By Vincent L. Guarisco

"Fighting fire with fire only gets you ashes"~~Abigail Van Buren

Goodness gracious, please pass me an oxygen mask --quickly -- so I can escape the dreaded plume! Whoa, I need some fresh air to replace the foul stench lingering from Dick Cheney! Indeed, Take a bow Mr. Dubious Ex-VP, thanks to you (and the little junior genius), 11 million worried Americans are now out of work and struggling to survive. How sweet and, just recently, while scrambling for our next meal, we got to hear basement Dick gush on the public airwaves that there’s a "high probability" were going to get attacked with biological agents or perhaps a nuclear device in the near future.

Gosh! Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Gee, talk about tying your nutsack in a underwear slipknot! I guess it’s appropriate to say that evil absurdities such as this will always remain a constricted, smelly area without sunshine. Especially, after considering all the corruption, inequality, failure and violence that happened during his horrible eight-year tenure. Am I alone when I say I wish we could quickly remove Cheney from the public airwaves like a bad jar of peanut butter? Indeed, just last week alone, over 626,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits. And, I would add, this trend has no end in sight. Yet, Mr. Cheney saw fit to seize the moment -- yet again -- to instill more fear. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I just witnessed a dangerous jar of talking salmonella spewing vicious venom from a poisonous peanut gallery. "Wow" comes to mind...

It’s so amazing how some leaders can achieve such greatness and others not. In 1962, John F, Kennedy said "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable". How true. And, with Dick Cheney in mind, Abigail Van Buren appropriately coined another keeper: "Wisdom doesn’t automatically come with old age. Nothing does -- except wrinkles. It’s true, some wines improve with age. But only if the grapes were good in the first place".

Phooey, all wine-cellars beware -- Cheney’s eight year vintage is bitter-tasting spittle at best.

Yes, regardless of Cheney’s feeble scare tactics, our perseverance, courage, diligence and compassion for life will now prevail over his mundane threats. Sorry, Dick, your fear-mongering no longer has the desired effect. The time of hateful redundancy is over. It's time to look ahead and push forward with this new administration to birth a hopeful tomorrow that will eventually offer promise and prosperity. At the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, on January 18, 2009, two days before his inauguration as US President, President Barack Obama said:

"I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure, that it will prevail, that the dream of our founders will live on in our time."

And so it is...a new wiser era has begun. In truth -- this short piece has probably wasted more digital space than this jerk deserves! So I will end it with this: Angry old teeth-gritting salts like Dick Cheney are a useless dying breed. Indeed, Cheney’s dishonorable legacy will be always be remembered (with astonishment) as the world’s only known living heart donor. Yes Dick, slither back to your dark, dank zombie basement and we’ll send you a complimentary case of yummy Kroger peanut butter paste for to chew on. Bye, bye, and Amen.

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Vincent L. Guarisco is a freelance writer from Bullhead, Arizona, a contributing writer for many web sites, and a lifetime founding member of the Alliance of Atomic Veterans. The 21st century, once so full of shining promise, now threatens to force countless millions of us at home and abroad into a dark abyss of languishing poverty and silent servitude; a lowly prodigy of painful struggle and suffering that could stream for generations to come. I'm wishing for a miracle, before it is too late, the masses will figure it out and will stand as one and roar. So, pass the word -- it's past time to take back what is ours -- the American Dream where the pursuit of happiness, the ability to live in a free and peaceful nation is a reality. We bought it, and we paid for it. It's time to take it back. For replies, contact: vincespainting1@hotmail.com