The Case Against George W. Bush
John D. MacDonald
It's a low-down dirty shame he doesn't have to pay
For being so deceitful and treating us this way
He used us and betrayed us and he made it seem all right
He turned his back on everyone, I don't know how he sleeps at night
-Glenn Frey
From handing over national resources to corporate profiteers, to slashing funding for education and law enforcement, to sending young American men and women to die for a self-serving political agenda, George W. Bush is as low as they come. See the following sites for healthy doses of the truth.
John D. MacDonald was one of the twentieth century's great storytellers. The following quote is from a MacDonald essay entitled "Reading for Survival." It was written years ago but seems especially relevant in our world after September 11, 2001:
"My point is that the man who reads is using the fabulous memory storage and relationship analysis of the brain his ancesters developed eons ago. He is facilitating his survival in the contemporary world. He will recognize the pockets of fanaticism around him and know what is causing these universal foci of dementia. Of course, he will be called an egghead or a bleeding heart or a secular humanist, but he can lean back and, in a certain way, enjoy the marvelously crackpot rantings of a Jesse Helms, a Botha, a Meese, a Kohmeni, a Falwell, a Qaddafi...an Ortega, a Noriega - people from both ends of every spectrum, whooping and leaping and frothing, absolutely livid at the idea their particular warped vision of reality is not shared by everyone. Their basic lack of education, of reading, of being able to comprehend the great truths of reality has left empty places in their heads, into which great mischief has crept."
There is a wealth of MacDonald information on the Web. For starters, here is a good site:
James Michener
One of the greatest writers of historical fiction. So many copies of his books are in circulation, you can often find them at good used book stores. Start with Centennial or The Source and work from there. Some background on Michener can be found at:
John Mellencamp
The great Hoosier singer/songwriter. I confess to some bias because he comes from my home state. The guy had a heart attack and he still looks better than me. Check out his song lyrics and touring activities:
Richard Reeves
An extraordinary journalist. He has now written three outstanding books about three fascinating U.S. presidents - Kennedy, Nixon, and Reagan. Learn more about Mr. Reeves' insightful work:
A Good Dog is
Easy to Find
Please, please, please do not support puppy mills or dog breeders. While there are ethical breeders with good intentions, all of these operations encourage overbreeding of dogs, a primary cause of the millions of abandoned dogs that are killed (i.e. “euthanized”) in shelters every year. If you are looking for a dog or cat, your county animal services, local shelters and rescue groups have many wonderful dogs in desperate need of a good home. If you want a particular breed of dog, there are breed-specific rescue groups across the country. If you’re not sure where some of these groups are located, Petfinder (www.petfinder.com) is a good place to start.
