Mission accomplished

Ojai is one of those towns that loves the fourth of July. Our version of the ubiquitous main street is lined with chairs days before the parade begins. Some people want their spot so badly that they reserve it with a lawn chair more than a week in advance. One day soon, they will have to camp out with a tent and a sleeping bag but for now the honor system prevails and a chair is enough. Not every one in this town accepts Uncle $am's version of patriotism. In fact some of us believe the whole American revolution was a hoax staged by the British monarchy (currently the Queen of England is the largest land holder in the USA). Most of the folks I know are all suspicious of government in general but accept it as business as usual. There is one faction that have been using the stage as a way to portray their opinion. Today they took their performance protest to another level. They managed to Trojan their way into the parade under the guise of a float titled "The USS Constitution". So the parade starts, apple pie is being eaten, all you see is red white and blue and there are a bunch of dudes driving around in go-carts with little hats on their heads.

Suddenly, as The USS Constitution reaches the museum, corporate pirates attack the float. A battle ensues. The pirates have names on their backs - like: Haliburton, Rice, Rumsfield, Rove, Gonzales etc. We all know who wins this battle. Cheney is also among the pirates, he is the puppeteer and his puppet is Bush. Cheney stands on a pulpit (Jonah with a full mask and suit with a red white and blue tie) below him is puppet Dubya Bush (Mac was Dubya in a mask wearing a green fighter pilot jacket).

The crowd falls silent as this ambush of The USS Constitution happens right before their eyes. No one tries to help. No one protests.

We all know who wins this battle. The pirates drape a giant banner over The USS Constitution, it reads: "Mission Accomplished"