MUST BE SOME BAAAAD SH*T OUT THERE . . .

Lest we forget, 5 weeks before very important mid term Congressional elections, the similarity between The Loch Ness Monster and the Liberal media. Both are the stuff of mythology. NBC is owned by Megalomerate General Electric - maker of high tech medical and military stuff. CBS? That's Viacom, with their fingers in a similar number of pies. ABC? They are owned by Mickey "John Birch" Mouse, And so, when a 16 agency National Intelligence Estimate - originally prepared back in APRIL of this year but partially made public last week - states categorically that the Iraq war is a disaster for us an a boondoggle for terrorist recruiting, NBC News and Today have filled the screens the last two days with, you guessed it, who fathered Anna Nicole Smith's new baby (her lawyer - call the state Bar and move the hell on), and the nearest quasi photogenic "survivor" of yesterday's Colorado school shooting. Ah, Colorado, home of "Focus on the Family" and more Religious nuts than a Reverend Moon wed-a-thon, basking in the glow of Godly Republican rule for the last 5 - 10 years, and those uber Evangelical kids are still shooting each other. Yeah, LOST knows, Clinton's fault.

The point of this all is, the media in this country used to report news, NEWS NEWS, and if you wanted that celebrity craptrap you had to pull a back muscle reaching across the checkout aisle to get it. Now, that garbage is the news norm, and finding real information is only available on the internet, and you have to know where to look, too. The advance guard of the "Culture wars" are secretly cultivating ignorance, by filling the heads of the unsuspecting full of drivel and mush, while the grand theft continues to go on just a few feet away from us. This effort is most obvious at present, while the networks dish out celebrity blabble, and ignore the fact that somebody, finally asked the Emperor why he is naked? Clinton verbally pistolwhipped Chris "I-am-an-embarrassment-to-my-father Wallace, and while doing so raised the question, exacly why hasn't anyone ever asked the Chimp and his gap toothed ingenue emeritus what the hell did you do for 8 months about Al-Qaeda, and why is the war such a mess? They're flailing over the question, but don't expect to find the networks covering it, or the number of retired brass coming out and calling b.s. on the Iraq war prosecution, either. Gawd when will we wake up?

OTHER THAN THAT, MR. LOST, HOWDJA LIKE YOUR TRIP?

Forty eight short hours of pure enjoyment. Everything from the 80 minute layover in SFO on the way up, to the nighttime downhill trek to Ivar's on the wharf to the 3 hour walking tour of Pike Place Market, Pioneer Square, Qwest Field and the skyscraper district.
From the pre-game brunch and "wet" boat ride to the Stadium, the mild sunny weather, and the first 30 minutes of the ball game


itself and all things after the final gun sounded - even the beginning of the homeward trek at 3:30 am this morning, Mrs. LOST knows how to put on a birthday celebration.

Husky Stadium is an unbelievable place to watch a game.
The fans who frequent it are friendly to their "enemies" yet rabidly partisan and firecely loyal. When they utter their collective "Woof" its a wonder that the entire Sound doesn't shudder. As frustrating as it was to watch the beloved Bruins choke down another LOST Birthday (the fifth straight time the Bruins have gifted a Birthday zonk - dating all the way back to 1972, Losing to a group this gracious is almost tolerable. I did say "almost."


As quickly as it began it was over, and what stays behind are memories: of quiet moments shared between the Mrs. and myself - a time to talk of many things: our kids, our future, our past.

We spent gratuitious time piecing together the current version of this beautiful city in comparison to our shared memories of our visit here twenty years back. Like so many places, changes - mostly population density related, have occurred. But the setting is still beautiful, the people incredibly friendly and earthy, the coffee strong and plentiful, and the microbrews are cold and full bodied. And those political views? In 48 hours, LOST didn't see a single "W -O4" oval anyplace. Lots of the contrary, shared viewpoint predominated. Was this Heaven? No, it was Seattle. In Heaven, the Bruins always win.


And thank you too, David, for making us a part of your entourage on this trek. I should have shared with you the abysmal birthday statistic beforehand, but I'd been blissfully ignorant of the Bruin futility on that date until just hours ago. Only a truly sappy fan like me would have looked it up in the first place - I'd rather think it was Karmic than simply poor play calling and execution. Rationalization, the last refuge of a partisan scoundrel. Only one thing to add: Beat Stanford - PLEASE

SUNDAY STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS . . . on FRIDAY???

LOST heads for the Pacific Northwest today, en route to a birthday celebration in Husky Stadium, will LOST'S beloved Bruins bring home the cake, or just toss cookies? . . .46 used to sound old, isn't that strange. . . . was the President over-sedated on Wolf Blitzer's CNN interview show earlier this week? All that smirking and smiling and those odd chuckles while discussing weapons, war and terror point to that conclusion . . . Is Cheney down for annual maintenance and a filter change this week? After that last MTP appearance he's gone off the radar screen, perhaps for cocktails and "shots" with Harry Whittington . . . does anyone know a company hiring in Orange County (CA) willing to hire the hardest working, smartest available candidate who happens to be 58 years old? LOST's older brother and mentor needs a tiny ripple of hope - he'll do the rest. Leave a comment if you can assist . . . Nausea is the preeminent reaction when Karl Rove starts telling "insiders" to expect an October Surprise - here's hoping that its he and Ann Coulter coming out of the closet on "Regis and Kelly" . . . it is almost funny to read that the Religious Right is "upset" at the GOP for not taking up their issues until just before election time. As if they're gonna protest and vote for their own perceived "Spawn of Satan" party. Sorry, Evangelicals, you're with the GOP - we're stuck with the PETA-Vegans over here . . . Speaking of Pitas, guess delusional Falafesir King Bill O'Reilly is running around carping about the "Al Qaeda Death Threat" he's been receiving for his "Courageous reporting;" memo to Faux News Channel, Lou Falafel needs 100 cc's of reality . . . STAT . . . Vin Scully's voice can almost make a record tying 4 consecutive homers allowed collapse by your local baseball team bearable . . . LOST did say "almost" . . . why did going to a car dealership for auto service have to turn into a business negotiation, and when did that happen . . . LOST's trip yesterday to CLASSIC VW to fix a broken rear window regulator (9,000 miles beyond warranty, but reported initially 9,000 before warranty expired) turned into a negotiation, with the service advisor promising to "Contact VW corporate and seek their 'participation' but we need to be able to tell them that you are totally up to date on your service" translation, buy a 440.00 rear brake job and fluid flush, and we'll convince corporate to pay for your 720.00 window problem. Yeah, LOST caved in - never for a client, always on LOST's on behalf. Has this kind of graft - a new one for LOST - been going on for very long? Inquiring minds with lighter wallets want to know . . . while on the subject, LOST takes this opportunity to apologize to anyone to whom LOST extolled the virtues of Volkswagens to over the past 6 years - that includes Brandi, Jim, Pattie, Happy, and no doubt several others whose names are currently unrecalled. Buy something else next time, LOST sure will be doing so . . .

PLEASE PAY ATTENTION, US of ADHD

This one just struck a chord with LOST - will you all Pay Attention to this, PLEASE? Hat tip to Bartcop.com.,

THE IRAQI CAROUSEL OF PROGRESS:: SPIN SPIN SPIN!

If you didn't watch the President's "Press Conference (a euphemism for a 60 year old middle schooler ranting and raving at reporters who D-A-R-E challenge his well thought out adolescent theses and assertions)" yesterday, you missed out on yet another example of democracy in action, brought to you by the silver tongued leader of the free world. Yesterday, he was touting the latest and greatest effort to improve the security situation in Baghdad, building a moat/trench around the entire city (yes he called it a "Berm" but it is what it is). Once again, the War President told the country that:
" . . . And so what I do is I talk to people like our Ambassador and General Casey, which I just did this morning. And they, and the Iraqi government, just don't agree with the hypothesis it is a civil war. They believe that there's, no question . . . that al Qaeda is still creating havoc . . . they're confident there are still Saddamists who are threatening people and carrying out attacks.But they also believe that the Baghdad security plan is making progress . . . .".

So you see? With enough check points and a big enough berm/moat/trench around the perimeter, you really can spread freedom. Just like "it's NOT torture! Its just adding CLARITY to those wacky, vague Geneva Conventions. You know, those sixty year old laws that leaders all over the world understood until this regime came along.

This whole mess is reminiscent of the Reagan era brain-truster who was touting the best plan to survive nuclear attack was to make sure everyone had a shovel because temporary burial below dirt would ensure survival of a nuclear strike. Hey, Mr. President! How's that checkpoint and wall/berm strategy working out in the U.S. - along that Southern Border?








OOPS, never mind. Shouldn't have brought it up.

SLOGAN FOR THE MIDTERMS

REPUBLICANS: STRONG ON HYPOCRISY, STUPID ON TERROR

How else do you explain Five deferment Dick and the Draft Avoiders accusing ANYONE of being cowards, appeasers or "lacking the stomach for the fight?" Or calling the Iraq war the Greatest conflict of our lifetimes, but never tossing more than 150,000 troops at it - - less than a third of what we committed to Vietnam or WWII. They're either stupid, or they're L-Y-I-N-G. It doesn't matter which one in a contest to see who is best qualiified to lead our Country, now, does it?

YES, MUCH BETTER IDEA

LOST'S youngest sister, wise beyond her years in many ways, is one of those LOST sibs who approaches politics and social issues more or less the way LOST does. She shared the following, and though the author is unknown at this point, this is simply too powerful not to share. Thanks, Boon-eetz!!

President Bush, acting upon a joint resolution of Congress, has declared September 11 to be Patriot Day. According to his proclamation, we're supposed to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities... and to display the flag at half-staff from our homes and observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. EDT; this in honor of the Americans who died in the terrorist attack.
 
Here's another idea.
 
Let's declare September 11 International "E nough" Day.
 
Enough flag-waving, enough violence, enough nationalism.  Enough already!  
 
September 11 was not an American tragedy, it was a human tragedy.  It was a tragedy not just for the people in the US who died, but for every innocent person killed as a result of the US reaction to the attacks as well. It was a tragedy for the human spirit, regardless of nationality, religion, and anything else.
 
On September 11, let's say "Enough". No more killing.
       
Let's remember not only the victims of the hijacked airplanes in the US , but of the embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998.
 
Let's remember all the Israelis killed by Palestinian bombers and all the
Palestinians killed by Israeli troops. Let's remember all the innocent people slain by
Union Carbide in Bhopal , India in 1984. Let's take the day to contemplate the
people who've been victims of genocidal warfare in Africa and Cambodia , and the
ones who've starved to death because of political games as well.
 
Let's not forget those who were slain in the Mai Lai Massacre. Instead of waving the flag
of one nation and thinking only about our own dead, let's make September 11 a day to
remember all the people who've died at the hands of someone else's political agenda
through no fault of their own, and let's say "Enough".
 
We should stand up and disavow this, no matter what country we're in, no matter what
religion we are, no matter our political affiliation or status or race or anything else.
 
If we had a moment of silence marking the time of every atrocity ever committed in the
name of nationalism, religion ... every atrocity committed in the name of the artificial
borders that try to make us forget that we're all human, all in this together, all fragile
creatures whose lives can be snuffed out in an instant through no fault of our own ...
then we would never speak again.
 
So we here in America should, I believe, observe September 11 as the day when the
nightmares that humans around the world have been living with for decades came
lumbering ashore on the East Coast of the US . We should see it for what it is;
the day the US truly experienced the horror that rings like a bell around the globe,
from South America to the Middle East to Micronesia , the day we joined the human
race at a most profound and fundamental level.
 
There should be no Patriot Day, no day to further emphasize that we're different.
Instead, let's say, "Enough".
 
Enough of putting the interests of any one nation above the interests of the human race.
 
Enough dwelling on our small differences.
 
Enough killing each other over them. Enough hate, enough fear, enough hunger, enough violence,
enough bombing, enough enough enough ENOUGH!
 
On September 11, do whatever you do, and do it to say ENOUGH.

LOST would add only that we not forget about those who've died in Ireland, in Chad, Nigeria, Sudan, Biafra, Bangladesh, and throughout Africa and Asia. Let's not forget the victims of senseless gun violence from the famous to the obscure and all in between. Lets not forget those who died from illnesses which could have been treated and cured, but for human greed and "unavailability" of care. Enough, indeed!

DUCK FISNEY

There, It's said. The same bunch who impolitely passed on distributing "Fahrenheit 9/11" because it was "too controversial in an election year" produces then runs "Pack of 9/11 Lies" commercial free on ABC 2 months before the mid-terms. Commercial free. Using a free license to use the public airwaves. This program was crafted in the fevered belfry of some right wing handjob, and midwifed by a cadre of evangelical Republistians, and beta-tested on the talking point rube mafia. According to a great article in the Nation by Max Blumenthal, this apocryphallic symbol had been in the works for over two years. Can we really buy that the Board and CEO had no idea? Steve Jobs sits on that board, and this taint runs in Apple's direction. Ditto former Demorcratic Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. Where was his calm, firm dissenting voice when this crapiola was being peddled as Gospel fact?

The simple solution, people, ain't a boycott. First, the majority needs to change in Congress. Then, its time to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, a long in place requirement that commanded equal time on the public airwaves. Then, in '08, force the candidates to open a real dialogue about rousing the anti-trust laws from their decades long slumber, and go the hell after some of these giants. Break up Clear Channel; break up Disney/ABC/ESPN; go after General Electric/NBC whomever. It will only take a couple of these prosecutions to get the message across: no more tolerance of absolute corporate power.

And pound that insipidly smarmy "small world" song up your left nostrils. Along with all them damn metal pins you import from China and sell for 10 zops apiece. Done with you money sucking scoundrels. LOST is calling the Orkin man on your amoral rodential butts..

HORSE OUT OF BARN, CLOSE THE DOOR AND TOSS AROUND THE ROADAPPLES

LOST is gratefully relieved that "the day" is over. It was everywhere yesterday, remember, remember, remember. Why? For so many in the Bush regime, they want us to remember anger, hate, fear, base emotions that will dull our senses, cull our consciences, and dun our calm voices of dissension and disagreement while they plot a course for "what's best" for our country. Too late. That ship left the dock and took the horse with it.

The goodwill, the unity, the sense of "us" which welled up like the mother lode strike five years ago, has tapered to a trickle. That trickle won't go away anytime soon - so there will always be 30% of the public who'll give Bush/Cheney a pass, and righteously harrumph when anything negative is said about them; a group who will smirk snarkily and echo the point du jour uttered by RIghtwing radio - especially if it has anything to do with lancing the boil that is Bill Clinton and his wife. But many of these are the same people who are convinced that they're not perfect (and have no need to aspire to it) because they're "forgiven" and that sometime - say next Wednesday or so, they'll be celestially summoned out of their earthly confines into paradise - even though this notion is not expressly contained in their favorite book, the one they otherwise interpret literally (sometimes conveniently). But LOST digresses.

The rest of the gusher of unity dissipated. It slowed when the drumbeat for attacking Iraq began, and it lost pressure when that drumbeat reached a crescendo, as it attempted to drown out any differing viewpoint that it could not shame or embarrass into silent acquiesence. Thaat gusher of support faded as the optimistic, rosy assertions of BushCo were, one by one, stripped away to reveal oddball opinions that were unsupported by any realistic assessment of facts on the ground - whether the rallying point was the existence of WMD's, or the anticipated liberators' greeting, or the "last throes" or the "I doubt six months (of war in Iraq)" each fell away. The flow of unity was further reduced when the asserters, caught crimson fisted in their absurdist pronouncements, began to blame anyone and everyone they could (including but especially the last President) so long as it was not themselves, for the debacles they had ardently supported, campaigned for, and worked to create. That flow nearly stopped completely after Hurricane Katrina, and the callousness and apathy of the Federal response revealed that no, we've apparently learned nothing about how to respond to epic tragedy.

So now it is hollow to hear the President attempt to evoke those memories of how we all felt in the aftermath of that day, in the forlorn hope that we'll all frog march to the polls and give him - and his malignant sidekick two more years of unfettered right to encumber our liberties in the name of security, to sully our global reputation in the pursuit of victory over evil, to become our enemy to best our enemy. Bit by bit, the public has returned to its collective consciousness, and is starting to realize that we have a choice. We are recognizing, in progressively greater numbers, that the men in charge had choices, too. We are beginning to discern that many of the choices made since 9/12/01 were ill-advised, were poorly thought out, and in some cases just plain stupid.

When LOST hears the President recycle the rhetoric (or using an old one of his lines "catapult the propaganda") about completing the mission, LOST remembers the discussion in a long ago speech class about the dollar bill auction. Simply put, gather a group of people around and start an auction for a buck. The competitive drive in some, the desire to win, will be enough to get some folks to bid over a buck just for the privilege of "winning." Obviously, once that happens, the behavior makes no logical sense, and the auctioneer is the only winner. If we as a nation fail to express our displeasure at the ballot box for the perilous course of this Administration, we'll be upping the ante on our own dollar bill auction. With nearly 3,000 dead in Iraq, 20,000 seriously wounded, nearly 100,000 dead Iraqis, and half a trillion dollars expended, we've crossed the logical stopping point months ago.

DICK SIGHTING ON MTP, RUSSERT'S SPINE MAKES BRIEF CAMEO





Yes, LOST would almost rather watch the entire replay of the UCLA Rice near debacle last night (for those not paying attention, Bruins 26 - 16, but what an ugly win); instead LOST muddled through Meet the Press this morning, to watch Satandick lie for nearly a full hour on network. To his credit, Timmeh did not lay down and wag his stubby tail at the cloven-hooved one, as he has for so many of the lesser demons from this regime. But no, to paraphrase THE DICK, "Timmeh has made great progress, but still has a long way to go" in the effort to re-establish himself as a credible, impartial, hard - hitting journalist.

The DICK ducked hard questions, dismissed polling data showing that the American Public no longer believes that Iraq is 1. part of the War on Terror or 2. is worth the cost, and The DICK outright ignored the recently announced pact between the Taliban and Pakistan which virtually guarantees bin Laden a safe haven for as long as he wants. Instead, the DICK heaped praise on Musharraf for his past efforts to "help" in the war on terror. And, yes, the DICK constantly tried to frame the anti-war Iraq position as one in which all U.S. troops are brought home from Iraq and Afghanistan, rather than the real position advocated by the Democrats - get out of Iraq and focus on Al-Qaeda/bin Laden/Afghanistan.

Did anyone catch the horse-shit comparison - frequently repeated - about "better off" in Iraq, because 1. Saddam had the "Capability to resume" (Uh, Timmeh, there was a Follow up worth asking - WHAT CAPABILITY?) 2. just as soon as the sanctions went away?. Memo to Russet head and the DICK the sanctions were IMPOSED by the U.N. and supported and enforced by the U.S. Exactly when were they likely to go away? These sanctions weren't metal bands around the country that were rusting away and soon to break.

And what about conflating Saddam in power with $70/ barrel oil? Hey DICK! Where did the $70 barrel price come from? Can you say, disruption of the Iraqi supply, coupled with a lap dog Exxon loving D.C. regime? I didn't think so.
And then suggesting that Saddam in power + Ahmenidijad (sp?) = big trouble? No consideration that the Iranians may have gravitated toward the extreme after what transpired in Iraq following the U.S. saber-rattling?

And over and over, when confronted with his past erroneous statements - all of which began with "I believe that . . . ," still the DICK just responded to current polls and opinions different from his own with "I disagree . . . " folowed by reiterated talking points. Where was Russert with "in light of the numerous times - many of which have been highlighted on this program Mr. Vice President, why should the American public believe any statement you make which begins with "i Believe . . .?" That was the $64,000 question that a sincerely repentant Timmeh needed to ask, and didn't.

And don't even get me started on the smarmy confidence that they'll hold both houses. It does little to dispel the (admittedly paranoid) belief that the e-fix is in where it needs to be.

There has to be a Hell. Cheney's going for sure.

WHEN - NOT WHAT - IS THE POINT?

LOST has been following the controversy surrounding the not-really-accurate-but-feel-free-to-use-it-as-a-teaching-tool-and-download-it-to-your-iPod schlockudrama that the Disney Network is still considereing airing over two nights - this coming Sunday and Monday. LOST has seen - finally - leaders from the Democrats in the Senate stand up and call bullshit on this sloppy, clumsy partisan effort to do what the Bushies do second best (they're really good at screwing things up - with munitions and explosives, crony hires, dumb deregulation decisions, really abysmal foreign policy initiatives): blaming somebody else for their serious screwups. Once again, "The Path to 9/11" beats the blame Clinton horse- a nag so dead that it ought to be petrified by now. And as LOST has watched this onslaught of outrage pour forth from the Dems and the ex-Clinton staffers and the progressive bloggers and so forth, it has dawned on LOST. When is the point? When does the vast majority of this country - most of whom aren't better off now than they were in 2000, most of em struggling to make ends meet, most of them looking over their shoulder to see who's gaining on them, most of them righteously doubting whether retirement will ever be theirs, and most of them acutely aware that we're just one or two "Brownies" away from 9/11 part II, when does the vast majority of Americans stand up and yell, Howard Beale like, "You're full of shit and we ain't buying it anymore?"

See, since the Katrina anniversary, the Rovian trump card of old Safety, Security FEAR AND TERROR have been the buzzwords of the Bushco White House. They're out there slathering that around like the manipulative wifebeater, verbally wanking on the woman who yesterday he nearly killed, but who today he's cajoling and cooing to, trying to get her back where she's safe. The only safe this bunch of cronies and thieves knows about is one with a fire retardant door and a complex locking system. They've raided the public coffers - loading their rich friends with tax breaks and cushy, no-bid contracts. They've emasculated Federal programs designed to protect us from run of the mill health and safety threats. They've implemented none of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission to fight terror. They've left the ports unscreened and the borders unguarded. But now, 60 days before the election, they're loudly honking that bin Laden is "Clinton's fault" and "we'll save you" or "Vote for us or DIE' if you prefer the Cheney version of this tripe.

It's time. These people - to a one - belong on the scrap heap of Historical relevance, preferably somewhere in the middle of the pile between Warren Harding and his honorary great great grand Niece

Tonya. We all have to put them there, with our votes, with our calm words, with our courage to speak out and secularly prosletyze the gospel of change.

So please, like that dumb Shampoo TV commercial from the 70's, tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends, and so on, and so on and so on. Let's vote and get out the vote, and start down the road of cleaning up this fiscal free for few now - before they can make it any worse.

GARRISON KEILLOR CHANNELS JONATHAN SWIFT

Mister Prairie Home Companion checks in with this terrific piece on how to Save the Country. This is simply too good not to share with LOST's 3-4 loyal readers.

It's the best part of summer, the long, lovely passage into fall. A procession of lazy, golden days that my sandy-haired, gap-toothed little girl has been painting, small abstract masterpieces in tempera and crayon and glitter, reminiscent of Franz Kline or Willem de Kooning (his early glitter period). She put a sign out front, "Art for Sale," and charged 25 cents per painting. Cheap at the price.

A teacher gave her this freedom to sit un-self-consciously and put paint on paper. A gentle, 6-foot-8 guy named Matt who taught art at her preschool. Her swimming teachers gave her freedom from fear of water. So much that has made this summer a pleasure for her I trace to specific teachers, and so it's painful to hear about public education sinking all around us.

A high school math class of 42! Everybody knows you can't teach math to 42 kids at once. The classroom smells bad because the custodial staff has been cut back. The teacher must whip his pupils into shape to pass the federal No Child Left Untested program. This is insanity, the legacy of Republicans and their tax-cutting and their hostility to secular institutions.

Last spring, I taught a college writing course and had the privilege of hanging out with people in their early 20s, an inspirational experience in return for which I tried to harass them about spelling and grammar and structure. My interest in being 21 again is less than my interest in having a frontal lobotomy, but the wit and passion and good-heartedness of these kids, which they try to conceal under their exquisite cool, are the hope of this country. You have to advocate for young people, or else what are we here for?

I keep running into retirees in their mid-50s, free to collect seashells and write bad poetry and shoot video of the Grand Canyon, and goody for them, but they're not the future. My college kids are graduating with a 20-pound ball of debt chained to their ankles. That's not right, and you know it.

This country is squashing its young. We're sending them to die in a war we don't believe in anymore. We're cheating them so we can offer tax relief to the rich. And we're stealing from them so that old gaffers like me, who want to live forever, can go in for an MRI if we have a headache.

A society that pays for MRIs for headaches and can't pay teachers a decent wage has made a dreadful choice. But health care costs are ballooning, eating away at the economy. The boomers are getting to an age where their knees need replacing and their hearts need a quadruple bypass - which they feel entitled to - but our children aren't entitled to a damn thing. Any goombah with a Ph.D. in education can strip away French and German, music and art, dumb down the social sciences, offer Britney Spears instead of Shakespeare, and there is nothing the kid can do except hang out in the library, which is being cut back too.

This week, we mark the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the Current Occupant's line, "You're doing a heckuva job," which already is in common usage, a joke, a euphemism for utter ineptitude. It's sure to wind up in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, a summation of his occupancy.

Annual interest on the national debt now exceeds all government welfare programs combined. We'll be in Iraq for years to come. Hard choices need to be made, and given the situation we're in, I think we must bite the bullet and say no more health care for card-carrying Republicans. It just doesn't make sense to invest in longevity for people who don't believe in the future. Let them try faith-based medicine, let them pray for their arteries to be reamed and their hips to be restored, and leave science to the rest of us.

Cutting out health care to one-third of the population - the folks with Bush-Cheney bumper stickers, who still believe the man is doing a heckuva job - will save enough money to pay off the national debt, not a bad legacy for Republicans. As Scrooge said, let them die and reduce the surplus population. In return, we can offer them a reduction in the estate tax. All in favor, blow your nose.

Hmmm . . . LOST needs one of those better health plans - the current Insurer saves its MRI for neck fractures and that's it. But LOST's kids need better than the dingy, 40 year old high school facility that has been ignored in several places for decades, too. So do all the kids out there. Bushco offers only the trite chance to "Be all You Can Be" or to join "The Few and The Proud" and thinks its engineered our future. Remember that in November, and vote to reclaim the future.

"CRIKEY THAT HUR-" [THUD]

Rest in Peace Steve Irwin. For his fans, recognize please that the lesson here is that some species need to be admired at a distance. That goes double for you devotees of "Jackass" and its bevy of knockoffs.