Headline Roundup
Yeah, it's been awhile and I have been busy, on vacation, but at the same time, saving up a slew of links to share. So, as Casey Kasem would say, On with the countdown.

Usama bin Ladin protected by Pakistan?
A couple of days ago, there was a story posted by Brian Ross, an investigative reporter with ABC News, which stated that Pakinstan had reached a no capture deal with bin Ladin. It was posted on Ross' Web site at ABC News called The Blotter. Here is the link which no longer works: ["Bin Laden gets ..."]. It looks like they have pulled the story. Nothing on Google News leads to anything about this report. There is a lot about bin Ladin being elusive and the trail being cold but not a lot about the Ross report. Update: I was able to find this by Googling, a mea culpa of sorts from the Pakistani government. Boy, that was fast!: ["Pakistan Denies Bin Laden Gets a Pass"].

The Londonderry gas price war
WMUR-TV Channel 9 reported Sunday night that a gas station in Londonderry off I-93 Exit 4 dropped its price to $2.25 and a price war ensued! Three other gas stations have dropped their price. At one station, the Mobil, the station ran out of gas. I noticed a price drop over the course of the week and mentioned to my wife that it was nice to be paying $2.55 a gallon even though that is way too high. Does anyone else wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that there is a mid-term election about to happen?

Recession coming?
I thought we were already in one: ["Recession will be nasty and deep, economist says"]. Housing sales drop; foreclosures rise; gas prices are squeezing every spare dime from your pocket; jobs aren't paying enough and Americans don't actually make anything anymore. Gee, do you think a recession is coming?

Reclassifying everything
What is this government so afraid of? Are they really afraid of John Lennon - 26 years after his death? Or, is this just a standard the government plans on making all the time and Hey, what the heck, let's go way, way back ... Wow, indeed: ["John Lennon - Still a Security Threat"].

This is interesting
["Al Gore Says He Hasn't Ruled Out 2nd Run"]. It should be third run, since he was also a candidate in 1988, but, what do they know, they are foreigners. The key quote is this though:

"I haven't completely ruled out running for president again in the future but I don't expect to."

Eh, so is that he hasn't completely ruled out running or that he doesn't expect to rule out a run? I'm confused.
All kidding aside, I will say that the Al Gore of 2006 isn't the Al Gore who was VP or the candidate in 2000. He is either different or it is a good ruse. A lot of Dems seem to be going through this lately. And the fact that he calls Ralph Nader "my friend" while signing his new book [Gore signs book] while Democrats are still seething about Nader and his current/former supporters is a testament of its own.

This is what they call journalists these days? Yikes!
["10 Miami journalists take U.S. pay"]. It kinda makes you wonder what all these people would do if they had to get real jobs somewhere else, doing something else. And I can think of a ton of things which our government could do with the $37 million going to this program.

What your money in Iraq is building
Protecting Sara Lee indeed: ["Bush 'Palace' Shielded from Iraqi Storm"].

More candidates being kept out of debates
Check this one out - I actually saw a clip of one of the candidates getting dragged away in cuffs on FoxNews: ["Candidate Arrested After Protesting Exclusion from Debate"].
Eighteen candidates in a primary is a lot. But if you don't get the coverage, you don't get the donations, and you don't get the polling position, which means you don't get the support, which means you don't get the coverage. It is a big circle. Why not do two debates, each an hour long, with nine candidates? Or, do a two hour debate with all the candidates? If they are on the ballot, they should be given equal access and time to television and radio. That is the responsibility of those companies who have the broadcast licenses. It is interesting that the FCC cares about every little thing a radio station does but they don't give a damn about this stuff at all.

R.I.P.: Bruce Gary
Who is Bruce Gary you might ask? Well, he is the original drummer for the band The Knack. He died of cancer last month I found out quite by accident after downloading "Live from the Rock 'n' Roll Funhouse" a live album on emusic.com. The concert, from 2001, is actually pretty good and shows that the material the band put out between 1979 and 1981, really holds up and stands the test of time. There are a few more songs here from later released which really didn't catch on like "My Sharona" and "Good Girls Don't," but they do sound good and it does take you back to yesterday. The band set up a tribute site for Bruce here: ["Bruce Gary Tribute"].