What Caught My Eye Today

Oil - Is it flip-flopping if a politician changes his stance on an issue to reflect the will of the people? Barack Obama said he would be willing to support limited additional offshore oil drilling if that's what it takes to enact a comprehensive policy to foster fuel-efficient autos and develop alternate energy sources. Shifting from his previous opposition to expanded offshore drilling, Obama said he could get behind a compromise with Republicans and oil companies to prevent gridlock over energy. I'm sure that Obama's announcement coming on the same day as a new survey suggesting that 60% of Floridians are now in favor of expanding offshore oil drilling was merely a coincidence. At least he's talking about doing something, as opposed to the regal legislative body known as Congress.

Congress - Congress began a five-week recess, leaving unresolved how to ease the surge in gasoline prices that is certain to be an issue until the November elections and beyond. Remember several weeks back when Congress blasted the Iraqi Parliament for going on a summer holiday without acting on several important pieces of legislation? Funny how history tends to repeat itself. Soaring energy prices are a top concern for American voters, along with record home foreclosures, rising unemployment and an overall sluggish economy. Do you think? In recent weeks, Democrats and Republicans have blamed each other for failure to find common ground on comprehensive energy legislation. Gee, I never would have guessed, what with all the harmony that Democrats and Republicans have been working together these past couple of years. Republicans have pushed for expanded drilling while Democrats have sought to rein in oil speculators who have been blamed for helping fuel the increase in gas prices. Democrats are hopeful, however, that if they win the White House and expand their majorities in the House and Senate in November elections, they will be able to clear Republican procedural hurdles, avoid presidential vetoes and push through legislation of their liking next year. Here's an idea--can we vote out Congress? I'm not suggesting replacing them, I mean get rid of them altogether. Would that be such a big loss? Honestly, what have these guys accomplished in the past year other than a bunch of presidential vetoes from a dude with a 29% approval rating?

Gay Marriage - Yeah, this makes sense... All gays and lesbians who are married in California and Massachusetts will be classified as single in the 2010 census. The Census Bureau said it was barred from recognizing gay marriage by the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act. For the same reason, married same-sex couples will not be classified as "families" unless there are children in the home. I guess there is no Defense of the Family Act. So here's an interesting question--will the Internal Revenue Service apply the same standard and prohibit same sex couple from filing joint tax returns? To be continued...

Mormons - I applaud this dude for his ingenuity, but he must have known that this was going to turn out badly for him. Chad Hardy, a sixth generation Mormon and Las Vegas businessman (it sounds weird just putting those two phrases together, don't it?), is the brains behind the "Men on a Mission" calendar featuring 12 men in and out out their uniform of white button-down shirts and name tags. Six months after the release of the calendar, he was excommunicated from the Church of Latter-day Saints. Seriously, how could he not see this coming? Mormons rarely have senses of humor about anything, let alone half naked missionaries. Hardy said sales of the calendar--more than 10,000 copies--reflected a successful effort to highlight the faith's civic contributions. Since when did 'eye candy' qualify as a civic contribution? I must have missed the memo on that one.

Yachting - Oh come now. This cannot come as much of a surprise to you. Now that the Tour de France is over we can focus our energies on the next big sporting event. You know what I'm talking about...that's right...the America's Cup! America's Cup challenger Oracle appealed a ruling by a New York court that backed Swiss champion Alinghi in the legal battle between the two teams over the next edition of yachting's most prestigious event. The appeals court backed Alinghi's right to name the Spanish team Desafio Espanol as the official "Challenger of Record", which gives it the right to help organise the next race, overturning a ruling issued last November. The court withdrew the Golden Gate Yacht Club (GGYC), representing Oracle, from the position of Challenger of Record. It also ordered the cancelation of a multi-hulled duel between the two teams that was to decide the next America's Cup in 2009, leaving Alinghi free to organise its preferred format of a traditional regatta in 2011 to decide the 33rd edition of the event. A GGYC's spokesman described the decision as "absurd" and reiterated that Desafio Espanol could not be the Challenger of Record as it has never staged a regatta as dictated in America's Cup rules. Um, so like is there going to be some racing or what? All this tit-for-tat makes for riveting reading (cough-cough), but I want to see some billionaire brawling.