FROM LOUISIANA

I am writing from a hotel in Alexandria, Louisiana and am worn out. I slept in the truck last night as I couldn't see paying $135 for a hotel room when I stopped in Ft Walton Beach, Florida around midnight. So I parked the truck in the local Wal-Mart parking lot and actually slept fairly well. The Memorial weekend hotel rates were just too much for my taste.

I had to post today though because I am so damn upset with the game the Democrats just played to deceive all of us when they voted on a procedure that allowed the Republican to win, with significant Dems support, the Iraq occupation funding vote.

In the Washington Post story, linked in the headline above, the Dems bragged how they skillfully pulled the bait and switch off. Ugh.....

Now people like my Congressman Tom Allen will go around talking about how he voted (finally) to cut the funding but the truth is his more important procedural vote was to enable the whole ugly process. Few in the public will know about the deception though. Unless it gets explained to them. That is your job. Click on this link to see how your member of congress voted on the procedural vote.

We can't let these clowns get away with this one.

Watch this bit on Ron Paul as he does an "action" at the recent Republican debate and on Bill Maher show.

I'm making great time on my trip so far. Left my mom's place in Titusville, Florida at noon on Friday and drove to Gainesville and had dinner with some old friends there. Then took off about 6:30 pm and got as far at Ft Walton Beach (in the panhandle). Had hoped to go to the beach today but when I saw late last night what they have done to Okaloosa Island I didn't have it in me to hang around. The once quiet fine white sandy beach community is now overrun with high rise hotels and time share condos. I used to deliver newspapers on this island in 1968 while in high school and there were just a few cottages and a couple apartment buildings there along with the Gulfarium full of dolphins. Very sad but this is Florida these days - totally overrun with a devastated environment.

In the morning I head to Texas and will get a chance to visit my son who goes to college there. Will be great to spend some time with him on my way west.