SICKO

About a year ago, Paula and I watched Michael Moore's "Sicko" in Minneapolis. Eleven people were in the theatre audience. This topped the attendance record for the other Moore documentary, "Fahrenheit 911" which drew only eight folks into the St. George theatre we attended.

This was evidence to me that petty people don't dare to be exposed to ideas promoted by those they dislike. Rather than face the challenges of Moore's revelations, they turn their backs on the man and his works.

I wrote identical letters to health professionals, radio talk hosts, newspaper editors, and others with a public interest to learn how many and who had seen "Sicko." Most of them did answer my stamped self-addressed envelopes, but none had seen the film. One said he would rent it later. Another said she couldn't afford to go. Others merely reported not seeing it.

I was crestfallen by the paltry response.

All of us could learn from Sicko. Those who should know better prefer to be ignorant. Moore's film has merit.

The movie would cause anyone to reassess his or her values. Socialized medicine, national health insurance or whatever modified program might not be the ideal answer, but you must be cognizant of our broken health care system.

Insurance company employees dictate treatment and care. Fifty million Americans can't afford insurance or care. Health professional and insurance corporations hire teams of lobbyists to influence members of Congress. The last and almost forgotten subject is the patient.

Reforms are desperately needed and sitting still to watch Sicko might jar open your closed minds, causing you to create solutions from which we'd all benefit.

It's all so simple.

Meetings & Events

Consultant John Dillinger will speak to the Association of Physicians and Insurance executives on "What the Traffic Will Bear."

Help Wanted

Refusal Clerk to handle requests from ICU nurses and doctors. Must know how to say "no" firmly and without apology. Pay depends on rate of turndowns. Apply in person at White Cross Insurance Inc.

For Sale

American-made pills from Canada, save big. You benefit by fair prices.

GLOBAL HOT AIR

If (they) don't turn up the heat soon, the whole concept of man-caused global warming will collapse. Meanwhile, in the month of May, we see snow and low temperatures in Washington, Minnesota, South Dakota, New York, Maine, and Vermont.

Dude, your carbon footprints are making tracks in the snow.

Something is seriously flawed with the theory.

Come to think of it, we remember what a flim-flam Y2K was. Maybe Global Warming and Y2K came from the same think tank.

It's all so simple.

Meetings & Events

- The Snowbirds stranded here by the high gas prices will gather at the Wal-Mart parking lot today at 4 p.m. to launch a public plea for funds. Also, government help might be on the way to get you on your way.

- The city council's plan to install No Loitering signs on the roundabouts has been abandoned and will be an issue on the ballot in the November elections.

For Sale

Exercise equipment and vegetable juicer. Both used only once. A package deal for $200 or a few gallons of gas or milk.

Thoughts While Waiting in Line at the Convenience Store

- Q. What will we do if China attacks Taiwan? Or Pakistan invades India? Or Israel rolls into Lebanon?

- A. Nothing. nothing, nothing.

- Q. What if Iran builds a nuke?

- A. Missile attacks, air raids, naval shellings, commando action, Marine beach landings, paratroops, CIA predator assassinations, and Exxon-Chevron drilling.

Overheard at Slippery Slope Saloon

"If they follow us home, just where do they think they're going to stay?"

"I know, I know. Bryan Hyde is the best radio man west of the mountains - the Appalachian mountains. Problem is, he's on during Happy Hour."

PRESIDENT BUSH SCOLDS ARABS

Your president addressed the Arab world while in Egypt. He told them to treat their women better.

What a topic. President Bush might have mentioned Saddam, who championed the rights of women and ushered them into the arts, business and academia. Whatever else Saddam was, he was not a gender-bully. And so now, Bush, the self-styled liberator of the Iraqi people, has installed a puppet government which is stripping women of the rights guaranteed them by Saddam.

It's all so simple.

Thoughts While Leaning on a No-Loitering Sign

- Maybe a guy should go into the incandescent-light-bulb business. We're talking black market- lucrative, exciting and tax free.

- There's a surprise coming in the election process. Let's hire a reputable psychic to find out about November. Then we'll take the data to the casino and bet our stimulus payments on it. Give me a call and we'll car-pool it.

Financial Opportunity

Tired of eating beans while your really stupid boss dines upstairs at Frenchy's? Well, do something about it! Join our happy franchise family selling recycled Rush Limbaugh neck ties and Orrin Hatch songs. Call 1-800 ODD TIES AND MUSIC.

For Sale

Neocon T shirts. Clever messages on the back. Mostly clean - the shirts, not the messages. See Ernie in the booth at the mall.

NO MORE MR. NICE GUY

Barrack Obama is certainly a nice guy. He's probably the nicest of all of the candidates who ran this year. That includes Hillary, who is one of the guys, according to the language in use now. Obama is not as nice as Ron Paul, of course, but that's because Ron is perfect.

Many of us will never vote for Obama for one reason. That is, his statement that he is raising his daughter to be moral and chaste, but if she makes a mistake: "I'm not going to punish her with a baby."

Not nice.

Then many others of us would not vote for him because he is a member of the notorious Council on Foreign Relations. That's not the Boy Scouts. It means he is not free and independent. He's signed in and under control with an agenda.

I'll vote only for those who are free, therefore, I might have to write in (on a voting machine?) the name of Ron Paul ( Mr. Right.)

It's all so simple.
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Overheard at Only The Lonely

"Is there a law here that new buildings, have to look like the old ones?

"I'm just saying I can't respect a man who takes two dogs for a walk and brings only one plastic bag."

MILITARY ACTION/COLLATERAL HELL

When the supposed top terrorist in Iraq, Al-Zarqaawi, was killed by our bombs dropped on his house, noted moralist Fidel Castro said, "A barbarity. He should have been tried in court."

Yes, innocent until proven guilty. And we should demand a surrender before decimating them. We're Americans. What has happened to us?

But we went ahead with military justice, dropping two 500 pound bombs on that house, killing Bad Al and a few others, including a woman and a child. We used that nice term spoken often by Timothy McVieh: "Collateral damage." It means innocent life caught in the middle of the action. They might as well put "so what" ahead of the term.

An hour before Shock & Awe was scheduled to begin in Iraq, CIA Director George Slamdunk Tenet reported to President Bush that Saddam was in a certain cafe. So we bombed the place, killing innocent adults and their children, but Saddam wasn't there. So what?

Let's go back to behaving with a reverence for life.

It's all so simple.

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Thoughts While Driving

- Congressman Ron Paul tore into the conservatives who claim that tax cuts increase revenues. He says, "The heck with more revenue. That's not the problem. We have to cut expenditures."

- Curious Bush quote: "We must defeat the enemies of hatred."

- The man also said, Iran is seeking a 'nucular' weapon."

- Bush grumbles about the bad intelligence given to him before his attack on Iraq.

- McCain said today, "We've won the war. Iraq has a functioning democracy."

- The governor works to increase tourism; the mayor pushes golf. Governors ought to let the tourism industry tend to that subject. (The gov should protect liberty.) The mayor should allow recreation industry professionals to do the golf business. (The mayor should work for the liberties of his constituents.) But don't try to explain it to them. They magnify their job descriptions, indicating an ego problem.

- Israel's population is 7 million, and they receive $4 billion in foreign aid from Uncle Sam. Do the math, you might want to climb onto that gravy train.

- Dems win congressional seats in Louisiana, Mississippi and Illinois. Many Republicans are in shock.

- Don't ever lose you day planner! You might as well go back to bed.

- Former Utah Mike Leavitt (now a HEW cabinet member) was in China when the quake quaked. The man is everywhere, probably the most traveled cat since Eleanor Roosevelt.

Twenty-Years-From-Now News

Mike Leavitt has opened a travel agency in Washington DC favoring lobbyists. Politicians, bureaucrats and celebrities can fly coach. Mr. Leavitt intends to accompany most flights until he gets it out of his system.

INTEGRITY

Gotcha. You never heard of integrity, right? Or maybe you forgot the meaning of the word.

Integrity made it onto page one a few days ago when a young man working at Southern Utah University found and immediately turned in $108,000. The first paragraph of the news report stated something like: "Most people would have kept the dough." See what I mean? Some politicians, a few corporate crooks, subculture celebrities, sports cheats, and drug criminals have led us down the path to cynicism. There are so many examples: unopposed illegal immigration, price-fixing in business, lobbies controlling Congress, Federal Reserve banksters, and an inconsistent justice system.

We're not riding high right now, but the good things shall return, including integrity. When civilization climbs back to a high moral plane, you won't be a hero for returning money which doesn't belong to you - it will be natural and common.

The person who lost the big bucks will get the attention. Really. How do you lose $108,000?

It's all so simple.
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Twenty-Years-From-Now News

A young Utah highway patrolman stopped a speeding driver on Interstate 15 south of Provo yesterday. The driver was ticketed and allowed to continue on his way. His name was Osama bin Laden, but the officer and his supervisors didn't recognize the once-famous (infamous) person. Some old timers recall that the "Secret Agent Man" had been a CIA operative credited with chasing the Russian Army occupiers out of Afghanistan prior to organizing the terrible crime known as 9/11. The patrolman told television news that the subject had a white beard, soft brown eyes, a weak voice and was stooped. "I thought he was a grandfather, not a fugitive. But he's both." said the officer.

Meeting & Events

Economist Dr. Ira Longterm will review and sign his latest book: "You Don't Need Cash If You Know The Cashier," at the local Holiday Inn tomorrow at 7 p.m.

OIL

Your president, vice president, secretary of state, secretary of defense, and Senator Orrin Hatch told you that we had to attack Iraq to capture Saddam's evil weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

The United Nations inspectors led by Hans Blix and Scott Ritter scoffed at the claim. After the story was found to be false, we heard other explanations. One was the "confession" by Senator Hatch when he visited the offices of The Spectrum last month. He told the newspaper's editors that we acted to save Israel from Iraq. Please understand that Israel has amply supplies of WMD, and can defend itself.

Let's not forget oil. The NO BLOOD FOR OIL banners, which were seen everywhere before Shock & Awe, represented real concerns. Consider Iraq's new oil law - a provision which the U.S. State Department helped draft in 2006 - and its oily implications. The law allows for 63 of Iraq's 80 major oil fields to be under the control of American, British and Dutch companies. The law provides for a 30 year period in which no taxes or fees of any kind shall be levied on the oil taken by foreign companies.

The subject is rarely mentioned. It's a journalistic untouchable and apparently unprintable in mainstream media circles.

Whenever you have a quiet moment and ponder the reason why we went blasting into a weak nation, you have to dismiss the WMD story. Also, you can doubt Hatch's loose talk about Israel - who sent neither soldiers nor aid of any kind to the coalition cause.

But oil. Hmmm. Before the war, Iraq owned 100% of the oil under its soil. Now, by their own law, they have only about 22%.

Whose oil is it? Well, it's not theirs and it's not ours. It's Exxon's, Chevron's and British Petrol's.

It's all so simple.

DEPLETED URANIUM, ONE MORE COVER-UP

Last May, this blog pointed out the seriousness of DU being used in Iraq. In the elapsed year, you've heard no details from KDXU or The Spectrum - they haven't bothered to inform you.

Whistles ought to be blowing and alarms sounding because the damage has been going on since the first Gulf War. Our military uses depleted uranium 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. Iraq is a wide depository of DU, with more than a thousand tons of the internationally banned hazard used in the last six years.

IT'S A SCREAMING DISASTER.

Why is there no discourse about eminent scientist Leuren Moret's assertion that, "Depleted uranium is the definitive cause of the Gulf War Syndrome?"

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

Does anyone care? Is depleted uranium in the same compartment of the American mind as sodium fluoride, mercury, cell phone radiation, aluminum, and obesity? Yawn.

It's all so simple.

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Meetings & Events

A local pessimists club is now organizing. Call 668-0124. Those interested are urged to join before it's too late.

Personals

Cell phone cowboy is looking for a roaming companion. Call 668-0124

Overheard at Slippery Slope Saloon

"The Myanmar government refuses to let U.N. workers in to help victims of
the cyclone. Pardon me but that reminds me of the Bush administration's refusal to allow thousands of Cuban doctors into Louisiana to aid victims of Katrina. Let's have another round of drinks."

Thoughts While Out To Lunch

Any day now Ann Coulter will traipse back to Iraq and write about how swell things are going. That's the way it is with the cigarette and chardonay gal.

Help Wanted

No help wanted.

PEACEFUL AMERICANS - THAT WAS THEN

Once upon a time, Americans were more peace-loving and peace-making. They had been sickened by World War One and took action to prevent, avoid and stay out of wars. Disarmament became a concept for preserving peace. The U.S. was easily the mightiest force on the seas in the 1920s, President Warren Harding (a Republican) approved of Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes' plan to join with England, France, Italy and Japan to contain the size of their fleets. In America's case, it meant significant reductions. Many people in Japan and England were astounded that Americans would relinquish such a military advantage.

The agreement was signed in 1922. Each nation was limited in the number of each type of ship and the firepower on the deck. The U.S. had to sink many ships. Much of this was done as target practice in the Pacific Ocean.

It's hard to imagine a nation and its people demonstrating so much sincere desire to reduce the threat of war. We should be proud of those Americans who invented such a plan and kept to its provisions in good faith.

The British and the Japanese were less impressive, however, and were soon increasing firepower as well as conniving ways around the agreements. Japan actually denounced the treaty after a few years.

Maybe again, someday and with more sincerity. Both money and lives would be saved.

It's all so simple.
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Overheard at Only The Lonely

"McCain should pick Condi Rice for veep. He'd be playing the race card and gender card in one stroke. He's already got the geezer vote."

"My uncle was middle class, but he was real modest about it."

"It's easy to find a job in southern Utah, however, you need two of them to make ends meet, three to buy a home, and four to consider getting married. Health insurance is not in the picture."

CONSPIRACIES

You probably enjoy friends who have diverse opinions. I have a few who think everything that moves is a conspiracy and others who think conspiracies are only for delusional whackadoos. Still others believe in conspiracies once in a while.

President Franklin Roosevelt claimed that in politics, nothing happens that is not a conspiracy.

Was the international Communist movement a monolithic conspiracy? Was Judas part of a conspiracy? How about the events in New York on 9/11? The assassination of President John Kennedy is often called a conspiracy. The flood of 20 million illegal immigrants seems to have conspiratorial undertones involving both major political parties and business interests.

If there are no conspiracies, then why does the term exist? Somewhere, someone must have conspired to get the word into the dictionary.

It's all so simple.
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Meetings & Events

The We-Were-Middle-Class support group meets every Wednesday at 7 p.m., on the grassy knoll in Ancestor Square.

Thoughts While Jaywalking

- Today is the anniversary of Newt Gingrich's announcement that HE WILL NOT run for president. Celebrate and be thankful - our system does work.

- A doctor was arrested in northern Utah for over-prescribing drug medications. No kidding? That's a crime? My aunt took six different meds every day. The only one punished was auntie.

IRAQ AND BACK

We are in a jam. I mean, if we cut and run, they'll follow us home. But if we stay the course, well, that will just bring 'em on. We've planted democracy in the Middle East, terminated the terminator and no longer fear the WMD.

The Sunnis want us to stay; the Shiites want us out of there. (Or is it the other way around?) Then there's the Kurds in northern Iraq who don't know where they want us.

So, Iraq's a mixed bag. What do we do now?

Leave your ideas in the Suggestion Box at the gate to the White House grounds.
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HELP WANTED

Walk my pit bull, Snarly, mornings and evenings. He loves children. Pay depends on experience. Must have own plastic bags.

MEETINGS

- The Roundabout Ethics Club will hear Bart Anderson speak on: "How to Know When It's Your Turn." Tonight in the roundabout at Tabernacle and Main - 7 p.m. No British drivers please.

- Wal-Mart shoppers support group meets every Sunday afternoon by the cart rack in the parking lot. Bring your stories.

THOUGHTS WHILE SHAVING

For years Paul Harvey has promised to tell the whole truth about the news business - the rest of the story - when he retired.

TWENTY-YEARS FROM NOW NEWS

- Paul Harvey finally retired yesterday. An old listener asked Paul what it was that he said he would tell his audience. He said he couldn't remember.

- Half of the world's weather scientists warn of continued global warming. The other half express concern over the temperatures dropping all over the world. The United Nations plans to vote to decide which group is credible.

WAR IS SELL

Propaganda rules. Syria and Iran are next, so get your stickers, ribbons and flags ready. They'll be needed for a long time this time. Think of all the Arabs and Muslims yearning to breathe free. We might have to knock off most of them. Freedom isn't free, and it's most expensive when an outsider delivers it to you.

Henry David Thoreau was jailed for refusing to pay a tax to support the War with Mexico. Ralph Waldo Emerson visited Thoreau and asked, "Henry, what are you doing in?" Thoreau answered, "Ralph, what are you doing out?"

We need more Henrys; we have too many Ralphs.

It's all so simple.
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THOUGHTS WHILE JAYWALKING

- As a result of Shock & Awe, half of the people still alive in Iraq (women) will lose most of the civil rights that they enjoyed under Saddam, the madman, who encouraged female careers.

- The FBI has abandoned a search for stragglers of the middle class. They are feared forever lost after not being noticed as they vanished over the decades.

- At a local wedding reception, the first tune played by the dance band was, "I Will Survive."

- We should never forget that in 1952 four major oil companies were fined by the Justice Department for overcharging the federal government on oil shipped to Europe under the Marshall Plan.

DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT HISTORY

Be careful of what you "learn" from history books because much of it is false or twisted. Henry Ford said, "All history is bunk." Overstated, but true.

For instance, the history of wars is always written by the winners. You aren't told about the virtues and cases of Kaiser Wilhelm, Tojo, Hitler, Saddam, Mussolini, Noriega, and other legendary monsters.

A good citizen needs true and solid information to be well-informed. You have to check out several sources to get the straight scoop.

Or you can just call me.

It's all so simple.
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OVERHEARD at Slippery Slope Saloon:

"Bartender. I want an 'America on the rocks'."

"Too bad Putin can't be our president. He's an ex-KGB boss who knows all of our secrets and he knows Russia's, too. Plus, he thinks before he speaks. We need this guy."

"I've had some problems being recently divorced. For one thing, I have to finish my own sentences."

"We were intellectual opposites. She was intellectual, I was the opposite."

OVERHEARD at Only The Lonely Bar & Grill:

"Look at this. A pool table right by the door. This joint needs to hire a Feng Shui consultant."

"The divorce rate is down because so many unmarried couples are living together."

"I know for a fact: Rush really does have half of his brain tied behind his back."

"The CIA hired the Mafia in Cuba to kill Fidel Castro. That's how outsourcing got started."

"My brother-in-law is a Divine Delegate. That's above a Super Delegate."

JUST BE GLAD YOU'RE YOU

You could be a Cuban plotting to flee the island paradise tonight. You plan to row your small boat into open water and then full throttle the outboard motor, heading for Mexico. You choose Mexico because to go to Florida means almost certain capture and return to Cuba by the U.S. Coast Guard.

As you putt putt to Mexico with the bullets from the guns of Cuban police speed boats whizzing by you, you'll think: "I'll hitch rides going north in Mexico and follow Jose into Arizona."

But as you step out of your boat on the Mexican shore, you'll again hear the whizzing of bullets, this time from the guns of Mexican border guards. If the Cubans didn't shoot you in the back, the Mexicans might drill lead into your chest.

Why not stay at home in Havana? You have free health care, free university education, no one starves, nobody is homeless, and you might get elected to the prestigious "neighborhood watch" committee.

Better red than dead.

It's all so simple.

WHICH IS THE WAR PARTY NOW?

Throughout most of the 20th Century, Republicans labeled Democrats "The War Party." Senator Robert Taft referred to our war in Korea as "Truman's War" and Senator Barry Goldwater called our war in Viet Nam, "Johnson's War. Neither president had asked Congress for a declaration of war.

The Goldwater campaign for the White House in 1964 printed photos of wounded American soldiers lying wounded on the battlefield. The message was that our wars were the result of international interventions or meddling in other nations' business. Vote Republican and get peace.

If Korea and Viet Nam were Democrat wars, then how about the two world wars? Democrat Woodrow Wilson meddled, for sure. He won reelection in 1916 by boasting that "He kept us out of war." A year later, Wilson chose to go to war and whipped the nation into a fervor about it. Senators who opposed the war were censured by the U.S. Senate. These included the great Wisconsin Senator Robert La Follette. Many peace loving Americans went to prison for resisting the war.

The situation leading into the Second World War was not much different. Democrat Franklin Roosevelt violated our neutrality laws, blockaded Japanese shipping, sent American volunteers (highly paid) to fly warplanes in defense of China, and ordered U.S. Navy destroyers to attack German submarines in the North Atlantic. We had taken sides and were militarily involved months before the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor.

Since the Democrats led us into four big wars, we have had undeclared wars on Grenada, Panama and Iraq, twice. Let's not forget Afghanistan. Those were Republican wars. And maybe we should include Republican President Nixon's little wars on Cambodia and Laos.

Republican administrations blockaded a nation's food and medical supplies for years, sent CIA agents to stir rebellions and make maps of bombing targets in sovereign countries, and brandish two aircrafts carriers in the Persian Gulf to threaten Iran.

Modern Republicans are at least as warlike as the old Democrats.

As in 1918, you'll support our wars or be called unpatriotic and anti-American. You might even have your phone tapped and your mail opened.

It's all so simple.

BORDER WALLS WORK BOTH WAYS

Our government is building a wall along the border with Mexico to keep illegal aliens out. Many Americans are happy about that and think it's about time.

But wait. Maybe the fence will keep us in when we want out. We live in a republic which has evolved into a democracy. (Plato said, "Democracies become despotisms.") The nation is looking more and more like an empire as we station soldiers in 120 countries, we go to war without asking the people's representatives for permission, the press is managed, the national debt is at least $10,000,000,000,000, terrorists are targeting us everywhere, the economy is in a dither, China has claims on the century, oil is headed for the stars while real estate sinks below sea level, our government pays corporations to move overseas, the soil is depleted of nutrients, businesses outsource white collar jobs, you have to press a button to use the English language, the currency you earn is the laughing stock of the world, and a good cookie costs ninety-five cents. Not only that, the government lies to us. What if they're lying about the border fence and plan to use it to keep us in, instead of aliens out?

It's all so simple.

NOBODY VOTED FOR WASHINGTON

Do you hear about anything else these days? The candidates, the polls, the questionable friends of the candidates, the debates, the gender factor, the race factor, the geezer factor, hope, and change make the headlines.

All of this could have been averted if we would only adhere to the Constitution. Our first six presidents were chosen the legal way (by the Constitution) until the bullying political parties seized the election structure and changed the procedure - in extra-legal fashion.

The first six presidents were probably our best, and they were chosen by electors chosen by the state legislatures. Can you top Washington, John Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and John Quincy Adams? Send me a list of six better chief executives. I need a good chuckle.

It's all so simple.

THE DEBATE THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

Three months before The Decider unleashed his attack on Iraq, Saddam was interviewed by Dan Rather of CBS. At the conclusion of the discussion, Saddam challenged President George W. Bush to a debate to be broadcast all over the world. Saddam said a debate "might stop a war."

The mad but naive operator of the human shredding machine (never found) and producer of countless stockpiles of WMD (never found) could not have imagined how soon his two sons and a 14-year-old grandson would die in a hail of "Coalition" gunfire in their bedroom. Then, Saddam himself was tried and executed for something, I forget what. Oh, I think he ordered violence against his enemies who were trying to overthrow the government.

President Bush did not dignify the challenge to debate with an answer, and the war drums pounded louder and louder.

Saddam had been a CIA operative, you know, so he had plenty to say but no one to tell. Hey, that's probably why Bush wouldn't debate him. While vice president of Iraq, Saddam rounded up and delivered suspected Communists to the CIA office in Baghdad for enhanced interrogations. Bush might have had to wrestle with the strange fact in a face-to-face meeting.

Wouldn't it be a good idea for all "enemies" to debate in public before attacking each other?

The world should have demanded a debate instead of a shooting war. A Bush-Saddam debate might have resulted in a cheaper settlement of the dispute with thousands of people still breathing. Alive & Well beats Shock & Awe..


It's all so simple.

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

The term "nanny state" is a familar one that applies in many circumstances when the government assumes the protection function for irresponsible individuals, corporations and organizations.

Most Americans want the government to keep the airlines safe, but a man named Ron Paul insists that it's up to the airlines to provide safe flights. What a concept. Mr. Paul is on target, as usual.

The principle is violated throughout our society.

On a tiny scale, who is responsible for providing clean shopping carts in the supermarkets? Well, the companies, of course. But major chains delegate the task to their customers and offer a paper cloth for them to use.

See here, Mr. Groceryman, don't present me with a dirty, germ-infested cart in which to load my food. I deserve a clean cart, I demand one. I'm not going to be a shopping-cart-cleaner-upper volunteer.

Listen to me or I'll send my lawyer grandson after you and you'll have to give me free groceries for the rest of my life.


It's all so simple.

STIMULUS MONEY FROM UNCLE SAM

President Bush says free money is on the way. Don't laugh when you pocket the fresh capital from the government, because the joke is on you. The treasury is empty - new dollars were printed for the project - and the increased amount of currency in circulation is inflation that cheapens the value of our money. This will cause rising prices. Inflate the currency and you raise prices, just as surely as power corrupts.

Of course the economy will get a boost, as will prices and future taxes. Short term joy; long term misery.

It's all so simple.