hope

The childhood home of William Jefferson Clinton in Hope Arkansas, specifically the one in which he was born, is presently being preserved as a historical landmark, but this is solely through funding by way of privae donations. This may soon change, however, as a bill in the House of Representatives, HR 4912, has been proposed which would designate the modest home as a national historic landmark. This would qualify it to receive funding from the Depatment of the Interior, by way of the Parks Department, for it’s upkeep and presevaion, in addition to all the benefits that would apply.

This proposed bill has broad bi-partisan support, and is unanimously favored by the Arkansas delegation, as well as Republican Governor Mike Huckabee, who also is a native of Hope. The reasoning is sound. Clnitons life story is certainly an inspriring one, approached from the proper perspective. After all, Clinton was a common, everyday American citizen. He was certainly no blue blood, did not come from a financially secure background,to say nothing of a wealthy one, nor was his family from either side among the social elites, by any stretch of the imagination. His was a typical American middle class upbringing. Yet, through innate talent, determination, and strength, he climbed, some might say he clawed, his way to the top, and achieved the American dream.

Very few men have achieved this level of political prominence, from his background. In fact, his may be one of the few exceptions, along with Lincoln and Truman and possibly a handful of others. For this reason, the educational and inspirational value alone makes this a worthy bill for passage. Of course, there will always be naysayers, and you can expect that this would be no exception. But the Representative from Florida who stood up today on the floor of the House of Representatives was particularly adamant,that this bill should not be passed, until Mr. Clinton answers a number of questions, pertaining to the Dubai Port deal, which he seems to have been instrumental in brokering, for a fee, without having bothered to register himself as a foreign agent.

While I consider the Congresswomans points troubling, and worthy of consideration in another context, this is not the time. This was politics at it’s worse, in fact. I surmise this to be an obvious attempt to try to pass the blame from George W. Bush, who has certainly taken a hit about the Dubai Port deal , all the more so because of his stubborn insistence that he will veto any legislation that would seek to derail the agreement, over the objections of by far the majority of the American people. The Republican Party is scurrying for cover as we speak, trying their damndest to distance themselvs from the president on this debaucle, and seem to be united as almost one voice in oppossition to him, for once. But it is a tenuos situation for them, and they know it. The President can be bitter, petty, and vindictive against those who cross him, even those of his own party, maybe especially them.

Ask Jim Jeffords, the Senator from Vermont, who was practically forced from the Party for not marching solidly in lockstep behind Bush’s drumbeat. Ask Representative Peter King of New York, an early and staunch opponnent of the port deal, who has now discovered he must travel to Iraq on his own power, with no assistance from the Department of Defense.

Yet, they have no choice but to oppose Bush on this deal. Their consituents are ready for blood, demanding the deal be blocked, and many of the Congress have been put on notice, from both parties. The Republicans in particular know they are on shaky ground, for siding with this President way too many times. They have given him a blank check way too many times, with little to no accoutnability. And the people are pissed. Of course, in a way it’s the people fault, they made the Congress, and Bush, a kind of Frankensteins monsters, which turned on them. Now, the people have realized their error. The monster is in trouble. The monster must die. But he won’t go, not withot a fight. So what will this particular monster do in a last ditch depserate attempt to spare him his fate?

Well, in the case of the Gentlelady from Florida, she is doing what Republicans have been doing now for the last fourteen years-blame Bill Clinton. But it won’t work this time. She was called down repeatedly today, despite her persistence, and received rebukes from her own Party. After all, this bill, if passed, presents an economic boon to the city of Hope, in the form of increased tourist revenues and employment.

The monster is breaking down into all his seperat pieces, each fighting for his survival.

What was she trying to do, earn brownie points with the Bushes, in partiular the Presidents brother Jeb, who is the governor of her state? She insisted that she was acting out of concerns of her constituents as to the appropriateness of the bill. Really? Hell, now, how many of them even knew about it, really? I certainly didn’t know anything about it until I happened to catch it today on C-Span. First time I had ever heard about it, and I consider myself to be relatively well informed. I think the Gentlelady from Florida might be exaggerating. Probably having posed the question herself to a sample representation of her constituents, fron her Republican dominated district, she got the answers she knew she would get.

“Do you think it is appropriate to name the birthplace and chidhood home of former President Bill Clinton a national historic landmark in lieu of questions concerning his involvemnt in the Dubai Port deal,which he brokered privately, in addition to any other concerns you might have concerning Mr.Clintons character?”

“Why, no, Congresswoman, I don’t think it is right at all. Bill Clinton was a liar, a womanizer,and an all around scoudrel.”

People like the Congresswoman just don’t get it. Most people genuinely like Bill Clinton, even a great many of those that disagree with him politically. In a very real way, he is the epitome of the American dream. We don’t just love the man despite his warts. Hell, we love him because of them.

A View To Some Kills

THE BLACK DEATH (Scene From The Royston Tapestry)

According to latest research from a study conducted by a team from the University of Ultrecht in the Netherlands, the phenomenon known as the Little Ice Age of Europe may have been caused by the Black Plaque. The resulting depopulation of Europe due to the Fourteenth Century plaque caused untold millionsof acres on the continent to be deserted, thus unsettled, unpopulated, and untended, which allowed for the widespread growth of millions of trees on what had previously been mostly farmland. This soaked up the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which would have had the effect of cooling the climate.

This has been ascertained from the study of pollen and leaf data. So, what does it tell us today? Well, it has occurred to me, for one, that we are now seeing the oppossite results. The constant lessenning of trees, the reduction in the rainforrests and continual deforestation in other areas, may in fact prove to be a contributing factor to the phenomenon of global warming that we see on-going today. This, in fact, may prove to be of more vital importance than the impact of pollution, or at least of as great importance. It is certainly somethig that should be considered.

Of course, even if this proves to be the case, there yet remains the question-what the hell are we going to do about it?

The Pyrrhic Victory Of Darla Kaye Wynn

Great Falls South Carolina. Most people have never heard of it, nor have they ever heard of a woman by the name of Darla Kaye Wynn. But the people of Great Falls South Carolina sure know who she is. She is known in fact, as the local practising witch, and something of a troublemaker, and all around pain in the ass.

Miss Wynn took the city council of Great Falls to court for refusing to stop the practice of including in the sessions a Christian prayer which mentioned the name of Jesus Christ. In fact, the prayers actually seem to have been to this deity, a fact that Darla Kaye, being a Pagan, took great exception to. This lead to her ultimate triumph in the courts, followng a round of appeals. It finally made it-almost-to the Supreme Court itself, but the Cout itself refused to hear the case, which meant the decision of the lower Federal Appellate Court would stand. Darla kaye Wynn had won her suit. But not without great personal pain and sacrifice to herself.

She was threatened, on various occassions, and her animals were killed. Coming home one night, she discovered that one of her caged birds had been killed, it’s head ripped off. Still, she persevered, until her final, to me, pyrrhic victory.

I asked her what the point was. She could certainly find a place more conducive to living her life as she saw fit, but she was adamant. Great Falls was her home and she would refuse to leave it, refuse to be pushed out by these Christian bigots. For a while she became a cause celebre’ in the Wiccan and Pagan community, and for a brief time, there emerged the ridiculous spectacle of her supporters from the religious rights group AREN (Alternative Relious Education Network) encouraging Pagans to travel to the city council meetings of Great Falls South Carolina to show their support. It was suggested that, at the end of the prayer in which Christ was invoked by “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, amen”, the Pagans would then stand, and bow, and answer, “In the name of the Goddess and the God, we pray, so mote it be”- but to otherwise not act in a belligerent or a confrontational fashion toward the denizens of Great Falls. As if this incredibly childish display were not confrontational and belligerent. I don’t know how many, if any, actually showed up to partake in this ill-advised foolishness, I know I did not., nor did I donate money toward this on-going charade.

I am glad the court decisions reached the ultimate conclusions that they did, don’t get me wrong. The point is, this was all so unnecessary, even to the point of being foolsih. Should the people of Great Falls South Dakota have allowed the City Council to invoke the Christian diety in a pulic prayer at a public meeting of public officials? Probably not. Was Darla Kaye Wynn right in objecting, and fighting the court battles in all its manifestations and appeals? Well, technically speaking, yes she was correct, and well within her rights to do so. But that still is not the point.

Like I told her, and like I told the members of the AREN Yahoo e-mail group, which I eventually left in disgust, there comes a time when you have to know how and when to choose your fights wisely. This was neither wise,nor was it necessary. It has fomented an even greater wedge between Pagans and the general Christian community than already existed, at least in this segment of the county where it is well known.For example, it is used as a batterring ram against all Pagans, as evidence that we all hate Christians, and are the enemies of Christ and Christianity. Therefore, we are Anti-Christ, and demon posessed, inspired by Satan, and all the other ignorance by which Wiccans and Pagans are confronted on a daily basis. Darla Kaye Wynn did not help to alleviate this problem, in fact, she exacerbated it.

Nor am I the ony one who feels this way, a good many Pagans have assaulted her in moer vicous ways than I ever could, or would. Some have even gone so far as to accuse her of actually being the one to kill her own animals in order to blame it on her Christian enemies. I would never go that far, without evidence, but by the same token,her actions certainly don’t seem to have taken their welfare into consideration. In fact, her lack of concern for them has been remarkable, to say the least.

Wynn has done some good work on behalf of pagans otherwise. As a member of AREN, she has been at the forefront of advocating for the rights of Wiccans and Pagans in prisons to freely practice their religion. That just makes this debaucle,sad to say, all the more unfortunate. In effect, it sems that this whole charade was a grandstanding effort at self-promotion, on the part of Ms. Wynn, and by extension, by the board of AREN.

Thankfully, in a technical sense, it worked out for the best. And to be sure, thee will come a time when Wiccans and Pagans will have to stand firm and stong to assert our own religous liberties. This, however, seemed to be not so much about asserting our own rights as it was about marginalizing those of others, a perceived enemy who has just been given more ammunition with which to disparage us. It was not the right fight at the right time. And in the long run, it may yet end up costing us dearly.

The South Carolina Seccessionist Movement

If a faction of ultra-conservative Christians have their way about it, South Carolina will soon secede form the nation of the United States of America for the second time in about 160 years. Naturally, this is ab ig joke, but it does bring up an interesting proposition. Just what if it were to happen? Suppose enough extremist right wing idiots actually migrated to the state in sufficient umbers that, in combination with native factions already disposed favoraby to the idea, they took control of the state of South Carolina, and actually seceeded. Or tried to.

I say let ‘em. Who the hell needs them? I mean, can you imagine anything more stupid than this group of clowns forming hteir own state, and convincing enough fools to go along with them to actually do it. After all, though, remember,it is a constitutionally sound pecept. The Tenth Amendment does indeed allow for secession from the Union for due cause, though Mr. Lincol saw fit to disrespect that precept on the grounds that it was not in the best interests of the nation, or of the Southern people, to allow it to go forward. Lincoln might have acted wrongly in this regard, perhaps he should as well have allowed the secession to go forward unhindered and unnoppossed. Does anybody truly believe that if it had,.slavery would still be a fact of life in the South, or anywhere else? I have long been of the opinion that, while slavery may have lasted a few decades longer, it would have eventually faded, and by now would have been long, long gone. Moreover, it’s ending would not have been near as painful, and traumatic, not only for the nation, but for the slaves themselves. After all,in a very real sense, slavery did not truly end until the end of the Jim Crow era, and the gathering momentum of the civil rights movement of the 1950’sand 1960’s. This culminated of course in the passage of such lanmark legislation as the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act, under President Johnson. And even this did not end segregationa and racial prejudice, in fact, it is still an ongoing concern to this day.

Pehaps if Mr. Lincoln had left well enough along, this would not be the case, and race relations may have by now been nifinitely better than what they are now. In fact, I would submit that had he not taken the actions that he took, race relations by the 1920’s would possibly be similar to what they are now, in the present. There may not have ever been a Martin Luther King, for there may have never been a need of him. Or perhaps some personnage such as Booker T. Washington or George Washington Carver may have been the pioneering civil rights leader that King was in our era. Perhaps the major contribution of Mr. Washington may have been not so many uses for the peanut, but in influencing the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Act. No Civil War, no regional and sectional animosities ongoing thoughout so many generations-no racial bigotry, at least not on the scale that we have lived through the past century.

Yeah, I know, if, if if. But the point is, if these fools in South Carolina do ever possibly get around to seceeding from the Union-or trying to-I say let them. I mean, face it, if that does indeed turn out to be the attitude of the majority of the people of South Carolina, who the fuck needs them anyway?

Then again, it all boils down to minority protections, as usual. Who would look out for the rights of these, for now, American citizens, in the event that day ever comes to pass? We certainly couldn’t trust the extreme right wing Christian Conservative government of South Carolina to treat them fairly. Sure, maybe they would surprise us and treat them with fairness and compassion, but we can’t rely on that proposition. Therefore, quite simply, we can’t allow it to happen.

I guess Mr. Lincoln wasn’t so wrong after all. Sometimes bloodshed is necessary, even admirable, even preferable-even commendable.

Just think of it as a catharsis.

The Christian State Of Missouri

Now it looks as though the state of Missouri is about to push the Supreme Court to the limit of endurance. How else can you translate the proposed new state law that would establish Christianity as the official state religion? What in the hell could they possibly be thinking? Obviously, this is a political calculation, though not a very realistic minded one. The point seems to be mainly to protect the rights of religious expression for the majority Christians, who to one degree or another have come to feel put upon in recent years.

Up to a point I sympathize with them. I have no problem with manger displays at Christmas in public parks, or with Chrisitan prayers at city council meetings, or with the words “Christmas”, “Merry Christmas” and “Christmas Tree” during the Christmas season. I am even okay with the permanent display of the Ten Commandments, provided it is erected and maintained with private money, and not state money,and also provided there are allowances for other religious displays as well.

But the wording of this new statute goes way too far, and seems to be meant to provoke dispute. The proponents of this measure are standing on very shaky ground, they just don’t feel it trembling under them yet. The point seems to be that the Constitution does not allow Congress to pass a law respecting an establishment of religion, but the states are under no such limitation, in that the Bill of Rights were meant precisely to protect the states from the encroachment of the Federal Government. Therefore, the states have every right to pass laws such as this.

Well, no they don’t. This dog not only don’t hunt, it has way too many ticks that should serve to suck the life force right out of it, and those ticks are called, in their entirety, the Bill Of Rights. After all, does a state or local law enforcement official have the right to come nito your home without a warrant,and search your person, and that of your family,and your property?

Can officials of the state or local government arrest you without due cause, or without a warrant, and hold you in jail indefinitely without even charging you with a crime, on mere suspicion?

Can local or state law enforcement officials beat you or starve you or otherwise torture and torment you as a legitimate means of deriving information from you, or to get you to admit to a crime?

Can local or state law enforcement officials keep you from seeing a lawyer?

Can local or state law enforcement officials, legally, put you on trial on trumped up charges, and not allow your attorneys to present contradictory evidence on your behalf?

Can the state or local government confiscate your properties for no good cause, regardless of whether or not you have been convicted of a crime?

Can the state or local government shut down and/or prosecute a local newpaper for reporting on the unjust way in which you are being unfairly targeted and penalized? Or for speaking out in any way or fashion against any of their abuses or corruption?

Can they arrest your friends, family, and neighbors, for speaking out on your behalf, or in any manner against them, on any matter?

Can the state or local government execute you in an excessively cruel, painful, degrading, and humiliating manner meant to cause excess pain and suferring?

Of course, the answer to all of these questions is, or should be, a resounding no. Yet, for some strange inexplicable reason, the proponents of this ill-advised Missouri state stature seem to think that the same limitations that exist on their authority as pertains to these and other matters, somehow does not apply to them when it comes to freedom of religion. That’s why this insane law shoud be quickly shot down, if it is ever actualy passed, and hopefully the politcal proponents of it will be sanctioned for wasting the time of the people, to say nothing of the courts.

Tobacco Punks

With all the problems that abound in Southeaster and Eastern Kentucky, you would think that 120 high school students from six different high schools could find more and better things to do with their time than circulate a petition aimed at ending smoking in publicbuildings. Yet, that is precisely what this group of ignorant little fascists have been doing, and have presented the petition to the Pike County Board of magistrates, who have as of yet to vote on the matter.

I bet’cha they’re Democrats, or come from Democratic households. Even on the off chance that I might be wrong, it doesn’t really matter. Of course, a significant number of Republicans, both conservative and moderate ones, are now on the anti-smoking bandwagon, and sure, a significant number of Republican politicians, if not most ofthem, are on board with supporting legal restriction, and outright bans, on this issue of personal private behavior.

So why then should I slam the Democrats? Because this is perceived as a Democratic issue, plainly. All the various lobbying groups that are behind this anti-smoking trend, and have been for years, are for the most part Democratic Party supporters-or better yet, make that Democratic Party controllers. Sure, more and more Republicans are getting on the bandwagon, but that bandwagon has been buildt and powered by Democratic Party lobbyists and supporters. So they, as they well should, get the credit for it.

Translation: Ever wonder why, despite President Bush’s woefully low poll numbers, the Democratic Party has not seemed to benefit in regards to their own favorabilty rating with the general voting public? Well, this issue is not the main reason for that, but it is a very improtant and overlooked reason for it. Especially here in the state of Kentucky-and, by the way, Tennesse, the Virginias, and the Carolinas. And everywhere else where smokers make up a potentially critical proportion of the voting population.

It may well also be the reason I decide to vote Republican in the next congressional elections, and maybe, if so-called liberal attitudes haven’t changed by 1908, that I may vote Republican in the Presidential elections for the first time in my life. I am at least very seriously considering it. If I do so, chalk it up to a protest vote against the arrogant hypocrits who have infiltrated, and more and more have come to dominate, my party.

Passing Up A Faith Based Initiative

During Bush's recent trip to India, he passed up a golden opportunity to establish a diplomatic rapport with the people of the nation. For a man who seems to want to assert his respect for the worlds great religions, he seems as usual-well, fucking clueless.

This despite the fact that, in the aftermath of 9/11, he happily reported to the nation that he accepted, as a gift from an American immam, a copy of the Qu'ran, which he assurred us all he would treasure in that it represented the true face of Islam, that of a "religion of peace".

"Islam", he almost whined until we were sick of hearing it, "is a peaceful religion". He seemed almost apologetic about his need to take the war to those terrorists who had "usurped one of the worlds great religions."

Bush, in fact, has almost bent over backards to reassure the "peaceful" Islamic majority. Hell, I halfway expected him to start praying toward Mecca five times a day-but on the other hand, when you look at the relationship between him and his family and the Saudi royal family-hee hee hee-he does.

This, then, goes a long way toward exlaining the vitriolic reception he has been given by the nation of India, or by a large percentage of them. Though Bush has in some ways been instrumental in encouraging dialoque between India and Pakistan to an extent none of his predecessors have done, the people could well feel that he has them over a-er,make that under-a barrel.

Bush could very easily have gone a long way toward rectifying this rift with the peopel of the worlds largest democracy, by, instead of the proposed visit to the shrine of Ghandi, he could have very diplomatically visited one of the temples of one of Hiduisms most beloved Gods-the elephant headed God Ganesh.

What could be more appropriate? Ganesh is, after all, the "Mover Of Obstacles", and Bush certainly has his share of them. He is also the "God of Fortune and Good Luck", and these are things that Bush is certainly in need of.

So why ignore the God? Is he afraid that this might somehow offend his right wing Christian Conservative and evangelical base? Well, it probably would, but then again, they didn't seem to be concerned about his seeming near conversion to Islam. Is he afraid of the Muslims? Uh, yeah, probably. But remember, Bush is a no-nonsense type of man who isn't going to sit back and take a lot of guff from terrorists or their sympathizers.

What could be more appropriate than for Bush, the standard bearer of the Republican Party, whose symbol is the elephant, to visit a temple dedicated to the elephant headed God of India. But hey, look back up at the picture-he's missing a tusk. Now how did that happen? You see, like the elephants head itself, this is symbolic. It means that Ganesh is the God that vanquishes dualism, in other words, those contradictory impulses by which mans spiritual nature is ever at war with his physical, material aspects.

Hell, maybe a trip to this God would be just what the doctor ordered. Maybe it might even turn things around for him, not only in India, but here, and throughout the world. Maye the Muslims will start to realize they had better start to play nice. Maybe Bush's detractors in this country would see him as a man with at least some sense of the absurd, reminiscent of his trip to Africa where he was witness to two representatives of his party's mascot getting it on. He seemed to get quite a chuckle out of that one, which I saw as a sign of hope, that maybe he wasn't such a stuffed shirt, pompous hypocrit after all.

One temple in India recently had an idol of the God stolen, which I reported in an earlier post. Perhaps a visit to this temple might be appropriate,with the gift of a new idol, and Bush attending the ritualistic purification and dedication ceremonies.

Perhaps when Bush returns to this country, he could weigh in about the need for sensitivity toward the ever growing Hindu population here. For example, a beer company recently pulled from production a brand of beer, called Ganesh, which featured on it's logo an image of the God with one bottle of beer in one hand, another bottle in it's trunk. A lawsuit was threatened as a result in May of last year. Of course, there were no death threats, nor dire warnings of the nations destruction-just a bunch of that darned old complaining.

Still, it shows that the Hindus, here and there, take their religion and it's Gods and Goddesses as seriously as Chrisitan, jews, and Muslims take their one.

Uh Oh-whoops! I think I've just hit on something. To recognize a Pagan God-such as Ganesh-would be contradictory. After all, the case can be made that the God of Islam is the same God as that of Christianity and Judaism. That's why they are all called the Abrahamic religions.

Abrahamic religions, of course, don't believe in idolatry, which is the worshop of idols-such as those that portray the elephant headed God Ganesh, for example. I guess that's why when a zoo in Oklahoma recently incuded a pictue of Ganesh, a bunch of fundamentalist Christians lobbied for inclusion in the gallery of pictures with a Christian theme. And why a bunch of like-minded fundamentalist Christians in Cincinnati took to the conservative local radio talk shows and moaned and bitched about how the people in Cincinnati voted to name the newly born elephant at the zoo, yes, Ganesh.

And it all boils down to the Ten Commandments.

"Thou shalt make unto thee any graven images of anything, either on the earth, or under it, or in the seas, or in the skies."

Sorry if I don't have the wording of this exactly right. Hell, I don't even know for sure whether it's the Second, Third, or Fouth Commandment. I'm not a Chrisitan, you see. No, thank you, I dont want to be one. But I do understand Bush's reluctance to pay the appropriate respect to the people of India by visiting a temple of one of their Pagan Gods. It would just be bad form. After all, George Bush, the promoter of such ideas as "Faith Based Initiatives", while wanting to assure us all he has respect for all religous beliefs, finds himself at the head of a party that supports the placing of the Ten Commandments in public parks, courthouses, and public schools. Visiting the Temple of Ganesh, or any other Pagan God, would put him in a dilemna with his base. So he has to avoid this at all costs, even at the expense of passing up the opportunity to show respect to the people of India, and their own culture and heartfelt beleifs and religous values.

It's called, in a word, hypocrisy.

George W. Ghandhi

The difference in the reception of George W. Bush to that which greeted Bill Clniton in ealier days during visits to India is remakable, stark, and worrisome. As was the case of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the first U.S. President to visit the world’s largest democracy, Clinton was greetef by cheering throngs of smiling, dancing admirers who threw rose petals at him. If somebody had thrown something at George W. Bush, he would have been well-advised to duck. Instead of enthusiastic welcomers, Bush was confronted with the spectacle of tens of thousands of Indians, of all religious faiths, proclaiming him to be a murderer and a butcher.

How did it get to this point? If anything, I have always been of the opinion that Bush should be given a modicum of credit for enouraging dialoque between the governments of India and Pakistan. This was doubtless due to the seeming decisivenness in which he dislodged the vile and despicable Taliban from their perches of power in Khandahar, as this set up within the region the atmosphere by which the two nations could be jointly discouraged from any further provoations, which usually are centered around the region of Kashmir, which both claim.

India in particular is a nation I have long suspected might one day become a world powe. It is, after all, the second most populous country in the world, with now over one billion people. It is also one of the largest antions in the world in terms of land mass, and has considerable natural resources at it’s disposal. They are also sufficiently aggressive when it comes down to matters of their own self-defense. Three times the nation of India has beentt he decisive victor against its hated rival Pakistan, and one time in the early nineteen sixties it sent the communist Chinese governemnt of Mao-Tse Tung retreating from it’s borders which it had unwisely invaded.

A number of facrors have prevented India from becoming a world power on a major scale. The first thing would have to be it’s religious based caste system, which has not only relegated a substantial majority of the population to a marginalized status, but has ensured that the nations abundant resources have been contained to the benefit of the ruling elite. This and a series of natural disasters, mostly due to monsoons, but also alternately drought, have hastened and enhanced the effects of famine and pestilence. If the Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse had a headquarters, India would be the place.

The fact that they weret raditionally divided into warring states made them easy prey to fall to such conquerors as the Muslim Moguls, and later the British, who were in their own way as responsible for keeping the nation destitute as any, until the coming of Ghandhi.

Ghandi set this nation on it’s opriginal road toward the world status that it will doubltess eventuallly acquire, and at the expense of the U.S., as they stand to become an economic powerhouse, and one of our most worrisome competitors. Rest assurred, they have not forgotten that, since the days of the Nixon Asdministration, our nation has typically sided with the Pakistanis, despite the fact that India was by far the most open society, and the only true democracy in the region. Payback is a bitch.

For a brief time, Clinton seemed to have reversed the trend, and though Bush has not been anti-Indian, they seem to have somehow decided that this President is the one they should take their frustrations and resentments out on. Irony of this is, while I am not a supporter of George W. Bush, and I resent his lies and deceits by way of the Iraqi War, and the fact that he has failed to sufficiently follow through with the Afghan successes, and failed to devote the resources necessary to shore up the security of that fledgling new democracy-I wonder how this is of concern to India. While Bush has shored up, or attempted to anyway, his partnership with Musharraf of Pakistan, this does not seem to have been at the expense of India. Again, if aything Bush has encouraged dialoque between the two long bitter rivals. The dialoque and admittedly tacit cooperation between the two seems ot have progressed toa more positve point than at any time previously.

This would probably be the reasoning behind the proposed Bush visit to the tomb of Gandhi. Bush’s detractors say this is the height of hypocrisy, that a war-mongering President such as he has been should not step foot near the tomb of such a great man of peace. Ordinarily I would agree. Yet, in just this one instance, given Bush’s role in encouraging dialoque and diplomacy between the two, even over such a profoudly contoversial issue as the Kashmir region, his presence at the tomb may, in fact, be unusually appropriate.