Editor's Note

22 July 2002

I quit reading the newspaper today. My laughter at the demise of our corporate culture was wearing thin, and I was starting to feel pretty sorry for everyone, even my own town's embattled and evil Catholic priests. The newspaper had become my daily reminder of just how outrageously stupid America had become in the last few years. For months I'd been reading that the American economy was close to rebound because, somehow, the housing market and consumer spending had held up throughout. For some reason though, I could not ignore the fact that most of the "high-tech, high-wage economy" people I knew seemed to be under- or just plain un-employed. The experts said not to worry and don't be fooled by anecdotal evidence or events not collected into statistical apparatus.

But now, leading indicators notwithstanding, the press is finding it can sell more paper and commercial time by "talking ourselves into a recession," especially when the Dow is seen to plunge 400 points the moment the monkey opens its mouth.

Well, it's time to do something about it. I can no longer sit back and watch the Bush administration continue to destroy what goodwill American emissaries of every stripe have worked so hard to create throughout the rest of the world, and that includes Madonna.

Let the U.S. attack Iraq. We've been doing it almost continuously now for the last ten years already. We cannot win. Even if we kill Saddam Hussein and install some oligarchy fed on cigars and cognac in London's tonier salons, there will always be instability where there is oil. And as long as the oil industry runs this country, we will be hearing about plans to "install democracies" around the oil fields of our bright and happy tomorrowland.

Anybody got a nice little shack on the beach in Tonga they want to sell?

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