I walked out to the barn, well past dark. I knew where to place my feet so as not to trip. Hauling open the door of the barn, it was pitch black inside. I wasn’t afraid of falling, and didn’t reach for the light. I could hear the radio in the background, in Beth’s workshop.

As I creaked open the old wooden door to the workshop, I could make out the words from the radio:

Orson Wells, performing War of the Worlds.

Awesome. I couldn’t have planned a spookier moment.

I have the unique distinction of having died on the very same day as River Phoenix. The deaths were unrelated, though both were drug induced. The young actor died on the sidewalk in front of the Viper Room in Los Angeles, his body convulsing as it gave up the fight between cocaine and heroin. I passed away on a rare snowy Halloween night on an ER table at the Lakeshore General in Montreal, my heart ceasing to beat just as a doctor was shoving a tube up my right nostril and trying to get it down my throat.

I was away from this world for four minutes before they shocked me back to life. River Phoenix has been gone 15 years. I always think of him on Halloween, and how our lives ended the same day. How he had so much to live for and made a stupid mistake; how I had nothing to live for but yet I was saved. There but for a few volts of electricity go I. Looking back over the years, I often wonder what greeted him on the far side that morning. I know what I saw, what I heard; it will have been different for him. It will be different for everyone of you who reads this.

River Phoenix was 23 years old; I was 17. Strange that I have passed the age of 23, all the way to 32 so far, and he never will. He will always be 23. He has been for fifteen years.

A Huffington Post writer stabbed her former lover more than 200 times with a screwdriver and then tried to conceal the slaying, PalmBeachPost.com reported.

After committing the gruesome crime, Carol Anne Berger, an election correspondent for the Huffington Post, reported her former flame missing, then fatally shot herself a day later, police told the Web site.

Lt. Gary Chapman said Jessica Kalish, 56, a software executive, was found in the backseat of her BMW on Oct. 23, the Web site reported.

Was it Palin Derangement Syndrome from having to cover the election? Nope.

Kalish had been stabbed with a Phillips-head screwdriver 220 times, he said, with wounds concentrated in the back of her head, back, arms and face. A blow to Kalish’s neck likely killed her, Chapman told the Web site.

Burger and Kalish recently had hired an attorney to sell their house and split the revenue. Kalish had met another woman and spent hours absorbed in cyber-dates with her new companion, PalmBeachPost.com reported.

Ah, hell hath no fury… As that of a scorned woman with a tool belt.

I blame Bush (as it were).

How many of you noticed that in last night’s NCIS, there was a character named Sam Loomis? Who was paying attention?

…it’s probably good enough for me.

I hear ads for this every day on the radio, so I did some browsing to see what it was all about. Now that my computer is my source of income, I really can’t afford to call up a new-ish client and say “Oops, everything got deleted - can I have another two weeks to get that done for you?” I’m figuring $50 a year to recover everything really isn’t so bad, right? I mean, I’m on a PC running Vista - god only knows what could happen!

It’s kinda like insurance - you hope you never need it, but you pay for it because when the day comes, you don’t want to be without it. I’m signing up for my 30 day free trial. I hope I never need to use it!

Ken welcomes baby Ella Rose to the family. At 7lbs, 7 oz, Ella sounds like a healthy little girl. Mrs. Ken is recovering well after bringing her daughter into the world.

All the best, Ken. Call us for assistance when the boys start beating down your door.

Wherein I offer grudging respect. And become terribly distracted by blue eyes.

Many of you may remember me showing my boobies off earlier in the year to help raise money for the USO. This was for Ltc. Kevin Upson, a friend of mine, raising funds and running the Marine Marathon.

I got this pic and an email yesterday saying he completed in 4 hours and 8 minutes. He raised $575, mostly from readers of this here little blog.

Congrats to Ltc. Upson, and thanks to all of you who donated to the USO. Good job, everyone!

Our special guest this week is Ezra Levant.

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Tomorrow’s show is a great one, where we talk to Ezra Levant. He does the top 20 countdown of all his complaints and lawsuits, and then the conversation turns very philosophical. Even if you think you already know the story, do yourself a favor and tune in.

Also on the show: Is Barack Obama planning to dismantle the American military? We talk about it.

Sondra K is asking those deep, philosophical questions that usually happen near the tail end of a really good all-night party, when everyone is all mellowed out on the basement floor, munchies sated, too lazy to make out with anyone.

Smurfs: Aryan Nazis and homophobes, or loving inclusive tolerant society?

Suddenly I’m craving cheetos.

… comes not from yours truly, but from the CBC!

Winnipeg is Canada’s murder capital
Edmonton, Calgary also cited by Statistics Canada as having high homicide rates

How long before one of the FN chiefs comes out and denounces this report as being skewed against criminals aboriginals?

Sometime shortly after I would normally fall asleep, Beth came a-knocking at my door to wake me. It was time to get dressed and go to the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. This morning they held a Town Hall event hosted by the local morning radio team, EJ & Ellen. The idea was to get a variety of opinions on the election and candidates. The group between 7-8 (that was us) were “average” voters (’cept for this lonely Canuck). The 8-9 group were students at KU (who mostly came for the free breakfast - hell, that’s why I went!).

Anyway, because it wasn’t to be just another day on the farm, I put on a dress, and slipped my swollen, broken foot into my Nine West butter-soft leather heels I got as a post Christmas gift when I went to Hawaii in January. I love those shoes, and rarely get an opportunity to wear them - black and broken toe be damned! As a testament to my unbelievably high tolerance for pain, I managed to walk despite a) broken toe, b) twisted ankle and c) only one cup of coffee. That last part was a bitch, seeing as it was still the middle of the night, as far as this girl was concerned.

The Dole Institute is absolutely beautiful, if slightly creepy in a mausoleum sort of way. I realize it bears the man’s name, but the shrine to Dole - and it really is a shrine - is a bit unnerving. The staff however are true gems of the Midwest. Some of the nicest people you will ever meet, including their top dog, Bill Lacy. Pundits may remember Bill from the Reagan/Bush Bush/Quayle years. I also got to meet one of the Deputy Directors of the Institute, Lawrence Bush (no relation). He’s a friend of John & Beth, and a really nice guy. Funny, too.

The first crowd - us grownups - was pretty even in terms of who they would voted for. There were three conservatives at our table, and three liberals. Somewhere in the room there was an “undecided” couple, which worries me - how can you still be undecided at this late stage of the game? Have you been under a rock for the last year of campaigning? Subjects covered included racism, ageism (misogyny was ignored) and leadership experience. Mostly though, there were commercials. This is why I hate listening to commercial radio (d’uh). There’s an ad break every 2.5 minutes. WTF? So we sat there for over an hour to have approximately 10 minutes of discussion about the election. For this I got up early, and wore the shoes. Jesus.

Anyhow, when the grownup segment ended, the working crowd left for their respective jobs. One of the libs from our table passed by and leaned down to make a rather creepy comment about my cleavage, while his wife stood next to him. I told him to behave and wished the wife a good day. Democrats - I’ll never figure ‘em.

Beth and I hung around for a while to hear what the future of America had to say for themselves. Ohmygod! America is doomed, with the exception of a few shining students (of both party persuasions) that talked about things like the future, and security, and health. The rest of these whiny brats living off their parents’ dime were focused on only one subject: Themselves. Who will do more for students? Who relates to me the best? Who uses the most technology (newsflash, kiddo: people who don’t work 9-5 in offices really don’t hang out on Facebook that much)? Who is younger and cooler? Doomed, I tell you. we had to leave before our heads exploded. We consoled ourselves in the fact that though students love to preach about a candidate, they rarely get out and vote.

Can I just say that Lawrence, Kansas is an adorable little college town? Love it. I hope we go back again soon. Though maybe I would be more comfortable and fit in better if I wear Birkenstocks.

You were messed and tired and cut and weary
But I said that’s alright you could be a girl

Bonus points if a) you know what it is without looking it up, and b) you’ve actually heard the song.

Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, nude. With pictures. Is there nothing this woman didn’t get up to?

Ladies and gentleman of Girl on the Right:

I am speechless.

As most of you know, I lost my job back in April and have been freelancing ever since. Things are finally starting to happen in that regard, and I am loving it. No, I’m not making enough yet to sustain myself (PayPal button is to your right, ahem), but I am building a nice base.

If you want to laugh and cry along with me, catch me over at Girl on the Write. Naturally. Like, what else would I have called it??

I guess I’ve always kinda had an inkling, but now I know for sure.

I’ve been blogging for almost five years here at GOTR, and I think I do pretty well. Of course, Sitemeter has me thinking I’m some big loser, though thankfully I don’t check it very often. Anyway, I was fooling around with some apps yesterday, and while I was in my account at 1 & 1, I decided to check their stat counter for GOTR. Holy crap! I have had over 3 million visitors! Not pages views, but unique hits from day to day. Wow.

Sitemeter sucks! I ♥ 1 & 1!

But i do approve this message.

Canada had an election, you know. Just sayin’. And the Americans had their last presidential debate. Lots to talk about!

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Because it seemed we suffered a broken link for the better part of last week, some of you may have missed our interview with Pete Vere. You can get it here.

I’ve been saying this for seven years. Islam is a cult. When a cult gets busted up, many of the more vulnerable members (the sheeple) are sent into intense therapy to be deprogrammed. This is done with many death cults who have the potential to harm themselves and others. They are given cognitive behavioral therapy, taught to see and interpret things differently, and eventually learn to live new lives free from the poisonous constraints of their cult “groupthink.”

Why not do it with Islam?

Psychologists in the Prison Service will try to ‘cure’ extremist Muslim inmates of their political beliefs with controversial therapies similar to those used to ‘de-programme’ members of religious cults.

The experimental treatments are being developed by a special Extremism Unit set up by the Ministry of Justice in January last year, The Mail on Sunday has discovered.

Sources say the therapy forms part of a wide-ranging strategy to combat Islamic extremism in Britain’s jails.

Psychologists working with the Extremism Unit have for months been investigating ways of de-programming jihadists. Ministry sources said they planned to use ‘cognitive- behaviour’ methods, based on the notion that it is possible to change people’s behaviour by altering their perceptions and attitudes.

One source said: ‘It’s pretty clear it wouldn’t work with everyone. But our view of extremism is that, at the centre, the views of the hardcore, high-profile leaders will not be subject to change. But for those further out, it may be quite effective.’

Another source said: ‘Our focus is on protecting the public and on reducing the risk of offenders hurting others. It’s about stopping violence.’

Therapists would work with such prisoners individually, while the treatments would help the Prison Service determine whether prisoners would still be dangerous if released.

On the front line are approximately 150 prison imams, who are expected to challenge extremist beliefs on the basis of their own religious knowledge.

It’s about time that people put aside political correctness and start realizing that Islam is not like other religions. It is a religion mixed with a political and social ethos that is very, very dangerous to those outside it, and often dangerous even to those inside it. Like a cult. It’s time to have some Islamic brains sent out for drycleaning. Only then can we maybe learn to live alongside each other. Only when the timebomb has been deactivated.

Anyway, read the whole article about life inside Whitemoor. Very interesting.