Circulation problems

In this Associated Press story, the Washington Post reports the circulation woes of America's newspapers.

Circulation fell broadly at major newspapers in the six-month period ending in March as the industry struggled with the impact of do-not-call rules, competition from other media and the migration of readers online.

The Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and the San Francisco Chronicle each showed readership declines of over 6 percent and the average paid circulation of the 814 newspapers surveyed declined 1.9 percent.

The industry was quick to blame electronic media and the internet for the losses and the new federal do-not-call list for papers' inability to sign up new subscribers.

But what about credibility problems caused by their biased and sometime fraudulent reporting (Jayson Blair, et al)? Aren't many Americans just fed up with the quality of many newspapers?

I'm also a little intrigued by the idea that newspapers were so dependent on phone solicitation to sell subscriptions. Do a lot of people really decide to subscribe to a paper because someone called during dinner to offer a great deal on 12 months of home delivery?

Glittering grills for girls

At my high school prom it was all about the dress or the tuxedo, maybe a rented car--but that was long ago and far away.

No longer just for rappers and street toughs, gold teeth have gone to the girls. For prom or a day in the park, girls from the Bay Area to the Bayou to the Bronx are accessorizing their smiles. Bay Area makers of the removable mouthwear say teenage girls are the fastest-growing segment of their customer base.

According to the SF Chronicle, gold teeth have become the latest teen fad. I was just getting used to pink hair, tatoos and nose rings.

Filibustering hubbub

"Again and again in recent years, the filibuster has been the shame of the Senate and the last resort of special-interest groups. Too often, it has enabled a small minority of the Senate to prevent a strong majority from working its will and serving the public interest."
Ted Kennedy

"I have stated over and over again on this [Senate] floor that I would...object and fight against any filibuster on a judge."
Patrick Leahy

"[E]veryone who is nominated is entitled...to have a hearing and to...have a vote on the floor. It is not...appropriate...not to bring them to the floor and not to allow a vote."
Joe Biden

In all of the hubbub over judicial filibustering, I've forgotten to ask the all-important question, "what is it about these nominees that has Democrats' panties in a big collective knot?" Are they all just a bunch of bible-thumpin', pistol-totin', abortion-hatin' religious zealots out to destroy apple pie, motherhood and the American way of life? Isn't that what all Republicans are?

Today's Chicago Tribune has the only rundown I've seen on who the nominees are and why Democrats might oppose them.

Last seen

In 2001, 840,279 people were reported missing to the police and entered into the FBI's National Crime Information Center. Very few of them made headlines, but one of them was bigtime national news for months.

It was on this day in 2001 that Chandra Levy was last seen.

U.S. Congressman Gary Condit at first denied having an affair with Levy but would later recant. Police repeatedly said that he was not a suspect but the media and Levy's family suspected that the congressman was hiding important information about the intern's disappearance. This concern deepened when he tried to avoid direct questions in a televised interview with Connie Chung on August 23, 2001.

The World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked by terrorists less than three weeks after the Chung interview and the Chandra Levy story faded into the background. Levy's murder was never solved.

Gary Condit failed to win the Democratic nomination for his own seat in the House in March 2002 and left Congress at the end of his term in 2003.

Did Condit withhold important information from investigators? Did he kill Chandra Levy? We may never know.

Dedicated educators

The Bush administrations No Child Left Behind program is not without flaws and certainly not without critics, but this is a story of a school that chose to embrace the principles rather than fight them.

IT'S ONE THING to say "No Child Left Behind," it's another to mean it.

With 50 percent of its students once performing below grade level, Chipman Middle School in Alameda held a comfortable spot on California's list of low-performing schools. It would have been easy to stay there, too, had the school's educators decided not to make a change and give their students an actual chance.

Since implementing its program, Chipman students have shown dramatic improvement and the teachers and administrators there should be proud. Laura Bush stopped by on Thursday to congratulate them.

Arnold on the border

As thousands of immigrants enter the United States illegally from Mexico and the Bush administration is seemingly unwilling to do much about it, the Minutemen Project, an armed citizens group, has stepped up and is having an impact, at least politically.

Governor Schwarzenegger has endorsed their efforts.

"Our federal government is not doing their job," Schwarzenegger said. "It's a shame that the private citizen has to go in there and start patrolling our borders."

I am curious why the governor of one of the four states bordering Mexico would be so quick to criticize the federal government for its lack of enforcement. Don't the four states have some responsibility, Arnold?

The housing bubble

The term bubble was first used in reference to a stock price in December of 1720 just after the South Sea Company took a nosedive. Ever since April of 2000 when technology stocks began their long and painful decline we've all become much too familiar with its meaning.

Alan Krueger, professor of economics at Princeton discusses how bubbles happen in the New York Times today.

One theory posits that smart investors, like mutual funds and hedge funds, are reluctant to bet against overpriced stocks because they would lose clients if they did not go along with others and the price continued (for a time) to rise.

Another says that investors who recognize that a stock is overvalued still pour money into it because they cannot tell when others will sell the stock short, and they would forgo profitable opportunities if they pulled out too soon.

Today there are remarkable similarities between the housing market and tech stocks of the late 90's. So how do I sell my house short?

Fat kids

Ted Lempert, president of Children Now, a national advocacy/research organization based in Oakland, writes an Open Forum piece in the San Francisco Chronicle where he churns out 12 paragraphs condemning television as the cause of obesity in children.

The role of marketing in the childhood obesity problem is significant. A recent Stanford study found that children who spend the most time watching TV, videos and video games are more likely to be overweight. A 1999 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association also shows that exposure to food commercials influences children's food preferences and requests.

According to Lempert, blame for the rise in obesity in America's children should be placed squarely on the media and advertisers. Television and marketing are the culprits.

Nowhere in his entire essay does he mention parents as having any responsibility for what their children eat or even how much television they watch. I haven't seen a TV yet without an "off" switch.

Still witty

Bob Dole was at the University of Kansas in Lawrence on Tuesday promoting his new book, One Soldier's Story, which documents his experience in World War II. The Kansas City Star noted that Dole still has his wit at age 81 evidenced by his quips in reference to books written by the Clintons.

The former senator said he was once asked to compare his book to Hillary Clinton's memoir. Said Dole, “It's pretty hard to compare it, because mine is nonfiction.”

Then Dole noted that former President Bill Clinton's book was longer than his because “he had more explaining to do.”

Korbel flower

This photo was taken in front of the Korbel Winery on Saturday. I have no idea what kind of flower it is. Click on it to see a larger image.

Make every vote count

Since the Democrats' mantra of late has been "make every vote count," isn't it ironic that, when it comes to judicial nominees, they don't want any voting at all?

Soak the rich

So you think the weathly don't pay enough in taxes? And you think the rich have caught a big break under George W. Bush? Guess again. This story from the Wall Street Journal tells the tale.

Well, not so fast, Robin Hoods. An IRS study by a trio of tax wonks shows that, even after including Social Security taxes, the overall tax burden grew more progressive from 1979 to 1999. And while that burden became a tad less progressive after the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003, the rich and upper middle class continued to pay far and away the bulk of U.S. taxes.

The top 20% of wage earners pay 67.47% of the taxes while the bottom 20% pay only .65%. That is a dramatic increase in the taxes paid by the top 20% and a dramatic decrease in taxes paid by the bottom 20% in the last twenty years.

Howard Dean makes nice with red-staters

Howard Dean, the new Democratic Party Chairman has said that he wants to reach out to the voters in the red states and earn their respect. According to the Washington Post, he has a really fascinating way of going about winning over those Republicans.

Dean has suggested that they are "evil." That they are "corrupt." He called them "brain-dead" during a stop in Toronto -- and while the Terri Schiavo case was still in the news. He has tagged Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) as a "liar." Last week, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that he mimicked a "drug-snorting Rush Limbaugh" at an event there.

Way to reach out, Howie.

Medical Marijuana

There are 43 medical marijuana dispensaries in the city of San Francisco and they operate without any regulation according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Nor does the city regulate doctors and suppliers who make up the other parts of the city's medical marijuana infrastructure that has burgeoned since passage of Proposition 215, the 1996 California law that sanctions the use of the drug for qualified patients. Doctors say they are writing a great number of recommendations for a wide range of maladies.

Is it just me? I thought that medical marijuana was legal. Have I been living in California too long?

The federal government bans the sale, possession and use of marijuana for any purpose. The Drug Enforcement Administration has taken some action against clubs, but agents have not done a full-scale assault on clubs in the city.

So medical marijuana is illegal. Would anyone care to explain to me why the state of California sanctions something that is against federal law?

Russian River Rose

Thanks to Mrs. Happy Capitalist (a.k.a. The Merry Stitcher) who spotted this rose outside The Hartford Family Winery in the Russian River Valley yesterday. Nature is pretty impressive.

The Russian River

The Russian River Valley in northwest Sonoma County is the home of some of California's oldest wineries. It is not as convenient to residents and tourists of the San Francisco Bay Area so it hasn't become as crowded or commercialized as Napa County or other parts of Sonoma County. It was our destination yesterday for a day of eating and drinking. Vavoom of Tedrow Drive is pictured on the banks of the Russian River at Guerneville.

Happy Earth Day

Earth Day is celebrated in most countries around the world on the vernal equinox, the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of fall in the Southern Hemisphere. On this date, night and day are equal everywhere on the planet.

In the U.S. we celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd. The first American Earth Day was in 1970, an event founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. In 1995 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his environmental work.

Cancel Michael Moore

According to the Chicago Tribune, last fall Cal State San Marcos revoked an invitation to Michael Moore to speak on campus saying that they were prohibited from spending state money on political activity.

Moore, the understanding and mature individual that he is, has announced that he has established The Michael Moore Freedom of Speech Scholarship for Cal State San Marcos students "who have done the most to fight for issues of student rights by standing up to the administration." Moore will award two $2,500 annual scholarships.

I'm a little bothered by Moore's vindictiveness and the miserly award he's offering but hey, he's spending money on education. Maybe a lot more universities should cancel his appearances.

What's in a word?

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, speaking to a group of newspaper editors on Tuesday, said that the U.S. should "close the borders" with Mexico. On Wednesday the Governor apologized.

"The bottom line is, I misspoke, and I'm sorry if I offended anyone," Schwarzenegger said about his comments Tuesday to a newspaper publishers' group in San Francisco. "I meant 'securing' our borders, not 'closing' them.

But state Treasurer Phil Angelides who has already declared his gubernatorial aspirations for 2006 couldn't let an opportunity to stir divisiveness pass him by.

"The governor knows what he's saying. He knows what his words mean. The visual image of closing the border is a clear image ... and it's not the first time he's done this.''

I cannot imagine what Angelides thinks he can gain by making political fodder from what was a simple mistake unless he is just trying to exploit Hispanics in California, a group that largely supported Schwarzenegger in 2003.

Biden on Bolton

During the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last week to review the nomination of John Bolton for U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Senator Joe Biden compared sending Bolton to the U.N. to sending a "bull into a china shop". Directed to Bolton Biden said, "your judgment about how to deal with the emerging threats have not been particularly useful."

A member of the Project for the New American Century, Bolton was also one of the signers of the January 26, 1998 PNAC Letter sent to President Clinton urging him to remove Saddam Hussein from power using US diplomatic, political and military power.

The Tortilla Curtain

Mrs. Happy Capitalist is holding her book club meeting here at our abode this evening so the cats and I have been relegated to the master bedroom. Laptop, wireless internet, quality blogging time, right? Well, shortly after I got settled in, laptop fired up, one cat around my feet and the other by my side, Mrs.THC came in and asked for my computer to aid the group in selecting their next read. OK, so blogging wasn't meant to be. Not this evening.

Tonight's book was The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle. From my perspective in the bedroom, the margaritas, Coronas, chips and salsa served were a much bigger hit than the book.

Hillary

From the NY Times,

WASHINGTON, April 18 - Even as Republicans struggle to find a candidate to challenge Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York next year, she has embarked on a furious fund-raising drive that appears to have left her with a larger reserve of cash than any other senator seeking re-election.

Any questions?

They don't rhyme

The words "smoke" and "pope" don't rhyme. So how long will we have to endure headlines like Black smoke signals no pope?

Merit pay?

A Fresno, California substitute teacher has been charged with smoking pot in an earth science class with five ninth-graders.

A Fresno High School substitute teacher charged with smoking marijuana with students in his class wrote a letter to the local newspaper saying that five years of pot smoking had made him "mentally powerless."

This comes at a time when the California Teachers Association is gearing up to spend millions of dollars on radio and TV ads to combat, among other things, a proposal by Governor Schwarzenegger that teachers' pay be based on merit.

Drop the big one

I heard this song on the radio today by Randy Newman called Political Science and was amused by how it is so apropos of the world today.

No one likes us
I don't know why.
We may not be perfect
But heaven knows we try.
But all around even our old friends put us down.
Let's drop the big one and see what happens.

We give them money
But are they grateful?
No they're spiteful
And they're hateful.
They don't respect us so let's surprise them;
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them.

The song was familiar but I couldn't place it in time so I looked it up. Randy wrote this bizarre little gem in 1968. Interesting.

Bad day on the street

From the Chicago Tribune today:

Wall Street suffered its worst single day in nearly two years Friday, with the Dow Jones industrial average falling 191 points for its third straight triple-digit loss. Deepening concerns over economic growth and higher prices led to the worst week of trading since August.

Compared to this from less than two weeks ago:

"The upward thrust to the economy appears quite substantial and the risk of higher inflation over the next six months or so seems clearly greater than the risk that inflation will fall below a desirable range," said Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President William Poole.

It's just further proof of how fickle the markets can be and how little anyone really knows.

The worst kind of thief

From the SF Chronicle:

Thirteen cargo handlers at San Francisco International Airport were charged Friday with stealing $200,000 worth of computers, cameras and other goods from mail bound for U.S. soldiers stationed in Japan, authorities said.

It takes a real sleaze to steal from service men and women serving overseas. Let's hope the federal court in San Francisco prosecutes these folks to the full extent of the law.

Too many taxes

This is it, April 15th. Today is the last day to report to the IRS your income from last year--everything from wages and tips to interest and dividends, alimony, unemployment, capital gains, social security and all the rest.

But what would it be like if our government had to report to us all of the taxes we paid last year? Wouldn't it be interesting if each of us received detailed report of the taxes we pay throughout the year. I'm not talking about just Social Security, federal, state and local income taxes, but all taxes.

The report would include the sin taxes, the federal excise taxes on liquor, wine, beer and cigarettes. It would tally all of the other excise taxes too, like on tires, guns and ammunition, fishing gear and bows and arrows. There is even a tax on betting and a separate tax on the employees of casinos.

Have you taken a good look at various taxes that appear on your phone bills? A federal subscriber line charge, federal universal service fee, state regulatory fee, rate surcharge, 9-1-1 emergency fee, lifeline surcharge...they'd all be included.

Consider also the taxes on an airplane ticket. There's a 7.5% federal excise tax, an airport tax ($2-$18), federal segment fees ($3 per segment), the 9/11 fee ($2.50 per segment) and a travel facilities tax (up to $13.40 per round-trip).

This report would also include the other biggies, sales tax and property taxes on real estate and automobiles. Professional licensing fees too.

It would include all of the nickel and dime taxes like highway and bridge tolls as well as fees for public parking.

So if our government were able to tabulate all of these taxes and the scores of others that I couldn't think of, what would that look like? How much of your income really goes out in taxes? Would it make you think differently about the total cost of government?

Estate Tax Repeal

Yesterday the House voted to permanently repeal the estate tax, a tax on inheritances. It now goes to the Senate. Democrats see this as a gift to the very wealthy.

"This is reverse Robin Hood," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). "We're taking money from the middle class and giving it to the super-rich."

Republicans see it as a tax that is just plain unfair.

"The death of a family member should not be a taxable event, period," said Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.), the bill's sponsor.

Here's a real-world example of the estate tax as it plays out everyday:

A Missouri farmer dies leaving the family farm to his three grown children. He made a fair living but never accumulated a great deal of savings, though the land and buildings appreciated to be worth several million dollars. While the three children strongly desire to keep the farm in the family, they are forced to sell it to pay the estate taxes which can exceed 50% of the value of the estate. Two of the three children are now unemployed because they were working the farm with their father. Is that what we want?

Panhandled

This evening as I was walking from my office building to the parking garage I encountered a man about my age but he had a bit of that homeless look to him. His clothes were dirty, though they weren't ragged and he looked as if he hadn't shaved in a week or so. Ordinarily I don't even make eye-contact with the panhandlers I meet on the street, but this guy was different. He walked toward me with confidence and a sense of purpose I don't often see. At first I didn't think he was a beggar at all, perhaps he just needed directions.

"Hey bud, I just need a little money, can you help me out?"

I just shook my head and started to open the door to the parking garage when he said, "C'mon man, I'm not going to lie to ya. I wanna buy another drink." That's when I noticed he was holding what appeared to be one of those large beer cans in a wrinkled, brown paper bag. I was struck by his directness and his manner. He had a sincere quality that made me hesitate. He was also close enough that I could smell the beer on his breath.

"Sorry." And I ducked into the garage. But he made me think about it for just a second. He was honest and direct and confident. I'm certain he got the money from someone else before I was even out of the garage.

Riunite on ice...that's nice!

Riunite, Blue Nun, Gallo Chablis. That pretty much describes my introduction to wine 25 years ago. Throw in some Lancer's and Mateus and you have a pretty good representation of much of the wine sold in the U.S. back then.

Eric Asimov has an interesting piece in the New York Times (dated tomorrow) about how wine 25 years ago seldom contained more than 12 percent alcohol. But much of the wine produced today contains much more, 15-16 percent in some cases, and it's causing some debate.

There are a couple of quite valid reasons cited by opponents of the more potent wines. Driving home becomes a problem for one thing and secondly, the higher alcohol content simply overwhelms food instead of enhancing it.

Proponents say that it shouldn't matter as long as the wine is balanced and it tastes good.

I'd just like to see more good wines that have prices lower than their alcohol contents. Am I dreaming?

But officer, I won't be able to vote!

Imagine my surprise today to discover that I have a higher opinion of Democrats than John Kerry does.

Kerry cited examples of how people were duped into not voting. "Leaflets are handed out saying Democrats vote on Wednesday, Republicans vote on Tuesday. People are told in telephone calls that if you've ever had a parking ticket, you're not allowed to vote," he said.

Does he honestly believe that his supporters are that dim?

The fifty-dollar fill-up

I pulled away from the gas station Friday afternoon and thought about all of the other stuff that I might have done with forty-eight bucks and change. I wasn't as outraged as I thought I would be after spending $2.80 per gallon...why was that?

The news media have become unwitting accomplices with the oil companies. Exxon and Shell tell the newspapers that we should expect three dollars per gallon, they print the stories and break the news to us ahead of time. So, when we pull up to the pump for that fifty-dollar fill-up, we're not upset, we were expecting it. The media look like champs for having foretold our future and the oil companies are spared the wrath of the driving public.

The problem with this is, without the outrage, we continue to buy the big V-8s. Without the outrage, we drive as much as we ever did. Without the outrage, it just gets easier for the oil companies to keep raising prices. It's supply and demand. Where does it end?

Dominatrix -turned-bureaucrat

This story from today's SF Chronicle is about a dominatrix who gave up the whips and leather for a job with the federal government only find that one of her new supervisors was a former client. He harassed her, she sued and the Treasury Department settled with her. He has since retired.

But don't you just wonder how she got hired in the first place? How about that first interview. "What special skills do you have?" "Do you work well with others?" "Do you have any clothes that aren't black leather?

Tax Day

Ultralight blogging today necessitated by the IRS's insistence that they have a tax return from us postmarked no later than this coming Friday.

Many find me to be a bit of a masochist, but I really do enjoy the challenge in preparing an income tax return. It's a bit like a puzzle, you just need to get all the pieces to fit together properly. Anyway, the returns are rolling off the printer as I peck this out and we're happy with the result. Better blogging tomorrow.

Google bucks

According to the Chronicle, the Google billionaires are taking a big pay cut.

The trio of billionaires who run — and own much of — online search engine leader Google Inc. reduced their individual salaries to $1 last year and rejected a recent attempt to give them a raise, according to documents filed Friday.

Now if the company could just be convinced to redirect some of that cash to the Blogger division, maybe I won't have to move to Typepad after all.

Re: Blogger

Mom and Dad always said, "You get what you pay for." Blogger has certainly been a great example of this principle recently. I'll be surprised if I can even get this to publish.

Re: Blogger

Mom and Dad always said, "You get what you pay for." Blogger has certainly been a great example of this principle recently. I'll be surprised if I can even get this to publish.

DiFi gay bashing?

Under most circumstances I'd be thrilled to see Diane Feinstein taken to the woodshed by her own supporters. This is a case where she really doesn't deserve it.

In Dianne Feinstein's hometown of San Francisco, hard feelings apparently linger about the senator's remark that the push to make marriage legal for same-sex couples hurt Democrats in the November election.

The gay rights folks in San Francisco believe that her comments have damaged their cause and that might be true. But all she was really doing was making a comment about political strategy. Agree with Democrats' positon on gay rights or not, but they have pushed it to the point where it has hurt them.

Head Start

My mother taught Head Start for what seems like about a hundred years. She earned a pittance for some of the most challenging teaching imaginable. Kids in her class would have lice and filthy clothes and a single parent who cared more about the new 32-inch Sony than their child. I remember Mom coming home from school one day and reporting that she heard a swear word that she'd never heard before and it came from the mouth of a three-year-old. I suppose what kept Mom teaching was the hope or belief that she could really make a difference in an underprivileged child's life. Now, according to the Kansas City Star, Head Start administrators have jeopardized the entire program.

Members of Congress on Tuesday demanded better oversight of Head Start amid widespread reports of financial mismanagement and a critical Government Accountability Office report.

Right to life?

A San Francisco woman is facing federal charges for allegedly threatening on an online message board to kill the husband of Terri Schiavo, the brain-damaged Florida woman who died Thursday after the removal of her feeding tube.

And I thought that those who opposed removing Terri Schiavo's feeding tube did so based on a belief in a right to life.

Dropout factories

A recent California study by the Harvard University Civil Rights Project called high schools with graduation rates under 60 percent "dropout factories". Then there's Oakland...

Fewer than half the freshmen who enter Oakland public high schools - - just 48 of every 100 -- stick around long enough to graduate.

The study estimated that dropouts cost the state $14 billion a year in lost wages, crime and jail time.

"It's astounding and unconscionable," said Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown. "It's a crisis that's been going on for decades. Oakland is trying hard. They need money. They need leadership. It's quite daunting, and it's going to require a lot more truth-telling and honesty than has been forthcoming in recent decades."

Jerry Brown, who is wrapping up his second term as Oakland mayor was certainly quick to point out that the problem is older than his tenure, but didn't mention what he has done or plans to do to improve the city's high schools.

Pope John Paul (the first)

With the death of Pope John Paul II, I was thinking back to when he was first elected and the circumstances around the 33-day tenure of his predecessor, Pope John Paul. It's not that my memory is failing, but it was a long time ago. The only thing I could remember about John Paul was that he was part of the storyline in The Godfather Part III. So I looked him up in Wikipedia.

His quick death, only 33 days after his election, caused worldwide shock. The official cause of death specified by the Vatican was a myocardial infarction, or a common heart attack. However, this is uncertain to some extent because no autopsy was performed. The Vatican raised major issues over the handling of the events surrounding his death; it lied about who found the body (it claimed a papal secretary, in fact it was later revealed that he was found by a nun in the Papal Household who had come to bring him some coffee), lied about the time, that personal property of his (his glasses, his will, documents he was working on when he died) disappeared from his bedroom and was never found. (In fact that was shown to be untrue. His possessions are in the possession of his sister's family.) It claimed he had been reading Thomas à Kempis's Imitation of Christ but his copy of that was still in Venice. Conflicting stories were told as to his health. It was hinted that his ill-health was due to heavy smoking; in fact he never smoked. The impact of this misinformation was shown in a headline of the Irish Independent newspaper, "THIRTY-THREE BRAVE DAYS" conveying the image of a weak and ill man physically unable to withstand the pressures of the papacy, and who was in effect killed by it.

The plotline in The Godfather Part III had the Vatican Bank heavily involved in organized crime and Pope John Paul I was threatening to expose the corruption.

Slavery or addiction

Pat and Jeff quickly became our first friends in California. We had so much in common. They were relocating to the Bay Area at the same time and from the same place that we were. Pat and Mrs. W had also been co-workers back in Kansas City and had known each other for several years. Our friendship was meant to be.

Besides all we had in common, there was one thing we didn't quite agree on--politics. Pat and Jeff have a pretty liberal mindset and they fit in well with the politics of Northern California. It's been a slightly more difficult adaptation for me. We've kept our political discussions friendly and, in spite of this one difference, Pat and Jeff are friends for life.

Last evening, while out with them for dinner, the conversation turned, of course, to the death of Pope John Paul II. The Pope wasn't much of a capitalism fan, he was arguably pretty much a socialist. Pat had read about the Pope cautioning folks on becoming "slaves to capitalism" and she feared she'd become just such a slave. We had a pretty good time joking about Pat's enslavement, her Mercedes and her new beach house were nothing but shackles. Finally Mrs. W suggested that perhaps Pat is not so enslaved to capitalism as she is addicted to it. We had a good laugh and Pat seemed to feel better that she is just a junkie and not a slave. Capitalism's not such a bad thing after all.

Pat and Jeff: If you happen to drop by The Happy Capitalist, greetings! Come around anytime.

Yippee!

From the SF Chronicle:

Gas prices in California hit a record high Friday, with San Francisco pumps selling the most expensive gallons of gas on the mainland.

The average price for a gallon of gas in California has jumped 50 cents since mid-January to $2.45 a gallon for regular unleaded gas, and $2.63 for premium, according to a survey by the AAA.

World's Biggest Turkey Baster

This AP story ran in today's SF Chronicle:

After bringing in a parade of males and watching for years as nature never took its course, scientists at Mystic Aquarium have performed what is believed to be the first artificial insemination of a beluga whale.

The "Turkey Baster" headline was from the Chronicle's online version. I guess some folks there actually do have a sense of humor.

Pope watch

With the major league baseball season still days away, waiting for people to die seems to have become a surrogate national pastime. First Teri Schiavo and now the Pope.

The Italian news media reported earlier today that the Pope had died and American news organizations piled on without getting verification. Yahoo! and Fox News jumped the gun and reported the pontiff's death. I'm sure there were others. Bloggers like The Anchoress are "live blogging" the death of the Pope. I'm not really sure what it means to live blog the Pope's demise but it's morbid whatever it is. Is it really so important to report it the second John Paul II draws his last?

If the Pope's passing is indeed soon I hope it's peaceful and painless for him. And I hope there are no other prominent figures to die anytime soon. It's just become too weird.

The Berger files

Former national security advisor Sandy Berger should appear in court tomorrow and plead guilty to swiping classified documents from the national archives, a misdemeanor.

He [Berger] said he was reviewing the materials to help determine which Clinton administration documents to provide to the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Berger and his lawyer, Lanny Breuer, have said Berger knowingly removed the handwritten notes by placing them in his jacket and pants and inadvertently took copies of actual classified documents in a leather portfolio. He returned most of the documents, but some still are missing.

The Clinton administration seemed to have problems with disappearing documents.

Coulter on the Kaw

Jimbobb2 over at The Shaggy Dog has the skinny (or at least a couple of great witticisms) about Ann Coulter's appearance at my alma mater, The University of Kansas. (KU, in Lawrence, is on the banks of the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw). Thanks, Jim.

Mullethead

Heidi Stevens at the Chicago Tribune reports a shift in hairstyles and asks these important questions:

Are mullets mounting a comeback? And is it too early to get Congress involved?

So maybe there actually is something productive congress can do.

Our shiny new recycling cart

Imagine how thrilled I was to come home to a shiny new, gigantic recycling cart. The beautiful grey container replaces a couple of dinky little bins and will hold our weekly refuse of bottles, cans and newspapers. It joins its handsome cousins, the brown cart for trash, the green monster for yard debris and the cute baby kitchen pail for food scraps. Garage space was at a premium before our new arrival so now we're not quite sure where we'll be keeping the cars.

MGM vs. Grokster

The U.S. Supreme Court begins hearing arguments tomorrow in MGM vs. Grokster, which makes peer to peer software that lets internet users share songs and other files. It's seen as the most important copyright case since the 1984 Sony Betamax decision. The New York Times takes a surprisingly capitalistic position on it.

The battle over online music piracy is usually presented as David versus Goliath: the poor student in his dorm hunted down by a music conglomerate. It is easy, in that matchup, to side with the student. But when the Supreme Court takes up the issue this week, we hope it considers another party to the dispute: individual creators of music, movies and books, who need to keep getting paid if they are going to keep creating. If their work is suddenly made "free," all of society is likely to suffer.

The Betamax case favored Sony, allowing the company to sell its home video recorders over Hollywood's objections that the technology would be used to illegally copy movies.

Guilty of something

Go ahead. Try to guess who said this before going to the SF Chronicle for the whole story.

"Elizabeth Taylor used to feed me, to hand-feed me, at times."

Geo-green

Thomas L. Friedman at the NY Times believes President Bush is missing an opportunity to implement a "geo-green strategy" to avert an energy crisis. In today's editorial he says we need only do three things:

We need a gasoline tax that would keep pump prices fixed at $4 a gallon, even if crude oil prices go down.

We need to start building nuclear power plants again.

And we need some kind of carbon tax that would move more industries from coal to wind, hydro and solar power, or other, cleaner fuels.

Friedman explains that higher taxes will decrease consumption and raise revenue on gasoline and coal. He also argues that higher gas prices would change America's car-buying habits to more fuel-efficient vehicles.

First of all, excise taxes are not effective at reducing consumption, just look at alcohol and cigarettes. Secondly, it's difficult to reduce consumption and increase tax revenue on a commodity simultaneously. Thirdly, do liberals have any answers that don't include new taxes?

I don't have a problem with building new nuclear power plants, but I don't look forward to Bay Area liberals chaining themselves together and blocking traffic to protest them.

Happy Easter!

Dumb jocks

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Jesse Jackson is blaming NCAA schools for lousy graduation rates for student athletes, particularly black basketball players.

Jackson attributed African-American athletes' lower graduation rate to inadequate college preparation in many inner-city high schools. He also blamed coaches and schools for their single-minded emphasis on athletics over academics.

The story does not say whether Jackson places any responsibility for poor academic performance on the student athletes themselves or their parents.

Fox Blocker

I first came across this story over at Shane Raynor but you can bet it's going to make its way around pretty quickly.

It's not that Sam Kimery objects to the views expressed on Fox News. The creator of the "Fox Blocker" contends the channel is not news at all. Kimery figures he's sold about 100 of the little silver bits of metal that screw into the back of most televisions, allowing people to filter Fox News from their sets, since its August debut.

What can you say about the folks who would buy this thing?

Circling for a space

One of the constant challenges of living in the Bay Area is parking.

The financial markets and my office were all closed for Good Friday, giving me a great opportunity for a mid-morning workout. When I got to the gym it was apparent that most folks weren't as fortunate as me, they were working. That means downtown Oakland, where my gym is, was hopping. Nowhere to park. I drove around the same four-block area for twenty minutes without any luck and finally caved and parked in the Kaiser Center Garage. Twelve bucks for 79 minutes! I suppose it's cheaper than a heart attack.

I heard once that there are something like 5 million cars in the Bay Area and only 3 million places to park them. That means that, at any given moment, there have to be 2 million cars moving. My guess is that most of them are just circling, looking for a space.

Some good from this?

The legal and ethical struggle over Terri Schiavo is the third prominent right-to-die case in the last thirty years. Nancy Cruzan died in 1990 in Mount Vernon, Missouri after her feeding tube was removed. She had been injured in a car accident in 1983. Karen Ann Quinlan died in 1985 after slipping into a coma at a party in New Jersey.

Each of these three women was under the age of thirty when incapacitated.

If there is anything good to come from these tragedies, it might be the attention brought to the value of planning for unexpected incapacity. Talk to your family and friends about your wishes and write them down.

Download forms for Advance Medical Directives, Living Wills and Medical Powers of Attorney.

Most states will require the signatures of two witnesses or a notary on these documents. Get your family and friends together for a big old' signing party.

Strange alliance

Just when I thought the U.S. had become more polarized than ever...

A novel coalition of conservatives and liberals normally at each other's throats over the nature of government and free speech have made common cause to oppose key parts of the USA Patriot Act anti-terrorism law.

The ACLU, The American Conservative Union, Americans for Tax Reform and the Free Congress Foundation have teamed up to challenge the USA Patriot Act saying the law is too intrusive and allows the government to spy on innocent Americans.

Dropout Dispute

A Harvard study, according to the SF Chronicle, says California needs some schoolin' on how to count its dropouts.

In a searing indictment of California's school system, Harvard University researchers say the state graduates only 71 percent of its high school students -- not the 87 percent it claims.

Not surprising. California educators have much more important issues to deal with, like renaming the schools.

Terrorists killed

I don't mean to appear giddy that 85 people lost their lives, but isn't it nice to see the good guys win some battles rather than reading about another cowardly terrorist bombing in a shopping district?

An Iraqi official said Wednesday that 85 insurgents were killed on Tuesday when Iraqi commandos, assisted by U.S. air and ground support, staged a midday attack on a suspected training camp in a rural area northwest of the capital.

Self apology

I didn't see the Jayhawks' exhibition of lousy sportsmanship after their stunning loss to 14th seeded Bucknell last Friday. I couldn't stand to watch much of the second half at all. But the Jayhawks, it seems, were a bunch of pretty sore losers.

Only a handful of Kansas players stayed around for the traditional handshake last week when the Bison shocked the No. 3 seed Jayhawks 64-63. It was Kansas' first opening-round loss since 1978.

Self (the Jayhawks head coach) said one problem was that Bucknell's players did not all line up to shake hands after Wayne Simien's desperation jumper at the buzzer came up short. Instead, many of them ran onto the floor in celebration.

When Self called Bucknell coach Pat Flannery to apologize, Flannery said:

"Don't sweat it, we were running around like we won a championship and I can understand guys not waiting while we were celebrating"

For the Jayhawks, the new season starts now and it starts by bidding farewell to the seniors who just couldn't let go of Roy Williams. They didn't play up to their potential and they let a lot of faithful fans down as well as their teammates. Goodbye and good luck. The Self era has begun.

Only in Berkeley

Apparently, being a founding father of the greatest nation on earth doesn't have the same cachet it once did. At least, not in Berkeley.

Parents, students and teachers at Berkeley's Thomas Jefferson Elementary School will soon vote on whether to rename their school because the nation's third president was a slave owner.

Contenders for the new name included Ralph Bunche, the African American diplomat at the United Nations who was the first person of color to win the Nobel Peace Prize; farmworker organizer Cesar Chavez; and Florence McDonald, the late Berkeley city councilwoman, leftist political leader and mother of singer Country Joe McDonald.

But the folks in Berkeley seem to have a dislike for other famous white people as well.

In 1999, Columbus Elementary School in West Berkeley was rebuilt after it was found to be seismically unsafe, and it was renamed Rosa Parks Elementary School - but only after intense debate about whether Cesar Chavez was a better alternative.

Also, James Garfield Middle School was renamed after Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 and Abraham Lincoln Elementary School was renamed for Malcolm X in the 1970s.

The city of Berkeley itself is named for Bishop George Berkeley, an Irish philosopher. Hmmm. That's not very P.C. either...

Auntie Em! Auntie Em!

It ripped the roofs off of dozens of homes and businesses, uprooted trees and had winds of 70-110 mile per hour, but it took San Francisco meteorologists a full day to decide what to call it. Today it became official, it was a tornado, a wimpy one, but nonetheless a tornado.

Legendary automaker dies

John Z. DeLorean,80, died Saturday, March 19th in Summit, New Jersey after a stroke.

DeLorean is best-known for the failed automobile venture that bore his name and which only achieved any lasting notoriety through the film "Back to the Future". But prior to going out on his own, DeLorean had been a remarkable success in Detroit. He rescued the failing Pontiac Division of General Motors by designing the GTO in the late sixties and was also credited with creating the overhead cam engine, concealed windshield wipers, racing stripes and many other automotive innovations.

He was promoted to the Chevrolet division and was expected to take the reins of the auto giant when he resigned his $650,000 a year job in 1973. GM gave him a Cadillac dealership as a retirement gift but DeLorean wanted to build his own car company.

Only 9,000 DeLorean DMC-12s were built in the plant in Northern Ireland. The company was fraught with cost overruns and design problems. The car, which was intended to be everyman's sportscar, wound up selling for $25,000, far beyond the budget of most buyers in 1981. The plant was closed late in 1982 about the same time DeLorean was arrested in Los Angeles with 55 pounds of cocaine. He was acquitted of the drug charges but would face nearly 40 lawsuits stemming from the demise of his car company.

SF protests

The San Francisco Chronicle publishes this account of anti-war protests in the city yesterday. Waaay down at the end of the story was this:

Just before 3 p.m., some 200 to 300 protesters, some with bandanas covering their faces, broke away from the main group and ran into the streets, circling the area of Market and Van Ness Avenue.

Chanting "Whose streets? Our streets?" and "Build the community, smash the state," the group beat on doors and, at times, blocked traffic. On Duboce Avenue, they overturned kitchen equipment that was being delivered to a restaurant and rolled some metal carts in the way of police.

While this group was not representative of the protesters overall, damaging property and resisting police doesn't do anything but hurt their cause.

Common Sense

Owning a computer and possessing the ability to craft a few sentences doesn't necessarily indicate the presence of any common sense. Proof was published today in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Kaiser Permanente is squaring off in court next week against a fired employee, who dubs herself the "Diva of Disgruntled," for her posting of links to confidential patient information on her Internet blog.

The names, addresses, telephone numbers, medical record numbers and, in some cases, laboratory test results of about 140 Kaiser members were posted on three Web sites, all of which were taken down this month.

According to the Chronicle, the "Diva", Elisa D. Cooper, also attempted to sell patient information on eBay.

Ah, Oakland

Suicidal trucker surrenders

Oakland, California's national reputation is that of the seedy and undesirable city-across-the-bay from San Francisco. This image is largely unwarranted, at least in my own experience.

That said however, until moving to Oakland I had never witnessed an armed police standoff live and in person. This report from the Oakland Tribune is what I had the thrill of watching from my 22nd floor office yesterday.

A man angry at the way he had been treated by the criminal justice system threatened Friday afternoon to kill himself by crashing into a downtown office building with his big-rig truck.

Alonzo Evans, 61, gave up after police agreed to let him speak to Oakland Tribune reporter Heather MacDonald. No one was injured.

I have to admit, watching 20 police officers pointing assault rifles at someone is different live than it is on TV.

Arrggh.

Baseball*

During the '94-'95 baseball strike I pledged not to go to another game. Players and owners alike had let me down and I didn't feel any of them deserved more of my money. Well, my little boycott hasn't exactly worked out, I've been to a few games.

But now comes the great steroid scandal. It's such a threat to the American way of life that Congress seems to think that global terrorism and the Social Security debate will have to wait. This is more important.

Now, I'm not so sure that it deserves all this congressional attention, but it doesn't do much for the way I feel about baseball. The game's image has never been the same since the strike ten years ago and cheating by so many big names mars its image further. Maybe this time I'll stay away for good.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Born in fifth century Britain, Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. One legend is that he taught the Irish about the concept of the trinity by showing them the shamrock, a three-leafed clover. He died on March 17th of the year 461, 492 or 493.

Sell!

A California starter home

According to The San Francisco Chronicle, DataQuick reports that housing is still red-hot in California.

The statewide median price paid for homes and condominiums in February was $407,000, up 21.1 percent from $336,000 the same month a year ago and up 1.8 percent from $400,000 in January, real estate research firm DataQuick Information Systems said Wednesday.

Obesity

According to the New York Times, a report to be published tomorrow in the New England Journal of Medicine says that obesity may cause a significant drop in the average life expectancies for Americans.

BOSTON, March 16 - For the first time in two centuries, a generation of children in America may have shorter life expectancies than their parents, according to a report that contends that the rapid rise in childhood obesity, if left unchecked, may shorten life spans by as much as five years.

What would that do for Social Security?

Non-Social Security plans

The Kansas City Star takes a look at pension plans available to 5 million American public sector workers instead of Social Security. Most of the workers covered by these plans are firemen, policemen and teachers.

A paper by the Cato Institute, a Washington think tank, notes that on average non-Social Security plans pay between 3.3 and 7.5 times the annual benefit of Social Security.

“They certainly show that investing in real capital assets, given a long investing timeline and broad diversification, you can provide a better benefit,” said Michael Tanner, a Cato Institute expert on Social Security.

But as the fight in Washington heats up over how to reform the massive safety net, opinions vary as to whether such pension systems — many of them quite successful — could be copied on a larger scale.

The Star requires a free registration, but this story is worth the effort.

The Terminator vs. Meathead

From the LA Times, candidates are already lining up to face Schwarzenegger in 2006:

Democratic state Treasurer Phil Angelides is poised to announce that he will run for California governor in 2006, launching an early assault against Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger more than a year before the primary election.

But only in California could you see something like this:

A Field Poll released last week showed Schwarzenegger holding a 15-point lead over any potential 2006 challenger. In a hypothetical match-up, the poll found Angelides would place third in a Democratic primary — behind Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer and Rob Reiner, the actor and director known for promoting early childhood education.

And Sally Struthers for Attorney General, perhaps? Reiner has said he's not interested in running.

Media bias?

In the never-ending debate over media bias, the Columbia Universtity Graduate School of Journalism weighs in.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. media coverage of last year's election was three times more likely to be negative toward President Bush than Democratic challenger John Kerry, according to a study released Monday.

The annual report by a press watchdog that is affiliated with Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism said that 36 percent of stories about Bush were negative compared to 12 percent about Kerry, a Massachusetts senator.

More Scott Peterson

Just in case you're suffering withdrawal symptoms since the Scott Peterson trial ended, get ready for another dose.

Scott Peterson should receive a new trial in his nationally watched murder case because prosecutors withheld evidence that might have exonerated him of the December 2002 killings of his wife, Laci, and their unborn child, defense attorneys argued.

Attorneys on both sides should make oral arguments Wednesday regarding a new trial--our judicial system and tax dollars at work.

$550,00 for bird perches

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, we're spending over half a million bucks to accommodate double-crested cormorants living on the Bay Bridge. Funny thing is, if you've spent much time living in the Bay Area, that really sounds reasonable. Sad, huh?

The Bay Bridge boondoggle has something for everyone -- even the birds.

It turns out that the state Department of Transportation is spending $550, 000 to build a strip of special perches along the new bridge for the double- crested cormorant -- a lanky black bird with a hooked bill and a parcel of legally protected squatters' rights it earned from having spent the past 20 years roosting on the underside of the old bridge.

Media Matters

Media Matters for America practices its very own brand of silliness. They like to compare apples to oranges and then expect us to believe their findings are somehow meaningful.

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media. Conservative misinformation is defined as news or commentary presented in the media that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda.

So they count the number of times the media references controversial political statements:

In the five days after Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) referenced Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany while criticizing Republican senators, his comments were reported extensively by major media outlets, including Fox News, CNN, MNSBC, the Associated Press, Roll Call, and ABC -- 19 media reports in all. In the five days after Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, "We don't do Lincoln Day dinners in South Carolina. It's nothing personal, but it takes awhile to get over things," the media virtually ignored his remarks. Graham's statement was mentioned by CNN, Roll Call, the National Journal's CongressDaily newsletter, and the Frontrunner, which excerpted the Roll Call mention. That's it: four mentions.

Geez, c'mon. Which is more newsworthy? Senator Byrd is a colorful old fellow who, in his younger days, belonged to an organization that wore sheets over their heads and terrorized blacks. Besides, a remark about Hitler trumps Lincoln in the news any day.

Grudge

Geraldo Rivera

We were watching a local San Francisco TV program this morning during breakfast when they announced "Breaking news in the Brian Nichols case in Georgia. We'll take you there right after this break." Silly. Why would we sit through three minutes of commercials when, through the magic of DirectTV, we can get the news NOW?

I flipped to Fox News and there was Geraldo, live from Georgia. He had the scoop. Brian Nichols had been captured.

But Geraldo still pisses me off. Not one who normally holds a grudge, I'm still mad at Rivera. Every time I see him I'm reminded of April in 1986 when he held us hostage in front of our TVs for the opening of Al Capone's vault. Two hours of live TV from the Lexington Hotel in Chicago, so suspenseful. Two hours watching Geraldo, wearing an excavation helmet, speculate about all the money, whiskey and bones that must be inside.

Geraldo finally brought in the explosives team. More suspense. Finally, the blast, the dust, the commotion. Geraldo led the camera into the vault. Dirt. Nothing but dirt and a couple of empty whiskey bottles. Surely this would be the end of Geraldo Rivera's career. So I thought.

Hot enough for ya?

Yes, I actually heard that question on the radio today on my way home. It rarely gets into the 80s in the Bay Area during the summer, so upper 80s in March is pretty unusual.

No free lunch

From the WSJ

By a vote of 74-25, lawmakers passed a bill that would require more people who file for personal bankruptcy protection to repay a portion of their debts.

Under present bankruptcy law about 70% of debtors are processed under Chapter 7 where their financial obligations are completely erased. The new law would force more debtors into Chapter 13 where, after means testing, the court would help them restructure their debt, establish a repayment schedule and creditors would get paid at least part of what is owed them. People in bankruptcy would also be required to get credit counseling.

What it means is, if you have a job and you go out and buy too much house and too much car and you max out your credit cards at Circuit City, you can no longer get out of your mess scot-free by filing for bankruptcy. But if you have fallen on hard times, can't get a job or have huge medical bills, there is still a safety net. This is decent legislation that is way past due.

Charlie bipartisan? Never.

Charles Rangel (D-NY)

Charlie Rangel just cracks me up and I don't know why. Just to look at the buffoon makes me smile. And I don't say "buffoon" in a negative way, I mean he really is a clown and he plays the part so well. Charlie can get away with ludicrous comments that would get serious politicians in trouble. But politically, he is very predictable.

One prominent Democrat declined the challenge. "Private accounts will not be on the table if you are looking for bipartisanship," said New York Rep. Charles Rangel, reflecting the sentiment of party leaders.

If bipartisanship is what you want, Charlie's the last guy to talk to.

Great minds

I was beginning to think that no one else cared about the huge ransom allegedly paid for the release of the Italian journalist until I saw this column by Michelle Malkin.

Whatever the final tally, it's a whopping bounty that will undoubtedly come in handy for cash-hungry killers in need of spiffy new rocket-propelled grenade launchers, AK-47s, mortars, landmines, components for vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, and recruitment fees. (To put this windfall in perspective, bear in mind that the 9/11 plot was a half-million dollar drop in the bucket for Osama bin Laden.)

I said pretty much the same thing in my post several days ago. It's just that Michelle says it so much better.

Yeah, right.

Do they really expect us to believe this tripe? "

The suspected kidnappers of former Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena said in a video broadcast by Italian media on Tuesday that no ransom was paid to end the journalist's month-long captivity.

"Yeah, so we murder innocent people, abduct journalists, behead captives and post the video on the internet, but we wouldn't take ransom money." I believe it, don't you?

Are bloggers journalists?

This will certainly be interesting.

Bloggers may be pushing the boundaries of online communication, breaking news and waylaying politicians and corporate executives, but are they journalists?

Eco-what?

Eco-terrorism is one of those concepts where, every time I hear the word, I just know there's something not quite right about it. I just don't understand what kind of statement is made by torching SUVs or blowing up homes.

In another example of California silliness, three eco-terrorists have been arrested for attempting to firebomb a couple of upscale homes near Sacramento. I suppose we should all live in caves.

Sgrena's Ransom

It's likely that a large ransom was paid to free Italian left-wing journalist Giuliana Sgrena.

Asked whether ransom was paid, Agriculture Minister Giovanni Alemanno said it was "very probable." An Iraqi politician, Younadem Kana, said he had "nonofficial" information that $1 million was paid, Italy's Apcom news agency reported, although that could not be confirmed.

How many suicide bombs can be made with a million bucks?

Meanwhile, back in Kansas

There's some interesting stuff going on back in my homeland.

Indeed, a host of conservative Christian causes are moving forward: on April 5, Kansas voters will take up one of the strictest anti-gay marriage amendments in the nation; the state school board is embroiled in arguments between evolution and Biblical beliefs about creation; and fresh battles have begun over book banning and abortion rights.

Thanks to Jim at The Shaggy Dog for bringing this to my attention. He came across it at Fark.

Stubborn

In another example of Bay Area silliness, Superior Court Judge John Sutro has refused to allow the legal eviction to be carried out against 82-year-old Sarah Nome who has taken up residence at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in San Rafael. Though not ill, she refuses to leave because she claims to have nowhere to go.

Now before you start getting all weepy for this poor old woman, understand that two Bay Area nursing homes have offered to take her in, but she refuses because they are not in Marin County where she has lived all of her life. She is suing her last nursing home so they don't want her back. Her own daughter refuses to take her in and her former neighbors, who were often embroiled in legal battles with Nome, are happy she's gone. She now owes Kaiser Permanente $1.2 million and is racking up an additional $3,090 every day for her stubbornness.

Why do I keep flashing back to Anne Ramsey's character in Danny DeVito's "Throw Momma from the Train"?

Political Hack

When you can't discuss the issues intelligently, resort to name-calling.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan generally gets accolades for his public pronouncements. Yesterday he got a brickbat from Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), who blasted Greenspan as "one of the biggest political hacks we have here in Washington."

Brilliant!

Then, Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), trying to defend Reid's statement said:

"There's a moat around the Fed that says he doesn't get involved in political discussions," Emanuel said. "He took the moat down."

The Chairman regularly appears before Congress, is forced to endure endless grandstanding by congressmen who seem to have a life's ambition to coerce a political statement from Greenspan, and then he's damned if he expresses one. Some moat.

Floyd

Floyd was 97. A fall on the driveway and a broken bone led to a couple of days in the hospital where he unceremoniously drifted away on Tuesday afternoon. No suffering, no commotion, not a bad way to go.

Floyd was Mary's (Mrs. THC) grandfather, so she was on an early Southwest flight to Kansas City this morning.

The funeral is Saturday and there shouldn't be too many tears. Not because Floyd was unloved, but because it was time. He had dementia and was often not certain where he was or who was around him. So Floyd's family will celebrate his life and say goodbye. A big family gathering with food and laughter. Floyd would have liked that.

Amazing

Early on the morning of May 20th, 1927 Charles A. Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field near New York City in The Spirit of Saint Louis. Thirty-three and a half hours later Lindbergh touched down in Paris at 10:22 pm local time. He had not slept in 55 hours.

On February 28th, 2005, nearly 78 years later, Steve Fossett took off from Salina Municipal Airport in central Kansas attempting to fly around the world solo, non-stop and without refueling. The 23,000 mile journey came to its successful conclusion today in Salina at 1:50 pm, 67 hours after it began.

Salina is not Paris and Fossett's plane, The GlobalFlyer wasn't stormed by an excited mob. There won't be giant parades to honor his feat and Fossett might not be included in high school history books. But his accomplishment today is, nonetheless, truly amazing.

Gouge 'em, they're only tourists

San Francisco hopes to raise bus and streetcar rates by 25 cents to $1.50 this fall, and also wants to raise cable car fares by $2--to five bucks a trip. Why the big hike for cable cars and not other modes of public transportation?

Muni spokeswoman Maggie Lynch conceded that cable car fares were going up more than other fares because cable cars "are mainly used by tourists."

And who wants tourists anyway?

Hey, gotta light?

Matches but not lighters. The Transportation Safety Administration has banned cigarette lighters on commercial airliners beginning April 14th, but passengers will still be able to carry on as many as four books of matches.

An OMB spokesman said the TSA needs to complete a cost-benefit analysis of banning matches.

"If we move to add matches to the list, we will post the proposal for public comment," TSA spokesman Mark Hatfield said.

A "cost-benefit analysis" really? Do some Americans really want this kind of government bureaucracy in charge of our health care and retirement?