We are now, my friends, in a situation where the majority of Americans get their news and information about what is going on with their government from entities that are licensed by and subject to punishment at the hands of that very government. Nobody can truly believe that this is what our founding fathers had in mind.--Neal Boortz, reacting to Howard Stern's having had his loose lips zipped

More from Boortz:

Now don't even try to tell me that the government would never try to regulate the political and news content of the broadcast media. Michael Medved tried that stunt with me last night as we went chin-to-chin on MSNBC. Yes, my friends, the government will try to control the political content of broadcast media. The government has tried it. And the government succeeded. Have you heard of the Campaign Finance Reform Act? Did you know that our illustrious Supreme Court has just ruled that the government can, indeed, control what can and cannot be said about politicians on radio and TV stations in the final days of a political campaign? Not newspapers. Not news magazines. Oh no! They have First Amendment protections. Broadcasting? Different story.

As always, he's right. But I find it interesting that both Boortz and Rushbo reacted negatively to Howard Stern's having been reprimanded. Since we were subjected to smut during the Super Bowl, the FCC has been put on notice that the average folks want the airwaves policed a bit better. If anyone deserved to have their third leg put in a vice it was Howard Stern. He's lewd and crude on purpose. If seeing a boobie is so completely upsetting, how is it that anyone would be outraged that the guy who talks about boobies everyday could be muzzled?

Another good post from the forum:

*******Zorcong: Another nice cut and paste to support your argument against Kerry. Too bad there are cut and dry answers to the story. The cutting off ears did happen. Villages were ravaged. Innocent people were killed. War crimes did occur. It's just that our government never did anything about it. And to top all this off, one such gentleman who actually admits to murders, collects a pension from your tax dollars.

Read up. It may not hurt to know the story before railing against it.*******

Read up? I have never been accused of not reading enough. Reading is my opiate. I am not naive enough to suggest that atrocities did not occur in Vietnam, or any prolonged military action for that matter. Put 500,000 heavily armed folks in the jungles, let 'em loose, and all sorts of lunacy can erupt. I understand that.

While we're promoting reading here, take the time to read the full text of what John Kerry had to say to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971, and then the numerous interviews he gave to the press immediately afterwards. His contention was that un-checked brutality and illegal killings were the norm. Sorry, but that's complete hogwash. Where did he see all of this horror? From his boat in the middle of a river?

The guy was there for four months, received stitches three times, and quickly opted out. And if anyone thinks that his anti-war stance after returning home was not the work of a slick political opportunist, they have taken one too many baths in Agent Orange. Probably the same folks that argued that Al Gore's having manned a pencil and pad in Vietnam was proof of his bravery. And remember, this is the same guy that equated racing across the sky in fighter aircraft with draft-dodging.

This isn't a "them vs. us" partisan thing with me. I'm not totally enamered with Republican idealology, conservative idealology, and I'm not some far-right evangalist. I'll vote for the best available candidate, as I percieve them to be, every time out. As a matter of fact, I would prefer to be registered as an independent, but by doing so I would be locked out of voting during the primaries.

Here's the scoop. John Kerry is a wishy-washy flip-flopping spud. Consider why his own party is rallying around him. They see him as the candidate most likely to beat Bush. It doesn't matter whether he'd be a good president. All that matters is getting even. They have been whipped into this "Bush stole the election" frenzy since 2000, and the only thing that matters to them now is revenge. So much for voting smart. And what is Kerry's message? I'll do the exact opposite of Bush. That's a helluva message. That's uplifting. That's inspiring. If you're extremely dense, it is.

To listen to him tell it, he's the only Vietnam Vet that didn't collect the eyeballs of toddlers and he's full of sh*t. One of the reasons that I wanted to join the Marines during the early seventies was a friendship that developed between a 'Nam returnee and myself. He was the only guy I had met at that time that would talk openly about his experiences in the rice paddies. This guy was wounded four times, twice seriously, and he could have opted out rather than serving his full tour of duty. He chose to stay.

He gave me all of his medals. As a thirteen year-old, I was thrilled. I idolized the guy. I thought about how brave he was. I thought about how scared he must have been. And I wanted to be just as brave, and scared, and wired on adrenaline as he had been. Unfortunately, my mom eventually convinced me that attending college was preferable to clearing a kill zone at some forward fire base and I never did get the opportunity to prove myself under fire.

But I'll never forget one of the first things he said to me out at good ole Sandy Beach when I first quizzed him about what serving in Vietnam was like and then hung on his every word. He said "You keep your head down, your mouth shut, and count the days until you can go home."

Do those sound like the words of a baby killer?

Kerry's as full of it as the dunces cheering him on.

Just when we thought that bashing the French had come to an end. Is the French government funking serious? I snagged this from CNN.com:

France has made a new appeal for Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to resign after talks with a Haitian government team and called for urgent moves to stop the situation getting out of control.

But the mass graves in Iraq didn't concern them??? Lemme guess. The French and their fellow limp-wristed socialists at the U.N. will demand that troops be inserted into Haiti to save the day. Our troops. Not theirs. Nation building only works when they decide it's necessary and we foot the bill.

Now we're getting f**king silly. An e-mailer just made me aware of a new post on the forum. I am being called "Zordork" and challenged by someone who won't even identify themselves? I'm called "The Ego-Testical One" by someone listing their e-mail address as "kerry@whitehouse.gov?" An anonymous fembot wants to talk about balls? Talk about setting one's self up for a beating??? You cling to your anonymity and then dare to mention testicles??? Try pouring some f**king Miracle-Gro down your pants.

Are you really this f**king stupid? Bush was AWOL way back when? Make an unsubstaniated charge, repeat it over and over, and the dummies among us will fall for it hook, line, and sinker. Fine. The reckless accusation was made. Guilty as charged by Judge Democrat. Is that how things work in your testicular-challenged world? How about the claim that the economy is in the sh*tter? Care to expound upon that oft-repeated bald-faced lie Mr. Nutsack? Got the gonads for that one, or did you out-source them to India? If Gary Trudeau believes the big lie, I should be on the defensive? I pray that you are sterile.

If you wanna fight, we'll fight. I'm at a clear disadvantadge though. If I kick you in the groin, it'll have zero affect.

Just in case you forgot, you can find me on Thompson Street. Don't forget to wear your Zorro mask. I guess a pocket-pool duel is out of the question. Balls to the wall.

And if I turn up murdered tomorrow, the cops only need to search for a guy that owns a computer and was castrated at some point.

As it turns out, Tom Leighton really did go to Harrisburg hoping to secure funding to replace roofs and whatnot. It's hard to believe that we've been reduced to this, but I'm confident that this trip wouldn't have been undertaken if it was not completely necessary.

What should be noted is how we are now being led by someone who is impressive, rather than being annoying to the folks higher on the political food chain and not capable of abiding by the accepted protocols.

Just reading Kevin Blaum's comments in the Leader was a welcome breath of fresh air.

I think the mayor got high marks from the secretary. We've shown that the city is helping itself. We're not just coming here, hat in hand, and asking for help. The mayor has shown he's doing his part. He's made the tough decisions.

It wasn't that long ago when the Governor's office referred to the Mayor of Wilkes-Barre in writing as being inept. Where once, not so long ago, we were the asshole of the entire state, now we're the City of Wilkes-Barre again. It may not fill any potholes, or plug up any leaking roofs, but our new-found respect feels good nontheless.

I hope the state comes through for us. And I hope the state comes through for Leighton. What I'm most happy about is the fact that Tom Leighton has already managed to change our sagging image simply by being himself. The potholes still need to be filled. The storm sewers are still headed for China. Our downtown is still a mostly retail-free zone. And we're still waiting for the elusive progress we've been promised for so long now. But in my estimation, the stifling despair that we've all suffered with for far too long has been replaced with guarded hope. Optimism, if you will. We might actually have a chance afterall. Why?

Because we backed the right candidate.

We have to rebuild everything here. I don't think anybody thought it was this bad.--Mayor Leighton

Mayor Dude, I wish that I had paid closer attention long before we ever got to this excruciatingly painful point, but know this...you are our best chance, probably our only chance. Keep your eye trained on the ultimate goal and ignore the growing army of clueless critics. Wilkes-Barre's future is in your hands and all of a sudden, some of us are excited about our long-term prospects.

You just go Mayor!!!

The Daily Brew? That's a bit weird after I spent last night watching a WVIA production about the breweries in Pennsylvania.

Rutro! Did we send the copper dudes off to a remote parking lot with their battering ram? From the e-mail inbox:

*******Hi Mark, Whats up with the BOLO alert on the drug house @ 31 E. Chestnut. Maybe it should be BOZO alert. Last i knew 31 E Chestnut was a empty lot !

Former Nordender Dude*******

Hmmm. Are we getting a G-String-Mart stripper bar owned by teachers, or not? Inbox again:

******* The rumor in The WBFD is that the BYOB club is going in some building by EFO, not walmart.

Have fun, XXX*******

One more time:

*******Bill and Mark,
Per message received from HXXXX.
Your return to work date has been set for March 8, 2004.
See you then.*******

My escape from near perpetual boredom is on the horizon. Glory be! Watch out termites, here I come!

Wifey is not going to want to hear this, but I'm doing a major stereo event and soon. Like now.

I'm not very interested in "electro-pop" or who brought it about. I wanna hear some serious guitar work and enough hammer-downs to choke anyone pretending to be a guitarist on MTV these days. Somehow, Jimmy Page comes to mind.

This is gonna be a loud one.

CYA