About the cold scientific appraisal of Al-cohol (science weekly guardian podcast):

It's even worse than they think. The Britains (great and small) are at the beginning of a genetic liver alcohol metabolisation effeciency cline that runs from west to east: the farther east the less competent the liver.

Taking the Liver, which interacts with the brain, the culture, and the vicissitudes of historical contigency, we end up with Boris (Yeltsin e.g.) falling down drunk, and the former "So-be-it" Union dying off by their fifties, on average. Leaving aside the Lucky Jews, Chinese and Japeroos (but not the Ozzy Abos), we come across the mythic Bering Straits, to the Dire:

A lot of the manipulations and dirty mind-hacking of the paranoia-inducing Shamans ("paranormal" if you are credulous enough damn fools to ask them, and believe what they say)...

...is facilitated by alcohol.

These blokes are the Lowest of the Low, Low-blowing Low Priests "of Dionysus". The fact is, most Indian tribes would be a lot better off converting to strictest Islam. The A-rabs with their 360 degree round of Gods were having a Hell of an Alcohol problem before Sheikh Mahmoud saved and united them. What causes the Irish to gab, clap hands, and sing songs , causes A-rabs, Australian Aborigines, "Native" Americans, and others at the butt end of the cline, to totally self destruct.

Peyote can save some of us.

And you.

But not all of us and you.

Those conniving manipulators (the "Supernatural Ones") can use peyote, LSD, Ecstasy, whatever, to their advantage too. And they do sometimes, but not like alcohol.

It's not like the San, Bushmen whatever, the Voodoo cult stuff, even the Evangelizing Born-agains, all these guys are out in the open, speaking in tongues rolling on the floor, all in public.

Even Jim "drink-the-kool-aid" Jones and David Koresh, Baghwam Shree Rajneesh, Applewhite of Comet Hale-Bopp spaceship. Flashes in the pan all. These others though, Witch-doctor types, "Shamans," have been at it for 10s of 1000s of years.

And alcohol is to them as global warming is to pine-bark beetles: a predator's feast. A Banquet for Mind-cannibals.

(Of course Mormons don't drink either. But when they are teenagers they are out after midnight, buying everclear, stashing it in the woods.)

Re. the Believers are away with the fairies -link -- great stuff, Norm! Very good find. Almost makes me have hope for mankind, seeing a conservative news source print an anti-religious article.

I find this quote particularly poignant:

"But whereas the religious Right is a formidable body whose constituent churches and movements have salaried administrators, vast funds, television and radio outlets, and paid Washington lobbyists, America's non-religious folk are simply unconnected individuals. It is no surprise that the religious Right has political clout and can make a loud noise in the American public square, whereas the non-religious voice is muted."

Excellent article, that.

About the: Scientific-ish analysis of Politician vs. Celebrity.

May I just add that since they already paired two politicians against each other (Hilary and Papa Smurf) they should have paired Obama and Ashcroft. Yes, just like Big Papa is no longer a politican, Ashcroft now serves as a celebrity (granted with washup status like the cast from The Surreal Life) and also an author--and a crappy one at that!

Obama was seen on the Oprah Winfrey show saying something to the extent that there should be less sex on TV because it "makes him uncomfortable" to tell his daughter what they're doing. Antiquated twat? Yes. But the guy that takes the cake is Ash-tray when he actually tried to get the statue of Spirit of Justice covered because apparently her tits were inapporpriate. I consider the noise that come out of his jowley mouth inappropriate let alone illegal!

Winner: Ashcroft