Margo, I must thank you for your book Not Happy John. It has restored my faith in humanity that there are at least a few people around who are able to stand up and be counted on these intensely worrying issues.

In the past I was a fairly conservative person who tended to be a swinging voter depending on current issues. However, while John Howard holds the reigns I can no longer in good conscience vote for this evil man or his party. (if he doesn't have altsheimer's he must be evil.... how else could he not remember dates, times, conversations etc of such importance)

In what seems another life time I was married to a Journalist who left Journalism because of the Murdoch takeover so your comments struck a chord with me there as well.

Please please keep going.... there are a huge number of people who agree with you but just dont have the voice or the means to get their opinions heard.

I marched in the anti Iraq war march, which was a first in my life, even though i was against the Vietnam war I was too young and too naive to stand up and be counted. Me marching against the Iraq war was a joke to some of my colleagues and contacts.... but I didnt care.... I was just so angry about the way we were being fed manure......on the wrong side of 50 seems to have given me the courage to speak out and I now say what I think....

One comment from a co-worker when we were discussing the huge turnout for the march in Adelaide was that he 'wished I [he] still drove a tank and I'd have run the lot over.. just whingers and ignorant do-gooders!!.... It makes me all the more determined to seek out the facts...but unfortunately our one town newspaper and really most of the others... are so orchestrated i've given up that avenue. The ABC and SBS seems to be the only avenues for anything close to the truth but sometimes I even get the feeling they are swallowing the spin...

To read your book and find your web diary has given me hope. I was beginning to think I was going mad for being so distressed about the issues you discussed in your book because nobody else seemed to care when I brought up those topics... they just tended to placate me or give you that look where you know they are thinking you are bonkers. And whether my family and friends like it or not... they are getting Not Happy John for christmas!!

I know it must be exhausting for you but please dont give up....I admire your courage greatly.