returning, with too much to say

ok, so i'm back. yes, there is an extremely large gap in time I have to fill in and many things to say, between Chavez-shut-up and Chavez-you-want-war-Colobmia? but there are oh so many interesting things going on in the U.S. that I'll have to mix and match, a la old mervyn's (?) ads..so yes, i'll be writing more, since i'm in kinda one place.