Who is damaged most by alcoholism?

I think it is the poor. They can least afford to spend their dollars on booze, because the net effect is greater - $5 on a six pack means that maybe their kids don't get food that day. The money means much, much, more than it would to middle-to-upper class people.

In the best interests of the poor, I think we should ban alcohol in the city of Buffalo. Take it out of all stores completely. Keep the bars and clubs open, but remove all the alcohol from those places as well.

It is the only compassionate thing to do, so we can protect people from themselves.

• Sits at home and waits for everyone in Buffalo to start throwing rocks and garbage*

When I don't take my medicine, the dreams I have are amazing. I've become very adept at being more of an active participant in my dreams, rather than staying a helpless spectator. The themes are always the same. I'll share with you:

A) I am in high school, behind on credits, and sweating about it. Sometimes it's college as well, but I am always behind and trying to catch up.

B) My ex girlfriend comes back to torment me in many ways, leaving me depressed, angry, and feeling helpless. I wake up sweating like a whore in church, inconsolable, wanting desperately to feel nothing, or at least neutral. This is when I am a danger to myself.

C) I am in the military, very elite, and hunting the bad guys down. I have popped many a cap in my dreams, but never in real life. The people always deserved it, but I always was left feeling filthy.

D) Flying. Or, more accurately, floating. Not flying in the Superman sense, zipping around the globe, it seems much slower. It is the most amazing sensation, but it always leaves me drained and tired. I can't keep it up for too long before having to rest.

E) I am a performer of some sorts, entertaining people through musical theater. In my dreams, my singing is angelic.

I will share two of my dreams with you.

In one, I was more or less a character involved in a movie musical - think of something Disney-like. A very noble kingdom, with many good people, is falling to some kind of evil. I look above, and it is not a sky, more a sheet of ice, and it is crumbling on top of everyone and everything below it. I tried so hard to save as many people as I could, but I couldn't help everyone, leaving me feeling like I could never do enough.

Then, out of the blue, in the middle of this mystical musical dream, my deceased Grandfather pops into view. He didn't look old, more like in his mid 40's. He was wearing a plaid shirt. He looked good and healthy, bringing a smile to my face. I realized I was dreaming, and cried out to Grampa "Jack, what in the world are you doing here?" He was expressionless. He would say nothing to me, only bothering to stare blankly back at me. I desperately wanted him to talk to me, to say something, to let me know he was doing okay. I got nothing of the sort. I was freaked out. Say something, Jack, PLEASE! Nothing like this had ever happened in a dream of mine. Eventually he left, and I woke up.

The second dream is one of the most pleasant experiences I've ever had, dreaming or not dreaming. I was at my Grandparents' house in Jamestown, out in the lawn, hanging out with three little kids who were starved for attention and entertainment. One of the kids begged, "Show us a trick, Jason! PLEEEEEEZE!" How could you say no? I leapt in the air and started doing the backstroke through the air, floating along backwards, yelling BACKSTROKE! The kids started giggling their little heads off, and I couldn't help but feel pleased and happy. It was sunny, a beautiful day, utter paradise. I felt a lot of satisfaction bringing joy to these little kids. They begged me to teach them how to do the backstroke through the air, but I told them they had to wait until they were older, and that it took a lot of practice. "Okay Jason, we'll do our best!" I woke up, it was a beautiful day, and for once I was happy.

Have a happy holiday e-peeps!

Thanks to everyone for writing. I'm now happily enjoying ALL of my media in Linux! Everything is working beautifully. I also got a cool app for the iPod, like iTunes without podcasts. Anyone know of any software for downloading podcasts?

Thanks again
Jason

I finally found a distro that actually will recognize all of my components. Yay!

Now, how do I play MP3 files or my DivX videos? I have way too much of it to convert to something else. If I'm going to use Linux, I need to be able to use my media otherwise it is POINTLESS!

Can anyone offer tips?