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President George W. Bush did his Presidency and the country a grave disservice, first by appointing one of his cronies, Alberto Gonzales, to the key position of Attorney General. Then by giving Gonzales free reign in trashing the constitution with illegal wiretaps, trashing the Geneva Convention by sanctioning torture of enemy combatants and just generally behaving as if he was the law, rather than sworn to uphold the law.

Alberto Gonzales as AG was strictly a political payoff to a Bush sycophant going back to the Texas days. The enduring picture that remains of the Pugsley Addams look and act-alike will be of him as White House Counsel going to then Attorney General John Ashcroft's hospital room shortly after Ashcroft had surgery and trying to pressure him into signing off on a clearly unconstitutional measure involving illegal wiretaps, some of American citizens.

God knows I had my problems with John Ashcroft such as the time he had the breasts of the statue outside the DOJ covered up at a cost to taxpayers of several thousand dollars. The guy lost a Missouri Senate race to a dead man in 2000 for goshsakes! Former Governor Carnahan had died in a plane crash earlier that year campaigning, but it was too late to replace his name on the ballot it seems. Voters in the Show Me State still preferred him to Ashcroft, who didn't take that motto to heart or he wouldn't have had such a problem with the sight of breasts. Carnahan, though deceased, still had more charisma than John Ashcroft and Ashcroft looks better all the time thanks to Mr. Gonzales.

George W. Bush didn't do himself or the country any favors with his childish tantrum in responding to questions about Alberto Gonzales' resignation, claiming Gonzales was forced out for “political reasons”. What happened to the company line as spun by Tony Snow-Job? You know, how all appointees serve at the behest of the President? Ask former U.S. Attorney Bud Cummins of Arkansas, a Republican by the way, about that one.

Well, the U. S. Senate and “we the people” have something to say about who serves in what government capacity and both wanted Gonzales gone a good long time ago. First Karl Rove, now Alberto Gonzales. What's a boy President to do, now that his brain and (fill in the body part) are gone?

In short, the only thing better for the country would be for Dick Cheney to go next. I don't believe it will happen, but for the sake of the country, we can hope.

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Nothing says “summer” better than a hot day at a theme park. But in the US, there are dozens of amusement parks to choose from, and deciding which one to visit can be difficult. However, if you're looking for a family-friendly environment with rides for all ages of your troupe, your search is over. Adventureland USA in Altoona, Iowa has it all with amusements ranging from the little kiddie rides to the daring and dangerous. And if you're like me, the “daring and dangerous” roller coasters suit you well. So buckle your safety harnesses, strap in your carry-on, and get ready for the top five wildest rides at Adventureland USA!

Tornado: Ranked as on of the top ten best wooden roller coasters, Tornado delivers the goods with speeds of 60 miles per hour and up. Hold your breath as you embark on the intense ascension up Tornado's steep initial incline, and be prepared to catch your stomach as you plummet over 100 feet to the ground at an angle dangerously close to ninety degrees! Your heart will literally be in your throat as the explosion of speed hurls you around the tracks, through hairpin turns, and around hazardous curves. Just as you contemplate begging for mercy, you're launched through the finish line with a jolting halt. But one word of advice to the wise: check your seatbelt even after the ride inspectors do; mine flew open just before the plunge, and I was left clinging to the safety bar for dear life!

The Outlaw: Just inside of Outlaw Gulch and within a stone's throw of Tornado, be prepared to encounter The Outlaw. Don't let this bad boy fool you; it's not a ride for the weak of heart… er, stomach. With a G-Force of 3.2 and speeds exceeding 60 miles per hour, it's doesn't take but a minute before your heart races as fast as the coaster. Buckle in for a breathtaking ride as The Outlaw challenges death-defying heights, whips up and around its wooden rails and plummets down steep drops, taking you along for the ride!

The Dragon: As an avid roller coaster fan, I love the thrill of any coaster that turns me upside-down and through multiple loops. But The Dragon is more than just a series of loops and a G-Force of 4.5; it's a head challenge. Of all the jostling, bumpy, tragic roller coaster side-effects, this fire-breathing monster takes the cake! Your head is whipped in every direction but loose as you face double upside-down loops and spirals projecting you ten stories above the ground. Another word to the wise: keep your head rigid!

The Sidewinder: Are you afraid of snakes? If so, there's plenty to fear in The Sidewinder! Saddle up in this scaly varmint's seats and lift your legs as the floor drops out from beneath you, and you gradually begin a spinning, spiraling lift up to the sky. Once you're stories above the crowd, you realize there's no turning back as you are hurled back and forth while at the same time spinning at an alarming rate! With legs flying and warm air in your face, there's no ride quite comparable to the tricky, sneaky Sidewinder!

The Splash Over: Prepare for soggy shoes and a wet behind as you board Splash Over, the wildest water ride in Adventureland! As your harness descends upon you, get a good look in front of you at a pool filled with spouting fountains of water. Before you know it, that very water will grace your lap. As you're lifted high into the sky, fountains of water explode into the air, soaking your body as Splash Over inverts you multiple times in a row, both forwards and backwards. This upside-down fantasy is fast and furious and loaded with thrills, so Splash Over is one ride you don't want to miss!

If you've been craving a summer day at a theme park, Adventureland USA is definitely for you. So head on over and have some fun already!

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For decades, there has been great stigma attached to the diagnosis of HIV and AIDS. While awareness of the life threatening disease has increased exponentially, individuals who are at risk for carrying the HIV virus often do not seek screening, testing or diagnosis early in the infection period.

HIV screening is important; especially if you are at risk for carrying the virus that will, eventually, lead to the development of AIDS. Unlike past medication therapies, today, if you are diagnosed with HIV early in the stage of your illness, treatment options are available which could drastically improve your health.

Visit with your family physician. In today's healthcare environment, physicians are becoming more willing to ask the difficult questions about sexuality and recreational drug use. In addition, the screening for HIV is becoming increasingly more acceptable as part of routine health screening and physical examinations.

Beyond the need to initiate medications soon after being infected with HIV, there are many other reasons to seek screening and diagnosis early if you are at risk for carrying the disease. First, you will want to know what risk you may be for other potential sexual partners and learn the ways in which to avoid transmission of the virus.

Second, because HIV often leads to secondary health complications, including those affecting the neurological, cardiovascular and even psychological systems, your healthcare professional will want to take a multidisciplinary approach to your healthcare as soon as possible.

While screening and diagnosing HIV may be a frightening experience, even more frightening is the potential for significant health, psychological and social deterioration if you delay in obtaining screening and diagnosis. It is unfortunate, but, in many cases, HIV diagnoses are not made until a patient has moved into an AIDS complication at which point obtaining control over the medical and psychological issues may be difficult and securing social services for housing and health services may be impossible.

Screening for HIV is simple and takes only a few days to obtain results. If you are sexually active, engage in the use of recreational drugs, or if you recently underwent blood transfusion, it is important to obtain HIV screening regularly. Because your health complications are best managed when diagnosis is made early, HIV screening is becoming part of many routine health examinations. When visiting with your physician for routine health or annual check-up, ask about HIV screening to be certain you are addressing any potential risks and long term health complications that may arise.

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While standing in the children’s section of Borders, it is hard to know what books are going to become your toddler’s favorites and which ones won’t…. Which ones will she carry over to you, babbling in baby language to read to her? And which ones will have her squirming out of your arms before you finish reading the title? Granted, a toddler’s preference for just about anything changes too quickly for you to keep up (i.e. She just loved peas yesterday, so why in the world is she sticking them in her ears instead of her mouth today?)

So, my daughter and I are here to help with suggestions of books that she has faithfully loved for most of her life which really only equals about seven months. She has chosen ten of her favorite books; one at a time, she has come toddling over to me at the computer with a smile on her face and a book in her hand. (You might wonder why I’m still typing and not reading to her…. Maybe she will get her revenge by trapping me in my chair with all of these piles of books surrounding me.)

A few of her favorites are classics, and clearly they have become well-known for a reason. But the others have become music to her ears, and she likes to share what makes her happy with others. These are in no particular order.

1) Hooray for Fish! By Lucy Cousins
Maybe it is just because I like to read this one that makes my daughter love it so much. But isn’t that important, too? The parents must be entertained as well, in order to entertain their child and to tolerate reading the same words over and over again. It is a big, blue book that is almost the size of my daughter. The illustrations are larger-than-life fish, and they look like they were created with poster paints. Adorable! We love the bright colors, and my daughter smiles at the same lines every time this book is read to her. The author, Lucy Cousins, is the creator of Maisy, but I am not so familiar with that character. This book is highly recommended by this household, and I have given it as a gift at several baby showers these days. We bet your child will laugh when you shout “Hooray for Fish!” at the end. (By the way, the ending suggests that the “mom” is who is “loved the best” by the baby fish; my dear husband changes it around to be “dad” when he is the reader. I’m sure Lucy wouldn’t mind.)

2) But Not the Hippopotamus by Sandra Boynton

This one is also super fun to read aloud. Actually, we love a lot of Sandra Boynton. You certainly can’t miss her array of books at the store. We have a lot of them, but this one and another are our standouts (see #3). In a humorous way, the book addresses the sad state of the hippo, who feels left out and quite lonely. Finally the other animals invite this shy girl into their group and she is thrilled to join. Of course, someone always has to be left out. And that is the fate of the poor armadillo at the end. What makes me love Sandra even more is the dedication at the beginning of the story. She is very clever.

3) Hippos Go Berserk by Sandra Boynton

My little girl must really love hippos or something. Or maybe she just loves the idea of partying…. Yikes. Anyway, in this story, one hippo calls up forty-four of his closest friends, and they, well, go berserk. In my household, when the hippos go berserk, we all go berserk, and usually our daughter gets a little bit of tickling that brings out her finest belly laugh. Again, cute drawings, great words to read that captivate a toddler’s attention, and it is entertaining for parents, too.

4) Goodnight Moon written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd

I don’t fully understand the staying power of this book. But then again, I am not a toddler. We were given this book as a gift. Now my husband reads it almost every night. I never thought that the illustrations were all that great (although I like the use of the yellow in the color drawings – it really looks as if the page is lighting up) and some of them are boring (to me) in black-and-white. Now that I have read it aloud a few times, I have realized how soft and soothing the words sound, so I imagine that is why babies like it so much. But my daughter also finds the pictures really appealing as well.

5) First 100 Words by bright baby

This is the heaviest book of my daughter’s favorites. I know because when she brings it to me, she often drops it on my foot. She loves to point at all the colorful pictures, which are labeled with words, and say, “This?” “This?” “This?” At least, that is what I think she is saying. I oblige her by telling her what each object, person, or animal is. There is no story, but each page has a theme. It is like a book of flashcards, and right now my daughter gets a real kick out of it. I think I got it at TJ Maxx for about $4. What a good deal.

6) Animal Talk by DK books

No matter how cute my toddler is (and she is really cute), it gets old after a while saying, “What does the baby elephant say?” Then I pause, hoping my little girl will do it for me. Nope, no chance. “Braloooooooooooo!” I have to yell, and at least I get a lovely smile of appreciation. So, you have to ignore the fact that your child just shoved this book into your lap for the fifth time in a row, although you have been trying to sneak in But Not the Hippopotamus for ten minutes. What is truly adorable, though, is that now my daughter does the happy chimp: “Ooo ooo ooo,” she says. Overall, it is a very sweet and simple book, especially when you only have to read it five times in one day rather than fifteen.

7) 1 2 3 by DK books

She loves this one because it is just her size, about three inches by three inches. Perfect for her little hands! One rabbit, two teddy bears, three puppies and so on. She really enjoys reading this one without me. But when I’m there, I have enjoyed this book too because I know the baby signs for most of the images and have been trying to get her to learn them. There is nothing especially exciting about this book, really, except that the last page, “Twelve Finger Puppets,” is a little strange. Why finger puppets? Anyone know the sign for that one?

Time for Bed by Mem Fox and illustrated by Jane Dyer

Doesn’t everyone love this one? Like Goodnight Moon, the words are beautifully soft when read aloud. The pictures are sweet. My daughter is definitely helped to sleep with this one.

9) If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond

This one is probably not best suited for the youngest of toddlers. But all of Laura Numeroff’s books are really funny. This one focuses on all that you must do to entertain a pig with a short attention span. Even though it is a little long for my daughter’s short attention span, most of the time she sits still, very amused. Maybe it is because her parents look so amused. I think we will get lots of use out of our Laura Numeroff books as she gets older.

10) Baby Faces by DK books

Toddlers just love other babies, in person or in pictures! This short book shows babies’ faces to represent a myriad of emotions. My daughter is enthralled by all of their expressions. I am sure that there are similar books at the bookstore, and they would probably be equally as good, if not better. Like Animal Talk (#6) above, she brings this one over to me to read a lot so she gives a big thumbs up.

Honorable Mention: An Old Favorite, That Is Now Passé: Doggies by Sandra Boynton

This one really tickled my daughter’s funny bone. Her dad and I read it to her until we were hoarse from making so many obnoxious dog sounds (and one cat sound!). Now I think it may be under our sofa somewhere. It was fun while it lasted, but we all tired of it. You might want to invest in it, but remember that eventually it gets hard to continue topping your best “Bow wow wow wow!” without really wanting to bang your head against the wall.

Another mention: Baby Einstein “Language Discovery Cards”

My little one just loves to spread these flashcards all over the family room carpet. She pants when she sees the one with the dog, and “moos” appropriately for the cow. We’re just not sure why she hates the robot so much. Really, she has truly enjoyed these cards, and I think they are a great learning tool. I think some of the images are bizarre – most are odd-looking toys – but my child thinks they are wonderful. On the back are hints of what to ask your toddler, and the name of the image in about five different languages. I have learned quite a bit myself.

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Speaking of the fall run of striped bass and what's popularly known as stupid fishing, here's what happens in Massachusetts waters in the fall, particularly on the flats and sandspit at Marshfield, where the tidal waters of the North and South Rivers and large schools of striped bass congregate. By mid-fall expect striper thumb and essentially getting stripered-to-death on the flats during low-water blitzes.

Let's take a look at a typical fall day, for starters. First, a big mess of schoolies. Nothing unusual, except the water is only two feet deep. And then, in a guzzle adjacent to a dry flat, a keeper you might yank in on a four-inch shad, and which you have to lip back into the water because you have no ice belowdecks and no intention anyhow of heading in before the moon appeared. It will be flat calm. The moon will growing in the east horizon like the back of a big fat snowman's head, and then you will get blitzed again.

This is the dynamic. The schoolie stripers are in blind feeds on the flats in water no deeper than your shins. You paddle over there in a kayak. Fast. Thrashing like snakes, slaughtering the baitfish — which shoot through the air like seeds from a wateryoulon at a picnic — the bass smash into your boat, smash under it.

Then the tide drops further. Now you were blockaded in by enormous dry flats which lock the motorfleet out, which keep you and the fish in.

Final score back at the ramp: kayak stripers countless less one tattered shad, stripers from a scratched-up rampage whaler three plus a likely bent prop shaft.

All this from a kayak equipped with a 5'10″ Ugly Stik, a 4400 Penn Spincaster, and 12-pound test. The best part of it is, the action on the flats can stay hot until November —- cheery news for the angler looking for a big end-of-season bash before winter sets in.

A variety of lures is key here. The schools you successfully bucktail, for example, may develop a different interest a day or two later. Which means you may have to switch from that bucktail to a popper or shad, and then on to a broken-back or rattle-trap, etc., as the fall run progresses.

If bait's your preference the story's no different. Variety counts: eels if you can handle them, mackerel, pogie bits, whole sea-worms. Locals swear by seined-up pogie live-lipped and sent wandering on light leaders.

One factor aside from the typical strong fall run which makes the treacherous mouth of the North River (be wary here of fast currents and large standing waves when an incoming wind meets an outgoing tide) so consistent is the sheer amount of tidal water which flows in and out of it — the river swells with more than ten billion gallons of seawater on the flood, with a full 66% of that draining out on the ebb, a pushing and pulling action which deposits baitfish and forage all over the mouth's sandy apron.

At low tide you can see the result of this sculpting the rivermouth's intricate pattern of flats, guzzles, and streams. The structure creates productive seams, back eddies, shallows. Tribes of stripers roam in constant motion, opportunistically feeding on trapped baitfish.

Two shallow areas worthy of note where the dynamic is the same a few miles south are Duxbury Bay's Saquish rip and Captains Flat off Goose Point. Trolling the boat channels is worth the effort. Keep in mind, however, that Duxbury Bay's flats and embayments have unique local names not necessarily printed on NOAA charts. If you head there, you'd do well to stop a local with chart in hand and ask which flat is which. Getting to know the area on paper will help you avoid grounding out on the shallows everywhere.

Finally, Mother Nature's only request is this: handle your rash of fall-run schoolies with care. Sure you can hook an inordinate number of fish here in a single day during the fall run, and sure, you can very much feel like the supreme angler's angler. But are you REALLY such a hotshot? Have you protected your fish? Have you filed down your hooks' barbs? Are you taking care to resuscitate each fish ? Remember, the true fishing hero is the one who protects the resource…

Keywords for this story are striped bass fishing Massachusetts, North River Massachusetts stripers, North River tidal current, Marshfield Massachusetts fishing, flats fishing Massachusetts

About the writer: fishing guide Adam Bolonsky writes about the outdoors for NorthAmericanKayakFishing and Sea Kayaking Dot Net.