Today's two-bit word: FREEDOM. ("Oh, gag me with a spoon!")

...or, to paraphrase former president George Bush, "Those freedoms of blind patriots have got to be somewhere.

"Nope. No freedoms over there.

"Maybe under here."

**************

From a letter to the editor in today's El Paso Times, written by a blind patriot in desperate need of a seeing eye dog, I almost lost my breakfast this morning.

Entitled "Old Glory," he struts before us all,

"The very first time that I saw her, I told myself I'm in love with her. She takes my breath away whenever I see her. I get goose bumps whenever I think of her.

"She turns heads, she is so beautiful. I admire her so much because she stands for all that's good.

"I love the way she moves so freely, and yet she's so strong. The colors that she wears will never go out of style. I made a promise to protect her with my life.

"That's the way I feel about Old Glory whenever I see her flying freely above our free skies. "

Well, my very first reaction to this was, "Oh puke!"

Sadly, this kind of blind patriotism is not *free*. It is extremely expensive and, as we are learning, very dangerous and oppressive. As a result, it's costing all Americans dearly now. I'd cite a few examples, but maybe later. After I'm recovered, I'd be glad to!

Reminder from the book E.T. 101, and at the risk of being overly redundant:: "They are all dysfunctional." (Note: "they" being all Earth cultures.) "Once a culture has decided which dysfunctional aspects it wishes to represent, it raises a flag to declare its position, packages its preferred brand of dysfunctionality for consumption at home and abroad, and passes it off as a national heritage to be proud of and protected at all costs." (Or, put more succinctly, "Oh puke!")