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.

~~~