I am not having enough time to fit things in right now. Saturn is huge and my telescopes are so dirty I haven't gotten a clear view so far. I also have a new hiking trail that I am laying out. We have a series of cliffs behind the house that block the way to the top of the ridge. After living here ten years I had a "duh" moment and realized that the deer and coyotes probably want to get around that big rock face as much as or more than I do. After a rain I started following the trails and marking the gaps in the cliff that they were using. I have found three new routes so far, but I have not connected them to make the big loop I desire. Deer season will be over after this weekend and I will no longer have to fear "humans in the woods with weapons" and I can try to complete the task before me. When I finish I hope to have a loop that will present a view of Chilhowee Mountain to the Southeast and Black Mountain to the Northwest and several high lookouts over White's Creek as it cuts its way out of the Cumberland Plateau. For those poor deprived folk who have never spent time in East Tennessee, Chilhowee separates the Hiwassee and Ocoee rivers as they flow into the Tennessee Valley. Black Mountain is a geological wonder with huge caves and a sandstone playground on top where the Cumberland trail crosses it. Black Mountain also has an FAA radar dome on top and is the source of the only light that can be seen from my house. It is about 18 miles west of here.

On to other thoughts.

Something is going on in America that seems to be promising. Take this example:

Here is a bit of obvious liberal rant taken from the pages of an obvious liberally biased media outlet:

Four years ago, at the start of the last Presidential campaign, the US economy was enjoying record job growth, rising incomes, and large budget surpluses. Today, after three years of the Bush Presidency, the economy has lost close to 3 million private sector jobs, the typical family's yearly income has fallen by nearly $1,500, and there has been an unprecedented reversal in outlook -- from a projected 10-year surplus of more than $5 trillion to a projected 10-year deficit of up to $5 trillion.

Got that? The average blue collar worker, the one most likely to vote for Bush, was given a $300 check in the mail while five times that much was taken from him in his paycheck. I have only one word to say:

"DUH!"

In another article this liberal mouthpiece has the audacity to give a positive review to a new book that lays out how utterly corrupt the US tax system has become. Here is the first bit of the review:

The Great Tax Rip-Off

PERFECTLY LEGAL
The Covert Campaign
To Rig Our Tax System
To Benefit the Super Rich
-- And Cheat Everybody Else
By David Cay Johnston; Portfolio; 338 pp; $25.95

Once upon a time, Washington collected the taxes it needed to pay for the services it provided. Not anymore. Today, the feds gather $400 billion a year less than they spend. And pols have turned revenue bills into endless opportunities for the well-connected to dodge their obligation....

What do you think? An obvious liberal rant, eh? The source of these obviously biased words is the January 19 issue of Business Week. The very last paragraph in this issue states the huge concern that Rupert Murdoch, a rabidly conservative Australian, now owns way too much of the American media and will use it to bias the information we receive to advance his own political views.

This was from Business Week. Are people waking up? Yes, they are! Do they have the courage to do what has to be done? We'll see.

I recommend you read an interview by another hard hitting journalistic rag, Rolling Stone. here is a teaser:

"I think the Republicans are much meaner than the Democrats are. I don't want to absolve the Democrats, but Republicans are just brutal. They do not care what happens to the country as long as they stay in power, and they're willing to do anything they can to stay in power. It's the most unforgivable thing about this administration and the congressional leadership....

I admire George Bush's father. There were some things I strongly disagreed with him on -- but he tried to be a good president. This president is not interested in being a good president. He's interested in some complicated psychological situation that he has with his father. He is obsessed with being re-elected, and his obsession with re-election is hurting the country.

The speaker in this case wants George Bush's job. I personally want him to have it. please read it!

http://www.rollingstone.com/features/nationalaffairs/featuregen.asp?pid=2760

Those with delicate sensibilities should stop here and go have a nice day. What follows is catty, profane, and small minded at times. Also hilarious!

Since I am stuck on interviews today, I offer this one for your pleasure: Betty Bowers' totally fictional and offensive interview with Laura Bush. We can sometimes read truth into satire when it can't said any other way, but please give those mentioned the benefit of the doubt. (Was it Karl Rove who said wives are fair game?) I wonder if Valerie Plume has an opinion on that?

http://www.bettybowers.com/laurabush2.html

Baptists! Gotta Love 'em!

Peace and Courage, Brethren and Cistern!

Love ya,

Steve