<div align="center">de omnibus dubitandum est  "of everything doubtful be"</div>

<div align="center">de omnibus dubitandum est  "of everything doubtful be"</div> http://deckhand.multiply.com/   chuck is offline for the summer. see ya in the fall, kids. <a href="http://deckhand.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/R@ovNQoKCmwAAHXkVbk1"><img class="alignmiddleb" src="http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/R@ovNQoKCmwAAHXkVbk1/beijing-handcuffs.jpeg?et=trjZr1lFKLv86wmNNTpWvw&nmid=" border="0"></a>  <div align="center">The name is chuck. (For the record :: I don't capitalize my name.)  I'm a boomer-generation life-long Alaskan, independent and stubborn as hell,   a commercial (salmon) fisherman, and a 6 on the Kinsey scale.  <div align="center"></div></div>  Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:22:48 -0000 Thu, 29 May 2008 21:16:00 -0000 <div align="center">de omnibus dubitandum est  "of everything doubtful be"</div> http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/logo http://deckhand.multiply.com 100 100 "What Happened." Indeed. <a href="http://deckhand.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/SD8i7goKCmwAADjWHTQ1"><img class="alignmiddleb" src="http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/SD8i7goKCmwAADjWHTQ1/mcclellan3a.JPG?et=ouwEwlt9tT51oNLnSzG8Cw&nmid=0" border="0"></a>Not to say "I told you so" or anything, but once again I feel vindicated. The news media is abuzz about Scott McClellan's new book in which Bush's former spokesman and close friend takes aim at the plethora of Bush lies and double-speak. Specific talk about McClellan's book ("What Happened," officially set for release on Monday even though every journalist in the country seems to have already read it) in the latest media frenzy focuses on the Valerie Plame affair (wherein Valerie was "outed" as a CIA operative by a White House set on revenge over the Nigerian yellowcake lie) and the disingenuous spin given the media to justify the war in Iraq. I kinda expected this, you see. Not to say I'm clairvoyant, but I spotted these lies as outright fabrications from the get-go. So, obviously, did Scott . . .  and his discomfort at trying to cut-and-paste over the lies and deceptions of a White House chock full of corruption was so palpable that <a href="http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-dUiEjEYheqUBSopeCGeKU1Lx5ywH?p=56">I even blogged about it</a> back in April o... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/658/What_Happened._Indeed. Thu, 29 May 2008 21:16:00 -0000 Consequences of "revenge voting" <img class="alignmiddleb" src="http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/SDQBkwoKCmwAAHwWE7c1/2395216410_975366b62d.jpg?et=f3ox8gmhvzFIN%2BkMuCCqWA&nmid=0" border="0"> Little in life is as precious as a citizen's right to vote, and yet there are plenty of Americans who apparently think that squandering that precious right is just dandy. Plenty of my countrymen are willing to cast a vote for a candidate or cause, even when it's ultimately against the best interest of their country or themselves. The right to vote is, apparently, not a sacred trust for some. In the last election cycle and the one before that, plenty of people voted against their own socio-economic best interests, for instance, when the issue of gay marriage blinded them to the fact that Bush neo-conservatives were plotting to further take their jobs and ship them overseas. Okay, they said. Take this job and ship it, just don't let those damned queers desecrate the holy marriage bond. Okay, said Bush and the neocons. No gay marriage. You got it. Now, would you rather that job of yours sent to China or Indonnesia. China was apparently the preferred destination of most voters, since the... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/657/Consequences_of_revenge_voting Wed, 21 May 2008 10:53:00 -0000 "The Change You Deserve" <img class="alignmiddleb" src="http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/SDP9tgoKCmwAADCMxBw1/change.jpeg?et=TJCX%2CpZVKKNiufgbehc7Ew&nmid=0" border="0"> The Republican party has announced a new campaign slogan for this year's electoral season. It'll be officially announced at the RNC convention in Minneapolis in September but they're giving us a sneak peak at it now. The operative word of the motto is "change." Change, you see, is the catch-word this year. Americans are sick and tired of the direction our country is headed.... ... or, rather, has gone. They want change. Barack adopted the word and it was a hit. Hillary followed soon after. Not wanting to be left behind, the Republican National Committee hired a slick Fifth Avenue advertising agency to come up with a catchy slogan with "change" in the mix. Those smarty-pants advertising guys thought about it and said "You know boys, Americans don't want just ANY change. What they really only want is a change that they're gonna like... a change they deserve." And so was born the slogan: "The Change You Deserve" Hmmm. I wonder if these boys maybe should've done a little more focus-group test... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/656/The_Change_You_Deserve Wed, 21 May 2008 10:46:00 -0000 Unsubstantial Blues Magdi Ruzsa: Unsubstantial Blues This is one of the most affecting music videos submitted for EuroVision, the European equivalent of an MTV-type award. One entry was allowed from each of most European countries. In this case, from Hungary. After watching this video once, I was moved by the sequence. Watching it a second time was even http://deckhand.multiply.com/video/item/63/Unsubstantial_Blues Tue, 20 May 2008 09:21:16 -0000 The 'China Syndrome' <IMG class=alignmiddleb src="http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/SCvregoKCmwAADTcTMM1/AP_quake_china_190_12may08.jpg?et=rOx1creVo86AYW6PUa4rzA&nmid=" border=0>Traveling, as I have, over the past few weeks, I've missed out on much of the revelatory news and current events that are my wont.    I couldn't miss the news from China, though.  An earthquake, a big one, shook China and the numbers are still coming in. NPR last night presented a heart-wrenching segment about a particular Chinese couple who lost their parents and 2-year-old to the earthquake.   The couple's tragedy was made all the more real by the audio of their lament. I can relate. First, my mother's death makes me feel their pain.  The memory of having lost my mom less than a month ago is fresh in my mind. Then, too, as an Alaskan I'm constantly aware of earthquake potential.  It always lurks in my subconsciousness.  Losing homes, streets . . .   entire cities . . .  is rough.  Alaskans know this. Looking at homes, as I have over the past few weeks, makes me mindful of what it means to have -- or not -- a place of re... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/654/The_China_Syndrome Thu, 15 May 2008 07:44:00 -0000 Why the price of everything is going crazy. <A href="http://deckhand.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/SCNZzgoKCmwAAAhQGlQ1"><IMG class=alignmiddleb src="http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/SCNZzgoKCmwAAAhQGlQ1/BubbleBurst.jpg?et=esGt11Ipy71lwXodJXdG9w&nmid=" border=0></A>What do soaring oil prices, world-wide food riots, the sub-prime mortgage mess, inflated insurance rates, corporate rip-off scandals and the dot-com bubble have in common? Wall Street. Well actually, the Wall Street speculator. Speculators.  Investors.  PWM's. People with money. People with money seeking a place to invest that money. I'm sure you've heard the expression "It takes money to make money," but less commonly heard is the corollary that money always seeks a home. A home paying the highest return, that is. There's lots of money out there, and it doesn't belong to you or me. It's investment money. It's money belonging to other guys. Institutions, insurance companies, lots and lots of rich people. Even Alaskans -- through the Permanant Fund investment board -- have piece of this action. Lots of people have money and they want that money bringing back the best return possible, whatever it takes. During the Clinton years, lots of that money went into dot-com stocks. When th... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/653/Why_the_price_of_everything_is_going_crazy. Thu, 8 May 2008 19:46:00 -0000 My life as an orphan <A href="http://deckhand.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/SCFa1goKCmwAACn8Zuo1"><IMG class=alignmiddleb src="http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/SCFa1goKCmwAACn8Zuo1/mom-and-grandchild.jpg?et=h4BZj82iVK4YmxJOC6oYnA&nmid=" border=0></A><A href="http://deckhand.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/SBNlhAoKCmwAACgQplE1"></A> I once mentioned to my mother that I couldn't imagine life as an orphan. It must, I said, be awful to be a motherless child. It is. For the first time in my life, I'm now officially an orphan. For the first time in my life, I'm now very much a motherless child.... ... and you know what?  It sucks. In the past twenty-four hours, I have cried more tears of pain than I've cried in my entire life. The loss of my friend Pete didn't even register on this scale. In case you didn't know, my mother died on Thursday evening. My mother, bless her heart, did everything with her children foremost in her mind.  She always thought of her children's welfare ahead of her own. I think she even managed to time her passing with me, in particular, in mind.  After several days of worsening health, my mother probably realized that her long-term prognosis was bad, so rather than wait 'til I was long-ago and far-away, she managed to die with me by her side and holding her hand. Here's how that w... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/652/My_life_as_an_orphan Sat, 26 Apr 2008 05:20:00 -0000 Multi-tasking :: Plan B... no, "C" ... no, "D" ... no ... <IMG class=alignmiddleb src="http://www.montana-sucks.com/images/montana_sucks_t-shirt.jpg" border=0>As some of you already know, spring is a busy season for me.  It's when I start gearing up for another summer season doing what I do.   That inevitably entails a trip to Seattle to buy, box and load supplies for the entire summer season. So...  I was just started to Seattle for my ritual spring trip when I got a call from an ex-boyfriend who was (well, "is") house-hunting in the Pacific Northwest.   We met in Portland and we've been doing a combination Seattle business trip (for me) and real-estate shopping trip for him (well, and me, too, really.)    Things were going slowly -- but at least progressing -- until today (the 16th) when I got a call from my sister advising me that my mom is once again in the hospital and critically ill.  I mean "critically" ill. My oldest sister even suggested mom might be "checking out" (her exact words) soon.  At first I thought she meant she was getting better and would be checking ou... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/651/Multi-tasking_Plan_B..._no_C_..._no_D_..._no_... Thu, 17 Apr 2008 05:41:00 -0000 On the road again. <A href="http://deckhand.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/R-XXQQoKCmwAAAZVVEw1"><IMG class=alignmiddleb src="http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/R-XXQQoKCmwAAAZVVEw1/CB009485.jpg?et=8HepNcN1r10vLABim%2BujKQ&nmid=" border=0></A>This is just a quick note to explain the lack of anything happening on my page for the past few days. First, as some of you know but apparently many others don't, I'm on the road for the next few weeks. I flew to Portland earlier this week and have been busy catching up with friends and now am traveling.    I unexpectedly ended up spending the night in Astoria (Oregon) last night and will be traveling up to Long Beach (WA) and then to Hoquiam, Wash. for the weekend.  Then on to Seattle. When I travel, not only do I find it harder to write my own blogs but reading and commenting on everybody else's is nearly impossible.  Time and the sparsity of internet connections worth a damn conspire against my ability to keep in touch with y'all. Once I find a good motel with an internet connection and also have the time, I have some things that deserve a good blog entry or two . . .  but for now, commenting here is pointless, since once I start bloggin... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/649/On_the_road_again. Fri, 4 Apr 2008 07:12:00 -0000 Up from 54º 40' Songs of the north country -- -- either about Alaska and northern Canada or from artists from http://deckhand.multiply.com/music/item/320 Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:21:25 -0000 Songs of Protest Songs dedicated to protesting war, social injustice and rage against the system. Oddly, hardly any have been written in years, so most date from the Vietnam era. Where has the modern social conscience http://deckhand.multiply.com/music/item/313/Songs_of_Protest Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:56:44 -0000 It's only a game <IMG class=alignmiddleb src="http://www.sfgate.com/blogs/images/sfgate/cwnevius/2006/04/07/bush%20pitch328x500.jpg" border=0>Who knew baseball could be so problematic for a troubled President? Last year, George Bush missed the ceremonial "first pitch" of the season because he was "busy."   We know how busy he was -- creating, as he was, new Signing Statements to circumvent laws he didn't like...  devising new and clever ways of extending Tours of Duty for active, reserve and National Guard soldiers so he could "surge" in Iraq ...  consulting Kevin Martin to further the cause of corporate media consolidation through looser FCC rules ...  devising amnesty plans for telecommunications companies who were in hot water over their collusion in the FBI / NSA illegal wiretapping scheme ....  you know, stuff like that. Hey, he's a busy man. In truth, as the Washington Post sagely observed, the real reason was that his war wasn't going well.  Comparing Bush's first-pitch absence to that of Nixon, at a time when his muddled war had also destroyed his popularity ratings, th... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/648/Its_only_a_game Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:59:00 -0000 Straight talk (And yes, I mean politics, guys....  not some veiled reference to sexual orientation.)   <A href="http://deckhand.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/R@4YPwoKCmwAAF7nBqM1"><IMG class=alignmiddleb src="http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/R@4YPwoKCmwAAF7nBqM1/straight%20talk.jpg?et=4T%2B54Uw6vXeWE46Gl1EAiQ&nmid=" border=0></A>If I asked you to name a sitting U.S. Senator who is also a Republican, a handsome grey-haired man, keenly articulate, a decorated Vietnam veteran, and famous for his "straight talk," who would you answer?   Wait.  Don't answer that yet.   This straight-talker is also critical of the Republican Congress' failure to hold George Bush to account, highly critical of the Iraq War -- both in its pretext and in its execution -- and is retiring at the end of this term.   Oh . . . and he isn't running for President....   so the answer is clearly NOT John McCain.   It's Chuck Hagel.   The Nebraska Senator appeared last night as part of a remarkable "double header" on PBS's Charlie Rose.    So good was this hour of television that even as addicted a news junkie as I forwent my dose of nightly local news to stay glued to my PBS station. ... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/647/Straight_talk Sat, 29 Mar 2008 08:00:00 -0000 The morning after . . . Ah yes. Haven't we all been there before? Went out drinking . . . had a little too much . . . end up in someone's bed and don't remember how we got there? And then . . http://deckhand.multiply.com/video/item/58/The_morning_after_._._._ Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:52:12 -0000 Cucumber Sandwiches Remember as a child, when your mother told you to never pick up a piece of candy laying on the street? "You never know where it's been," she'd say. This British commercial proves that your mother was right . . . even into http://deckhand.multiply.com/video/item/57/Cucumber_Sandwiches Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:41:31 -0000 60's Music - side 3 More classics of the 60's and early 70's . . . mostly of the A.M. radio http://deckhand.multiply.com/music/item/293/60s_Music_-_side_3 Wed, 26 Mar 2008 10:44:42 -0000 60's Music - side 2 Continuation from the first album. I've decided to limit each album to 15 cuts. Even that seems a bit long, but I have SO much stuff in my Music Folder, I get tempted to just keep going.... I decided to try and keep this set on the mellower side, as the first song illustrates. "Oh happy Day" is a song I clearly remember hearing for the first time and it brings back memories of a clear, crisp spring day while us fraternity "pledges" were cruising around in an open-top convertible of a Religion Major friend of ours town finding the necessary items on a scavenger hunt! What fun and heady days!! http://deckhand.multiply.com/music/item/276/60s_Music_-_side_2 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:32:50 -0000 Bush's War <A href="http://deckhand.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/R@g-NAoKCmwAAG0ZE1M1"><IMG class=alignmiddleb src="http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/R@g-NAoKCmwAAG0ZE1M1/bushs_war.png?et=irtnRoqf9s2ZeauV7fuLjw&nmid=" border=0></A>Today marks the 19th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. I had intended my blog entry today to cover this event and some curious kharma surrounding it, saving the must-see TV Frontline series "<A href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/bushswar/">Bush's War</A>" for tomorrow, not knowing that the series starts tonight, not tomorrow night. Since I want everyone to see this series, I decided a discussion of this national tragedy outweighs our own great, regional one. There are probably consequences of (and 'to') both that have similarities I could write about, but for now turn on your television tonight and tomorrow night and watch "Bush's War." I intend to write more about the war, myself, sometime this week . . .  especially since the media is all abuzz about the "official" four-thousandth American military casualty of the conflict.   As you might imagine, my take on that number is slightly different from what CBS or NBC news is likely to say. For now, watch Bush's War.   It's gonna be... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/645/Bushs_War Mon, 24 Mar 2008 23:47:00 -0000 60's Music - side 1 Basically, the same era as the Beatles' best stuff. 60's through the early 70's. I have over 860 cuts, dating from the Everly Brothers and Mary Wells through the Beachboys, 'Stones and Hendrix through to the onslaught of ** argh ** the Disco era.... now, if I could only decide what to http://deckhand.multiply.com/music/item/260/60s_Music_-_side_1 Mon, 24 Mar 2008 11:16:47 -0000 SHOCK AND AWE: The Fifth Anniversary <A href="http://deckhand.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/R@IGGQoKCmwAAAMxWmw1"><IMG class=alignleft src="http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/R@IGGQoKCmwAAAMxWmw1/IRAQ_WAR_ANNIVERSARY.jpg?et=RsdTzXB6xddXdJaU%2CXK%2Ciw&nmid=" border=0></A><A href="http://deckhand.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/R@IBqgoKCmwAACZU1JE1"></A>               This is the fifth anniversary of the end of the American Empire.  As with the end end of every great empire, it was overseen by fools thinking they were greater than they were, ruling over foolish people who thought their nation was greater than it was. This has always been true, whether that empire was Babylon or Egypt, Rome or China, Byzantium or Britain.  Pride, as the Proverb says, goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.   Prov 16:18-19 No American President -- elected or not -- has been as arrogant and haughty as George W. None. Ever. It gets worse.  Compounding his arrogance and folly in waging war, misconduct in foreign affairs, and reckless fiscal policy, was his single-minded devotion to friends in the oligarchy and their love of laissez-faire capitalism. That reckless form of capitalism has now borne its fruit.    So, on this fifth annivers... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/642/SHOCK_AND_AWE_The_Fifth_Anniversary Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:32:00 -0000 Democratic Excesses <IMG class=alignmiddleb src="http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/R@De2QoKCmwAAGK1r141/daysinn.gif?et=tygp9XiA5tX3PQ1khKh5nQ&nmid=" border=0>Am I the only one who finds it curious that all four of the top news-pundit-topics this past week have been on men who are Democrats? Eliot Spitzer, of course, made news with his dramatic fall from grace -- and his office as N.Y. governor. No sooner had he been sworn in as Spitzer's successor, than former Lt. Governor David Paterson admitted to reporter's questions that he, too, had an extra-marital affair.  Rather than dwell on the personas of this one, the press seemed enthralled by the news that the tryst(s?),  in this case, had happened at . . .   a Day's Inn. As if, somehow, that mattered.    Actually, as if any of this matters. Steamy and salacious as was that news, former N.J. governor Jim McGreavy's tell-all revelations upstaged them all when he revealed that he and his wife had been joined in a bizarre sorta-wanna-be-but-wasn't-quite three-way sexual romp with his chaffeur.  Well!  That had the press wide-ey... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/641/Democratic_Excesses Wed, 19 Mar 2008 18:53:00 -0000 A Gay Man is President? <A href="http://deckhand.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/R9@EtQoKCmwAAAtwa0M1"><IMG class=alignmiddleb src="http://images.deckhand.multiply.com/image/1/photos/upload/300x300/R9@EtQoKCmwAAAtwa0M1/shopping.jpeg?et=hs71DhI1v6uYxO5Xq%2CvZ%2Cw&nmid=" border=0></A><A href="http://deckhand.multiply.com/photos/hi-res/upload/R9@EigoKCmwAAH2Ego01"></A>Aside from the obvious --  that gay men are sexually attracted to other men  --  none of the enduring stereotypes of gay men persists quite like the notion that their solution to any frustrating situation is to go shopping. Am I right? Imagine, then, what that stereotypical gay man would do if he were President of the United States.  Imagine his solution would be to each of these scenarios: 1) The World Trade Center and Pentagon are attacked and America feels itself under dire threat of danger. He would go before the national media and say "My fellow Americans, in this time of national grief and distress, please go shopping. "Spend money." 2) The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq commence.  America is -- declared or not --  at war.   Unlike during previous wars --  say, the two World Wars or Korea, where Americans were asked to conserve and sacrifice, plant victory gardens and even ration supplies --&nbsp... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/638/A_Gay_Man_is_President Tue, 18 Mar 2008 08:29:00 -0000 On the occasion of the Feast of Saint Patrick I've written and then written again about a dozen attempts to explain my non-Irish-ness for today.   I started out writing about the significance the color "orange" played on this day, since my fiercely-British grandparents were stridently anti-Irish (and, by extension, anti-Catholic) . . . .  but my drafts inevitably got bogged down in the minutia of details about William of Orange and the ascension of the House of Hanover . . .  and, well, I can get a bit didactic at times.   This morning, in reply to an email from a friend in Portland (the one in Oregon) I wrote the following in reply.  Imperfect as it is, it suffices to say the salient parts ::     <HR>    So, it's St. Patrick's day:   Another day dedicated to someone whom most of us know nothing about (visions of the just-celebrated St. Valentine) and yet over whom we go crazy . . . . doing silly things like dressing up like Leprechauns, drinking green beer, wearing s... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/636/On_the_occasion_of_the_Feast_of_Saint_Patrick Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:25:00 -0000 Saturday Night At Sea Sea shanties and songs, to quote the album cover: "of the sailing days." I bought this CD at a retail booth at, of all places, the Sutter's Fort gift shop, near Sacramento, California (where my sister often volunteers). The first three cuts are original lossless .wav files that took forever to upload so, sadly, I'm going to have to re-format the others to something smaller. http://deckhand.multiply.com/music/item/234/Saturday_Night_At_Sea Sun, 16 Mar 2008 23:40:10 -0000 Bomb, bomb, bomb . . . bomb, bomb Iran . . . <IMG class=alignmiddleb src="http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/graphics/carrier/TR%20in%20MED%20iraq.jpg" border=0>When things start happening that don't look good, is there reason to worry? Always the suspicious type, I am beginning to.  Again. Consider this sequence of events occurring over the past few days: ~ The White House has announced that <A href="http://www.forbes.com/business/2008/03/12/israel-hamas-cheney-biz-cx-0313oxford.html">Dick Cheney is being dispatched to the Middle East</A>, ostensibly to kick-start negotiations over the Palestinian question.   Dick Cheney: a man who has absolutely no experience with foreign-policy negotiations and even less expertise on the matter of Palestinian issues.      He will, reportedly, also be "in consultation" with other (read: Arab) interested parties in Middle Eastern affairs. Dick Cheney is supposed to succeed where Bush, himself, and later Condi Rice had earlier failed.    The unspoken truth, though, is that he's there to put them on notice. ~ The aircraft carrier Teddy Roosevelt has been ordered to the region. ~ Admiral <A href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080311/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/fallon_resigns">William Fallon has resigned</A> as commander of CEN... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/634/Bomb_bomb_bomb_._._._bomb_bomb_Iran_._._._ Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:34:00 -0000 Who's really winning this battle? <IMG class=alignmiddleb style="WIDTH: 404px; HEIGHT: 151px" height=151 src="http://autocognition.co.uk/ESW/Images/Ford_logo.jpg" width=500 border=0>A friend sent me the following copy of an email he received from the American Family Association announcing they had "won" this round against those nasty, America-hating gay guys.   Oh thank god! I was holding off buying a Ford ONLY because the AFA told me not to! Whew! What a relief.   Now, tell me again what it was that Ford did to make the AFA happy? I need to know this critical info for the next time I walk into a showroom.   We sure have defeated that terrible "gay agenda," haven't we? _____________________________________________________     <IMG height=90 alt="AFA ActionAlert - Please forward this email to your Friends and Family!" src="http://www.afa.net/aatemplate/images/aalert_ban.gif" width=650 border=0>     Ford meets conditions; AFA suspends boycott Dear Bruce, I have some good news for you! AFA is suspending its two year boycott of Ford Motor Company. The conditions of the original agreement presented in fall 2005 have been met. We reached the conclusion that Ford had met the conditions of the agreement based on monitoring for several months. Individuals are free to purchase Ford veh... http://deckhand.multiply.com/journal/item/633/Whos_really_winning_this_battle Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:39:00 -0000