As time goes by there seems to be a strange effect; time seems to be accelerating. Where once the days and months passed by with stately even progression, now they appear to be rushing forward in mad abandon, denying the metronome of pace. Perhaps this is just a manifestation of age as I look back over my shoulders and see more behind me than before me. Yet, I have the impression of more than that. The frenetic, almost hysterical pace with which the Bu$h malAdministration is dismantling American democracy truly does seem to be accelerating.

So, as we slouch forward into yet another year of misrule and cruel disregard for average Americans and the rights guaranteed them by the Constitution that so many of us fought, bled, and died for, it behooves us to remember the magic and splendor of our national past. One day we will be able to reclaim our heritage as free men, endowed by a Creator with the right to determine our own fates. We must keep this dream alive. This narrative must be spread in the old, traditional method of oral history if we are forbidden the right of assembly and redress of grievances in the future. We must believe that the fantasy of corporate fascism so beloved by Mr Bu$h and his fellow despoilers will falter and die on the rocks and shoals of their own stupid greed.

And we must stand ready then to return to the old ways, to the free thought of the Enlightenment, the belief that man is more than helpless puppets on strings jiggled by false prophets, and that we make ourselves each day as we fashion our own destinies.

For those of my readers who visit me regularly, I express my gratitude for your acceptance of my ideas, and to those who have engaged me in discussion in the comments, I am deeply grateful for your willingness to share your thoughts with me. I have gained much, listening to you over the last year. Your words were the gift of counsel and wisdom and I hope you will continue to treat me with such trust in 2007.

May the blessings of whatever deity you might subscribe to bring you and your loved ones peace, love, health, and harmony in the year to come. May our troops survive this insane quest for empire, and may we one day greet them in joy and fraternity as they march in parades honoring their return home.