Jude!! Fabulous post….please stick around and inform. I met President Carter once and was so impressed with the quality of his very healthy skin, and that even despite a long line of well-wishers, he was eager to shake every hand and to make a personal connection. He came across as very intelligent, kind, genuine and interested in every person. What kind of cracked me up was that his wife stood behind him ‘stage-managing’ and when he lagged in his comments, she’d say under her breath and between clenched teeth, “Move it along, Jimmie.” A tiny slice of presidential life. How fun to work in the WH! Lucky you! Look forward to more posts!

Corinne, While I really like Keith O and believe he is a social conscious kind of guy believing that he is defending our Constitutional government, even I as a fan think he can be self-righteous and over the top. But that is the reality of media today. I do not believe he is a misogynist but that he seriously disagrees with Hillary as I do (as a feminist progressive) and that he thinks she is tough and can take it. Maybe that’s naive, but I think it’s a kind of a back-handed compliment. When faced with intelligent, informed people with whom I disagree can admire their brains if not their style. And I can listen with an open mind if they are informed. What turns me off is stupidity. As soon as someone presents as ill-informed, I tune-out. But even a ardent conservative like William F Buckley, Jr will keep me enthralled, if not with his views, at least with his brains. Anyone agree?

Darling, wonderful Eve…do you believe in the tooth fairy too?! So glad you are here from our sane community/neighbors to the North….sorry for the last seven years…..

Kitty- Freepers are often on the payroll of the far-right groups like the Heritage Foundation etc to ‘flame’ sites that can have cultural influence…..He fits that profile in some respects. In any event he is a very bitter man. There is a distinction between IDEAS and IDEOLOGY that he hasn’t yet made. Thanks for your question.

Leslie/Debbie— I am a big fan of Jeffrey Toobin…so thanks for the recommendation on the book. Leslie, you must be one of the most diplomatic of women who has ever lived. I loathe the SC Justice—everything about him including his flip response to your question about Bush/Gore. I wish we had a Supreme Court Justice like Louis Brandeis…but we have what we have. I wonder, and imagine, that you will touch on his Opus Dei involvement. This I feel is a must read and excellent article on Salon: http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2004/04/02/scalia/ Here’s a Law Journal article entitled “I am not a Nut!’ http://www.abajournal.com/news/scalia_im_not_a_nut Here’s a pre-bio for those interested…be sure to scroll down to his own articles etc: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonin_Scalia Scalia Quotes: Abortion is off the democratic stage. Prohibiting it is unconstitutional, now and forever, coast to coast, until I guess we amend the Constitution. Antonin Scalia If we’re picking people to draw out of their own conscience and experience a ‘new’ Constitution, we should not look principally for good lawyers. We should look to people who agree with us. When we are in that mode, you realize we have rendered the Constitution useless. Antonin Scalia “If you think aficionados of a living Constitution want to bring you flexibility, think again. You think the death penalty is a good idea? Persuade your fellow citizens to adopt it. You want a right to abortion? Persuade your fellow citizens and enact it. That’s flexibility.” “In a big family the first child is kind of like the first pancake. If it’s not perfect, that’s okay, there are a lot more coming along.” “The Court today completes the process of converting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 from a guarantee that race or sex will not be the basis for often will.” “There is nothing new in the realization that the Constitution sometimes insulates the criminality of a few in order to protect the privacy of us all.” “What is a moderate interpretation of the text? Halfway between what it really means and what you’d like it to mean?” Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis [the greatest SC Justice in my mind] quotes: “America has believed that in differentiation, not in uniformity, lies the path of progress. It acted on this belief; it has advanced human happiness, and it has prospered.’ “Fear of serious injury alone cannot justify oppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears.” “I abhor averages. I like the individual case. A man may have six meals one day and none the next, making an average of three meals per day, but that is not a good way to live.” “If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.” “If we would guide by the light of reason we must let our minds be bold.” “In the frank expression of conflicting opinions lies the greatest promise of wisdom in governmental action.” “Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.” “Neutrality is at times a graver sin than belligerence.” “The government… teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy.” “The most important political office is that of the private citizen.” “Those who won our independence… valued liberty as an end and as a means. They believed liberty to be the secret of happiness and courage to be the secret of liberty.” “We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both.”

Leslie, When you are in the public eye like all of you ladies—guess you’re criticized no matter what you do—however well intentioned—and that you undoubtedly develop a ‘Kevlar’ skin. Am always glad for recommendations. The quality of sleep is so critical to health so thank you for the info. Like many people today, I’m striving to move everything I have to all organic cotton and would love a completely ‘green’ sustainable, off-the-grid home. Thanks again.

Mugsy, Yes, but has she hugged her inner Marxist today.

Iris—Great piece. Some here haven’t figured out that we all don’t want to be, nor are we all easily duped Sheeple. “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength.” Guess there are a lot of people who read “Atlas Shrugged” in their youth but forgot to read George Orwell. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four

McGin-Oooh that sounds like name calling to me.. Aren’t you missing the Dr. Laura show?

Frances…Since I don’t have a TV never heard of him….so read a bit about him online… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Ware does sound great and for certain brave. I read many blogs from Baghdad that started before the invasion…for instance Riverbend the Baghdad blogger…very good….one of the biggest heros of this sad mess was Sergio Viera de Mello a great man that this quickie bio doesn’t adequately reveal… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sérgio_Vieira_de_Mello

Frances…If you interpret writing fast and forcefully as anger…many would say passion—whatever. I am appalled at the near total lack of comprehension of what media consolidation means, its effects, how dangerous it is, how it has changed this nation, how our Founding Fathers tried to prevent this very thing because that is the start of tyranny, and how people are so ill informed, apathetic, and/or can’t make cause and effect connections, nor do they have a historical context to see what all of these factors have created in the past…over and again. It’s the Thomas Paines of the world that try to wake people up before it’s too late and it rarely happens. I doubt that 1 person in a hundred could describe the connection between media consolidation and $4 a gal gas, and the cost of food, or the $3 Trillion suck off from our treasury. There are activist who actually give a damn and dedicate their lives to maintaining the US Constitution etc….but as Rousseau said in his Social Contract….the money powers always trick and enslave the masses. Do you know what factors made the Greek Golden Age disappear in about 227 years? Can you say the parallels to today? Do you know what Rupert Murdock said across all his media lines (see the extensive list) in the run-up to the illegal invasion that even the Pentagon Institute has said is a total debacle…..he based his support of the illegal policy of preemptive war thusly “The world will be awash in cheap gas.” that’s it, as if that is a reason for war. What actually happened is what people who know history knew would happen…and tried to prevent. Read “War is a Racket”…a short online book by one of the most decorated marines in history. And yes get a clue. You seem like a nice woman but when you say let’s write letters….gee you really don’t get it. http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/warisaracket.html

Ginny— Maybe reread the Constitution, Decl of Independance, and Bill of Rights and also figure out what media consolidation is all about and how it effects YOUR life and everyone’s life. As far as the kitties with long claws…that’s right….put it out there and expect a response whether they agree or disagree…..we all aren’t the guns and god/faith over facts crowd.

Bush has put cronies at the head of every government institution to serving private interests not the public interests.. Here is the short list: http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/09/unqualified_but.php “Bush has taken the government out of the hands of the people”: http://www.mediatransparency.org/story.php?storyID=92 From sourcewatch: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bush_administration_cronyism_…

Phyllis—I agree with STOP READING if something not to liking….and then ignore the greater part of Western Literature.

I didn’t see anything “R” rated…there’s more racy stuff on benign TV/radio shows….and adverts on the side of buses. This is the best installment yet and can’t wait for #4. Will respond later after return from meetings. The one thing I noticed that would really appreciate Sheila’s thoughts on, because I love her clean writing style, is re the POV change when Bart turns off the light and imagines “it’s the flu.” Since she’s been the omniscient narrator—I would get dinged on a couple of those kind of POV changes, and so would rewrite it, Bart said under his breath…or whatever. But I notice this a lot in pop-culture and chick lit and it’s fine with me. Do you have thoughts/direction on that Shelia? Thanks again.