Thank you GK, you get better all the time.

Another great read, thanks GK and if you ever visit Australia be prepared to show your boarding pass, but hey it’s no big deal.

Questions to Prosecute Bush and StanAccrington. Where have you been? You do not appear to have been writing letters to Salon for years fulminating against Bush et al for the crimes of the neocons while they were engaged in the very acts you claim GK defends. But GK has. He has been on the attack for years and has done so very publicly, not hiding behind some pseudonym. I couldn’t find any old letters from you discussing the depravity of the invasion and occupation of Iraq while Bush was running the show. Maybe you did; under your real names, and you did in fact stand up to be seen and to be counted by your friends and not so friends. But if you did why hide now, or perhaps you have never stopped hiding.

So what have you done apart from attack Garrison Keillor?

It is disappointing to see that you appear to be prepared to listen to, and repeat, unsubstantiated accusations without offering any evidence as to what might be the truth. Isn’t this an approach that you would scorn if it came from those on the right? If so why do it yourself?

A suggestion. Rather then repeat accusations go back over Garrison Keillor’s columns for the last 4 or 5 years. There are some breaks but you should find enough there to convince you that GK is more of a Democrat than most and that he was raising hell about Bush while much of the country was still asleep.

This from his column on 1/3/2006, referring to George Bush.

“The U.S. Constitution provides a simple ultimate way to hold him to account for war crimes and the failure to attend to the country's defense. Impeach him and let the Senate hear the evidence.”

GK’s columns have been a beacon of common sense, moderation, decency and fairness over this period as well as throwing light on the horrendous acts of Bush and his thuggish supporters.

Little wonder that there are those who would like to silence him.

Evocative, lyrical, whimsical and wise.

I hope the US places a high value on its new source of fuel; the blood and tears of the people of Iraq contaminated by oil.

The way I see it is that the time to avoid another cataclysmic presidency is now. People have short attention spans and shorter memories; if you let the Palin mark#2 freak show gain widespread traction (outside the “I’d rather vote for Adolf Hitler than a Democrat” group) it will be much harder to put a stake in its heart.

doctorfixit has some interesting opinions and ideas, some fairly easily challenged. Are you aware doctorfixit that there was an election with a result that found in favour of President Obama? Or perhaps like many on the far right you are in favour of democracy but do not think it should be applied to elections, rather like the thugs presently in control of Burma. Speaking of the far right, are you aware that fascism has much in common with your brand of politics including attacking the conditions of labour and pandering to big corporations; fascism and far right politics are in fact first cousins. Sounds like you’re well along that road.

An excellent analysis. One thing that (selfishly) especially saddens me about the death of Jackson is that there are so few individuals around endowed with truly breathtaking creative genius. The Jacksons of this world enrich our lives in ways that no amount of money ever could. The bell tolls for us all when they pass.

Palin. In a way I feel sorry for her. I wonder at what point she realised that she couldn’t carry the charade on any longer. Her high school looks and high school debating oratory was all she had. Maybe something happened to make her aware that she was ultimately nothing more than a small cog in the machinations of Bill Kristol and his thugs.

Agree with djunabruce about school funding. A country which does not provide an equitable system of education is of course a population subject to social cleansing and ultimately, a progressively depleting pool of talent to do all the things necessary to progress every aspect of a sustainable society. What supporters of privately funded education won’t acknowledge is that general intelligence is evenly distributed through the population, however opportunity is not. So you elect a president (Bush), a Harvard graduate, who turns out to be, in the words of Bertram Russell, “educated beyond his intelligence”. Consider the consequences – is that what you want?

On the other hand why would the 20% of the US population, who control 85% of the wealth, want to change the system – access to a quality education, based mainly on an ability to pay, is the ultimate form of structural nepotism. A permanent, ignorant, poverty stricken underclass, too desperate and bewildered to focus on anything but food and shelter, is an easy target for the propaganda (funded by the wealthy) of fear and afterlife hope, delivered by right wing goons and religious witch doctors. A self perpetuating dystopia.