Hey there, Bud,
I am caught up on the last nine pages here...sorry I haven't been around much lately.  I liked the Loretta videos - I bought Van Lear Rose for Mom when it first came out a few years ago and it's damn good work for someone in their 70s.  I like Johnny Cash's last CD a whole lot too.
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go[/youtube]
Much of my aversion to being here lately is election-related also.  I come in almost daily, read a few things, get annoyed, and log back out.  I know that theoretically I should be able to Ignore better, but I haven't figured it out yet.  November 5, 2008 can't get here fast enough to suit me, but I worry that the damage is done.  You might be onto something with respect to the divisiveness conspiracy theory.
I love the account of the 
powwow peewee.  Sounds like just the thing.
Lynne-Who-Drinks-Wild-Cherry-Koolaid