What Caught My Eye Today

Congress - President Bush, successful in forcing the Democratic Congress to bend to his will, complained that lawmakers had wasted time and taxpayers' money. I'm sorry, since when hasn't Congress wasted time and taxpayers' money? Bush used a year-end news conference to scold lawmakers for stuffing 9,800 special-interest projects into a $550 billion spending measure. What began as a troubling year for Bush, facing a new, energetic Democratic Congress, ended in triumph for the president as frustrated Democrats nursed their losses. Democrats failed in their top objective to stop the war in Iraq and bowed to Bush and his veto threats on tax policies, energy legislation, children's health insurance and general spending. Democrats conceded Bush's success. "President Bush's veto pen prevented the kind of significant change our country needs," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, head of the House Democratic Caucus. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "Next year, I hope the president will stop trying to block progress and work with Congress to deliver for the American people." I think Rahm Emanuel hit the mark a bit more than Pelosi did. President Bush didn't exactly block progress, he merely progressed that which he wanted, and quite effectively at that. I'm not saying I agree with what Bush did, but you cannot argue that he pretty much got his way on pretty much everything he wanted despite a record low approval rating and Democratic control of both chambers of Congress. How many of us would have seen this coming after the bludgeoning the GOP took in the 2006 elections? Honestly, I still don't get how he pulled it off.

2008 Presidential Race - Two weeks before the first vote is cast in the state-by-state process to select party candidates for the U.S. presidential election Rep. Tom Tancredo of Colorado dropped his long-shot bid and endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Tancredo, an advocate of tougher immigration laws who entered the campaign to highlight the issue, had languished at the bottom of a big Republican presidential field but said he had accomplished his task. I find it amusing that the first caucus is still 2 weeks away and we've already had a bunch of candidates drop out of the race. And how about the stones on this Tancredo dude saying that he accomplished his task? And what might that have been, to be the last drop out before primary season actually begins? Here is that latest tally of candidates for both parties:

Republican Party - 7 still in the running; 4 withdrawn
Candidates with national campaigns
Rudy Giuliani former mayor of New York City
Mike Huckabee, former Governor of Arkansas
Representative Duncan Hunter (California)
Senator John McCain (Arizona)
Representative Ron Paul (Texas)
Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts
Fred Thompson, former Senator of Tennessee
Candidates who have withdrawn
Senator Sam Brownback (Kansas)
Jim Gilmore former Governor of Virginia
Representative Tom Tancredo (Colorado)
Tommy Thompson, former Governor of Wisconsin

Democratic Party - 8 still in the running; 1 withdrawn
Candidates with national campaigns
Senator Joe Biden (Delaware)
Senator Hillary Clinton (New York)
Senator Chris Dodd (Connecticut)
Former Senator John Edwards (North Carolina)
Former Senator Mike Gravel (Alaska)
Representative Dennis Kucinich (Ohio)
Senator Barack Obama (Illinois)
Governor Bill Richardson (New Mexico)
Candidates who have withdrawn
Former Governor Tom Vilsack (Iowa)

Literature - Philip M. Parker is the author or editor of more than 300,000 books. Software he created wrote the books automatically. Parker recently won a U.S. patent for his invention which searches databases for the content for his formulaic genres. He sells his volumes in digital or print-on-demand form via outlets such as Amazon.com. The books tend to be ultra specific such as 'The 2007-2012 Outlook for Rollerball Pens in Greater China,' priced at $495, and a volume of crossword puzzles in Zarma, a language spoken in southwest Niger for $14.95. Parker declines to say how many books he has sold. No kidding. You could argue that this guy is cheating by using software to compile content and that he's not actually writing anything, but that's not that aspect of the story that caught my attention. What I want to know is first, how did this guy manage to find 300 pages worth of information on the sales prospects of ballpoint pens in China, and secondly, what idiot would spend nearly $500 to read said content?

Finally, another in our ongoing holiday themed news items...

Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, has mountains honoring Communist and Russian leaders. Just in time for Christmas, authorities say they plan to name a snowy peak "Mount Santa Claus." Three climbers set off yesterday to scale the designated peak and bury a capsule containing the flag of Kyrgyzstan at the summit on Christmas Eve. Why is a predominantly Muslim and former Soviet land honoring the jolly old elf? "We want to develop tourism, and Santa Claus is an ideal brand to help us do this," said an official with Kyrgyz tourist authorities. If you think I'm making this up, keep reading. It gets better... Plans are afoot to hold an international Santa Claus congress in Kyrgyzstan next summer. The country also intends to hold annual games in which Santas from all over the world will test their chimney-climbing, sled-racing and tree-decorating skills. If nothing else, you have to give the Kyrgyz government credit for its creativity. Call me a skeptic, but I'm not sure this ploy will actually increase tourism here. How many of us could actually find this joint on a map in the first place (click here if you want a hint)? They don't even have a motto (seriously, I checked). But hey, I've been wrong about these things before. Maybe it will work.