SEPTEMBER 11 EVOKES MEMORIES OF TERROR

BY TONEY ATKINS

The approach of the eighth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, finds me fighting a disturbing depression and unpleasant feelings of dread that the United States could be facing yet another devastating attack by our enemies.

Equally disturbing is the fact that some ultra-fanatic right-wingers in this country, including a few people who currently hold political power, have publicly asserted that another terrorist attack on America is needed to "prove" that the nation's first Black president, Barrack Obama, and the Democratic Party are not capable of protecting the country. That, of course, outrageously pushes to an extreme limit the desire of many to see the administration fail. Can anyone who remembers that day so vividly be so cold as to want, for political reasons, to experience the horrors of the potential destruction and deaths of possibly thousands of American citizens?

In their wildest imaginings, few ordinary citizens awoke that bright Tuesday morning in 2001 expecting the day to evolve into horror and bloody death on their own soil. Terrorist attacks occurred in other countries, but who would dare bring such villainous acts to the invincible powerhouse of the U.S.? It was unthinkable.

I had tuned the television to ABC's "Good Morning America" before sleepily approaching the shower to prepare for what I expected to be an ordinary day at the Daytona Times newspaper in Daytona Beach, FL. Running a little bit late, as usual, I was toweling myself dry when I noticed the bewildered expressions on the faces of the host and hostess of the news program. They were talking about the possibility that a small plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. A camera showed the smoke pouring from the upper section of the tower. It appeared to be a horrible accident. As a graphic indicating "Breaking News" appeared on the screen, Peter Jennings began his report about what was known at that point.

As I drove down Orange Avenue, listening to a morning talk show broadcasting from New York, the host and one of his co-hosts were excited and not speaking in normal tones. Someone shouted that another plane had crashed into the second tower. It was becoming clear that these were passenger jetliners and that these occurrences were not accidental. A chill went up and down my journalistic spine and I broke the speed limit in getting to the newspaper.

At that time, the Internet was available only to the editor in charge, and I was only a reporter. When the editor went upstairs to consult with Managing Editor Charles W. Cherry Sr., I rushed to his computer, where his assistant was working, and reached over his shoulder to sign on to America Online's news page. What I saw stunned me and brought forth epithets that shocked the assistant, who was not completely aware of the tragedy-in-progress, into gales of laughter which literally had him rolling on the floor. The Pentagon had just been struck by a third plane. The publishable text of my comment to the young man was, "We're at war!"

WPUL-AM radio, the city's Black station, would ordinarily be broadcasting gospel music delivered by satellite, but the music had been replaced by the continually breaking news, including that of the crash of a fourth passenger jet into a Pennsylvania field. It was now known that the planes had been hijacked in some devious plan to wreak havoc, and that plan was succeeding. The whereabouts of President George W. Bush, who had assumed office earlier that year and who was visiting an elementary school in Florida at the time, was not known until later in the morning when he addressed a terrified nation. Adding to the ongoing living nightmare, the World Trade Center buildings dramatically collapsed into rubble as residents raced away.

I was extremely frustrated because our office had no TV and I had no consistent access to the Internet. Telephone systems were overwhelmed, so I could not contact my father, a World War II veteran who lived in northwest Georgia. He suffered from health problems, and I was concerned as to how he might be reacting to the event.

The assistant editor, who was in charge of laying out the pages of the paper, particularly the all-important front page, approached me and asked how I thought we should handle the developing crisis, pointing out that we were a Black-oriented newspaper that primarily covered issues affecting only the Black community. My reply might have sounded inconsiderate, but I practically shouted that Black people most likely were among the dead and dying and that what was happening was historic, impacting everyone. I urged a front page, lead story but, respecting his position, left it up to him. (He would organize an excellent front page for our weekly newspaper that rivaled those of area dailies.)

Getting out of the office, I found that traffic was lighter than usual, but I was determined to get local reaction in person instead of in phone calls. A young Black female employee in the photo department of what was then Eckerd Drugs on Ridgewood Avenue was fighting back tears. She told me that she was concerned about her future mother-in-law who worked in the vicinity of what was to become known as Ground Zero of the New York attacks. Her fiancee had not been able to reach his mother, and they feared the worst. The young woman said her mind could not comprehend what was going on. (Several days later, she gave me the good news that her mother-in-law-to-be was safe.)

Outside, a man who was listening to a news broadcast on his car radio was equally concerned, his face lined with disbelief. He was concerned about his father, who didn't live in New York City but who live in New York state and occasionally went into the metropolis. He couldn't get through to his dad, and he was worried.

Reactions were similar at several other locations as I made my way back to the newspaper. At an ATM, an elderly Black man said his bank had closed and he wanted to withdraw his money, because he was afraid of what might happen next.
All commercial air travel was grounded, not to be resumed for several days. Eerie feelings that I was experiencing were compounded by the sounds of military jets which occasionally seemed to scream very low over our building throughout the day. The unknown, the unexpected had come to our land, and many of us knew that our lives were changed forever.

During my lunch break, I got my first look at televised live pictures of the smoke and debris billowing from a surrealistic view of the skyline of New York City. My phone call to Georgia finally went through, and my dad was okay. He had gone to the home of a friend to watch the scenes of devastation unfold on CNN.

Officials determined that the hijackings were instigated by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. In October, we were officially at war in that country -- a war that continues in 2009. Bin Laden remains at large eight years later, and no end is in sight for the allies' war against al Quaeda. (Bush would later erroneously tie Iraq to the attacks and initiated a war in that country.)

Amid the smouldering ruins of the World Trade Center and the damaged sections of the Pentagon were the casualties -- heroic firemen and police officers, ordinary citizens who had not known they were going to work in the buildings for the last time, the bodies of those people who had jumped from many floors up rather than die in flames or from suffocation before the structures collapsed. Final death statistics, including the passengers who had overcome the hijackers over Pennsylvania, approached 3,000.

The nation mourned. There were memorial services around the U.S., including one in Daytona Beach. Many days would follow before a degree of normalcy would return to our country. For some, feelings of real security ended on that terrible September day.

Although pushed by many into the deeper recesses of their minds so as not to let fear overcome their lives, most Americans still remember what is mostly referred to as 9/11. Some have told me that they don't like to bring those horrible memories back to the surface, although that's difficult to avoid as the anniversary nears and fleeting, fearful thoughts rush through: Will it happen again?

Those politicians and regular citizens who have remarked that another 9/11 is needed to "bring back our country" (bring it back to what?) need to see the images captured by the cameras and included in documentaries on the History and National Geographic television channels and on DVD to remind them of the horrors of that single day. They need to be shamed and chastised by the Americans who respect life and care about the future of our country. Their destructive approach to patriotism should be questioned, along with their questionable sanity.

We must never forget the uncertainty of tomorrow and the fragility of life. All could end as early as today. Meanwhile, each of us can work to restore peace within our own borders in order to be stronger against any evil that might threaten us, working toward a better world that could be free or hatred, fear and war.

DID I THINK THAT?

Looking over some of the posts that I made to this blog in the past, I can't help but wonder: What was I thinking?

Was I under the influence of prescription drugs or perhaps a power beverage that somehow got into my refrigerator? It certainly wasn't alcohol-induced influenced -- well, except maybe once or twice -- because for the most part, I separated myself from that particular dependence nearly seven years ago. The writings weren't inflenced by exotic drugs, either, because I've never had a temperment for most of them.

My only conclusion is that some of the things I've written in this "blog" or even on my website were affected by where my brain was at the time. I actually am surprised at some of the entries, but I wouldn't even consider deleting them because doing so would be deletion of part of myself that was.

I can readily see the point at which I should have gotten a life, and that was long ago. I'm not getting any younger, and I need to get out among the populace beyond those who seem to live at Hardees even when I'm not there.

Don't get me wrong. These are wonderfully human Southern folks, some of whom even hold onto values that my parents tried to pound into me way back when. I sit with my Little Thickburger, onion rings and a Coke, observing the friendly 85-year-old man whose face is a road map of his travel through life and his eyes seem to be focused on a distant past, when things were better, when his wife was alive and bringing joy into his heart and his town was alive and prosperous, rather than being a dead spot between a thriving row of restaurants and shops and the big city. He keeps up on the status of the weather and baseball scores.

Then there is the man who is slightly older than I but, according to him, knows far more than I ever will. His political views are honed and cemented by Fox News, making him a wonderful source of misinformation. Behind his back, other patrons call him the "know it all" as he bluntly denounces their dietary cuisine of burgers and fries while he sips his coffee. I've long since given up on conversing with him, but I think I see beneath his tough exterior a man whose heart would lead him to help anyone in need. He is a Vietnam veteran who talks about veterans' benefits but not about the war.

There are other patrons whose names are known by the fast-food eatery's employees and all are uniquely special. I wonder if someday I'll be passing the time of my last days on earth in a place where nobody knows my name and after the hamburgers have fascinating new names if not new tastes. (I love the place!)

Yes, it's time to get myself a life and put my uniqueness on display before it's too late. Then, perhaps, my blog entries will be livelier, more positive and even thought provoking so that before I go to that great web site in the sky, I won't have to wonder why I wrote that.

REPUBLICANS STOOP TO SLEAZE BEFORE ELECTIONS

Posted Oct. 26, 2006

Ford blasts  'vulgar'

ad in Senate bid as

GOP stoops to sleaze

BY TONEY ATKINS

For The Florida Courier

    If elected Nov. 7, Tennessee Democrat Harold Ford Jr. will become the first Black senator from the South since Reconstruction, and the tight campaign battle with his White Republican opponent has become heated and fierce in the wake of a GOP television ad that many say is "shocking" and bordering on being blatantly racist.

    The Senate race has grabbed national headlines since the GOP started showing the political advertisement last week.

     The ad, which has been shown several times on national TV, has a hunter saying that Harold Ford wants to take his gun away. That is misleading, political observers say, pointing out that the National Rifle Association says that while it has endorsed Bob Corker, former Republican mayor of Chattanooga, the NRA really has no objection to Harold Ford and is not going to be spending any money against him.
     The racial question raised by the ad shows a white woman to dramatize the charge about him attending a party that was sponsored by Playboy at the Super Bowl a few years ago. 

     The ad shows an unidentified White woman who says, "Harold Ford looks nice. Isn't that enough?" At the end of the ad, a White woman says seductively, "Harold, call me."

     Corker claims he had nothing to do with the ad and that he and other conservative Republicans had asked the Republican National Committee to stop running it.
     Corker defended himself in an interview with Wolf Blitzer Tuesday evening on CNN.

     Corker said "These are independent expenditure groups. We want it down. We do not believe that it -- certainly does not represent our campaign. We have nothing to do with it. We believe that it's tacky and has no place in this race." He would not acknowledge whether he thought the ad was racist. 

     Ford said he did not know if it is intended to be racial, but "I do know it's sleazy and it's promoting smut and it's coming on during family programming time in my state. The question I have is if my opponent wants it down, he should be able to get it down. If he doesn't have the influence to convince Republicans in Washington to take a sleazy, awful, smut-pushing ad down in our state, how on earth can voters trust him to stand up for them in Tennessee to the Republicans?"
     He added, "If Democrats were running an ad like this, it wouldn't be running. I can assure you. But this campaign is about something bigger. And one of the reasons that I think the National Republican Party is engaged in this kind of campaigning is they have come up short on ideas and answers. My opponent has too. When it comes to Iraq, North Korea, middle-class values, health care, education, all of the issues that are important to people, he's not been able to articulate a clear message. And I think the national party has demonstrated a great frustration."
     Ford said Corker is "trying so hard to deflect attention away from front-page newspaper accounts all across our state of his mayoral time when he was mayor of Chattanooga and directed funds towards projects at his own real estate company and had great, great interest in. He's trying to deflect attention away from the fact that he has not released any of his tax returns. I think he's the only Senate candidate in the country and finally when he was in the private sector, he's only the Senate candidate in the country who has ever hired an illegal alien. He hired four of them and had his property raided by the federal government. So he, in turn, has tried to make this about something other than what's important to voters."

     In an earlier interview, Ford said, "We've not run a Black campaign, a White campaign, a Democrat campaign or Republican campaign. We've run a campaign to move my state and this country forward. I think one of the reasons we picked up 20 points and find ourselves in a statistical dead heat ... is because we've been positive, we've been constructive. And voters all across our state are rejecting the kind of stale, predictable, negative campaigning coming out of my opponent's mouth. And frankly, they realize that American politics is no longer decided on the axis of left and right or liberal or conservative, but it's about moving forward."
     During a recent debate in Chattanooga, Ford said, "If you want a rubber stamp, don't vote for me."

     Corker accused the Memphis congressman of being a Washington insider who benefited from the "machine-style" politics of his politically connected family.

Corker questioned the work of Ford's father, former U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Sr., as a lobbyist for Fannie Mae while Ford Jr. sat on the House committee overseeing its activities.

     Ford said no one in his family has ever lobbied him on congressional issues and he would refuse them if they did. "I work for the people of the 9th District," he told the audience at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

     Ford attacked his opponent's support for what until this week was called the Bush administration's "stay the course" policy in Iraq. Bush has said he will no longer use that term in reference to the war.

     "If you want to stay the course, I'm not your guy," Ford said. "If you believe America is better than what they've given us this past six years, then I ask for your vote."Ford said reducing dependence on foreign oil would help keep the country from getting caught up in foreign conflicts and said his opponent was an advocate for "big oil."

     Corker said "new strategies" are needed in the war but he disagreed with Ford's suggestion to divide Iraq by ethnic and religious lines.

     Ford blamed the Republicans for not doing anything to rein in federal spending during their 12 years of power in Congress. He also said he supported going to a two-year budget cycle.

     Corker said his experience as a business executive, state finance commissioner and mayor would help him during budget discussions.

     Elected to the House of Representatives in 1996, Ford has been re-elected four times by an average of 80 percent of the vote and has a reputation as a consensus builder, research shows.

     In 1998, Ford was 28 years old when he cast his vote for the first federal balanced budget -- the first time America's budget had been balanced since 1969. He has played pivotal roles in advancing legislation to reform the nation's campaign finance laws, to crack down on corporate cheaters by strengthening corporate governance laws, to encourage more Americans to serve their country and to raise standards in public education.

     Ford says he is proud of his family and his Christian faith.

     UPDATE: The Republican National Committee supposedly has pulled the controversial ad as of Thursday, Oct. 26.)

-- The Associated Press and Cable News Network contributed to this report.

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Voting out incumbents: A fix for broken government? 

BY TONEY ATKINS

At least one television news anchor believes he has the solution to what he calls a "broken government" -- vote out all the incumbents. Some disgusted Florida Courier readers say they agree.

On a Cable News Network (CNN) special last week and repeated several times over the weekend, the always outspoken anchor and commentator Jack Cafferty addressed the sometimes controversial issues that have many voters in Florida and elsewhere shaking their heads in disbelief and wondering exactly how to vote in the Nov. 7 election.

Cafferty noted, "I saw this great bumper sticker the other day, it read 'had enough?.' We're being bled to death, literally and figuratively in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have no border security to speak of, no port security fives year after 9/11, Social Security and Medicare well on their way to insolvency. Our national debt is staggering.
"China is kicking our butt," he continued. "Like I said, had enough? Our leaders lie to us and steal from us, and do it all with a straight face. They don't think we get it. I think we do. I honestly think the upcoming midterm elections will be breathtaking in the message that deliver to Washington. It's my fervent hope that every single incumbent on the ballot will lose. It's time to start over."

Cafferty said he believes U.S. citizens are "on the verge of what could well be the most important midterm election in this country's history. Look at these numbers. They're shocking. Sixty-eight percent think this country is headed in the wrong direction; more than two thirds. Sixty-four percent against the war in Iraq. Sixty-one percent disapprove of the job President Bush is doing leading the country. Oh, and the war in Iraq was his idea."

Most of Cafferty's disdain was directed at Congress, which he called "a joke." Pointing to poll numbers, he said, "Seventy-one percent disapprove of the job Congress is doing. The other 29 percent they just haven't read the paper. Our government is broke and Congress has failed to do anything meaningful. They vote on amendments for flag burning and gay marriage, but nothing on immigration, Social Security, health care -- nothing that matters to the middle class in this country."

Cafferty echoed many comments emailed by visitors to www.toneyatkins.com and spoken by Black and white readers of the Florida Courier who have found themselves disillusioned and concerned about a perceived crumbling state of the nation, its leaders and the lawmakers.

While Cafferty dished out criticisms of Republicans and Democrats equally, he definitely did not leave President Bush out of the equation that could impact what many see as one of the most important elections in many years. 

"The Bush administration has all but ignored the Constitution since 9/11, all in the name of national security and fighting terrorism," Cafferty said. "We're being overrun by millions of illegal aliens and Washington does nothing. There are serious questions about the integrity of our elections and our reputation overseas, (and) well, that's pretty much shot now, isn't it?"

At least one unidentified man seemed blissfully satisfied with our government's track. "I think everything is running pretty smooth. I think with the gas prices dropping back down and everything, I think they're getting their act together. The president is going to get reelected again this -- next term I believe."

His feelings were not the same as those corresponding with this reporter. Most believe the rapid drop in gas prices from the record costs earlier this year are totally political. One reader, who requested anonymity, said, "I've read that many of the energy corporations contribute large amounts of money to the GOP, and the Republicans want to keep control of the House and Senate. I believe that after the election, prices will go back up again -- but we will be told that it's because winter is on the way. I haven't seen that much more money in my pocket as a result of votes taken by those bums in Washington."

CNN correspondent Joe Johns said the 109th Congress has been called the "do-little, do-nothing, dysfunctional Congress."
Giving a "top ten" of sorts to illustrate, Johns noted that every member of the House of Representatives makes at least $165,000 a year. "So far, they have spent only 94 days in session. That's almost $1,800 a day. Nice work if you can get it."

On the illegal immigrant issue, he asked,  "Wasn't immigration reform supposed to be about the most important issue this year? And what did they do about it? They voted to build a fence."

Some Floridians and Georgians told the Courier reporter that they found it amazing that five years after terrorists staged the shocking attack on the U.S., lawmakers suddenly noticed that potential terrorists could join the many Mexicans in crossing the border into this country without a lot of fear of being stopped or caught. 

Johns pointed to what he called the "skanky" way Florida Republican Mark Foley is reported to have talked to former congressional pages in electronic messages and when he got caught, "like a real a profile in courage, he announced he was gay, abused as a teenager by an unnamed priest, checked into alcohol rehab, and left his colleagues to sort out the mess."
Implying an example of the alleged corruption in government, he said, "Duke Cunningham, a former fighter jock turned jailbird, once seemed like a poster child for patriotism until it turned out the California Republican was on the take and getting paid with just about everything but the stars and stripes."

He added: "The Congress is going to have to face it, it's addicted to pork, bridges to nowhere, a museum to honor the folks responsible for the New Orleans levees that failed, emergency money for non-emergencies, and at the end a record deficit."

Of candidates who failed to think before speaking about possible racist overtones, Johns referred to Senator George Allen of Virginia, who called a guy of Indian descent who was shadowing him "macaca," then claimed he didn't know what it meant. Well it means monkey." 

Topping his list of dubious accomplishments of the 109th Congress were Jack Abramoff and Bob Ney, "the corrupt couple, the lobbyist and the mayor of Capitol Hill united by guilty pleas, things of value exchanged for official acts, plus a passion for golf, meals, tickets to sporting events and power." 

Abramoff  is out of the lobbying group, but Ney is still a congressman, "still cashing paychecks until his colleagues throw him out -- at $1,800 a day; who can blame him?"
Cafferty said that one of his favorite things the Congress "pulled" this year was the appropriation of $20 million from the general treasury -- "they've already reached in and taken this money out of our pockets for a victory celebration for the war in Iraq. If they would put that money in a CD,  by the time we win that thing in Iraq, they could pay off the national debt."

Referring to Christian conservatives, who are the Republican base, Cafferty said, "They might not be so willing to vote Republican this time around. There's the Mark Foley scandal, of course, a Republican congressman hitting on teenage members of the page program, a real gem this clown. His disgusting behavior apparently well-known in Washington and yet the Republican leadership of the House chose to do nothing until Foley's behavior became public.
"And now comes an explosive new book by a former senior aide to President Bush named David Kuo. He talks about how members of Bush administration laughed at the evangelical Christians behind their backs, mocked them, all the while taking their money and their support. People in Karl Rove's office, according to the book, reportedly used to refer the evangelicals as the nuts."

On the broken borders issue, Cafferty said the government has done "virtually nothing" to stem the massive flow of illegal aliens into this country, mostly from Mexico. An estimated 3,000 a day cross into the United States, or about a million a year, they're already an estimated 12 million of them already here. "And yet the government looks the other way. Why? Because the corporations that own our government want it that way. They want the cheap labor, and the politicians want the Hispanic vote. You and I? We don't matter anymore on this issue. This single issue should be reason enough to vote every single incumbent out of office. It's a disgrace," Cafferty said.

"So the time's come," Cafferty said. "We own this place, not the career liars and weasels in Washington. We elect these people in good faith to go to Washington and look out for us. They have sold us out. They look in us in the eye. They lie to us day after day after day. They scurry around behind our backs. They take money from the lobbyists and the corporations, then they give that money away to their friends to buy stuff we don't need. The legislation they do get around to passing isn't for us. It's to benefit their contributors. And they think they're entitled to sit there and do this stuff forever. Well, enough already."

He suggested that if voters want to have some fun on Election Day, they should "go to the polls and vote against every incumbent on the ballot. Throw them all out. Think about it for a minute. No matter who we replace them with, how much worse could it be? And what a message it would send. You have one term to prove to us your worthy of representing us, or you're gone. It's not as far-fetched as it sounds."

-- CNN.com contributed to this report. The entire transcript of the Jack Cafferty program can be read at www.CNN.com/transcripts.

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DOMESTIC TERRORISTS GROWING IN U.S.

Hate groups show

dramatic increase

BY TONEY ATKINS

For The Florida Courier

While the attention of U.S. citizens since Sept. 11, 2001, has been on terrorist groups abroad who may pose a destructive threat to the country, the number of potential domestic terrorists -- members of anti-government hate groups who live in this nation -- has been growing dramatically.

Reporting in the news media about these groups has been minimal, with publishers of heads of newspapers or TV networks saying such things as, "We don't want to give publicity to hate organizations because that's what they want," or -- and this is a literal quote from one journalist: "Ignore them and they'll eventually go away."

Neither excuse is realistic, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). In fact, some sources have told the Florida Courier that the greatest threat to life as U.S. citizens know it may come from within the country's borders.

Just last week, the center reported that a rise in independent skinhead crews may bring a "new era of violence."

Meanwhile, CNN reported this week that "gangs are not just L.A.'s problem any more -- it's a nationwide crisis. They've killed thousands, and keep recruiting thousands more."
Fueled by belligerent tactics and publicity stunts, the number of hate groups operating in the United States rose from 762 in 2004 to 803 last year, capping an increase of fully 33 percent over the five years since 2000, Mark Potok reported earlier this year in the SPLC's monthly Intelligence Report.

Trends parallel an alarming resurgence in skinhead activity nationwide, which continues to intensify, according to the October SPLC report.  At the beginning of 2002, there were 18 skinhead crews active in the United States, most of them under the control of Hammerskin Nation. That count has now more than tripled to 59 active crews, only six of which belong to Hammerskin Nation.

"As the power of the Hammerskins has waned, the skinhead scene has entered a free-for-all phase, with new and unaffiliated local, state, and regional crews proliferating rapidly. More and more of these newcomers subscribe to the ultra-violent ethos and disorganized crime profiteering of a chaotic band of Midwest-based gangster skins known as the Vinlanders," the new report says. 

While there's no skinhead census, and no official statistics on skinhead-specific crime, police on the street that specialize in tracking skins say the facts are clear. "Skinhead activity has easily doubled in the last couple of years, and the Vinlander influence is huge," said Matt Browning, a detective with the Mesa, Ariz., police department who has investigated white power gangs in his region and their nationwide connections for 10 years, including two years undercover. "They're more violent, they're more technically savvy than before in terms of using the Internet to organize, and, while they're still motivated by race and politics, it's also about money now."

Gary Davidson, public relations officer for the Volusia County Sheriff's Department in Florida, told the Florida Courier that there is presently little to no gang activity of any kind in that county and hate groups, such as the skinheads and the Ku Klux Klan, are practically invisible. However, lawmen are constantly on the lookout for any activity on the part of any white supremacist or other hate groups.

The 50 hate groups scattered across Florida include racist skinheads, neo-Nazis, neo-Confederate, the KKK, groups with a Christian identity and Black Separatists, the SPLC says.

Identified hate crimes have been few this year, according to SPLC investigative reports. In May, Connor T. Ranieri, 18, was charged with criminal mischief for allegedly drawing swastikas on a car and a bathroom wall at a Boca Raton. Also in May, racial epithets were scrawled on the walls of a Tampa church. In January, a dead raccoon hanging from a noose and a racist note were found on the porch of a Methodist church with a predominantly Black congregation in Floral City. Also in January, a cross with a racist message on it was burned in a biracial couple's yard in Osteen.

About the rising nationwide skinhead problem, the SPLC reported that from their very beginning, the Outlaw Hammerskins represented a new breed of racist skinhead. They avowed white power, yet listened to Black gangsta rap. They had neo-Nazi tattoos, yet dripped with gold chains. They wore Doc Martens, but also gold teeth. They formed close ties with the Hell's Angels, working security at the outlaw biker gang's events (the father of Jeremy Maske, one of the founding Outlaw skinheads, was the president of the Indiana chapter of the Hell's Angels at the time).

Within a few months, the Outlaw Hammerskins had chapters across Indiana and Wisconsin, the SPLC reported. Their creed was "take it to the extreme." If another skinhead crew mocked them for being "whiggers" (white "niggers"), Outlaw Hammerskins would beat them down. If attacked with fists and feet, Outlaw Hammerskins would retaliate with bats and knives. If a rival pulled a knife, an Outlaw Hammerskin pulled a gun.

The expansion of hate groups last year, documented by the Intelligence Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, seemed to be helped along by aggressive maneuvers that landed them on front pages and in national news broadcasts.

The National Socialist Movement, for instance, repeatedly made national news with provocative attempts to march through Black, inner-city neighborhoods. Other groups rallied with increasing fervor and frequency, and even undertook sure-to-infuriate campaigns like "Operation Schoolyard," an attempt in the 2004-2005 school year to distribute 100,000 free racist music CDs to schoolchildren. One anti-gay group, the Westboro Baptist Church, went so far as to picket the funerals of soldiers, saying God was punishing America for tolerating homosexuality.

There were many other reasons for the continuing rise as well. Hispanic immigration, in particular, may have been the single most important factor in recent years, fueling a national debate and giving hate groups an issue with real resonance, the SPLC reported. The war in Iraq, seen by many hate groups as a struggle America was forced into by Jews, was another. Racist music and concerts continued to attract new young people into the movement. A growing Internet presence also helped groups' propaganda to flourish; there were 524 hate sites counted in 2005, up 12 percent from 468 in 2004.

"Despite a large number of arrests and the collapse of several leading neo-Nazi groups, the movement continues to grow," said Joe Roy, chief investigator of the Intelligence Project. "It's a Hydra with a thousand different heads."

Meanwhile, while many don't see gangs as hate groups, the mostly youthful members often strike fear into the hearts of residents of communities where hateful gang violence has grown.

The police's definition of a gang is "a group of individuals, juvenile and or adult, who associate on a continuous basis, form an allegiance for a common purpose, and are involved in delinquent or criminal activity."

This definition is simple and functional, according to Rita Gutierrez, founder and coordinator of  Parents in Crisis. The definition allows police departments to take proactive law enforcement action before the gang gets an organized structure. The gang may range from a loose knit group of individuals who hang around together and commit crimes together, to a formal organization with a leader or ruling council, gang colors, gang identifiers and a gang name, Gutierrez says on her web site.

An example of the growth of gangs and gang wars across the land can be found in Dalton, Ga., which touts itself as "the Carpet Capital of the World." The city was relatively peaceful until the mid-90s, when Hispanics, many of whom were illegal immigrants, moved into Dalton and, according to several sources, caused the loss of jobs for many Whites and Blacks because the newcomers would work for much lower wages.

Gangs,  unheard of in north Georgia until then, formed, especially in Black and Hispanic segments of the community, and disrupted the usual peace with violent clashes that challenged lawmen and frightened citizens, one police officer, demanding anonymity, told the Florida Courier.

"Hate and terror come in all fashions, forms and colors, and it doesn't seem now that there's any end in sight," he said. "The world is changing and not for the better, and it's happening right here in the USA."

Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton told Larry King on CNN Monday night: "(Gang crime is) nationwide.... It accounts for 60 percent of our murders in Los Angeles and a significant part of our violent crime.
"But, a lot of it also is the issue of just young people, a new generation of young people who are more violent than their predecessors, less under control, and we have a new wave of violence coming in this country and we need to wake up to it," Bratton said.

 -- The Southern Poverty Law Center assisted in the preparation of this report.

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PHARMACISTS MAKE MISTAKES, TOO! CHECK YOUR MEDICATIONS BEFORE TAKING!

By TONEY ATKINS 

    First, I want to thank loyal visitors to my web site and those who have asked about my lack of submissions to it (even though most of the news and weather links on the web site are updated constantly).

    I appreciate the concern that has been shown, and I can assure you that more stories and commentaries are coming soon to the site.

    Besides being excited about being involved with the Florida Courier, a new statewide newspaper in Florida, and the often time-consuming -- and educational -- task of gathering information about all Florida candidates in Congressional and Senate races, along with the race for a governor to replace the departing Gov. Jeb Bush, I have been dealing with numerous health issues that all seemed to come one after another, or even at the same time, over the past few months. The situation appears to be improving, so I hope to have new and possibly controversial stories and commentaries for both the Florida Courier and my site in the coming days and weeks.

    I used what I hope was an attention-grabbing headline for this piece, because the subject not only impacted me, but it could impact you or any of your loved ones, particularly the elderly.

    Usually when I get a new prescription, I head first to WebMD.com to learn about what kind of medication I'm putting into my body. However, a pain prescription that I've had to take for some time because of back problems needed no research when I had it refilled recently. After taking a couple of doses at the prescribed times, I found myself nauseated with blurred vision and a general out-of-sorts feeling, which could have been the villain in a nighttime fall which added new aches and pain and bruises to the back, wrists, knees and ankles (which were in the process of healing from a previous fall). Add that to the progressing glaucoma and cataract treatments, I have naturally felt that I was literally falling apart.

    Closely examining the pain pill, however, revealed a slightly different coloration and the word and numbers didn't match what was on the label. Since I had no idea what the name of the medication was if it wasn't a substitute from another manufacturer, I went to the Internet and discovered that the pharmacist had filled the bottle with pills which contained double the amount of codeine and more of another ingredient. The instructions indicated in the Internet description was to take the medication twice a day. My bottle read "three times daily," as it always had, and had the usual warnings to which I had been accustomed.

    I called the pharmacist and was emphatic in my questioning as to why I was given this medication that did not match the prescription. Equally emphatic, he told me not to take the pills and to bring them back for replacement. He was apologetic as he handed me the correct medicine, and I only half-jokingly asked him if he was trying to kill me. He didn't smile.

    A similar incident occurred while I was living in Daytona Beach. I had been given a cough syrup with codeine to fight a case of bronchitis. The bottle's instructions directed me to take it every four hours. After a couple of days of feeling like I was coming out of my skin, I called my pharmacist there to ask if I should be feeling such effects. He told me I should be using the medication only twice a day. Needless to say, I was angry and not in a mood for humor, but he laughed and said, "Well, at least, I bet you're not coughing." Conveniently for him, the original prescription was missing, he said.

    I share these experiences to warn any reader who has to take medication or has a parent or other relative who does to closely monitor the pills or liquid. Be sure that the description of the pill or liquid and the instructions for taking it match what is described in the literature. If it doesn't, the pharmacist should be called immediately for confirmation that the medication and instructions for use on the bottle are correct.

    A pharmacist's error in cases such as these could potentially have deadly effects or, in the best-case scenario, send the patient to the hospital. Those folks are human, and mistakes can be made, so it doesn't hurt to check behind them when refills are taken home. Any change in size or form or wording on a pill should immediately arouse suspicion.

    While taking care of my dad before his death last Aug. 22, I thought I would go nuts just being sure the outrageous number of pills he had to take were the right ones and were given at the right time. The home health nurses praised me for a good job, but I wondered then if he had ever taken too much of a certain medication or had unintentionally skipped some meds altogether before I came home. Since the majority of the pills were unfamiliar to me as to their purpose, I had to be extremely careful.

    So, risking redundancy, I urge you to read the literature on any medication prescribed for you to be sure you got what the doctor ordered. I especially urge you to help elderly parents and friends with such if they seem to be befuddled by the drugs they have to take. Never hesitate to telephone the pharmacist if you have doubts or questions.

    You could save your life or that of a loved one, just because a druggist made a mistake and you caught it in time.

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MY HERO, CHER, AND OPERATION HELMET

    Entertainer Cher is known for putting her money where her mouth is.

    Although she opposes the war in Iraq, she has consistently given a great deal of financial support to organizations that help wounded soldiers in every branch of the U.S. armed forces.

    Like many patriots, the singer believes that America was misled by the administration in the reasoning for invading Iraq -- an invasion which begat terrorism in the streets that hadn't been there before and increasing security threats to the troops on the ground and even elsewhere. More than 2,500 of our fine young men and women have been killed in Iraq, and the count of the wounded is near or more than 20,000 since the war began.

   Her newest involvement is with Operation Helmet ( http://www.operation-helmet.org/ ), which for only little more than $70, a soldier's helmet can be made to provide greater protection from potentially deadly head injuries. You can read more about the project at the web site. Click on  www.operation-helmet.org for more information about how you can help.

    I believe in love, dear Cher, and I believe in you.

-- Toney Atkins, www.toneyatkins.com/

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THE SEED OF THE FATHERS by Toney Atkins

     THE SCENE was like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting.

     As the sun was setting behind the mountain to the west, the young husband was all smiles, as were the kids in tow -- a young boy and girl, whose little legs were moving at almost a gallop to keep pace with their dad. Accompanying them were their panting overweight dog, followed by the family cat, as they crossed the street to visit me on my front porch.

     The children demanded a hug, and the pets nudged my legs and even leaped into my lap, forcing me to give them a hefty share of my attention.

     It was the perfect portrait of a happy Southern family being neighborly.

     Since meeting the young man (in his 20s), his wife and the kids when they came to the house, trick-or-treating and all decked out in Halloween garb, we became fast friends.

     After that meeting, I often saw the adults on their porch as the kids played in the yard. I was impressed that the fellow didn't hesitate to show the youngsters his love, even as he provided appropriate instruction and discipline. He was concerned about them, and even though two of the three children were his wife's from a previous marriage, their love for him was blatantly apparent.

     Although he has never complained, the tension lines of stress occasionally show on his young face. He is a "Mr. Mom" house-husband who takes care of the kids and the house while his wife, at her choice, works.

     I look at him and pray that his down-to-earth compassion and love last, so that the youngsters will feel a strong bond with him when they are grown.

     Since moving back to the small town about a year ago, I've seen a lot of families such as this in public, with good dads hugging their kids and talking to them in a manner that one can tell that they are intent on "raisin' 'em right."

     The young man of whom I've been speaking perhaps is trying to be a good father to his children, because he recently acknowledged to me that he and his dad, who seems like a decent man,  "don't get along too well," indicating that as a parent, he doesn't want to make whatever mistakes, real or imagined, were made when he was growing up.

****

     I'M NOT MENTIONING any names here, because I respect the people about whom I write and value their desire for privacy.

     Another male neighbor, who is divorced from his wife, also came with the wife and kids for trick-or-treat. He's a good neighbor and has a smile whenever he greets you, but often has a sad appearance when he probably thinks no one's looking. An adult son occasionally stays with him, and the relationship appears to be good.

     Over my many years of traveling around the sun on this planet, I've known a number of men, some of whom are fathers themselves, who are still married, but many who are divorced  don't always have Ozzie and Harriet-type relationships with wives, ex-wives and -- sadly -- their children, especially sons. Many have spoken about hard feelings or disrespect between them and their fathers for just as many reasons. The daughters, on the other hand, seem to have much better relationships with the man who fathered them.

****

     I CAME CLOSE to marriage several times, but I have to admit that I am happily single. I have no regrets that I have no children to carry on my name, and that's probably because I've always been afraid I'd become my own father or like the fathers of some of my friends -- the ones with the "do as I say, not as I did" approach to fatherhood, the ones who can't seem to show their love or pride in you but can rapidly be critical of everything you do, with no compliments to be heard.

****

     A YOUNG MAN, who was 19 when I did part of an interview for a story yet to come, impressed me with his maturity, youthful spirit and interaction with people, especially those older than he.

     I had observed him on his job was impressed by him and some of his young co-workers in their display of friendliness, respect and just plain old Southern hospitality. When I chatted with him, I knew he had a story to tell, and I wanted to write it.

     You see, living in a coastal Florida vacation town for many years had hardened me somewhat. There, most of the young people with whom I came into contact on jobs that had me working in the public eye as well as in my off-time, were arrogant, even hateful, and disrespectful of anyone but themselves. Many of the young folks couldn't utter a sentence without loading it with curse words, probably trying to impress their peers. Many teenage girls and boys bragged about prostituting their bodies, with the proceeds of their sexual conduct going toward booze and drugs. They boasted about dropping out of school, and serving time in jail seemed to be a trophy of which to be proud. Their fathers and mothers might disagree, but then again, there was a lot of disrespect for parents, too, and to hear them talk, the kids ruled the roost.

     Of course, I would be negligent if I came across as putting all young people into this category. In the same city, I came into contact with and even interviewed many youngsters of all races and creeds who had ambitions, goals and values and were working to achieve them and make something of themselves while enjoying the excitement of youth.

     The young man, who initiated this brief diversion, was impressive in a number of ways. One would expect a good-looking, athletic man of his age to be full of himself.

     He admits that he was a "wild one" when he was younger (and likely still has a bit of a youthful wild side) and that any arrogance he may have had was "knocked out of me by the Army," he said.

     In high school, his dream was to earn a college scholarship to play football, his sport of choice. A sports injury derailed those plans, however, but when he graduated from high school, he was determined to get more education and possibly become a teacher, with a coaching position preferably accompanying that job. Obviously thoughtful as well as decisive, he joined the Army after graduation and currently serves in the National Guard, as well as working two jobs and going to college. He is determined to be a positive role model for young people. "I don't want my name mentioned in this interview, because people who knew me a few years ago wouldn't believe what I'm saying," he said.

     His face clouded over when talking about announcing to his family that he was going into the Army. He said his father simply said, "Well, maybe they'll send you Iraq and you'll get killed and not come back."

     Without going into many details about his relationship with his father, he said that he moved out several days later. "He never praised me for anything. I never could please him, and I don't know why," he said.

     His coach was his mentor and role model and was supportive in encouraging him to be a better man.

     Personally speaking, now matter what the past was, this is now. This young man is doing something with his life while enjoying every minute of life, and I would be bursting with pride -- and he would know it and not have to ask for it -- if he were my son.

****

     THIS WHOLE THING is about fathers and the boys and men who are the products of their seed.

     I don't feel so alone, knowing that others have had to struggle to get their father's attention, encouragement and even love. Perhaps there would be a lot better men in the world today if the dads had been better role models and their kids hadn't had to look elsewhere to find mentors and someone who really cared about their futures.

     I always felt something like love for my father, but in reality, I grew up being afraid of him, and that fear still remained inside until not too long before he died last year. While everyone outside the household adored him and saw him as one of the finest men they knew, that wasn't the same person who lived in the house. But he was a good man to others, and that's the important thing. I love that memory of him, and when he died, he knew I loved him and I felt like maybe he loved me, too. The bridge over the gap that had been between us for years was completed, and that makes me happy through the sadness. I simply wish the feelings expressed between us in those last few months had existed all my life -- but nobody, especially me, is perfect, nor is life always perfect.

     I am proud that he was my father. He suffered many years of agonizing pain from injuries suffered during World War II. He stayed with my mother, whether they were really happy or not. That much and more he did for me. I just still sometimes wish that he had told me to my face that he was proud of me. Money can't buy the feeling that comes with knowing that. Despite it all, I love and miss him.

****

     After my mother passed away more than ten years ago, I sat down and wrote a remembrance that was published around Mother's Day and probably got more positive reaction from readers in its unedited form than anything I've ever written.

     A few people have asked me over the years why I didn't write a tribute to fathers for their special day. I honestly don't know why that's such a challenge.

     I just hope I live to see the day when there are many more young dads who love and cherish their sons and daughters -- their seed made alive. I pray that more of these dads will take on the responsibility of their parenthood and properly bring up their kids to be good and decent adults, chastising them when they do wrong but doing it with love and adding praise for any if not all accomplishments.

     I raise my glass to a better future for all of us and all the precious crops that will be harvested. Spread peace and love!

    

(c) 2006, Toney Atkins

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FAITH AND "THE DA VINCI CODE"

By Toney Atkins

    Hollywood executives are somewhat shrewd in their efforts to pack movie houses for controversial movies -- particularly if the subject matter is the central character in Christianity, Jesus Christ.

    "The Da Vinci Code," a novel that has been on the shelves for more than a decade, is getting new life and a lot of television, radio and church pulpit exposure because it has become a motion picture that presents theories that some churches do not want to discuss or to outright repudiate.

    I've neither read the book and don't expect to see the film until it becomes available on DVD, but from what I do know about it, the Hollywood PR machine is working overtime and that machine's operators are likely giddy about all the controversy and free advertising they are getting for what appears to be simply another speculative drama that delves beneath the Biblical interpretations we've been taught in the New Testament about Jesus.

    The same type of hoopla raged when "Jesus Christ Superstar" was staged as a rock musical. I recall that friends and I had to wind our way through a sea of protesters holding signs warning that we'd all go to hell if we saw the production at Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, TN. The musical told the story of Christ in a radically different way than it had been shown in the late 1960s and early '70s, but the underlying message and the questions people had in Jesus' time as well as in the present were presented in a manner that some might find disturbing, particularly the implications of Mary Magdalene singing "I Don't Know How To Love Him." Was that implying a close relationship between the two?

    The next hell storm that I recall came when a decades-old novel, "The Last Temptation of Christ," was made into a movie. What outraged the Christian community was the extended dream sequence as Jesus was hanging on the cross in which he saw Himself being led away to a land in which He and Mary married and had children and then, seeing the chaos in the land, having to make a decision as to whether to fulfill his destiny and go back to the cross to die for the sins of humanity. When Jesus opened his eyes on the cross, He knew the dream had been another Satanic temptation to stop Him from saving the world of sinners.

    I was in Florida at the time of that film's release, and the protests came well before anyone had actually seen the film. Ministers packed city and county council meetings, insisting that "The Last Temptation of Christ" be banned from movie houses, not allowing open-minded Christians to see the film for themselves and judge it for what it was. I heard of no one whose faith was damaged by seeing it much later when it finally became available in video stores.

    We all remember the Jewish uproar over Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," because they believed there would be a backlash against the Jewish folks because of the fact shown in the film that a number of Jews indeed wanted Jesus to be crucified. That movie proved to be a big success with the evangelical crowd because it concentrated on the bloody violence of the crucifixion and sex wasn't an issue.

    Now comes "The Di Vinci Code," which I understand implies that there is a discovery that Jesus and Mary indeed married and had children, and ministers are scared to death that their congregations' faith is going to be shattered by a work of fiction.

    My feeling about the whole uproar follows, and I have read The New Testament several times. So what if Jesus and Mary had a relationship -- even a sexual relationship -- that either purposely wasn't written in the Gospels or was omitted by editors who believed that suggesting that Jesus had natural human feelings were blasphemous. I have been taught throughout life that Jesus was God on earth in human form Who experienced every emotion known to man, who had to battle many temptations to do evil and to turn against the Father. He laughed, He wept, His body bled when lashed and He felt pain until the moment He conquered the cross and death itself. If He didn't have sex, does that mean sex is evil? At least, all of these speculative movies avoid going so far as to emphasize that he mostly hung out with 12 male disciples, and we all know what people today would say about that if Jesus had chosen this time to come.

    The outrage needs to be at oneself when a fictional book or movie has the power to hurt your faith in Jesus. We don't know everything He did on earth. We don't know everything He said. We DO know that He was the Son of God who loved His Father and all the people of the world to die for them and give them the promise of an eventual resurrection and eternal life.

    If you object to a movie or book, don't see or read it, but then, please don't turn around and pay to see a horror flick about exorcists and demons, because then what do you believe in?

    Pray, trust God, keep the faith, nurse it, share with those who believe as you do. Believe in Jesus in the manner that gives you comfort and makes you feel saved. Hold on to it, and I assure you, you will grow strong, using common sense and the knowledge that comes from above.

    Love and peace to all!

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WHAT??? THE INVASION'S OVER?

By Toney Atkins

I realize that the U.S. and the rest of the world are falling apart at the seams: Many illegal immigrants carrying illegal drugs are crossing the border into this country at this very moment, more brave troops have been killed or wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, people are up in arms about a movie based on a decade-old book that they are suddenly afraid will shake their faith in Jesus, and worry beads are being kept busy because of Paul McCartney's impending divorce, Tom Cruise's fatherhood, another Britney Spears baby, Paris Hilton's fear of poverty, the departure of "Will and Grace" and whoever was thrown off "American Idol."

But let's pause for a moment, friends in the Peanut Gallery (who, by the way, are justifiably sad about the loss of Clarabelle the Clown to Clown Heaven). Only the issues of our troops and the illegalities at the border are genuinely worth our concerns and prayers. Even a mustardseed of faith should survive "The DaVinci Code."

But just for a diversion, let me slip into the idiotic sublimity of unreality that monopolizes our lives to ask a question of real urgency in my segment of this Twilight Zone land of ours: WHY IS ABC TAKING "INVASION" OFF THE AIR?

You bet I am angry. We had to endure the initially promising but ultimately silly NBC series, "Surface," being mercifully flushed down tubeland's commode. CBS teased us with "Threshold" and then shoved it into a never-neverland void without notifying us that the last episode we watched was the last episode they would ever show -- no conclusions, no resolutions. Just, "Bye, y'all."

But "Invasion," despite its imperfections, had some substance and a semblance of reality (did FEMA ever show up after the first hurricane?). The characters were suitably likeable and heroic or villainous and venomously hateful. You could even care about some of them, whether or not they were aliens (or "hybrids"). There was a fairly coherent storyline, some good dramatic and suspenseful moments, decent action sequences and a bit of romance and underlying sexual tension.

So what does ABC do on the day of the really good "season finale"? The network announces that the show has not been renewed. Yes, we know why the good guy-bad guy sheriff did what he did at the end; we know the supposedly really bad guy got his comeuppance; we know that the lovely alien (hybrid?) mom and her hunky forest ranger former hubby still have feelings for each other even though his new wife is -- well, if you didn't see the show, I won't give that away; and we gather that FEMA -- or some people acting like they are from FEMA, with our doubts being fueled by their swiftness -- finally showing up after the second hurricane.

But we're left hanging about the non-poddy creatures that assume human form. Are they part of a government evolutionary project? Why have some of them implied a malicious takeover of the human race and others still have humanlike compassion? Why did what happened in the Florida Keys seem to be unknown to the outside world? Like "Lost," what has the time-frame been here? Am I eventually going to have to go back to college at my elder age for a class theorizing the meaning of this series?

So ABC, I chastise you! With all of the world's real troubles on our minds, why do you leave us with one more thing to worry about? Bring back "Invasion," or at least give us a more satisfactory ending, whether it's a happy one or not.

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THE MEDICATION-ALCOHOL DILEMMA

By Toney Atkins

    In an earlier posting, headlined "Addictions," I opined about medication issues as related to the much-reported "confession" and "apology" by Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy in announcing that he was checking into a facility to get help for his addiction to painkillers. Not wanting to harp on the issue, I simply want to be a bit redundant in elaborating and opining on the previous writing.

    The medications he said that he took before driving, allegedly not even remembering getting out of bed and operating the vehicle, were Ambien and something for his stomach, neither of which have anything to do with killing pain, according to doctors and medical reference information. Whatever the case, he obviously needs help if he has been mixing medications without researching potential side effects from the combinations. He says he was not drinking alcohol at the time of his car crash, and even if he wasn't, that definitely draws attention to the public about examining the issue of prescribed drugs combined with alcohol.

    My experience has been that if medications are taken as directed -- and the majority advise NOT to combine them with alcoholic beverages -- they work as they are intended to do. For example, I've chided acquaintances about drinking a lot while taking antibiotics for whatever condition requires them. For one thing, experience and research has shown me that the antibiotics do no good if combined with alcohol, and some people wonder why they don't get well.

    A number of medications can be addictive if taken for long periods of time. However, many people need certain medications in order to do their jobs and to maintain a quality of life. An example here is something such as Alprazolam for panic attacks. If taken as prescribed, I don't see a major addiction problem, especially if a physician will take time to wean the person off the medication (and that includes something like Zoloft, a good medication for depression) -- and IF the health problem is resolved. Ambien, a sleep aid, did not present a withdrawal problem when I was without it for a while, although I suffer from a sometimes serious sleep disorder possibly caused by post-traumatic stress after being mugged and kicked in the face and head many, many times about a decade ago (but that's a separate and unrelated story in itself).

    Information about these and other medications (including those for pain and muscle relaxation) are usually provided by the doctor or pharmacist and should be read carefully, particularly by drinkers who don't (or can't) stop with just one alcoholic beverage. The individual can avoid potentially dangerous side effects simply by knowing about the medication and following the instructions.

    Most don't see it as such, but that beer, wine or stronger beverages are drugs themselves, therein the danger of combining them with any other kind of drug. Taking aspirin while drinking booze and burn the stomach. Taking Tylenol-type drugs in combination with alcohol can impact the liver and even cause coma or death.

    On the issue of alcohol by itself, we all know that addiction as the disease of alcoholism. Symptoms can be frequently  having to have a beer or other drink when arising from bed, many more drinks during the day and evening and before going to sleep. Alone, such an addiction can result in mental and general health problems. (I'm not speaking of an average drinker who does not rely on alcohol for confidence to get through the day, to relieve a hangover from the night before or as an aid to try to sleep.) Controlled drinking is fine, as long as the person is not getting behind the wheel of a vehicle, operating potentially dangerous equipment or drinking too much too drown sorrows or to attempt an escape from personal problems. When the alcohol controls the person, that's when there can be all kinds of problems. That person can get treatment at facilities and get support from such fine groups as Alcoholics Anonymous.

    This is not written to appear that I'm "holier than thou." In some of the instances mentioned above, I've been there or I've dealt with many people who have -- and I've done a lot of research. This is not meant to be preaching. It's intended to be informational. I had to learn about a lot of things the hard way -- and then I learned to educate myself as much as possible, with the prayer that something I write can help even just one person.

    People have real and painful issues that require medication and even regular treatment by a physician. It's nothing to be ashamed of. We all just need to be in control of what we need and not allow it to control us.

    Don't just trust what I write here, though. Do some research from reliable sources on your own. It's your health.

   IMPORTANT POSTSCRIPT: Do NOT abruptly stop taking any prescribed medication before consulting your physician. Doing such could have very serious health repercussions.

    "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." -- The Serenity Prayer.

.

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I AGREE WITH PRESIDENT BUSH

By Toney Atkins

Stop the presses! I have found agreement with President Bush on some issues.

First, I firmly support his statement that if an immigrant wants to be an American citizen, he or she should sing the National Anthem in English and learn to speak the English language as Americans do.

I also agree that there are far too many "pork" issues for lawmakers' desires that should be in a separate money bill but are currently attached to a bill providing funding for our fighting men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan and for the recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Let Congress try to destroy the environment and rip our pocketbooks at the same time on another occasion -- and I'm sure they will.

On the issue of illegal aliens, I still believe that ILLEGAL means just that -- unlawful. If our lawmakers should give blanket amnesty to all illegal immigrants from Mexico and elsewhere, they might as well give amnesty to anyone else who has broken the law in any form or fashion.

I am not against legal immigration. I know a number of fine people of Hispanic and other foreign heritage who are wonderful additions to the United States. I have even found some of those living in the South to be the nicest, most courteous people I've ever met, going so far as to be helpful when so-called friends who call themselves American citizens ignored or blatantly refused me. For them, I say, "God bless America, and welcome!"

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SHOULD CHRISTIANS PROTEST AT MILITARY FUNERALS?

--- The following is from the May 2 edition of "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer on CNN. I urge you to read it and my commentary that follows:

WOLF BLITZER: For many families and others, it's an appalling act, going to the funerals of service members killed in Iraq to cheer their deaths. Can you believe this? But the group staging them is finding some support.

Let's get some details. This is an amazing story. Brian Todd is standing by -- Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that support comes on the ever precarious grounds of free speech. Now, if any group could ever test the bounds of the First Amendment, it's the Westborough Baptist Church.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): They show up and shock.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every dead soldier coming home is a punishment from the lord, your god.

TODD: At the funerals of service members killed in Iraq, these folks condemn the dead and their families.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are a hell-bound minister of Satan.

TODD: Followers of the Kansas-based Westborough Baptist Church have been crisscrossing the U.S., protesting at more than 150 funerals of service members. They believe god is killing U.S. soldiers in Iraq to punish America for tolerating homosexuality.

They've caused such a disruption that more than two dozen states are either trying to pass laws restricting the movement of the protesters or have already passed them. There's a proposal in Congress for a federal law restricting their movement in national cemeteries.

But the Westborough Baptist Church now has a powerful ally. The American Civil Liberties Union is filing suit to challenge Kentucky's new law.

LILI LUTGENS, ACLU: What is important here is that the First Amendment protects the free speech rights of everyone, and that includes those whose message we dislike, that we find offensive.

TODD: The father of one U.S. soldier killed in Iraq whose funeral was picketed by the church, as well as veterans group leaders, say their friends and loved ones died to protect freedom of speech. But this lawsuit...

JOE DAVIS, VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS: It infuriates us. When you have some people that are out there just spreading this hate and prejudice and hiding behind the First Amendment to do so, it's something that's just not right. It doesn't sit well with, I would pretty much bet, most of Americans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Like it or not, Westborough won't stop. One church leader told me they are heading to Michigan this weekend to protest at two soldiers' funerals. Michigan lawmakers are trying to pass one of those restriction laws, but it hasn't passed yet -- Wolf.

BLITZER: What a story. Brian, thanks for that. Brian Todd reporting.

(C) CNN. Read the entire transcript at CNN.com.

***

THE FOLLOWING IS SOLELY THE OPINION OF TONEY ATKINS AND IS NOT TO IMPLY THAT CNN OR ANY NEWS ORGANIZATION AGREES:

"God does not reject people. Neither do we." -- TV ad for the United Church of Christ.
The advertisement for the United Church of Christ has to be seen to be appreciated, and I have to admit that I see the truth, tragedy and humor in it that actually makes me feel like going to church.
All of us should know the words of Jesus in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that WHOSOEVER believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." That expressly means ALL, not just some, human beings. Unfortunately, many of us committed it to memory by rote because we had to and we do not always truly understand the simplicity of Jesus' message to us while He was in human form on earth. The commercial promotes that truth.
Then, I see on the news scenes of members the Baptist church named in the relatively brief CNN news piece who use an outrageous philosophy in preaching against the Iraq War by violating the mourning process of families and friends at funeral services for loved ones who have died in that war.
The video clips in the "Situation Room" report were tame compared to those that were televised several months ago, but there were still glimpses of the signs these people carry that bear the word "faggot" and other terms of bigotry that have nothing to do with the soldiers and their families, the troops who are valiantly doing their jobs in the conflict and the reasons for the war itself.
If you see one of the news tapes, look into the crazed eyes of these "religious" hate-mongers and listen to the venom of their speech. If one believed in demon possession, one would almost have to believe that this small group of alleged "Christians" is indeed possessed.
Their terrible tirades are causing even greater heartache for the dead soldiers' survivors and casting a bad reflection on religious institutions, most of whom have publicly disassociated themselves from these blatant hypocrites.
The "church" claims that the troops are dying because of their allegation that the United States condones homosexuality and that God is punishing the nation. With this apparently being their central reason for the protests, they have been recorded as hatefully calling all troops "faggots" and "queers" and saying that the soldiers deserve to die. Bull.... er, hogwash! What on earth is this group's agenda, and what insane asylum does it represent?
First, there apparently have been homosexuals on earth ever since Adam and Eve got thrown out of the Garden of Eden for eating that apple and they started to begat and begat and begat.
In all the wars men have fought since the beginning of time, it's only logical to believe that there were homosexuals fighting beside heterosexuals and bisexuals on both sides, so who was God punishing then?
This group calls itself a Christian church, but are these folks still living in the Old Testament? Many Americans do NOT openly condone homosexuality and that a known practicing homosexual would probably not be allowed to be a member of most churches or even be sincerely welcomed to worship in their sanctuaries -- even though the doors are always open to secret adulterers, cheats, wife-or-husband beaters and child abusers.
The difference is that however most Christian churches may believe, their members do not stage obscene, name-calling protests at military funerals.
To label our troops as this single Baptist church is doing is abysmal and totally un-Christian, according to all of the Bibles I've read. To imply that the soldiers of our nation are being punished for a single lifestyle is beyond being outrageous. Now, if they wanted to focus on the alleged untruths and corruption that got us into this war, I might be a little more understanding -- but I seriously doubt it.
The funeral of anyone who has died in battle so that this group might have its freedom of speech deserves respect, not only for the person who gave his or her life, but for the survivors as well.
Instead, this one church stages its protests with vile signs and language directed toward the families at the scenes of such funerals. I'm in no position to judge, but when this group reaches the Pearly Gates, I'm afraid its members could find the gates locked and a detour sign pointing downhill to a hotter climate.
I am a firm believer in freedom of speech, but it has its place and time. I was astounded to learn that the American Civil Liberties Union is supporting this group that is beyond being simply annoying. I shudder to think this is the depth to which our nation has dropped and the direction in which it seems to be going.
I admire and appreciate true Christians who practice their faith, especially in the real world before and after the church services they attend. I rejoice with them in their joy of trying to live the words that Jesus Himself preached.
I particularly admire the religious institutions that have denounced this hateful group that mars the lives of innocents and attempts in un-Godly ways to disgrace the dead. Do these fanatics deliver God's message? I think not.
As the United Church of Christ promotion says: "God does not reject people. Neither do we."
(P.S. And Lord, I'm working really hard to forgive these maniacs about whom I've written. Help me, please, because I'm really ticked off at them!)
(c) 2006, Toney Atkins

THE ACCIDENTAL DIET

By Toney Atkins

    It's amazing how a little ingenuity (or, in my case, some unexplored common sense) can help one deal with life's crises when we happen to get hit by a financial curve ball that somehow empties our pockets.

    Now, I'm far from being the smartest person in the world and it took some help from my late Dad who, before his passing on his birthday last August, had stocked his cabinets with canned pears, corn, green peas, green beans and even turnip greens. In his refrigerator was some frozen butter (supposedly with zero cholesterol) and a few spices. In recent months, I had already devoured all the soups and chili and pretty much ate out for burgers, fish, meat loaf and vegetables.

    That was all well and good until April came along and I was slammed with a temporary (I hope and pray) financial crisis which forced an immediate change in lifestyle. While my brain and stomach demanded the delights of Golden Corral or the Country Cafe, I dined on bologna sandwiches during the afternoon and evening and oatmeal for breakfast and a midnight snack.

    After the bologna and oatmeal were gone, I found myself one evening, sitting in an easy chair and morbidly and figuratively bathing myself in a sea of self-pity, listening to my stomach whine for a big meal at the Golden Corral buffet. Suddenly, it was a though Dad's spirit entered the room, slapped me across the head and yelled, "Open your eyes and think, stupid!"

    I remembered the massive number of cans of pears in the cabinets, but I wasn't sure what else was there. First was a can of potatoes and then some tomato sauce. A few cans back were a couple filled with gravy. Then there were canned vegetables and the other previously mentioned individual canned items. The last job anyone would ever give me would be in a kitchen, but my mind went to work. I could combine some of these things and make a soup, but knowing me, I'd have that eaten in one day.

    My dining habits have baffled people for years. I have a tendency of eating all of one item on my plate before I go to the next. I decided to try something. I opened a can of corn -- the average can, not the family size, put a little butter, light salt and pepper in the bowl. Three minutes in the microwave and viola! I had my supper. After relishing it along with a cup of coffee, I found that my hunger was satisfied. Later, I indulged in a can of green beans and a can of sliced pears before bed.

    It became a routine of pears upon waking, a can of the vegetable of my choice for lunch and a different choice for dinner. Naturally, to support decent health, I took a multivitamin (with cholesterol-fighting ingredients) during the day.  I was certainly eating better than the poor homeless folks who walk the streets who have to depend on churches and shelters, and I hadn't had to spend a penny for the food, thanks to Dad, who always worried about whether I was eating right.

    For exercise, I've boogied down nightly to at least half an hour to my stash of disco music, shaking my groove thang and ample rump to hopefully improve my sexy, masculine image.

    A physician would lash me 20 times at least for suggesting such a diet, but here is a definitely positive result: In less than two weeks, I lost at least 10 pounds. If that rate continues until payday in two more weeks. I will at least double that and start getting closer to the weight at which I'll be satisfied.

    What my physician would not be happy about was that I was even able to have a smoke after my midnight snack -- after I rummaged through a bag that I had brought to Georgia last June. Admittedly, I don't know how long the three broken Parliaments had been in the bag before that, and they did give that rush of aged tobacco, but what can I say? Life is good.

    Needless to say, when the check finally comes in the mail, the cabinets will be restocked for the next literal or figurative storm that comes along -- and for the interim as well.

    Stay healthy, and spread love and peace!

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DOING WHAT I DO

    Some people have understandably asked why I include links on www.toneyatkins.com/ to fund-raising organizations and if I get compensation for doing so.

    The answer to the second question is no, I receive no compensation for the links to organizations that benefit wounded troops, the families of our troops, victims of natural disasters, the homeless and needy, animals and the latest, a memorial for the heroes of the flight that crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, potentially saving lives in Washington, DC.

    I seek no personal compensation or even praise for including these worthwhile organizations in links that are separate from the Google ads that I do permit on my site. The way I see it, these organizations are helping people (and yes, even pets) that need assistance in one form or another. It's up to the individual who goes to any site on my web page to decide if they want to or can afford to give $5 or more to help fellow human beings in these troubled times. Those of us who have not been directly impacted by any of these issues can thank the God to whom we pray and realize that the unpredictable can happen and someday we may be affected and may need some kind of help, no matter how rich or poor we may be.

    If you're like me and sometimes have to use every penny you have to support yourself and your family, the least we can do is pray for the success of all genuine humanitarian groups in the efforts to help others.

    Our prayers WILL be answered, and who knows? Our other prayers may be answered as well, simply because of an act of unselfishness.

    SPREAD LOVE AND PEACE! Tell someone you love them. They'll feel good, and you will, too! -- Toney Atkins

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