What Caught My Eye Today

National Budget - Denouncing what he called the "dishonest accounting" of recent federal budgets, President Obama unveiled a $3.6 trillion federal budget for next year. The contentious budget proposes higher taxes for the wealthy and the makes the first steps toward guaranteed health care for all. The budget is accompanied by an astonishing $1.75 trillion federal deficit that would be nearly four times the highest in history. You know what they say, "if you are gonna go, you might as well go big. I'd say $3.6 trillion fits the ticket. Here are a few more eye popping numbers. Obama's budget contains almost $1 trillion in tax hikes over 10 years on individuals making more than $200,000 and couples earning over $250,000. Obama's $634 billion head start on expanding health care could easily double as lawmakers flesh out details in coming months on how to provide medical coverage to all of the 48 million Americans now uninsured while also trying to slow increases in costs. Health care costs now total $2.4 trillion a year. Obama blamed the expected federal deficit explosion on a "deep and destructive" recession and recent efforts to battle it including the Wall Street bailout and the just-passed $787 billion stimulus plan. You mean the stimulus plan that Obama fought so hard to get passed? In fairness, Obama is just trying to keep things real. Since the war on terror began, this is the first time the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are actually being included in the budget. Apparently, in years past, the money just magically appeared without any financial strings attached.

Mexico - President Felipe Calderon hopes to quell Mexico's rampant drug violence by the end of his term in 2012, and disputed U.S. fears that Mexico is losing control of its territory. Now why would we think that? Mexico has spent $6.5 billion on top of its normal public security budget, but that falls short of the $10 billion Mexican drug gangs bring in annually. Calderon said the violence that killed 6,290 people last year — and more than 1,000 in the first eight weeks of 2009 — is a sign that the cartels are under pressure from military and police operations nationwide, as well as turf wars among themselves. So like, is this supposed to change our minds? What's else have you got, Senor Presidente? Calderon said smuggling cannot be eliminated as long as Americans continue to use drugs. This is one those "chicken vs. egg" conundrums. Calderon says Americans need to stop using drugs and the drug production in Mexico will stop. I say, if Mexico stops its drug production, drug usage in the U.S. will drop. What to do.

Spring Break - More bad news for Mexico. After drug trafficking, I'm guessing tourism is the next biggest source of revenue for our friends south of the border. The U.S. State Department and universities around the country are warning college students headed for Mexico for some spring-break partying of a surge in drug-related murder and mayhem south of the border. The State Department stopped short of warning spring breakers not to go to Mexico, but advised them to avoid areas of prostitution and drug-dealing and take other commonsense precautions. Um, yeah. I'm not sure, but I think that all those things the State Department is warning students against are the major reasons they go to Mexico in the first place. Despite the bloodshed, the number of foreign tourists visiting Mexico surged to 23 million in 2008, up 5.9% from the year before, spurred in part by the tumbling value of the peso against the dollar. See, with the peso falling against the dollar, you can buy more drugs and hookers for less money. And people say college kids don't exercise sound judgment.

Television - Fox is renewing "The Simpsons" for another two seasons, which will secure its place as TV's longest-running prime-time series. Now in its 20th season, "The Simpsons" already had tied record-holder "Gunsmoke." You go, Homer! Anyone remember the "Bartman"? The Western drama series aired for two decades on CBS before it ended in 1975. "The Simpsons" will pass that mark next season. The two-year, 44-episode pickup will bring the total number of "Simpsons" episodes to 493. Any guesses as to the second longest prime-time series currently on the air? I'll give you a hint: Dunt...dunt. The cops and courts show "Law & Order" on NBC has run for 19 prime-time seasons, starting in 1990. Kind of a sad commentary when the longest running TV show is a cartoon. But you have to admit, given what's on the air these days, "The Simpsons" probably qualifies as quality programming.

Golf - If you blinked, you probably missed Tiger Wood's return to competitive golf. Tiger Woods had no complaints with his game or his knee, but he had no answer for Tim Clark of South Africa, who played 16 holes without a bogey and knocked the world’s No. 1 player out of the Accenture Match Play Championship in the second round. You can almost hear the honchos at NBC sobbing silently to themselves. They have a weekend of golf coverage planned and no Tiger...again. The good news is we'll get our next Tiger fix in two weeks at Doral in the CA Championship.

What Caught My Eye Today

Fred's Note: I don't know what is was about today--Mardi Gras, perhaps--but I hit the mother lode of peculiar news stories. Enjoy.

Food - I'll warn you ahead of time, this is kind of gross It's nothing new for processed foods to contain certain levels of what the FDA calls "natural contaminants". This can't be good. Tomato juice, for example, may legally contain "10 or more fly eggs per 100 grams or five or more fly eggs and one or more maggots". Sauerkraut can contain up to 50 thrips, "those tiny, slender, winged bugs.". An 18-ounce jar of peanut butter may legally contain 145 bugs parts or five or more rodent hairs. All told,"you're probably ingesting 1 to 2 pounds of flies, maggots and mice each year without knowing it". According to the FDA, there is no reason to worry; these are mere "aestetic" issues. Suddenly, a hot dog is looking much more appetizing isn't it? Here's what I want to know. How did the FDA come up with 145 bug parts and 5 rodent hairs for a jar of peanut butter? Perhaps I'm just a snob, but I'm thinking any bug parts or rodent hairs in my Jiffy are way too many.

India - Okay, so if that one didn't gross you out, perhaps this will. A Hindu nationalist group in India is developing a soft drink made from cow urine. The drink will be marketed as much for its health benefits as for its taste. Um, okay. According to the group, "it has been established that cow urine is capable of curing even cancer, so imagine a drink which would not only be tasty, but also healthy". I was pretty sure that nothing would restore my faith in the FDA after that last story. Turns out I was wrong. These dudes are pimping piss. I'll take my chances with the bug parts, thank you very much.

Numbers - Frequent readers are familiar with my fascination of all things numeric, so this next item won't come as much of a surprise. Numbers, when they are large enough, simply blow people's mental fuses. They often find anything with an "-illion" on the end incomprehensible. But any time a reporter or a politician tells of millions or billions spent, cut, lost, added, or saved, it is worth asking, in all innocence: "Is that a big number?" One useful think is to imagine those numbers as seconds. A million seconds is about 11.5 days; a billion seconds is nearly 32 years. What is usually needed, though, is a way to think about a number on a human scale. If you divide a big number by all the people it is supposed to affect, is becomes more manageable. A convenient number to help in this sort of calculation is 15.6 billion (15,600,000,000), which is the U.S. population (300 million) multiplied by 52, the number of weeks in a year. This is about how much the U.S. government needs to spend annually on any program for the program to cost $1 per American citizen per week. So, let's apply that theory to say, oh, I don't know; how about the Iraq War. According to estimates (click here) we've spent in the neighborhood of $600 billion on the war. That works out to just under $3,850 per citizen per week. I'm cheating a bit by assuming all that money was spent in one year. However, let's say we fix the denominator to reflect the 6 years that this war has been going on. In that case, you're only looking at about $6.40 per citizen per week. $6.40, that's like what, and Big Mac, fries and a drink?

Teenagers - Frankly, I'm surprised the human race has lasted as long as it has. Here's the latest novel idea to come out from the ranks of teenagers. The latest teenage craze is called "sexting". Sexting is the act of sending naked photos of yourself via your cell phone. Why that's just...oh what's the word I'm looking for? Ah yes...that's just brilliant. In a new survey, one in five teens admits he or she has sent or posted naked photos of himself or herself, which wind up getting sent around to other kids, and posted on websites. I totally did not see that coming. Prosecutors in 11 states are charging kids who send or receive these photos with "child pornography". If convicted, those kids can be classified as sex offenders. Okay, that's a little extreme. I'd be more in favor of convicting them of stupidity and putting that on their records. Imagine, if you will, one of those morons filling out a job application. When asked if they had ever been convicted of a felony, they had to put down that they were convicted of been stupid. That would be a punishment fitting of the crime.

What Caught My Eye Today

Economy - Shortly after Congress passed the $787 billion economic stimulus plan, the folks at the research firm Strategas Research Partners decided to have a little fun--or so I presume--and come up with a list of what else one could buy with that same amount of money. Here's what they came up with:

• 3.9 million homes at the median U.S. price of roughly $200,000
• 300 million checks for $2,623--one issued to nearly every American
• 7.7 million scholarships to private 4-year universities or approximately 30 million scholarships to public universities
• 27.7 million cars at the average U.S. price of $28,400
• 4 months of federal tax holiday
• 10 most valuable sports franchises--with $773 billion left over

I've got a few more for you. Using Gross Domestic Product derived from purchasing power parity (it's and economic thing; don't worry about it), you could take your pick from Australia, Iran or Taiwan, and pretty buy one of them.

Budget Deficits - I can understand the need for some belt tightened in tough economic times, but me things this is going a bit too far. Faced with a $1.7 million budget deficit, Des Moines County, Iowa, is considering charging prison inmates for toilet paper. The county hopes to raise $2,300 by charging inmates $1 for toilet paper. That just ain't right, especially since we're only talking about a rather paltry savings. A spokesperson for the Sheriffs and Deputies Association, said he appreciates the budget problems facing the state, "but what do you do for the guy who hasn't got the dollar for the toilet paper?" For starters, I'd stay down wind of him.

Osama bin Laden - A University of California geographer announced that he has calculated the likely location of the world's most wanted man, based on satellite photos, the most recent sighting, and the terrorist's need for high ceilings to accommodate his 6-foot-4 frame. Bin Laden is in one of three walled compounds in the Pakistani town of Parachinar. Let's say this assertion is true--and how could it not be based on these rock solid assumptions--that should make it a lot easier for the U.S. to capture the dude, wouldn't you say. It has occurred to me that this whole saga of trying to capture bin Laden is sort of a real life "Where's Waldo?" Now I'm sure this means nothing, but this story broke last week. Now I haven't kept track of all the news headlines since then, but I'm pretty sure I would heard something if our boy was indeed shacked up in Parachinar, so you'll forgive me if I remain a bit skeptical of these findings.

France - I know that I've said this before, but as much fun as it is to hate the French, they do make you laugh. Straight couples in France are increasingly forgoing marriage and opting instead for civil unions meant for gay couples. France legalized civil unions in 1999 as a way to give gay partnerships official status, but it did not stipulate that only gays could qualify. And that, my friends, is what you call a loophole. Over the years, more and more straight couples have registered as civil partners; civil unions grant partners the financial and legal protections of marriage, but are easier to dissolve. Fully 92% of couples entering civil unions were straight. So what do you holier than thou blowhards trying to protect the sanctity of marriage have to say about that? There are same sex couples begging to get married, but you won't let them; meanwhile those couples that you are trying to protect are running in droves for civil unions. Don't you just love the irony?

Cycling - The 4th Tour of California is in the books.With a boost from Lance Armstrong and a tough mountain to climb, Levi Leipheimer won his third straight Tour of California. Leipheimer was ninth in the final stage and finished with an overall time of 31 hours, 28 minutes, 21 seconds. His winning margin was 36 seconds over David Zabriskie of Garmin-Slipstream, and 45 seconds over third place Michael Rogers of Team Columbia-High Road. Armstrong, who began a comeback last month, spent this race in support of Leipheimer, his Astana teammate finishing seventh overall, 1 minute, 46 seconds behind Leipheimer. Say good bye to Armstrong and the rest of the peleton. They're packing their bags and headed for Europe for pretty much the rest of the season. The first grand tour will be the Giro de Italia in May, followed by the Tour de France in July.

What Caught My Eye Today

Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyzstan's parliament voted to close the only U.S. air base in Central Asia, removing one of the U.S. military's supply routes into Afghanistan as it prepares to send more troops. Kyrgyzstan's decision to close the U.S. air base undermined its plans to diversify supply routes into Afghanistan after supply convoys were attacked by militants in Pakistan. Kyrgyzstan has accused Washington of refusing to pay a higher rent for using the base. This comes shortly after Russia announced it was giving $2 billion in aid to Kyrgyzstan. I'm sure the timing purely coincidental. They probably would have thrown us out even it Russia didn't provide any aid--yeah, right. The closure underlined the challenges Washington faces in enlisting Russian support for its campaign in Afghanistan. Russia says it is willing to help with the shipment of supplies through former Soviet Central Asian states, but is suspicious of any attempt by Washington to build a permanent military presence there. I can see where the Russians are coming from. Think about it, how would we react if Russia tried to establish a military outpost in Canada?

Canada - Speaking of Canada... President Barack Obama courted warmer relations with America's snowy northern neighbor, declining to ask war-weary Canada to do more in Afghanistan, promising he won't allow a protectionist creep into U.S. trade policy and talking reassuringly around thorny energy issues. There are some sharp differences between the U.S. and its largest trading partner and biggest supplier of oil. Canada is the largest foreign supplier of oil to the U.S.? I did not know that. On several topics, where Obama came armed with reassurances, Harper offered mini-lectures, albeit gently delivered. Obama repeatedly took a non-confrontational approach. What a pansy. Is this how it's going to be from now on. The United States is going to play nice with the rest of the world? What good is it being the world's only superpower, if you cannot use it to bully your neighbors? I'm not sure I like this new attitude at all.

Junk - What we have here is a problem of galactic proportions, at least according to the experts. With a recent satellite collision still fresh on minds, participants at a meeting in the Austrian capital this week are discussing ways to deal with space debris — junk that is clogging up the orbit around the Earth. The informal discussions on the sidelines of a meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, arose from concern about the collision of a derelict Russian spacecraft and a working U.S. Iridium commercial satellite. The United Nations has a committee for "uses of outer space"? Who knew. NASA's chief scientist for orbital debris, said about 19,000 objects are present in the low and high orbit around the Earth — including about 900 satellites, but much of it is just plain junk. There's a chief scientist for orbital debris? Wow, that must be a plum assignment at NASA. The European Space Agency has begun a program of monitoring space debris and setting up uniform standards to prevent future collisions far above the planet. Launched in January, the program — dubbed Space Situational Awareness — aims to increase information for scientists on the ground about the estimated 13,000 satellites and other man-made bodies orbiting the planet. Oh, good gracious. See that's the problem with rocket scientists--they think too hard. From where I see there is a pretty simple solution to avoid adding more space junk. Include a self destruct mechanism in every satellite that you launch. When the sucker dies, push the red button, and vaporize it. No more problem.

Cycling - Stage 5 of the Tour of California is in the books. Britain's Mark Cavendish of Columbia won the fifth stage of the Tour of California on Thursday, his second straight sprint finish triumph in the race. As he did in the fourth stage finish at Clovis, Cavendish edged Belgian Quick Step rider Tom Boonen. Two-time defending champion Levi Leipheimer retained the overall leader's yellow jersey. His Astana teammate Lance Armstrong remained fourth overall, 30 seconds off the lead. While this was the longest stage of the race, it was probably the most boring, other than the final sprint. The Stage 6 individual time trial will likely have much more impact on the leader board, though I imagine, Levi will remain on top of the standings.

Golf - Guess who's making his return to competitive golf at next week's Match Play championship in Tucson? I'll give you a hint. He won last year's U.S. Open playing with a bum knee and a double stress fracture in his left leg.

What Caught My Eye Today

Economy - This stunt, and it is a stunt in every sense of the word, is mind boggling. A handful of Republican governors are considering turning down some money from the federal stimulus package, a move opponents say puts conservative ideology ahead of the needs of constituents struggling with record foreclosures and soaring unemployment. Though none has outright rejected the money available for education, health care and infrastructure, the governors of Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alaska, South Carolina and Idaho have all questioned whether the $787 billion bill signed into law this week will even help the economy. You have got to be kidding me. Some have speculated that these moves are motivated by potential ambitions for higher office. Call me crazy, but I'm not sure I want to vote for someone that is going to turn down free money. As it turns out, a lot of state legislatures might be just as insane as me. Governors who reject some of the stimulus aid may find themselves overridden by their own legislatures because of language included in the bill that allows lawmakers to accept the federal money even if their governors object. Let the games begin. To heck with those pesky taxpayers in dire need of financial assistance. Political intrigue is so much more entertaining.

Afghanistan - The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan offered a grim view of military efforts in southern Afghanistan, warning that 17,000 new troops will take on emboldened Taliban insurgents who have "stalemated" U.S. and allied forces and predicting that the bolstered numbers of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan — about 55,000 in all — will remain near those levels for up to five years. Thank goodness the economy is in the toilet, otherwise we'd need have enough voluntary military recruits sign up for this mess.The increase in troop levels is only about two-thirds of the number of troops requested to secure the war-torn nation. Yeah, this looks real promising, don't it? But wait there's more 'good' news. Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan said, "...victory, as defined in purely military terms, is not achievable, and I cannot stress that too highly." I get the feeling that Holbrooke is more of a glass half-empty sort of fellow. Still, no one will accuse him of sugar-coating the situation in Afghanistan.

Pope - Pope Benedict XVI received Nancy Pelosi, one of the most prominent abortion rights politicians in America, and told her that Catholic politicians have a duty to protect life "at all stages of its development." The Vatican's attempts to keep the Pelosi visit low-profile displayed its obvious unease with the new U.S. administration. Benedict and former President George W. Bush had found common ground in opposing abortion, an issue that drew them together despite their differences over the war in Iraq. The meeting in a small room off a Vatican auditorium after the pope's weekly public audience, was closed to reporters and photographers. The Vatican also said — contrary to its usual policy when the pope meets world leaders — that it was not issuing either a photo or video of the encounter, claiming the meeting was private. Let's talk about that protecting life thing shall we? I remember reading someplace that one of the costs of war is loss of life. Funny how the current administration's efforts to end war seem to have fallen on deaf ears at the Vatican. Why cannot the Catholic Church focus on the spiritual needs of the people rather than butting into the realm of politics. You know, maybe if the Vatican focused more on that, fewer people would opt for abortion. No, that's just crazy. It's much more effective to to tell people what they can and cannot do. Relying on people to exercise moral judgment would be far to risky.

Cycling - Mark Cavendish won the mountainous fourth stage and Levi Leipheimer moved closer to his third straight Tour of California title after finishing in the pack. Cavendish edged Tom Boonen by less than half a bike length in the 115.4-mile road race from Merced to Clovis. Juan Jose Haedo of Argentina was third. Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, who began the day in fourth place, also finished in the main field. Armstrong remained 30 seconds behind Leipheimer. The bigger news is that neither Leipheimer or Armstrong crashed or had anything stolen from them for the first time since the race began. In fact, Lance Armstrong’s time-trial bike was found four days after it disappeared from the Team Astana truck after he used it before Stage 1 of the Tour of California. Apparently more than 900 people had enlisted in a search for the bike through a Facebook group "1 Million Citizens Looking for Lance Armstrong’s Stolen Bike." 900, huh? A bit shy of 1 million, but I suppose it was the thought that counted.

What Caught My Eye Today

Economy - I'm used to the federal government providing buzz kills. I just thought it might take the Obama administration a little longer than four weeks to follow suit. President Barack Obama's aides warned Americans not to expect instant miracles from the $787 billion economic stimulus bill he will sign this week, but said it would help eventually. It was the first major legislative victory of his young presidency, which could rise or fall with its success or failure. Ordinarily, I would think that a victory this early in his presidency would be cause for some measure of celebration, but evidently not. Still, you'd think the guy would at least sign into law the thing that he worked so hard to achieve before he started dissing it. Obama said last week that if he failed to heal the economy, he would be out of a job by 2012, when he faces re-election. True, but again, must we constantly remind you that you just got elected. How about living in the moment for just a little bit? 2012 will get here soon enough.

Submarines - Nuclear submarines from Britain and France collided deep in the Atlantic Ocean this month, authorities said in the first acknowledgment of a highly unusual accident. I sure the heck hope it is highly unusual. Officials said the low-speed crash did not damage the vessels' nuclear reactors or missiles or cause radiation to leak. The first public indication of a mishap came when France reported in a little-noticed February 6 statement that one of its submarine had struck a submerged object — perhaps a shipping container. But confirmation of the accident only came after British media reported it. So how does something like this manage to happen? Last time I checked, the ocean was a mighty big place. While NATO countries let each other know what general area of the Atlantic they are operating in, neither submarine would have had a precise position for the other. Submarines don't always turn on their sonar systems, or make their presence obvious. I appreciate that stealth is part of a sub's strategic advantage. But I'm pretty sure that the stealth is supposed to hide you from your adversaries, not your friends. The greatest risks from an accident would be from a leak of radioactive waste. An accidental firing of a nuclear weapon as a result of a crash would be impossible, because of the complex processes needed to prime and fire a missile. Well, that's a load off my mind. No risk of blowing up the planet. Nah, the worst that could happen is tainting the world's largest single source of food with radioactive waste. We sure dodged a bullet on this one.

Venezuela - Hugo Chavez and his supporters celebrated an election victory that allows him to seek another term as president in polarized Venezuela, as opponents complained that his use of state funds had made the campaign unfair. Chavez, who has been in power for 10 years and vows to rule for decades, pledged to repay his poor backers for Sunday's victory by combating their No. 1 concern -- crime that has given the OPEC nation one of the world's worst murder rates. Decades? Gee, there's a pleasant thought. Popular for spending freely on clinics, schools and food hand-outs in city slums and remote villages, Chavez won 54 percent of the vote, allowing him to stand for office as long as he keeps winning elections. I bet Chavez will respect the results this time around, just like he promised (click here). I've always thought of Hugo as a man of his word.

Cycling - Here's your Stage 2 update from the Tour of California. Lance Armstrong took a spill when he got tangled with a motorcycle, and still moved up a spot in the overall standings at the Tour of California after a rainy and crash-filled second stage. Dude is having the worst luck, I swear. Yesterday, he fell and his time trial bike got stolen. Two-time defending champion Levi Leipheimer of Santa Rosa, Calif., became the third different race leader. Strong wind and heavy rain hampered the field throughout most of the stage, which crossed the Golden Gate Bridge shortly after the start. Leipheimer, who began the day trailing former race leader Francisco Mancebo of Spain by 1 minute and 2 seconds, now leads the race’s fourth edition by 24 seconds over Michael Rogers of Australia. David Zabriskie of Salt Lake City is third overall, trailing Leipheimer by 28 seconds. Armstrong, who began the day in fifth place, is now fourth, 30 seconds behind. He finished 13th in the stage. Floyd Landis, the former 2006 Tour de France champ competing for the first time following a two-year doping suspension, is 29th overall, 6:04 behind. I almost forgot. I mused last week that with Floyd Landis making his comeback in the Tour of California, all we were missing was Tyler Hamilton. Turns out he's here too, though a bit further back in the standings--105th out of the remaining 128 riders, 30 minutes and two seconds behind Leipheimer.

What Caught My Eye Today

Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez tried for the third time in his tumultuous decade in power to cast aside constitutional barriers to his re-election, arguing that only he can complete the transformation of Venezuela into a socialist state. Probably because he's the only one interested in doing so. Voters on both sides said their decision was crucial to the future of Venezuela, a deeply polarized country where Chavez has channeled tremendous oil wealth into combating gaping social inequality. People voting "yes" said Chavez has given poor Venezuelans cheap food, free education and quality health care, and empowered them with a discourse of class struggle after decades of U.S.-backed governments that favored the rich. People voting "no" said Chavez already has far too much power, with the courts, the legislature and the election council all under his influence. Removing the 12-year presidential term limit he pushed through in a 1999 referendum, they said, would make him unstoppable. No. No. I say, "12 more years, 12 more years." Venezuela has seen 15 elections or referendums in Chavez's decade, which Chavez supporters say proves his dedication to democracy and which supporters call tiresome. Chavez has said that even if he loses, there's nothing to stop him from calling another referendum. True. Why stop at three, or four, or however many it takes to get the result he wants? Chavez argues he needs more time to complete Venezuela's transition to socialism — a process he has said could take another decade or more. Chavez pledged to respect the results, whatever they are, and warned his opponents — whom he calls "sore losers" — that they had better do the same. Funny how "respecting the results" means that Chavez will keep having referendums until he gets what he wants. Maybe he's betting on voter fatigue. At some point they are likely to give up on hopes of voting Chavez out of office. They might just have to wait for natural causes to force Chavez to step down, like the Cubans did with Fidel Castro.

Oil - Crude oil prices have fallen to new lows for this year. So you'd think gas prices would sink right along with them. I know I did. On Thursday, for example, crude oil closed just under $34 a barrel, its lowest point for 2009. But the national average price of a gallon of gas rose to $1.95 on the same day, its peak for the year. On Friday gas went a penny higher. Okay, this gets a bit complicated, but try to keep up. I'll break it down at the end. The benchmark for crude oil prices is West Texas Intermediate. That's the price, set at the New York Mercantile Exchange and gets quoted on business channels and in the morning paper. West Texas crude is selling for much less than inferior grades of crude from other places around the world. A severe economic downturn has left U.S. storage facilities brimming with it, sending prices for the premium crude to five-year lows. The recession in America has dramatically cut demand for crude oil, and inventories are piling up. So prices for West Texas crude have fallen well below what oil costs from places like the North Sea, Saudi Arabia and South America. That foreign oil sells in some cases for $10 more per barrel. Historically, West Texas International crude has cost more. So nobody bothered building the necessary pipelines to carry it beyond the nearby refineries in the Midwest, parts of Texas and a handful of other places. Now that the premium oil is suddenly very inexpensive, refiners elsewhere can't get their hands on it. So why not build more pipelines? Because investing billions of dollars over several years makes no sense when the prices could just flip a year from now to where they were before. At the same time, refiners have seen the same headlines as everyone else about job losses and consumer spending. They've slashed production just to avoid taking losses on gasoline no one will buy. Result: Higher gas prices. Okay, so here's the bottom line...I think. The oil that sets the prices we hear about on TV is cheaper, but no one can get their hands on it to refine it into gas, because there isn't sufficient pipeline capacity to transport the cheap oil. No one wants to build new pipelines, because demand for gas is dropping. And, oh by the way, because demand is dropping, supply is dropping, thereby causing gas prices to rise. Did you follow all that? Me neither. All I know is that the current prices are still about half of what I was paying last summer. Plus, if you follow conspiracy theories, this increase in gas prices doesn't come as much of a surprise. After all, we aren't in an election year, are we?

Economy - This particular story focuses more on the political side of the economic meltdown. I warn you ahead of time, if you are susceptible to high blood pressure, you may want to skip this item. My blood was definitely boiling after I read it. The U.S. Treasury Department released the following statistics on spending on lobbying efforts by financial institutions receiving federal bail out funds (Bailout Awards / 2008 Spending / 2007 Spending):

• Citigroup -- $45 billion / $7.7 million / $8.5 million
• AIG -- $40 billion / $9.7 million / $11.4 million)
• Bank of America -- $35 billion / $4.1 million / $3.2 million
• JPMorgan Chase -- $25 billion / $5.4 million / $5.5 million
• Merrill Lynch -- $10 billion / $4.7 million / $4.4 million
• Goldman Sachs -- $10 billion / $3.3 million / $2.8 million
• Morgan Stanley -- $10 billion / $3.1 million / $2.8 million

Seems to me that B of A got the most bang for its buck. On the off chance that those numbers don't put you over the edge, how about trying these on for size, courtesy of the Center for Responsive Politics. Financial services firms channeled the following amounts to influential politicians in the form campaign donations between 2007 and 2008:

• Chris Dodd (Dem), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee -- $5.95 million
• Dick Durbin (Dem), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations & Financial Services Subcommittee -- $1.3 million
• Charles Rangel (Dem), Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee -- $1.35 million
• Barney Frank (Dem) Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee -- $984,000

Heck, no wonder the Democrats are so happen to control the majorities in both the Senate and the House. Those chairmanships pay rather handsomely don't they?

Man-speak - I got this bit from Esquire. What are men referring to when they say one of the following?

• water closet
• washroom
• loo
• lavatory
• john
• head
• throne room
• the bogs
• inner sanctum
• comfort station
• the place to be

I've been know to use "washroom" and "lavatory" from time to time, but usually I make my intentions known by issuing the following statement, "I have to pee." I then proceed to find the nearest toilet or suitable substitute.

Cycling - Here's your daily Tour of California update. Lance Armstrong is still among the leaders of the Tour of California after an opening day featuring drenching rain, a flat tire, a minor crash and even the theft of his time-trial bike. Armstrong persevered through his profoundly gloomy Sunday to finish near the front of a grueling 107-mile stage from Davis to Santa Rosa. He led a chase group that never quite caught up to the race leaders, including surprise stage winner Francisco Mancebo of Spain. The stage marked a strong showing by the Astana team, as Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Oregon's Chris Horner led a chase group across the finish line about a minute after Mancebo, Belgium's Jurgen Van de Walle and Italy's Vincenzo Nibali. Fabian Cancellara, who won Saturday's prologue to claim the leader's yellow jersey, dropped out of the race during today's first stage. Mancebo now will wear the yellow jersey in Monday's Stage 2, which covers 115.9 miles from Sausalito to Santa Cruz. As I go to press this evening, I cannot find the overall standings through Stage 1. I'm pretty sure that Mancebo has about a minute or so on Levi and Lance, which is rather significant seeing as in the four year history of the Tour, the winner has never won by a margin of more than 45 seconds.

What Caught My Eye Today

Iraq - An 8-foot fiberglass sculpture of a shoe--a monument to Muntazar al-Zaidi, the reporter who nearly hit President Bush with his shoe last year--was taken down in Tikrit just a day after it was erected. The sculptor made the shoe for a Tikriti orphanage as a reminder of al-Zaidi's courage. Um, I think dude is confusing anger with courage. After Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki heard of the sculpture, he ordered it destroyed. Where is your sense of humor, Prime Minister? It's not like this thing was in a place of national prominence. Besides, Bush is no longer in office, so you don't have to keep sucking up to him anymore.

Saudi Arabia - The Saudi king dismissed the chief of the religious police and a cleric who condoned killing the owners of TV networks that broadcast "immoral" content, signaling an effort to weaken the country's hard-line Sunni establishment. Okay, there are times when I've felt like killing the idiots who put head scratchers like "Moment of Truth" on the air in the first place, but that was more of a metaphorical reaction (besides we all know the executives at Fox are nuts anyway). Usually I just flipped to a different station. This dude is harsh. The king also changed the makeup of an influential body of religious scholars, for the first time giving more moderate Sunnis representation to the group whose duties include issuing the religious edicts known as fatwas. The religious establishment has come under persistent criticism, in particular because of the actions of the judiciary and the religious police. Agents of the moral police are responsible for ensuring women are covered and men go to mosques for prayer, among other things, but many Saudis say they exploit their broad mandate to interfere in people's lives. Well yeah. If a TV show could lead to you getting your head chopped off, I'd say that constitutes a bit of interference. The changes came on Valentine's Day, a busy time for the religious police, who are entrusted with ensuring that no one marks the banned holiday. Agents target shops selling gifts for the occasion, and items that are red or suggest the holiday are removed from the shelves. Some salesmen have been detained for days for infractions. Valentine's Day is banned because of its origins as a celebration of the 3rd century Christian martyr. The day is also targeted because unmarried men and women cannot be alone together. Oh for goodness sake. You people have got to lighten up a bit.

Malaysia - Malaysian identical twin brothers have escaped hanging for drug trafficking as a court failed to decide which brother was the criminal, and cleared both. Talk about your dumb luck. A judge said the case was unique and she could not send the wrong person to his death. The brothers cried in court when they heard the judge say that the prosecution had failed to prove which twin had been arrested first with a car containing 166kg of cannabis and almost 2kg of raw opium. Execution is mandatory for convicted drugs traffickers in Malaysia. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a proponent of the death penalty, but seriously, there was no way to determine which brother was guilty? Two words -- DNA testing.

Sex - In honor of Valentine's Day, I give you sex. 20% of sexually active adults say they have missed work to make time for sex. 13% say they've missed out on time with the kids for sex. 9% have canceled a doctor's appointment for sex. 80% of respondents say they have put off sex because they were too tired or sick. 78% say that the current economic crisis has not affected their sex lives. So...was it good for you?

Cycling - Lance is back, my friends. After kicking off his comeback in Australia last month, Lance Armstrong returned to competitive cycling in his native country with a smooth 10th-place finish in the prologue of the Tour of California. The seven-time Tour de France winner finished the 2.4-mile course around California’s Capitol building in 4 minutes, 37.17 seconds, coming in just 4.3 seconds off the pace set moments later by Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara. Levi Leipheimer, Armstrong’s Astana teammate and the race’s two-time defending champion, finished second at 4:34.11 in the day’s final ride. Floyd Landis, who’s beginning his comeback from a two-year doping ban, came in 90th amid warm cheers on the next-to-last start. Yeah, yeah whatever. Good for you, Levi, and welcome back Floyd (dude, you are a bit rusty, aren't you). I'm pretty sure the vast majority of the crowd was cheering on Armstrong. I certainly was.

What Caught My Eye Today - Friday the 13th Edition

Fred's Note: Did you know that there will be not one, not two, but three Fridays the 13th in 2009? In honor of the occasion, I've included some trivia on everything 13 at the end of today's posting.

Economy - Handing the new administration a big win, the House passed President Barack Obama's $787 billion plan to resuscitate the economy. I'm not sure I'd classify this as that big of a win. The bill was passed 246-183 with no Republican help. Not exactly what one would consider to be bipartisan support. All but seven Democrats voted for the bill — a 1,071 page, 8-inch-thick measure that combines $281 billion in tax cuts for individuals and businesses with more than a half-trillion dollars in government spending. The money would go for infrastructure, health care and help for cash-starved state governments, among scores of programs. Seniors would get a $250 bonus Social Security check. Republicans said the package won't work because it has too little in tax cuts and spreads too much money around to everyday projects like computer upgrades for federal agencies. Shocking to hear that the Republicans are critical of what the stimulus package lacks. Equally surprising, is how quickly Democrats are patting themselves on the back. Democrats lavished praise on the measure, which combines tax cuts for workers and businesses with more than a half-trillion dollars in government spending aimed at boosting economic demand. Reactions like these are why a significant number of the population has no confidence in Congress. They care more about grandstanding and pushing their own agendas rather than working together to fix the problems that we face everyday.

India - This one cracks me up. The High Court in New Delhi is so behind in its work that it could take up to 466 years to clear the enormous backlog, the court's chief justice said in a damning report that illustrates the decrepitude of India's judicial system. Mind you, that the backlog isn't due to the High Court dragging its feet. The Delhi High Court races through each case in an average of four minutes and 55 seconds but still has tens of thousands of cases pending, including upward of 600 that are more than 20 years old. That is some seriously efficient disbursement of justice. What I want to know is how the court manages to keep the lawyers from droning on and on like they do in America. The United Nations Development Program says some 20 million legal cases are pending in India. One reason for the delays is that there aren't enough sitting judges. India — a country of 1.1 billion people — has approximately 11 judges for every million people compared with roughly 110 per million in the United States. The numbers just blow your mind, don't they?

Valentine's Day - Is it just me or does it appear that the Catholic Church is working overtime to make it into the news? Britain's Roman Catholic Church is advising lovelorn singles to direct their February 14 requests for love to St Raphael, rather than St Valentine. Over the years St Valentine has come incorrectly to be associated with finding love, the Church says. He is the patron saint for those who have already found their soulmate. St Raphael is the patron saint for happy encounters and it is to him those searching for love should properly direct their prayers. What if you are already married but in search of a happy encounter? Who do you pray to then? A spokeswoman for the Catholic Enquiry Office, the official body providing information on Catholic life, said those hoping for divine intervention to help their love lives may well appreciate the correction in target for their prayers. Oh yeah, praying to the wrong saint is the reason so many of us haven't found Mister or Miss Right. Sure.

Friday the 13th - These fascinated facts come from some dude at the University of Delaware, who clearly needs to find more productive ways to spend his time.

• Three Fridays the 13th in a single year occur only every 11 years.
• The British Navy built a ship named Friday the 13th. On its maiden voyage, the vessel left dock on a Friday the 13th, and was never heard from again.
• The ill-fated Apollo 13 launched at 13:13 CST on Apr. 11, 1970. The sum of the date's digits (4-11-70) is 13 (as in 4+1+1+7+0 = 13).
• Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor.
• Fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.
• Quarterback Dan Marino wore No. 13 throughout his career with the Miami Dolphins. Despite being a superb quarterback (some call him one of the best ever), he got to the Super Bowl just once, in 1985, and lost.
• Butch Cassidy, notorious American train and bank robber, was born on Friday, April 13, 1866.
• Fidel Castro was born on Friday, Aug. 13, 1926.
• President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal.
• Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.
• Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12."
• The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number - 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.
• The seals on the back of a dollar bill include 13 steps on the pyramid, 13 stars above the eagle's head, 13 war arrows in the eagle's claw and 13 leaves on the olive branch. So far there's been no evidence tying these long-ago design decisions to the present economic situation.

What Caught My Eye Today

Space - This is historic. We've just had our first fender-bender in space. U.S. and Russian officials traded shots over who was to blame for a huge satellite collision this week that spewed speeding clouds of debris into space, threatening other unmanned spacecraft in nearby orbits. The smashup 500 miles over Siberia involved a derelict Russian spacecraft designed for military communications and a working satellite owned by U.S.-based Iridium, which served commercial customers as well as the U.S. Department of Defense.A prominent Russian space expert suggested NASA fell down on the job by not warning of the collision. But U.S. space experts said the Russian has the wrong agency. The U.S. military tracks the 18,000 objects in orbit, monitoring only certain threats because it lacks the resources to do everything. An Iridium spokesperson said the company can move any of its 65 satellites out of the way if it gets a precise warning ahead of a crash, but such a warning was not made. The company has never redirected a satellite before because the warnings they get aren't precise enough and there are just too many satellites to be constantly rejiggering their orbit. There are 800 to 1,000 active satellites in orbit and about 17,000 pieces of debris and dead satellites.Typical. Just like rear-enders here on Earth, it's always the other guy's fault. A couple of observations. Despite all the finger pointing, it does not appear that the U.S. is denying culpability, which I find fascinating. Think about it. The think that the U.S. satellite collided into was a busted Russian satellite that has been out of commission for over a decade. If it was me, I'd be asking the Russians, why they hadn't gotten their junk out of the way. Instead, they've turned the tables on the Americans, saying it was our fault that we didn't avoid their dead ship.

Obama Cabinet - After getting off to a screaming start, President Obama is having a dickens of a time trying to round out his Cabinet. Saying, "I made a mistake," Republican Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire abruptly withdrew as commerce secretary nominee. Gregg cited "irresolvable conflicts" with Obama's handling of the economic stimulus and 2010 census in a statement released without warning by his Senate office. The Commerce Department has jurisdiction over the Census Bureau, and the administration recently took steps to assert greater control. Republicans have harshly criticized the decision, saying it was an attempt to politicize the once-in-a-decade event. The outcome of the census has deep political implications, since congressional districts are drawn based on population. Many federal funds are distributed on the basis of population, as well. Both of those factors mean there is a premium on counting as many residents as possible. Historically, the groups believed to be most undercounted are inner-city minorities, who tend to vote Democratic. I give credit to Obama for attempting to have a bipartisan Cabinet, but I have to believe that he didn't think it was going to be this difficult. As for this census thing, I'm confused. How is it politicizing the census, by trying to make the count as accurate as possible? One theory is that the groups believed to be most undercounted are inner-city minorities, who tend to vote Democratic. Now if I'm a Republican, I'm thinking rather than not counting those inner-city minorities, maybe I take a look at what the Republican party can do to appeal to a broader population. But that's just me.

Economy (Part I) - Key lawmakers announced that all issues were settled on the $790 billion economic stimulus legislation. House leaders announced a vote for Friday, with the Senate to follow later in the day or over the weekend. Republicans, lined up to vote against the bill, piled on the scorn. Really? I cannot tell you how shocked I am. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader said, "The taxpayers of today and tomorrow will be left to clean up the mess." Seeing as it would be rather difficult to get the taxpayers of yesterday to chip in, I'm not sure what the honorable Senator from Kentucky is getting at here? More from McConnell in a moment. The bill includes billions of dollars for victims of the recession in the form of increased unemployment benefits and food stamps, subsidies to defray the cost of laid-off workers who want to continue their private health insurance and expanded government-financed coverage for the poor. Billions more would head off deep cuts in services by the states, many of which face deficits of their own because of the recession. The bill also included Obama's signature tax cut, although on a slightly reduced scale. It will mean a $400 break for most individual workers and $800 for couples, including those who do not earn enough to pay income taxes. How timely. See I'm from California, and my state lawmakers are going to be raising my taxes by about the same amount to make up for a $42 billion budget shortfall. Of course, I'm pretty sure this tax break is a one time deal, as opposed to those tax hikes which will probably be permanent.

Economy (Part II) - You all know how much I like numbers. Here is a whopper. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky in criticizing the president's economic stimulus package, which at one time was nearing a price tag of $1 trillion, said, "If you spent a million dollars every day since Jesus was born, you still wouldn't have spent a trillion dollars." I did the math, and wouldn't you know it, Senator McConnell was right. This is a rough approximate (not accounting for leap years and what not), but when you multiple 2009 years by 365 days, you come up with just under $733.3 billion. Makes you think, don't it?

Blogosphere - Regular readers have noticed that the volume of postings has dropped off a bit in recent months. Others have asked me why I haven't thrown some ads up to make a little coin off my musings. It is with those folks in mind that I bring you this item.. Technorati, a blog researcher, estimates that bloggers who run ads earn an average of $5,060 per year. Advertisers shy away from blogs because they are too unpredictable and because few blogs attract anything approaching a mass audience. One blog was visited by 1.5 million people in a month and through Google's AdSense program, the blogger earned $1,039.81. The blogger eventually shut down--not for financial reasons, but because Steve Jobs appeared to be in poor health. The blogger walked away feeling burned out and weighing 20 pounds more than when he started. By comparison, I've been at my blog for just over two years, and tracking visits for about 18 months. In that time, 1,752 visits from 712 unique visitors. By my calculations, that's about 1 new visit a day and just over 2 visits a day. At this rate, I might be able to buy a coffee at Starbucks to celebrate my retirement. Yeah, I think I'll skip the money and do things at my own pace.

What Caught My Eye Today

Iceland - The more I read about this country the more I like it. Iceland is basically the first nation to go bankrupt, and now another first. Johanna Sigurdardotir has become the world's first openly gay prime minister. You go, girl. She was appointed as interim prime minister after the government collapsed in acrimony over the nation's financial crisis. She will serve until elections are held in May. Good for you, Prime Minister. Now if the opportunity presents itself, maybe you can find a way to bring your country out of insolvency. Here's a bit of free advice: Don't count on the financial resources of Bjork to help you out of this mess. The previous government tried that already, and well, you know how well that worked out for them.

Africa - Libyan leader Muannar al-Qaddafi was elected to head the 53-member African Union. The long-time dictator said he would use his one-year term to try to establish a "United States of Africa" with a single currency, army and passport for the entire continent. Um, yeah. Good luck with that, spark plug. While you're at it, maybe you could squeeze in world peace as well. Other African leaders seemed dubious about Qaddafi's appointment, which came about largely because the union was required to pick someone from North Africa as its leader this year. Talk about a glowing endorsement. Qaddafi is going to transform Africa based on a mandate predicated on the fact that the rest of the continent chose him for lack of any other option. Pity.

Russia - Passengers rose up in revolt to prevent their Aeroflot slight from taking off after their seemingly drunk pilot greeted them with slurred words and bloodshot eyes. Wait, it gets better. Flight attendants told the 300 alarmed passengers on the flight from Moscow to New York to stop "making trouble." Apparently Aeroflot flight attendants have no fear of death; either that or their lives suck so much, maybe death would be a welcome escape. Here's the best part. Aeroflot relented and proved a new flight crew, but insisted that its pilot was not intoxicated and that the passengers may have experienced a "mass psychosis." Sure they did.

Cancer - Yet another reason why "choking the chicken" may be hazardous to your health. A study has found that among men who developed prostate cancer after middle age, 34% had reported masturbating or having sex with a partner an average of five times a week during their 20s and 30s. Researchers speculate that hormones appear to play a key role in prostate cancer, with high levels of male hormones serving to stimulate cancer cells. You have got to be kidding me? Sex may cause cancer? Dude, kill me now. The good news: When men reach their 50s, increased levels of sexual activity actually reduce prostate cancer, probably because at that point, regular use of the organ is good for it. Perfect. When you want to do it, you can't; and when you are too old to want to do it, you should do it more. That's just plain cruel.

What Caught My Eye Today

Economy - Don't look now, but we may have an economic stimulus package soon. With job losses soaring nationwide, Senate Democrats reached agreement with key Republicans on an economic stimulus measure at the heart of President Barack Obama's plan for reviving the economy. I must have something in my eye. Did I just read that the Senate reached an agreement? Let me pause for a moment to pick my jaw up off the floor. Officials put the cost of the measure at $780 billion in tax cuts and new spending combined. No details were immediately available, and there appeared to be some confusion among senators about the price tag. Now see, that's sounds much more like the Senate I have come to know and love. At $780 billion, the legislation would be smaller than the measure that cleared the House on a party-line vote last week. It also would mean a sharp cut from the bill that has been the subject of Senate debate for a week. That measure stood at $937 billion. Beyond the numbers, though, any agreement would mark a victory for the new president and would keep Democratic leaders on track to fulfill their promise of delivering him a bill to sign by the end of next week. Dear lord, first they manage to agree on something and now they are delivering upon promises they've made. It is a world gone mad, I say!

Russia - Speaking of gone mad. What's this about Russia wanting to help the United States? Russia granted transit rights to non-lethal U.S. military supplies headed to Afghanistan but only after apparently pressuring a former Soviet state to close an air base leased to the Americans. Kyrgyzstan announced the closure of the Manas air base but American officials suspect that Russia was behind the decision, having long been irritated by the U.S presence in central Asia. Russia wants to open discussions on thorny policy issues that Washington and Moscow have clashed on in recent years — NATO enlargement, missile defense in Europe, a new strategic arms control treaty. More importantly, Russia's expectation is that Washington must go through Moscow where Central Asia is concerned. And a little leverage never hurt, especially when that leverage involves making sure that American troops have adequate provisioning. Russia may also be showing Washington that its positions aren't immovable — particularly where Afghanistan is concerned. Russia fears Afghanistan is collapsing into anarchy, leading to instability or Islamic radicals migrating northward through Central Asia. They might be arrogant, but they're not stupid. Afghanistan didn't work to well for the Russians (it was basically their Vietnam War). I'm sure the last thing the Russians want to do is get dragged back into this mess, not when the Americans seem perfectly willing and eager to throw their troops and money at the problem. Well played comrades.

New Mexico - Actor Val Kilmer is pondering running for governor of New Mexico in 2010, when Democrat Bill Richardson's second term ends. "I'm just looking for ways to be contributive," Kilmer said. "And if that ends up being where I can make a substantial contribution, then I'll run." I looked it up. Contributive is actually a word. Who knew. I though Val was just making words up...you know, like most politicians do. He's currently registered as a Democrat and said he cast a ballot for Barack Obama from Bulgaria, where he was filming. Kilmer said if he ran it wouldn't have to be a conventional campaign. While the actor decides, he's getting out and about and has been listening to people — something he says he's pretty good at. Well heck, why not. If Jesse "The Body" Ventura and Arnold "The Governator" Schwartenegger can do it why can't Kilmer. "Ice Man" was awesome in Top Gun, you know.

Jessica Simpson - With the likes of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears starting off the year with uncharacteristically low profiles, we turn to Jessica Simpson for our first sob story of the year. A bizarre 38-minute set by opening act Jessica Simpson inadvertently stole the spotlight from headliner Rascal Flatts at a concern in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Press reports said Simpson forgot her lyrics, struggled with her ear monitors, mumbled through songs and fought back tears during the performance. Don't you just hate when that happens? As you well know, those concern tickets are non-refundable, no matter how bad the talent is. Simpson apologized to the supportive audience of about 9,000 by mouthing the word "sorry" on two large video screens. Supportive? Dude, this is Simpson's job for chrissake! It's not like she's new at this sort of thing. Folks doled out a lot of coin to attend this concern. Is Simpson going to refund their money. I don't think so. While introducing her last song, Simpson said she sometimes feels like quitting. She appeared to be wiping away tears after finishing the song and walking off the stage. I'm not sure I go for quitting, but maybe Simpson should reconsider the rest of those tour dates. Sounds like girlfriend could use some time off to chill her poop out.

Sports - Women's college basketball doesn't always get much press, but it isn't often when you see a milestone like this in the college ranks. If I've checked my facts correctly it never has. Tennessee Volunteers women's basketball coach Pat Summitt chalked up her 1000th win last night. Lifetime her record is 1000 - 187; that's a winning percentage of better than 84%. In her 30th season, Summitt has never had a losing season. In 28 NCAA appearances, her team has failed to make the Sweet Sixteen just one time, and has advanced to the Final Four (or better) 18 times. This broad knows her way around a basketball court.

What Caught My Eye Today

Nuclear Disarmament - The Obama administration, reversing the Bush administration's limited interest in nuclear disarmament, is gearing up for early negotiations with Russia on a new treaty that would sharply reduce stockpiles of nuclear warheads. secretary of State Hillary Clinton notified Congress that she intends to get started quickly on talks with the Russians, who have voiced interest in recent weeks in settling on a new treaty calling for cutbacks in arsenals on both sides. The 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty expires at the end of the year. It limited the United States and Russia to 6,000 nuclear warheads each. The American stockpile is believed to be about 2,300 warheads, and the Russians' even lower. I don't have much to say on this, other than any attempt to reduce mankind's capacity to annihilate itself several times over has my vote of support.

Supreme Court - Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had surgery for pancreatic cancer, raising the possibility that one of the ideologically divided court's leading liberals — and its only woman — might have to curtail her work or even step down before she had planned. I wouldn't be so sure about that. You'll see what I mean in a moment. Ginsburg, 75, has been a justice since 1993. She has been increasingly vocal in recent years about the court's more conservative stances, especially after the appointments made by President George W. Bush. Pancreatic cancer is often deadly, although the court said doctors apparently found Ginsburg's growth at an early stage. In 1999, she had colon cancer surgery, underwent radiation and chemotherapy, and never missed a day on the bench. This is one tough old bird. If Ginsburg or another justice leaves the court, it falls to Obama to pick a successor. Anyone he might choose to replace her probably would be as liberal as she, if not more so, keeping in place the 5-4 conservative tilt of the court. Ginsburg is only the second female justice in the nation's history. The other was Sandra Day O'Connor, who retired in 2006, and Ginsburg has lamented being the only woman on the court. I imagine with a Obama in office, Ginsburg might give a second look at this retirement thing. After all, I hear the government retirement plan is quite good.

Czech Republic - Men, I warn you upfront that this story is not for the weak of heart. The Czech Republic's practice of surgically castrating convicted sex offenders is "invasive, irreversible and mutilating" and should stop immediately, the Council of Europe's Anti-Torture Committee said. The central European country castrated at least 94 prisoners in the 10 years up to April 2008. If this sounds a bit harsh, get this, prisoners have to opt for the procedure. The Czech Republic defends the practice as voluntary, saying castration aims permanently to reduce testosterone levels in order to diminish the offender's sexual urges. Prisoners have to request castration under Czech law, but many fear they will be jailed for life if they do not. Some choice. This next bit is a candidate for understatement of the year. The Czech government argues the procedure is effective in reducing repeat offenses. Do you think?

Vatican - Responding to growing protests, the Vatican has firmly distanced itself from a prelate who denied the Holocaust and demanded that he recant his positions before being fully admitted as a bishop into the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican also said that Pope Benedict XVI didn't know about Bishop Richard Williamson's views when he agreed to lift his excommunication and that of three other ultraconservative bishops. The controversy gave a rare look at the cracks in Vatican's facade of unity and raised questions about the advice the pope receives and his access to information. No kidding. Papal aides say Benedict, a former university professor and theologian, receives a daily news summary and occasionally watches television. Maybe the pope should switch the channel from Cinemax to CNN from time to time. (To those religious fanatics that I just offended, I'm perfectly aware that I will burn in damnation for all eternity. I'll see you there). As for the bigger picture, I'm seeing a rather peculiar pattern emerging from those who hold positions of authority. First Obama and his Cabinet nominees, who apparently confuse tax evasion with tax avoidance, and then the pope, who is clueless to the fact that a bishop he is planning to reinstate from being excommunicated believes that the Holocaust didn't happen. It's called vetted, people. How hard is it to ask a few basic questions? My goodness.

What Caught My Eye Today

Obama Cabinet - Honestly, how difficult is it to find an honest taxpayer to fill a Cabinet position? Apparently, for the Obama Administration, this is exceedingly hard. Barack Obama abruptly abandoned his nomination fight for Tom Daschle and a second major appointee who failed to pay all their taxes, fearing a lingering ethics dispute would undercut his claims to moral high ground and cripple his presidency in just its second week. "I screwed up," Obama declared. I'm guessing that your staff screwed up, but seeing as you are the man. I'll concede the point. The White House had announced that Daschle had asked to be removed from consideration as health and human services secretary and that Nancy Killefer had made the same request concerning what was to be her groundbreaking appointment as a chief performance officer to make the entire government run better. It's called vetting people. Last time I checked, it wasn't that complicated. You ask the prospective employee stuff like, "have you committed any felonies--like tax evasion?" From where I stand, that shouldn't be that much of a mind bender for the Obama Administration to handle.

Same Sex Divorce - A lesbian couple who led the fight for gay marriage in Massachusetts has filed for divorce. You knew this was coming. Once the gay community got the right to marry, this was the obvious next step. The women were among seven gay couples who filed a lawsuit that led to a court ruling making Massachusetts the first state to legalize same-sex marriages in 2004. The couple became the public face of the debate in the state and married the first day same-sex marriages became legal. See, now they are just trying to show off. Then: "Look at us, look at us. We're getting married." Now: "Look at us, look at us. We're getting divorced." Girlfriends, if you all were straight this would be a non-event.

Iran - Iran sent its first domestically made satellite into orbit, a key step for an ambitious space program that worries the U.S. and other world powers because the same rocket technology used to launch satellites can also deliver warheads. For nearly a decade, Iran has sought to develop a national space program, creating unease among international leaders already concerned about its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. A U.S. counter proliferation official confirmed the launch and suggested the technology was not sophisticated. Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence gathering, the official said it appeared it "isn't too far removed from Sputnik," the first Soviet orbiter launched in 1957. Well, obviously the technology was good enough. They got the tin can into orbit, didn't they? Iran's space plans are lofty and even hold out the goal of putting a man in orbit within 10 years, though accomplishing that would be extremely expensive. A domestic satellite program would put Iran in a growing club — more than 80 countries are building or planning to build their own satellites, according to Lewis. But the ability to launch them is a much more exclusive crowd; only nine countries have done so. Aside from the obvious concerns about having the capability to use it's rockets for less benign purposes (and who in their right mind wouldn't be concerned about this), I get the feeling that the real bee in the bonnet for the West (and the U.S. in particular), is the fact that Iran can pull something like this off, despite all the economic sanctions that have been imposed on it by the international community. Clearly, they aren't having too much of an impact on Iran's ability to do whatever it wants.

Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyzstan's government said it would end American use of a key air base following Russia's announcement of new aid. Kyrgyzstan announced that U.S. forces would have to stop using Manas air base came after Russia said it was providing the poor Central Asian nation with billions of dollars in aid. Blast those wicked Russians. Blast them, I say. The United States set up the Manas base and one in neighboring Uzbekistan to back operations in Afghanistan after the September 11 terror attacks. Uzbekistan expelled U.S. troops from the base on its territory in 2005 in a dispute over human rights issues, leaving Manas as the only U.S. military facility in the region. These sound like rather petty reasons to kick us out. Accusations of human right violations? Fear of offending big brother? Don't these central Asian countries have any backbones. Stick up for what is right, you cowards! What's that? Doing the bidding of United States isn't your definition of what's right. Is that so? Well not only are you cowards, but you're stupid too. So there.

Australia - An Australian traveler was caught with two live pigeons stuffed in his pants following a trip to the Middle East, customs officials said. This isn't particularly newsworthy, but it certainly caught my attention. The 23-year-old man was searched after authorities discovered two eggs in a vitamin container in his luggage. They found the pigeons wrapped in padded envelopes and held to each of the man's legs with a pair of tights. The alleged bird smuggler, who arrived in Melbourne on a flight from Dubai, was being questioned. Australia has very strict quarantine regulations on the importation of wildlife, plants and food to protect health, agriculture and the environment of the isolated island nation. If you're going to smuggle birds, are pigeons the best you can do? Pigeons don't even remotely come close to conjuring up thoughts of the exotic. Last time I checked, the only thing they were good for was taking dumps on the hood of my freshly washed and waxed truck.

What Caught My Eye Today

Canada - Two Canadian airlines announced that they would allow obese people to purchase two seats for the price of one, but only with a doctor's note. That's awfully big of them...I know, I know. I couldn't help myself. The Supreme Court of Canada recently ruled that obese people have to be treated equally by airlines. The airlines have devised a form that asks doctors to measure a potential passenger's posterior. Sure they did. Guess how that went down? Obesity activists say the requirement is degrading, while the Canadian Medical Association says it "shows a disregard for the use of scarce medical resources." Hey now. If you don't like it, take it up with the judge. The airlines are merely abiding by a court ruling--insensitive and inhumane as their tactics may be.

Mexico - The U.S. economy is so bad (how bad is it?) that we're managing to take down Mexico too. The amount of money sent home by Mexican migrant workers in the U.S. in 2008 dropped for the first time on record. The remittances, Mexico's second largest source of foreign income after oil, dropped 3.6% to $25 billion in 2008, compared with $26 billion in 2007. Mexican analysts said the U.S. recession was only partly to blame. They said the U.S. crackdown on illegal immigration last year prevented many Mexicans from finding work. Well, perhaps that may have had something to do with the drop in remittances. How is it that money from illegal migrant workers can constitute a foreign source of income, and not just any source of income, but the second largest source behind oil? Is it just me, or does this come off as rather amusing?

Potpourri - Here's another collection of interesting news factoids.

Geography - Google Earth's satellite imagery of the U.S. Vice Presidential residence in Washington D.C. was restored. When the home was occupied by Dick Cheney, it was obscured by pixilation. Oh dear, God. You have got to be kidding me. It's the Naval Observatory for crying out loud, not some national security secret.

Economy - Manhattan executives who once lunched at expense-accounted fine dining establishments are now having their midday repast and fast-food restaurants. McDonald's share price has rise more than 11% over the past year as most other stock collapsed. So much for the waistline. Looks like the only thing getting slimmer is the old billfold.

Politics - Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin launched SarahPAC to help "build a better, stronger and safer America in the 21st century." Such political action committees are often the first step toward a run for higher office. You can almost here the cheering from late night comedians all over the land.

UFOs - A former British Ministry of Defense official revealed that the Royal Air Force has fired on UFOs several times "with little effect." Do you think?

Food - Seven Tokyo diners ordered blowfish and wound up lying on the floor, partially paralyzed and struggling to breathe. Blowfish is laced with poison, and in this case, the chef apparently lacked the training to serve it. That's a shame. That sort of thing can really put a damper on an otherwise stellar resume.

Sports - I'll keep it short as it was a rather busy weekend.

Football - What an awesome game. Possibly the best Superbowl ever (though I'm sure purists will argue that), but anyone who picked the Steelers to beat the 7 point spread aren't to happy today--Pittsburgh beat the Arizona Cardinals 27-23. The Steelers once again have bragging rights for most Superbowl victories with 6. Dallas and San Francisco both have 5. I'd say that Pittsburgh's record will be safe for a while wouldn't you. As for the ads--better than last year for sure. My favorite was definitely the Doritos spots.

Tennis - Serena Williams won her 10th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open (I called it), but the bigger story was Rafael Nadal beating Roger Federer in another 5 set brawl to take his 6th Grand Slam title and first on a hard court. This pretty much completes Rafa's domination of R-Fed. Clay (French Open), grass (Wimbledon) and hard court (Australia). Still, Roger still has New York (U.S. Open).

Swimming - Michael Phelps got photographed smoking pot last November. Dude is 23 and got caught doing something 90% of us admit to have trying at some point in our lives (including our latest President). All in all, Phelps caught a major break. Had this story come out on any other weekend, it would have made the front page. Still, I fail to see the big deal here. Sure, he's supposed to be a role model, but I think this is part of the deal. I like role models who know a little bit about the stuff I go through in my life.