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.