DARTH CHENEY and the AXIS OF WEASELS

Once upon a time, in a galaxy uncomfortably close to here, the evil Emperor Dubya and his cadre of covert planners, known as The Axis of Weasels, led the former forces of good to the Dark Side. A leader among them was the dark Lord known as Darth Cheney, a master of the dark arts. The Lefti Knights and all others who were anything but Dark Siders were powerless against Darth Cheney and his brethren, falling like cord-wood before the Spin Sabers wielded by the Axis. Spin saber wielding was one of the darkest of dark arts, and the Axis had among it's brethren a Master of Spin, a small, yoda-like creature known as MachiaRovea. One by one, those who clung to the good side of the Force fell victim to the machiarovean Spin of the Dark Siders, castigated as traitors, accused of being soft on, or abandoning the War on Terror, ridiculed in the media until not one among them was left standing with any credibility. In this darkest of dark times, not one leader could be found who would stand and speak truth to lies. Instead, the remnants of the good side of the Force vowed to be more like the Dark Siders, a self-proclaimed brilliant strategy designed to win voters, particularly those "of faith." May the Farce be with us.

A simple fable for our times, perhaps. Fortunately, the Axis of Weasels appears to be crashing and burning by their own dark designs. Their play book, a blending of fairy tales (The Emperor has no Clothes) and prophetic novels (1984), is failing them. "We do not torture!" proclaims the Emperor while his top henchman, Darth Cheney, works to institute as law a green light for the use of torture.

Enough already. Let's work hard to hasten the fall of the Axis of Weasels. Let's get back to the core values that we all believe in, starting with democracy and truth. And let's remember to tell this fable to our children and grandchildren as a warning that democracy can't be taken for granted - it has to be protected from those who would destroy it.