Glad Elizabeth's home! Wondrous news that young Elizabeth Smart was discovered alive and, one hopes, well yesterday in Utah. Glad that the nitwit crazies that took her from her family are in custody and will, if justice serves, be jailed for the rest of their natural lives.
What kind of people are these two lunatics? What kind of people want to take a child from her (or his) family and then use the child to satisfy some inner urge that compels their psyche to imagine that they've what - saved the child from normalcy; captured the perfect human 'butterfly;' or are serving god (God if you prefer) in some twisted, weird way?
The world is filled with dangerous folks who have no self-awareness, no conscience, no moral compass and no compunction about hurting others. I've met many in my short life, but these two are a breed apart. Child-nappers are certainly a phenomenon that remains largely unexplained. The barren woman who craves a baby is understandable, but the man who thinks he's 'Christ' and the woman who believes in his delusion - what's that about? And how do we, as a society, figure out what to do with these freaks? Something must be done because, I think, many of the children who disappear each year are probably taken by this kind of person - using the term 'people' loosely. Yes, many are taken by pedophiles and killed to cover that sick individual's tracks, but I wonder how many are taken for purposes of slavery or some other misguided, warped compulsion. I thank the benevolent creator of life that Elizabeth was found safe - though what kind of psychological damage may have been done to her person we'll probably never know. Good wishes Elizabeth. Safe life to you!

Down on the farm with mad monkies Listen carefully and you'll hear the drums of war thumping loudly in your neighborhood. Listen closely and you can hear the fear of fathers and mothers and sons and daughters who don't understand why we have to attack Iraq - despite the presumptions and speculations set forth by the administration - and yet, they want to be patriotic. They want to be faithful to the compact attached to an American birthright. God, country and Aunt Martha's apple pie.
Well, mad monkies, we're going to war and it's as sure as the sunrise tomorrow. The only question is how much damage will be done to the world - I mean the interrelations between nations, including ours. The fabric of civility is going to be ripped badly, the question is, can we survive the tear? Will, as Bush 43 says, a "positive domino" effect occur and the Middle East, where tribal warfare has been the staple diet for more than 2,000 years, suddenly convert to a set of regimes stabilized by democracies flowering from dictatorships. Not bloody likely!
But there it is. We monkies will grunt and tumble and throw feces in the air when the pain of reality lands on our doorsteps, but we'll remain down on the farm - mad monkies. OOOHOOOHAAAHAAHEEEAAAHOOO!

9 March 2003/SundayI'm trying to figure out how to get this damned thing to work. I keep hitting a wall - so to speak - in that I can't add text to my Blog. But I just clicked on the "Post" tab at the top of the page and now I'm typing this so maybe this will work - though I doubt it somehow.
Anyway, it's great that Blogger.com provides server space for free (albeit with ads) so I guess I shouldn't bitch. But it is frustrating to get an idea and try to post it only to have the damned site block further entries. I keep getting that "bong" sound when I hit the letter key - you know, the one that sounds like a submarine sonic return.
My friend Mike in San Antonio told me about this guy who's running for president - an ex-governor from Vermont named Dean - and today I listened to him answer questions on "Meet the Press." He definitely is an impressive fellow and quite possibly exactly what the Democrats need to overturn Bush '43's apple cart. So far, he's the best candidate I've seen and heard. He makes sense and he hasn't any qualms about arguing that Bush's premise that Iraq is tied to al-Qaida. He's not convinced and neither am I (and neither is most of the rest of the world). So I applaud his moxie, if nothing else.
So, I'm off to see D, my love, and hopefully spend a few pleasant moments with her before this day's curtain falls.