What Caught My Eye Today

U.S. Budget - President Bush unveiled a $3.1 trillion budget proposal that supports a sizable increase in military spending to fight the war on terrorism and protects his signature tax cuts. The budget proposal, which shows the government spending $3 trillion in a 12-month period for the first time in history, squeezes most of government outside of national security, and also seeks $196 billion in savings over the next five years in the government's giant health care programs — Medicare for the elderly and Medicaid for the poor. Even with those savings, Bush projects that the deficits, which had been declining, will soar to near-record levels, hitting $410 billion this year and $407 billion in 2009. The all-time high deficit in current dollar terms was $413 billion in 2004. Democrats called Bush's final spending plan a continuation of this administration's failed policies which wiped out a projected 10-year surplus of $5.6 trillion and replaced it with a record buildup in debt. Wow, what a surprise. On one hand we have a budget where, yet again the expenditures outpace the money coming in; and on the other hand we have the Democrats complaining that the president's proposal is unacceptable. I have to say, that I am a bit surprised that a Republican president is so willing to increase the nation's deficit--in fact, one might be tempted to say that he is hell-bent on doing so. Still, I'd like to see someone in Congress offer up a more sensible plan before they criticize the current budget too much.

Iran - Iran fired a rocket from its newly inaugurated space center today, laying the groundwork for what it says will be the future launch of its first domestically produced satellite. The report said the rocket was launched "into space." But similar previous technological achievements announced by the Islamic republic have been greeted with doubt by analysts. You don't say? "With the launch, Iran has joined the world's top 11 countries possessing space technology to build satellites, and launch rockets into space," state TV said. Space is considered to begin at 60 miles (100 kilometers) above ground. Ham radio satellites orbit from 100 miles up, while communication, weather and global-positioning satellites fly at an altitude of between 250 and 12,000 miles. Amid fears in the West that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, some experts believe Iran's space program is possibly a cover to improve its military ballistic missiles. If Iran says that it has a peaceful space program, who are we to say otherwise? Honestly, isn't it a bit of a stretch to suggest that launching rockets into space could be a cover for developing the technology to build long range nuclear warheads? In all seriousness, I'm not sure we have much to worry about in the near term. Launching stuff into space...and keeping it up there is not the easiest thing in the world to do. I offer up this next story to prove my point...

Space Junk - A U.S. spy satellite, loaded with toxic rocket fuel, will fall to the Earth within weeks. That's a shame. Federal officials said the orbit of the 20,000 pound minivan-sized satellite had decayed and NASA was unable to transmit commands that woult boost it back to a safe orbit. NASA said that it cannot predict where the satellite will land, but most of the craft, including its fuel, is likely to burn up as it passes through Earth's atmosphere. And because most of the planet is either open ocean or uninhabited land, scientists say there is little chance that the craft will do any damage. Gee, that makes me feel so much better. I like how they say there is "little chance" rather than "extremely unlikely" or "no chance."

Lithuania - Lithuania is considering changing the English version of its name to make it more memorable and easier to pronounce. A government commission approved a new image campaign that says the small Baltic country should promote itself as "daring" and consider a new name. Yeah, a new name--that'll help. In Lithuania, the country is call Lietuva. No suggestions for a new English name have been offered so far. Imagine that. I'm not against these guys trying to jazz up their national identity, but I feel a word of caution is in order here. Do you remember a little advertising campaign that the brass at Coca Cola rolled out a few years ago to freshen up its brand name? 'New Coke' became a marketing disaster of historic proportions. If it were me, I'd stick with the name you already have.

Venezuela - I love this guy. Whenever, I think it's going to be a slow news day, Hugo Chavez never fails to deliver. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called for a Latin American and Caribbean military alliance against the United States. He argued that such an alliance is necessary to counter what he called U.S. efforts to "destabilize" the region. Yes, I heard that all those free trade agreements that the U.S. is trying to sign are really just an elaborate plan for the imperialists in Washington to create economic chaos for its Caribbean and Latin American neighbors. And seeing what an economic jauggernaut these countries could become if they band together, I can see why Chavez would feel threatened by the U.S.

Super Bowl - In one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, the New York Giants beat the 18-0 New England Patriots, 17-14. The Giants became the first NFC wild card team to win a Super Bowl; four AFC teams have done it. They also are the second wild-card champions in three years, following the Pittsburgh Steelers after the 2005 season. Giants' quarterback, Eli Manning, was named MVP. Last year, his brother, Peyton won the same honor leading the Indianapolis Colts to victory. I should have seen this coming from a mile away. As soon as I picked the Patriots to win, their fate was sealed.

Golf - Tiger Woods drained a 25-foot putt downhill, then he skipped backward and punched the desert air in celebration when it disappeared into the cup for a final birdie, giving him another win in his second tournament this year at the Dubai Desert Classic yesterday. Woods had trailed by four strokes to Ernie Els, a familiar victim. But he birdied his last two holes, and five of his last seven, for a 7-under 65 to start his season with two victories. It's hard to say which was a more impressive win--Tiger's 8-stroke win at Torrey Pines last week or his comeback effort this week in Dubai. I suppose both are rather remarkable, though not terribly surprising. This is Tiger Woods we are talking about.