My daughter taught us a new slang term the other day: The Hoodlands. That's the nickname the kids have given to the area we live in, known more commonly as The Woodlands which is a northern Houston suburb. I'm not clear on why the kids call it that, though my daughter thinks it suits the one-upmanship attitude the kids of the rich and obnoxious have around here.

I learned yesterday, however, that the name suits the political climate rather well.

Lets not mince words here: I'm a Democrat. That's right, a liberal hippie who kills babies living right in the heart of Bible Thumpin' Central. I'm more than a fish out of water here: I'm a living ghost of all that was right with the world in long gone days. And I'm proud to shout it to anyone who asks. They just have to ask first. My way isn't the way of everyone so I, unlike the bible pumpers, don't force my views on anyone. And I try to let my daughter know that it's just as important for me to teach her what I think is right as it is for me to let her decide on her own which way is right for her.

So I was rather joyful when she notified my wife that should would like to watch Michael Moore's Farenheight 9/11. I'm not sure she's ready for the more graphic scenes from the movie, but that time will come eventually and it's to my advantage to share that moment with her to help explain – as best I can – the meaning behind the images.

She did an online search for the movie and found that Wal-Mart had the movie for 1/2 the price that everyone else was selling it. So we jumped in the car, late for a Friday at about 10:00PM, and went movie shopping. Alas, Wal-Mart wasn't selling it for the online price at the store. So much for the price slashing little yellow ball. My wife suggested a previously viewed copy from Blockbuster – so back to the car and off to the video store. It's now about 11PM.

The store was empty save for the two young guys manning the counters. We came in and they asked if they could help us find something. “We're looking for previously viewed copies of Farenheit 9/11,” I said. “Sure,” said the larger of the two. “They should be right over here.”

But they weren't right there. And even after doing a computer search – and finding they should have 5 copies on the shelf – we still couldn't find them. We searched up and down the isles, even started looking behind a few other titles. No luck. Then, after 20 odd minutes of searching, the smaller counter help found the copies.

Someone had put them behind other titles at the very back of the stacks – each copy behind a different title. Those rat bastard Hoodites thought obfuscation was enough to prevent anyone from viewing the movie. How ludicrous are these people?

We haven't watched the movie yet. It was too late that night and we've been busy since. But we plan on watching it soon. My daughter is more interested in the world than I was at her age, perhaps because the world wasn't as messed up then or maybe just because I was kept more sheltered. Either way, I'm glad she's interested. I want her to make informed choices as she gets older. They don't have to be my choices. They just need to be made with real thought.

And not made because someone tried to keep the information from her.