Here we are, in early 2006, and the headlines are briefly given over to the disclosure that the oil companies have been underpaying their royalties from drilling on U.S. public lands by $7 billion.

There was a time, a generation ago, when people here in the United States thought and wrote about the underpinning of the U.S. economy -- the energy industry -- in a serious way. In the mid-'70s, the country was bustling with groups pushing for public control, for extending the regulatory powers of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over natural gas prices, for break-up of the oil companies.

In came Carter, and up went the solar collectors on the White House roof. Aside from that it was downhill all the way. The oil companies spend millions to winch themselves out of the public relations debacle of the oil embargo of '73-'74, in which the public rightly perceived them as eager coconspirators with OPEC in price gouging and profiteering.

The perpetual war on women’s lives continues unabated. The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows protestors to continue to terrorize women at abortion clinics and South Dakota’s ban on virtually all abortions (with other states threatening to do the same) are the latest assaults on women’s human rights in this country. In addition, almost immediately after signing the renewal of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), President Bush promptly turned around and submitted a budget that proposed cutting funds to the vital services that are provided for by this important piece of legislation.

The arrogant disregard for women’s human rights however is a global phenomena. Hundreds of women die every year from AIDS the complications of childbirth because there is no profit in helping them survive. Women throughout the world are also victimized by a perpetual pandemic of sexual violence including infanticide, female genital mutilation, rape and sexual slavery.

And everywhere, women’s lives are used as the battlegrounds of men’s wars. Several weeks ago, the human rights organization Madre reported that an

NEW ORLEANS, LA Carnival 2006...As a mild sociopath with a fear of crowds and parades, I had been awaiting this event with a mixture of childlike anticipation and abject terror. Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, marks the end of the revelry that is the month of February, and the last day before the Catholic holiday of Lent. While Carnival is celebrated all over the world, no city does it with quite the same degree of lewd abandon as does New Orleans. This yearly celebration of all things sensual and insane normally attracts tens of thousands of visitors from all over the country as well as bringing out the entire local community; indeed, nearly everyone in the city spends all year planning and anticipating the Month of February, preparing costumes, planning drinking routes, collecting and ordering beads and other “throws”...however, this Mardi Gras also marked the six month anniversary of the devastation visited upon the Gulf Coast by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Anticipation was tempered by the ongoing stress of recovery, with most of the city still finding refuge in other cities and much of the area completely destroyed; indeed, both city

Dear Free Press Editor,

This Spring the U.S. Senate will bring to the floor what could accurately be called the "Revive Feudalism Bill" or the "Paris Hilton Tax Relief Act of 2006." It is likely the estate tax will be eliminated or gutted. Bush tax adviser Grover Norquist has said that if their side wins on this issue- over time-  they will win on all the issues.

Currently the first $2 million are exempted and the tax rate above that level is 45%. A compromise is likely to push up the exemption level but more importantly decrease the tax rate to 15%. This will amount to a windfall for the heirs of tycoons. Wealth will stay in the same hands creating a class of ruling family dynasties.

Some of the same people who say low-income single mothers ought to pull themselves up by the bootstraps, have no qualms about setting up their children with a portfolio to manage poolside. Clearly, lower taxes on wealth will cause higher taxes on work and the starving of the New Deal. G.O.P. stands for Greedy One Percent.

As each new season brings more waves of higher-tech digital products, I often think of Mark Twain. Along with being a brilliant writer, he was also an ill-fated investor -- fascinated with the latest technical innovations, including the strides toward functional typewriters and typesetting equipment as the 19th century neared its close.

Twain would have marveled at the standard PC that we take for granted now. But what would he have made of the intrusiveness of present-day media technology -- let alone its recurring content?

It’s getting harder and harder to drive out of cell-phone range -- that is, if you really want to. And judging from scenes at countless remote locations, many people would rather not forfeit 24/7 phone access for conversations that involuntary eavesdroppers hear half of. (Virtually always, it seems, the more boring half.)

These days, mainstream media fascination with blogs and the bloggers who love them often seems to assume that the very use of the Internet enhances the content or style of what has been written. It’s a seductive cyber-fantasy. Speed is useful, and so are hyperlinks and visuals-on-demand,