John Roberts Is Catholic-Now We Can Worry

Okay, so now I'm worried, not so much about Roe v Wade, though that is troubling. In fact, my concerns with the Catholic Church began pretty much with the last election, when certain Bishops threatened to withold communion from John Kerry due to his Pro-Choice beliefs. This of course could easily have been interpreted as interference by representatives of a sovereign nation-the Vatican-in the internal affairs of U.S. politics. Thankfully, the various Bishops were divided on this issue, some issuing objections to this policy, and we were never quite sure exactly where the Vatican itself stood. Though there were rumblings.

But even this stance fell fall short of the recent self-serving position recenty advocated by a group of American Bishops as regarding U.S. border policy. They in effect called for an easing of border restrictions, an appeal for amnesty for curent illegals, aid for those illegals who may get in dire straights as a result of flouting our laws, and allowing ever more imigrants to move here legally.

This is self-serving, obviously so, when you consider the statistics. The Catholic Church-and the Vatican-gets the largest share of it's financial contributions from the pockets of American Catholics, more than from any other single group, possibly even more than all others combined. Yet, at the same time, it is a fact that Church conversions are down, as is overall church attendance amongst American Catholics. For the past twenty or thirty years, there has been a troubling shortage of priests and seminarians. If the downward trend continues, it can bode no good for the American Cathoic Church, or the Catholic Church in general, as financial contributions can not for very long fail to also decline, in fact they probably have somewhat all ready done so.

Then, you realize, the majority, if not all, of Mexican immigrants are Catholic, and would add a considerable number of practising members. In time, this would lead to an increase in donations, as well as a much needed boost in seminarians and priests. The Catholic hierarchy aren't just looking at Mexican immigrants and seeing a cash cow, of course. They are seeing a whole damned herd, crossing the desert, swimming the Rio Grande, from California to Texas, and they want them roped and branded. Not only for the reasons I have mentioned, but due to the fact the Mexicans are for the most part socially conservative. Which bring us to the most important, and scariest, reason of all for the Catholic border position. That many faithful, and grateful, practising Catholics, presumably regular church attendees and generous donors, soon to become American citizens, would prove to be one hell of a voting bloc. A socialy conservative, presumably pliant voting bloc that would vote for the candidates who would certainly increase, and perhaps ultimately cement, the Catholic Church in America's power in Washington, possibly to a position of unchallenged control.

This brings us back to the issue of John Roberts. He will doubtless be confirmed in his position on the Supreme Court, though it might turn out to be a nastier struggle than I had envioned. Once this occurs, what would happen if there are tough new immigration laws passed, one for example that might seem fair, yet at the same time seeks to limit immigration to manageable levels, and at the same time adopts a policy aimed at rigidly enforcing current border policies to ensure that the only Mexican immigrants that move here are the ones who do so legally, out in the open? That all others are stopped at the border, and turned away? That those who are caught after sneaking in are immediately sent back, with the admonition they will never be allowed to return? That there will be penalties for employers caught hiring undocumented ilegal aliens, or for anyone else that aids them in such a way as to be intended to assist them in staying here illegally? That cities who allow the presence of illegal aliens as a policy in oppossition to federal laws will be cut off from all future federal funding and other federal aid as a consequence?

Whatever the laws might state, regardless of how well worded and considered, it will no doubt face stiff legal challenges, which would more than likely eventually place it before the Supreme Court. In such an event, how will John Roberts vote? Conservative, Catholic, John Roberts?

No, I don't like the looks of it.

The Pro-Choice Movement Meltdown-To Make It Clear

Something I should have added in my last post on this subject, was very important, and yet in my haste I neglected to add one very important detail. I asserted that a parent or parents have evry right to be informed when their young daughter attempts to have an abortion. Some people have taken this to mean that I am advocating that the girl should have their parents consent to have the abortion, that she should not be allowed to have one without her parents permission. Nothing could be furhter from the truth. While I wouldn't go so far as to say it is none ofthe parents business, they certainly should have no say in the matter. They simply have the right to be informed. After all, this is certainly a serious procedure being discussed here, much more serious, for example, than having a mole removed, which no respectful medical professional would perform on an underrage person without the knowledge of the parents. In a procedure such as this, indeed, the parents should be required to give their permission.

However, whether or not to have a child is arguably the most life altering decision a person can make. Way too many young girls actually decide to go through with a pregnancy, in fact I have known of young girls who have tried to get pregnant. They just have this desire to have a baby, and for a variety of reasons. Some get it in their heads that there is money they can make through government agencies, some are simply out for the love and nurturing companionship that comes from being a mother, or perhaps they think they can actually become a real adult through this process and possibly even get the "man" of their dreams.

Would any reasonable, sane adult person advocate that this is a matter of privacy, that the girls parents have no right to interfere or even to be informed of such a stupid activity as this on their daughters part? I would most certainly hope not. How, then, does it follow the parents have no right to be informed as to their daughters seeking an abortion? It doesn't make any sense.

I repeat, the parents should be informed, however, they should have no say in the matter, and the girl should be allowed to have the abortion. In fact, I would if I had my way about it take it even farther than that, and say that a young girl, under the legal age of adulthood, should actually not be allowed to go through with a pregnancy-with or without their parents consent and, for that matter, whether or not they themselves want the abortion.

Think about it. When a teenage girl goes through puberty, she is physically capable of becomming pregnant and carrying a baby, and of giving birth. This can happen as early in most cases at the age of twelve, and in some cases even earlier than this. There is just no legitimate reason for allowing this to happen. Seeing as how in most states it would be illegal for a girl that age to even consent to the act of sexual intercourse, then how does it follow that they should be allowed to become mothers, to give birth, to raise a child?

This is a case where religous and social extremism should give way to common sense, and to legitimate concerns for children, as oppossed to the religous claptrap that passes for it. For once, I would like to see both sides of an issue actually work for the benefit of the children they purport to want to protect, as oppossed to merely using them as the typical pawns they all so often become.

Teacher Of The Year-Deborah LeFave

Why would anyone in their right mind want to prosecute this woman, when they should be promoting her, for goodness sake? Now, I'm not going to go into this hackneyed business witht he obvious jokes about wishing I had a teacher like that. Simply put, in my case, it damend sure wouldn't be a joke. Now, before I go further, I will admit that a math teacher should be teaching math, and nothing but math, same with history, English, etc.

But hey, why invest so much damned money in sex education and not even teach sex? I mean, you learn by doing, right? And women teachers like Debbie LeFave could be a real godsend, beuase any red-blooded heterosexual American male would absolutely love to do it with her. So why not take advantage of the situation. I mean, the guys are willing. She is obviously willing, and I would wager plenty of others would be as well.

This would be providing a real service. Of course, young girls shouldn't be taught sex in this manner, as they shouldn't be penetrated by a grown man. It's just different for girls than it is for boys, politically correct claptrap to the contrary. But even they can benefit overall from young boys being brought to sexual maturity by a teacher adept at the subject. For one thing, the guys would only get to fuck the teacher once they passed the requisite social skills tests involved, as a reward. In effect, they would have to learn to treat females in general with the respect that they deserve. How could that be a bad thing?

And if the parents of any young boy did not want their young sons to be included in the program, they would have the right to refuse to give permission for it. And that would be it. Of course, that isn't going to be easily made up by a camping trip or a few extra dollars allowance. But life is a bitch, after all.

A Wicked Spell Troll This Way Cums

This is a magical spell that I would not advise any witch to perform. Howevr I feel I am providing a service by informing you of the type of spells that are possible. Not that you should do them. Just be aware of them. Because spells such as this one are negative,and can backfire. And besides, it is just wrong to manipulate people's free will by using magic to make them do your bidding. However, IF YOU WANTED TO DO ONE, AND ABSOLUTELY FELT YOU HAD TO, THIS WOULD BE AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TO :

FUCK YOUR TEACHER

You will need a large red candle, in the middle of an altar. At the north, you will need an apple. At the east, a censor, or a stick of incense. At the south, a brazier. And at the west, a cup of wine. Invoke the elements as you cast the circle, calling Power Earth at the North, as you ritually empower the apple; Powerair at the est, as you ritually empower the incense and light it; Power Fire at the south as you ritually empower the brazier, which you will light; At west, invoke power water as you ritually empower the wine. Return to the north, and pick up the apple. Carry it to the east, allowing the smoke of the incense to waft over the apple. Carry it to the south, allowing the heat of the brazier's flames (use small bit of alcohol for this flame, and some toilet tissue to extend the life of the flame, but be cautious) to anfuse the apple with it's power. Proceed back to the west, where you will sip the wine, after which you will proceed to the center of the ritual space, and kneel before the candle. Have beside the candle a bowl, in which you should pour the wine into. Using the power of your visualization, see yourself having an affair with your favorite teacher as you push the apple down into the empowered wine. Hold it there as you project the energy of your sexual passion of your visualizations into the apple.

Once you are finished with the visualization to your satisfaction, release the elements, thanking them for their assistance. Wrap the apple in a specially preparee ritual cheeseloth, and place in a safe spot, preferably in your refrigerator, for purpioses of protecting it.

The next time you see your teacher, during class, you will have the apple with you. This is important: do not offer the apple to the teacher, or leave it on his or her desk. Simply carry it on your person through the entirety of the class, ensuring that you participate in class discussions, etc., while maintaining eye contact with your teacher. However, if he or she asks, at the end of class, if the apple is for him or her, simply hand it to the teacher, saying "it's yours if you want it". Then, without another word, simply walk out, pausing just long enough to look back at him or her and smile.

It will only be a matter of time.

Pregos And Their Sex Addict Babies

I've fucked a lot of pregnant chicks in my time. I don't know why, when I was married, I wouldn't fuck my wife when she was pregnant for the life of me. But that was different. Give me a woman who is pregant by another man-especially, most especially, by her husband, and I will fuck her over and over and over again. I get a perverse thrill out of it. What the hell, I can't get her pregnant, right? I used to enjoy telling guys whose wives were pregant that I loved to fuck pregant women that were married to other guys. They would just give me this look. Now, I wouldn't be talking about their wives, of course. Heh, heh, heh.

But recently, I got to wondering, just what am I doing? Am I creating a whole line of sex addicts? I'm serious here. Face it, if a pregnat woman takes drugs, or drinks heavily, or even smokes cigarrettes, while pregant, it is pretty much an establshed fact that their babies are going to be born addicted to whatever substance the mothers were ingesting during their preganancies.

It is also an established fact by now that sex can be an addiction. Sooo, if I fuck a pregant woman, am I possibly going to cause that baby to be a sex addict? And is this possibly the reason there are so many sex addicted people in the world now to begine with? After all, sex during pregnancy was pretty much considered taboo before the nineteen sixties, though I'm sure quite a few pregnant women did engage in the act. But not like nowadays.

Now before anybody ridicules this notion, there is one more pertinent fact to be considered. Not only does a baby ingest whatever substance it's mother ingests while it is being carried by her, but it actually feels the same emotions as the mother. That would include what the mother is feeling when I'm getting her hot as a rocket, the feelings she has while I am fucking her, the emotions she feels when she is having an orgasm.

In conclusion, the question becomes not will these babies be born sex addicts, but rather, how could they not be?

Mercury And Autism-Part III

There was recently a protest in Washington, D.C., that got precous little press coverage, as it involves families who have very serious reservations pertaining to the latest pronouncements of the Centers For Disease Control, and other organs of government. In effect, concerning the effects of the use of mercury in childhood vacinnes, and the potential link to the recent escalation in cases of autism in children, which they would have us believe is non-existent. There is no scientific evidence to establish any such link, they say.

So why was the use of mercury discontinued, if that were the case? Just to be on the safe side? Just in case? Seems unlikely, as the properties of mecury would otherwise make it amenable for continued use, otherwise it would not have been utilized to begin with. And, indeed, it is still being used in a number of booster shots, and in some flu vaccines. Why is this the case? Does common sense not dictate the use of caution? Why take such a chance? Or is this the reason for the CDC's denials? Again, is it a matter of money overriding the true public interest, even that of the health of the nations children?

Then, there is the issue of overseas sending of these vaccines to foreign countries that are expriencing epidemics. This could indeed cause a real diplomatic nightmare for the U.S. in the future. And it could also cause a future settlement in the hundreds of billions of dollars to be appropriate, possibly necessitating a government bail out of the entire pharmaceutical industry. The only other option might be seeing our pharmaceutical industry giants being forced to sell out, possibly to foreign companies, whose hands the nations health might then be in the grip of.
But even if the pharmaceutical companies survive, or are replaced with other domestic companies, this will not make up for the lives of thousands, possibly tens of thousands of families, both here and abroad,whose lives may have been ruined forever by this gross neglect and abuse.

If it is the truth, that is. But the concerns of these parents should be heard, and given all due consideration. The claims should be investigated, not by the CDC, or the FDA, or any other such agency which is little more than a wholly owned subsidiarie of the pharmaceuatcal industry. But by the Justice Department itself. Nor would live hearings before Congress be wholly inappropriate.

The Pro Choice Movement Meltdown

While the recent protests in Washington, over the denial of links of Mercury in childhood vaccines to autism, were going on and getting precous little coverage, the media chose instead to focus on the on-going protests and dire warnings of doom issued by various Pro-Choice groups concerned over the reent nomination of John Roberts, of the Fifth U.S. District Curt of Washington, D.C., to the U.S. Supreme Court.

They just aren't going to give up, it seems, until Bush relents and nominates somebody that everyone knows for a fact is a rabid anti-abortion judge who will most definitely, without question, vote eventually to overturn Roe v. Wade. Unlike Roberts, whose only pronouncements ont he subject were as an attorney while in the porocess of representing his client. Yet, Roberts has as well, it turns out, had clients that required him to advocate from a liberal position. In one case, he advocated agaisnt a business consortium that wanted to take over an area made up of private home owners, in order to promote some kind of business development. There simply is no way of knowing where he stands onthe abortion issue. If I had to guess I would imagne that he is probably aganst it. But does it follow he is going to agitate for an excuse to overturn an established court precedent. I hardly think that is likely. Courts do not in general like to overturn precedents, as they would not like their own to one day be overturned. The few exceptions to these have certainly been understandable and appropriate. Brown v. Board of Eduacation was one such decison to overturn precedent.

So what are the extremists in the Pro-Choice crowd so worried about? The possible answer to this lies in the recent controversy involving the rights of parental notification. In other words if a teenage girl decides to get an abortion. They are against any such laws, on privacy grounds. The old canard they usualy float is that some parents may have molested their daughters, neices, and therefore they have a right to hide the abortion from these abusers. I am ashamed to admit it, but I at first bought this argment, actually took it at face value. But it's a stupid argument. To begin with, if a man impregnated his own dauhgter, I would imagine he would be more than happy to agree to her getting an abortion. Furthermore, the minute the paper work is made out, and they find out this is the reason the girl has not as yet gotten parental consent to have the abortion, they will certainly take care of that problem, with all it's potential consequences.

So what's the problem here? A young girl, or boy, who is under age, can not get any kind of medical procedure without parental consent. Why should an abortion be any different? It is just unreasonable to promote such a right, or to fight any law that is meant actually to insure the protection of the young and vulnerable from the dangers of abuse. Some of these people have never seen an abortion they didn't like or couldn't approve of, it seems, and they will brook no interference from anyone.

So then that brings up the question, what is the real problem with Roberts, other than his potential support of parental notification, and his probable readiness to support limits on third trimester abortions? Is this nothing, when all is said and done, but a massive fund raising effort on the part of the Pro-Choice groups? Would they make even more in the way of contributions if they could force Bush to nominate another Clarence Thomas? If so, then that is pretty pathetic, and would reveal the truth to something that I have suspected for some time now. That the movers and shakers, the leaders, of the Pro-Choice Movement, have taken it to the point that it really isn't about women's reproductive freedom and privacy rights anymore. It's just another big business with fiscal targets projections.

Eric Rudolph

The anti-abortion movement, the so-called Pro-Life movement, have always struck me as being anything but. The most radical ones are against stem cell research, they are against birth control, or sex education in public schools, with the exception of abstinence only education, and finally, they are against public assistance for unwed mothers. Yet, they insist that all abortion is evil, and murder, and should not be allowed under any circumstances. Small wonder that the movement would from time to time produce such monsters as Eric Rudolph, who was recently sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole for his role in several abortion clinic bombings, the results of which included the death of a police officer who worked off duty as a guard at the clinic, as well as the partial blinding and disfigurement of a nursewho worked there.

This same nurse, at Rudolph's sentencing, was given the opportunity to question the monster, and did so with the following question: "who appointed you to rule over the lives of all women?"

I could answer that question for her. He receives his comands from such notables as "Doctor" James Dobson, the Rev. Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and finally, dare I say it, the last two recent Popes. Yes, I include John Paul II as being one of this sick and deluded man's enablers. Listen closely to the words they speak on this issue. It is not what they say, or even how they say it, so much as it is the medium in which it is presented, and to whom. These are people to whom their religous beliefs are everything, and if you do not agree with them, you are of the devil. Satan. Demon Possessed. It doesn't take a whole lot of effort, even if it is honestly not your intention, when you are dealing with this kind of mind-set, to ignite the fuse of hatred and religous intolerance.

With these people, we have our own set of homegrown terrorists, and they are every bit as fanatical, as evil, as determined, as the Muslims of the Middle East who engage in their own perverted version of Islam in much the same fashion. And if you get on their wrong side, they will kill you just as quickly, and just as gleefully. After all, they are doing it for the greater glory of God.

Living Hell

A lot of pagans, and others as well, are of the opinion that hell does not truly exist, that it is a fantasy place invented by religous leaders in order to frighten the gullible masses into compliance with their social order they would seek to impose, and in fact have done so pretty sucessfully. There is certainly some validity to this idea, and relifgous leaders have prety mcuh used the threat of hell for exactly this purpose.

However, as a Hellenic pagan, I am not so sure this is the entire story. Hell fits into my mythology, and many others as well. So I have always wondered, if hell does exist, just what exactly is it, and where? Why was it created? And by whom?

I have come to the conclusion that if hell exists, we are ourselves the creators of it. Hell is the make-up of our deepest fears, and if we let those fears, and all our negative aspects, gain control of our lives, we are literally building our own hell one day at a time. With our greed, our envy, our hatred, our anger, our arrogance,al the negativity with which the human race has been afflicted fromt he beginning of it's existence. After all, since all energy can neither be created or destroyed, but only changes form, then what becomes of the energy of our negative emotions when we die? What if we become sobound up in that negativity, are controlled by it to such an extent, that our very life essence becomes entrapped within it, and contains us therefore after our death?

I used to wonder, if there is a hell, who would go there? What about Hitler? Surely he would qualify, if anyone would. I acaully saw a vision pertaining to this, in a dream. Hitler was standing in a desolate landscape, surrounded by mud as far as the eye could see. To his left was a very steep embankment, also muddy, up which he desperately yet futilly tred to climb, always sliding back down to the level muddy ground beneath him, as a raging leopard, it looked to be, stalked him relentlessly. After some time, the leopard pounced Hitler, and began thrashing and gnawing mercillessly at him, tearing into him, while he screamed in pain and agony, yet aware of the hopelessness of his situation. For this was to be his eternal fate, from now on, throughout eternity, without any let-up, save when the beast let up long enough to allow him to make still another useless run up the steep muddy hill,at which point he would slide down yet again, to be mauled all over again. What a fate, I thought when I awoke. Yet, fitting.

The leopard was obviously, to my way of thinking, Hitler's own cruelty and unreasoning hatred, projected right back at him. While the landscape itself could have been Hitlers' own bleak outlook for the world that he himself had once so mercilessly ravaged. A hell that he, not any deity, had created. And one that he is apparrently stuck with. It would almost be cruel to taunt him by saying somehting like, "make the most of it", becuae that is what in a sense he has all ready done.

No wonder people prefer the thought of reincarnation to that of hell, when you stop to think about it. Not that this, if true, necessarilly negates the possibility of reincarnation, or any other type of aftelife philosophy. Remember, we make our own way. That could to a great many people indeed be some form of reincarnation. And remember, if you make your own hell, it only stands to reason that you can also make your own heaven. It's just how you live your life today that paves the way to one or the other.

Andrea Mitchell And The Sudan Affair

Ms. Mitchell has been livid the last few days over recent events in the African nation of The Sudan, where instead of reporting the story of Secretary of State Condoleeza Rices meeting with the dictator ofthat nation, she became in fact what would appear to be the most important element of that story. She had tried to ask the leader of the coutnry a question pertaining to his efforts, or more acurately the lack thereof, to put an end to the recent murders in the Darfur region, where entire villags have been destroyed, while the inhabitants have been left homeless and destitute-or savagely murdered. When she asked this question, she was gruffly grabbed by the Sudanese security guars present, and carried by force out of the chambers. This was recorded by the cameras present. Rice's assistant Secretaryof State was also made to leave, as was Rice's translator. Soon, there was no one capable of carrying on a conversation, so they just sat there and smiled at each other. Rice later complained that this type of thing wasn't appropriate for a free press, whereupon she was informed that there was no free press in the Sudan.

Yet, this Third World thug expects aid from the United States, and expects his country to be taken off the list of nations that sponsor terrorism. He actually wants to re-establish diplomatic and trade relations, and in the meantime, what aid he has in the past received, has all but disappearred, probably into a Swiss bank account. What arrogance!

The United Stats should outright refuse any further aid to this megalomaniac. After all, this is our tax money which is being grossly missappropriated, or will be if aid is granted. In the meantime, it should be pointed out to him, quietly though in no uncertain terms, that were he and his regime to disappear tomorrow, whatever might eventually rise to take it's place couldn't be any worse, even if it tried to be.

Bush Assassination Plot

It turns out that Bush has recently been given yet another reason to imagine that he has been divinely pre-ordained to lead not only the nation, but indeed the world, in his efforts to spread democracy throughout the world. In other words, to translate, in his efforts to make the world safe for multi-national corporations to produce cheap goods with cheap labor paid with slave wages, and in the meantime to force the reduction of wages here in this country on the grounds of keeping America "competitive".

But he may have overstepped the bounds of propriety by involving himself in the recent elections in the Eastern European nation of Georgia, formerly a Socialist Republic of the old Soviet Union. While he was going for a friendly little drive with Vladimir Putin in the latters car in Russia, in what has to have been one of the silliest photo ops ever devised, he was chomping at the bits to ensure fair elections in the former Soviet republic, which Putin would dearly love to see fall back into the Russian sphere of influence.

After a speech before a crowd thousands of people in Georgia, folowing his meeting with Putin, a former Soviet officer lobbed a grenade in Bush's presence. The explosive failed to detonate, but even if it had, at one hundred feet distance from Bush with peope standing all around him and between him and the grenade, it is unlikely to have even injured Bush, at least not seriously. Yet, the attempt was made. Had it succeeded, it would have marked the first time a U.S. President would have ever been assinated on foreign soil. And the fall-out would have been devastating. Actually, it still might be. Just a few days ago, the former Soviet soldier, who had been identified thanks to the aid of surveillance cameras, had been taken into custody. As of yet, no word on his motivations.

I seriously doubt that Putin was involved in this business, though others somewhere within the Byzantine maze of the Russian bureaucracy may well have been. More than likely, the man acted on his own. It's hard to say. But even if this turns out to be the case, it says a lot for the poisonous state of our relations globally, that this type of bitterness could erupt. Things like this rarely happen in a vacuum.

Nor do I think Bush was wrong to encourage free elections in the new nation of Georgia, and to discourage Russian interference. However, he should realize that his recent policies have flayed a lot of nerves, in a lot of different ways, and it doesn't take a whole lot of input to have pretty much the effect of salt rubbed into a very raw wound.

Meth,Oxycontin, And Other Kentucky Recreations

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

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

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

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

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

Livingston Kentucky

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

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

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

Among their alleged wrondoings:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

On The Road Again Soon

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

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

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

Mushariff Cracks Down On Madrassas

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

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

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

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

Supreme Court Nominee John Roberts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tarot Reading-Bush's Coming Supreme Court Nominee

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

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

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

Karl Rove-Spin That Top To The Right

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

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

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

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

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

ROVE: Yeah, I've heard that.

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

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

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

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

Thorougbred Busting And Crack Cocaine

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

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

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

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

Utopia In A Bottle

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

Tarot Reading-The Murder And Disposal of Natalie Holloway

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

The Trojan Donkey-PETA

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Golden Ass-Edward M. "Teddy" Kennedy

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

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

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

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

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

Vacation Aruba-A Nice Place To VISIT, Not Stay

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Lincoln County Fire Sale

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vacation Aruba-Arlene Ellis, Attorney

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jessica Lunsford

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

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

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

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

The Ku Klux Klan

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vacation Aruba-Playing The Fool

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

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

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

Greta does have a nice suntan.

Invoking Aphrodite By Eating Her Pussy

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

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

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

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

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

The Prince Of Darkness

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

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

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

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