Taking a bit of time ...
Barring a major disaster worth commenting on, I am probably going to take the weekend off from blogging. I have a touch of the flu and must do some stuff around the house and take care of some personal business. Vote in my poll [!] and check back with me on Wednesday and I should have some updates. Stay safe everyone.

Absolutely shocking!
If anyone needs anymore proof that we need a regime change in 2004, look at this posting from Common Dreams from Wednesday: ["Here and There: A Comparison of the Bush Administration's Iraq Reconstruction Package"]. $100 million to put families into the witness protection program? Man, the people in control of this nation are absolutely nuts.

And then there were nine again ...
FoxNews is reporting that Sen. Bob Graham of Florida will drop out of the presidential race tomorrow: ["Graham Drops Out of Presidential Race"]. In most ways, this isn't a huge loss to the field. Graham was going nowhere despite a long life of public service. He is a moderate southern senator and was also governor of the state. Many, including myself, have suggested that Al Gore would have won had he selected Graham as his veep instead of the extremely conservative Joe Lieberman. Graham was on Gore's short list but didn't make the cut. Look for him probably not to endorse and also make the short list of veep candidates, especially if Howard Dean wins.

Rush
You're not supposed to kick a guy when he is down. But can anyone really not chuckle after reading the latest with the Limboob? It is very similar to the laugh we all had when King of Virtue Bill Bennett was caught losing hundreds of thousands at the gambling tables. First, Rush gets clobbered for shooting his mouth off about black quarterbacks - basically repeating things many fans say on sports talk radio every day - and then, we find out he is a pill-popping drug addict! Let's hope the criminal justice system gives Limboob no mercy. Treat him like the guy who sells nickel bags of pot or crack on the street and gets 10 years or that poor slob who got life for stealing a slice of pizza. In other words, throw the book at him.

Arnold
I have tried to keep out of the California recall nonsense but this is too much: ["'Deeply Sorry' Schwarzenegger Apologizes to Women"]. I am shocked - shocked! - that a gazillionaire action movie star who is a body builder and the son of a SS officer would grope and sexually harass women. Who does he think he is? Ted Kennedy? Chris Dodd? Oh, that's right, I forgot. Only Democrats can grope, sexually harass, or even allow women to drown in the back of their cars. Republican body building movie stars? Nah.

Latest polls
Quinnipiac released a poll yesterday showing Wesley Clark [18 percent] and Dean [17 percent] in a deadheat in the New York primary. Lieberman has about 13 percent with Kerry at 12 percent and the Rev. Al Sharpton at 6 percent. American Research Group has John Edwards up by 9 percent in South Carolina with 16 percent. Everyone else is far behind: Clark at 7 percent, Lieberman at 7 percent, and Dean at 6 percent. And Boston's WHDH/Suffolk University has Dean with a clear lead in New Hampshire: Dean with 26 percent, Kerry with 17 percent, and Clark at 10 percent.