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   WHEN THE 3 WISE MEN
When the 3 wise men first emerged
from the pitch darkness and presented themselves
to the child, in the stable and gave gifts
before deporting into other realities;

and Mary took the son of God in her arms,
the three of them lost in the deep palpable shadows
surrounding the feeble island of light,
now devoutly stood smoke escaping from their nostrils.

Their eyes were bright jewels glinting in the gloom,
where a myriad of strange creatures crowded curiously around.
Outside, the stable the white flesh eating horses
that they had arrived on had vanished.

The stable enclosed them in a cathedral.
Its vaults soared as if trying to conceal Christ
and the nocturnal visitors some who had
violet eyes and green flames for hair

It had been revealed to the honest brave men
that HEROD the tyrant would murder the babe
who was dreaming rainbow fields
where souls were in full bloom.

And, they said, “Now, o little Lord, rest in peace,
and let us depart your devout servants.’.
Slowly, they left the crowded gloom
extricating themselves from the spirits that interpenetrated each other.

The three wise men having regained
the clear space in the temple of the night
departed riding through the silent mists
a strange serenity engulfing them.

The silence, which a moment before was so serene
now seemed troubled. . One wise man
leaned toward his companions and said, “Buried deep
in the baby’s tiny breast is the solace and salvation of mankind;

but, for every soul saved by the overpowering beauty
of the child’s relentless love, it will be
for countless others a camouflaged pitfall,
a subject of oppression and destruction,

and that very occupation which provided shelter for his body,
shall form a frame for His World’s Soul.
And, those wounds shown in His flesh
are bled into by the beating hearts of all mankind.

They stopped and rode toward the gray horizon,
and grew smaller, in size and significance
to the sea of gray flooding over the Eastern Mountains;
until, they became lost in the uniform gray dawn.

The light became vague. A wind rose cold
and drove the indifferent clouds that formed a veil
over Heaven. The street stirred with life,
compelled by its stomach. A distant bell

tolled into the consciousness of the three wise men,
who rode over land no longer firm.
Time fused together past, present and future
while white forms floated freely holding back the black shadows.

Flickering torches they light up the path
that leads to Death’s domain,
blazing a new path for everyone.
Their torches glow, when the sky suddenly erupts into a fiery conflagration

               RUMOR MILL
THE FALL ELECTIONS:
   The Republicans are attacking Iraq and SOCIAL SECURITY!
   The elections will fast be on us, and in spite of our many differences there is one thing that we can all agree on: the importance of voting. If one does not exercise their franchise, then its as if one has voted for the worst possible candidate. However, to vote from a position of ignorance is almost as bad, because, the voter only has a random chance of picking the best choice.
   Unfortunately, to try and make a wise choice is extremely difficult, when candidates compete in trying to buy elections. On any given issue there is an institutional filter that censors how the majority of Americans get most of their information. First, the media, at its best, is designed to sell itself as a product, which means it has an inherent bias towards moneyed interests and their candidates. Second, the media, at its worst, is a propaganda machine, which is designed to manufacture public opinion, in order to further the factional interests of the ownership. Third, even though no one side has ever had a monopoly on truth, alternative perspectives are almost never available to the public, in part because of the media’s prohibitive expense, a fact which help shapes public opinion in ways which obviously favor the small number of the power elite who constitutes the media’s controlling interests. To aid in alleviating this unhealthy situation for our democracy the rest of this issue will devout itself to alternative opinions about current affairs.
The following is the Rumor Mill’s opinion based on its on going analysis of information and misinformation generated by America’s propaganda machine.
FOREIGN AFFAIRS:
   2 WARS IN 2 YEARS: is a record of incompetence never before accomplished in the history of this great country. In two years the big spending Republicans hope to have spent massive amounts of American money IN AN EFFORT TO BANKRUPT SOCIAL SECURITY. Consider the Afghanistan War which many are saying was a fraud. How can the Taliban whose effective power base is one tribe in Afghanistan fight a war against the World’s mightiest military machine for over 2 years without inside help from our own radical right? The U.S.A. spends more on military than the rest of the World, in spite of recent Republican cuts that were opposed by the Democrats. And yet the Republicans accuse the Democrats of being soft on security. Obviously, the facts prove the Republicans wrong: as usual. And, for King George Jr. to propose another war after having cut taxes, while increasing U.S. Gov’t. spending and thus its National debt, on an extension of his Daddy’s war.   A war that many said was a fraud; because, Hussein wasn’t deposed after the War, and because the then Pres. George Bush Sr. and the Republican’s tried to sneak through war loans disguised as agricultural loans to pay for Iraq’s war debt, in spite of their being a leading oil producing nation of OPEC and a nation that is not an agrarian nation; or, because in the middle of broad daylight their best battalion was allowed to leave their front line position, and flee without cover, and to re-deploy around the capitol just before HUSSEIN surrendered without one shot being fired by the United States military who sat idyll by and took pictures. Leaves many voters questioning whether the Republicans are trying to increase the NATIONAL DEBT to the levels of a new record. Do we want to pay for bombs to blow up Iraq or help educate our own children? Do we want to send troops half way around the World for another media event or help our Senior Citizens by KEEPING SOCIAL SECURITY SOLVENT? Do we want to pay for jet fuel for bombers or help Senior Citizens heat their homes? Do we want to pay for MASH units to conduct operations on our fighting men and women for a phony war, or would we rather get real prescription relief for our Senior Citizens?
   It has been suggested that our own radical right has controlled Mid-East terrorism since the end of the Cold War Era, in an effort to control the regions oil rich governments. If any are interested in further documentation of this topic look up Mockingbird’s Oct. issue after the Sept. 11 event and read the relevant essays. The effect of such mind boggling stupidity is to put Social Security at risk. Any war represents a failure of the State Department, which means George Jr. and the Republican Party have failed yet again.
       2 years and 2 wars
       2 years and Social security at risk
       2 years Medicaid in financial difficulties
       2 years Medicare facing the prospect of insolvency
   During the previously sited record of incompetence, we have alienated our allies and we have discredited the United Nations. In Germany they have pulled their peace keeping force out of the Mid-East and joined with other Western Europe countries in calling the current Republican administration of the United States contemporary Nazis. George Jr. has injured the U. N. ‘s reputation, when we should have used them like the Democrats did under Pres. Clinton and Vice President Gore when they adroitly manipulated them as adjuncts to American foreign policy, which helped to defray the expense while at the same time diverted negative public opinion from the U.S.A.. If we had of proceeded with even a small amount of political discretion we could have helped spare us the unfortunate prospect of being the World’s primary target for terrorists. Also, discrediting the U.N. will force the rest of the countries of the World into spending their resources on military expenditures instead of for education, health care and economic development, which would have helped develop markets for U. S. goods and services that would have helped our struggling economy. All because of the incompetence of George Jr. and the Republican Party, who discredited the U. N. with what many are saying is internationally recognized as a phony show, which is an astonishingly stupid thing to do; because, even though these two wars are said to be recognized as being a fraud, still the World’s governments must react to the destabilized global political climate, which George Jr’s and the Republican Party’s gun boat diplomacy coupled with injuring the reputation to the U.N. has accomplished. An accomplishment which will hurt everyone economically.

DOMESTIC POLICIES:
   ECONOMY: The Republicans would scapegoat the economic woes saying its President Clinton’s fault. WHY? Was it because Pres. Clinton and Vice President Gore balanced the budget, and bought down the National Debt? Or, was it because they fought and won a war for half of what the big spending Republicans wanted to throw away on it, without losing a single soldier? Or, perhaps it was because they made the longest period of peace time prosperity in the history of the U. S..
   After two years the Republican Party needs another excuse. The truth is the Republicans HAVE NOT HAD AN IDEA IN 25 YEARS. Besides the big spending Republicans will have burdened us with 2 expensive wars. Further, in 2 years THE BIG SPENDING REPUBLICANS have burdened the American tax payer with the World’s largest debt. The BIG SPENDING REPUBLICANS have not just the largest budget deficit in the history of the U.S.A. but in the entire World. A debt which means that we pay billions in interest each year on a debt for which we get nothing in return. A debt which means everything we pay for costs the U.S. taxpayer more money. A debt which holds up interest, in order to attract money to pay for the debt, which in turn puts a drag on any effort towards economic recovery.

   SOCIAL SECURITY: The REPUBLICANS WANT TO PUT SOCIAL SECURITY INTO THE STOCK MARKET! ARE THEY CRAZY?!? The stock markets have lost money for two consecutive years. The stock markets have lost over 50% of their value in less than two years. Consider were we would be if we would have had SOCIAL SECURITY in the stock markets. We would be in much worse shape than we are currently in. Each month Senior Citizens get their checks and go out and consume. This provides a foundation, a base of economic activity that prevents the Republican depression from plunging precipitously further downward. Also, it will help shorten the duration of the Republican depression. If we had Social Security in the stock market the Republican depression would be much worse, and, as previously stated, it would last much longer; because, it would reduce consumer demand while at the same time destabilize the World Financial Markets. Putting the Social Security System into the stock markets is a bad idea, which will hurt us today and come back and hurt us in the future again and again with every down turn in the business cycle.
   The stock market’s yield, averaged over time, has made it a very modest investment. Its historical average rate of return has been approximately 10%, which is a less than 1% difference from Social Security’s yield. It has either lost money or been stagnate in roughly 50% of the years since records have been kept, which compares unfavorably to the consistent returns each year demonstrated by the SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM. If one considers the risks for American families specially its older workers who would like to retire; and, compare them with the lack of prospects for improved gains, one can only wonder why any reasonably prudent person would risk something as essential as the primary source of income for 75% of Senior Citizens; and, which serves as a ballast and foundation for the economy, for such a doubtful prospect. The answer becomes simple if the mutual funds are either owned or controlled by the factional interests who support the Republican Party. Now we begin to understand the incompetence and greed driven mismanagement of the Republican Party that has lead to such a dismal performance by the economy. In short what a stupid idea!

   ENVIRONMENT: The Republicans recently promised an economic recovery if we would only cut down the trees in the Northwest. It has begun and still we wait for the promised jobs and recovery. The forestry industry has long since stopped being the primary employer in the Northwest. What would have been less politically expedient (the Republican Party’s power base in the House of Rep. is the rural part of the country) is to have proposed, like Vice Pres. Gore of the Democratic Party, diversifying the local economies with tax incentives to companies to locate in recessed areas of the country with supplies of cheap labor, and given local residents stipends for government job training programs, which would provide jobs here at home and diversified economies that are more resistant to depressions. Rather than another incompetent Republican Party plan, which would make short term jobs in foreign mills better equipped to handle old growth timber (see last issue) or, subsidizing inefficiencies in a U.S. climactorate industry that potentially could increase our trade deficit, and increase construction costs, and establish a third world trading pattern for the U.S.A. economy.

   Currently, there is a lack of funds for the E.P.A. and F.D.A. . The lack of concern from the Republican Party isn’t surprising. They wanted to forgo product safety testing unless there seemed to be a problem with any given product - after it was released. How many disasters have the American public been spared because of Democratic opposition to this Republican recipe for disaster? In the meantime we haven’t a fully funded and functional F.D.A. & E.P.A., because both are low priorities to the Republican Party.

   HEALTH CARE: The Republican Party wants to under fund Medicaid and Medicare. Further, the Republican Party has expressed a desire for the competition in the market place to solve all of our health care problems. However, we are only one of three countries who have opted for this approach along with Turkey and Mexico. The rest of the World thinks that some form of universal health care is the best way to go. But, consider, under George Jr. and the Big Spending Republican Party, more people have no healthcare than ever before. The market solution has fewer providers than ever before, and so, there is less competition than ever before. There is less Doctors and fewer nurses for staggering case loads, where 2,000 to 3,000 is about average for the insurance companies’ subsidiaries the H.M.O.s physicians.
   Consider the Republican Party record after two years. More people have no insurance than before. More people pay more for insurance and get less in coverage than when the Republicans took over the White House. More children have no coverage. More children have worse health insurance. More families have either no insurance or worse health insurance coverage. The Republican Party’s fraudulent foreign wars and increased debt will make things worse in the years to come.
   The Republicans want market to solve our health care problems with less Doctors and fewer nurses, because they cost more money than cheaper less skilled labor factorial inputs. Private HMOs can’t improve productivity so to sustain profits it has to cut costs and/or increase premiums. If they don’t they will lose market share and will not be able to compete. The consumer will have to pay for tests the 15 min. doctors appointments require to determine what is wrong with them. And, the consumers who are fortunate enough to still be able to afford health care, which will be everyone who doesn’t want the serious sickness which is just a matter of time to bankrupt them, will have to pay for all the consultation visits, too. This system where the market solves all of America’s health care problems is already
creating over 1 million mistakes in the hospitals each year. Also, the market solution of the Republican Party turned away over 1 million sick men, women and children last year.
   The Republicans have accomplished a lot. They have fewer health care companies to take care of more Americans. However, more people have no insurance. The Republican Party has the system rated the most unfair in the Industrial World. The Republicans have the worst system for children in the industrial system. The Republicans have the worst system for health care for families. The Republicans have the most expensive to run and each year the Republican Party’s solution generates 1/3 worse health in the chronically ill, the poor and among our senior citizens. Congratulations Republican Party these are your health care system proposals for America in action. It is the Ebenezer Scrooge’s Bah Humbug approach to America’s workers, families and children. Finally, least we forget, is it any wonder that the Republican party wants to do away with your right of legal redress, against their buddies the insurance companies, after they have given you and or your loved ones worse health, because of mistakes that they are obviously responsible for?!?

   SCHOOLS: The Republican Party are still after voucher schools. But, now they call them something else. However, “a rose by any other name….” The Republican Party war generated budget deficits have left U.S. with less for public schools, too. The Republican Party plan for vouchers would have made schools far worse off than they are today, with their duplication of services, non certified teachers/ non qualified teachers, no accountability, no economies of scale in equipment and supplies purchases. A Republican system that would result in either more taxes, or more debt, or less money for public schools. A Republican Party System that would give worse education, to an estimated 80% of our children; and, a system that when tried in the South, resulted in more segregated schools.
   If education is our country’s single best long term investment to combat poverty, and it is. Then it pays to invest in our schools today. Educated workers are more productive. Educated people are better citizens. Educated citizens vote more often, and make more money. The only problem with educated people is they tend to think for them selves, which means they aren’t as easily manipulated and aren’t satisfied with lousy, poor paying, dead end jobs.
   MISC.:   The Republicans have increased the number of working hungry.
       The Republicans have more citizens who can’t afford to adequately heat their homes
       The Republicans have spent less to provide public assistance for housing for families
       The Republicans have not learned that robbing a people of their rights does not make them safer. But it does make them poorer in spirit and pride.
   The previous have been the opinion of the Rumor Mill. Please vote.