Lan Roberts' Editorial Feedback

November 6, 05

WOOHOOO I am applading you Lan. You finally put it out there for others to see. They do think they are not going to get Cancer, but most of them will. A few may be lucky but for the majority they do get it. I just wish I could have kept nagging you about it, but you moved away. May not have listened anyway, but I would have tried. I know you were scared that one time, but you again thought it wasn't going to be you and you did not have to deal with it. You told it how it is.
My family got together and hit on my brother just like they do with drugs. It is a drug really. He did stop and continues to stop. I just wish I could have saved you from it. I am thankful that I do not smoke. The older I get the more in bothers me to just smell the smoke.
I am just happy that you named some names and hopefully they look at it as trying to help them and not just as a thing to dump on them.


Hope you are doing well and again I applaud you for trying to save your friends from what you have had to go thru. I know I tried real hard to get a friend to stop smoking but the person just would not do it. Will pay for it one day. I am sure it is so hard to quit, but for the ones that have made it they are happy and content that they did.

How are you and family doing?

Karen Honolulu

I have never known a person as brave as you, wish we had more time to talk...but it was a very high point in my world to see you at Andy's. I said to you that you looked good and you gave me a funny look.  To see a friend that has been trough what you have and be tough enough to make that trip...you  looked good to me.   I have always had a high amount of respect for your talent and compasion for other people, but the Andy's move made me realize how beatuiful you are. If there is anything I can do in the future to make your life better just yell.   I learned to respect you a long time ago, now I have learned to love...you are my man, grab another twenty years so I can benifet from it...damm I'm selfish.  

--------------------------

Lan, Jerry shut us off for a reason...don't know what the reason was...but
the rest of us had what I call a very sincere gathering that not only showed
respect for Jerry...but the total effort of all to attend a meet that told
me a tight friendship exists between this whole crowd...God bless Love, and
this crew seems to believe in it.

Your effort to show was above and beyond all...I hope you live forever, and
if you come off short ten or more years I will come down there and kick your
ass with my six gun and Texas Rangers Badge...... (lots of love and
prayers.

Buzz Barr....
------------------------------------

Hello Lan:
Don't know if you're home yet...( writing this at 5PM LA time Saturday ) but I just wanted to let you know how great it was seeing you this week. It really worked out that Eric was able to connect up with Dick and arrange that we could all gather at Dick's place two times and also have a nice dinner together.
I imagine you are pretty tired from the traveling, so get some rest and know how much you are loved by all of us.
"Sweet Thomas" Murph...L.A.
--------------------------------------Lan

Sure was great seeing you ... and the fact that you came all the way up here
would have blown Jerry completely away. I was really bummed right after
taking Mike/Tom to airport Thursday AM ... we all had so much fun and hated
like hell to see that end.

Looking forward to seeing you again reasonably soon!!!

best,
Eric Dawes

Oct 2, 2005

Lan, Glad to see you are back to your old biting self again, at least partly. I really enjoy youe editorials and most of the time they really strike home and cover things you never see covered in the daily newspapers. I agree with you that there seems to be a lot of scared so called journalists out there shaking in their boots afraid to write about stuff that needs to be discussed. Writers like "Nerf Ball" guy Chris Mathews. Man has he turned out to be a weenie.

B.N.-Yakima, Washington

Sept 29, 2005

Hey this aint television man, you sounded great,, maybe you should have tried using oxygen sooner. Nice write up on ole Jerry Kaye,,, too bad he didn't get a chance to read it. It's too bad that guys that have had an infleunce on your life don't really get to know just how much they meant. You are one of those guys to me, shit man, when you guys were in your heyday, I was in high school and thinking I'd like to do that someday. I'm just glad we got our chance to link up and have a few good moments. It doesn't sound good my friend,,,,,,But...Dont touch that fuckin plug!!!!! aint no dead air here....Hope we can link up while you';re here but I know you got alot of people to see and reminisce with,,,,,,If theres anything ANYTHING I can do, limo, whatever, just holllar and you got it. Leah says hi, I say high, and MUCHO ALOHA.... WAYNO, I love you Lan, you are one of a kind.

Sept. 28, 2005

There are so many Jerry Kaye stories coming in I really can't print them all but I'll try. Chemo yesterday sort of left my head fucked up so pardon the delay....Here's one from one of Jerry's ex bosses:

The stories keep coming in regarding Jerry Kaye and his unique sense of humor...

Here's the latest one:

"I will tell you a great Jerry Kaye story that is true...

I once called Jerry in the office to raise hell for almost a minute of dead
air I
heard on his all night WLS show....After I finished he hesitated and said...
"so see my agent!"
"Your agent" I replied..."just who in the hell is your agent?"
"LuJack"...Jerry said...."he works the afternoon shift"
I broke up laughing cause we both knew LuJack and I were
great friends....still are to this day.

Ron Riley shared a great Jerry Kaye story with me today...

"I do recall in the 60s that Cindy and I had an "everybody bring a dish for
dinner" party at our apartment on Lake Shore. Jerry and his wife came in with
a big meat loaf they made with "Fuck You" spelled out in green peppers on the
top. It was the center piece of the table.

We will miss Jerry....

John Rook

Sept 27, 2005

Lan,

I was particularly saddened to read Pat O'Day's tribute to Jerry Kaye, who passed away recently.

I first met Jerry when he was PD at KLOQ, Yakima, when I was hired to do morning drive by Bill Shela and Warren Durham in 1960. I agree with Pat. Jerry had remarkable talent and, sadly, never seemed to realize just how good he really was.

Jerry's parents, the "King's", his real name, owned a large home in Yakima's north end which doubled as kind of a boarding house where people like myself called home. Jerry and his folks did everything possible to help me in those days while I was at KLOQ and sometime later when I returned from a stint at KROY, Sacramento and again worked in Yakima radio and TV until moving to Seattle in 1969.

My last contact with Jerry was after he had returned from Chicago and free-lanced for awhile in Seattle before settling in to the family furniture business. Since that time, as Pat mentioned, Jerry became more and more reclusive and impossible to locate. I had his e-mail once..but he never responded. I thought about him many times, including a very recent visit to Yakima where I tried, without success, to learn his whereabouts..even to the point of seeking out his former home, which had become a parking lot.

I will always remember Jerry as a good friend at the time and. as young as he was, a real pro who eventually made it to top with Larry Lujack at WLS...but later, for reasons of his own, chose to disappear from view. I am deeply saddened that he has left us.

Bob Piatt
Tacoma

Sept 21, 2005

First, let me give an explanation to a reference Lan makes in his email which you find below this. Results from routine CT scans last week for me show that my colon cancer has returned....this time in my left lung. My oncologist anticipates that it is an isolated spot and that we caught it VERY early. I'll go through pet-scans later this week to see if there are any other hot spots. If not, I'll have surgery and cut the thing out. Might even be the possibility of scoping it.

On the other hand if there are further hot spots, we will have to entertain another attack, most likely chemo again. I'm feeling absolutely wonderful, I've gained weight (too much, where'd this gut come from?) and my blood testing came back with the colon markers right where they should be......so for right now, the only thing on the horizon is the pet-scan. Until I have those results, I'm not wasting any time with what-ifs.

Now the best news. This came earlier today from Lan:

Steve,
Just a note to let you know you are in my prayers and thanks for your support.

I went to the doc today and he said x-rays showed the tumors had stopped
growing. I know prayers have played a big part in this and thank you for
your ongoing prayer support. You are in my prayers daily. I will say a
Rosary for you tonight with intentions that we clear this up for good soon.

And Lan asked that I pass this along to you:
To: Steve, and all OFC members. I can't thank you all enough for the
prayers you have sent my way recently. Since they have used all the chemo
that is available now the only thing left is your kind words and prayers.
Believe me prayer works. I can feel them and know that all of you are
supporting my fight against this thing.

I am hoping that Steve will forward this along to all of you. I was
recently made aware of his flare-up and concerned about his wellness. Danny
has been a concern also although he seems to be pulling through with better
health these days. Bwana will make it because all of his friends and our
prayers for him. I'm sure that Steve knows what a downer it is after years
of being clear then here comes the bad guys again to screw things up. I
was clear for 8 years and out of the blue here came my downer days about a
year and a half ago.

Buzz, Pat, Dick, Robert O, and many others have been especially kind
recently. Thanks so much you guys.

Much love to all of you...

Lan Roberts

Lan, you know the prayers won't stop from us. We're with you everyday!! Steve West.......

Sept 21, 2005

Lan,

The basis of the major religions on the planet is:

BE LIKE ME OR DIE.

I wish there were more to it. The extras do dress
some of them up a bit, but at the heart of most
is remnants of the reptilian survival brain.

I used to joke that I didn't get the faith gene.
Turns out there may indeed be one. It started
showing up 37,000 years ago. Trouble is, it also
may be responsible for art and music. That would
explain the existence of fairly bright folks who are
able to function, but depend on others for
impractical, but pleasant and entertaining activities.

There are lots of folks like me and I'm glad we
are a minority, most of the time. When faith
based whackos band together in very large groups
I run and hide until they disperse. What brains they
have shut down under the tent. Dog packs are the
closest corollary I can think of at the moment.

Incomplete, but reasonably happy person,

Phil B. in Seattle ;-} or not...

Sept 21, 2005

Lan, don't know if I've told you this story before but here goes..........
30 plus years ago I started going to AA meetings. Eventually I met a guy who had been sober for 15 years his name was Boxcar Bill. Boxcar took me under his wing because he liked my attitude about not drinking. We became good friends. He was about 60 at the time and had to go for radiation treatments I think for his prostate. We never talked about his illness but for weeks and weeks he went for his weekly treatments.
I could tell when he wasn't feeling well but he'd never complain. When I asked him how he felt, he'd always say "I'm doing pretty good right now" or "I'm feeling ok today".
Bill lived another 10 years before he passed.
I guess the point I'm making is that "attitude is everything".
Just know that we're thinking about you.
Keep on Keepin' on.
Danny Holiday
Tucker Ranch
danny@dannyholiday.com

Sept 15, 2005

Dear Lan,

I was a young DJ working in Alaska back in the 70s, and while vacationing in Hawaii, heard you on KKUA. I had become a fan of yours and KJR during the early 70s, so was thrilled to hear you in Honolulu. I called the station, hoping to get a tour and a chance to meet you. You were so gracious. You didn't know me from Adam, but not only invited me to the station, but to a party at your awesome home on the beach by Diamond Head!

Fast forward a few months, I am back in Anchorage doing afternoons, and I read in R&R that you have been named PD of KORL/Honolulu, and were looking for a staff. I immediately sent an aircheck, and you hired me for nights!

I was eighteen years old, and doing nights in Honolulu. Was I in heaven, or what? Jim Nelly was the GM, (yes, the stories are ALL true, and then some!), Lan was the PD/Morning Gary Bryan did afternoons, the late Jim O'Neal did afternoons, and Kawasami Kong, (formerly Bobby Zix from Eugene, OR), did late nights. Don Fox did middays. It was a great team, we beat market leader KKUA in the first book, but the parent company could barely make payroll. We had to run to the bank when we got paid, because by the time the last few employees got there, the money was gone! Believe it or not, there were times when the transmitter company just shut us down, because they had not been paid! And yes, Nelly would come in very overserved, and proceeded to muscle me out of the "air-chair" and go on the air as Peter Pan, and other wacky names. Yes there were hookers brought in to do on-air auditions. Then there was the time that Nelly came in one morning with his wife. Her face was completely bandaged up, like a mummy, and she seemed to be in pain. When I asked Nelly what happened, he told me, "Gunner, I do this thing where I try and race the gate when it opens on the garage in my high-rise condominium...it's usually a lot of fun!" Apparently, he mistimed the gate that morning, and his wife was thrown through the windshield. Good times!You really can't make this stuff up! Interestingly enough, Nelly has gone on to a wildly successful career as a multi-platinum rap artist. (Okay, I made that part up!)

It was working in Honolulu with Lan that I first met the Pat O'Day, who was interested in purchasing the station from the oil company that owned it. I eventually went to work for Pat in Seattle at KYYX, and that was another great experience, which included the infamous "Seattle Radio Reuinion", which included Lan, Pat, Lary Lujack, Kevin O'Brian (Metheny), Emperor Smith, and many, many more. A copy of the highlights were available at reelradio.com, and may still be there. Pat was another great influence of mine growing up in the business.

My favorite recollection of the KORL days, was the "Adventures In Paradise" contest that we did. With typical Lan creativity and brilliance, the concept was that each DJ would choose an "adventure", and listeners were encouraged to write in 65 words or less, (65 of course being our frequency), why they wanted to go on each jock's adventure. We could choose between the "Jaws" adventure, which was going down in a shark cage, (I passed), the "Hang Gliding Adventure", which entailed jumping off the thousand-plus foot cliffs of Makapuu in a tandem hang-glider, with a professional, (Jim O'Neal chose that one, and I accompanied him up that long road to the cliff, and watched in amazement as he jumped off), and an "Acrobatic Airplane Adventure", which is the one that I eventually chose.

Listen, I am far from a thrill seeker. Carousels make me nauseous, and I have a fear of heights. But I met Lan at the airstrip one Sunday morning. The listener bailed when she saw the Pitts Special we were to fly in. I balked when Lan informed me that he himself had packed my parachute, and that there was nothing to be afraid of. While it is justifiably a famous acrobatic airplane, it was an open cockpit setup, with the pilot sitting in the rear cockpit, and me in the front. A cassette recorder was connected to the intercom system, and we took off. I had assumed that it was going to be more of a sightseeing flight, not having taken into account the true meaning of the word "acrobatic". Suffice it to say I have never been as scared in my life when I found myself hanging upside down thousands of feet about Oahu. The tape was so expletive-laden that a tremendous amount of editing had to be done before it was even remotely air-worthy. But what a great memory, and a true "theater of the mind" promotion. So typical of you, Lan!

Lan, you were a true inspiration to many, many people, both in and out of the "business", including a young DJ from Alaska. Please remember that ever day you are here, the world is definitely a better place. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I love you, Lan...mahalo, my brother!


Warmest Regards,


Sean Lynch

Sept 15, 2005
Lan,
I'm just so damn sorry you have to go through all this pain and misery. Don't give up! Miracles are always at the end of those long, difficult, tunnels. You still have to write your book, and keep the OFC alive, and continue the spirit of great radio that you personify, and the world is always a better place because Lan Roberts is here, so just keep fighting.

Love Ya!

Pat O'Day


Sept 15, 2005
Dear Lan:

I have been silently observing the trials your illness is causing you and I see your brave fight ....and have always wished you well...my prayers have been many and my thoughts of recovery are constant for you.

You know how blessed you are with wonderful friends and your beautiful children ...please keep up the fight and I know all your fans will keep beaming our well wishes your way...please keep up the strong will and visualize a strong and vital recovery...if anyone can win against this horrendous foe...it's you !!

fight hard ..we want you to always be around !

best, Robert O. Smith-Vancouver-B.C.

Sept 15, 05

Lan, our thoughts and prayers are with you. Keep up the fight. I've always
looked up to you as an example of the great talent and humor which is so
needed in today's radio but is SO missing.

I was honored last year when you were able to come to our little ol' pig roast.

I love ya, man.


Bill Wolfenbarger


Sept 15, 2005

Hi Lan,

I just read your site. I am so sorry to hear that you are not doing well.

I am crying now! I will be praying for you. How many years have I been doing that over you? You can be so funny and lift all the clouds out of the sky and yet I can get so angry at you. I wish I could have been there for you, but you made that choice, my heart has never stopped loving you. It tried, but you were so much in my eyes. I still have the pics of you and I will have the memories forever. I just can't imagine the world without you. I just can't.

My family is gone for 2 weeks and I was hoping that we would get a chance to talk on the phone, but I know how it is when you don't feel well and need your strength to keep on fighting for your life. Just know that you were loved by me all the time. I loved listening to that radio, and all those songs. " Karen, that is so stupid to let, rainy days and mondays get you down." You were telling me how stupid I was over the radio. It was so much fun, don't think I ever told you but it was fun. Meeting you the first time in AALA Park, ha, I was acrosss the way watching you and you were looking in the bushes for me, and that car that brown Jag after I finally came out and showed you who I was, sitting in the Jag with your white shirt on with the buttons unbuttoned. I had to sing MACHO MACHO MAN, I hear that song and think of meeting you.

I am mad that you had to get sick and madder that you never got back here to see me, but such is life. I just want you to know I STILL LOVE YOU!

Take care and I will be praying.

Love ALways,
Karen

Sept 14, 2005
Just want to share that my thoughts are sure with you these days. Keep fighting, sir ..... two motivations come to mind.

First and foremost, of course, is all of us around you find this world a much much better place because you're here. I'm afraid we'll all feel like you're cheating if you decide to take the easy way out and leave us with all the bullshit politics, back-stabbing, corporate-focused, creative-lacking stimuli that is our environment today. If WE have to deal with it, so do you --- so I'm afraid you have no choice but to endure the long haul with all the people around you who won't LET you give up all that easily.

Second is just LOOK at the state of the broadcast game today --- people realizing that just maybe it's something UNIQUE that drives people to want to connect with a station or a TV show or whatever. Maybe it's a CREATIVE element ... maybe it's something as simple as ENTERTAINMENT. Problem is, no one is left that knows how to do that stuff -- the players have all been groomed with today's executives as their mentors and it's a downward spiral. So, we NEED people who "get it" to remain available to show those who want to pick up the scraps and turn it into something vital and interesting again to show them how it's done. So, in other words, you still have a lot more work ahead of you that will leave a meaningful legacy that can only build and enhace the outstanding legacy you've created so far.


As I said .... my thoughts are with you. We don't have enough of the "good guys" left any more and I want to hang on to each and every one with a vengence!!!

All my best ... MUCH aloha.
Eric Dawes

9/15/05

Dear Lan,

I just read the latest message on your site. Please know that my prayers and good wishes are with you. I also know the power of laughter so I am sending along the joke below.

Hang in my friend. Lee Baby and I are rooting for you

I love you

Aloha,

Wally Amos (Famous Amos the chocolate chip cookie guy)



A lady walks into a Lexus dealership and browses
around. Suddenly she spots the most perfect, beautiful
car and walks over to inspect it. As she bends forward to feel the fine
leather upholstery, an unexpected little fart escapes
her. Very embarrassed, she anxiously looks around to
see if anyone has noticed and hopes a sales person
doesn't pop up right now.

As she turns back, there standing next to her is a
salesman. With a pleasant smile he greets her, "Good
day, Madame. How may we help you today?"

Trying to maintain an air of sophistication and acting as though
nothing had happened, she smiles back and asks, "Sir,
what is the price of this lovely vehicle?"

Still smiling pleasantly, he replies, "Madame, I'm
very sorry to say that if you farted just touching it,
you are gonna shit when you hear the price."

9/13/05

Hiya Lan...

Well the 40th Reunion went swingingly...here on Mercer Island.

I read your email to the group and many, many people came up to me and asked
me to pass their love and prayers on to you.

Apparently, you had a great affect on many people. Here is what one woman
emailed me today...

"PS: Give my best wishes to Lan Roberts from his big fan Diane
Katz!
I cannot imagine what my life ( and sense of humor) would have
been
like without his influence and input!"

People remembered Clydie, The Breakfast Pig. W.A.L. Street, Sr...and even
Manuel Labor, whom someone wondered if he was still selling sox on the
highway!!

I hope this puts a smile both on your face and in your heart.

~ Hairy ~

7/22/05

I agree with you Lan. The US Marine Corps contains a bunch of punch drunk assholes who will stick their head in a furnace of fire if ordered to do so. They are stupid and every day proves it.

PFC Joel Thomas former USMC Kaneohe.

Lan,
I continue to be amazed at your, sometimes before they happen, predictions and your insight on the political scheme of things. I hope in the future you might be able to write a Lantoon answering questions that your readers send you. I know that you answer your feedback email because you have answered me a couple of years ago and also 3 of my friends here in Hawaii who have written to you.
Good luck on your health problems and God bless.
Jeff-Kailua-Kona Hawaii July 11, 2005

Lanner, 7-11-05

Well it now appears that "Bush's Brain" may be flirting with an act of treason. It will be interesting just how the attack dog of the administration spins his own tail. Can you imagine how the administration would be reacting if say, oh I don't know, maybe Patty Murry had mentioned the name of a CIA agent to a reporter while making remarks to a reporter contrary to the Bush story de jour? It would appear that Carl Rove has so much power within the administation that he feels he can do anything. He may be right.
C.B.
Olympia

Lan,

I agree. Most of the people on radio and TV are not
the true 'pronouncers' as those we all admired and
aspired to be. One gal whose delivery I like is
Julie Chen, CBS.

Not until ten minutes ago did I know she had work
done. It seems to have paid off. She is reported to
have snagged the president of CBS in addition to her
two gigs on the air. [Early Show and Big Brother]

Another one I like is Jane Clayson, also CBS, who has
disappeared from the small screen. Not the vocal power-
house that Chen is, but lots of confidence and presence.
Maybe she went back to Salt Lake City to have babies.

P.B. Seattle

July 9, 2005

Hi Lan,

I just read your piece about the state of news on tv and radio today. Yes, I have always wondered about the diversity of news when AP gets much of their stuff from the local newspaper in each region. Going abroad does give us a much better perspective on other news sources. And now a lot of that is available on the internet (although sometimes difficult to hunt down).

On another subject. I am still experimenting with internet radio. Trying to find a niche that is artistic and also somewhat profitable. With the sad state of conventional broadcast radio today, do you think there’s much hope for alternatives like internet radio? I sense that satellite radio is making big gains.

Have you ever entertained the idea of cutting some voice tracks for radio?

Take care and best healthy wishes,

--Dan Packard The Portland Radio Guide, at http://www.pdxradio.com and Internet radio http://kusaradio.com

July 9, 2005

I believe that letter to Lan from "C.B. in Washington State" is written by Chuck Bolland. Try reading that to yourself with Chuck's memorable voice in your head, and maybe add a "and that's the way the ball bounces" at the end. Modern radio listeners in the Northwest are missing so much! Check out ReelRadio.com to hear airchecks of Lan and also of Larry Lujack in Seattle. I think at least one example of Chuck Bolland's unique broadcast editorial style can be found on those.
Bravo Chuck-- well written letter!
Gary W. in Tacoma

July 8, 2005

Lan,
I know the stated goal of the Bush administration is to give Iraq a democratic government. That is what he keeps telling us. That is a worthy goal, no matter what your opinion on how the administration is trying to carry this out. I just spent a couple of days with two Iraqi oil field workers who are members of an oil workers' union that was formed in 1940. Both of these guys spent time off and on in jail under Saddam Hussein because of their speaking out for workers' rights. So you might say maybe some good will come from the current mess. You might say that. However, it seems the the provisional government that is run by the United States has left the Saddam law of 1987 in effect that outlaws workers forming or belonging to a union. Funny how the U.S. hasn't gotten around to taking care of that and will not even say that it is a consideration. Not only that, but where these men are from, Basra, the unemployment rate is 70%. Now you would think that getting people back to work and earning a living would go a long way toward returning a normal life to Iraqis and cause the population to crack down on the urban guerrilla warfare. That would be right but it isn't happening. Our friends at Halliburton have the contract to run the oil fields. They got the contract, the value of which was partially determined by the cost of the labor. Great business people that they are, Halliburton has brought in workers from 3rd world countries who work for less and give them a bigger profit margin, all on the U.S. taxpayer. Of course, what we're also not being told is that this provisional government is being sold a bill of goods that if they want all the reconstruction money, they need to privatize thier oil fields. Right now the oil is a public resource with the royalities and production profits going into the country. You've noticed that a lot of those profits are missing?
It is my hope that anyone who reads this won't be surprised. After all, this was the plan all along. I am to the point that anyone who still supports Bush is either in on or approves of the greed or is just stupid. Beyond that, to me anyway, there is really nothing more to discuss.

C.B. Washington State

July 8, 2005

Lan,

Why is it that you think just because America has bumper stickers that say "God Bless America" that anyone in America is just saying that America should be the only one that is blessed? Could it be that we are proud of America and that we want God to Bless America? Just because Americans don't have bumper stickers that says "God Bless Iraq" or "God Bless England" that we are not wanting God to bless them. Did you ever think of that? Maybe we are proud to be Americans and love what the country stands for. What is so wrong with it anyway? No one in America has ever said that they don't want God to bless all kinds of places, that is your interpretation. Just because we don't wear it on our shirts or our bumper stickers does not mean that we don't think that, or even pray for that to happen. I was talking with people today and we were all wishing that their would just be peace. I wonder if the Taliban ever has any kind of stickers that says, "Allah bless America"?

What is arrogant about American Pride? I bet there are a lot of people that you know that have American Pride. I don't find a thing wrong with that. I am American and I am proud of it. Am I suppose to be American and want to hide the fact that I am American? I'm sorry that others are not American, but I bet people that live in Europe don't care that they are not American, they are proud to be from Europe. They have pride because they are Germans, or French, and it is ok that they say they are proud to be what they are, so what is wrong for us to be proud to be Americans?

I think it is amazing that terrorist blow up and kill innocent people in Europe and nothing is written about that. Why are they blowing up innocent people again?? What are those innocent people that got killed over in Europe doing? What did that boys mother or father do? They went to work this morning and were blown up. I wonder how that boy from Europe is going to feel all his life growing up with out a mother and father now? Shall we just give the terrorist the entire world? Are all of us American's suppose to be unhappy that we are from America? Are we just suppose to give America to them and let them call it Iraq or Afghanistan, better yet, lets call it the home of the Muslims. Muslim pride. Allah bless Muslim land.
Yeah it would be great if we could all find a way to live together, but it has not ever happened and it will never happen. That's the sad part. I would love God to bless everybody, and for us all to live in peace and so would most of the people that I know. So it is nice to see your opinion on this issue of the bumper stickers, but I don't find a problem with it.
It's great to see you writing and getting your feelings out there, great writer I think, but I don't always agree with it. :)

I hope you are not mad cause I stood up and said something about your editorial. You have some great points there about Bush and I do agree with you on some things, but I have to stand up for America. I do wonder when the draft will be reinstated myself. So I agree with you in plenty of places.

Aloha from the land of blue green water and palm trees, with sweet smelling flowers and kisses on the cheeks from leis.
MUWAHHH
Karen

July 3, 2005

Hi Lan,

Your observations about the space program are certainly valid. I would
argue a couple of different points, however. The manned program is
really a waste. You don't get much bang for your buck and the costs
increase at an astronomical rate when you have to take human safety in
to account. I'd scrap manned space travel in a heartbeat. The series of
orbiters, probes and rovers are relatively "cheap" and they satisfy
some human curiosity and employ thousands of workers doing really cool
stuff that isn't going to be used to blow up other human beings. The
second point I'd make is if I really believed the congress would use
the money saved for useful purposes I'd be right behind you. But if you
think they'd suddenly divert any savings to education or welfare, or to
find a cure for cancer or birth defects I'm afraid you're living in a
dream world. You know the money would go to committee members favorite
pork barrel or the Department of Defense rathole. It was great food for
thought though. Take care.

George Strausser
Lynnwood, WA

July 2, 2005

Mr. Roberts
Who is JWC? Hows the armadillo caper playing out? Was wondering if You caught the drift on the pentagon ramping up on student lists at high schools and universities? Hmmmm!, did'nt lonesome w mention over and over again that there was to be no draft? But was'nt that before the bastard was re-hatched as Gods mouthpiece for the second term? I'm tellin You, this bastard scares the be-jeezus out of Me. These neandrethals are, w and his other cadre of heavies, moving us down the road to world war three! Europe is getting beat up by this lame world economy crap that has been endorsed by all the so called major players. Of course so has the U.S. We are paying for a war no one wants by getting China to loan us the money to continue the bush folly. I still can hear the words uttered by the real thug in this scenario, george senior. It had this "new world order "mantra attached to it. Right away the warning lights came on in My mind. Right away I knew these low lives were up to no good! But then Bill Clinton took over. Tall cotten for America. Everybody had a gig. That ended when the toad from Texas took over. He IS NOT looking out for any of us! He is looking out for big oil. This is shaping up as the final push for the quest for control of same. That is what worries Me! It's the American people who must stand up and tell this puppet that his run is over. The Americans who must stop this slide toward imminent engagement. If We do'nt stand up to bellicose attitudes from within the administration, these mongers will try to start some sort of action that could easily ramp up into something they ca'nt stop. America got lucky in world war two. Thats all it was , luck! Lets not take chances with another generation of young men and women. Stop the mongers at all costs. Stop them because if You do'nt, when they come to get Your kid to use as cannon fodder, You'll have no one to blame but Yourself!
Tim in Woodinville
P.S. hope You will be chemo free for the fourth.
Good will always!

July 1, 2005

Forget Siskel and Ebert, it should be Lanbo and Dano, tellin it like it is.

I haven't been doin much e-mail lately, but I think about you and wonder how you're doin walkin that lonely path of Kemo and the reality of every day bein a blessing just to wake up. I try to make it a point of catching your editorials, one of my must reading things I try to do every day. I'm always in awe that your still bangin out the ed's and I should respond more, but my response is usually the same,,,Right fuckin on,,,,you nail it 99 percent of the time. You wrote some really good ones recently about chicks, and relationships, and friends and one really got to me about how people, even close friends kind of ignore you when you're sick, and I realized I might seem to appear to be ignoring you, but I'm not. In my mind I read your ed's and think about em and agree and sort of have this conversation in my head with you. Unfortunately you have no idea unless someone actually writes a response and lets you know. Be it Sagitarian laziness, or lacadazical procrastination or just busy, I don't know, but I think about you alot and hope you're doing o.k. From the sounds of your ed's your doing what real writers do,,,write, consistenly and not just rambling, its good reading. The July 1 one is so true, and I'm so tired of hearing the big studios bitching about how viewership is down,,,its their own fault for making such suck ass poor excuses for movies,,, remakes that suck, half of em for a retarded mentality audience, oh man dont get me started. The Day the Earth stood still.....now that was a fuckin movie....,,, 99 percent of the hype and all the bullshit just gets me so #%@&&+>? see ,,there I go, and then theres bush and the war and veterans standing in long lines for medical care, and recruiters like leaches hangin out at high schools lookin for fresh meat....don't get me started god dammit
whew,,,,,,take a deep breath,,,relax,,,maybe thats why I dont respond to your ed's....cause I'd just start blowing steam....

But keep up the good work,,,even tho it provokes simple minded folks like me....
Hey did you ever get a chance to rent that movie,,,"Telling lies in America" ?? Good movie,,,I could smell the jock booth, it seemed so real....anyway....All well at this end of the dial. I think.,..sure glad I quit smokin once and for all...I sure enjoyed it while it lasted but it sure is one stupid fuckin habit,,,addiction. Big tobacco companies oughta,,,,wait a minute dont get me started.....man Lan.

Every Sunday I look at the want ads in the paper and go to R for radio just out of habit. This time there was an ad for KMPS looking for a talent for morning team with Ichabod Caine. Don Riggs does the news on the wake up crew....He's been there since it was KOL,
.They are owned by Infinity,,,they have 5 stations including KZOK in real nice studios overlooking Lake Union. Anyway for shits and giggles I sent em a tape and resume, chick named Becky Brenner is the PD., shes a singer and has a band and sounds good when she fills in on the air. ..anyway, who knows,,,I dont even know why I sent the tape,,,just to see if I get any response I guess. I guess its like hitting on a chick, just to see if you still got it....anyway....Leah's good, limo is still happening, and I'm still schloggin thru a bunch of tests on my kidneys got some kind of a cyst on one, and was peein blood for awhile....who knows,,,as Gilda Radner said,,,"its always somethin" Goin up to Sedro Wooley for the 4th of July weekend, I'll give you a call after the 4th just to chat. I hope your sagittarian luck is holdin out with your health. Say hi to the Dansta for me.
And keep them ed's a comin, you're a good writer. Hey...you oughta think about writin a book, man that would be a good read.

Cheers brother. JWC-Seattle

July 1, 2005

July1, 2005
Hey Lan,

I liked War of the Worlds movie. I agree it didn't have much acting in it, but I thought the little girl made the movie more believable, she screamed her head off in that movie, and though I don't like screaming like that, it made the movie more real to me and the ones I watched it with. We all enjoyed it. I did not see the original so maybe there is the difference. I did not really no what the movie was going to be about other than aliens and I enjoyed it. The ending could have been much better, that was toooooo fake to me, but on the whole I would give it a 3 star rating. Thought it much better than the Star War movie.
Karen-Hawaii

June 21, 2005

Lan

I have enjoy many of Tom Cruise's early movies, my beef with him was his verbal attack at Brooke Shields for taking drugs to ease her depression. Shields, according to what I had read had been on the edge of suicide after the birth of her baby. If anything, she should have been applauded for seeking help. So many people do not. As far as the crap he gets for his actions on Oprah, remember that in the entertainment industry they so there is no such thing as bad publicity. I think there should be more publicity on what is happening in DC and the lack of accountability in the White House.
On the subject of summer popcorn movies, avoid "Monster-IN-Law, where Jane Fonda attempts to appease a Republican movie going public by casting herself as a total bitch! You know Jennifer Lopez has absolutely no talent.

Mr And Mrs Smith would be the movie to see. It is as funny as it is inplausible, the chemistry between Brad and Angelina. I think Angelina is an actress for the ages with her beauty, and physical prowess.

Mike Barer

June 21, 2005

Great write up on McCartney's performance. The Beatles were definitely the whole package, talent creativity and originality--and they stood for something.

Mike B

June 17, 2005

Thank you Lan for a response that I completly endorse. Jim Hightower is a very witty man and can entertain and inform you for the better part of an hour in person. You can only imgine the stories he has on Bush having once held elective office in Texas. His venture into radio, however, fell flat. You have to see the man and feel his downhome presentation and his good 'ol boy approach to really engage with him. That never came across on radio.

Chuck Bolland-Olympia, Wa.

---------------

June 17, 2005

Like him or lump him Rush Limbaugh, years ago in the early 90's, made the statement that he did what he did to rile his audience and cause some talk-Lan
_______________________________________________________________________
As most of you know, Rush was a Top 40 jock for years....if you listen to him you can just hear him "working" the audience...and as Lan mentioned, Rush admits to pulling peoples chains to get a reaction. He just uses politics instead of music to do his show....and it works. I admire him not for his political philosophy but for his entertainment ability...he has certainly found what works for him.

Stan Foreman-Washington

June 17, 2005

Your 6/16/05 article on "bullshit" reminded me of the recent 60 MInutes segment on the very same book. Only in the 60 Minutes piece, they neither said nor showed the actual term "bullshit". Now, in years past (i.e., pre-Janet Jackson tittie incident and congressional reaction thereto) NYPD Blue used the term at least once a week for a whole season. But those sissies at CBS Viacom chose to engage in self censorship rather than risk the wrath of Bill Frist and his religious right cronies. 60 Minutes has indeed fallen on hard times.

At least we can still rely on good old Lan to call bullshit bullshit and not b*&^#%$t!

David Leshner, Bellevue WA

June 12, 2005

Lan,

On page 167 of the NO CHILD LEFT A DIME ACT there is a provision that in
order to retain federal funding schools must provide personal contact
information the school has on all of the students to military recruiters.
There is an opt out provision, but they won't vouluteer it to you. You had
to know about this more than two years ago to protect your kids.

Some freedom-hating evil-doer in Seattle caught it at the beginning and made
a stink, but I guess it didn't make it to Atomic Bonham. See what you get
for not reading absolutely everything ever written ?

Phil B.-Seattle

June 12, 2005

Hey Lan, just a heads-up... the microwave links don't work because "microwave" is spelled "micowave".

Scary stuff!

There is a very simple way to lessen the obvious hazards microwaves pose to our health...

A simple, old-fashioned, low-tech idea called... COOKING!

You get fresh ingredients and boil, fry or bake them.

Remember when we used to do that? It does take a little longer... but it still works... and the food is actually good for you!

Aloha from Canada,

Biff (oooops, Lan...sorry bout that)

June 12, 2005

Hey Lan,
This is Jim Wolfe. I've been in the music biz in Seattle all my life. Back in the 60's I played with Tom Thumb and the Casuals, and I was recently told that some of our old records are out on cd, so I bought one. It's called N.W. Battle of the Bands Volume Two, and has 25 cuts from lots of bands back in the day.

You were credited with production (along with Jerry Dennon, Gil Bateman and Jon Bailey). I thought, what the hell has that man been up to, and of course with the internet, you're just a click away. Good to see some of those old photos--you dredged up some good memories for me.

Anyway, that's about it. Those were good days, and it looks like these days are good ones for you too.
Keep Rockin'
Jim

(Here are some important micorwave links that Jim passed along that are well worth reading:

http://www.unhinderedliving.com/microwave.html

also:

http://chetday.com/microwave.html

Please take time to check them out and thanks to Jim Wolfe of Seatle for passing this on to us.

Lan (the micorwave reference was regarding my editorial on an experiment done on cooking in a micorwave and it's danger)

-------------------------------------------

June 11, 2005

Ahhhh, the patriot act. I see little georgies brown shirts are making sure that only their voice is heard. An article in the Seattle paper this morning stated that a representative of the republican party turned off the mikes of people talking about re appointing the goood old patriot act. The name alone scares Me coming from the political "design build team" of herr bush and the rest of his oil monarchy thugs. The person who turned off the mikes was again "incenced" that anyone would not see the genius in torture. Thats torture in Guantanamo and torture for hire in any country where the boys can send their wayward wards to be pummeled for cash. Our tax dollars at work! Remember when people fought for a reason and not a concept generated by special interests? Is there not a difference between someone wanting to attack Your soil with an army of people who are bent on changing Your world and Your ideologies and a bunch of oil barons looking to mop up the last vestiges of black gold and hiding behind false pretences of DEMOCRATIZING people on the other side of the world?

Remember "New world order"? Remember "Family values"? These clowns will put any crazy notion that their advisors endorse in front of You and tell You that Your a dork if You do'nt follow their edicts. Remember when john Q. public laughed georgie senior and his quack advisor who came up with "family values" right out of the White house! Little georgie's house of cards is coming apart. If Your involved in the stock market, Yours is too! Jesus folks, don't You remember snake oil salesmen? Wise up and lose this Enron lovin, job losin, creation!

P.S. Did You know that Mr. Roberts is now a contributor to the magazine "The Nation"? A bona fida "letter to the editor " author who was published a few weeks ago regarding "Air America" and the like on radio! What a guy!

Tim in Woodinville

June 8, 2005

Lan, Regarding your note on the sudden shift in billions of dollars the tobacco industry has been sued here's the story:

$10 Million & the Great Tobacco Capitulation of 2005
In 2001, then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales told CNN that "the White House
drives a lot of policy on issues that affect the tobacco industry" and that "we want to "
with Big Tobacco. The industry took the hint: over the next five years, of campaign cash
at the Republican Party in an effort to define what "cooperation" really means. And we
see the fruits of their labor today: the Bush administration has announced it has the
amount the government is seeking in damages from the industry for its efforts to deceive
the public about the dangers of smoking.

This is one of the most egregious examples of pay to play - one that shocked even the
industry itself. "We were very surprised," said Dan Webb, lawyer for Altria Group's
Philip Morris USA and the coordinating attorney in the case. "They've gone down from
$130 billion to $10 billion with absolutely no explanation. It's clear the government hasn't
thought through what it's doing." Meanwhile, "the Justice Department offered little
explanation."

I'll give you the explanation: The Bush administration is setting a new legal precedent that
says if you are an industry that has lied to America and caused vast damage to our health
care system, all you have to do is cut a nice fat check to the Republican Party, and
suddenly, your troubles are over. You can bet President Bush and Attorney General
Gonzales are lighting up a big, tobacco-stuffed stogie to celebrate their move.
David Sirota-Oregon

June 2, 2005

Mr. and Mrs. Embarrassment!
Now that President George W. Bush is in his second term as President and
cannot be re-elected, his true colors are beginning to show. Both George
and his wife, Laura, are becoming a great embarrassment to our country. At
a recent gathering of the press corps and the Washington power elite,
Laura Bush made some very unsavory and even obscene comments. Laura Bush
said that on a typical night she would be watching the program Desperate
Housewives, and that because her husband goes to bed early, she has become
a desperate housewife herself. She went on to say that Lynn Cheney, two
female Supreme Court Justices, and she would go to clubs featuring male
strippers. Mrs. Bush also made a comment about bestiality that is so vile
and repulsive that I cannot print it in this newsletter. (27) It was all
passed off as a joke, but even if these things are not true, they should
never have been said. Only low-life people with no class at all would say
such things. Where is the respect and dignity
for the high offices they hold?

Recently, President Bush traveled to Russia, and referring to that trip,
the New York Post featured the following headline: “Comrade Dubya Paints
Town Red.” The sad fact is that our President went to Moscow’s Red Square
and saluted the goose-stepping troops carrying banners of Lenin and
hammer-and-sickle flags. (28) We must remember that the word salute
according to Webster’s Dictionary means to greet, kiss, honor formally,
and pay tribute. Our President has disgraced this nation and his office as
he saluted the red hammer-and-sickle flag, which symbolizes the death of
millions of people and the tyranny of Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Khrushchev,
and others of that ilk. That vile communist flag also represents atheism,
and those who think our President is a Christian had better think again!

27. New York Daily News, May 3, 2005, by Kenneth R. Bazinet, New York, NY.
28. New York Post, May 10, 2005, by Deborah Orin, New York, NY.
Michael-Washington

May 31, 2005

Lan
I wound up watching some of the contest since my wife likes to watch. I am glad Miss Uncle Sam didn't win because I did not like her look. She looked like a snobby Republican. I was pulling for Miss Israel who made one of the cuts but I though the prettiest were from the Latin American countries, any way half way through the pagaent, I stopped watching so I did not realize Miss Canada was the winner, she was pretty and I thought by her look that she was French Canadian. Congrats for picking the winner.
Mike-Wasington State

Lan,

I'm glad sombody finally had the guts to call certain women what they really are and your word, although hated by most women, certainly describes some of them to a tee. I think it's only when you have been burned royally by a woman, although no fault of your own, can anybody understand what it really means to be backed in the corner, defenceless, and having to take what is to come down.

Bob J.-Honolulu

May 26, 2005

Great Lantoon there Lan regarding a C word. I also love that word to describe certain women who fit into that category. I was jerked around by my ex wife while in the service only to return home and find out that she had been balling my best friend and planning to marry him. I was never unfaithful to her and the kids seemed to adore me. Her MO was to turn them against me and that hurt more than anything. I could deal with her whoring around. It was a surprise of course but I didn't realize the links she would to getting the kids to hate me. There was no reason for them to all of a sudden start hating me but there it was out of the blue. That's what broke my heart and will be burned in my heart for a long time. The court gave her the kids (3, 2boys and a girl), the house, and 3/4 of my bank account plus I got visits two times a month on the weekend. Talk about turning into Uncle Daddy which is what happens in such circumstances. A dad ceases to be a dad and becomes an uncle when this happens and it's easy to see why some ex-husbands go berserk when they get scewed over like this, like you said by some no good bitch.

John Ridgeway-Portland, Oregon

May 24, 2005

We are taught so much bullshit masquerading as history in school that it is not even funny. I learned about the Muslim culture through a book exploring religion at my Grandmother's house. I think it started when I wanted to know why Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
When my wife's nursing home was featured on TV for the lost dog story, a couple months ago, it gave me an idea of how we should trust TV news. There were reenactments of video. Reporters coaxing people's emotion and doctoring of the facts, so while we know that reality shows are manipulated to fit TV's demand for dramatics, it is also present in newscasts as well.

Mike B-Washington State

May 21, 2005

Gosh, Lan, it seems like the religious right mudsharks are at it again. It would also seem that theres a direct connection with the high priest of stupidity, georgie w! Theres this guy named dr. hager. One hooked up bozo, kinda like little georgie. One must remember where little georgie would be without daddy! Anyway, this w.david hager is a true cornholing cronie of the far right. Just ask his ex wife. The whole story is in the May 30th. edition of the nation. His wife was going to keep a lid on his sexual proclivities until he started to wax poetic about their defunct marriage on the pulpit. The hell of it is, her srory was nothing like his. Sexual abuse that lasted decades never came up in his pious rap! Only her failure as a wife. She then took offense and went public with her story. I know the outcome will shock You! The ex husband refused comment when quarried by the press! This must be the one time when an evangelical blowhard wont step up to the plate and spill that big plate of beans right on himself. He will however, write several books about how women are to take care of their bodies and minds. Some of these books were actually co written by the then husband and wife. But hey, a guy's needs change and a guy must have what a guy wants. So they drifted apart and the good doctor found his appendage engorged night after night and it needed appeasement. So rather than battle with the little woman, he took to controlling her on a cash basis. The rest of this tale need not be told , it's self explanitory. Suffice to say that this hack works for Our education president as something of an advisor. In closing, I noticed You, Mr. Roberts, ralating the story of our recruit team visiting Garfield High school in Seattle. Did You know that they can legally do this because of a direct result of a rider attached to the patriot act? Our only hope out of this nightmare is to change the addage about a plastic Jesus. You do have to worry when you crash if your a self serving muck raker evangelical parasite, when you've got a plastic Jesus on your dash!Keep kicking those gingoist bastards right where it hurts Lan! We're right next to You!

Tim in Woodinville, Washington

May 20, 2005

(A couple of years ago through the radio personality site in Hawaii I was checking to see what happened to an old friend of mine who was one of my radio heros in the early days. His name was Graham Richards and he was the national program director for Todd Storz Radio in the early 60's. What a creative guy. I learned a lot from him and he encouraged creativity like you wouldn't believe. Well to make a long story short his daughter got in touch with me and told me that Graham had died about a decade or so ago in Arizona. A great loss to creative radio for sure.
I have kept in touch with her and discovered that she is one of those precious few who has made it a life purpose to help those who need help. I am posting her recent email to me in hopes that others will develop heartfelt desires to give their lives to helping others....L.R.)

Hey Lan, thanks for the mail.

I am getting ready to go to Zimbabwe. My place of employment ran out of funds for my position and I was a bit panicked because I had no offers. Then quite out of the blue, I was contacted by the Centers for Disease Control office in Zimbabwe about a fellowship there. They heard of me through someone. They have an HIV/AIDS behavior change project.

I will leave around May 31 and back July 17th +/- and then I will go back aug 17 +/-
and stay for a year + when I first go it will be to take care of work permits, finding a place to live etc. They are bringing me out for that purpose, paying all expenses for travel, housing, and living.

I will get a very good salary in USA dollars into my USA account. Plus benefits such as travel to and from Zimbabwe for me and my family, moving expenses both ways, etc.

Then when I return to zimbabwe (Zim) I will be working. I hope I get the work permit, other wise my hopes will be dashed.

You and the kids must come and visit me there once I get settled in. How free are you at X-mas, etc? Hope you don't mind the lights and water not working half the time, well, it makes it more of an adventure! :>))

Just make sure you bring a bag of sugar, a bottle of cooking oil, matches, and a flashlight that you can charge! I just bought one of those flashlights. It has a crank shaft and a life long battery you recharge by using the hand crank. Perfect for Zimbabwe! In the mean time, you will have to send me "CARE" packages : > ))

Kim Richards-California

May 16, 2005

Hi Lan,

Bill made a copy of your CD radio show and gave it to me. I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet, but you know I will and will get back to you as well.

Read your Lantoon today, everyone needs the sparks to make it perfect. You have had a million and one ladies in your life. Couldn't be that you are a little difficult now could it? And you had a lady that never stopped telling you she loved you and you left. Oh well such is life. Looks like I am not the only one (surprise surprise) that loves to see your inside feelings that you try to hide, and which I always knew were there only you didn't let them out very often. Where is Michael Franks these days anyway? That stirred some good ones up in you.

Love ya,
Karen-Honolulu

May 15, 2005

I was up early this morning and just read your latest Lantoon. Thanks for letting your devoted listeners and followers know so many of your deep feelings about life and things. The Creativity editorial gives me a lot of insight on what's inside your heart. God bless you Lan and I hope and pray you will be around for many years to come.

Beverly Larson-(ex Seattlelite now in California)

May 8, 2005

Morning Lan,

What a great tribute to your mom and dad. I know it was meant for your mom, but how proud she is knowing that you put your dad in there as well and rememberd him. That was a gift in itself.
I love seeing this part of you, I knew it was always there, from little things that you would say, but never could quite get down far enough to find all of that in you. It is coming out now, and I love it. This has all of your family in here and I know she would love this too. Your mom was very beautiful too! Thanks for sharing it all with us.

Love ya,
Karen-Hawaii

May 7, 2005
I'm from TX, and left the Baptists in Jan 2001. The pressure to vote Republican is severe and pervasive. On several occasions, people told me to my face that they thought you weren't a real Christian if you voted for Democrats. The last straw was when Richard Land spoke in favor of Ashcroft's nomination as Attorney General, and said he was speaking for ALL Southern Baptists. I wrote Dr. Merritt, President of the SBC at the time, and told him Richard Land had no business speaking for me. I told Dr. Merritt about the harrassment I had received in my own church due to my political beliefs, and asked him if there was still a place for me in the SBC, or if I would be happier someplace else. He actually wrote back and said I would probably be happier in another denomination. I wish I had saved that letter--at the time, I was so angry I just tore it up. The SBC has become a "Republican worshipping" cult, rather than an evangelical Christian denomination.

Sue

May 5, 2005

"Impossible??.....No it’s really happening. The runaway bride Jessica Simpson uhhh
Wilbanks (sorry bout that) just got cold feet that’s all. Poor little thing. Just leave
her alone she didn’t know any better. Bull sh*t. "

HAHAHAHAHAHA so true, she knew better it is BS that she didn't know. The vows were hilarious. hahahaa now come on that is enough reason to run away. LOL

Very well written and I get to see how you really feel about these issues. Enjoyed reading it Lan.

Beautiful day here in paradise. Hope it is nice where you are.
Love ya,
Karen-Honolulu

May 4, 2005

Good Morning Lan,

Good article on Mad Cow, man oh man, are your really hot these days with your Ed"s !!!, Good on you,keep up the great job!

Am wondering if you are familiar with Howard Lyman, his involvement with the early mad cow disaster in England, then his appearance on Oprah's show ( http://www.madcowboy.com/01_BookOP.000.html ) and the lawsuit from the Beef Industry, this is another incredible story that seems to get only back inside coverage in the daily rags, if that! Why? Doesn't the media have some responsibility to the public?, guess not, or is it because of fear and intimidation from powerfulful sources in the higher echelon, the power brokers themselves, or what I've heard referred to as the "Unseen Hand"! it's almost spooky!!!

http://www.madcowboy.com/


Lord Bless,
Michael

May 4, 2005

Lan, I just read your Mad Cow report. You must have just published it because 30 minutes ago you had another Lantoon running. You have really been hitting the nails on their heads recently. I have always considered myself a moderate and vote Republican most of the time but this big business thing about taking over America has my shorts tied in a knot to say the least. I did some research about a year ago on the likeness between Mad Cow and Alzheimer's Disease and you are right about how much they are alike. Many could be one in the same as you mentioned.

I am a small business man and although Republicans have promised the world I can no longer afford to help my employees with their medical insurance. Your editorial a month or so ago about Dick's Drive In from Seattle and Gene Autry's radio stations helping their employees with good pay, insurance and a good working environment is something that all American businessmen should strive for. It seems that many businesses have forgotten what employee loyalty is all about and how much it makes a business great whether large or small. Keep up the good work with those Lantoons. You are right about Bush being an embarrassment to many of us Republicans.

Ralph C. Latrell-Tacoma, Wa.

May 3, 2005

You are what you read.

1. The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.

2. The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.

3. The New York Times is read by people who think they should run
the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.

4. USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run
the country but don't really understand The New York Times.
They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.

5. The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn't mind running
the country -- if they could find the time -- and if they didn't have
to
leave Southern California to do it.

6. The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the
country and did a far superior job of it, thank you very much.

7. The New York Daily News is read by people who aren't too sure
who's running the country and don't really care as long as
they can get a seat on the train.

8. The New York Post is read by people who don't care who's running
the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably
while intoxicated.

9. The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another
country but need the baseball scores.

10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren't sure there
is a country...or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose
all
that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the lleaders
are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to
be illegal aliens from any other country or galaxy provided,
of course, that they are not Republicans.

11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery
store.

12. None of these are read by the guy who is running the country into
the ground.


Hairy Alper-Seattle

April 29, 2005

Lan,

With the economy slowing, wages stagnant, the Republican Congress stained by scandal and his poll numbers plummeting, George W. Bush called only the fourth press conference of his presidency to stanch the hemorrhaging. "I have a duty as the president," he said, "to define the problems facing the nation and to call upon people to act." What are those problems? Social Security benefits are too high and must be cut? Oil and gas subsidies are too low and must be raised? No wonder more and more Americans are beginning to think this president is part of the problem and not the solution.

The staggering failure of leadership was most apparent in what the president chose not to talk about—the economy. This economy is in trouble. Wages are not keeping up. Four years into the supposed recovery and Mr. Bush's plan has produced a net loss of private sector jobs. The dollar is falling but our trade deficits and foreign debt keep growing. We're borrowing over $2 billion a day, largely from China and Japan, to buy the goods they make with the jobs our corporations are taking there. This cannot be sustained.

Mr. Bush's answer for the economy? A stirring call for "legal reform" starting with passage of the asbestos bill, "an important reform in order to make sure that our economy continues to grow." He also called for keeping the tax cuts in place and continuing his feckless trade strategy by ratifying the Central American Free Trade Accord. This is a bad joke. CAFTA and asbestos reform do not address the perils facing our economy. The president is literally blind to this fundamental threat to this nation's security and prosperity. If his "duty as president" is to identify problems facing the nation and call people to act, his failure here is complete.

The president wasn't much better on the two subjects he did choose to address. On Social Security, the president offered a warmed-over stew of distortions and dodges. With the retirement of the baby boomers, America faces a serious, long-term fiscal challenge. But Social Security isn't the problem. Even if nothing is done, Social Security will meet the president's standard of paying out higher benefits in the future than are received today. Soaring Medicare and Medicaid costs are the major problem, an expression of our broken health care system. The president's only significant initiative in regard to this 'right now' crisis has been to make it worse— passing a prescription drug bill that prohibited Medicare from negotiating a lower price for drugs, a multi-billion dollar payoff to drug companies and HMOs.

While Social Security isn't in crisis, the president's plan would create one. He disparages the Treasury bonds held by the Social Security Trust Fund as simply "file cabinets full of IOUs." Then he proposes issuing another $15 trillion of those IOUs over 40 years—effectively tripling the national debt—to pay for private accounts. The president describes this as a boon to younger workers. But they will end up paying the interest on that debt, while suffering deep cuts in their guaranteed benefits. The only certain results of the president's plan are more seniors in poverty and more debt for the nation.

On energy, the divide between the president's rhetoric and his program grows ever wider. He calls for a comprehensive energy strategy, but offers a program laden with subsidies to oil, gas and nuclear producers, largely cobbled together in secret meetings with oil and gas industry lobbyists run by Dick Cheney. The president calls for energy independence, but offers a program that leaves us more dependent on foreign oil.

Here the crisis is real. We desperately need a president who will summon the country to launch a crash program on energy independence. Invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency. Mobilize American science and technology to make certain that we capture the green markets of the future. The Apollo initiative for new energy and good jobs for America—named after the John F. Kennedy-era Apollo program that put a man on the moon in 10 years after Kennedy issued the challenge to the country—outlines a $30 billion a year, 10-year program that will produce three million new jobs here at home while freeing America from its dependence on Persian Gulf oil. It stands in stark contrast with the president's failure of vision and leadership.

Most Americans like George Bush. His party controls both houses of Congress. His right-wing allies have built the most effective propaganda machine in the history of American politics. His administration is more disciplined about message than any in memory. But now the wheels are falling off. Americans are sensibly alarmed about the direction of the country. And in last night's press conference, Mr. Bush demonstrated clearly that they have every reason to be so.

R.L. Borosage

-------------------------------------

April 29, 2005

Lan,

Firstly, did you Chemo yesterday? How you feeling?

You hit the nail on the head with your take on Bush... I don't know what it is about the guy, but I feel uncomfortable while watching him.... he is like an elementary school kid trying to explain to us what we already know.... infact, while I was watching him, I find I'm turning channels because I find him embarrassing, then to think that this guy is the leader of the strongest Nation in the world..... oh my, am I the only one who feels this way?.....I can only say I'm glad he is in his last term...

Now Lan, the interesting thing is, will the law be changed to allow Arnold to run for President in 2008.... some may laugh at that prospect, yet I believe it was on 60 minutes over a year ago, Bob Shiffer was interviewing him, asked if he would run for President in 2008, then in the next breath said, but you can't because the law states the President must be a US citizen, Arnie snapped back, but you guys can change those laws, or words to that effect.....

Lan, I believe we are indeed in the end times, so many things coming down, it's like the stage is being set.... will elaborate in time.....

must run for now Lan,
Thanks,
Lord Bless,
Michael
----------------------------
April 29 2005

Comments from Michael Easton:
Hi Lan, enjoyed your ed this am, one correction, KJR FM isn't
going Jack, 96.5 has......
Lord Bless,Michael-Seattle
(thanks Michael...several people tipped me to a format change last week and one of them thought the Jack Off FM format was going to KJRfm)

April 28, 2005

Lan Lan the chemo man,,,,
How ya doin buddy? Got a kick outa the phone messages. But got a bigger hit outa your April 25th editorial.
You are so right about it being an addiction and not a habit. That was a good piece and reinforces my will to stay quit.
Even tho I still have smoking dreams, I smoked a whole pack of PallMall in my sleep the other night. It really is an addiction in every sense of the word. Feels good to be free of it. Hope all is well with the Bonham bunch. It was good talking to you awhile back. I hope the chemo is keeping the big C at bay. Sorry about the abscence of communication from my end. This getting old is getting old,,, but I guess it beats the alternative....cheers.....

Rusty Sprinkle....J.W.C.-Seattle

April 24, 2005

Thanks bud... just passed the FIVE YEAR smoke free banner a week back... THANKS for opening my eyes to the evil that was/is tobacco! I've saved almost $10K US... and more than 60% of that was tax!

Keep smilin'... cheers, Biff-Vancouver B.C.

April 25, 2005
Lan,I've been meaning to write for a couple of days to tell you how much I enjoyed the one about the new miracle medicine .That is the best laugh I have had in quite some time. I printed it out for Oscar,because he doesn't like to read anything off the computer. Thanks for making my day.Keep up the good work. Hope you are feeling better

Pat-Texas

April 23, 2005

Hi Lanner,

Just read the hilarious post you had on the Damitall, that is classic you. Great writing and funny stuff. I love all the side effects. LOL No one does that like you do, no one!
I liked the little kittyin the pool too. I wish my kitty was that good in water.

How are you feeling?

love ya,
Karen-Honolulu

April 21, 2005

Pope Benedict is charismatically challenged to say the least. His doctrine is very close to JPII though and I do not forsee any immediate changes in what will probably be a pretty short reign. You know a whole generation has grown up to adulthood since JPII assumed the Papacy, younger people must be saying "wierd! A Pope with only one name!" That depends on this generations concept of history.
This will be the 6th Pope of my lifetime, Paul is the oldest one that I can remember. My earliest memory or when I first heard of the Pope was after JFK was assasinated.

Mike B-Seattle

April 19, 2005

Lan,

Believe me there are many men of God that agree with Jim Wallis book "God's Politics". Thanks for your review and letting those who think they are not religious if they are not Republicans be recognized. There are many of us out here with values that go beyond the hot button issues of the Republican Right Wing.

God Bless

Rev. Paul Cartwright-Washington State

----------------

April 18, 2005

Hey Mr. Roberts,
Just sent You an article by Alexander Cockburn. See if You recognize any names. Maybe some m.o.s? It's raining and cold here but spring shows itself every now and again.
I happened to be reading an article about the demise of one Hunter S. Thompson. Came across a passage by Jann Wenner. It said something to the effect that w. winning the second term was the turning point for Hunter. The utter despair felt by one of America's foremost crazies, was too much. Of course there was the booze and drugs which did'nt help but neither did the fear factor. All of us who have lived long enough know what a truly insidious tool fear is can relate. This is a tool of fascist self serving low lives who only have one agenda, themselves! Just wish I could come up with some way to quell the mind numbing anguish that some people feel about current affairs. Wish I could tell them that You have nothing to fear as long as We as a nation, lay down arms and manifest destiny notions so that others in this world will see the people of the fifty states for what they are. We are just people of the world. People who want to belong to a world, not a new world order. Did You ever notice how this administration uses the word nationalism? They profoundly tell You about nationalism when it pertains to the protection of Our shores. They get kind of quiet when they use nationalism in a sentence that has anything to do with jobs. If it was'nt so damn scary, it would be funny. The man on the street ca'nt afford to pay his taxes but somehow getting a deal at wal mart far outweighs an inability to make a working wage. Bill Clinton sure knew how to make this country hum. Theres a ton of things We could be doing to better ourselves and this country. Instead We're supposedly trying to make a country in the Persian Gulf see the attributes of democracy. My last point is the most dangerous of the lot. We are borrowing money from China so fast We are becoming a debtor nation. Yet they tell us that We as a people borrow too much and owe too much! . I guess it's bad to be a communist, but not to borrow from them. It's bad to be a communist but not when it comes to using their slave labor. The time is fast approaching when the mavens of wall street will have to tell Us what We already knew. This de nationalization crap just does'nt work. Woops, sorry, another screed ! Started out as a simple message and look what happened!
Oh well, I hope You enjoy the Cockburn piece.
Tim in Woodinville
Story on Prozac can be found at:

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050418&s=cockburn

April 16, 2005 (regarding my complaint about Fox News and Crossfire right wingers not allowing people to finish their thoughts or sentences)

Lan,

Do You happen to remember a guy that was on cnn around about he time Tipper was trying to shaft Frank Zappa? (Frank on a bad day outweighed Tipper mentally by a wide margin) And I like Tipper! But back to the question. I remember, and this was a long time ago, a guy named Tom Braden. In My minds eye, that was the last time television even thought of allowing a liberal view to exist. He was more or less even tempered . Especially when juxtaposed next to William Saffire and His ilk. The conservatives talked over everyone even back then. I believe the name of the show was Crossfire. There is a proceedure for the intermingling of opposing view's and I find no humor in it's name Ha Ha! But there is a way ,however man made that works quite well. EXCUSE THE UNINTEDED PUN,it's called the Roberts Rules of Order. Maybe You've heard of it. It allows for well behaved human beings to converse straight up. Using common diction and just a small amount of manners. Why do'nt You ask in an open letter to all conservatives, if they have ever heard of these rules? They are fairly easy to access. Amazon.com or the like, I am certain has a book or two relating to the Roberts rules of order. Tell them further that I would be happy to pay for said book and will ship it to any standing member of the g.o.p. who will swear that they can read.

Tim in Woodinville

April 14, 2005

Lan:

Man, are you on a roll. Yes, I was wondering where you were going with
today's editorial: Hawaiian and South Pacific Flashback. Then you hammered
home exactly what I've been saying for the past couple of years. So many
folks have bought into the supposedly patriotic but nationalistic
buzz-phrase of "God bless America" that I want to ask exactly what you said,
"Why not God bless the world?" Are we that arrogant? I'm afraid we are
but, worse, most folks who buy into that kind of lingo aren't aware of what
they're promoting.

Keep those good thoughts coming.

Ciao amigo,

Tom Berry

April 14, 2005

Lan - You would think someone would have more of the on-air things you did. They were original and hilarious. I was especially hoping that the Breakfast pig would be available somewhere. Sigh. BTW, Looking at the old pictures I am amused at how young you all look to me now...when I was listening I considered you to be grown-up "old guys."

Cheers, Bruce

April 14, 2005

Regarding your Lantoon on radio today:
A thought that many of us might not want to think. Could it be that today's listner really doesn't want to even listen to a DJ? The idea that today's DJ might be stiffled by the managment is a reach. Could it be that there are so few opportunities in today's radio broadcast industry that it no longer attracts a large enough pool of talent. Two things combine to create this atmosphere. The combining of the stations into one small staff and the employment laws of this country that allow people to almost work for free. There was a time when several people made a decent living in Bellingham or a Yakima. Today, the jobs pay so little that when the "fun" wears off and you want something in life other than sharing a cheap apartment, you need to move on. The jobs, though fewer of them, in major markets will pay you a living. Sometimes a living much higher than any of us enjoyed. You'd better be good enough to get one of those jobs or what is the point of working for $10 an hour with no benefits? That isn't enough to have any quality of life, even in Yakima. I guess what I'm saying is the industry has done it to itself and millions of us now have good cd systems in our cars.

Chuck Bolland-Paris, France

April 13, 2005

Great editorial........the bad news is that radio hads already lost the young audience and they won't be back. None of the young kids today care anything about local radio.....they will tune in once in a while but primarily they are listening to their IPods and related computer equipment. And with satellite radio coming on strong I see zero future for most major market radio stations....at least as we know them now. Their shares will continue to drop each quarter...much like the Big 3 network TV news shows. They too have lost credibility and the cable competition is keeps chipping away at their ratings. It is a new day....and both radio and TV have put the Glock to their mouths and pulled the trigger.

Stan Foreman-Washington State

April 13, 2005

(regarding radio's demise)

Great editorial Lan...and right on target!!
Dick Curtis-Washington State

April 12, 2005

Dear Lan, Friend of Sea Shepherd,

As I write to you from the communication room of the Farley Mowat, I can tell you that the crew were in a joyful mood this morning. This is the official opening day of the seal slaughter on the Labrador Front, the day that 285,000 seals were sentenced to be executed by government order at the hands of the hakapik-swinging madmen who call themselves sealers. Right now, the sounds of rifle fire should be thundering across the floes, and streams of blood should be radiating like spokes to each of the over 300 sealing vessels that have gathered in this area for the purpose of slaughter and carnage.

But none of this is happening. Instead the sea is being whipped into angry froth by shrieking winds and the surface is a frigid, bubbling caldron of ice being tossed about like a giant snow cone salad. Due to Mother Nature’s fury the seal hunt has once again been delayed.

We have been successful in our endeavor to protect seals in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We have protested at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, documented the brutal slaughter of seals, and seen the true heart of a sealer. You can see for yourself video footage taken by our crew members which is available for viewing on our website. You will see outright sealing violations, vicious attacks upon our volunteer crew members, and intimidation of Sea Shepherd by the Coast Guard.

We will be successful in protecting seals in the Front. We are here to defy censorship and to oppose violent cruelty. We are here to oppose ignorant thuggery, to put ourselves into harm's way and proclaim as loudly and as vividly as we can that there are people willing to risk life and freedom to stand in defense of the defenseless seal pups.

Capt. Paul Watson-Sea Shepherd's Farley Mowat.

April 12, 2005

Lan, the title of your April 12 piece on Dub-yah's explanation of his "plan" to save social security was right on the mark. Unfortunately, the press gives him a free pass, afraid to speak up and point out that this emperor has no clothes on. It does not take a genious to recognize that using private accounts, which would divert contributions away from the social security fund, will contribute to the projected deficit in that fund. This will be even more true in the future as the baby boomers reach their "golden years" and there will be fewer young workers supporting more retirees. Yet only brave guys like John Stewart point up the folly. Certainly no one who wants to keep his seat at the front of the whitehouse press room or on AirForce One would ever speak up.

And the dim-wit's ability to speak off the cuff, to think on his feet, seems as good as ever!

David Leshner, Bellevue WA

--------------------

April 9, 2005

Lan...
I loved your NEWS BULLETIN...about the "The Duchess of Rottweiler".
Unfortunately, I slept thru the festivities on TV.

I had so wished that I could watch her walk down the aisle to the sounds
of...
"A Horse Is A Horse, Of Course, Of Course..."
Hairy-Seattle

April 9, 2005

Lan, I'm not sure if you caught the story but the show that you are always talking about being a great show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, just won a coveted Peabody award for excellence. I agree that is a great show and I had to laugh that Bill O'Rieley missed out again.

Sara Lawford-Portland, Oregon

Lan note: Sara I saw the AP story and it really pleased me that Jon got the award. The show is so good that I watch it every night that it's on instead of our local TV news.....

April 8, 2005

President Bush's professor at Harvard Business School reports in today's Harvard Crimson that Bush "called former president Franklin D. Roosevelt, Class of 1904, a 'socialist' and spoke against Social Security, unemployment insurance, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other New Deal innovations."

Clearly, this shows just how extreme Bush is. But it isn't a surprise. Bush has been trying to eliminate Social Security for a long time. In 1978, he supported privatization by claiming the system would go bankrupt by 1988 - a complete lie. Now today, the professor notes that "to privatize Social Security, [Bush] is peddling a colossal lie about its solvency." Let's hope the media makes sure people know Bush has a proven track record of saying anything - regardless of truth or fact - to justify his right-wing agenda.

David Sirota-Oregon

April 7, 2005

Lan,

Richard Zhao-Graham <rzg38@yahoo.com> wrote:
OK, so it's op/ed from the supposedly "liberal" media, but they didn't say it, Dubya did...they just commented upon it. Read on.....
NewYork Times -- April 7, 2005

Imagine this: On his next trip to Japan, President Bush visits the vault at the Bank of Japan, where that country's $712 billion in United States government bonds is stored. There, as the cameras roll, he announces that the bonds, backed by the full faith and credit of the United States, are, in fact, worthless i.o.u.'s. He does the same thing when he visits China and so on around the world, until he has personally repudiated the entire $2 trillion of United States debt held by foreigners.

Mr. Bush rehearsed just that act on Tuesday, when he visited the office of the federal Bureau of Public Debt in Parkersburg, W.Va. He posed next to a file cabinet that holds the $1.7 trillion in Treasury securities that make up the Social Security trust fund. He tossed off a comment to the effect that the bonds were not "real assets." Later, in a speech at a nearby university, he said: "There is no trust fund. Just i.o.u.'s that I saw firsthand."

Social Security takes in more money than it needs to pay current beneficiaries, and the excess is invested in the Treasury securities that Mr. Bush was discussing. They carry the same legal and political obligations as all other forms of Treasury debt, every penny of which has always been paid in full and on time.

In his speech, Mr. Bush went on to acknowledge that future generations would have to make good on the debt. But the intended meaning of the photo-op was clear. In the hope of persuading people to privatize Social Security - a move that would only add to the growing debt burden for future generations - Mr. Bush wants Americans to believe that the trust fund is a joke. But if the trust fund is a joke, so is the full faith and credit of the United States.

Fortunately, the governments, institutions and individuals who hold United States debt can tell a publicity stunt from a policy statement. Still, casting aspersions on a basic obligation of the United States government is insulting and irresponsible.

April 7, 2005

Lan,
The women who wrote this email and signed below are Federal Budget Analysts
in Washington, DC

Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active
ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a
lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. We did a search
of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found
in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of Life
Extension, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United State
contain active ingredients made in other countries. In our independent
investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the
actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular
drugs sold in America.

The chart below speaks for itself.
Celebrex 100 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60
Percent markup: 21,712%

Claritin 10 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71
Percent markup: 30,306%

Keflex 250 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88
Percent markup: 8,372%

Lipitor 20 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80
Percent markup: 4,696%

Norvasec 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14
Percent markup: 134,493%

Paxil 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60
Percent markup: 2,898%

Prevacid 30 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01
Percent markup: 34,136%

Prilosec 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
Cost of general active ingredients $0.52
Percent markup: 69,417%

Prozac 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11
Percent markup: 224,973%

Tenormin 50 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13
Percent markup: 80,362%

Vasotec 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20
Percent markup: 51,185%

Xanax 1 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024
Percent markup: 569,958%

Zestril 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89
Cost of general active ingredients $3.20
Percent markup: 2,809%

Zithromax 600 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19
Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78
Percent markup: 7,892%

Zocor 40 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63
Percent markup: 4,059%

Zoloft 50 mg
Consumer price: $206.87
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75
Percent markup: 11,821%

Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought
everyone I knew should know about this. Please read the following and pass
it on. It pays to shop around. This helps to solve the mystery as to why
they can afford to put a Walgreen's on every corner.

On Monday night, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7
News in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He
found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs
were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo . three
thousand percent! So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of
drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly
lies with the pharmacies themselves. For example, if you had to buy a
prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100
pills. The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent,
they would only cost $80, making you think you are "saving" $20. What the
pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only
cost him $10!

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not
there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said
that Costco, Sam's Club and other discount volume stores consistently
charged little over their cost for the generic drugs. I went to the discount
store's website, where you can look up any drug, and get its online price.
It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I
was appalled. Just to give you one example from my own experience, I had to
use the drug, Comparing, which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients. I
used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS. I
checked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19..89.
For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57. I could have got 150 at another
discount store for $28.08. I would like to mention, that although these are
a "membership" type store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy
prescriptions there, as it is a federally regulated substance. You just tell
them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you
in. (This is true, I went there this past Thursday and asked them.)

I am asking each of you to please help me by copying this letter, and
passing it into your own email, and send it to everyone you know with an
email address.
Sharon L. Davis
Budget Analyst
US Department of Commerce
Room 6839
Office Ph: 202-482-4458
Office Fax: 202-482-5480
Email Address: sdavis@docgov
Mary Palmer
Budget Analyst
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Office of Budget &Finance
Voice: (202) 606-9295
Fax: (202) 606-5324

April 7, 2005

Lan

Great editorial. I've noticed you have stayed away pretty much from the sports mentality that this culture seems to have, thats good. I have been sucked in. I like baseball. I think it is fun to watch the standings over the long period of time and also it's history and tradition. I don't like how the owners (like George W and even the Mariner owners) have ripped off the public for state of the art stadiums that average Joes like myself cannot afford to attend unless we have been given tickets or get crappy seats. I also view it like a chess games with the various strategies.
I'm glad you mentioned fencing! Two of my cousins (not related to and unknown by Burl) made this US Olympic team last year. The better of the two Sada Jacobson won the bronze medal the first won by a US Fencer in several decades. Of course another US fencer later won Gold as this was a good year all around for the American team. I doubt that fencing will ever catch on in this country and give Sada and Emily the fame and recognition that they deserve but it is fun to see that they are doing well.
If I remember right, you also did quite a bit of mountain climbing and skiing. I love to ski, but did not get a chance to this year because of the lack of snow.
Have you finished your book. I cannot wait to read that.

Mike Barer

April 6, 2005

A very good piece Lan. The economic engine to now finance this will be from American debt. Bush's goofy tax cuts and huge debts from his war adventure, no matter how you want to defend either, don't come for free. The price is being paid by borrowing against the U.S.'s future. The Chinese have seen this as an opportunity to own a good share of America. Maybe that is alright with everyone. For many years we have been waving one finger in the air and chanting to the rest of the world, "We're number one." In about two decades we might be able to hold two fingers in the air and chant, "We're number two and hanging on." Again, that might be fine with people. Of course, what concern us is political and then military power follows financial power. We should maybe look at the track record of the Chinese in the areas of human rights to get a possible glimps of the future.

Chuck Bolland in Paris

April 6, 2005

As we hear more and more about a potential spike in oil prices, the Rocky Mountain west has become an interesting contrast in how best to deal with America’s energy challenges. In Colorado, the crisis is apparently being used as a way to do more favors for the oil industry. Specifically, conservatives in the state legislature killed an "oil-and-gas bill that could have forced companies to pay more for harming private property where they drill." Although lawmakers "acknowledged that the debate is second in importance only to that over water in many parts of the state," they were unwilling to act on behalf of citizens who are becoming angrier at energy companies for their abusive behavior. One lawmaker who voted against it is even having second thoughts. Rep. Ray Rose (R-Montrose) is now worried about explaining his vote against the bill to constituents who are concerned about the breakneck pace of gas development in their area and said, "I'll be lucky to get out without being lynched."

This push to allow oil drilling at all costs stands in stark relief to the efforts of Wyoming and Montana, which are both pioneering innovative renewable energy projects - projects that could be the precursor to an energy policy that could finally get us off oil. The Casper Tribune reports that Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal (D) is using state government to push a new solar- and wind-powered stock water pump that helps ranchers who typically rely on surface water for their livestock. The pumps, developed by the University of Wyoming, will replace many smaller, less efficient diesel engines that ranchers have been using. This innovation follows news that Montana regulators have approved a massive new wind energy farm in the Judith Basin.

This dichotomy is emblematic of the larger energy policy questions dogging the Bush administration, which falsely claims that drilling is the way out of America's energy problems. Clearly, that's not true, and states are moving in to fill that leadership void.

David Sirota-Oregon

April 2, 2005

Lan,

Thanks for your editorial on Pope John II . It offered me more insight on this great man than any CNN piece.
The world has, indeed, lost a great leader. And all religions will suffer this loss.

Sincerely,
Paul Jaffe
Seattle WA.

March 25, 2005

Congratulations on the outstanding report card, Lan, and a salute to you for a touching editorial. Your column is marvelously written, evocative, glowing with optimism and the joy of life. This is truly Good Friday in every respect.

Bill Taylor-Olympia, Wa.

March 25, 2005

Lan,
Damn good news partner!
Pat O'Day

March 22, 2005

So you think private Social Security accounts are a good idea?

If investing part of the Social Security Fund in the stock market is such a great idea, why do it through millions of small, inefficient private accounts owned by inexperienced investors? A far better plan is to place say 5% of the entire SS Trust Fund in a single account managed by a trio of America's most successful mutual fund managers. Management, transaction fees and Start-Up costs for a huge, multi-million dollar single account would be a tiny fraction of that for millions of small, inefficient private accounts. All profits from a single account could be plowed back into the SS Trust Fund to work for generations of future retirees instead of being spent or left to heirs as proposed for private accounts. And most of the investment risks of taxpayer-owned private accounts could be eliminated by the single fund's professional management.

So why the pressure for millions of private accounts? The answer: myriads of small accounts would generate enormous trading commissions for Wall Street brokerage firms while a large, single account, operating like a mutual fund, would keep commissions and fees to a bare minimum. And keeping the SS Fund's principle at work within the Fund to benefit future generations would inevitably prevent Social Security from being totally destroyed, as seems the goal of the present administration.

B.F. Portland

March 20, 2005

Hello Lan,

Naturally, you don't know me but I grew up listening to you and the stellar airstaff of KJR Seattle Channel 95!

Yeah, everyone always says the old days were better and sometimes it doesn't wash..but with radio?

They were MUCH better.

As a kid growing up in Rainier Beach I had that cheap jap transistor attached surgically to my ear daily, listening to you and pat and the Emp..until my folks would throw a fit,
"Do your homework..!!"

Hell, that WAS my homework! I was hooked on broadcasting and you guys made it come alive. You made me want a career in the biz and for the last 22 years I have had it, first in radio, later in TV and now as the main anchorman M-F of a CBS station in Lansing Michigan for the past 15 years.

My wife is younger and I have played her the airchecks from KJR and some other stuff I saved myself over the years..she always says..Man, those guys sound original...

Yeah, you guys were original..and every station was different..maybe that's why Sat. radio is coming on so strong..folks are so sick of thousands of stations and jocks sounding identical. I know it makes me sick to listen to radio now--what's the point.?

I wish you all the best, from a longtime fan who can still hear the echoes of a great station, in a great city--and a great time to have been there growing up.

Your fan,

Dave Akerly
WLNS
Lansing, Michigan

March 15, 2005

Lan, Enjoyed your comments on the one sided Fox News debacle. In case you haven't read it here's a recent article regarding "bias in the news".

Published: March 13, 2005 9:00 PM ET

NEW YORK The Project for Excellence in Journalism’s “State of the American News Media 2005,” released late Sunday, disputes charges of antiwar media bias but found that President Bush received more “negative” coverage in the 2004 campaign than did Sen. John F. Kerry.

And it determined that Fox News Channel was the most one-sided of all major news outlets. In fact, the idea that Americans are engaged in "partisan" news consumption isn't supported by the research. With the exception of Republicans who prefer Fox News, most media use mirrors the general population, the study found.

The Project for Excellence in Journalism is affiliated with the Columbia University School of Journalism. The study was funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

The Washington-based project examined more than 2,000 stories on the war in Iraq and found that 25% of the stories were negative and 20% were positive. “The majority of stories were just news," said the project’s director, Tom Rosenstiel.

Fox News Channel was twice as likely to be positive than negative, while CNN and MSNBC were evenhanded.

The three network evening newscasts tended to be more negative than positive, while the opposite was true of morning shows, the study said.

A more limited analysis of campaign coverage found that Bush received more negative, and less positive, coverage than Kerry during the fall campaign. Rosenthiel thinks this may be partly because a president in office always gets more criticism, and the setbacks in the war added to this.

There are clear differences between Fox News and its cable rivals, the study found. Fox News stories contain more sources and reveal more about them than those of its competitors, but its stories are also more one-sided and are more opinionated.

Indeed, Fox News journalists offer their own opinion in seven out of ten stories on the news channel, versus less than one in ten stories on CNN and one in four on MSNBC.


Robert Johnson-Los Angeles

March 14, 2005

Historically, the glory of empires and the grandeur of world conquest - whether for greed, hubris or the spreading of superior ideology - begin with the golden sun exploding on the horizon. Has anyone ever seen such wonders?

But the day wears on, and at the stifling and enervating heat of midday, your energies begin to flag. By nightfall you must face the reality that you never dreamed of: All the time, there was an underside to empire; from the beginning there were secret weaknesses growing and moldering that the conqueror could not afford to see.

Even as the Bush administration and the president's neocon ideological Praetorian Guard are celebrating their "reconfiguration" of the Middle East, warning signs are beginning to surface about their empire.

First, the troop problem. This week was witness to a sorrowful figure: 1,502 American troops have been killed in Iraq, a country we had no reason to attack, and 11,220 have been seriously wounded. Iraqis killed? Maybe as few as 18,000 - or, more likely, as many as 200,000. Who cares?

At the same time, every newspaper and television news station reported that for the first time since 2001, the Army began the fiscal year in October with a mere 18.4 percent of the year's target of 80,000 active-duty recruits already committed. That is less than half of last year's figure. In the National Guard, it is even worse.

On the surface, Americans still aren't actually saying they don't like the war. But even the U.S. military acknowledged that a major problem is that many parents are telling their children not to enlist.

And why should anyone be surprised? As many of us for years argued, a nation-state needs a draft, if only to strengthen the citizenry's continued will to control its destiny. This is the inevitable outcome of a volunteer army.

Among the neocon civilians in the Pentagon, soldiers were simply chess pieces to be moved around in service to their theories. And it worked for a while because, without a draft, many Americans withdrew from attacking the war out of, I believe, a deep guilt about having a professional army fight in place of their own kids. But now, that secret exchange seems to be fading.

Second, the financial problem. Despite those who demurred for the last three years that the war "wouldn't cost much" - "Why, it will be paid for with Iraq's oil!" - that just isn't happening. The price tag for our wars of the 21st century has reached $300 billion and climbing, including $81.9 billion just requested from Congress. (This includes Afghanistan and the war on terror, but the great mass of the money is for Iraq.)

But just three weeks ago, the central bank of South Korea reported that it intended to diversify into other currencies and move away from dollar-based assets, probably to euros. Most financially adept Americans know that not only do we have dangerous trade deficits with many Asian nations, but that they also hold large (many say untenable) amounts of our debt. South Korea itself holds about $69 billion in American Treasury securities, or 4 percent of the total foreign Treasury holdings.

As The Washington Post put it in its editorial that week: "The Korean comment ping-ponged around the world, all hell broke loose, with currency traders selling dollars for fear that the central banks of Japan and China, which hold immense dollar reserves - a combined $900 billion, or 46 percent of foreign Treasury holdings - might follow suit." The Dow Jones Industrial Average immediately slipped 1.6 percent, the worst percentage drop in five months.

Because South Korea, Japan and Taiwan moved swiftly to allay fears, the markets righted themselves - for now. But there was still no response from the American administration about the increasingly weakened dollar. Whenever he has been asked about the problem, Vice President Dick Cheney has dismissed the fact that a debtor nation today inevitably becomes a dependent nation tomorrow. "It's all on paper," he says.

But these indicators are palpable, increasingly dangerous warnings of a country posturing for the world out on the boulevard while refusing to keep its household in shape. And this, indeed, is what has always happened to empires: Their leaders glory in their hubris, they overreach, they fail as much from internal factors as from external ones, and they bring their people down with them. As the great historian of empire, John Baggot Glubb, has tallied up, every great empire was dead within 50 years of its height.

Despite some recent immediate successes, the difference here is that there is no will to empire on the part of the American people.

This remains an empire for the few, paid for ultimately by the reluctant, but inattentive, many. Who knows? Maybe one day, enough American parents will convince their kids not to go.

Phil-Vancouver B.C.

March 10, 2005

Thank You My man, that stuff is great! Been doing the doctor thing all week with heart and the rest. Totally bushed. I really appreciate the copy about Dick's. Are'nt those cat's great? You get what You pay for. Of course Our education president probably has a better idea but that jerk off is just the front man for the weirdest bunch of geeks I've ever witnessed. That reminds Me of Your explanation of Gene Autrey. A true believer in the "give back society." He was'nt a pup when He perceived of the concept of helping other people to further the goal of "Lets all get off together through interaction and the common good." Also, He proved that You can get wealthy and still make the man on the street a little cash. Hope You are doing well and that the future will treat You right! Again, thank You!
Tim in Woodinville

March 6, 2005

You know I seem to remember just about every jock that I was aware of always had one of those squares You refer to either at Their mouths or at Their sides. I'm sure there were those who did'nt smoke but they must have been in a minority. If You remember,Robert Young used to open"Father knows best " with a loaded "P. Lorilard." The god damned things were in k rations to soothe Our boys in the last big conflict, no wait, that was a war! A declared war. Wait a minute, I'm getting side tracked! The tobacco itself was extremely profitable to market because the man got it from share cropping farmers for almost nothing. IN closing, I will remind You that after open heart surgery, caused by "You guessed it" tobacco! I was told by My upper respiratory doctor that tobacco is more additive than heroin!!!! And We thought We were being so very hip smoking what the man trained us to do. Hip like George Harrison. Hip like John Wayne. Oh well, I've seen the cigarette and the damage done, alittle part of it in every one! Wait , I've gotten sidetracked again! That kinda sounds like a Neil Young line. The Madison avenue boys were heavy into this tobacco happening also. The very cool Silva thins man. It goes on ad infinidum. Suffice to say that only education can stop this monsterous ruse on the people of the world. Don't forget that the man is addicting the Asian population with the deadly weed now. O.K , rant over. You sound up and up will work. Stay that way and keep screaming about the horrid side effects of tobacco. If A.A. wo'nt do it maybe it's Your baby to wrestle to the ground. Stay loose!
Tim in Woodinville

Lan, Glad to see you writing some good editorials again that make sense. Too bad there there are too few out there that are afraid to open their mouth.

Robert Randal-Issaquah, Washington

December 16, 2004Lan:

We've never met in the flesh (I've emailed a couple of times and you were
kind to respond both times) but I feel that we did a bit of growing up
together when you were on the air in Seattle and I was listening in Tacoma.
You've provided me with many fine memories of my youth. And youth is the
point here: what the hell happened to it? My good friend Dick Layton turns
60 on your birthday. He's a Trappist monk in Lafayette, OR. Then 3 days
later I join the Old Farts Club, too. We were all young once, enjoying
life, eagerly looking forward to the future. Now we look back at the past
fondly and the future is more uncertain than ever.

Anyway, many thanks for the memories, happy birthday greetings and all the
best with your upcoming appointments. May all of your wishes come true in
2005, especially those involving your health and family.

Mele Kalikimaka from Your Man in DC,

Tom Berry

Nov 26. 2004

Lan,

You mentioned that the US armed services are stretched out pretty thin. Also
that the "news" is afraid to dig in and let us know what is really going on.
True enough, but what I'm wondering about is the next major international
situation that will inevitably pop up. With our military spread out all over the
planet like an oil slick, the tacticians in Washington DC may soon realize that
the US could be forced into a nuclear solution.

Do you think I'm exaggerating? Am I the only one worried about this possibility
or are more thoughtful people just not wanting to give the bastards any ideas?

Phil B in Seattle

PS I'm happy to hear of your medical successes and new found sight. You need to
get into the air again; as you know, it's a great head cleaner.

Nov 24, 2004

Speaking as someone who's job puts me in eastern Washington often, surrounded by Bushniks, let me just say that Democrats, try as they might, don't get it and
probably never will. It's not a matter of pointing out
Republican failures because, here's the flash folks, the
Bush lovers don't care. They don't care if they're
worse off econonomically than they were four years
ago. They don't care if a new corporate scandal erupts
every day. They don't care if he mangled the Iraq
situation. All the care about is that he is a
Christian, that he claims to speak with, and for,
Jesus, and that he will protect the "sanctity of
marriage" (even though the divorce rate is higher in
the Red States than in the Blue; even though Oklahoma
has the worst divorce rates in the country, you
couldn't find a Kerry supporter there if your life
depended on it). And Bush, and the Republicans, will
hasten the day when we all live in a Christian
theocracy. That's all they care about, period. If
they're not doing well economically, well then they
don't deserve to (that's Calvinism, and they believe
it).

C.C. Bolland-Olympia, Wa

Nov 23, 2004

Drivers are still required to pass a written and road test in Washington
stage, regardless of their age. Drivers Ed is required for those under 18 as
well.

Glad to hear that the eye surgery went well and that you're as feisty as
ever!
Scott-Seattle

Nov 17, 2004

Lan,

The reelection of George W. Bush as President of the United States compounds the disaster of four years ago, both for the US and the world. Democracy can produce abnormal results, and the 2000 election might have been dismissed as an aberration. Now, however, American voters have spoken clearly, and fear, fundamentalism, and ignorance have prevailed.

I am writing to apologize for my country and for the harm that it is likely to do both within and outside its borders during the next four years. As an international lawyer, I am ashamed to live in a country that no longer believes in law. As a liberal who believes in tolerance, I am ashamed to live in a country that now embraces the narrow values of the religious right. As a teacher, I am ashamed to live among citizens who choose to
believe obvious falsehoods, such as the alleged presence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or the alleged complicity of Saddam Hussein in the 9/11 attacks.

As a rational human being, I reject the appeal for God to bless America, just as I reject the suicide bomber's call to Allah and the claim of religious zealots everywhere to exclusive knowledge of the truth. American zealots are not engaging in widespread violence yet, but they reflect the dangerous currents of bigotry and religious extremism that are growing in every corner of the world.

The abdication by the United States of any legitimate claim to moral authority will undermine those around the world who believe in human rights and equality between rich and poor, strong and weak. While I can only hope that individuals and civil society will continue to struggle against injustice, repressive governments everywhere will be heartened by the message from Washington that anything can be justified in the name of waging war on terrorism. The United States has exchanged its ability to inspire for its
power to threaten.

While much of the intellectual and political world outside the United States will publicly interpret the recent election as merely confirming their snide dismissal of America's "cowboy" mentality, most of those who sneer have no alternative to offer. It is conceivable that the US would have invaded Iraq alone, but we who opposed the war remember only too well that the "coalition of the willing" initially included such liberal and law-abiding states as the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Japan,
the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain -- not to mention all those allies from the "new" Europe. New anti-terrorism laws in France may be worse than those in the United States,
yet few have protested. And where are the Arab, African, and Asian countries that are vocal advocates of human rights, that urge the world to act to prevent massacres in their regions, that settle their differences peacefully? That list is short, if it exists at all.

As George Orwell observed in 1984, "by becoming continuous, war has fundamentally changed its character." It is not only war that has changed, but the way in which America sees itself and the rest of the world that has changed, as well. While a certain arrogance may have always been present in US foreign policy, that arrogance about "American values" is now accompanied by a messianic menace that is far worse than earlier (perhaps
naive) attempts to remake the world in the image of American freedom and democracy.
For that, too, I apologize.

The problems that the election made more acute are not new. Nearly a century ago, William Butler Yeats bemoaned the fact that "the centre cannot hold; mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, the blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned; the best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."

For at least the next four years, the United States will be led by the worst and the passionate. It will be up to the rest of you, against all odds, to keep the damage to a
minimum.

Hurst Hannum
Professor of International Law
Co-Director, Center for Human Rights & Conflict Resolution
The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
Tufts University
Medford, MA 02155"


Nov 17, 2004

Yeah, I love the thinking that lets convicted felons keep running the country... while talking about "moral issues"... keep up those Lantoons!

Biff

Nov 16, 2004

Thanks to B. Carlson for the following:

SAT
Test Q&A
The following questions and answers were collated from the SAT tests
given to 16 years-old students! Don't laugh too hard one of them could become
president one day! You have to admit some are very creative, though.
Q: Name the four seasons.
A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar
Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to
drink.
A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large
pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.
Q: How is dew formed?
A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.
Q: What is a planet?
A: A body of earth surrounded by sky.
Q: What causes the tides in the ocean?
A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water
tends
to flow toward the moon because there is no water on the moon and nature
abhors a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.
Q: In a democratic society, how important are elections?
A: Very important. Sex can only happen when a male gets an election.
Q: What are steroids?
A: Things for keeping carpets on the stairs.
Q: What happens to your body as you age?
A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.
Q: What happens to a boy when he reaches puberty?
A: He says good-bye to his boyhood and looks forward to adultery.
Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes.
A: Premature death.
Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?
A: Keep it in the cow.
Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? (e.g., abdomen). A:
The body is consisted into three parts - the brainium, the borax and the
abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains
the heart and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels, A, E,
I, O and U.
Q: What is the Fibula?
A: A small lie.
Q: What does "varicose" mean?
A: Nearby.
Q: What is the most common form of birth control?
A: Most people prevent contraption by wearing a condominium.
Q. Give the meaning of the term "Caesarian Section"
A. The caesarian section is a district in Rome.
Q: What is a seizure?
A: A Roman Emperor..
Q: What is a terminal illness?
A: When you are sick at the airport.
Q: Give an example of a fungus. What is a characteristic feature?
A: Mushrooms. They always grow in damp places and so they look like
umbrellas.
Q: What does the word "benign" mean?
A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.
Q: What is a turbine?
A: Something an Arab wears on his head.


November 12. 2004

Lan, Loved the Republican dictionary that you just published. Now this is funny and it just goes to prove that the truth is many times more humorous than made up stuff. Keep up the good work. The Rational Lantoon is one of my first reads every morning. All the best.

Raymond Villion-Portland, Oregon

Nov. 8, 2004

Regarding your latest Lantoon:

That's the system George W. Bush stands for: where a corporation can knowingly kill people for profit and, when it finally comes out, everyone knows the penalties will be so light the company doesn't even lose a tenth of its worth. Hey, just a little bump in the road.

Then you'll love this story from the NY Times:

Federal inspectors were clearly troubled by what they had been seeing in recent years at Union Pacific. According to their written accounts, track defects repeatedly went uncorrected; passenger trains were sent down defective tracks at speeds more than four times faster than were deemed safe; and engines and rail cars were dispatched in substandard condition.

Soon, the inspectors from the Federal Railroad Administration began talking tough: bigger fines and more of them. But as they began to crack down on the railroad, they found themselves under fire from an unexpected quarter: their boss, the agency's deputy administrator, Betty Monro.

Ms. Monro demanded to know why agency officials had not pursued the less punitive "partnership" approach that she favored, according to a July 2002 memo from her and the agency's chief at the time, Allan Rutter. A year later, in a senior staff meeting, Ms. Monro rebuked her subordinates as being "overly aggressive" toward Union Pacific, according to one person present.

Ms. Monro, who now runs the railroad agency, was in a position to know just how unhappy her inspectors were making officials at Union Pacific. She and the railroad's chief Washington lobbyist, Mary E. McAuliffe, are longtime friends and have vacationed together on Nantucket several times since Ms. Monro joined the agency in 2001.

Biff-Vancouver

Nov.6, 2004

Lanbo you ole mongoose, glad to hear your latest clean bill of health, well as clean as it gets at our age.

I've been following your editorials thru this whole presidential mess, I haven't resonded but after I read each one I just go Yeah,,, nice piece of writing, and I couldn't agree more,,, me? I'm still suffering from PMS, presidencial moron syndrome. I really can't believe that this country did that to itself. I hope you now turn your energies to finishing your book instead of lamenting over bullshit crap that obviously we have no control over. You're a very talented writer, ya gotta put all that energy towards your book and forget about this bullshit fucking ignoramous politics, you are right of course, and it probably makes you feel better when you write a good editorial, but your life is a treasure trove of funny shit, and I think you'll feel a whole lot better getting that down than wasting any more energy on this fucked up political pile of shit that we've all been so immersed in after 9-11 and the expectation that there might be some light at the end of the tunnel with this election. Well, that didn't happen....I can't fuckin believe it,, I was so sure that Kerry would take this thing. Just goes to show ya, there ain't no sure things, especially in politics. Its about 2 a.m. just got back from a surprise party at the old Dog House on 7th and Blanchard,,, now its called the hurricane cafe... about 100 people outside when we pulled up in the limo... saw alot of old friends from movies past...

I think about you and Daniel alot and glad we got the chance to have a couple adventures....couple days ago my close cousin chuck dropped dead out of the blue, he was like a little brother to me, 56 years old,,, healthy, hard worker, good guy, aortic disection, booom... dead...

Write that book man, hug yer kids and bite life in the ass,,, or at least knaw on it a little bit,,,

Sorry for the long silence,,,You're in my thots and prayers, Aloha and stay warm......
JWC Seattle

November 5, 2004

Lan,
Just a note to say thanks for your website and editorials over the years. I could feel how down you were after Shrub won the election. Like you, there are a lot of us out here who were stunned and amazed with the outcome.

Jim R in Honolulu

Nov 4, 2004
I was hoping to wake up Wednesday morning and find out the nightmare of Bush was over. Bush and his Facist cronies will wind up eating crow sooner or later. It looks like later at this point. The American Taliban has won this time around.

Judy Crandell
Olympia, Washington

Nov 5, 2004
Lan...Thanks for your comments not only on politics but all the other stuff you seem to run across that much of the so called press misses. Several of my friends have reminded me about the new voting machines that key states used in this election.
One thing that is very strange is how much the exit polls differed from the final results, especially in Ohio. Remember that Ohio uses Diebold voting machines in many areas. These machines have no paper trail. Early in the campaign, Diebold CEO Walden O'Dell, a GOP fundraiser, promised to deliver Ohio to Bush. He later regretted having said that.
Oh, by the way, whatever happened to Dennis Miller being tapped to write jokes for Bush during the campaign? Maybe even the Bush crowd realized that Miller isn't that funny.

John Fleus
Taipei, Taiwan

November 4, 2004

Hello Lantastic,

I just read your latest Lantoon. I too was deeply saddened by the outcome
of this election. You should have titled it "The Mourning After". I
wanted a man who has actually seen bloodshed in the flesh with all of its
ugly gore. DAMN, DAMN, and MORE DAMN! My God doesn't sanction war nor is
it moral in the least.

Now, Dubya can finish daddy's job and secure the oil pipelines in Iraq -
one of the real reasons he's so concerned about that region. Give us a
break here! Sadam, Osama, 9/11, WMD's = Doesn't add up! Dumb Americans!


Osama's laughing right now. We're playing right into the terriorist's
hands.


We'll mourn together.

Much love,
Jelly

October 23, 04

The author has stated very clearly where we are headed in a Bush-Cheney
administration. As far as Kerry reference, there is really no indication
on where he is going with that, but thank you for printing it. Tell your
friends in battle ground states to get off there ass and hit the streets.
Here in Washington Kerry is a lock so I have been campaign hard (but not
as hard as I should) for state and local offices. I had letters to the
editor printed in both the PI and the little Maple Valley weekly. I love
doing that as I am rather uncomfortable door belling. (but I have done
some)

Best wishes

Mike Barer

Oct 13, 2004

I have not heard a funnier DJ than you were. You had great insight on
things and you loved to play around with people. You would piss them
off sometimes. I will never forget listening with that one girl that
went somewhere with you, a psychic thing or something and you lost her
there, or someone that you would just put down about something. Just
in your own style. You had a way that was funny and you used the air
waves to do it. You used the screaming haouli, you had dog news, the
one where turn up your radio, the 4 legged duck, the tv picture that i
have of you on tv in the Luke suit or skywalker whatever it was. You
had imagination and you used it well. One of the FNC men stuck his
tongue out for me on tv so we could take a pic of him. It just reminds
me so much of you playing the songs and stuff. It was a blast. I don't
listen to much radio anymore.

What kind of eye surgery are you getting?
I had the eye surgery, one they had to straigten it out and pull in
the muscles, and then they had to take out one of those bubble thing
in my eye with a laser. All I survived!! I loved my dr. too, he is
the best on the island still. I wanted to try the cataract treatment
but he said it wouldnt work with me, cause I have seen a certain way
all my life so not enough is known on the brain how it would effect
it. So that sucks, at least you have a good chance.
I love the jokes, and although you may
not here from me I do check out the pages now and then. Sometimes I
want to write soemthing back at you, just to play around with your
head.
love ya,
Karen-Hawaii

October 6, 2004

Hello Lan,

I can't tell you how much I enjoy reading your Lantoons. I know you are quite serious about the upcoming election but then we all should be. We don't really have a great choice but when it gets down to it all I can say is "Anybody but Bush". What an insult this guy has been to our country and our brave men and women in the armed services. Please keep asking people to see Fahrenheit 911. How anybody could vote for this jerk of a president again is beyond me.

George Lansing.....Tacoma, Wa.

September 22, 2004

Hi Lan,

Thank you for posting my letter. Your website looks very interesting; I
will check it out tonight.

Bravo for all you do too!!!

Allison

September 21, 2004

Lan,

Many thanks for printing your letter and support for Allison Watson. We don't see many people like Allison any more who have the guts to stand up for what they believe. Conservatives (another oxymoron) seem to see stories like this and shrug it off with their barrage of puppet string phrases like, "bleeding heart tree hugger, lily livered liberals" and the like. Your recent editorial regarding the assassination of words really told the story. Jerks like Rush Limbaugh have made many liberals ashamed to refer to themselves as liberals. How pathetic can things be when people start believing that neo-nazi conservatives like Limbaugh should be believed. Duhhhh. Keep up the good work. We missed your Lantoons when you were being sliced on this past year...

Kindest regards,

Wendy Jarvis-Seattle, Wa.

September 16, 2004

September 16, 2004

Alright, We're coming down to the wire on this election thing and I must
relate some information! There is a book out that JUST came out. It is
entitled "What We've lost" It is written by a guy named Graydon Carter. If
You,in good concience, can read this book and still vote for that copy
cat gingoist George W then do so. I will be able to sleep at night knowing
full well that I did everything in My power to deter You! Mr. Carter is
the editor in chief for "Vanity fair" I know, I know, another lying
liberal! Dash all that left-right falderall and let the book discern good
from bad! Explaining is the key to understanding and Carter shines when it
comes to showing how this presdential house of card's work's. Check up on
what the Carlyle group is. See who is on the board of that group and how
they stand to gain every time foreign policy issues up it's next venue. If
You want to live in the closest proximity to what Himler and the boy's had
in mind then vote for Your favorite [SIC} jet jockey. It's no secret w AND
FOR GOD"S SAKE AT LEAST VOTE
Tim in Woodinville


Sept 11, 2004

Lan:

I heard a big audience clapping & cheering on the latest ed....:)

Also a great BUSH toon in yer joke box......MORE! MORE!

I was listening to Alan Jackson's "Where were you when the World
stopped turning"....it really grabs ya - especially TODAY of all days..

Reflecting on the victims ahead...It really could have been one of US!

God Bless ya Lan,
-Tom in Seattle

Sept. 4, 2004

Sir, in 1966 I was a freaked out military teenager who knew too much. I
avoided the tv as much as I could, but the first televised war was hard to
avoid. I knew we were wasting our time but in my position I could not say
anything. my dad went over in '67. anyway, you and music were my great
escapes. I loved your show and all your characters. and the music! there
were no limits, ray charles, beatles, fontella bass, frank sinatra, james
brown, nashville teens, sonics, newbeats, vogues, wailers, richard and
the young lions, norma tenaga, nancy sinatra, byrds, buckinghams, stones,
sandy posey, hollies, outsiders, marianne faithful, dusty springfield,
yardbirds, animals, paul revere, don and the goodtimes, kinks, roger
miller, four seasons, gene pitney, four tops, tempts, supremes, smokey,
contours, mamas and papas, etc. now, I feel like history is repeating
itself. almost. new war. unwinnable. politicians micromanaging the war.
but, there is no music of quality to distract me. Encourage your fans to
vote. This is america, not texas. Thank you very much for your help.

S.M. Seattle

August 13, 2004

So funny and so true. We get a dozen "hang-ups" on our answering machine
coming home from work. In the evening when I answer the phone and there
is that pause I hang up right away, even though I hope it is not an
emergency call. After I hang up again the phone rings again. And now
telemarketer are calling on Sunday mornings and all sorts of weird times.
Luckily I have e-mail set up to filter out most spam, but occasionally
some still filters through. I try to make it a policy not to patronize
any company that spams or make pop-ups on the computer. It is another
gorgeus weekend in the Seattle area, Have a great week end.

Mike B-Seattle

August 7, 2004

Hot damn Roberts, tell Us how You really feel toward Our illustrious
leader! These third rate hack's have alway's been around. it's just that
this time they have tied their little program right into the church. The
"church" is the catalyst that makes that right wing thing work like a
well oiled oligarchy! They are never wrong because they stand for the
deity! Hitler worked the same kind of mojo as We all know just a
different roll on the same game. In the latter thirties when the olympic's
we're to be held in Germany, voilla, there was no evident hatred of the
Jew's. Huh! that lasted til the end of the games and the Jew's we're right
back where They were before the Olympic fete. I do'nt know whre You got
that list on how to be a republican but it put's so many point's to the
fore that it's priceless. I carry it everywhere. Am especially fond of the
rule that states that You must take away benefit's of the armed forces!
The script that they draw from would be hilarious if it was'nt so dire and
eradicat
SAY NO TO THESE VERMIN IN THE NEXT ELECTION BECAUSE IF YOU DO'NT, YOU
MIGHT NOT GET ANOTHER CHANCE TO ROUST THESE CROOK'S.
Tim in Woodinville

July 9, 2004

Alright Lan! Top notch editorial, touching a bunch of the hot buttons. I tried the Medicare web site to check out the "prescription drug savings cards." Ha! Big joke. The funniest part is that if you make a choice (from the confounding options), the pharm companies aren't bound by the conditions. They can change the prices at their whim, and you are stuck with the deal. And how about those spots on TV (paid for with our tax dollars), selling how wonderful the cards are. What brazen crap. What political dodge ball. What flagrant boolsht. What fools we were to (sort of) elect this frat boy for prez. No Child Left Behind, just us old folks - and the children aren't doing that well either. Kind of like the Healthy Forests Act... cut 'em down and they can't get sick. Or the Clear Skies Act ... you can't see the mercury. Ah, I'm getting crotchety, one of the reasons we over-55s are such worthless market targets. Probably because I haven't taken my Evitra or my Lipitor (Ooops, I have taken my Lipitor). But things are looking up. The 48 science Nobelists who sided with Carey and lambasted W for his anti-science stance have made me a happy old man. And the barest hint that Kenny Boy Lay might actually get busted is almost more happiness than I can bear, but don't hold you breath on that one. Maybe if Elliot Spitzer were Attorney General... Take all of your Republican friends to see Fahrenheit 911. Tell them it's an investment movie that will help them make the most of their tax cuts. Be careful out there.
Will Duff
New Mexico