The controversy over "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas" requires that we examine what has happened to our right to "petition the government for a redress of grievances." This is one of our inherent and inalienable rights. We have a "property" in that right. This means that any prior restraint placed on that right constitutes a "taking of property without due process of law" unless we are given something of equal value in return.

With some regret, I have tendered my resignation to the River Music Experience (RME). The past two years have been a very interesting time for me. Certainly, I gained a fair share of life experience. The great people that I have met and worked with, through our educational programs, River Roots Live fest, and Redstone Room events, have time and again demonstrated their appreciation for our mission. I thank each of you for the opportunity to work and play together. My staff was awesome. I laud their passion for our purpose and their tenacity for hanging in there with me through thick and thin.

"The Top 10 Stories the Media Missed in the Past Year" as published in River Cities' Reader Issue 602 (October 11-17, 2006) might be called "10 more reasons why the ‘freedom of the press' will be abolished."

In January 2005, the results of a survey of students were published in which (only) 51 percent of the students believed that the press should be allowed to publish without permission from the government.

This survey should have awakened the press to the fact that they must inform the people of what is going on in our courts so that they can decide for themselves if our system of justice is fair.

Why are we not safe today?

(A) The U.S. Army was reduced in the 1990s by 500,000 active soldiers. Today we only have 417,186 active Army, 305,404 in the National Guard, and 154,047 in the Army Reserves. (These figures are from the September 15, 2006, Federal Executive magazine, page 38.)

(B) In the 1990s, the leadership of the Department of the Army reduced from 26 Army ammunition plants to only eight by 2006. (See History of Ammunition by George Nickolas, dated 2006.)

(C) The civilian production base for military ammunition and equipment reduced in the 1990s because of lack of requirements as reported to a congressional hearing in 2004. (See Federal Executive magazine pages 17 and 18 in the July 2004 issue.)