You know the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

I like the Golden Rule. It's clean. It's clear. It's a hell of a philosophy. It's so good, religious sects have been ripping it off ever since Confucius first thought it up 2500 years ago. Almost all of today's major religions offer a similar rule within their various text/teachings:

"Do unto another what you would have him do unto you, and do not unto another what you would not have him do unto you. Thou needest this law alone. It is the foundation of all the rest."
-- The Analects of Confucius

"Do not to others what ye do not wish done to yourself...This is the whole Dharma. Heed it well."
-- The Mahabarata

"Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful"
-- The Undana-Varga

"What is hateful to you, do not do others. This is the entire law; All the rest is commentary"
-- The Talmud

"No one of you is a believer until they desire for their brother or sister that which they desire for themselves."
-- Muhammed

"Love your neighbor as yourself."
-- Jesus

Cairo : The leader of al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia was killed Friday, Arab satellite stations Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera reported.

The news was given in a scrolling news bar at the bottom of the screens.

Abdulaziz al-Moqrin is at the top of the list of suspects in Saudi Arabia and is believed to be the leader of the group calling itself al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which claimed responsibility for the beheading of American hostage Paul Johnson Jr.

You don't know where I live and that's okay with me.

I'll give you this much information about my town. It's located in West Texas and contains a population of less than 20,000 people. I live in Bush Country. I reside in a place where the SUV's flaunt WWJD stickers and everyone is Republican until proven guilty. The big city -twenty miles away- has an evangelical minister for a Mayor. No matter how you slice it, I am in an part of the country that is undeniably pro-Bush.

We drove ten miles to see Fahrenheit 911. There is a movie house in my town but it has only one screen. Now showing -The Stepford Wives. I wondered as I drove, would there be a crowd? Would there be protesters? Frankly, I was surprised that Moore's movie was showing at all. I knew if any theater were to cave into the right-wing pressure, it would be a theater in Texas.

We came for the 4:30 PM screening. Late afternoon on a work day. Fortunately, no protestors were there to cause trouble. Unfortunately, no long line of ticketbuyers either. As I was paying for entry, I think the teenage girls behind us made a snide comment. I wasn't really listening. We bought our mega-priced movie candy, got our tickets torn and proceeded to showroom #11.

From the looks of the seating area, I'd say this particular screening room had 100-250 chairs. I expected the place to be about 25% full at the most. I expected college students, a few old hippies and the occasional goth. Instead, I saw an audience comprised of all ages, all colors and all walks of life. I saw a movie theater, in the middle of nowhere West Texas, 95% full of people waiting to see Fahrenheit 911.

What surprised me even more were the reactions to the film by the crowd. Not one boo, not one hiss for Moore or his points.

There were plenty of boos for Bush. Every time the man's face hit the screen, the people spoke out loud: "Idiot!" or "I hate that guy!" They booed Cheney, Ashcroft, Rumsfeld, Fox News, The Carlyle Group and Britney Spears. They hissed at Halliburton, Enron, The US Senate and Bandar Bush. One senior citizen took a solid two minutes to descend the stairs and exit the showroom. I was sure he wouldn't return but he shuffled his way back up to his seat ten minutes later. Nobody walked out. No one protested. And when the movie began to center on our dying, disheartened, discarded soldiers, the tone got downright angry.

When the amputee soldier said he would be working hard for the Democratic party, audiences members yelled out "Right on!" When the Marine Corporal said he wouldn't "... kill other poor people", the crowd responded with applause. When the movie was over, there were cheers, applause and a standing ovation.