ECONOMICS IS PRIME INTEREST

The fiscal news hasn't been cheery. The most popular cocktail in Paris is "America On The Rocks." Last Wednesday - September 19, 2007 - the "Reckless Speculators Relief Act" was passed by the central bank (Federal Reserve.) The Fed bailed out high-risk investors and their creditors, instead of letting them jump out of windows.

The half point rate drop was a surprise which caused dancing in the street (Wall) and a record jump in stock prices. Others were ecstatic: capitalist predators, market gamblers, dumb bankers and too-clever bankers. Only the man in the street (Main) is at a loss to know what happened.

The song, "Don't Know Much About History," should have been written about economics, because what you don't know will hurt you. Fiscal ignorance prevails in academia, government and the media. The economic price is so high that it makes life difficult.

We're skating in the middle of a lake on very thin ice. The national debt- which President Franklin Roosevelt said didn't matter because "We owe it to ourselves" - is said by Rush Limbaugh to be inconsequential in this booming economy. "We'll grow out of the debt," Rush claims.

Tell it to the Arabs and the Asians who hold about half of our $9 trillion debt and are tiring of Bush's dollar-cheapening tactics. They don't want junk currency returns on the bonds they purchased. The Euro is a much more stable currency for investors, and it's partially backed by gold. Can you believe it?

This reminds me of when France's President Giscard d'Estaing met with President Gerald Ford. He asked, "Why do you cheapen your own currency?" Ford's answer escapes me, maybe because there was none.

The U.S. Constitution dictates that Congress control the money supply, but politicians gave it away to a very unfederal reserve banking group of private bankers! If this crime is to be undone, we must hurry to beat the collapse of the dollar.


IT'S ALL SO SIMPLE.

A NATION DIVIDED

Even if you don't know much about history, you know that Bush's America is a house divided against itself. "You're either with us or you're against us." The major issue forcing us to choose sides is the war/occupation of Iraq. People supporting wars are called patriots, the others are anti-Americans.

Conservatives good; liberals bad. Hate is fine; tolerance is disgusting. Fear helps the cause; lack of fear shows ignorance. Christian nation for sure; diversity never. Media lies; presidents tell the truth. Authority is always right; challenging is left (wrong.)

We might as well break into two nations - warmongers on the east of the Mississippi River and appeasers on the west side. You're thinking: "They'll go to war with each other." Maybe, but at least we'd avoid a civil war. Those can be ugly.

Are you East or West? You'll have to decide soon.

Meanwhile, Islamo-fascists have to be eradicated. I mean, they strap bombs on their kids and send them to the store. They hate us for our freedom. And don't forget the 72 virgins.

Now go take on the day.


IT'S ALL SO SIMPLE.

~~~

PLEASE DON'T FEED THE SNOWBIRDS

Thousands of Snowbirds are packing up and ready to hit the road for our Dixie. Las Vegas can have its tourists, and we have those. But we also have live-in tourists who stay for half a year. These Earth Angels, cheaply referred to as Snowbirds, are part-time citizens of St. George and surrounding communities. They do enrich our lives, we must learn to appreciate that.

But don't give them food - you might make them sick. Nature provides for them.

~~~

HE'S BACK

Ron Paul is no newcomer to liberty. He might have lived before as Thomas Jefferson, Tom Paine or Patrick Henry. (Ronald Reagan claimed to have been the latter, so that's taken.) Choose between the Toms. Congressman Paul didn't get this good in our time, he was tempered by the fires of the past.

Every generation, we the people are given a chance to change the course of human events for the better. We let William Jennings Bryan, Robert Taft and Barry Goldwater get away.

The Ron Paul Revolution will succeed only with help from people in every community across the land. The War Party leaders will be obstacles to overcome. The media will be unfavorable to Paul. Establishment types who fear change will vote for one of the lookalikes. Nobody likes Ron Paul except the people.

This is an extraordinary opportunity for liberty lovers, Constitutionalists and good people.

Support a real Republican for a change.


IT'S ALL SO SIMPLE.

IT'S A FALSE ECONOMY, SENATOR BENNETT

Utah's other senator is out there painting a pretty face on the nation's economy. He sees and foresees nothing but roses if President Bush's policies prevail. Bennett revels in the tiny unemployment figures, the usually ascending stock market casino numbers, and who knows what else?

But what about our exported factories, the outsourcing of good jobs, the record low wages paid to workers, the sub prime lending circus, the part-time situation in a large segment of the jobs, the recklessly ignored problem of trade deficits, the incredible national debt, and corporate domination of markets?

Corporate earnings are often enhanced by the very factors which do harm to the economy.

While Senator Bennett blows his horn, we hear David Welker, the head of the Government Accounting Office, playing a different tune. Welker warns of impending doom if we continue our anti-economy ways. The $9 trillion national debt is dragging us down, and he foresees a national debt of $40 trillion within the next few decades. You know we'll feel the pain long before that.

Presidents Franklin Deficit Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush understood how deficit spending gives the economy a jolt. But the results are neither real nor lasting. It's about like passing out cash to bidders at an auction. The action increases and people get excited, but the medium of exchange diminishes in value, and there we go again. Inflation, inflation, inflation.

IT'S ALL SO SIMPLE.

~~~

Serious Fun:

Presidential candidate Edwards wants us to go to the doctor once a year. He must be getting contributions from big pharma and big doctor.

Senator Craig announced that he would resign, but he didn't promise, did he? Take this as entertainment. We miss Mark Foley, Gary Hart, Bob Livingstone, Newt Gingrich, and Slick Willie. Scary Larry will have to do until a better scandal comes along.

ON A CLEAR DAY, YOU CAN SEE THE OIL FLOW OUT OF IRAQ

Mainstream thinkers are in a vulnerable position. Those who think inside the box often have the lid closed on them, and they find themselves trapped, separated from the truth.

Most of the truth seekers trying to see through the rush to war on Iraq doubted those who protested with: NO BLOOD FOR OIL. They could not accept the oil motive as valid. Let them now lift the lids on their boxes and read the daily newspapers.

The Bush administration has been displaying frustration over the slow progress by our puppet government in Iraq. Our State Department helped write the proposed oil law months ago, but Iraq's parliament has yet to approve it. The law was drafted in secrecy, of course, but now the lights are on. The provisions of the law will enable Exxon-Mobil, Chevron and British Petrol to control royalties, decide production levels and choose who is employed in the oil fields. About 70% of Iraq's oil will be stolen, if we dare use such a characterization.

Reporters for foreign publications have been predicting a major insurrection will erupt when the oil heist becomes an official mandate. The Iraqi people have been possessive about their oil ever since Saddam kicked out the British, Dutch and American oil companies more than 30 years ago.

President Bush was in Iraq yesterday. Your morning paper reported that he said, "Now's the time to get these laws passed."

You'd forgotten WMDs anyway, so just remember oil.

IT'S ALL SO SIMPLE.

-------------------------------------------------------

Terms to remember for the exam: slam dunk, shock and awe, cut and run, stay the course, rendition, waterboarding, IED, coalition, bring 'em on, no fly zone, dancing in the streets, surge, mission accomplished, and they'll follow us home.

WILL BUSH BOMB WAL-MART?

Rumors circulating in the hallways in the Pentagon suggest an impending military strike on a new Wal-Mart Supercenter in central Minnesota. This is to prevent the devastation of yet another community.

White House spokesman Tony Snow told reporters this morning, "We have to stop it sometime. If not now, when: if not us, who? We've stood by and watched the slave labor products from Communist China get into American homes by way of Wal-Mart. No more.

We watched in horror as the big box monster purchased secret life insurance ("Dead Peasant Policies) on select employees as a source of additional revenue. No, to unethical practices.

Americans have seen community after community suffer an average net loss of 65 jobs when Wal-Mart came to town. No, to unemployment.

We listened as Wal-Mart officials claimed a person can save $2,200 per year by shopping their store. No more whoppers.

Wal-Mart must cease and desist criminal operations. If this does not happen, The Decider will decide when to launch Shock & Awe with the cruise missiles, smart bombs, cluster bombs and bunker buster bombs against the giant retailer. Call it Operation Free Shoppers.

Let's roll."

JUNKET

THINKING POSTPONED FOR FACT-FINDING, TRADE MISSION TO MINNESOTA.

THE CHINA CONNECTION

Call it a trade mission, it's still a junket. Utah legislators visiting China loosely and vaguely define their trip as one to increase trade between the filthy Communist slave pen with the glorious and moral state of Utah. Actually, it's not our Utah, it's some corporations in Utah. In an ideal republic, business concerns would do their own promoting. But in this modern world, if they can finagle our government to take the time and trouble - and taxpayers' money - to help in making sales, they'll take it.

~~~

Mini Thoughts

* Wouldn't it be wonderful? I mean, if Senator Hatch started an amendment to the Constitution to delete a president's right to commute sentences and pardon convicted felons? We have amendments that make less sense. The framers of the law of the land probably had a lapse of reasoning when they wrote in the right of presidential reprieves.

* They shoot gamblers, don't they? (Excuse me: gamers.) A Vegas resident tried to kill himself on the fourth of July, but he missed. Two days later, he opened fire at gamers in the New York New York Casino. His five victims are alive.

* Now the City of St. George and Color Country Community Housing with the Dixie Area Workforce Housing Affordability Committee - DAWHAC - (please keep reading) is handing out down payment money to folks who might otherwise have to wait to buy a home. America's Founding Fathers told us not to monkey with free enterprise and the market place. Alan Gardner, Chairman of DAWHAC, and his government cronies think they know better.

* What will the city get into next? Well, we don't have a space needle here. That would make a for a lot of jobs - most likely for aliens. The politicians must spend, spend, spend the taxpayers" money. It's Law #4, human nature.

EVEN REPUBLICAN SENATORS WANT WAR NO MORE

See how they cut and run. They voted for war, supported it, cussed the peaceniks, and now they see the light long after the public opposition becomes loud. Our leaders misled us. Senators Domenici, Lugar and others were too slow to show. The people had to lead them, and that's not the way it's supposed to work.

~~~

Idle Thoughts

* Do the missing WMD bother you and cause you to lose sleep at night? Me, too. But with me it isn't the mustard gas, germs, or anthrax so much as that damn People Shredder. What happened to that? Did the Russian 18-wheelers drop it off in Syria with the rest of the "100 metric tons" (Rummy's calculation) of destruction. Strange, the way that scary contraption disappeared. Did they look behind the anthrax cartons?

* Too bad Putin wasn't born here. He'd make a good U.S. president. The ex-KGB man knows all of our secrets, plus Russia's. And he appears to think before he speaks. (Always a good sign.)

* Is the actor Fred Thompson running or not? Maybe he's waiting for the rumors about him to sort out. They say he has skeletons in his dressing room. The mean stories (sexcapades) indicate he'd make Bill Clinton look unimpeachable. Here we go again.

* A black church in rural Louisiana pays white folks $5 to worship there. The offer has had many takers. Many of the whites leave happy without accepting the five bucks, even though it's like pennies from heaven.

Help Wanted

Strong man to govern Iraq after Coalition Forces leave. Must be able to keep Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds from fussing with each other. A little tyranny might be necessary. Good pay. Excellent fringe benefits. CIA assistance as needed. (No oil considerations involved.) Coup experience helpful. Call Karl Rove.

TALK RADIO MYTHOLOGIES

With the shining exception of a principled Southern Utah radio talk host, most of the babblers on the air spew myths all day everyday. Mythology Network tells half-truths most of the time but slip in some real whoppers occasionally. Perhaps the slickest legend they (Rush, Sean, Glenn, Ollie, Rusty, Michael S., Michael R., Roger, Mark) are selling is the idea that only their kind can make it in talk radio because the public won't buy anything else.

What would that say about the listening radio public? Isn't it more likely that Rush started the style and the others are copy cats? The pattern is set, and the sponsors fall in line. Notice that the same corporations sponsor most of them.

~~~

Blips

* Albert Gore III turns out to be an inconvenient truth for the former vice president. A son can tarnish a father's reputation. But big Al isn't running anyway, right?

* Ron Paul will pull it off. He's the next White House occupant although no one can see how yet.

* The third party route might do well if Ronnie, The Second, can find a solid vice presidential candidate such as Governor Bill Richardson. Remember: you read it here first.

* Mitt is still being Mitt. That means, all things to all people. This works. Most modern presidents were elected using that strategy. Don't worry about Mitt. Not if he loses. Worry if he wins.

* Did someone say money? Common Sense lists the following billionaires and millionaires who receive farm subsidies from the federal government because they own farms and ranches. Are you seated? They are: David Rockefeller, Bob Dole, Charles Schwab, Scotty Pippen, Ted Turner, and Sam Donaldson.

Overheard

At Slippery Slope Saloon: "When they build the new airport, this town will take off."

At the Only The Lonely lounge: "They'd better install stop lights at the roundabout in Bloomington before somebody gets hurt."

SCOOTER SKATES

Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the top Cheney aide convicted of perjury and sentenced to 30 months in prison, won't have to write that tell-all book now that our president committed one of the foulest acts prescribed by the not-quite-perfect writers of the Constitution. Bush used his presidential powers to commute the perjurer's punishment.

The Dixie Thinker predicted it here back on June 2. A stay in prison offers too much time to write and remember and seethe and embellish (not that he has to do the latter.) Bush can't handle another Paul O'Neil, Richard Clarke or George Tenet singing out of tune. I mean, The Decider's approval rating might go below zero.

~~~

Short Stuff


* The population of the nation of Israel comprises only .001 % of the world's people, but it has the fifth mightiest military force on Earth. That includes nuclear warheads.

* The reign of terror raining on the British people is believed to be connected to "the network." The terrorists were supposed to follow the Brits home, but the soldiers haven't even left Iraq.
So much for that line.

* Is there no decent muckraking news guy or gal in this country who will address the depleted uranium situation? This is tragic, on-going and unacceptable. The Pentagon is in the middle of it, and many leaders are purposely looking the other way. DU maims and kills, quickly and slowly.

* DU and oil are the two unmentionables in Iraq.

THE MEDIA IS BIASED, BUT WHICH WAY?

The War People harp and moan about the news outlets being against the war, wanting us to lose and favoring a cut-and-run policy.

'Wait just a durn minute" on that one. The war stories emanating from Iraq for the past four years have come from reporters embedded with the troops. Each news man or woman has signed a contract with the government requiring them to "follow the direction and orders of the military." Their reports are censored.

The media folks were lax in demanding proof about the WMD threat leading up to Shock & Awe. They were complicit in the false call to war.

Let's not forget the days before the war when the UN weapons inspectors were removed from Iraq by order of the UN. According to Fairness Accuracy in Reporting, the UN action was clearly reported by NBC, ABC, Associated Press, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, NPR, New York Times, Washington Post, and Newsday in 1998. Four years later, every one of those sources reported that Saddam had forced the inspectors out.

Did they forget their own reporting or did they consciously assist the propaganda of the government, and rewrite history to support the Bush administration's war?

Yes, there is a problem finding the truth, but it's not what the War People say.

~~~

Shorties

* Russia's Putin is visiting the Bushes in Maine. It's sort of a KGB/CIA get together.

* Mysterious bomb attempts in London will change the course of the so called "war on terror,"
depending on the information learned.

* More money to the schools in Utah! Now we'll see if throwing money at a problem helps in the solution. In this case, we're betting it does.

* Did you see pictures of that 600-feet-long tunnel from a house in Mexico to a house in Arizona? Just another job no American would do. They should keep it open in case we have to get out of here someday.

TOP OFFICIALS ARE ABOVE THE LAW

It's true. The president and vice president need only to invoke the old "national security" defense for refusing to let the sun shine in. Before that one, they're trying "executive privilege," which works almost as well. Once again, Congress demands information that Cheney and Bush refuse to divulge.

Too much power is concentrated at the top in this modern day. When America began, The Articles of Confederation had no king, prime minister or president. The articles were working quite well, but the central government control freaks convinced the convention delegates (who were gathered to consider amending certain of the articles) to write a new law of the land.

They gave us an executive branch. We've learned that with power, you get abuse of power. King George is back.

~~~

Short Stuff

* The CIA probably invented outsourcing. They hired the Mafia to murder Castro........or is that just subcontracting?

* The defeat of the secretly-drafted immigration reform bill seems to have left an aftermath of doubt. "Now what?," is in the air. The important thing is to keep this fight civil, no violence.

* Yesterday, President Bush said, "The Good Lord will one day take Fidel Castro away." I guess this means we've given up. We tried to do God's work and failed.

* Pray for rain.

ALIEN SITUATION: STATUS QUO?

The illegal immigration reform bill was defeated in the Senate today. It's toast. This means that the more things stay the same, the more things stay the same. (Or does it?)

One detectable change is developing as a result of recent government raids on businesses hiring aliens and from public sentiment against these employers. We are beginning to see unemployed aliens. That's quite a rare sight. This presents a tremendous internal problem for America - a humanitarian one. But it's likely to slow the flow of illegal immigration.

The alien joblessness is caused not only by public pressure, but also from the real estate slowdown. Property values are actually nosediving and developers are waiting for a better time to get busy on projects. Those construction jobs could be years away.

How many millions of Mexicans will think about staying in Mexico or returning there?

It looks like the public will get what it wanted.

THE CIA ACTS IN YOUR NAME

How do you understand today's news? North Korea says it will halt all nuke weapons, President Olmert of Israel is in Egypt to discuss peace, illegal immigrants are complaining that they can't find work, Mitt Romney says he still can't think of anything worse than polygamy, gasoline sells for 11 cents a gallon in Venezuela, Paris Hilton is happy, Castro is alive and well in Cuba, people are shooting each other in Dixie, no accidents were reported on I-15, and the CIA is releasing classified documents to confirm decades of god-awful crimes.

The Central Intelligence Agency finally admits that it committed murder and other dastardly acts in your name. Torture of suspects is one of those and it continues all over Europe as the CIA transports detainees to nations which allow torture. The European Union investgative commission has records to prove more than a thousand agency flights have been made to move suspects from place to place. The torture and other crimes are done in your name.

The CIA is American. It's sponsored and funded by the U.S. Congress, which is comprised of representatives of the people.

The details of the crimes are to be made public this week. Too bad we can't impeach every elected official who gave approvals over the years.

May God forgive us.

~~~

Ramblings

* This guy Mitt is a corporate raider. Is that bad enough? He wants to double the size of Gitmo. He thinks polygamists are the worst. How about murderers, tyrants, litterbugs, and loiterers.

* Glenn Beck, like Rush whats-his-name, insists that few people lived to be 65 when Congress passed the Social Security law in 1935. That's almost too absurd to dispute. Folks over 65 made up more then 10% of the population in 1935.

* Congress is working on a bill called The Fairness Doctrine to bring other viewpoints - not just neocon - to the radio talk scene. Of course, the radio talk hosts are losing their minds, fearful of being silenced. Free speech has to be protected, but if the hosts would tell the truth just one day a week, the criticism would disappear.

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Help Wanted

Driver for television preacher who needs more time to think in the car. Candidates must have clean records. (Spiritual, not driving.) Call Stan, The Man.

Overheard

At the end of the bar at Only The Lonely: 'I've had a few problems adjusting to divorce. For one thing, I'm having to finish my own sentences."

THE LAW OF FOOD AND FORTUNE

LET'S GET FISCAL

Dr. Ira Longterm writes for us each Friday. He honors us by taking time from a busy schedule of consulting for The Pipedream Group, a think tank which he founded (and funded.) He also writes books on the political economy. His latest - You Don't Need Cash If You Know The Cashier - is such a seller that it's usually out of print.

The good doctor is one economist who works pro bono/ad hoc.

Dr. Longterm's White Paper #102

You don't have to be a universally revered, award-winning economist to notice that the people here (Dixiecats) go out to eat in a big way.

Now we hear disparaging remarks from lay folk suggesting that people should stay home and dine at the family table. That's quaint and would fit in nicely with family budgets and values, of course, but think about the economy as a whole. None of us is an island. What's good for The Bear Claw is good for Dixie.

The news is out about the exalted state of the state of Utah. The hills are alive with the sound of cash registers. Yes, people are dining out. It's no mere coincidence that we're doing well while going to restaurants in record numbers.

These boom times are actually the result of us hanging-out at the fast food joints, the cozy cafes and the swank spots where the elite meet to eat. Dining out is the engine propelling Dixie's bustling commerce - or my name isn't Dr. Ira Longterm.

Do the right thing. Eat out more, help create more jobs for workers whose incomes will be taxed, and notice the lighter tax burden. The additional tax revenues will mean decreased taxes on you, and you'll be able to afford to eat out even more. The never ending cycle of food and prosperity has to be sustained for continued success.

Eternal spending is to a healthy economy what eternal vigilance is to preserving liberty.

I hope you've learned Longterm's Law of Food and Fortune from this brief explanation. Let the concept seep into your mind, mull it over and treat a friend to lunch to discuss the idea.

Doubting Thomases might think about what would happen with a converse course of action. Stop eating out and you'll see a crowd gather at the unemployment office. Scaldoni's, McDonald's, Basila's, Rio's, The Olive Garden, and Applebees can't pay employees if you don't pay for meals. Your taxes would increase to pay the losses of tax revenues of those laid off.

Eat out, Dixiecats. It's your duty.

~~~

Until next Friday, keep the ferns circulating.

LET'S GET FISCAL

The esteemed economist, Dr. Ira Longterm, writes for us every Friday. He still consults for his think tank, The Pipedream Group, and is working on yet another book: You Don't Need Cash If You Know The Cashier.

Dr. Longterm's White Paper - June15, 2007

Thank you, readers. More than c e n s o r e d of you contacted The Dixie Thinker's headquarters in response to my column last week which suggested selling advertising space in the roundabouts. Many of you fine folks submitted inquiries. Questions deserve answers, so my space this Friday will consist of my replies.

Q. Will you please be serious for once? I have a sincere question. Here it is: Lenin boasted that he knew how to bring down the capitalist system. His plan was to cause us to destabilize or debauch our currency. Inflation could do that. We've had it all the time for several decades, so is it gradually happening as Lenin wished? - Peter of Luchenbach, TX

A. Yes, unless we learn - citizens and leaders - the nature of inflation, and act upon the knowledge before we go off the cliff. Inflation and rising prices are not the same animal. It's about time people stop saying the former when they mean the latter. The former usually causes the latter, and you can't control the latter until you hold down the former.

Deficit spending is the culprit because it makes the government print or borrow money to pay the bills. This increase in the money supply is inflation. It is hazardous to the health of the economy.

That is as serious as I can be.

Q. Has the Federal Reserve ever been audited? - Johnny of Lake Wobegon, MN

A. No. They wouldn't dare.

Q. Is there any gold in Fort Knox? - Sally of Wachoverya, UT

A. Doubt it. Maybe fool's gold.

Q. Is the stock market rigged? - Helen of Troy, NY

A. That depends on your definition of rig.

That's it for today. Until next Friday, keep your money circulating.

LET YOUR NEIGHBOR BE UGLY

The subject of unsightly yards in the neighborhood was discussed in a lively manner on The Forum, Bryan Hyde's radio show, KSUB 590 on the dial.

Most people get all steamed over how other folks' places appear. I guess if you live across the street, you want the sights to meet your standards. Great if they do, tough if they don't. The guy might not like the way you look either.

Many principles of anarchism were precious tenets of the founders of America. The philosophy of protecting and preserving the sacred rights of the individual prevailed for many generations before breaking down under the pressures of materialism and political influences such as socialism, communism, fascism, and even capitalism.

Government is government whether national, state, county, or municipal. Freedom-lovers pay too much attention to the oppressive acts of the pompous royalty in Washingotn, DC. But local government intervention is often more abusive and totalitarian than state or federal.

In every locality, you find breakdowns of privacy, responsiblity and individual rights. Group responsiblity is in fashion. As Hitler, Castro, Stalin, Mussolini, and the boys told us: "The individual belongs to the state." Americans - both liberal and conservative - seem to agree.

More and more municipalities have laws and ordinances to prohibit citizens from repairing or tinkering with machinery in their own backyards and garages. The stated purpose of government is ignored. Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry claimed governments were to protect our liberties - not to save our eyes from unsightly sights.

If the guy next door parks old French cars on the front lawn - his front lawn - it's none of government's business. Any offended neighbors well might approach the neighbor and protest. If the Citroens remain on his lawn, the best alternative would be to fall back and take joy that we live in a nation, state or community which butts out of affairs of taste. But such a philosophy no longer thrives in the sweet land of liberty. Many folks would move away from a neighborhood having bad taste, and they are free to go.

But wouldn't you prefer the company of a dude who exercises freedom on his own property to someone who is offended by it? We don't have Beauty & Perfect Order Police just yet. Think: "in the eye of the beholder" and "ain't nobody' business but my own."

Didn't Ford, Bell and Edison invent gadgets and devices at home? How miserable their miserable neighbors must have been Should we pity the thousands of Americans who have had the bad luck to reside next door to Amways distributors working out of their garages?

Liberty is first. It includes the right to use your property your way. You may watch over your own property, but not that of others.

Liberty is beautiful, in its own way.

~~~

Miscellany

* A Ross Perot type of candidate could have a lot to say in the presidential race. A third party or independent would attract millions of disgruntled and disillusioned voters.

* Your Utah Governor proclaims this to be "Lightning Awareness Week." Or is it next week? Either way, watch out.

* Nissan is working on plans to build an automobile for $3,000. That's three thousand dollars!

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Meeting & Events

* Men's Support Group is forming and will announce a date and meeting place as soon as permission is granted.

* The Guilt Trip Support Group is looking for more members. Be assured, we do not report anything to the authorities. We're not finks and snitches, just bad people.

Twenty-Years-From-Now News

Washington County Commissioners voted unanimously to install stop & go lights in each of the 317 roundabouts in the county in an effort to reduce accidents and road rage.

THE GROWTH MIGHT DIE OF THIRST

Vision Dixie is a fine group dedicated to positive growth and development. The cause is noble and very productive of good ideas, however, water might be the deciding factor.

The West has been in a general drought for a decade at least. Meanwhile, the greatest migration in the history of the world keeps on keeping on. Americans are still going west. But the available water is decreasing while the population increases disproportionately.

Right smack on top of this is global warming, which is a fact. The sun is getting hotter and so is Mars - the evidence is witnessed by telescope. Mankind should drop the guilt trip about causing global warming, but the hot cycle is of major significance in our lives. The warming accelerates the drought in the West.

Pipeline solutions might not work. They could turn into pipedreams if the water is not there to be piped. We're arid and becoming more so. We are not alone with this problem. Nevada is actively pulling water from underground aquifers near statelines. They've only just begun to steal water from Arizona and Utah in much the same way that Kuwait was slant drilling under Iraq to steal Iraq's oil. (Which was the reason Saddam invaded Kuwait.) Water is as valuable as oil when demand exceeds supply. Let's protect our water - invade Nevada. (It's a joke.)

The best answer is: Stop the Growth. If that's not enough, we might have to pay folks to leave. The Netherlands for many years would pay its citizens to leave because of an overcrowded problem. The government would pay half of your fare to anywhere. In the 1960s, I knew a Dutchman named Lustig, who was able to move from Holland to Australia, free, because the Aussies needed more population and would pay half of your fare - if you were a worthy new prospect - from anywhere.

What if the local municipal governments adopted a policy of paying Dixiecats to leave? Can you imagine being thirsty enough to accept a free one-way ticket from Mayor McArthur to fly to Seattle or Galveston? Drastic dilemmas demand drastic solutions.

Pray for rain, or we'll go from metro to ghost town in 80 days.

~~~

WE'RE ALL DOWNWINDERS NOW

Our Congressman Jim Matheson is a hero for his tireless work to end the nuke madness.

Senator Bunker-Busting Bob Bennett, on the other hand, has been a vigorous advocate of developing a nuclear capacity to destroy underground facilities of future opponents. He thinks about war too much. Let's think war no more, and strive to become a humanitarian superpower.

Lord, we don't need another warhead. There are warheads and smart bombs enough to fire. There are missiles and rockets enough to launch. Enough to last - till the end of tiime.

The House Appropriations Energy subcommittee recently stripped money out of the budget for a Reliable Replacement Warhead program. Congressman Matheson said, "This sends a message about what our long-term nuclear weapons policy will be."

Matheson's the man.

~~~

Other Hot Stuff

* Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry didn't want us to have presidents. Glancing at the list of candidates for the White House, you realize Tom and Pat were right. McCain and Giuliani - are you serious? Then there's corporate raider, Mitt, who wants to double the size of Gitmo, make health insurance mandatory and stay the course in Iraq. Go down the list until you reach the one who would preserve your liberties (the chief purpose of government.) That would be Ron Paul. None of the leaders want to play with him, he's no fun - he follows the Constitution.

* Do you know we are giving weapons and ammunition to the Sunnis to protect themselves against the Shiites? It's a civil war and we are choosing sides. The Iraqis kill us and they kill each other. Question: why stay there? Answer: oil. (Not our oil, Exxon/Mobil's.)

* Senator Joe Lieberman, who makes McCain and Giuliani appear sane, wants us to bomb Iran. Call the man with the net to get him out of here. Send him to Gitmo.

* Think back on the 9/11 hijacked flights. Why were some of them near empty? One plane was only 16% full, another 20%. How could that happen without tampering?

* The detainees at Gitmo are denied habeas corpus? That's wrong, but to Bush it's alright.

* Bush is home from a tour of Europe. He'll appear before Congress soon to try to push the illegal immigration bill into law. The proposals are thorny, disjointed and unenforceable. The aliens are expected to return to Mexico, pay $5,000 to get back to the USA.........like the song "It's Impossible."

The Dixie Thinker - serious fun - not for the snug and smug.

Meetings & Events

The committee to Stop The Growth will have its final meeting this Saturday. "We give up and want to get out of the way," said one of the members.

Help Wanted

Tailgating Trainers are in demand as new people move to Dixie. You can't drive here unless you tailgate. Experience and attitude can get you the job. Apply at 20 Bluff Street, St. George.

Overheard

At Only The Lonely bar: "We were intellectual opposites. She was intellectual, I was the opposite."

Personals

I only want a buddy, not a sweetheart. How about you? Write Monique, 606 Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Ivins, Utah.

CONFLICTS-OF-INTEREST

A friend pointed out to me that a conflict-of-interest is considered taboo in government, except here in Dixie. This is profound. An example that stands out is the interconnectedness of real estate and city/county officials.

The good 'ol boys of St. George have made a name for themselves - without naming names. Cronyism and inappropriate decisions should be exposed and challenged publically.

Divided loyalties can create unsavory, harmful situations. Even the appearance of potentially questionable motives is bad enough. An official, elected or not, must recuse himself from actions and decisions which might affect an honest carrying out of responsibilities.

As was printed here a few weeks ago, the Director of Homeland Security - Michael Chertoff - is a citizen of both Israel and the United States. It's an unacceptable condition at any level of government.

We shouldn't stand for it.

~~~

Hot News Bits

* President Bush visited Albania and was received like a hero. They like his demands that neighboring Kosovo be granted independence. Muslims dominate both regions, so that explains that.

* Two men fell to their deaths at Zion Park last week. Very tragic, but this would be a scandal with million dollar lawsuits if the park belonged to private concerns.

* Financial disclosure reports released on Friday revealed that seven justices on the U.S. Supreme Court are millionaires. A couple of them have more than 25 million. These money chasers also dominate the Senate. Certainly, a majority of senators are what we all would like to be: MILLIONAIRES. Could their riches color their thinking? Is wealth a conflict-of-interest?

* The renowned Boeing folks are being sued by Amnesty International for their part in arranging those CIA torture flights - at least 1,000 of them - to torture sites in Europe.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Meetings & Events

* Classes on Feng Shui for men only. You' ll be surprised to learn how moving the tv just 10 feet can change your life. Starbucks on Thursdays at 7 PM.

* Important! Good 'ol boys meet to discuss land deal 217. Back room at Slippery Slope Saloon.
Same time and place.

Help Wanted

Volunteers to work in stores, hospitals, offices, and other demanding establishments. Great pay (personal satisfaction.)

For Sale

Scale. As is. Seems to be stuck on 268. Make an offer. Call Susan at Weight Watchers.

Twenty-Years-From-Now News

Governor Dan McArthur vows to fight the latest Divine Strake (number 17) and will set up public hearings soon.

Personals

* Nice woman would like to meet nice man, if that's not too much to ask. Write Box 111, Ivins.

* Me: messy, moody, mean. You: cheerful and financially secure. Call without delay - 699-4856

ROUNDABOUT REVENUE

Dr. Ira Longterm, the award-winning economist, has decided to turn his full attention to his beloved Dixie. He recently retired from his directorship at The Pipedream Group, a think tank he founded. Longterm is the author of two classic texts: Broke Like Me and How To Convert Your Bank Overdrafts Into IRAs.

"Spend it before it's gone," is his motto. Many Americans follow his sage advice.

The good doctor is one of the few economists in the nation who work pro bono/ad hoc. He contributed this column today - as he will each Friday - to counsel Dixiecats on improving the local economy, especially the political economy.

Dr. Longterm's White Paper - June 8, 2007

The St. George city council discussed the new proposed budget yesterday. The total is $304 million ferns (Federal Reserve notes.) A million ferns here and a million ferns there, and pretty soon you're talking a lot of money.

The city rakes in big money, but it certainly needs revenue enhancement to spread the burden. One way to do that would be to turn the roundabouts into money makers by selling advertising signs in them. They could be neon and pricey. They would replace the need for flowers and their costly maintenance. Each roundabout could hold several signs and profit a cool 100,000 ferns. So, multiply the number of roundabouts by $100,000 - there's your revenue.

These funds could be designated for the fire and police departments. In a political effort to get this rolling, ask your fire and police folks how they like the idea.

Until next Friday, don't forget to keep your money in circulation.

~~~

Meetings & Events

Citizens Against Ruining Everything (CARE) meets every Monday at Kayenta Towers.

A rally for loiterer's rights is scheduled for early July. The time and place is to be announced.

OPEN LETTER TO HYRUM W. SMITH

One of the outstanding inspirational speakers and authors - that would be you, Mr. Smith. You built and lived a dream career in business. Now you're a philanthropist and a humanitarian. Everyone benefits by your work.

Your books: The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management and What Matters Most are useful treasures of knowledge and advice. I'm impressed by the depth of the messages. If I didn't believe so much in liberty, I would advocate your books for "required reading."

Humility and respect for the author and the book bring a hesitation in beginning my next few paragraphs. I'm a history buff and have to have the truth, nothing else. Please allow me to challenge a couple of your heroes.

Nelson Mandela of South Africa certainly was responsible for toppling the apartheid laws of racism. But you did not mention that despite his heroics for the Blacks or for his nation, Mandela was a communist terrorist. Perhaps you can rationalize and justify this because the situation seemed hopeless. The worst symbol of Mandela's terrorist acts is something he invented: The Fiery Necklace. The necklace was a tire soaked in gasoline, placed around someone's neck and set afire. This barbaric practice became widespread, horrifying the world. Mandela deserved prison time, but did he deserve the Nobel Peace Prize he received years later?

Winston Churchill was a controversial figure for decades, but history's artists are painting him in broad strokes of having saved the world from tyranny. I want this letter to be brief, which inhibits my case against Sir Winston. May I present some thoughts about him which you might have overlooked?

He was instrumental in pulling America into both world wars. Several historians claim that Churchill was guilty of skullduggery in regard to his efforts to get us involved. He was a notorious drunk, a drug user, a pampered fellow with servants, and one mean man. When the British Air Force was dropping poison gas on the natives during the Boer War, Churchill said: "I do not understand the squeamishness about the use of gas. I am strongly in favor of using poison gas against uncivilized tribes."

Let's not forget that the British people voted Churchill out of office after the war ended. The Sir Winston adulation was not unanimous.

The examples of Mandela and Churchill ring hollow to me. I would welcome an opportunity to go over the details of true history in this regard. What I have pointed out does not eclipse the valuable messages readers can gain from your book.

My wife and I would like to have your speaking schedule because we would drive quite a distance to see and hear you.

~~~

Hot Stuff

* North Korea launched missiles somewhere today. How many and where we don't know yet. We only know that South Korea is concerned, Japan is upset, Austrailia is mad, and the U.S. is frustrated.

* We are building a missile defense system in the Czech Republic, a neighbor of Russia. The Russians feel insulted, even threatened. If Russia built such a creature in Mexico, wouldn't we be riled? Riled, hell! More like preemptive war.

* That was a strong protest meeting at the Federal Building in St. George yesterday, in front of Senator Bennett's office. The group wants to change the senator's mind about the proposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act. Now we'll find out if Bennett represents the people or the problem.

* More than a quarter of Utah's graduating seniors failed the state exit exam. Now let's test the school boards.

Dixie Thinker. Serious fun - not for the snug and smug.

Twenty-Years-From-Now News

The booming oil industry in Mexico is drawing so many former illegal immigrants back to Mexico for high paying jobs that the president and congress are considering stricter border control. A White House official who asked to be unnamed said, "This country has jobs that must be performed. The borders are sealed and no one gets out."

CAPITALIST CHINA

The Chinese stock market is tumbling. America is concerned. We are so deeply involved in China's business and they in ours, that you have to wonder in amazement (old saying.) The world's communist power and the capitalist superpower are competing and cooperating. In many ways, the Chinese act like capitalists while Americans embrace communist ideas.

Communist leader Lenin said the United States of America would disappear because it would debauch its own currency. Deficit spending is doing that, big time. We have the irony of the Chinese financing about one-fourth of the national debt which results from "debauching the currency." They buy our bonds. Even commies have to put their cash somewhere. But who knows whether this will result in China's ability to erase what economy we'll have left by simply demanding cash for the bonds?

From the other side, we have the spectacle of capitalist America pouring its technology, know-how and acumen into the communist slave pen where human rights are not much better than they were under Lenin or Stalin.

Principles phfft, only money talks - whether communist scum or capitalist pigs.

~~~

News and Comments

* Vision Dixie met in Ivins last night. The public is getting involved in its future. The issue is controlled growth and how to plan the future of Dixie. No doubt about it: the people should be involved, however, the best laid plans.......... Some folks have to have order, the way they perceive order should be. But how about limiting growth itself? That could be simple to do. Make prospective residents drive through the Bluff Street-Sunset intersection, or whatever-it-is. If they make it, we'll see how many of them want to live here.

* Water-conscious Utah ranchers are threatened by Nevada's actions to drain underground
water from Utah. The Southern Nevada Water Authority wants to tap the aquifer in Utah's Snake Valley and send the water by a pipeline to the gentle folks (water guzzlers) in Las Vegas. Let's fight! Lock & load.

* Scooter Libby was sentenced to 30 months in prison (of some kind.) The president and vice president - plus Radio Rush and his clones - act as if it's a tragedy, not a crime. This "wonderful man" must have done something wrong to be convicted and sentenced to prison. They say: "There really was no crime." Tell it to the judge.

* A crook stuck up a woman at the gas pump. He didn't want her purse, he wanted the petrol that was hers. She was so shocked that she waited for three hours to call the cops. Apparently, she could not believe that anyone could stoop so low.

* Let's review the Iraq thing. 1.) We defied the UN in order to make war on Iraq for defying the UN. 2.) We made war on Iraq because it threatened to make war on others.

* The Republicans had another debate last night but the essence of it escaped me, so I won't try to contribute any little dab of analysis to it.

* How long will we have to wait to learn why Building 7 collapsed on 9-11? We are not children. We refuse to swallow the official explanation. Tell us another one - preferably the truth.

* Suntran's coming at me on Diagonal with six or seven passengers. Heart thumping. Something's fishy. I have to follow it, patriotic duty. Why so many people on the bus? Should I call Homeland Security or 9/11? The bus is turning right....and out of sight. I also turned right, right there, but it's gone. The thing vanished. Disappeared. So, it was aliens, not terrorists, huh? I guess this means I've still never seen passengers on a city bus.

The Dixie Thinker is serious fun, not for the snug and smug.

Meetings & Events

* Silver Screen Stylist Sally Struthers Sings - Slippery Slope Saloon - Saturday - Seven

* Dr. Pepper will speak to the student body on the anti-oxidants and benefits to the immune system to be gained by drinking soft beverages. Dixie High School auditorium.

* Compromise Solution: A Fence to Keep out Illegals and Snowbirds will be debated tonight at the Good 'Ol Boys backroom, at Frenchy's, left bank on the Virgin River. Small admission charge. Firearms checked at the door.

IT'S ALL SO SIMPLE.

POLITICS PLUS

Today's news is decentralized and diversified.

The Bush administration is going ahead with plans to build a missile defense system to shield Europe against missile attack from_______________ . President Bush indicates that he has Iran in mind, but Russia's Premier Putin believes otherwise. The Russians are insulted and take Bush's act as a threat to their influence in Europe. Traditionally, Russia has wanted to be included in Europe.

This is more meddling on our part. We can't seem to adhere to the beautiful "live and let live."

Our every move these days is too invasive and too expensive. The repercussions are destructive.

Let's go home and mind our own business.

~~~

More Politics

* Newt Gingrich - you remember him - is eyeing the stage, about to jump into the quest for the
throne of the empire. Recently, he blasted Bush for mismanagement of the war, the borders, and the economy. It was quite an attack, one which will launch a civil war in the Republican union.

* Tonight's Republican debate will be a turning point for many of the candidates, with Gingrich and the actor Fred Thompson circling like vultures. Tomorrow will present a whole different picture. McCain and Giuliani will flame out soon.

* Libby will be sentenced today, but it doesn't matter much because a presidential pardon is on the way. I mean, they can't have him writing a book like Clarke and Tenet did.

* Hamas and Fatah are at each other's throats. Palestine is on the verge of civil war, which has been a goal of the Israelis for decades.

* Civil wars are all the rage now: Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Palestine, Indonesia, the Republican Party.

* Radio Rush says that Bush withheld the information about Russian trucks moving Saddam's weapons of mass destruction to Syria. Acccording to the man with half of his brain tied behind his back, Bush did not want to risk a confrontation with Russia at the time. The Rush never stops.

The Dixie Thinker is serious fun, but not for the snug and smug.

Meetings & Events

The Society of Social Engineers will meet again and again and again, at city council, county commissioner, and school board meetings.

For Sale

Cheap. Republican platform. Used only once - at election time in 2004. Call owner Karl Rove.

AN EMPIRE, NOT A REPUBLIC

Our forces are fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, the insurgents in Iraq and now the rebels in Somalia. Yesterday, our navy shelled rebel positions at the request of the government of Somalia. Yes, the rebels are Islamic folks. This seems to be the pattern, and one that is shaping up to be a worldwide battle.

Meanwhile, we are making faces at Russia, and they are making faces back. We talk about invading Syria and Iran. We threaten Sudan, but they tell us to mind our own business while they slaughter enemy tribes.

The North Korea thing could erupt at any time. And China might invade Taiwan. Then what do we do?

Where will we get the soldiers and the capital? We could hire them like King George did the Hessians. That would be outsourcing for sure. Or perhaps, draft illegal immigrants. The money? Well, we can always print more.

This must be Monday.

~~~

* Foreign journalists have been reporting that American soldiers are refusing orders to go into dangerous areas in Iraq. They also claim that our troops have blogs and wrote so many anti-war tracts that the Pentagon now forbids internet blogs by soldiers who are reluctant to fight.

* Mr. Bandwagon, Mitt Romney, seems certain to win the Republican primaries still months away because his leading opponents are just plain nuts. We're talking McCain and Giuliani. You can't be serious about them having all that power. Of course, Ron Paul is the people's choice, but what's that got to do with it? He'd bring back the Constitution and avoid "entangling foreign alliances." How could we have wars then?

* The Lebanese Army - encouraged and supplied by Uncle Sam - blasted the Palestinians in their squalid refugee camps again over the weekend. The refugees have been there since 1948, when Israeli forces took their homes and farms ("this land is our land, God gave this land to me") and drove them into camps in Lebanon. The justification is a search for Islamist terrorists. The Palestinians are used to this. About 25 years ago, Ariel Sharon led Israel's army into the camps and slaughtered thousands of refugees. Sharon was cashiered out of the government for that terrible crime, but he was elected president of Israel soon after. The beat goes on with Palestinians as the big losers. They lost property, livelihoods and civil rights. Before the world agreed to their destruction, Palestine produced the highest ratio of doctors, engineers and teachers in the Middle East. Now they produce terrorists. This is another case of BLOWBACK.

* Secretary of Defense Gates (Rummy's replacement) says, "We might have to remain in Iraq much the way we stayed in Korea after that war." Well, I guess. We have to stay to watch the oil and to protect Israel.

* O'Reilly, Hannity, Beck. Oh, nevermind.

* One-and-a-half-million Christian Iraqis worshipped and maintained schools in Saddam's Iraq. (They speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus.) They comprise 3% of the population. Now, they are scared and keeping their heads down. The civil war goes on around them, and their neighbors are less friendly than when the mad tyrant ran the country.

THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S SECRECY POLICY

Ever since the hand-on-the-Bible swearing in ceremonies, Bush and Cheney have operated behind closed doors, allowing only a minimum of information available to the public. Much of the information has been controlled and spun. Examples of this abound. Yesterday's revelation of Vice President Cheney's order to destroy the records of the Secret Service highlighted the secrecy policy.

The vaunted Freedom of Information Act has provided tons of inside information to professional and amateur reporters. But this administration has learned how to shun, delay and obstruct the process.

"What are they hiding?" is a familiar refrain in Washington these days.

~~~

Meetings & Events

* The public is invited to join the committee to bar southern governors from the presidency. NMSG - No More Southern Governors - intends to push for a constitutional amendment. They point to Carter, Clinton and Bush as enough evidence to support their cause.

* The meeting scheduled for tonight to stop the meridians on St. George Boulevard is cancelled.

Help Wanted

Sorry. All jobs were outsourced to India and Singapore today. Try again tomorrow.

For Sale

Any candidate except Ron Paul.

THE NEED FOR NEW AMERICANS

Apparently, leaders in the administration and Congress are aware of economic facts which they don't dare to express in public. Two dirty little secrets would change national thinking on illegal immigration. Here they are:

1.) The Social Security system needs a steady increase in worker contributions to keep a sustainable ratio of payments to benefits - more income than outgo - and the falling birth rate endangers the size of the work force.

2.) The debt-based dollar requires expanding growth in demand and activity or it diminishes, resulting in a retraction of both currency and economy, and possible depression. A shrinking population would bring disaster and a level one makes for stagnation. Only a growing population
raises production and creates a robust economy under our monetary system.

If you knew that, wouldn't you welcome the influx of new people?

~~~

Hot Items

* What kind of people are we that we send not only mothers into battle, but amputees? The Pentagon has changed the centuries-old practice of discharging soldiers who lost limbs in a war. This signals desperation with the low volunteer numbers. Even the $40,000 bonuses aren't enough. Mothers, amputees - how low can you go?

* Can you believe the liberty-compromisers in Washington are considering issuing national ID cards? Sure, you can.

* A local SUV has a flag on the back with a message under it: Make War, Not Love

* Ron Paul - a choice, not an echo.

Dixie Thinker: Serious fun, but not for the smug and snug.

Meetings & Events

Dr. Ira Longterm, noted economist, will be back in his adopted hometown to speak at a luncheon at the Holiday Inn, Saturday at noon. Open to the public. The talk will be based on his latest book: "Debt Is A Many Splendored Thing."

Help Wanted

Shredding Machine Operator in vice president's office. Fast-paced work, much of it overtime. A chance to meet top executives of favored corporations. Call Karl Rove for application.

Overheard

At Only The Lonely bar: "Bush wants to invade France, but he's afraid the French would follow us home."

Twenty-Years-From-Now News

While the military missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Cuba, North Korea, and Russia continue to drain our treasury and manpower, the Sons of Liberty uprisings in Idaho, Montana and Utah are growing and will require at least 50,000 troops to prevent an eventual civil war.

SLOW NEWS DAY

He's at it again, ma. President Bush chose another insider to head the World Bank after doing all he could to save the job for a disgraced bank president. Robert Zoellick, with years of experience in the State Department will replace Paul Wolfowitz as the top man. Those two are buddies, you know. Paul and Bob were together in the notorious group in the Pentagon and state under "The Project for an American Century." This was the plan devised and being sold to Rumsfeld, Cheney and others before 9-11. That's right. Before the atrocity at the World Trade Center.

The group was nicknamed "Neocons" (new conservatives) and was comprised of some familiar names. Besides Paul and Bob, there was Elliot Abrams, Richard Armitage, Richard Perle, Larry Franklin (now in prison for spying for Israel), and William Kristol. Each of them has a story on the fringe of shadiness, at least. They were the architects of the War on Iraq.

So it's here we go again. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Bush names Robert Zoellick, another character with the usual credentials: CFR and Trilateral Commission membership. Those are essential to high level promotion in Washington.

Hope and pray that they all make it into the history books.

~~~

Randoms

* Russians are boasting of their new missile prowess capable of destroying any defenses. Great, now we can fight on another front. Preemptive show soon: Shock & Awe on Moscow. Bring 'em on. Just so they don't follow us home after we wipe them out.

* If this administration is so well-supported by Republicans, why isn't Vice President Dick Cheney among the list of candidates for president?

---------------------------------------------------------

Meetings & Events

A Thinkathon Festival is planned for the fall, when the smart folks return. (Snowbirds.)

Help Wanted

Pilots for spreading chemtrails over Dixie. Average workdays: 8 days per month. Top pay. Secretive. Apply at Area 51.

For Sale

Pogo sticks, hula hoops and yo yo. What am I offered?

Twenty-Years-From-Now News

The St. George City Council will take up the matter of a new airport at Thursday night's meeting.

Personals

You took it. You know who you are. I want it back.

JUST ANOTHER CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY

No alarms or whistles are going off about the use of depleted uranium (DU) in Iraq. The military uses DU in bombs and shells because DU's density allows it to penetrate armor. The problem is that it strickens and sickens both the target and the user. The damage has been on going since the first Gulf War. Iraq is a wide depository of DU, presenting a hazard for many years to come.

The story is suppressed, ignored and rationalized. If news people have a responsibility to report news, why are they silent through this screaming disaster?

More than a thousand tons of internationally banned depleted uranium in the form of bombs and tipped shells have been used in Iraq since 2003.

Why is there no discourse about eminent scientist Leuren Moret's assertion that DU is the definitive cause of Gulf War Syndrome?" Uranium munitions is the reason thousands of our military personnel suffer and died. That's the terrible truth.

Terry Jamison, Public Affairs Specialist of the Office of the Deputy in the Department of Veterans Affairs, reports the number of Gulf War veterans now on medical disability, since 1991, is 518,739. Out of the 580,400 soldiers who served in the first Gulf War, 11,000 are now dead. By the year 2000, there were 325,000 on permanent medical disability, 56% of those who served. Those numbers are way beyond the figures from other wars.

Marion Fulk, a nuclear scientist who worked at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, commented that the new and rapid malignancies of soldiers from the Iraq War are a "spectacular matter of concern."

Why the cover? Who in the media is concerned and courageous enough to tell the people?


~~~

Other Concerns

* Isn't it clear that the citizens want an end to this war of occupation? The last election sent the message. The Democrats have already failed to deliver the peace. This places both major parties in the same sinking boat. As they sink, a third party might rise again, on a platform of peace and Fix America First. Ron Paul, Chuck Hagel, and a few others have an opportunity. Yup, Paul should tell the Republicans where to go and do a Ross Perot without the "crazy aunt in the attic" routine.

* Congress voted to let Bush make war, thus relinquishing its responsibility under the Constitution. The Supremes should have stepped in to reverse the act, and relinquished the court's constitutional responsibility when it did not do so.

* Anyone who still believes the news is not managed should drink a glass of cold water. Look at the number they are doing on Congressman Ron Paul. The Republican candidate is a newsmaker, but he scares the establishment and receives no attention.

* Paul Wolfowitz is gone from the world bank. Everyone is happy except Dubya.

Serious fun. Not for the snug and smug.

Meeting & Events

* Eavesdroppers Anonymous meets tonight. (You probably know.) The topic: how hearing aids can improve you lifestyle.

* Lonesome Liberals second meeting will not take place. No one showed up for the first get together.

* Pessimists Club is now forming. Call 688-0287. Join before it's too late.

* Stop The Growth Committee membership is increasing as fast as the population in Dixie.

Help Wanted

Food Tasters for Ron Paul, Michael Moore and Rocky Anderson. Call Security Agency at 801-555-0124

For Sale

Gas guzzling SUV - will trade for bike.

Twenty-Years-From-Now News

With the water pipeline completed only a mile from Lake Powell, the lake went dry. A frustrated Utah Governor Huntsman exclaimed, "My heck."

Personals

Cell-phone cowboy searching for a roaming companion.

GET WITH IT, FOURTH ESTATE

The media is under constant attack for spinning the news. The news-and-information professionals cover-up and manage daily news stories, it cannot be denied. The fourth estate let's us down in more ways than is commonly understood.

Journalists are important, critically so. Thomas Jefferson said something about governments will take away your rights without newspapers watching them. George Orwell said, "People believe what the media tells them to believe."

The journalists in the papers, magazines, radio, and television carry a responsibility to be investigative and honest. These people report the truth and they also make news. The Republican ex-Congressman now serving an eight year term in prison for taking bribes, was exposed by a journalist for the San Diego Union. We would not have heard of the My Lai atrocity in Viet Nam or the Abu Ghraib prison tortures in Iraq were it not for Seymour Hersh, a journalist devoted to truth.

The self-styled experts on radio - Rush, Sean, Glenn - consider the press an enemy in our struggle in Iraq. Let's make a case the other way. In other words, look at how the fourth estate failed to do its job, and could have averted this awful war.

The journalists reported almost nothing about our sanctions against Iraq from 1991 until 2003. The U.S. blockaded both food and medicine as well as critical items like pesticides, x-ray equipment, soap, electrical equipment, and cleaning agents. The result was one and one half million deaths - mostly infants and elderly.

They did not tell the truth about inspections for weapons of mass destruction. Scott Ritter, the U.S. inspection team chief, fought to get his story out about the successful work of the inspections and the cooperation of Saddam's regime. Hans Blix was ridiculed for being right.

Journalists did not question the Bush administration's claims about WMD. Colin Powell now admits he told George Tenet and Dick Cheney that the CIA's claims of WMD were b.s., even though he went ahead and presented the falsehoods to the UN.

They failed to tell of the widepsread use of depleted uranium by our military. DU is banned internationally - we signed onto the ban and continue to violate it. You won't read about in the big press.

They, the journalists, allowed themselves to be part of the action with their embedded positions in the invasion. As a result, the military misled us by their propaganda surrounding Pat Tillman's death and the rescue of Jessica Lynch.

They didn't and don't tell us anything about oil. Oil is an ignored factor although it's action-packed. The people of Iraq will probably never see their precious oil again. The corporations are moving in quickly, as our state department writes key portions of the new constitution soon to be established.

The latest on Iraq from an American view point is the Ron Paul story. The Republican candidate for president debates nine others about the folly of this war/occupation and recieves overwhelming support in the polls. For that, he is ignored. Journalists continue to focus on the candidates who play the game. You know: Romney, McCain and Giuliani. Nobody wants Ron Paul except the people.

Neither the fourth estate (nor the USA) will last long unless it tells the truth, the whole truth and nothing else.

~~~

Hot Stuff

* A new book claims that Ronald Reagan's diary contains passages indicating his irritation with our Senator Hatch. No comment.

* The Congress is really going at it, arguing about the various provisions of the proposed illegal immigration bill. They ought to add an amendment for drafting aliens into the military
as soon as they are caught. This would be a multi-purpose section of the new law. It would discourage running across the border, it would give us a surge in soldiers to go to you-know-where, and it would save the big bucks - about $30,000 - spent on bonuses to get Americans to volunteer/enlist. Eventually, Bush would refer again to the jobs Americans won't do.

* That wall on the border is to be two wire mesh fences with a road between them. Funds are available for 700 miles so far, but about 2,000 miles when it's completed. But is it anything but ugly, is it stunning in any way? Won't we all be embarrassed in 500 years when historians compare the China Wall with our wall? I mean, ours will have eroded away while people still ride Segways on the China Wall.

* Senator Bennett has taken up with the diplomacy crowd who want to end the Iraq quagmire the way the Baker-led study commission suggested. Give Bennett some credit (not too much) for finally coming around. Now watch the War Party turn on him.

* The newspaper in St. George, Utah printed a cartoon today featuring Michael Moore - the devil himself - and his soon to be released movie about health care. The cartoon claims that Sicko is full of lies. There they go again. Accusing Moore of lies when they have not (and will not) lower themselves to see the film.

------------------------------------------------------------

Meetings & Events

* The Civilian Review Board monitoring local media invites the public to view evidence of bias at the newspaper and radio regarding war propaganda. War crimes may have been committed. June 7 at Starbucks. Check your firearms at the door, please.

* Stop The Pipeline meets for an hour at 8 pm each Wednesday, right after Stop The Growth and just before Stop The War. So don't be late, or early either. See you at the Slippery Slope Saloon.

Help Wanted

Elvis impersonator to entertain at the western convention of Restless Leg victims. You'd better be good, it's a tough crowd.

For Sale

Ralph Nader's getaway car. Collectors' value. Used at BYU. Proceeds go to paint the White House green.

Twenty-Years-From-Now News

Hooray. St. George was selected as the site of the 2028 Olympics, beating out Wachovia, Lake Wobegon and Luchenbach.

Personals

If you're a Libra who likes circling the roundabouts at midnight, sipping O'Douls at The Outback, and eating jello for breakfast - we have much in common. Race and age don't matter, but do send a photo along with your resume and current financial statement to Lucille, POB 111, Leeds. (I feel really good about this, don't you?) Maybe we'll have it all.

PACKING HEAT

President Bush was shocked, shocked that North Korea exploded a "nukular" bomb. He doesn't want dangerous nations to have the ability to do a Hiroshima or a Nagasaki. Apparently, no one told Dubya about the concept of mutual destruction deterrent which kept the cold war from getting hot.

When President Harry Truman quietly told Soviet Premier Joesph Stalin at the Potsdam Conference that the USA had an atomic bomb, Stalin replied, "Yes, I know." Of course he knew, with his vast web of subversion operating here. American atom spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed in 1952 for delivering our bomb secrets to the Soviets. The traitors' Communist friends said they did it to insure a balance of power between East and West.

In the world of nations and in the community of individuals, the little guys need an equalizer. Granny walking to her car at night can feel equal to a mugger if she is packing heat. Her equalizer can be of small caliber, and she will feel and be safer as will all of us by the protection it provides. Only the perpetrator is at risk.

The same goes for nations of the world. The weak ones are intimidated by the bullies and giants who threaten them and tell them how to live. They need equalizers to feel comfort and self-respect when confronted by potential perpetrators.

Nine nations of the world are packing heat (that we know of) and only one of them has ever pulled the trigger - Great Britain, France, Russia, China, Pakistan, India, North Korea, USA, and Israel. Interesting that Israel developed the bomb in total secrecy. The revelation aroused no horrified reaction from Washington as was the case with the others.

Guns and other weapons are equalizers which make crime and violence less likely and individuals and nations safer.

We all need to pack heat to be safe.

~~~

Hot Stuff

* Fidel Castro, Cuba's Maximum Leader, says he feels much better and realizes he didn't take care of himself. That's a surprise because he took care of so many others.

* The State of Utah reveals its cost figures for schooling illegal immigrants. Are you sitting down? $85 million. Statistics can lie, so you'd better watch out on this one. If these dear little ones are to be future citizens, the funds are well spent. On the other hand, they might go home, by choice or deportation - then it's not a good investment. Close the borders, don't let them out.

* Don't tell me again. I know. Our governor speaks Chinese, but so do a billion other people. Can he whistle Dixie? That's what counts.

* The Vatican announced that there isn't a limbo after all. Sorry about that. In Dixie, we still have Purgatory and we're not dropping it.

* I would not let Sean Hannity or Glenn Beck into my living room under any conditions. Rush Limbaugh would be welcome if he would raise his hand to speak. Michael Savage could sit on my sofa anytime, just for a conversation starter. Laura Ingram, no. Mark Levin, no. Ollie North, no.

* The State of Utah soon will establish a second liquor store in St. George. Why? If booze is bad, why does our state government sell it? If the stuff is good, then why can't it be free and sold in supermarkets or Wal-Mart? We all know the answer: REVENUE.

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Meeting & Events

* Tailgaters Anonymous at Outback tonight. Drive carefully getting here.

* Losing Coaches Support Group at Casablanca Sports Book in Mesquite, nightly.

* Police Chief Harding will answer questions about Saturday night's midnight sighting of swarms of bees in the parking lot at Only The Lonely, a popular saloon on St. George Boulevard.

Help Wanted

Iraqi language teachers, for when they follow us home.

For Sale

Will trade exercise equipment for food.

Twenty-Years-From-Now News

* "The proposed water pipe line from the Great Lakes to St. George is necessary to sustain our current population," according to new mayor Rocky Anderson. Senators Hatch and Bennett oppose the plan, preferring to use the funds for the next generation of nuclear weapons.

* The temperature is 137 degrees in St. George today - right in line with the continuing global warming. The humidity registers at 5. It's not the humidity, it's the heat.

AMERICA'S DESTINY: HUMANITARIAN SUPERPOWER

Take heart, true patriots. Our day will come. The corporate oligarchists won't rule us much longer. Their number will be up one day when the stars are aligned just right and the people clamor for a restoration of traditional values and virtues. We'll conquer the world with faith, hope and charity. The sun will be out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar.

Humanitarian superpower, that's us.
~~~

Hot Stuff

* A component of the oligarchy controlling us is Big Pharma, the prescription and over-the-counter drug manufacturers who finance both elected and appointed government officials. One agency designed to protect our health and safety is the FDA, but its record is spotty. They do act strangely at times. Now the FDA is embroiled in a dispute about the heart attack risks of Avandia, a diabetes treatment. The manufacturer confessed months ago to the FDA that there was a problem. A recent study by the Cleveland Clinic indicates an even worse problem exists. The apparently unalarmed federal agency issued a statement that it would "Look at it again."

* California Governor Arnold Schwarzenagger (he drives a Hummer) visited Utah Governor Huntsman in Salt Lake City to lay plans for joining the war on global warming. Before they get all hot and bothered, please tell them about how the sun is heating up, as is Mars. The governors should cool it, but we know it's hard for them. When you have power, you tend to think that you, well, that you have power.

* Have you noticed how dogs are different nowadays? The canines used to turn their backs and kick dirt on their messes. Honest, dogs kicked dirt. Those were the days my friend. No more of that. In our modern times, the dog's masters carry plastic bags, scoop it up and carry it home. Has the dog become the master? What does the dog think of these subservient humans?
Dogs should kick dirt, that's what kicking is for. Otherwise, put the leashes on the owners.

* Senator Hatch has returned from Iraq. He believes in the mission more than ever. Was there ever any doubt he'd say that? He should tell us what the mission is. Has it changed, AGAIN?

* Let's build statues in the park for Scott Ritter, Hans Blix, Ron Paul and Michael Moore.

* Puiffed-up, big shots in Congress, that includes Senator Chris Dodd, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee and our own Senator Robert Bennett, just go nuts at the idea of Wal-Mart or Home Depot establishing banks. Isn't free enterprise the American way? If Pete's Electric Repair wants to start Pete's Bank as an added source of revenue, why not? Uncle Sam, get off our backs! Unregulate us, please.

* Stop the war.

The Dixie Thinker is serious fun, but not for the snug and smug.

Meetings & Events

A Club Gitmo Reunion for former detainees meets every Saturday morning at Worthen Park. Enjoy rehashing the good times, the memories and the exchanges of information.

Help Wanted

Clean-up man to remove debris left by political cnadidates from now 'til November (2008).
Must have strong nose and be quick to act. Expect overtime. Prefer you be an independent, (heavens) not a Democrat. Libertarian, maybe. Call this office.

For Sale

Snowbird equipment - rv, golf clubs, bike, scooter, fishing gear - will go cheap. Can't come down this year because of the gas gougers. $4 per gallon is outrageous. - call Sammy in Oregon

Twenty-Years-From-Now News

Ultimata - an all-in-one shot to prevent every illness known to mankind has been approved by the FDA. A Pfizer/Merck vaccination will cost $72,000, but it's covered by Medicare - which has agreed to pick up the tab for treating the inevitable side effects.

BLOWBACK IS KARMA

Our great republic would be safer and happier if every citizen would learn the meaning of blowback, in a world politics context. Congressman Ron Paul has given us a term to work with in improving our foreign policy. "Blowback" is a name given to American empire building in Chamler Johnson's book. The CIA adopted blowback in several reports. It is important.

So many slogans and terms have shaped history. A few of these were: isolationism, saving face, balance of power, eternal vigilance, peace through strength, and pre-emptive war. Blowback has the potential to be a most useful term to define a concept in modern politics and diplomacy.

Blowback means karma. What goes around, comes around. Natural law causes that which you send out to come back to you. How could it be otherwise?

America is an interventionist, occupying nation. We don't conquer, unless attacked, but we do meddle. We have troops stationed in 134 countries. As a random example, consider Honduras. Do we really need eight military bases in that nation?

We cannot afford our current foreign policy and the world doesn't like it. We're tiring of it.

Blowback. What a concept!

~~~

Hot Stuff

* What's-its-name, the local paper, reported today on the City of St. George's budget. The headline dealt with the possibility of increased golf fees. Horrors. A couple of guys said they might have to play only four times a week instead of five. This brings up the question: Why is the municipality in the golf business? Four golf courses and a practice driving range are city owned. That, dear hearts, is socialism with a capital s. Socialism. And don't forget the swimming pools are the city's. Pretty soon now, we'll have city bowling lanes and dance halls.

* If every American could see the films of World Trade Building 7 - a 40 story skyscraper - crumbling to the ground in 6.4 seconds, there would be a congressional investigation by sundown. No plane hit that structure on 9/11. So why did it fall?

* The Spectrum's Jennifer Weaver was interviewed on Bryan Hyde's radio forum yesterday. She spent considerable time discussing the illegal immigration issue. I don't think she realizes that about 60% of the undocumented workers pay into the Social Security system. They are not burdening Social Security, they are bolstering it. Jennifer also spoke of foreign students being educated in American universities. She said she wants them to stay here. Well, maybe they don't want to. Many of the parents and governments of those other nations send their young people to gain knowledge and skills with whioh they will improve their homelands. Should we force them to stay and then shoot at them if they try to leave, Castro-style?

* With all the arguing about America being a democracy or a republic, remember: Democracy separates responsibilty from authority.

* Michael Moore's new documentary, Sicko, is soon to be released. You can be sure that those who refuse to see it will be insisting Moore is lying, or something worse. More than a year ago I wrote to a few of his critics to find out where Moore is wrong on Fahrenheit 9/11. I'm still waiting for a reply. Moore's critics are blinded by hate.

The Dixie Thinker is serious fun, but not for the snug and smug.

Meeting & Events

* Lecture tonight at Frenchy's Cafe, back room at 7:30 PM. Topic is Meadow Mountain Massacre in a talk by an anonymous speaker: New evidence of shots from the grassy knoll indicate that Lee did not act alone.

* An eyewitness speaker tonight - 8 PM in the culture room at Only The Lonely - will reveal that Rush really does have half of his brain tied behind his back. Snapshot photos and other evidence will be on display. This would explain a lot.

Twenty-Years-From-Now News

Elian Gonzales has been picked by Cuba's National Assembly as the successor to Fidel Castro in the event the Maximum Leader fails to recover from his still mysterious ailment. Cuban-American relations are not expected to improve under a Gonzales regime. He has an anti-American bias dating back to his expulsion from the "land of the free" when he was a young boy.

Help Wanted

Dumbwaiter at Frenchy's. Apply in person, ask for Gigi.

For Sale

Old McDonalds transfat recipes. Dirt cheap or OBO.



IT'S ALL SO SIMPLE

OPERATION WHOLE ENCHILADA

Millions of illegal immigrants in the United States and millions of Mexicans still in Mexico want to become American citizens. Other millions who came here plan to return home one day.

We can help them all.

We certainly need the millions already here to do those jobs which Americans apparently did not do before they came. Most of them are good people whose second generation will be more Americanized, as usually is the case.

The happy solution is annexation. If Mexicans now here want it both ways - dual citizenship with amnesty - they can have it. We deliver.

Immediate ciitizenship will be granted to all Mexicans once the U.S. Army crosses the border and liberates the people from one of the most corrupt oligarchist governments in the world. They'll throw flowers and cheer our soldiers, there will be dancing in the streets. Congress will grant statehood to each provincial state in Mexico. Steve Covey will call it a win/win situation.

Don't be bothered by the military conquest characterisics of this action. We're Americans. Folks kind of expect that. We can keep this one clean, with no CIA involvement. We're looking over a four-leaf clover that we've overlooked before. Let's hope the borders are just as porous going south as they are coming north. We'll be over; we're coming over.

Oh by the way, (I almost forgot) Mexico is oil-rich and the people work their heads off. The new USA will be self-sufficient in oil, the border problems will have gone poof, you can forget NAFTA, and the peso is passe. We'll all be working for the Yankee Dollar.

This might beat the The Louisiana Purchase. Mexico has rich agricultural land and mining deposits from sea to shining sea. The new America south of the border offers untold potential for peace and prosperity for U.S. citizens.

Okay padre?

~~~

Hot Stuff

* While you're drinking those six to eight glasses of water (doctor's orders) every day, think about how you'll be able to keep it up when another 300,000 thirsty interlopers move into Dixie. I mean, they're coming to America, destination St. George. Offer your ideas, your solutions, please.

* Dr. Steven Jones, former professor of physics at BYU, gave talks in our area last week. He presented his bold and enlightening claims of the circumstances of the World Trade Center atrocity on 9/11. Jones does not agree with our government's version, and his ideas are gaining respect. One would expect that a local newspaper would provide publicity when a giant such as Jones speaks.

* Most state legislature's (Utah's included) are not yielding to the big pharm monster, Merck, who has lobbbies promoting a new anti-cancer drug,Gardasil, for mandatory vaccination laws to cover young girls. Gardasil will be injected into every school girl in Texas, where the prevailing philosophy puts individual rights in last place. The next state to fall to the madness is Georgia.

* Utah Governor Huntsman is enthusiastic about his upcoming participation in a governors' conference on Global Warming. The guv ought to tell that to the Chinese, who are careless polluters. Everyday someone tells me that our governor speaks Chinese. Great. He can stop the carbon emissions in both China and Utah.

* The Spectrum's Ed Kociela had only one bad day. That was last Saturday. He wrote that those upset by rampant illegal immigration were actually racists on the inside. Ed, you can't always be right. We love you. Now go sit in the corner until we say, "time's up."

The Dixie Thinker is serious fun, but not for the snug and smug.

Meeting & Events

Former Vice President Al Gore will speak on Friday at 7PM in the convention hall at Starbucks. The topic is: "Where have all the UFOs gone?

Twenty-Years-From-Now news

Research and development engineers at ATT/3M demonstrated their all-in-one, miniaturized
gadget which is a composite computer, television, telephone, camera, and fax machine in a ring on your finger. Also, when removed from your finger, Atlas, can quickly change the oil in your car.

For Sale

* Psst. Social Security cards. Dime a dozen. Ancestor Square, 24/7 - under the No Loitering sign.

* Peace Patches. Fasten like a band aid to your forehead, and the war fever goes away in 10 minutes.

Help Wanted

Translator to serve as interpreter for proponents and opponents of school vouchers at Utah capitol.

SUCH A DEAL

White House officials and Senate leaders in both parties worked behind closed doors for months to produce a bill to solve the question of illegal immigration. They presented their creature yesterday. President Bush immediately announced his support. Senators Ted Kennedy, D, and John Kyle, R, wrote most of it and urge everyone to get behind it.

The debate is on. Certain features are certain to rile and beguile. The aliens can stay, but they must first return to Mexico. They have to pay a $5000 fine. The border fence would be completed.

Opponents call it amnesty, but those in favor say it's not that at all. The proposed bill is more than 700 pages long. No one comprehends the creature yet, so we don't know whether it's fish or foul.

Like the song says: It's Impossible.

President Eisenhower deported one and one-half million illegals to Mexico in the mid 1950s with the explanation that they're taking jobs from Americans. President Bush wants to send 12 to 20 million back home with a plan to return legally because "They do jobs Americans won't take."

If illegal alien Jose has to return south of the border, he loses his income with which he supports his wife and American-born baby. Then he pays a hefty fine and returns to wife and babe, who meanwhile must be aided by government dole.

The hard truth is: Jose is here because he was allowed to enter and encouraged to work here. The real reason 12 to 20 million Mexicans were welcomed in by our government is because our upside down Social Security system requires a steady increase in producers (workers) to recipients (pensioners) ratio to continue to exist. Also, our debt-based money system as dictated by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 requires an increase in capital expansion by way of production and demand to avoid deflation and depression.

This is theatre. The latest act by the senators and the president is comedy. You have to laugh and cry at the same time.

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More Hot Stuff

* Congressman Ron Paul won most of the polls pertaining to the two Republican debates. Isn't that why the War Party leaders are trying to ignore him? They're afraid of him, just as they were of Barry Goldwater and Pat Buchanan. They will smear him if they can.

* Ron Paul asserted that "We have been bombing Iraq for 10 years." Paul's wrong about that. It's been 15 years.

* Paul Wolfowitz got the axe at the World Bank. The directors wouldn't let him do just anything he wanted to do. He's been fired, and he is oh, so indignant. Too bad Carter or Reagan or Clinton or Rumsfeld or Powell or Bush didn't fire him, either before or after he and the notorious Scooter Libby designed the plan to invade Iraq 10 years ago.

* Scooter Libby! That's another suspect who should go through Gitmo's torture program. He has problems with his memory. We can help. We have ways. And now that Mitt Romney is calling for doubling the size of Gitmo, we'll have plenty of space.

* Jose, the Mexican, can cross the border into the USA without being shot at. Let's compare Jose's movements with some Cuban dude, named Raul. If Raul decides to leave Castro's island, climbs onto his homemade raft and sets out into the Gulf of Mexico for Mexico, he might be shot in the back. If he makes it to Mexico, he might be shot in the face while entering or crossing the southern border. (A few weeks ago, a Mexican border guard shot at an illegal immigrant and accidentally killed one of his compatriots.) Cuba shoots the emmigrants; Mexico guns down immigrants. Jose has it better than Raul.

* Speaking of citizenship, how does it happen that the bulls-eye nation of the world (that's us) hires a man with dual citizenship to be boss over Homeland Security? Michael Chertoff has two countries - USA and Israel. Isn't that double loyalty and a potential conflict of interest? Is America Chertoff's wife while Israel is his mistress? Or is this polygamy? Help me here!

* The twins of the oil corporation nations, Bush and Blair, strutted and swaggered together to their news conference yesterday. They expressed perfect belief and pride in the mission which is not quite accomplished because the oil provision in the Iraq Constitution - which our state department wrote for the Iraqis - has not yet been approved. British Oil, Exxon/Mobil, Chevron and Conoco/Phillips are most grateful for the services of Bush and his puppy.

The Dixie Thinker is serious fun, but not for the snug or smug.

Meetings & Events

The reunion of former CIA spooks and operatives is in the planning stages. We are tentative about a meeting in July. Mail or call in your ideas and preferences. Osama bin Laden and Manuel Noriega are not welcome this year. Neither is George Tenet.

For Sale

Used shredding machine, as is. Buyer might want it for collectors' value rather than functional use. History of long night's of heavy use in the White House basement office during the Iran-Contra days. Once touched by President Reagan, some say his fingerprints are all over it. Best offer gets this old workhorse of Ollie North. (We'll throw him in with the deal.)

Help Wanted

Car Counter for the City of St. George. The mayor warns, "Too many of our vehicles turn up missing, and we really have to find out how many cars we have or we'll lose our assets." The job is full time and you can speak any language you want, except English. Must be able to read numbers and count to about 250. Full benefits: medical, dental, legal, and a Hummer to take home at night. Apply at city hall.

OUCH, THAT HURTS

At the Republican debate two nights ago, moderator Brit Hume asked about the use of torture. Senator John McCain, who was beaten at the Hanoi Hilton during the War in Viet Nam, said he was against the practice even in extreme circumstances. He added that torturing reduces America's stature in the world.

Mitt Romney, who wears gloves and a scarf when it's 40 degrees, came up with: "We should double the size of Guantanamo." Oh. great. Romney obviously has strong ties to Utah. Both Utah senators have praised Gitmo. Senator Bennett came away from there thrilled with the menu in the cafeteria. Sure, Utah folks love this war, and apparently they approve of torture too.

Countless pundits on the radio - and they are countless - made comments such as, "Of course we should use every possible means to extract information from the enemy." Bill O'Really insists that torture is a valuable and effective tool (even though generals have claimed that often the information gained is fictional.)

If these torture-people represent my America, I'm out of here.

Torture is inhumane. We've signed international agreements banning torture. The Geneva Conventions were signed by the United States of America. If we don't care anymore, we should renounce the agreements!

If your grandsons - and granddaughters, we send girls into battle - are shipped off to future wars in foreign lands, wouldn't you prefer them to be protected by the rules of war?

Consider the important fact that some of the torture victims are innocent and have no information to divulge.

Sometimes bad is bad.

Other Items

* Don't leave Utah to look for work. According to the Utah Department of Workforce Services, the jobs are coming here at the fastest rate in the nation. This is the place, however, you might need two of those jobs to make ends meet.

* Kentucky Senator McConnell says the Iraq government had better get with it. "They're moving too slow and not doing it right." Stop, senator, stop. Whose country is it?

* Mayor Bloomberg of New York City, is considering running for president. A news report claimed that this humble man is willing to throw a billion dollars into his own campaign. He's like George Steinbrenner, owner of the N.Y. Yankees who tries to buy championships. Sometimes it doesn't work. Bloomberg might blow the billion, but there's more where that came from.

* Money. It reminds one of Mitt Romney. The guy is worth $240 million. He could buy John Kerry, not that he'd want to. Sure enough, these super-rich power seekers can win the votes of the masses. The Roosevelts and Bushes did. Notice how they always claim to feel your pain.

* Half of the students in major American cities don't graduate from high school, about 50 million citizens are uninsured, insurance companies are prescribing for doctors, outsourcing is respectable, we have no idea as to the number of illegals who live here, and our chief exports are factories and jobs. Meanwhile, our leaders speak to us of trash and trivia.

* A doctor was arrested in Murray, Utah for overprescribing meds. No kidding. They can't do that? My aunt took six different prescribed meds a day. What controlling legal authority should I notify?

* If torture is acceptable, why can't the Senate investigators torture Alberto Gonzales to help him remember? They could also use it on Tom DeLay, Paul Wolfowitz and Bob Ney. We could torture Dick Cheney just to see what comes out of him. Bush? Never mind.

* Sadistic pleasures can be delicious. Watching the World Bank President Wolfowitz squirm and twist in the wind is rich stuff. If we get an impeachment, The Decider will squirm too.

The Dixie Thinker is serious fun, but not for the snug and smug.

Meetings & Events

* The Restless Leg support group meets the third Thursday of every other month on odd numbered years. That's tonight. More members are needed. We know you're out there (we see you.)

* A slide and video presentation will be shown at the Santa Clara library this Saturday at 10 am. Several middle class sightings have been made in the Dixie area recently. Skeptical cynics are invited, we have visual proof.

* Loiter Pride support group has changed its next meeting place from Ancestor Square to Blue Bunny.

* Height Watchers meets daily at 5:30 at Starbucks Cultural Center. Regular attendance is helpful. Never give up, you can beat this thing.