What Caught My Eye Today

Senate - In a subdued ending to a week of startling political theater, Sen. Larry Craig announced his resignation Saturday, bowing to pressure from fellow Republicans worried about damage from his arrest and guilty plea in a gay sex sting. "I apologize for what I have caused," Craig said, his wife Suzanne and two of their three children at his side with a historic Boise train station as backdrop. "I am deeply sorry." Making no specific mention of the incident that triggered his disgrace in his remarks, he spoke for under six minutes and took no questions. Two words--"He gone." You can almost hear the collective sigh of relief in the Republican party that this PR nightmare that started Monday ended so quickly.

2008 Presidential Campaign - Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards joined three other Democrats who say they will skip states that break party rules by holding early primaries. Their decision is a major boost to the primacy of four early voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. The DNC has tried to impose discipline on a handful of unruly states determined to vote before Feb. 5 and gain influence in the election cycle. They have now agreed that they won't compete in any other states that vote before Feb. 5, as Florida plans to do and Michigan is poised to do. Their decision is a blow to Florida, which had moved its primary to Jan. 29, and Michigan, where the legislature this week voted to push its primary to Jan. 15. Michigan acted despite the DNC's threat to punish Florida by stripping it of its 210 delegates unless it comes up with another plan in the next four weeks. The prospect of five candidates bypassing Florida and Michigan would essentially turn those contests into nonbinding beauty contests, with no delegates at stake if the DNC imposed its punishment. Who do these guys in Florida and Michigan think they are...trying to make their votes count? Don't they know that the candidates have carefully orchestrated primary strategies? The nerve of some people to put the interests of voters ahead of the DNC and its presidential candidates.

Afghanistan - Sort of a good news, bad news story. The good news is that Afghanistan had a banner year in crop production. The bad news is that crop was opium. Opium production has doubled in Afghanistan in the past two years, giving that nation a 93% share of the world's heroin and morphine supply. Well, I suppose someone had to top the list, but 93%? Holy smoke! (Now, now. Admit it. That was a little funny.)

China - And we thought things in the U.S. mining industry were bad. Two brothers dug their way out of a collapsed mine in Beijing this week, eating coal and drinking urine to stay alive for five days. The miners were given up for dead just a day after an illegal coal mine caved in on them. Their survival was a rare bit of good news for China's mining industry, after 181 men died in a flooded mine last week. China loses more than a dozen miners each day in fires, explosions, and flood. Take your pick for shock value on this one. You have plenty to choose from.

Water - Here are some fascinating little factoids related to bottled water:

Between 1976 and 2006, annual consumption of bottled water rose for an average of 1.6 gallons per person to 27.6 gallons, or 1625%.

In 2006, Americans consumeed 8.25 billion gallons or 30 billion bottles of water.

Fewer than a quarter of empty water bottles are recycled. The rest--about 2 billion pounds annually--end up in landfills, incinerators, but the side of the road, or in the sea. The so-called Eastern Garbage Patch in the North Pacific Ocean, described as the biggest trash dump in the world, is 90% plastic, much of it in the form of old water bottles. (This is a fascinating oceanic phenomenon. Click here for more information on it)

On balance, bottled water is incredibly expensive. Whereas its price generally ranges for 75 cents to $6 a gallon, tap water costs about 80 cent to $6.40 per thousand gallons. Assuming your tap water cost the same as the cheapest bottled water, your average monthly water bill would be about $9,000.

In the interest of full disclosure, I've been known to consume the occasional bottle of Dasani. Though I prefer my tried and true Brita water filter.

Infidelity - A Texas man is suing 1-800-FLOWERS for $1 million for revealing to his wife that he was having an affair. When he sent fores to his girlfriend, the man specifically aske dthe flower delivery service to keep the transaction private. Shortly after, however, a note arrived at the couple's home thanking the man for his business. His wife is now suing for divorce, demanding an extra $300,000 based on the evidence of her husband's adultery. Oh yeah, this is totally on 1-800-FLOWERS. Give me a break.