Must have cashed in his karma chips on that one.

I believe that this new second-line trend began with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band in the 1980s, and continued into the '90s with groups like the Rebirth Brass band and the Lil Rascals Brass Band--all of which kick ass.

The best place to see this music, in my opinion is in New Orleans itself, in a small club, with dancers and band members sweating and music cutting through the thick air so loud it leaves your ears ringing without the need for any amplifiers.

Also, many thanks to David P. for posting this info on Dr. Vallee!

My opinion, based in part on Vallee's groundbreaking work of the 1960s and '70s is that yes, there is no real proof (as we understand it) for the "reality" of UFOs, but that there is a huge backlog of circumstantial evidence that something non-human interacts with us from time to time.

For a summary, please visit

http://www.ufomystic.com/wake-up-down-there/ufo-origins-theories-physics-symbols/

http://www.ufomystic.com/wake-up-down-there/anti-structure-in-ufology/

or

http://www.ufomystic.com/wake-up-down-there/ufo-truth-problems/

One of the causes of the peyote demise are some of the harvesters themselves. Instead of picking the buttons off of the cactus (which is all that is needed) they either chop off the plant's top (which often kills it) or they simply pull the whole thing out of the ground. The cactus takes at least 3 years to mature in the wild. I fear for it's future as a naturally-occurring species, especially in light of the posted story.

Like "lone" says above, I see no logical reason why the Native American Church can't grow its own, but that's what "drug laws" are for.