ANIMALS HAVE BEEN ON my mind the last few days. Deer, wounded pachyderms,pheasant, braying donkeys and that most ponderous of critters the lame duck. The Boss hit a deer the other morning doing the 70 m.p.h. speed limit on I-70. Due to her Mario Andriette driving skills she managed to clip it with the fender and maintain control as she drove into the median.We hit one in the exact same spot almost to the day a year ago with the same vehicle. The proliferation of big game animals in this state has become a menace to motorists and a bane to farmers.

Simultaneously the demise of the pheasant and quail population ( mainly due to the drought conditions) continues unabated. Yet this year the pheasant season was extended by a week. But these are not my greatest animal concerns today, though I will reexamine these issues at a later date.

No the Lame Duck 100-work-days-per-year Congress has my attention as it should. For there are few things on the planet as dangerous as a wounded elephant. And the Fundamental Right has been issued its timetable by the voters. But the response I'm zeroing in on is Denial. I've heard several known neocons babbling about how they've won the election. We must be proactive in watching this Congressional session, for these swine are the masters of the slight-of-hand and diversion.

Today I'm going to get my duck stamp.