I should be asleep, but I'm not. I have a massive headache from caffeine withdrawal. Interestingly, if I took a caffeine pill or drank some coffee, which I loathe, I would be able to sleep. But there's none in my apartment and my head hurts too much to go out and get some at the all-night market, so I've been sitting here reading the news. It can't make my head worse, can it?

Since Tuesday night, six armed kids between the ages of 8 and 16 have been holed up in their home in Idaho, at a standoff with police. It's always someplace like Idaho, isn't it? Their father died of MS a few weeks ago and their mother was arrested on a charge of felony injury to a child, which hasn't been explained further. When the cops came to take the children into protective custody, the kids released their twenty-seven dogs.

The house has no power, water, or telephone. The kids are used to taking care of themselves; their mother was apparently paranoid and rebuffed offers of help from neighbors and the church. There's been no contact with the kids since they can't call and they can't come to the house without getting attacked by the dogs.

And that's where it stands right now. Part of me wants to examine the rights and freedoms and responsibilities in this case. Part of me just wants it to end without bloodshed. But in the meanwhile, the cnn.com message board is providing hours of entertainment. Mention Idaho and guns and they all come out of the woodwork.

One poster seems to be convinced, somehow, that these children are Amish. They're not. I'm not sure how Amish-ness got into the discussion, but he's remarkably persistent about it.

One guy first said he hoped they didn't bring in "blast 'em and gas 'em Reno" to handle the situation. I gather he missed the general election last fall. I'm a little disquieted by the idea that he thinks Janet Reno is still the AG. This same poster said later that he's heard that Bush is bringing in Rumsfeld on this. Forgive me for ripping off Dave Barry, but I am not making this up.

Then there was this guy:

Well...there they go again!

Jack booted Nazi government representatives knocking at the doors of the innocent citizens trying to use guns and force to set their minds right. Apparently these people in Idaho were not living up to the government's standards. Too bad Janet "Burn them Out" Reno isn't around to bring in the tanks and grenades. After all, she was quite good at killing innocent children!

If you don't fear your government yet, then you will someday. They're ultimate goal is to tattoo everyone with bar codes and make you live the way they think you should live. Don't try to be free, don't try to think for yourself, for if you do, you're government will come knocking...men in black, donning jack-boots and black guns...they'll take your freedom and force you to think right.

Big Brother, THX-1138, whatever...you name it, that's our government...and what you see in Idaho is yet another example of their big wet power dream!

There is just nothing I can add to that. That stands all on its own. At least he's figured out that Janet Reno isn't in office anymore.

I do hope the situation ends peacefully. I'm sorry for the scared kids and mentally ill mother. But where do these people come from? Did they hook up the generator in their Montana shack so they could get on the internet just to post these messages? Or are they right next door?