[Vision2020] Thank you

[Joan Opyr]

Dear Visionaries:

Thanks to those of you who took the Political Compass 
(http://www.politicalcompass.org) and shared your results.  I got 40 
responses -- six after I had already written the story for New West, so 
they're not included -- many from friendly lurkers.  The result?  A 
statistically insignificant number of us are very libertarian.  Well, I 
say statistically insignificant, but I choose to believe that it's 
representative.  As Churchill said, there are lies, damn lies, and 
statistics.  Why put my faith in that when I could put it in my fellow 
(wo)man?  Feel free to log onto New West, read the piece, and offer up 
a comment.  I have preserved the anonymity of everyone except Dan 
Carscallen.  (I'm not picking on Dan.  If you read the article, you'll 
see that he's named because he's a politician.  In Idaho, that ought to 
mean that he's authoritarian/right wing, but, strangely enough, he's 
not.  I find that significant.)

And now for a Self-Serving Public Service Announcement:

On March 8th at 7 PM, Moscow's Bookpeople will be holding a launch 
party for my first novel, "Idaho Code: Where family therapy comes with 
a shovel and an alibi."  I cordially invite you, your mother, your 
wife, your brother, your cousin, your cousin's cousin, your cousin's 
cousin's best friend from high school . . . you get the picture.  
Please, come yourself and bring the world and his wife.

About the book -- it's a murder mystery/black comedy set in a small 
college town in North Idaho that IS NOT MOSCOW.  No characters in the 
novel are meant to represent IN ANY WAY any real people you might have 
known (or might be) whether living or dead.  It is a work of fiction -- 
of pure, unadulterated fantasy.  You can try to sue if you have a Crack 
Legal Team, but you won't win because I made the whole thing up, and my 
agent, my publisher, and my relatives will vouch for me.  Right, Rose?

Joan Opyr
Northern Idaho Editor
New West Magazine
www.newwest.net
www.joanopyr.com