Or, as the Lonnie Johnson song title has it, "It's Easy If You Know How." Just have a look at this work.

For you politically oriented heads, part 2 of that Washington Post article on Dick Cheney. Actually, of course, all four parts are published (plus sidebars and supplemental articles) but they're lengthy, and I'm savoring them one a day. Part 2 shows how Cheney provided the legal structure for turning Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and secret CIA and other military detention prisons around the world into neo-Nazi torture zones. Not good.

If you want something lighter, though not less serious, try this article/interview on/with Jack White.

I've learned about a story from acquaintances here in western Massachusetts, and it seems to me the story ought to be investigated. The state government here seems to be profiling low-income single parents who run small businesses. This class has been targeted in the past few years for state income tax audits. One friend I know in particular was told by two accountants before she filed her taxes that she would probably be audited because she fit the profile: she's a single mother, she is a carpenter who files a schedule C, and she claims the child tax credit. (The ITC seems to be the key factor. If you don't answer the audit, you lose the credit, this year and every other.) Indeed, shortly after filing her taxes, my friend was sent an audit letter. I know of a couple other cases, too. It would be interesting if someone did a pole to find out how many people in this position actually did get audited. It seems rather unfair to be picking on the poorest working people out there. Life's hard enough as it is.

I haven't blogged much on politics, but here's a couple things that have grabbed my attention. First, Digby's acceptance speech at the liberal blogger awards. And the other is the first part in a Washington Post series about Dick Cheney.

I really like the fact that there's a worldwide labor movement and the members are called "Wobblies". Here's a bit of their history. The Big Red Song Book

I thought this article gives some interesting insight into what's gone wrong with progressive politics, and gives some hints about how to start over again.

The American Left's Silly Victim Complex

I've been following this for some months now. I've read stories suggesting maybe cell phone towers were throwing off bee navigation, or that genetically modified corn was causing disease. But those explanations seem wrong now as scientists try to hone in on what may actually be causing the collapse of so many hives. Maybe it's an infection, according to this piece... Bees dying of mysterious infection

Well, just when you thought you were sure there were some things you did know, a story comes along that throws all that into question. As Firesign said, "Everything you know is wrong." Well, try this one on for size. Alexander Cockburn of The Nation's Beat the Devil column and Counterpunch lays out the most comprehensive argument I've seen about humans not being the cause of global warming. The planet's still heating up, says he and the geologists and other scientists he cites. But us humble creatures may not be able to take all the credit. And there's political implications, too. Read away, friends: Dissidents Against Dogma

This review is really amazing. I'm very tempted to read this book about the unknown terrain lovers of trees are discovering in the worlds above the world.

Voyage to the top of the trees