"For links to the articles I read on the air, guest websites, archived shows, my commentaries, a listener's discussion forum, and the text of Mark Stanneart’s latest commentary, visit: www.rabblerousing.org."

Another example of local generosity: The annual Community Christmas Dinner will be held from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Christmas Day, at the Madelyn Helling Library in Nevada City. This year, the event is being hosted by Divine Spark, a non-profit, spiritually-based organization in Nevada City. It is free and open to the public, with a special invitation to the homeless. Volunteers will serve a traditional dinner with turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, various vegetable dishes and desserts including pumpkin pie, About 20 volunteers have helped prepare the meal and will be serving, but more help is welcome. they need volunteers to pick up guests from Hospitality House," the new homeless shelter in Grass Valley, Divine Spark, founded four years ago, is non-denominational and provides spiritual support and guidance for the needy. It emphasizes community service, giving gifts and treating people as spiritual equals,.For more information or to volunteer, call 265-2620.
What else is there to be grateful for? Pay attention to latin America. The American invasion and conquest of iraq, is certainly tragic for the Iraqis, but it is a blessing for latin America. Witness the emergence and electoral triumph of yet another radical leader of yet another latin American country. Evo morales, an amayara Indian, an ex coco farmer for gods sake, has won the right to lead Bolivia. He won on a pledge to nationalize bolivia’s oil and natural gas industries, for the benefit of his people. Very radical stuff that. Messing with the big boys. In the good ole days, the cia would have immediately taken him out. Anyone recall salavadore allende of chile? It will be interesting to see if morales survives long enuff to institute his changes. "ve haf our vays". For the present, morales joins hugo chavez of Venezuela, andf lula of brazil, in aligning with fidel castro of cuba. Fancy that. For the first time in memory, fidel castro has political allies. All these leaders place the welfare of all their people, of paramount importance. Very un-American, that. The privileged and wealthy scream of course. They are not accustomed to even seeing the poor amongst them, much less caring about them. In normal times, the cia, which is simply the muscle of the elite, would quash these latin American do gooders like bugs, exactly as they have done for several hundred years. But these are not normal times. The Iraqi people did not roll over like obedient dogs to have their bellies scratched. And their American conquerors continue to be up to their asses in alligators. the elite who run America got in over their heads in the middle east. The worlds bully is too preoccupied to assert its divine right to rule latin america. And the people of latin America benefit. If I were a latin American I would pray that the us remains bogged down in iraq forever. Serves em right. Fighting for democracy, my tail feathers.

This from the president of an organization called American rivers: How’s this for an early holiday gift? After a tremendous show of opposition from across the country, House leaders agreed last week to drop a controversial provision in a federal budget bill that would have allowed the sale of millions of acres of public lands and threatened many wild Western rivers. Thanks to all of you who responded to our e-mails by writing your Senators, urging them to oppose a House proposal that would have allowed mining companies to buy at rock-bottom prices public lands across the West. Once purchased, millions of acres of our lands would have been privately controlled and no longer managed for public use. With hundreds of mining claims already staked in western Wild and Scenic River corridors, this provision could have devastated some of our most treasured wild rivers. Thankfully, widespread opposition from conservationists, hunters, anglers and a bipartisan group of Senators stopped this harmful House provision in its tracks. In the face of this overwhelming resistance, mining proponents withdrew their bad mining language. Thanks for helping us secure this huge victory for America’s rivers!

There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable.

Next item: Congress today announced that the office of President  of the United States of America will be outsourced to India as of  jan 1^st 06. The move is being made to save the President's $400,000 yearly salary, and also a record $521 billion in deficit expenditures and related overhead costs the white house office has incurred during the last 5 years.  "We believe this is a wise move financially. The cost savings should  be significant," stated Congressman Thomas Reynolds (R-WA). Reynolds, with the aid of the Government Accounting Office (GAO), has studied outsourcing of American jobs extensively.  "We cannot expect to remain competitive on the world stage with the current level of cash outlay," Reynolds noted. Mr. Bush was informed by email this morning of his termination. Preparations for the job move have been underway for some time. Gurvinder Singh of Indus Teleservices, of Mumbai, India will be assuming the office of President as of jan 1st.   Mr. Singh was born in the United States while his Indian parents  were vacationing at Niagara Falls, thus making him eligible for the  position. He will receive a salary of $320(USD)a month but with no health coverage or other benefits. It is believed that Mr. Singh will be able to handle his job responsibilities without a support staff.  Due to the time difference between the US and India, he will be working  primarily at night, when few offices of the US Government will be open.   "Working nights will allow me to keep my day job at the American Express call center "stated Mr. Singh in an exclusive interview. "I am excited about this position. I always hoped I would be President someday." A Congressional Spokesperson noted that while Mr. Singh may not be fully aware of all the issues involved in the office of President, this should not be a problem because geo Bush is not familiar with the issues either. Mr. Singh will rely upon a script tree that will enable him to respond effectively to most topics of concern.  Using these canned responses, he can address common concerns without having to understand the underlying issues at all.  "We know these scripting tools work," stated the spokesperson.  "President Bush has used them successfully for years." Mr. Singh may have problems with the Texas drawl, but lately Bush has abandoned the "down home" persona in his effort to appear intelligent and on top of the Katrina situation. Bush will receive health coverage, expenses, and salary until his final day of employment. Following a two week waiting period, he will be eligible for $240 a week unemployment for 13 weeks.   Unfortunately he will not be eligible for Medicaid, as his unemployment benefits will exceed the allowed limit. Mr. Bush has been provided the outplacement services of Manpower, Inc. to help him write a resume and prepare for his upcoming job  transition. According to Manpower, Mr. Bush may have difficulties in securing a new position due to limited practical work experience. A Greeter position at Wal-Mart was suggested due to Bush's phony smile and extensive experience shaking hands. Another possibility is Bush's reenlistment in the Texas Air National Guard. His prior records are conspicuously vague but should he choose this option, he would likely be stationed in Waco, TX for a month, before being sent to Iraq, a country he has previously visited.   "I've been there, I know all about Iraq," stated Mr. Bush, who gained invaluable knowledge of the country in a visit to the Baghdad Airport's terminal and gift shop. Sources in Baghdad and Falluja say Mr. Bush would receive a warm reception from local Iraqis. They have asked to be provided with details of his arrival so that they might arrange an appropriate welcome.

NEXT WEEK: one of my listners auntie mildred by name, has been threatening to guest on this show for some weeks now. Ive been successfully putting her off so far, but ive clean run out of excuses. So next week unless fate intervenes or I come up with another flimsy excuse, rabble rousing will be visited by the dreaded auntie mildred. Gird your loins. It should be a doozy.