The last time I saw pictures of a man in need of a haircut being so memorably displayed as a trophy of the American empire it was Che Guevara, stretched out dead on a table in a schoolhouse in La Higuera, a little village in the Bolivian mountains. In those edgier days, in late 1967, the Bolivian Army wanted him dead, the quicker the better, though the CIA wanted him alive for interrogation in Panama.

After a last chat with the CIA's man, Felix Rodriguez, George Bush Sr.'s pal, a Bolivian sergeant called Jaime Terran shot him in the throat, and Rodriguez got to keep his watch. They chopped off Guevara's hands for later, checking to make sure the ID was correct. Years later, his skeleton, sans hands, was located and flown back to Havana for proper burial.

"It is better this way," Guevara told Rodriguez at the end. "I should never have been captured alive," showing that even the bravest weaken at times. At the moment of his capture by the Bolivian army unit, a wounded Guevara had identified himself, telling the soldiers he was Che and worth more to them alive than dead.

On December 3rd, President Bush signed the Healthy Forests Initiative into law, even though it fails to ensure protection from forest fires for at-risk communities, weakens environmental protections, and undermines public participation in decisions that affect America's public lands.

Now, the Bush administration appears to be on the verge of giving yet another holiday gift to the timber industry by gutting the widely popular Roadless Area Conservation Rule that protects 58.5 million acres of pristine national forests from most logging and road-building. The Bush administration has already proposed exempting Alaska's Tongass Rainforest - our largest national forest - and Alaska's Chugach National Forest from the rule, has scheduled close to 50 timber sales in roadless areas protected by the rule, and wants to let governors opt out of the rule, which would give governors decision-making power over natural treasures owned by all Americans.

Please take a moment to urge Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth to uphold the roadless rule of January 2001. Then, ask your family and friends to help as well by forwarding this e-mail to them.

Dear Ms. Ivins,

I have just recently been introduced to your work at Free Press. Impressive to say the least. Reading your bio, it occurred to me you are far more qualified to lead this country than our current "dictator". I sure wish the rest of America could see the truth about this administration as you do.

Your column dated October 16, 2003, entitled "Bush-hater strikes again" was very enlightening and to the point. Although I'm not sure I can agree with you about Bush, stating, "You would have to work at it to dislike him personally". I have never met him but unfortunately (for him) his reputation has preceded him.

I have mounted my own campaign over the last several months to uncover the dealings of the entire Bush family. Beginning with Prescott Bush supplying goods to the Nazi regime during WWII, through the "stolen" 2000 election.

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, December 12th —  An internal memo has just surfaced suggesting e-vote manufacturer Diebold planned to overcharge the state of Maryland and make voter printouts "prohibitively expensive".

  An employee named "Ken" wrote the Jan. 3 letter suggesting the company charge Maryland "out the yin" if legislators insisted on printouts.

  Referring to a University of Maryland study critical of the company's machines, he added: "[The State of Maryland] already bought the system. At this point they are just closing the barn door. Let's just hope that as a company we are smart enough to charge out the yin if they try to change the rules now and legislate voter receipts."  

He goes on to say "...any after-sale changes should be prohibitively expensive."

  Delegate Karen S. Montgomery dropped the bombshell on Thursday amid negotiations with Diebold over its touchscreen voting machines.