On the Eve of November

Because it was too much effort to write Happy Halloween, and it would take a hell of a lot of gummy bears.

Hope everyone had a good day. My "treat" for the day was to go get myself an order of buffalo wings from domino's. And yes, I know some of you are wondering, despite the temptation to do the contrary, I did wash my hands before I went to the bathroom.

The server was awful today for blogger, and I don't know if it was just me, but I found the net to be slow over all through out the day. It was slow both at my apartment and at work. Ahhhh... who knows.


"You know, education -- if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well.

"If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq." -Senator John Kerry

John Kerry knows how to say some dumb sh*t that's for sure. He can make excuses all he wants, the fact is Kerry said that people only join the service because they can't navigate the educational system. That is such an elitist and absurd suggestion. It is just plain ignorant, arrogant, and completely out of touch. Many people serve because they want to, because they know they'll gain discipline in their lives. They'll also learn many valuable skills, leadership being one of the most important. I voted for John Kerry out of protest against the current administration's high risk behavior and constant spin to serve their outlandish agenda. That is truly what it was, an anti-Bush vote, not a pro-Kerry vote.

It is sad, but generally speaking that seems to be how politics works today. Instead of candidates promoting their great ideas, they just list all of the horrible things about their opposition. With W, no lists were necessary. I guess for the short term he's at least done well with the economy (until the debt catches up with us in a bad way).

On that note....

My nostrils

This past weekend was a fairly lazy one. The highlight was hanging out with Kate Sunday. We went to the Texas Roadhouse for lunch and I indulged in an excellent sirloin. Kate had a pulled pork dinner. Of course the rolls, ahhh the rolls, are definitely the best thing about this kitsch steakhouse chain.

I've been very tired lately, I don't know if it is the changing of the seasons, or what in particular has brought it on. I've been sleeping well at night, but I still find myself dozing off after getting home, and my whole evening slips from my grasp.

I have a pimple in the inside of my left nostril, and it is quite awful. It is intense enough that it is making my nostrils asymmetrical, my right nostril appearing visibly larger. I knew that this is very interesting information, and I just thought it would be appropriate to share with all of my readers.

I watched The Inside Man & Lucky # Sleven. Out of the two Lucky Number Sleven was probably my preferred film. I thought it was a bit more creative and entertaining. While the Inside Man was good, I actually fell asleep before it ended and had to watch the last few scenes again. In The Inside Man, Jodie Foster had one of the more "saucy" roles I've seen her play. It was a powerful cut-throat role, so despite the unusual suggestions of sex appeal, it still worked out well for her. (One usually thinks of Clarice Starling who did not want to be judged, or use her sexuality to accomplish things). Josh Hartnett was surprisingly bearable and appropriate in his role in "Sleven". Usually I find him rather boorish and he always seems to play that "complacent jock" type, this was a step up for him.

I don't know about everyone else but I'm sort of excited for election night... I still think if there is any victory for the Democrats it will be marginal, but who knows what will happen. Honestly I have mixed feelings because I think the republicans stink, but I don't think the democrats (as a broad assessment) have earned a take over bid. Republicans involved should be held to account for excessive spending and corruption. Likewise, democrats exhibiting these traits should be held to account to. Unfortunately only the truly dedicated will dig up a canidates' voting records on spending, and in this climate their opponent likely will not be an improvement.

Childhood nostalgia

Weird Al made the top ten!

I used to love Al's stuff when I was a young sprite.

Here are a couple Weird Al clips... first his new hit "White and Nerdy", which is a parody of a rap song I honestly have never heard, because I'm an old man. (Wild and Dirty)




And here, because it was well done... an old "fake" interview with Eminem. Its long, so I'd watch this one on break or at home if you have the inclination.

Stream of conscience? (open for debate)

I thought that I would take time to deviate from my path of late. You know the whole political bit... Its a tough deviation for me, I must admit.

First off, I just finished watching Philadelphia. Yes I know, the movie is pretty much a classic now and is quite old, but it is one I did not see. I have to say it was a terrific film, Hanks (Andrew Beckett) was at his best, and even Denzel Washington, who I'm usually not "wowed" by was amazing. Washington played a hire-by-infomercial claims lawyer named Joe Miller. Miller was a last resort hire for Hank's character who sought to press discrimination charges and a wrongful termination suit against his own law firm. Beckett (as everyone must know by now) was fired when it was discovered he was gay and that he had aids. Miller had to over come his own prejudices to proceed with the trial. Well... If you are like me, and you've somehow made it 13 years with out seeing this film, go out and rent it.

Now that I've gotten my blurb on my evening entertainment out of the way, I thought I'd take a moment to reflect on some of the various conversation had this weekend.

Topics:

John first brought up most attractive woman in Hollywood, the consensus was Scarlett Johansson. Next Hayes challenged "Who is the most attractive Man?". The answers here were all different.. which perhaps demonstrates that we aren't women. The guys scoffed and my inclusion of lesser know actor Cillian Murphy... which I suppose reveals I like pretty men? Actually truth be told I want to emulate pretty men.... although oddly enough in my older age I seem to have acquired too much testosterone to even have a fighting chance. (The 3 o'clock shadow, and prominent chin don't help) Hayes picked Christian Bale.... John was busy cursing everyone who attracted a lot of female attention (Josh Hartnett>>mainly because he supposedly dates Scarlett, and Colin Farrell earned the "douche bag" title amongst others).

Another topic: Meth Amphetamines... that's right. Meth labs. Actually in a rather pathetic moment we were all discussing how Meth is actually "used". Really pathetic since I'm sure I learned this (in a class) in college. So... I had to look it up.

The usual route for medical use is oral administration. In recreational use it can be swallowed, snorted, smoked, dissolved in water and injected (or even without water, in what is called a dry shot), inserted anally (with or without dissolution in water), or into the urethra. [22]

As with all addictive drugs, the potential for addiction is greater when it is delivered by methods that cause the concentration in the blood to rise quickly, principally because the effects desired by the user are felt more quickly and with a higher intensity than through a moderated delivery mechanism. In fact, studies have shown that the subjective pleasure of drug use (the reinforcing component of addiction) is proportional to the rate that the blood level of the drug increases. In general, smoking is the fastest mechanism (i.e., it causes the blood concentration to rise the most quickly in the shortest period of time as it allows the substance to travel to brain through a more direct route than intravenous injection), followed by injecting, snorting, anal insertion, and swallowing.

Next on the list... the "High Fidelity/ Nick Hornby" style top ten lists. Actually it was top five songs... which on the spot, I find nearly impossible. (as did everyone) Really it is impossible, but to participate, I thought I'd go ahead and form a top ten list... which of course is really fluid. These would consistently fit into my top fifty for certain. Some of these are very bread and butter, but as far as I'm concerned there is a reason they were so revered to begin with.

Imagine- John Lennon

Let it Be- The Beatles

Here Comes the Sun- The Beatles

Isn't it a Pity- George Harrison

Circle Game- Joni Mitchell

Don't Let it Bring You Down- Neil Young

The Battle of Evermore- Led Zeppelin

Which Will- Nick Drake

You know what.... I just can't do this... its a bunch of crap really, you can't exclude all of the excellent music that's out there! I keep writing things.... then erasing them. Too much pressure. I couldn't even make a top ten artists list, let alone songs. I'd have to come up with some elaborate system of rating.....I'm thinking lyrics slightly over sound... although it seems circumstantial.

Really you would have to make lists for moods, lists for genres, lists for times of the year, times of the day... which they get into in high fidelity, also with mixed success. Lists for songs by an artist, that might be a lot easier.

Well... Gute Nacht!

In a Nutshell....

Jaunted up 95 to the ole state of Maine this weekend. A chance to see the folks and my Aunt, and also catch up with some friends from St. Joe's.

On Friday I stayed with my family. Upon my arrival I was hungry as I had made my trek as soon as I returned home from work. I decided to head out in search of some food. I had a craving for Chinese and figured the quick take out places are usually open late. Sadly I could not find an open Chinese restaurant.

Having difficulty satisfying this craving I ultimately settled on Sam's Italian sandwich Shoppe, and got myself a ham Italian. Ham Italian's from Sam's are a piece of nostalgia for me (and that's probably true for many people from Maine & New Hampshire. They are a relatively simple seasoned-oil drenched, sandwich on a moist sub roll.. which is actually unique in that it is more like a giant ultra moist and decadent hot dog roll. They are the size of sub rolls, but they are backed together when cooked so the sides are crust free, and split down the middle almost completely. Sandwiches are filled with pickle spears, tomatoes, green peppers, and a heavy helping of onions. Some times Spanish black olives are added. After the seasoned oil, salt and pepper is generously sprinkled on the glistening vegetables, meat and cheese.

Next after consuming my vittles from Sam's I crashed on the sleeper sofa in the den and fell asleep with the remote control in my hand. The low drone of whatever uninteresting crap the fiber optics were delivering, apparently serving as an excellent lullaby.

My mother woke me around 4:30- 5:00 am because she thought my car was blocking her exit from the garage. She needed to go to work.

As luck would have it she was simply being nervous and there was plenty of room. With some minor frustration, I directed her path out of the garage and past my car.

Drowsiness quickly anchored me back to the sleeper sofa and I slept until noon.

Dad walked through the door and smirked at me still sleeping. Without much doubt he must have been shaking his head at the laziness of my generation. Here he is working seven days a week, and yet I'm too exhausted to wake up at a reasonable hour on the weekend.

Eventually I showered up and Dad & I went and got a pizza at Papa John's before Mom returned home from work.

Next, when Mom had arrived she needed some assistance with some home finance record keeping on the computer. I helped with this, going over some Microsoft Excell tricks. I needed to burn a CD per request for one of my college friends. This particular friend had some had some moderately snide criticism of the blogging world. Sounds insanely jealous if you ask me. His skill sets reside more in the wild wild world of internet profiles. Ahh... what can I say people can't all be as awesome as yours truly.

Onward, into the evening, I visited with my Aunt Virginia in Auburn, and finishing up the night I went to Rosie's... a small bar in Portland's Old Port. It's a bit quieter than the typical establishment making it more effective for good conversation. It is one of those unusual places where you actually have a chance in hell at hearing what you program into the Juke box. Tim Hayes, Brandy Rogers, John Madden, and Michelle Arsenault all were there for the merry spirits.

I crashed on Brandy's futon and the next morning Brandy, Tim, and myself indulged on some Cinnamon buns that Miss Rogers had concocted. Later we caught the Patriot's Game in which Buffalo luckily dropped the ball, literally at times. John, Tim, and myself went outside and tossed around a football for a while. Eventually John punted the ball and got it stuck in a tree. Tim and I spent twenty minutes trying various creative ways to get it to fall out. I climbed the tree and shook the branch. Tim handed me a broom. At first I swatted at branches close. Ultimately the broom also got stuck in the tree out of reach. Still perched up in the branches I broke a small limb and used it to dislodge the broom. I continued shaking the branch for about ten minutes straight. (You can't doubt my persistence!) Next Tim decided to get a big rock and try to hit the ball. After about ten tries, instead of hitting the ball he clipped one of the branches which held it and the tree released the ball. At this time I headed back for supper with the folks before finally going back to Melrose.

! May your week bear the fruit of prosperity and joy ! (cough, cough... Ahem)

You're IT!

Can't PLAY tag? CAN'T PLAY TAG!!??

What is wrong with people?!!

Today in a moment of leisure (lunch) I posted the following CNN article to several friends via email. This is a time honored tradition, although typically I am not the postee. Past topics have been banning fluff, and Terrell Owens drug problem. Here is today's article:
School bans tag, other chase games
I had a hunch I'd get some amusing feed back on this one. So in order:
I titled the email "people suck".

Scott Wilkinson replies:
Wow. Kids could get hurt during recess?

No kidding. Thought never occurred to me.

People suck , you hit the nail right on the head Jorge.

Jeremy Viles writes:
Frankly, I think they should just ban children... then no one gets hurt and no one is liable. It ends world hunger and also promotes world peace. Just get rid of the children. Problem solved.

Chris Pike writes:
The whose is going to fund my Social Security? what little kids will I be able to torment? After all my goal is to be the mean old guy no kids like.

Jeremy Viles returns with response:
Yes, I also want to be the mean old guy... but it's the only logical solution. Unlike the completely illogical ban on "tag". I hate to get into the "when I was a kid"... Man that makes me feel old... but we used to literally beat the S- (censored reference to fecal matter) out of each other, run and slide on ice, jump out of swings into snow banks and play a little game we called "smear the queer", sort of like everyone for themselves tackle football where whoever has the ball gets creamed by everyone else... only your friends who didn't want you creamed would accept the pass from you... I know that's probably just in the mystical world of Hartland ME but I think this type of crap is why kids today and kids of tomorrow will be big wussies with a p... (censored reference to slang implying female genitalia) Toughen kids up, let them get hurt they will learn the lesson. You only touch a hot stove one time... until you get to be old enough to drink alcohol. (In ME that is 10). ~V~

Since obviously they aren't going to ban children... (think of movies without crying, stores without tantrums, no germ spreading balls of sugar-induced whining...yes... yes... it is a provocative thought), since they won't ban kids... And since frivolous law suits are the American way, you can just expect more stupid crap like this to be hitting the news.
(Obviously all of my friends kids are lovely lovely saint like cherubs and the above descriptions do not apply to them)

Its a bigger issue really than just "child safety". This is the greed and the selfishness of the average American run amok. It used to be that kids skinned their knees and no one was to blame. And to some parents its only ok if the kid gets a scrape on their watch... because everyone is convinced they are way more competent than everyone else. Now kids can't leave the confines of padded play rooms, and we wonder why children are out of shape with little motivation to leave the video games behind. Also many people are selfish and they are all looking for a way to make a buck.

It used to be if you fell and broke your arm on some ice that you weren't careful and had some bad luck. Today people sue. (I'd like to see that same logic carry over to someone who spins their car out on an icy road.... after all the public works should be able to predict and prevent all possible dangerous conditions created by mother nature)

People have no respect for anyone or anything today. People are unwilling to admit mistakes. People are needlessly combative.

When you sue your school, you are taking money from every tax payer in the community, that means all of your neighbors.

People don't care about anyone BUT themselves. They don't care what they would feel like if the tables were turned. People don't even make an effort to see things through the eyes of others.... its all "Me Me Me".

Selfishness it is the root of it all. Really these suits are nothing more than legitimized theft.

I can understand making playgrounds safer etc, but there has to be a limit somewhere.

People certainly aren't going to ban cars because they kill...
They aren't going to ban knives....
And sharp rocks are way too plentiful...

Unless you want to tie kids to their friggin chairs (which I believe would constitute as cruelty) some are going to bump their heads and get injured almost regardless of how carefully watched they are. The kiddies aren't the most graceful bunch after all. And they need to fall down in order to learn. (See what Jeremy wrote)

Pike, what's this about expected Social Security benefits? First of all, that's what Mexicans are for. They are pretty much one of the only groups that is growing in this country. The average Caucasian does not have enough kids to even replace themselves in future generations. Secondly I hope you are putting money in 401k you leech! Aren't you a Republican? And here you are expecting certain social entitlements? FOR SHAME!

To end, and amusing, and unsettling clip from the Daily Show:

Rosebud......

I have to admit, when you think about it, this story is bizarre. Usually when you talk about adoptions you are speaking of orphans, or neglected children, however this doesn't quite fit the bill. It reminds me of the beginning of Citizen Kane when the little boy is taken or given up by his parents who want a better life for him. Yes, undoubtedly Madonna will provide a healthier, less dangerous life for this child with different opportunity. And that's great and all... but I can't help but think of it in a weird sense of child shopping. A sort of... "oooh we don't have one like that yet! Can we take him home? He'll look lovely in our playtime suite!"
Madonna responds to adoption controversy
In Madonna's defense this article tells a significantly different story than initial reports. Earlier on it was suggested the boy's father was still in the picture, and that Madonna and Guy Ritchie had circumvented laws in the adoption. This article contradicts these assertions.

Its interesting that they are seemingly making a lot more of a stink about Madonna adopting than Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. I suppose that maybe there is a greater perception of Madonna being an "elitist" and representative of that Brahmin world, while perhaps America's favorite couple still come off as the youthful neighbors, although they are anything but.

I should talk about North Korea... but honestly I don't have too much to say. Lets just hope that Kim Jung Il isn't as loony as he seems. I still believe that caving into Kim's demands for an exclusive two way talk with the U.S. would be wrong. You can't embolden bullies because you'll set off a chain reaction of like minded ego maniacs trying to do the same thing across the globe. I know if something bad happens... they'll blame Bush or the U.S. saying if we had talked to North Korea it would have been prevented. That being said... I will still stick to the belief that you can't give people what they want in the face of threats. Nations can't conduct their foreign policy like clerks at 7-11 when they are faced with a robbery.

Weekend update.... by moi

What to say... what to say...

Well, I suppose I shall start off by saying that I had a fabulous extended weekend. Saturday was a day of accomplishment. I finally replaced the tire on my car (which had to be ordered... the whole lo-fi thing). I got a chicken pot pie from Harrow's and some "fresh" native corn & delicious rolls from the neighboring farm stand in Reading. It made for a savory meal that definitely bore a strong "fall" theme. I also got myself a small cooking pumpkin which I'll eventually transform into a pie or bread. Kate came over for the feast. Since Sunday was her birthday I picked up a Mrs. Fields cookie cake, which we did quite a number on over the course of the weekend. There was about half of it left in the end which we divided up.

On Sunday we went for a tour of Trinity church in Back Bay at Copley plaza. Trinity church is one of Boston's signature landmarks, and supposedly one of the ten most significant pieces of architecture in the country. It is a gorgeous site and I highly recommend it to anyone who gets to go. The tour commences at 12:15 after an 11:00 am service. Kate and I didn't attend the sermon, but I'm very tempted to do so in the future so I can see the masterpiece in its full functionality.

After this Kate and I had a quick lunch at the Beerworks. I had a burger, and Kate a massive salad, which I made a rather pathetic attempt to help her finish. We had a coupon and Kate's salad had $7 deducted (I think it was $8) from the price. It was Kate's turn to pay and due to her luck of obtaining this coupon from someone handing them out on Newbury street, it was a cheap meal. I had a pumpkin ale, but it was a little bit of a disappointment, I've definitely had better. It was a lovely meal however. Thanks Kate!

Next we saw The Departed. This movie was everything I hoped it would be. It had tons of Boston footage, it kept you riveted. Nicholson was great as "Costello" basically a Whitey Bulger knock-off. Irish mob big wig for those not familiar. The entire movie was well cast, and while some critics went after Sheen's accent.. it did not distract from his character's significance. Damon, and DiCaprio were excellent. DiCaprio became a brutal thug as part of an undercover assignment for the Boston Police Department. There were a few scenes where his "staged" hot-headed temper lead to intense encounters that made me cringe. One particurally memorable scene was when DiCaprio beat two Mafia collectors senseless after an off color remark about the Irish (irony?). Anyway, it was highly entertaining, and unpredictable. I highly recommend it.

Monday Kate and I went to the Body Worlds exhibit at The Boston Museum of Science. I took a well deserved day off. Over 200 cadavers were on displayed showing plastinated (preserved) bodies in various poses and modes of dissection. It was very cool. They exhibited prosthetics, cancer infected tissue, smokers and coal miner's lung vs. normal, and the impact of obesity on internal organs. They even had a plastinated camel. It is a traveling exhibit, so if you can't make it into Boston be on the look out.

Well, here's where the story ends. Till next time.....

Cats and Dogs....

The rain is coming down so hard it sounds as though the apocalypse is upon us.

Great Southpark episode.... Trey Parker and Matt Stone's take on the 911 conspiracy theorists. Priceless.

The news out of NYC was tragic. Before I got the details of the plane accident I couldn't help but immediately feel pissed off at the government, that this was allowed to happen etc. I'm the last person who'd say we are safer today than before 911, all the same, I think the government tends to lull people into believing that the cities should be safer today from plane crashes etc. Of course anyone who has flown into LaGuardia Airport can clearly see that we are not.

What are the odds that it would actually be a NYC celebrity who would go down in the crash? The people who live in the complex were lucky not to get killed!

For my politics bit:

Poll: Voter interest highest in decade

I guess just check out the article.

Dang manhole

I just finished watching Woody Allen's "Match Point", and this movie couldn't be much more uncharacteristic of the typical Allen film. No whiney fumbling characters in site, no irritating repetition.

Reviews compare it to Hitchcock, and accurately so. This is one of those gems that you might pass by so definitely check it out. It moves at a leisurely pace which in fact only serves to enhance the choke hold of suspense which will ultimately grab you.

On World affairs:

While I think more attention could have been paid to North Korea by this administration, the call for, and criticism for lack of bilateral talks I think is uncalled for. I believe, much like James Baker said, that you need to talk to your enemies. There is however a stark difference between this and say... the USSR, or even Iran for that matter. North Korea is refusing to talk to their neighbors or include them in discussions. That is because they don't offer Kim Jong-il anything that he wants. China, as much as they like a communist neighbor, they don't want a powerful one. Japan has no military and Korea has significantly blown any chances for sympathy from them a long time ago. Russia has too much at stake to deviate much from the will of the Western world. The United States, has recently been soft. Clinton gave Kim Jong-il some nuclear technology (Yes... if they do the blame game in this one, Clinton does not have a leg to stand on.... not to mention Clinton conducted bilateral talks and they failed). So Kim Jong-il thinks they have the best chance at bargaining with the U.S.

Kim Jong-il is mad, he only wants one thing "Greatness" and he is deluded into thinking he can still achieve this. I believe he is so deluded, that he will sink with a burning ship just to try. There is no negotiating with a mad man. Now North Korea is threatening to launch a nuclear missile. Of course they may not be capable of this (especially since the whole Nuke thing may be entirely faked). All of this is of course besides the point. The mere fact that people are trying to say talking to this little nut will appease him is ludicrous.

Lets get the sanctions and embargos in place ASAP! And I don't think it would hurt to create the talked about naval blockade either.

Anyway....

The days are exciting if nothing else.

Tomorrow I have to get my new tire from Ford. I got a flat on some construction on Beacon St. when I was driving Kate home Friday night. I had some family in town, and Kate had accompanied us to a feast at Kowloon. It was a good night... save my run in with a manhole cover.

Forget a large clump of what I recently said....

Report: Foley warned in 2000

YEP... Evidence, or so it seems. This could have an impact. I wanted a change but honestly this is not how I believed we should get it. The Democrats should be showing us that are better suited to handle things than Republicans. Well, perhaps the Democrats ARE starting to appear better suited to handle things, but it isn't because of their great plan. Certain Republican politicians are just so vile that the democrats are starting to seem better. In reality, they could very well be worse.

I suppose if nothing else comes of this we will get rid of Hastert, a lousy worthless politician as far as I'm concerned.

I wanted to see a Democratic party, or an opposition capitalize in areas where the Republicans have failed miserably. Complacency on lousy foreign policy by the current administration, budgets run amok, and a failure to effectively address the future social security concerns.

What we have instead is a group of people who criticize foreign policy and only offer often divided, and simplistic solutions which are unrealistic, such as bringing troops immediately home or simply pointing out that it was a war of choice. The problem is time travel hasn't been invented so despite Iraq being a very poor choice, we HAVE to deal with it now. Next on spending, most on one hand cite spending as a problem, but then on every individual troubled program the quick fix is "spending more money". If you had a leaking faucet in your house, in most cases you would find out why it is leaking and fix it. The democratic solution to this, would be to buy a faucet made of gold, and then toss the old one, which you just so happen to be still making payments on. Social Security! I have not heard any discussion on this. You don't even hear the Bob Dole & Al Gore "lock box" suggestions of old.

Anyway, I'm divided because on one hand I want to see the current congress punished, but then on the other hand, I'm not looking forward to replacing them with people who may be even worse.

People are going to vote for change... just for the sake of change. I think Foley and now North Korea have provided a double whammy which could make the Democrats dream a reality. I can't blame them one bit. If I had the ability to vote in one of these close races to throw out an incumbent I probably would. But not because I though we'd be better off... it is more that I think people have no other choice.

Weighing in on those weighing in

Running counter to what one would believe.....

Marijuana may stave off Alzheimer's

In other news, I strongly dislike Nancy Pelosi and her fake sneer that she stole from Gary Condit.

Hastert sucks, don't get me wrong. Ever since Hastert replaced Gingrich as the Speaker of the House, that was the beginning of our country taking a severe turn in the wrong direction. Hastert isn't a leader... I really don't have the foggiest as to how he managed to get into power. Lately the guy looks like he's a step away from having a coronary. And no... that doesn't imply that I think the world would be better if he did. I just wish he'd leave politics... and then the world might be better.

I will say this, when I began to be increasingly irritated with Daschle, he lost re-election. When I began to really "hate" Tom Delay, he was run out of office. So I can only hope that both Hastert and Pelosi can't be too far behind. Really having Trent Lott gone was good too... However I happen to think Frist is one corrupt cookie, so I'm not sure which is better.

Getting back to the point I want to make, Hastert, from everything I've heard, is not responsible for the creep... aka, Foley's continued existence. In fact I find the mere idea that Pelosi is accusing him as such completely ridiculous. If he'd pushed him out, she'd probably say its a fine example of Republican leadership discriminating against homosexuals. Pelosi is awful. She makes George Mitchell, Tom Delay, and Tom Daschle seem like non-partisan moderates.

Hastert shouldn't step down because he didn't oust Foley. From everything I've read, there is no solid evidence to prove there was a cover up, other than what one aide said. Hastert should be pushed out because he has, along with George Bush, destroyed fiscal conservatism and the ideas of smaller government, and replaced it with credit card mentality budgeting and religious overtones.

Pelosi should herself leave because she is destructive as well. You have a Democratic party that can't even pull together an agenda against the completely incompetent GOP. What it comes down to, is Pelosi really admires her enemies, and with the exception of the religious right, she probably would be nothing more than another pork barrel spender when, and if she gets the top job in the house.

Mark my word, where the Republicans have racked up needless debt on pet projects, the Democrats will see it, and raise it. Then they'll blame it on the President who will likely be a Republican for the next ten years, unless something completely unforeseen occurs.

Of course W makes it worse by NEVER vetoing anything. MAN.... these people suck.

Read about the Pelosi/Hastert quarrel... the best is the venom displayed by Pelosi in a conversation with Hastert, where she threw reason to the wind and is simply trying to capitalize on here say and partisan politics. I honestly am not sure if people will buy it. It probably won't matter too much because Hastert is unrecognizable, and for those few unfortunate people who do recognize Pelosi, they probably wish that they did not.

Hastert says he won't step aside over Foley scandal

You can't possibly think Pelosi is good for the Democratic party. She's one of those people who just draws ire at her mere sight... and I don't believe I'm alone on this one. She makes Howard Dean look sane and reasonable.

The Pelosi brand is a bunch of crap for the uninspired. Her solution to virtually every problem (with the exception of foreign affairs... to which she is essentially clueless) is "spend more money". The real stupid part is how nearly every thing she's criticized, the Medicare plan to "no child left behind" are programs that received record increases under the Bush administration. She cites "cuts" but, in truth they aren't cuts, but simply put... more conservative increased spending. They can be called "cuts" because they are cuts to a plan of increases... that only partially went into effect. How Pelosi can say schools are worse off (when they have increased funding) and then turn around and say they need yet MORE funding is hysterical.

And the Medicare thing... they ought to do away with 90 % of the thing. A huge portion of it is nothing more than corporate give aways to insurance providers and pharmaceutical corporations. Then the rest is just an expansion of an already oversized bureaucracy.... with little to no improvement on health care costs. Pelosi, of course wants... drum roll, MORE MONEY. SO more of your tax dollars can go to fund corporate and bureaucratic welfare hierarchies and countless new jobs where people push paper all day and do nothing but piss people off, and do it well.

We need a revolt in this country.

I lost at fantasy baseball to Carl Berg.

And.. Hayes didn't come in last.

Well... Looks like I have my first full blown cold of the season. Right in time for a real busy week too.... at work and outside of work.

Ahhhh well... what are you going to do?

Politics continues to be crazy... Although I don't believe "Foley" will make too much of a difference. I got a kick out of clips of Rush Limbaugh defending him on television. Man....

I never thought Armstrong was grammatically incorrect, or really thought about his wording whatso-ever. But apparently some had a real beef with it. And more amusing it has been discovered that the seeming grammar error was nothing more than a technological glitch. Funny how a phrase has become part of the American lexicon, and it is due impart to bad technology.

Software finds missing 'a' in Armstrong's moon quote

Caught part of the new SNL this weekend. There were a couple decent sketches. One was an airport security training session, where classmates debated what was a liquid or a gel. Even better were the very legitimate questions that expose major holes in the semi reduction in security (i.e. What happens if people pool separate three oz containers together to make a larger volume once past security?).

Anyway.... Till Tuesday.