Dusty Gulch Gazette
November 21, 2025 – Vol. 147, No. 312
By Jedediah "Dust" Harlan - Special Correspondent - American Bureau

HEADLINE: "CROW SHOT, CLOUDS CRASH - GULCH FOLKS FALL BACK ON OLD WAYS"

Rattlesnake-fast chaos, folks, and a crow that got more than it bargained for.

One scattergun blast, one tumbling rockslide, and suddenly the Gulch was cut off from every “digital dollar” and talkin’ box this side of the county line.

Starry sky above, dust in our teeth, and a whole heap of old-fashioned reckonin’ waiting to happen ....just like our grandpappies did when the banks went belly-up. Oh, and I think we might have grown up watching too many cartoons...

This is a parody written by two kids in America responding to the article published here yesterday about the Australian plan to censor the internet for under 16 year olds. Enjoy. 

 by Roderick (Whiskers) McNibble - Chief Correspondent for Ratty News - Aeronautical and Ornithological Division

It was a strange morning. The kind where even the crows paused mid-caw and the red dust seemed to shiver. Two weeks had passed since a ghostly cloud -  ripped straight from the pages of Stephen King’s latest nightmare -  had descended over Dusty Gulch, hanging low and twitching like it had secrets it really didn’t want to share.

One particular crow, Clive, had hovered over town nonstop since the ECloud’s arrival. His relentless caw-caw-cawing had driven one resident past the brink. Duncan “Crow-B-Gone” Thompson had reached breaking point.

And life was about to become very, very interesting for the residents of Dusty Gulch… all because of what happened 14 days earlier.

A green hill in the Irish Sea has stood for 1,045 years. It has seen plagues, wars, invasions, kings, and empires. It has survived every human folly.

It is called Tynwald Hill, and it is the world’s oldest continuous parliament.

Once, it was simple: laws read aloud in the open air, petitions handed in by anyone who cared to show up, and every free person on the island hearing and judging in the same wind.

A parliament of the people, by the people, under the sky.

From Grassroots to Clicks

In 979 AD, the Manx gathered on a four-tier mound built from the soil of every parish. Every free man and woman heard the laws.

They listened. They judged. They held leaders accountable with their voices alone.

There are many ships of the Royal Australian Navy that are dear to the hearts of us older Australians. The Scrap Iron Flotilla that ran the gauntlet ferrying men and materials between Tobruk and Egypt, The Canberra, sunk by friendly fire in the Solomons, the Hobart going down against overwhelming odds in Sunda Strait but none compare with the adulation reserved for HMAS Sydney.

Today marks the anniversary of the sinking of HMAS Sydney 2. Lost with all hands following a heroic mutually destructive battle with the German raider HSK Kormoran on the evening of November 19th 1941. R.I.P.

Since 1901 there have been FIVE fighting ships of the RAN bearing the name HMAS Sydney. 

The second HMAS Sydney started life as the cruiser, HMS Phaeton until purchased by the Australian government in 1934 and re-named in memory of her predecessor. She remained in Australian waters until April 1940 when she left as part of an escort screen for a large Middle East bound convoy.

In military history, there are countless tales of bravery, valour, and unwavering dedication from soldiers who fought on the front lines.

But what about those fearless felines who have prowled the battlefield, armed with their whiskers and lethal claws? These purrsistent warriors have played some truly remarkable roles throughout history, and it's high time we give them the recognition they deserve.

Sometimes I think that we underestimate the role that cats, dogs and other animal and feathered friends play in our lives and in our world.

So sit and enjoy a journey into the history of cats and how they have evolved into being lazy, domineering, pampered  pets from their early incarnations as demi gods and deities. But when you think about it, nothing much has changed really....... they are still demi gods and worshipped deities...... But things were not always as they are.

They did actually earn their keep.