But I suppose I'm being unnecessarily cruel in my assessment of old curmudgeonly types who like to yell at the neighborhood kids to get off their lawn. I should learn to not begrudge that daily bit of self-empowerment, since it probably marks one of the few and fleeting highlights of their otherwise miserable existence as an elderly shut-in -- a miserable existence no doubt exacerbated by their aural addiction to Fox News and right-wing talk radio.

That was my own beloved maternal grandmother during her declining years in the 1990s, after she had a series of small strokes which left her physically impaired but her mind still very much intact. But a few years' steady and corrosive diet of listening to Rush Limbaugh and the now-late (and mercifully departed) George Putnam managed to cure this once-committed FDR New Deal Democrat of her lifelong addiction to equality and justice for all.

Instead, she was often beside herself with disturbing visions of unmarried black welfare queens getting pregnant just for the bi-weekly check; Mexican immigrants illegally pouring over the border to re-annex California to the homeland; gay people recruiting her great-grandchildren into the depraved San Francisco lifestyle; Arkansas political hillbillies engaging in Whitewater land scams and gubernatorial cocaine deals; and a first lady coldly offing her lover in a Washington DC park, while her husband the president was busy feeling up anyone in a skirt who happened to walk by his desk in the Oval Office.

At the end, she was left truly fearful what was to become of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, once they were left alone in a world gone madly awry. I've often thought about that rather sad and mentally gruesome way in which my grandmother departed this life, thanks to Rush and George and in no small part to my tea party uncle who talked her into listening to those fools. The lesson I thus learned is as follows:

I think there's more than enough anecdotal evidence available that shows all the incessant media chatter out there is leaving a lot of older adults confused, angry and depressed, and it's also further relieving them of much if any hope at all for the future of the many loved ones they're soon to leave behind on this Earth. Much as we see in similar studies of young children, perhaps overexposure to audio-visual media is rendering far too many of elder persons antisocial in both their future outlook and their overall general attitude.

Therefore, if you have older relatives who (a) are shut-ins and dependent upon the kindness of relatives and hired help, and (b) further find the voices of the radio / TV babblethon to be acceptable company in lieu of actual human interaction, you should do both them and yourselves a big favor and remove all AM radios from the home, and if necessary use the parental controls on the TV remote to block access to the more baldly partisan broadcast cable channels.

Then, if you and your siblings, cousins and children really can't spend more personal time with your old folks yourselves, then really try to get them into a mutually acceptable situation like adult day care or a senior social club at a local church or community center, where they have the opportunity to socialize with people their own age and perhaps rebuild their own social network.

(Much to his (and our) surprise, my paternal grandfather at age 75 even found love again at a senior center, after his 56 years of marriage had ended with my grandmother's death. He soon remarried and lived happily for another 17 years.)

Or, if you're in either Colorado or Washington state, buy 'em a bong, some primo herb, a Bose stereo player, some decent headphones and the complete box sets of Tony Bennett, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and The Eurythmics or whoever else you'd think they'd enjoy, just to get them started. That'll sure beat having to listen to the clueless and depressing likes of Rush, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly, hands down, any day of the week.

This was a long poll on two different subjects.

Something nice and positive to read, but I would not trust it to accurately reveal the suggested depth of analysis regards who thinks what.

Well, lo and behold and sure enough, he's not. Amazing what a simple little thing like a check of voter registration records can turn up, eh?

You know, I'd lend them my bong, if only I could trust that they'd know from which end to inhale. I'd really hate to have them forever remember me as the guy who made them drink bongwater.

The proprietor of Denver-based Medicine Man revealed to The Denver Post that, after taxes, the shop was selling an eighth for about $64, and although The Associated Press found at least one shop selling the same amount for as much as $70, Marijuana.com found that the average price right now is approximately $65.

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