What Caught My Eye Today

News - Tim Russert, a political lifer who made a TV career of his passion with unrelenting questioning of the powerful and influential, died of a heart attack today in the midst of a presidential campaign he'd covered with trademark intensity. He joined NBC a quarter century ago and ended up as the longest-tenured host of the Sunday talk show "Meet the Press." Russert was also a senior vice president at NBC, and this year Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He had dozens of honorary college degrees, and numerous professional awards. He won an Emmy for his role in the coverage of President Ronald Reagan's funeral in 2004. You hear about people dying everyday, but to hear of Russert's completely unexpected passing and react by getting chills--like I did when I heard the news on NPR--that says so much more about the man than any of his accolades or awards. When Tim Russert died, we lost an icon. Funny how no one thought that of him until today.

Iowa - This poor state just cannot catch a break. Hospital patients in wheelchairs and on stretchers were evacuated in the middle of the night as the biggest flood Cedar Rapids has ever seen swamped more than 400 blocks Friday and all but cut off the supply of clean drinking water in the city of 120,000. At least 438 city blocks were under water, and in some neighborhoods the water was 8 feet high. The governor declared 83 of the state's 99 counties disaster areas, a designation that helps speed aid and opens the way for loans and grants. The damage in Cedar Rapids alone was a preliminary $737 million. The drenching has also severely damaged the corn crop in America's No. 1 corn state and other parts of the Midwest at a time when corn prices are soaring. But officials said it was too soon to put a price tag on the damage. Does this mean that ethanol prices are going to go up? Not that I particularly care, seeing as I use the traditional ozone-depleting oil based stuff, but I can see this being used as another excuse to raise gas prices. I don't imagine this is going to help the growing global food shortage situation either.

Zimbabwe - President Robert Mugabe said that his supporters are ready to fight if the opposition wins an upcoming presidential runoff election, hardening the rhetoric of a campaign that already has seen widespread violence against government opponents. Mugabe said the veterans of the war of independence in 1980 had approached him after the first round of voting in March and threatened to take up arms again if opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai wins the June 27 runoff. I don't get it. They've already locked up the dude and withheld food and aid to anyone thinking of voting for Tsvangirai. Who else is left to vote other than Mugabe supporters. I think it speaks volumes about the lack of popular support for Mugabe that is leading him to take such extreme measures to stay in power. A High Court judge, meanwhile, ordered police to bring No. 2 opposition leader Tendai Biti to court Saturday and explain why he should not be immediately released. That judge better watch his step. He seems to be treading on very thin ice.

Ireland - Irish voters vetoed a painstakingly 260 page--virtually unreadable--treaty that had been designed to streamline the European Union. Gee, I wonder what? Politicians from all of Ireland's major parties worked hard to sell the complex, deeply technical document to a confused and suspicious public. Only Ireland put the treaty before the voters at all. The other 26 members are ratifying it through their parliaments. To become law, the treaty must be unanimously approved by all 27 EU nations. But Ireland's constitution requires EU treaties be put to a vote. Damn those constitutions. They always seem to get in the way of the business of governing. Anti-treaty groups from the left and right mobilized "no" voters by claiming the treaty would empower EU chiefs in Brussels, Belgium, to force Ireland to change core policies — including its military neutrality and its ban on abortion as well as low business taxes. In capitals across Europe, leaders said ratification should proceed regardless of the Irish vote. Ahead lie painful months of negotiations aimed at somehow overcoming the Irish veto. Oh heck, no one pays attention to the "Union" in European Union. We all know that's just for marketing purposes. I say screw the Irish and do your thing, Europe. That's the way we do things in the good ol' U.S. of A.

Golf - Torrey Pines has been one big tease through two days of the U.S. Open, evident by a mixed bag of scores ranging from the eagle, bogeys and a late run of birdies for Tiger Woods to an 11-shot improvement for Padraig Harrington. Woods was slipping down the leaderboard with two bogeys on his opening three holes, only to turn it around by blistering a tee shot on the 614-yard 13th hole and hitting 5-wood to 10 feet for an eagle. No one made a move quite like Harrington, whose 67 was the best score of the week. Perhaps even more impressive was that it followed an opening 78 and he kept bogeys off his card. That also put him at 145, very much in the hunt. Woods is in a three-way tie for second one stroke behind leader Stuart Appleby (-3). Our boy Phil Mickelson is +4 (tied for 36th). As for the first round leaders...I hope they enjoyed their moment in the sun. Kevin Streelman was +6 for the day and is now +3 for the tournament, while Justin Hicks went +9 in the second round and finds himself tied for 53rd at +6. Halfway through the U.S. Open, there are 6 golfers under par. Crickey.