Too many of my younger relatives prefer the mass produced food in a can over homemade. Some prefer Spaghetti-Os in a can over a home-cooked meal. I feel sorry for them.

I spent a three day weekend with relatives and noticed the young adults drank nothing but Mountain Dew. Literally nothing else. First thing in the morning, the Dew came out of the fridge. Some preferred the blue stuff over the regular green stuff. Plastic bottles at the table with every meal, plastic bottles while we played cards. They made a special trip to the store to stock up when they were running low. The store had a sale and I had to listen to how much money was saved buying six-packs of 20 ounce bottles.

When they left, the recycle bin was overflowing with empty Mountain Dew bottles not to mention the countless ones in the regular trash.

Now we can all sleep easier knowing your first wife didn't like making potato salad or fried chicken. Hear that everyone? Talk about a non-sequitor...

I for one am always wondering where they get yellow mayo anyway. Do they separate out the cooked yokes and mush them up into the mayo or is it some dastardly combination of food dyes perfected by a university chemist from some country that doesn't have a potato in sight.

Wasn't it Frank Zappa who wrote "never eat the yellow snow"?

Well then.

Ok, this article totally resonated with me. I have for a long time now, only bought store bought gunk they call potato salad. It's made for the 'average' taste bud, and therefore has no zest, no 'umph' - no flavor. And I mean, NO flavor at all, unless you count mayo or potato. The taste is so 'blah' I quite buying or eating potato salad. But I learn up pretty quickly Garrison.

This weekend at the farmer's market, I vow to buy a lovely bag of Yukon Golds. I will go home, and whip up my own potato salad, and THERE WILL BE FLAVOR!

Thanks for being the dipstick that makes everybody else look good (and normal) by comparison.

For those of you who don't know the context, Garrison Keilor wrote a column several weeks ago in which he dared to opine that it might be best not to try and initiate criminal trials for those in the Bush administration who perpetrated those harsh interrogation techniques for terrorism suspects. I believe GK's main rationale was that it would be counterproductive, it would stir up partisan hatred, and it's better to look forward and deal with the problems currently facing us.

GK's column ignited angry howls from some of Salon's committed leftists, who branded him a traitor to the cause. Ever since, they have responded to anything GK writes with angry condemnations (see below).

I would tell Mr. or Ms. Prosecute Bush to give it a rest, and let's move on, but what's the point? It's their zeal and anger that keeps these folks going.

#

Shut up Keillor! Shut the fuck up!

Your homespun routine doesn't work for me. You have argued that Bush and Cheney and their henchmen should not be investigated and, in necessary, prosecuted for torture. TORTURE Keillor!!! TORTURE!!! A heinous and unforgivable crime and sin against mankind. Fuck you Keillor! Shut the fuck up you torture apologist!!!!

-- Prosecute Bush

And for the rest of you

And what a contemptible lot you are-those of you who are willing to overlook the crime of torture and the torturers and their apologists-as long as you are entertained-hey what the hell-we're all good Americans here-Richt? We are special-not like those awful terrorists who chop off people's heads.

Hmmmmmmm potato sald-right on Mr Keillor-you are soooooo entertaining.

-- Prosecute Bush

I think this article, by revisiting the humble but ubiquitous potato salad, will end up making the Independence Day holiday a little better for a lot of people. The number of widely different recipes amazed me. Capers? That could work. Probably better than jalopenos... (No, don't ask.)

Personally, I hope sales of the store-bought glop go down this weekend. The last time I had any, it appeared to consist of MASHED POTATOES with a ton of mayo, maybe a little mustard, and PICKLE RELISH stirred in. Zero flavor, zero texture - as if it had been concocted for toothless infants or something.

This weekend, make potato salad - either your own successful recipe, or experiment with some of those offered by the Readers. Assert your independence.

Oh, and anyone who asserts that, in a DEMOCRACY, the gummint is "the enemy" - well, he's a treasonous dog. MHO.

Now those that are against torture are "committed leftists".

Enjoy your potato salad you fucking apologist morons.

Torture, Empire, Potato Salad.

Garrison Keillor's approves, and obviously all of you who would call those who oppose torture as "extremists" do to. Since being against torture is a position of extremists, tht means you are a proud supporter of state sponsored torture of detainees held indefinitely without due process, that is the centrist/moderate position according to the people here, lest you be perceived as an "extremist".

You should all be proud of the fact that you are good bipartisan torture supporting centrist compromisers, create "I support torture" t-shirts and bumper stickers to show everyone how proud you are of the fact that your Government has murdered many people while torturing them. WEar them proudly out in public, proudly display the slogan on your vehicle.

Proudly show your support for your Government when it commits murder and spies on you For Your Own Good, what are you waiting for? Let the world know how you feel instead of cheerleading as an anonymous coward on the Internet. Show the real world how much you support the state-sponsored torture you mock others for rejecting.

Your support means no complaining when the Imperial Police State when sets it sights on you, because you are not a Good Moderate Centrist something or other, and unlike those "extremist", you support the Government when it breaks the law and can logically conclude that is it a good thing when the Government spies on people, tortures them, and kills them.

If you support torture you support all the other violations that go along with it. Surveillance, murder, unaccountability, lawlessness, empire, war, etc. Make sure and celebrate those things tomorrow and praise the torture regime when you are lighting your fireworks.

Enjoy your Glorious Military Empire and your Nation of Men, since you love defending it so much and mock those that think torture is wrong. You are all a bunch of cowards.