It wasn't the influence of priests, parsons, mullahs, shamans or witch doctors that caused me to develop a strong suspicion of the existence of God, but a layman's study of physics, astronomy and cosmology. Don't ask me how or why because I can't really define my "beliefs" myself except that I'm aware of the cosmic background laughter from time to time.

I wonder and fear what civic miracles Mr. Harold Burnett of Palmdale California would expect from a "Real Christian President" as much as I fear a theocracy forced upon me by Mr. Osama Lama Ding Dong or a "workers paradise" run by, say, a Mr. Kim Il Sung.

I've always been quite comfortable with the idea and principles of liberal Jeffersonian democracy and I think that he and Locke, Paine, and Madison, et all hit it out of the park with the system we might enjoy today if we would only wrest it's control from the current cabal of oiled up plutocrats and international pirates under whose sway we have allowed ourselves to fall.

Much as I fear and loathe the plutocracy, my fear and loathing of those who would rule in the name of the "Lord" is still greater and around these parts the pastors are striving for some unholy combination of both.

I can find no comforting differences between the madness of a system run by the Ayatollahs of Islamic Iran, or that of the Taliban and the paternalistic, authoritarian, pious idiocy of the "Christian" theocracy so sought after by the Dobson, Falwell, Robertson breed of conservatively connected evangelistic frauds of the "western world."

I'm quite sure that Allah (if he in fact "is") is equally as appalled by the murderous barbarity performed in his name as Christ (if he in fact "is") is aghast at the deeds of the armies of "Christian Soldiers" who supposedly march under "His Holy Banner."



Whoever, whatever "God" may be, mankind has historically proven himself capable of making "him " or "her" or "it" blush, puke and laugh out loud simultaneously with his collective and nearly constant folly.

The very concept of a "Real Christian President" is truly something to dread, it is anathema to the very idea of American constitutional government and Mr. Butler should bite his tongue and break his pencil the next time such an awful and silly thought forces itself to the front of his consciousness.

I offer instead a suggestion that we need a President who has a vision of an America where the rights of all are guaranteed and protected, the constitution is adhered to, and the institutions of our government are not for sale to the highest bidder. A President who has an abiding compassion for the young, the elderly the weak and the sick among us and the courage to fight the unpopular battles that must be waged to insure their protection from the predators among us.

This President I propose must have a vision of a strong and powerful America which is able to lead with a moral authority gained through it's continuous example of fairness and respect for the rule of law, an authority gained by the dignity with which it treats all nations and the firmness of the diplomacy and strength it displays to those who would trample on the rights of human kind through aggressive war or other means.

I really don't care if this President is black, white or brown, Male, Female, Gay or Lesbian, Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, agnostic, atheist or worships a graven image of Gene Autry's horse by moonlight. It makes no damn difference to me.

I am hoping for someone who is not completely ethically bankrupt, who is not owned by any corporate or private interest group, someone with boundless energy, intelligence, compassion, patience, unwavering good humor, and an ability to ride herd on this nation and it's problems, in short, the polar opposite of the current criminals in residence and many of those seeking the position.

If someone who meets those minimum qualifications should enter the race please call me and I will do all I can to help them get the job.

Bob Higgins

Worldwide Sawdust