You did it again. Fantastic article.

Since the Obama Nation may yet drive all of us to drink, we may as well stockpile our favorite tipples and not worry about their investment potential. Chuckle…I still have two and a half bottles of the “Rommel Rum” and intend to drink it when on my death bed or if the barbarians storm my personal gates and it doesn’t look as though they can be beaten off.

You inspired me to go write an article about cookie jars, since I am not obliged to sound like a professional financial analyst and get a kick out of putting complex matters in simple, amusing ways that are nevertheless quite correct and complete. One thought while reading what you wrote was that Mama fills the cookie jar repeatedly, but she keeps eating the cookies herself in the middle of the night! By no means are you to consider that as a criticism of your excellent style (I’m speaking here as a professional Editor in my own right), and your incisive clarity and humor, just that I enjoy the advantages I have.

Gary, Luv, AGAIN, may we PLEASE have rich text and a much bigger window to work in? My e-mail is getting to be like the “video game” you two play, where I spend increasing amounts of time shooting down cyberspace invaders just to keep my box open (NO, I do NOT have a SPAM problem), and whimpering in anguish because I have to file things I really wanted to go back and respond to in greater depth. I’m sure you two have far more than I…

If I could paste Dan’s wonderful article down here and change color and font I could show my appreciation and admiration quickly and easily.

And if you give me back the ability to underline and italicize, I can show where the emPHASis goes!

Quick thought on Microsoft…from their (its?) viewpoint, buying back their stock is surely a grand idea. They think, one supposes, that they’re going to come through this period (who knows what they call it? Downturn, recession, maybe even the Big D word that rhymes with the R one) in command of the market, as well they may. The question for some time to come, though, is how soon and how long purchasing a new computer drops off and remains off the “necessities” list in the minds of beleaguered overtaxed payers or the jobless. We could even (if feeling more than usually conspiracy-oriented today) speculate that in a world where the Internet has been shut down the PC will become a typewriter that plays games with us.

Again, to get back to my TOIS system, there are great values available in new and gently-used laptops, in particular. Heartland, I think, will usually sell you a very nice one for around $400.

Consider, too, that the new ones are all VISTA, and with most users it is “hate at first sight” that we don’t get over! I bought a new desk top a couple of months ago, struggled valiantly with the changes, and hooked up my “old” (2003) one because it is faster and easier for me.

Charles has started an interesting conversation on celibacy in the priesthood, triggered by a current news report on Alberto Cutie, and we’re delving into our joint store of knowledge. My first thought was that the issue of Catholic priests not marrying (Episcopalian ones can, of course) and then the demand that they be celibate goes back to an obvious motive that would upset Catholics badly, no doubt: if priests don’t marry and don’t produce children, their possessions will end up in the Vatican’s coffers. Seems like it was one of the warrior popes who thought that one up…Charles said that while that may have been part of it, one of the early Pius popes was gay! Huh? Can you remember where and how you came by that interesting tidbit? We’ll have to go see if we can track it down. He then hit me with the thought that Paul, as well, was (supply your favorite euphemism.) Well, I’d believe almost anything about Paul. Not a nice man! Prove it? How about the time he egged some poor provincial on trying to get him to arrest him, Paul? Paul was a Roman citizen. He could have gotten the poor fellow killed, and he knew it!

Okay, this isn’t a site for theological debate, but you’re missing fun discussions, which have now proceeded to Elkhart banning smoking in all public places and bartenders howling, and our view that it would be far simpler, more Constitutional, and reasonable to leave such decisions to individual bar and restaurant owners. There would be “smoke free” places, and accommodation for the 28% of us who still smoke, as Charles and I do. Whutsa bar without at least SOME , smoke? Next thang yuh know they’ll ban drinking in bars!

Oh, all right, Charles and I don’t go to bars, but really enjoyable restaurants still have ashtrays. This is yet another example of the autocratic majority imposing its will on the minority, and we don’t like it, and since modern America views smoking with all the horror Victorians had about sex, wait until they foist socialized medicine on us and can scream that our behavior is bankrupting the system. Ted Kennedy, recently, suggested making smoking illegal! Shades of gin, marijuana, poverty, education, and other highly successful “wars.”

Thanks again for the inspiration, Dan.

Regards, LBT