"Stone leaves no doubt about his meaning when he shows his characters -- Bush, Rice, Rumsfeld, Franks, Powell, et al. -- trooping across a field in Crawford, Texas, as the theme from the '60s TV show "The Adventures of Robin Hood" tootles in the background."

There was no 1960s TV show with that title. There was a 50s TV show, from England, with that title--it ran until 1960, so, maybe, technically, it might fit. The title song had these lyrics:

Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen

Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men

Feared by the bad, loved by the good

Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood

He called the greatest archers to a tavern on the green

They vowed to help the people of the king

They handled all the trouble on the English country scene

And still found plenty of time to sing.

He came to Sherwood Forest with a feather in his cap

A fighter never looking for a fight

His bow was always ready and he kept his arrows sharp

He used them fighting for what was right.

With Friar Tuck and Little John they had a roguish look

They did the deeds that others wouldn’t dare

Re-captured all the money that the evil Sheriff took

And rescued many a lady fair.

He rode up to the palace and was cheered by everyone

His Lady Marion threw him a rose

The King of England knighted him the Earl of Huntingdon

And that’s the way the legend goes.

Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen

Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men

Feared by the bad, loved by the good

Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood

So I'm trying to figure out how this fits in with W and his group. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

It's true, as one of the folks in the video report says, that nobody can control their brother.

But it's also clear that Johnnie's rage doesn't come from his time as a prisoner--it runs in the family.

Doesn't it make you wonder what Daddy was like!

There have always been plenty of whack jobs in America. Our alleged emphasis on individualism encourages them; many of our neighbors pride themselves on having theories that not only go against the mainstream, they go against demonstrable reality.

For the most part, those of us who believe in evolution, the age of the Earth and the universe in billions of years, that we live on a globe rather than a plate, etc., simply laugh at these folks. What we've seen since 1980, however, is that their bizarre notions have been legitimized by the Right. I don't think that many of the influential folks on the Right--McCain himself, or Fred Barnes, or Rush Limbaugh--actually believe in a flat earth or a 4000-year-old Earth. But crazies vote with the same force as sane people. And the Right, knowing that its real ideas won't get traction (amongst either the sane or the crazy, for that matter) encourage the spouting of truly insane ideas in order to get the wing fringe (folks who believe, for example, that "Dumbo" is the work of the Devil because it shows talking animals, *who must be demons!*) to vote for them.

The sad thing is that the media is in perpetual dog days now, and push these stories out there--and since the media, a la Ted Koppel, doesn't report the truth, just what people say, there are few countervailing voices to all the craziness. So the notion that Malcolm X "is" BHO's dad is presented with all the force and impact that the media can muster--not because it's true, but because somebody said it, and it might sell papers.

And if you're borderline, and you see something that resonates in the papers, well then, it must be true, because they wouldn't print it if it weren't true, would they?

There's only one thing, finally, that can sink a democracy, and that's when its own people embrace a dark irrationality and deep untruths and they encourage each other to hold onto stupidities, because there's no voice that speaks against it.

We live in the Crazy Time.

>I’m concerned about the well-being of that boyfriend — and of others who might be similarly situated. I feel an obligation to help...

Look, I think there's only one way to interpret this--Kristol is coming out of the closet, finally, and admitting that, as a homosexual, he'd like to "help" that sexually-frustrated boyfriend out.

Not that there's anything wrong with it, of course.

And no doubt it's a relief to Kristol's family and friends.

Log Cabin Republicans, here he comes!

Many of us have tried to forgive ourselves, and each other, for the Sixties. Not that most of us threw bombs, or marched, or fought in the war. Rather, most of us did nothing at all. Those who fought, or protested, or even threw bombs, worked for their convictions. Those convictions may have been foolish, or ill-considered, or just plain downright wrong. The actions that grew out of them may have been hurtful.

But the worst thing, when we look back, is for those of us who did nothing at all, even though we knew that the times required some kind of action, some kind of affirmation.

And so, like Bill Ayers, we seek absolution, from others, but particularly from ourselves.

Those of you who weren't part of the Sixties, but were born then, and are tired of us: fine. But what have you done today? What have you done about Iraq? Fought? Protested? So much as written a letter?

Men, women, and children die every day in your name.

What will you regret when you are my age?