Beltane-Eight Of Pentacles

I drew the Eight of Pentacles reversed for this Beltane Sabbat reading, which is somewhat disconcerting, though not necessarily bad. It suggests a need to devote oneself to extricating yourself from a bad situation, or avoiding it all together. Or it could simply mean devoting yourself to acquiring the skills you need to get to where you want to go in the way of raises or promotions.

For me, I think it means I need to get back to work on my novel. The hell with writing a novel is not in the writing but the editing. Although I finished the first draft of my horror novel Radu, I still haven't gotten past the fifteenth chapter of the rewrite after all this time. In my defense, there have been so many distractions and obligations taking up my time, I just haven't had the time or the energy. For me, anyway, this card is a good omen. I can't throw myself into it if I don't have the chance to do so. Maybe that chance is coming soon.

I Want Revenge The Safest Bet

If I ever get rich I'm going to buy a condo in Louisville just so I'll have a place to stay during the Kentucky Derby. Hell, I'll make a weekend of it and go to the Kentucky Oaks too. That will be the only time I'll be in the place, but while I'm there it will be a blast, provided of course its not as close to Beltane as it is this year. And I might still go at that.

As much as I would love to see General Quarters win tomorrow, I don't see him even placing in the top three, so I can't in good conscience encourage anybody to bet on him, even though a win by him would be one of the greatest stories to ever come out of the Derby. He was brought in a claiming race by an old retired school teacher in his seventies who has never owned a race horse in his life. He got him for twenty-thousand dollars, and just because the horse won a claiming race, he will be in the Derby, but of course as a long shot. A very long shot. Yeah, I know, it sounds like something out of a Disney movie. That's precisely why he probably won't come close to winning, too.

Stick with I Want Revenge as far as serious money goes.

Polar Bear Check-In

Good news on the polar bear front. There are more of them than ever before, something like twenty thousand of them, and even better news for future generations of both them and us. The Arctic ice is returning, and growing pretty quickly. I lost the link to the article, and I'll try to provide it later, but really, why bother? You either believe it or you don't.

I recently came to the conclusion that the global warming hysteria is based on a lot of self-serving power grabs. For example, do you remember the time when utility companies used to have to appear before state budget committees and beg for a rate increase?

Well, not anymore. Now all they have to do is promote clean, efficient, green energy production, and they have the sudden love and support of regulators the world over, and pretty much carte blanc to raise their rates to pretty much whatever they want. In the meantime, they can close plants under the guise of reducing carbon emissions, which of course is reducing the supply of available electricity, thereby justifying the price increases to an even greater extent.

But the bears are happy, at least. They even learned to dance.

Rum And Honey Glazed Ham

This might not exactly be the most traditional Beltane feast in the world, but pineapple glazed ham works for me anytime. I didn't have the chance to make it exactly how I wanted to, but here's my preferred method.

First, you need to boil the ham (preferably a butt portion) for about an hour. This removes all or most of the excess grease. While it is boiling, separate your pineapple slices from the juice in the can. Set the juice aside while putting the slices in a bowl of dark or light rum. Once your ham is ready to go to an oven, pre-heated to 350 degrees, take a large fork and puncture the ham in several places, as deeply as possible. Apply the pineapple juice, and then the rum.

Add a generous amount of honey to the open section of the butt, making sure it is evenly distributed. Place the pineapple slices then strategically, and firmly, on the honey glazed ham. The honey will hold the pineapples in place when you put them in the oven.

As oven temperatures of course will vary, you will need to check every so often, but as a general rule you will need to bake your ham about an hour longer. You ordinarily cook fifteen minutes for every pound, but remember, you have already boiled it for an hour, so you adjust the time. You can tell by looking at it when it is done, as it will start to brown on some areas.

And by the way, don't buy into the nonsense about ham or pork products being a source of swine flu. If anything, eating pork might afford you a degree of resistance to it. I doubt that, but it's just as likely as catching it from them.

Anyway, if you do try this recipe, be sure and tell me how you like it.

Back To The Broom Closet

Wicca and the pagan community are fertile grounds, it seems, for con artists, not only because so many gullible people are attracted to it, but there are so many angles with which to approach it. A good rule of thumb might well be, a person who is morbidly obese might not be the best source in the world for spiritual advice, especially as pertains to occult or magical skills. One might at least assume they are not the best source for dieting advice. Be that as it may, I recently came across this item from Jenn Q. Public.

It would seem that when Marrenna Lindberg isn't plugging her new book from Random House "The Orgasmic Diet" by appearing on TV shows faking orgasms while holding pictures of Stephen Colbert (with whom she has, according to Jenn, a near stalker-like obsession), she engages in bizarre Palin Derangement Syndrome inspired rants on left-wing sites such as Daily Kos. She also spews forth neurotic fantasies involving alleged conspiracies by the previous Administration and Congress to deny funding for her supposed research into female sexuality-which, of course, is obviously something which should be considered a priority of paramount importance in regards to government spending, especially in the face of such trivial matters as a collapsing economy and near record job losses and business closings.

I have a pretty firm way of looking at overweight people who spout off about magic and spirituality when they apply this much-vaunted learning and wisdom to the areas of government and left-wing politics. Without seeing them, you might merely assume they are simply deluded. Once you get a good look at their fat-asses, you then start to realize they might just be full of shit.

Hate Crimes And Misdemeanors

So why do we need any kind of hate crime law? Answer, we don't. We have laws against assault, harassment, and murder. The difference is, the state generally prosecutes such laws, in addition to hate crimes some have on their own statutes, which are also by the way pretty unnecessary. And I know, there are many who will find it a dubious objection at best to claim that any crime committed as a supposed hate crime might leave religious organizations open to liability.

Still, not only is that true, but there is another component that is rarely addressed. Apparently, under this new law, a person charged with committing a crime can be questioned as to their thoughts and motivations. By the feds. The onus is on you, it seems, to prove you weren't engaging in a civil rights violation, if the feds decide to go after you for it.

It might sound paranoid, but I don't want to give that much power to the federal government, or for that matter to any state or local government. It doesn't really matter to me which side is in charge.

The Specter of Defeat

The GOP got an unexpected present for the Beltane holiday-a divorce decree of sorts from long time Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. Now that he is gone, maybe the Republican Party can get back to being what they are supposed to be-the party of fiscal discipline, lower taxes, and small government.

Or, maybe not. The reality seldom fits the illusion, and the reality is, the last six GOP Presidents, at least, have presided over an increase of government. This by the way is including Ronald Reagan.

The party is hurting. You have the ones like Specter who are little more than Democrats to begin with who just ran as Republicans of convenience, adapting to the political realities of the day. Then you have the ones that want to be the Bible Party. Finally, you have the neo-cons who just think small government and the American tradition of neutrality in world affairs is just so passe'. All of them grow the government in their own way or increase its power in one form or another, but now, they look to be intent on tearing the bloody carcass of the party limb from blood-soaked limb, as the true conservatives of the party struggle with the prospect of trying to convince the average American they should pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Not the best time for that, it seems.

Still, even if more of the RINOs follow in Specters wake, it could prove to be the purging the party needs. Of course its still going to be a bloody mess until they decide they really want to win elections again. When they do, they might realize the only way to engage that dream is to put the religious idealism in perspective and rein in the foreign affairs component back to, say, this side of the border.

The Federalist approach is the only way for them to not just survive, but to prosper and grow. I just think that is not going to sink in for some time to come, no matter which wing of the party flies the bird.

Contagious

There is another word for a political gaffe-the truth. And when you have a gaff-o-matic like Joe Biden in the position of Vice-President of the United States, presiding over the Senate, it's pretty obvious you are going to get a regular dose of the truth, whether you particularly want to hear it or not. I suppose we should all count our blessings, except of course it is seldom good news. Recently we've been the recipients of rather disturbing news pertaining to the mutated strain of swine flu that has necessitated the closings of at least one school in Texas and has produced confirmed cases of infestation in several different states, though thankfully, here in the US, there have been no reported deaths. In Mexico, where the disease is said to have originated, however, there have been hundreds. Bearing in mind the flu is just now manifesting here, it makes one wonder just how widespread and dangerous it will get.

Our government seems determined to clamp down on undue anxieties while not denying the problem is serious. Still, they are wanting, it seems, to offer calm reassurance that, at least for now, everything is under control, as they prepare for the eventualities.

Enter Joe Biden, who with one sentence lets us know just how serious it is.

Anytime a Democrat discourages people from using public transportation, that is damn serious business.

I hope everyone had a good time for Beltane, and tomorrow's May Day celebrations. Me, I'm keeping my ass home.

Dancing With Potential Disaster

What kind of people put up business facilities at the base of an active volcano? That's the question I found myself asking as I read this story in the course of researching the current status of Mount Redoubt in Alaska. Evidently, this oil storage facility has been there since the mid-sixties, long after the last major eruption, but it was known to be active even then, nor has it ever been considered a small thing. Three thousand years ago, an eruption of the volcano resulted in the creation of Crescent lake on the volcano's south side.

Oil companies don't seem to care. If they have to pay high insurance prices, they just pass that on to the consumer, and maybe still write it off. If they can't get insurance for facilities such as this, so much the better. If something happens, they can write that off too, in addition to having a ready-made excuse to raise prices. As for state regulators, all they see is the potential for tax revenue-or bribes to keep taxes low.

In the meantime, a major eruption of lava inundating the site could easily result in a disaster that would make the Exxon Valdez look small by comparison.

I was interested in Redoubt due to it's active status and recent eruptions so close to the last Sabbat, Oestra, and so decided to check on its status as of the approach of Beltane. I never expected to stemble across something like this.

Some Joke

Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands dancing the salsa during a Queen's Day tour of some Frisian cities, from Monster And Critics.

It is unclear whether this picture was taken before or after the unfortunate incident during which, while she and her family toured one of the cities in an open-air bus, a man tried to drive a car straight at the Queen's entourage, resulting in the deaths of five bystanders.

It is common in Europe for festival goers to engage in the playing of pranks during the festive season of Walpurgis, the night of April 30th, or on the following May Day. I have yet to see any information as to who was driving the car or what his motivations were, but something tells me it was more than a simple prank conducted for the sake of a rollicking good time.

Queen Beatrix, by the way, is Europe's most powerful monarch, if you measure power according to how much one actually wields over a nation. I have an idea this might have been an Islamic fanatic, which would explain why they are taking their time in releasing the name of the perpetrator, in an understandable yet useless attempt to put a lid on possible reprisals against the overall Islamic community.

If he is a Muslim, I wonder how he would feel about the idea he actually participated, albeit unknowingly, in the time-honored Walpurgis, originally a pagan, tradition of playing pranks-such as it is.

Eminem-Who Can Really Blame You?

It will probably come as a big shock to some people, and might even piss some people off, but I'm a big fan of Eminem, and when he put out his latest release, it didn't come too soon. Here is what seems to be his own YouTube page, to which I just became a subscriber. I highly recommend the currently featured song video "We Made You". I was going to feature it on my blog as part of a Sabbat series for Beltane, but unfortunately, embedding has been disabled for this, and possibly all Eminem videos. I suppose I could download a player for the song. However, while the song is great and stands on its own merits, it would just not be the same without the video.

Bill O'Reilly and others really need to calm down, although I do see their point. The same predictable crowd who would skewer an artist who criticized a leftist politician or other such figure are just as predictably silent about Eminem's rendition of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in this video. Let's be just as clear, however, in noting that many on the right would be similarly silent (if not outwardly applauding) any such skewering of a feminist or any leftist figure. Sarah Palin, while a prominent part of certain parts of the video, is not the only target being skewered here. He also goes after such entertainment icons as:

Britney Spears, Ellen Degeneres, Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer, and various others. In one scene he is in jail with Amy Winehouse. Interspersed among them all are numerous Star-Trek stylized sequences, as well as an Elvis Presley Jailhouse Rock inspired theme. Marshall Mathers, in fact, appears in various guises throughout the video, and manages to be provocative, outrageous, or downright hilarious. In many cases, he manages to be all three.

At the beginning, he requests for Jessica Simpson to sing the chorus, and a Simpson look-alike appears at various intervals throughout the video, in parts wolfing down a humongous hamburger. Although of course it is not really Simpson either acting the role or singing the chorus, whoever does both are quite good, especially the chorus singing. However, make no mistake-Mathers is the star of the video, and many of his expressions-whether confused, pretentious, lusting, or just his deadpan personas-almost put him on the level of a Charlie Chaplin type figure.

The point to the video, at least to me, is not an attempt to slam Sarah Palin or any politician, or in fact any celebrity. The point is not making fun of them so much as all of us who, in our star-obsessed, celebrity driven madness, are ready to roundly denounce and denigrate them at the slightest opportunity. Yet, we can't seem to get enough of them, can we? Sarah Palin was in fact put in this situation, a bona-fide celebrity who was loved yet loathed by many. Yet who are any of us to judge her, or for that matter any of the people, known as "stars", represented on this video?

As the song points out in the chorus sung by "Jessica" to the "rock star"-

"We're the ones who made you."

Time For A New Wave Of Blaxploitation Films

Back in the nineteen seventies, the so-called blaxploitation films were everywhere. They were of varying degrees of quality. You had major hits like Shaft and Superfly, along with sleeper hits like the vampire film Blacula, as well as less successful offerings such as Blackenstein. My all-time favorite blaxploitaiton film would have to be The Thing With Two Heads.

No matter how good or bad, they all had one thing in common-the obvious attempt to tap into the potential of the urban black movie market. It kind of went by the wayside by the time the eighties rolled around, but all trends seem to have revivals at one time or another, with the exception so far, thankfully, of Roller Disco. It would appear the blaxploitation genre is no exception to this revival rule, and it might well have been encouraged by the recent election of Barak Obama.

Enter the film Obsessed, starring Beyonce Knowles as a savvy, tough, sexy and beautiful housewife and mother, married to a successful black businessman, played by Idris Elba (a former co-star of the BBC version of The Office), who is being stalked by a-gasp-

WHITE BITCH!

Okay, it's obvious what is going on here. This white former first lady office temp, played by Ali Larter, is going to ruin our hero's life, all because she is obviously obsessed with great big long hard humongous black cock winning the love of a successful, secure, and stable black businessman. Deep down, she must know she could ruin his life, to say nothing of his chances of becoming President of the USA the most successful black businessman in the world.

Fortunately, our black hero is far stronger than that weak-ass cracker Michael Douglas in Fatal Attraction. Even though he does engage in a little relatively harmless flirting, he resists the snares of the evil WHITE BITCH! She gradually loses all sense of perspective and becomes ever more aggressive, until she finally goes on the attack, even going so far as to accuse our heroine of stalking her out of jealousy.

Finally, all of this is resolved satisfactorily with a kick-ass sequence where our heroine Michelle Beyonce actually does just that. Kicks some ass, cos you know there is no WHITE BITCH! that can go toe-to-toe against a sister and come out on top, no matter how fucking crazy she is.

In the end, our hero's career and reputation is saved, along with his marriage and family. He proves that, yes, just like Barak Obama, a black man can be a dependable, solid, stable, secure, and yes, even successful business man and pillar of his community. And as long as he has a good, strong, sexy, beautiful, kick-ass wife willing to stand beside him, no WHITE BITCH! is ever going to break them up-or down.

Now by golly, that's the way it should be, huh?

South Africa-Personality Cult In The Making?

Last Wednesday, April 22nd, the voters of the nation of South Africa by an overwhelming majority reaffirmed the position of the ANC (African national Congress) as the majority party in power, all but assuring ANC leader Jacob Zuma will be the nation's next president. Zuma earlier ousted former President Mbeki as head of the ANC after a bitter and prolonged power struggle, during which Mbeki was accused of interfering in Zuma's trial on charges of corruption.

This was not the first time Zuma had been in legal troubles. During the apartheid era, he found himself exiled, and was also for a time in the same prison with Nelson Mandela. More recently, he found himself the center of a rape accusation, during which he defended himself by insisting the sex was consensual, and further outraged feminists and other critics when, in explaining the circumstances of his sexual liaison with a woman who also happened to be an AIDS victim, explained that after intercourse he made sure he showered immediately in order to ward off infection.

He has also received criticism from many quarters because he is a practicing polygamist. The biggest question about Zuma's ascension to the presidency seems to be which one of his six wives will be his official first lady, or whether this duty will in fact be assumed by his daughter, who is described as his closest confidante and supporter.

There is one potential hurdle for Zuma, however, which could pose a more serious obstacle to his chances of assuming the office of President of South Africa-the potential and threatened split from the ANC by supporters of former President Mbeki.

To a degree, this might appear on the surface to be an outgrowth of tribal rivalries. The Zulus, though the largest tribe within South Africa, have previously held next to no power within the ANC, and therefore, owing to the monopoly of power the ANC has held over the nation's politics, they have enjoyed practically no influence whatsoever. Zuma's election and influence stands to change all of that, and in fact his position as the head of the ANC already has. For the first time, the Zulus have a sea at the table-a very prominent one. Still, there are other more subtle forces at work here than the mere influence of tribal rivalries.

The ANC has recently formed an alliance with the South African Communist Party, and though it is unsure just how aligned Zuma is with them, it is possibly telling that he has dispatched cadres into various institutions as a means of weeding out "intellectuals". He has also made noises about limiting the independent power of the South African judiciary.

At rallies he has been known to sing an old song from his revolutionary anti-apartheid days, "Bring Me My Machine Gun"-possibly not the most appropriate tune with which to signal what Zuma has promised his skeptical critics will be a return to the conciliatory policies of the Mandela era.

Though Zuma is apparently a Christian, like the vast majority of Zulus, who happen to be the most conservative tribe in South Africa-according to Patrick Joubert Conlon, who was formerly a white citizen of South Africa-it may well be cause for concern that the most pro-business faction of the ANC, led by Mr. Mbeki, is now out of power, while the strongest alliance within the party seems to be with the communist faction.

Does Jacob Zuma have the potential to be a healing and conciliatory influence within South African politics, as he proclaims his intentions are, or is this just another personality cult in the making? Will he turn out to be just another in a long line of third world thugs destined to reign over yet another dismal epoch in post-colonial African political history? Or, will he just turn out to be a clownish figure with no real clue as to the proper handling of power once he has it tentatively within his grasp for a relatively brief period of time? Only time will tell.

Jacob Zuma participating in what appears to be some sort of ritual tribal dance while dressed in what is described as traditional Zulu attire. Note the gym shoes.

Games, Amusements, And Follies

I call this one, "Pin The Tail On The Stupid Motherfucking Jackass Idiot".

This Sunday on ABC News This Week With George Stephanopoulus, the subject came up about the prospect of a projected nine and one half trillion dollar deficit spending over the course of the next ten years. To play this game, you must successfully pick the stupid motherfucking jackass idiot within ten seconds or less. Your two choices are-

POINT-George Will-The nine and one half trillion dollar projected spending deficit will lead to much higher interest rates, and therefore serve to drag the economy further down.

COUNTERPOINT-Donna Brazile-Families don't really care so much about deficits, they are only concerned about saving jobs.

READY, SET-GO!

Oklahoma-The People Have Spoked

And they have, for whatever reason, chosen native sons The Flaming Lips "Do You Realize" as the Official State Rock Song of Oklahoma. This was an on-line poll, mind you, and it had to meet the ultimate approval of the governor and the state legislature. The State Senate passed the resolution unanimously, but it met objection from the State House of Representatives when one member in particular voiced objection to one of the Lips unfortunate tendency to appear in public clad in a tee-shirt emblazoned with the hammer-and-sickle. The governor passed the resolution over the House's objections, in effect pretty much overriding their veto.

Following is the song as performed during an appearance on the David Letterman show. From all appearances, it would seem the Dread Dormammu has striped Doctor Strange of his true memories and given him the personality of a rock singer from Oklahoma with an English accent.

Do you realize you have a beautiful face, and that everyone around you will die? The sun doesn't really go down, you know, its just an illusion caused by the earth spinning round.

It's not really that bad a song. It's got a good beat, it's kind of catchy, but-uhhh, the Official State Rock Song of Oklahoma? Of any state? I know the band is native Okies but is this the best in their repertoire?



Are the people of Oklahoma cursed with shitty musical taste? I think the House of Represetatives may have just been trying to politely offer them a way out.

Hat Tip-Wonkette

Lost In Translation

I think I might have possibly figured out the mystery of Lost, which is in itself an incredibly amazing announcement to make for no other reason than I rarely watch the series. In fact, I could probably come close to listing the entire number of episodes I've actually watched, from the beginning up to and including the current season five, on two hands.

Well, since the next season, season six, is determined to be the last, I decided I would ruin it for anybody unfortunate enough to stumble on this blog post. I'm not giving any guarantees, of course, nor do I have any inside information. Still, it just occurred to me, if this is going where I think it is, it's not exactly an original idea. In fact, it's been done twice, not on television, but by Marvel Comics, in the personages of two characters, Ego and Krakoa.

In other words, whether the Dharma Initiative actually, purposely or accidentally, birthed and developed it, or whether it tapped into it and spurred its development-whether it is a collective consciousness like Krakoa or an individual sentient life-force like Ego-

The island is a sentient living being with some degree or other of consciousness. In other words, it's a living, feeling, thinking being in its own right.

Maybe. Just maybe.

What You Don't Want To Know-Don't Ask

This is just plain nuts. If Perez Hilton represents the gay community, they've got a long, hard road ahead of them if they're trying to gain acceptance and overall support. Make no mistake about it, Perez Hilton-whom most people previously knew next to nothing about-has with this sorry episode attempted to make himself a household name, parlaying the controversy he created at the Miss USA Beauty Pageant into some kind of aim for personal recognition and influence with the gay community. But to what overall effect?

The really strange thing is, I agree with him about gay marriage, or at least what he said on the second video, which he posted on his website shortly after the Miss USA debacle-the states should decided. I would add the caveat that the state legislatures should decide, not the state judiciaries. At the same time, as a rule of thumb, its best to keep in mind that, if you don't want to know a person's honest opinion on any given subject-don't ask. Failing that, if you don't get the answer you want, don't act like a fucking asshole about it.

Miss USA contestant Miss California-Carrie Prejean-she did not give the answer Perez Hilton wanted or expected to hear. Though it might well have cost her the crown, she gave her honest opinion, however incoherently it might have seemed at times. For one, all American's don't have the right to choose gay marriage. She obviously meant they have the right to their opinion on the subject-which they do, whether the likes of Perez Hilton likes it or not-but her mangled answer in the midst of an otherwise flawless run for the Miss USA title is testament that questions like this are better avoided, for obvious reasons.



In his follow-up response on his web-site, Perez Hilton showed what a self-absorbed numbskull he really is. Earth to Perez Hilton-most of the American people are smart enough to distinguish cheers from boos. Such obvious propaganda calls into question the veracity of his entire body of work as a celebrity gossip-monger on his self-named pseudonymous web-site, which he boastfully describes as the "most hated web-site in Hollywood".



The bottom line here as I see it-Perez Hilton did not get pissed off because Miss California does not believe in gay marriage. He is merely jolted that, having manipulatively posed a question which he felt she would be obliged to answer in a way pleasing to him, she had the temerity to give her actual opinion despite the obvious fact that it was not what he, a judge of the pageant, wanted to hear.

In other words, Carrie Prejean showed him for the fucking fool he obviously is, for all the world to see. He followed up by proving to all of us just what a fucking prick he is, in no uncertain terms.

This is a man who suggests that people should vote for Matthew Lambert as the next American Idol, not because he's the best, but just because he's openly gay. Why Donald Trump would want to have somebody like that as a judge of this contest is beyond my comprehension.

Hilton ended his video rant by saying it was time for a "cocktail".

No. I guess I'd better not.

Iran's President Recommends Fairness For Imprisoned American Journalist

Roxanna Saberi, an independent journalist with duel American-Iranian citizenship, was recently convicted in an Iranian court of espionage and sentenced to a lengthy prison term. Recently, none other than Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinajahd has encouraged the convicted reporter be given a full and fair defense in the course of her appeal.

Ahmadinajahd's concerns and stated recommendations probably have to do not so much with the expressed concerns of President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton as they do with the up-coming election which pits him against a former President who favors improved relations with Washington.


There has been a crackdown on dissent in Iran as the country prepares for a presidential election June 12 that pits Ahmadinejad against former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, who favors better ties with the U.S. At least five editors and writers are imprisoned in Iran, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

In noting that Saberi, also a former Miss North Dakota and Miss America finalist, is not the only reporter being held in Iran on charges of spying and espionage, the report nevertheless fails to note others likewise imprisoned. One of these is an American graduate student who was in Iran writing a thesis on the Iranian Women's Movement, in addition to a former FBI agent allegedly abducted from an island near the coast of Iran who was involved in an investigation into cigarette smuggling.

Nevertheless, despite the other alleged detainees, and the widespread reported abuse of women and minorities in Iran, to say nothing of the conflicting reports as to Miss Saberi's health and general well-being in the course of this ordeal, this might be a possible glimmer of hope for some change leading to a potential thawing in the three-decades long difficulties in American-Iranian relations.

Still, even if this particular case presents the best possible outcome, it is obviously going to be, as they say, a long, hard slog toward complete normalization of relations, assuming that ever does come about.

Those Radical Right-Wing Tea-Baggers

It's hard to imagine how anyone could legitimately believe the Tea Party movement is a genuine threat to domestic security, and I don't believe for one minute that the Department of Homeland Security commissioned its report detailing the allegedly dangerous growth of right-wing extremist groups with that movement in mind.

However, it is very easy for me to believe that the Democratic Party and its elected officials and operatives might well view the Tea Party movement as a political threat to their agenda. As such, I refuse to believe anything else other than the Department of Homeland Security purposely leaked the report to the media prior to April 15th in order to coincide with the tax filing deadline day's scheduled Tea Party movement protests, probably with the intention that the average American should look at them as potentially dangerous right-wing extremists. I think they did this not only purposely, but with the full knowledge and approval of current Director Janet Napolitano.

Unfortunately for them, I think they opened the wrong can of whoop-ass, and I seriously doubt they can put it back in. Now its up to the movement to prove they can grow in not only numbers, but relevance. They seem to have got off to a rollicking good start with tens of thousands in attendance at various events across the country. Only time will tell how successful they are from this point on.

One piece of advice I would give them, just for now-all references to tea-bags are best avoided.

The Long And Winding Road

I think it was the fault of an overzealous prosecution that Phil Spector's first trial for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson ended in a hung jury, but the second trial ended the way it should have. In fact, the only way it could have by any reasonable criterion. Spector was convicted of second degree murder.

He could have been convicted of manslaughter. Although he might legitimately be accused of murder in the first degree, the evidence was just not there.

Not too cold, not too hot. Not too hard, not too soft. Just right.

Now, the man who once held Dee Dee Ramone at gun point in a recording studio, the man who once fired a bullet into the ceiling during the course of a John Lennon recording session, the man who has pulled guns on countless female companions, and the man who kept his wife and sons, whom he allegedly subjected to sexual abuse, prisoners in their own homes, might well spend the rest of his life in prison.

In the meantime, I have to wonder if all of this is really the tip of a very large iceberg. Spector strikes me as one of these kinds of guys who might well get his jollies off the sport of luring unsuspecting young boys and girls, as well as desperate adults, would-be singers and actresses down on their luck and looking for their first break, or a way out of the prostitution hell-hole into which they slid from an ill-advised foray into hard-core pornography, drug addicted and desperate.

I can picture him subjecting them to humiliating torture and the vilest forms of degradation until he finally took their lives. How many victims breathed their last behind Phil Spector's soundproofed walls?

Nor do I suspect that Phil Spector is the only man of means capable of such inhuman cruelty. He just seems to stand out as the most likely of perpetrators, for obvious reasons. There are multiple people who like the sense of power over the weak and helpless, and the thrill it brings them to hold the power of life-and-death over their hands. For one brief second, Phil Spector, in the case of Lana Clarkson, held such godlike power. It might well indeed by the first time he actually took it to this extent, but I am reasonably sure the thought crossed his deranged mind on numerous occasions. Whether he actually acted on them before the night he killed Clarkson, we'll probably never know.

It is nice to know that he will never do it again.