Sweet mother of paranoia! This has been one wacky month for The Doc. I�ve been facing a constant hassle from John Q. Law. Seems no matter where I go; those filthy bastards are following me! Hell, they�re even pulling me over and asking to search my car. I mean, really, I�m not DANGEROUS, so why the hassle? I think Ashcroft and his pals are none too happy with my displeasure over their Gestapo tactics in suppressing Freedom Of Speech and they�re trying to CATCH ME! But, I shall not go easily.

Speaking of Freedom of Speech, we continue to live in strange times. Sure, the war is �over� and the Boy President has a new sandbox to play with his toys in, but it seems that Patriotism and such is still running around like some kind of monster strain of Typhoid Fever. What is this? 1944??

As bad as the common folk have it if they so much as made a JOKE about the REAL reason behind the War, it seems celebrities have it worse, not just from THE PUBLIC but also amongst EACH OTHER.

Think about it, you�ve got Gene Simmons talking smack on Pearl Jam, Toby Keith and the Fat Dixie Chick going back and forth with cryptic �F.U�� shirts and so forth and so on.  I mean, the baseball Hall Of Fame got into the act too, declaring that there will be no anniversary screening of �Bull Durham� (opinion: Greatest Sports Movie EVER) this summer because to of the principles in the movie, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins made public statements AGAINST the War. Humph! America�s Pastime, eh??

The worst of the lot, in my opinion, is the shameless acts of certain �artists.� Riding the wave of Patriotism like some Gonzo surfer out of his head on PCP and Tequila, people like the aforementioned Toby Keith pander their music to, apparently, a large majority of mindless sheep that see Stars and Stripes in their sleep and hum the national Anthem while they take a piss. It�s almost sickening. It has gotten SO BAD that LYNRD SKYNRD has a damn HIT song on the radio (�Red, White and Blue�), and BOY what a master piece of lyrics they�ve laid out for us; �My neck�s always been Red,  my collar�s always been Blue�� I mean, seriously? How can people ACTUALLY, and with a straight face, call that GOOD music?? I almost forgot, they do include the obligatory if you don�t like America you can get the hell out line. Boy, that�ll have �em screaming loud and proud at a State Fair near you this summer lemme tell ya.

So, where do we go from here? Honestly, I don�t know and I�m truly afraid to ask. In this New Society of ours driven by Religious Zealots, Obsessive Patriotism and Massive Paranoia we never know where we�re going day to day. But, I�ll tell you this, if this county doesn�t get it�s collective head out of it�s collective ass and pay attention to the REALLY IMPORTANT things (like, say, THE JOKE we call an Economy!) then, fellow readers, things will just continue to get worse, a lot worse, before they get better.

But, really, what do I know. I�m just a delusional Paranoia case who�s being tailed by the cops.

Now, on a TOTALLY unrelated note; I�d like to ask a favor of you my loyal readers. I�d like you to keep your fingers crossed. Seems that my HERO, Dr Hunter S. Thompson, is going to be speaking at a Film Festival and Voter Registration Drive here in West Virginia next month. Now, work is already being put into yours truly POSSIBLY (but NOT defiantly) getting an INTERVIEW with the REAL Good Doctor.  So, say a prayer (if you do that type of thing) or at least cross your fingers. Of course, if this goes down YOU WILL see the RESULTS of this potentially EPIC and DEFIANTLY HISTORIC meeting.

Stay tuned�
 

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