Hey.... I'm a freaking socialist.. damn near a commie... plus, I'm a life long pot head... not just that but I'm an out and out marijuana advocate! I'm used to being monitored.... It's really no big deal... but another thing I am... the main thing is a musician.

And since you and I apparently share a love for the same music... if you'd allow me to just suggest something.... listen to more music and less talk radio. That's my strategy. It'll help to keep you from worrying about silly, meaningless shit like this report and the freak out hysteria about it.

More music! less politics!!! And the world will be a better place.

OK.... three strikes and you're out.

The ONLY thing offered by this column - hackneyed rehashing of nonsensical neo con talking points - is already available from Fox, Rush Limbaugh, and a host of other fools. If ANYONE is in the slightest bit interested in hearing idiotic talking points, they can find them there.

Pull the plug on this idiot... I HOPE you're not paying for this.

conveniently forgets all about he-who-shall-not-be-named's little hand holding walk and lip kiss with the Saudi King when he rails about Obama. Could this venal little idiot be any more insanely hungry for power?

Remember that the Baby Boomers of today, with their materialism, their war in Iraq, their votes for Republicans over the last 25 years, their materialism -- were the free love pot-smoking hippies of the 60s and 70s. A couple of decades really makes a huge difference in how liberal you are.

The "baby boomers" - a cohort in name and accident of date of birth ONLY - is hardly to blame for "materialism... war... and... votes for Republicans". Hell... "the free love pot smoking hippies" were a TINY fraction of the entire baby boom generation. I know... I'm a pot smoking hippy baby boomer myself... a non materialistic, rabid anti Republican and anti war one, in fact.

Any analysis that starts out with the above ridiculous, short hand sophistry is worthless.

Men have been going to work at awful, body and soul crushing physical jobs forever. They've also been fathers forever. Some are good at it, some aren't. Just like women and motherhood. A large majority of fathers have been fully capable of taking care of their children forever - feeding, and yes, even diapering babies!

Every so often some shallow writer for some meaningless magazine "discovers" these men.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

has a lot of potential baggage, what with claims of child abuse and other dark mutterings by his numerous ex wives - none of which has been fully vetted in the press. McCain is venal and power besotted enough to throw all of this into the race. Of course, he will have surrogates do it, just like he tried with "that one".

A pox on both their houses... maybe it will be mutually assured destruction. Is there a viable Democratic competitor eyeing the race?

It's legal because the Dear Leader said it's legal.

The Dear Leader is infallible.

When does this sanctimonious immoral cretin get his call back from his bullshit "god"...

They're using MY tactic, against ME!!!!!

Rick Tyler, a Gingrich spokesman, told Politico's Ben Smith, "The Democrats can’t stand on their policy, so they have to personify an enemy. It’s the politics of personal destruction.”

about time somebody kicked these cowardly bullies in the teeth.

"God's country?"

This seretin entity doesn't live in Oregon, does it!?!??! Gad. (Oregon being, of course, officially "god's country" - without the much of the "God" part, thankfully)

I knew they were having trouble with funding and had torn the "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" wing of the state mental hospital down... but....!?!?!??!

The words "vast majority" obviously mean: "all the voices in my head"

Nah... we're just busy with our bongs full of (cough, cough) "medical" marijuana.

first things first, ya know!

Nearly every state, or at least identifiable region of this country harbors its share of nativists. And a good portion of the "natives" of these states and regions certainly believe in the exceptionalism of their chosen land. That number also includes groups that have advocated various forms of secession.

Oregon, my "exceptional" state, is just as bad as Texas, if in the opposite direction. Does anybody remember the proposed nation of "Cascaidia"? There was even a book about it. We harbor some of the worst ecosnobs and pseudo hipsters; reveling in our ability to withstand our overblown, but "legendary" precipitation. And socks and Birkenstocks!?! You thought oversize belt buckles and cowboy hats were bad?!?

So... no... let's not let the malcontents have Texas. It's a wonderful place, if only for its music and greatly varied cuisine - from barbeque to tex-mex. And you never know what might happen if the secession gates get open. You'd probably lose the west coast next - just to the opposite side of the political spectrum.

I actually do worry about the potential Balkanization of this country. There's no real scenario where this would be anything but a brutal tragedy. Not just for US citizens, but the world in general. I believe we'd be on our way to a new dark ages era should anything like this come to pass.

Is simply get out of their way.... don't get any on ya!