Does anyone else find it ironic that now Bush is asking the U.N. for help? After snubbing and castrating the U.N. to push his invasion of Iraq, now Bush finds that perhaps he's in over his head. That or he plans to set them up as some sort of scapegoat. If it sounds like I have no trust or faith in Bush, you're absolutely right. Any sympathy I had for the guy after 9/11 disappeared once the war rhetoric kicked in. Can we please have a President who doesn't take us into some sort of war?

I'm thinking of converting to Islamo-Christianity. Then I could claim to be a servant of Allah and kill heathens in his name (to get the virginal reward). Any guilt I feel would be absolved because I'd also accpt Christ as my savior. The problem is: should I kill myself as a heathen?

But we know how those games always ended: with the King deposed. Mud-covered, grass-stained, the King watches as another King fights to reign supreme and so it continues until the voices of the Parents call them home for dinner.

If only George and Barbara would call Dubya in for dinner. Maybe then we could start repairing the damage done by this darn Bush Boy.

Why, you may ask, is your traveling car a gas guzzling Suburban? Because on any given weekend we have minimum 5 bodies to schlep, up to the max of 8. That's why. When the 'burb is in the shop we need a backup that can handle our family of 5.

So I'm thinking like a sedan or something. Not new but maybe 1 year used. That way there should still be a warranty in effect but you won't suffer that quick depreciation of buying new. Any thoughts? Any recommendations?

I missed 5 days of blogging because of two things: One, the damn heat. It's been well over a hundred the last week. Combine that with, two, a dead air conditioner and the computer does not - repeat - does NOT go on. Finally a repair person made it out today and we're back in business but the past five days were like hell. If Bush didn't think Global Warming was for real he should have come out here for a bit.

With the AC out we had the kids camp out at night. They loved it. Between camping and the constant dunks in the pool, this was all one big adventure for them, and that's they way it should be. It took some pressure off of us to have them in such a mood.

So how does all this tie in with the title? What did I do wrong again? Nothing, except forgetting to blog every day like I wanted. But you have my excuse. The house is finally down to a tolerable 85. Where's the chocolate ice cream?

Iran seeks to become major Mideast player

By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press Writer Thu Jul 20

TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian officials often say that places with the greatest troubles 
offer their country the best opportunities.

Iranian influence in Iraq has surged since the U.S.-led invasion three years ago. 
Its reach into Afghanistan continues to grow.

And now, the war in Lebanon could make Iran an even more important player in 
the Islamic world even as its militant Shiite Arab client, Hezbollah, gets pounded 
by Israel.

"Iran sees itself more than just the moral father of Hezbollah. Iran seeks to 
become a major force across the region as a counterbalance to America and 
Israel," said Ahmad Bakhshaiesh, a professor of political studies at Tehran's 
Azadi University.

"Lebanon is part of this plan," he said.

Already, officials and experts say that for any cease-fire or broader peace 
package to succeed, Iran's deep ties with Hezbollah must be taken into account.

Hezbollah could emerge from the battles severely weakened militarily, but with its 
reputation enhanced in the Muslim world for resisting Israel. That in turn would 
give Iran, a non-Arab country, an even higher profile in the Arab world — a 
prospect that frightens the Jewish state.

Invade Iraq, $300 billion, impotent U.S.. Assasinate Hussein, cost of bullets, U.S. military remains intact. What a choice.

I know. Why, for a pacifist, do I keep dwelling on assassination of Hussein over invasion of Iraq. Simple. It's cheaper, more efficient, and less disruptive to us. To those that claim the U.S. doesn't do assassinations, I say "Bullhockey!" We do. It's just not publicized. But how is it morally better to invade and kill thousands of people instead of taking out the one person who is claimed to be the problem? Even if the Hussein Administration were targetted, that'd be better than invasion and the disruption that caused the Iraqis.

But the answer is in the billions we've spent and that have disappeared into the pockets of Government officials (ours and theirs), Government friends and business contacts, and so on.

So if we can't repeal Bush then we should say, in our "sincerest" tone of voice, "Thanks Bush!"

Bush, if "potential" lives are so sacred in your creed, why no outlaw masturbation, prophylactics, and non-vaginal sex? Why not pass a law that states sex is only for procreation...and then convince us that you've had sex only twice in your life?

That's what I thought...

Analysis: Bush admin. gives Israel room

By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer 

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is trying to hold off international 
pressure for an immediate halt to the Israeli assault in southern Lebanon, 
apparently to allow Israel a short window to do as much damage as possible to 
the Hezbollah guerrillas.

That puts Washington at odds with some allies and others who want a quick 
end to cross-border rocket attacks that have claimed more than 200 lives in a 
week and sent a tide of refugees fleeing Lebanon.

"I want the world to address the root causes of the problem, and the root 
cause of the problem is Hezbollah," President Bush said Tuesday.

A part of me thinks that Bush isn't pressing for peace because of the religious aspect, that this is the supposd pre-cursor to Armageddon. Bush's religious buddies want to make sure that things get inflamed enough to get the Final War going so they can be on Christ's side when the rapture happens. Ironic - wanting a war to continue to supposedly bring on the end of the world so that a bunch of religious nuts can find out that there will be Messiah coming down from the skies. Just tears.

But I'm hoping I'm wrong on this but with Bush you never know...

Blogs aside, thank goodness for the Internet. It still survives as arguably one of the last bastions of true freedom in this world. The Internet and the Sahara. Where else can you spew venom at the top of your lungs and be duly ignored by all.

Lebanon. Nuff said. I've written before that perhaps the Mid-East should be one nuclear testing zone. Just turn all those "sacred" sites into piles of new glass. If God wants to save any of all of them let it be. In fact, it'd be a good test to determine whether any of the sites are truly sacred to anyone beyond us humans. I recommend Georgy be at Ground Zero just to make sure things turn out right.

I know, this isn't journalism but then neither is most of what you see in the papers. Anyway. I took the kids to see "Pirates of the Caribbean 2" yesterday. It was an enjoyable film but a tad too long and the cliffhanger ending was most annoying in an eager way. Most bothersome though were the people who brought their little kids to the film. Pirates was too scary in some places for them and simply too long. So - wail!, wail!, tromp, tromp, tromp - all through the film. Hey parents! Get an effing babysitter or wait for the film to come out on DVD. Something! But don't bring your kids to the theater. Not only will they ruin it for everyone but you won't see significant chunks as well. Save us all the aggravation.

Exiles concerned over U.S. plans in Cuba

By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ, Associated Press Writer

MIAMI - A presidential commission's report on U.S. plans to promote democracy 
in Cuba has earned applause from Cuban exiles, particularly for an $80 million 
commitment to bolster civil society and independent media. But while many 
expressed broad support for the commission's message, some were wary of 
how, and if, the promised funds will be spent. 

Worse, when I read about how much money is going to Iraq or will be thrown to Cuba for Democratic purposes, I feel the money is simply being thrown away to F.o.B.s ("Friends of Bush"). A few days ago there was a little blurb in the paper about how the Army is finally investigating Halliburton for a small matter of 1$ BILLION dollars in overcharges. If that level of corruption doesn't make you angry then $80 million for Cuba won't make you blink. But it adds up and we're paying for it.

And we're paying for it while the Government spends and throws it away with no accountability. None. We, as the taxpayers, have a right to know exactly where our money is going. Every cent. And if the Government, our Government, poo-poos our rights away saying "Where the money goes is a matter of National Security, so we can't say." then our BS alarms should go off and we should demand to know - LOUDLY. Let the politicians know that we the voters aren't fooled, won't be fooled, and will vote against them and their cronies every damn chance we get. And that's before we get the courts on them.

It's our money; it's our Government. We deserve to know!

I have just finished a book about a writer who traveled through Russia right before the country collapsed. One recurring theme that sounded painfully too familiar was that the Government were disconnected from the people. The Government simply spewed slogans, kept security tight, and did what they wanted while the populace suffered. It sounded like what the U.S. is quickly becoming.

But it got me thinking about wars. How many people in and of themselves want war? My guess is that very few. But how many Governments want war? My guess is too many. And so begins the propaganda that war is inevitable for whatever reason the Government think the people will believe. Really, if Bush had played the up-and-up with us, you think America would have bought the invasion of Iraq?

There's something deeper here but I'm too tired from work to think. I've done my citizen's duty for the day. This comrade is going to bed. I just hope Homeland Security won't mind.

Ironically, this is what Bush said he wouldn't do when he campaigned for office the first time. But, as we have so painfully seen, world politics and strategy is way out of his realm of grasp. Apparently no one on his staff seems able to grasp things much better.

With Bush making Diplomacy a lesser option and threats the top option he has taught the Mid-East participants how to act. It's a brutal, archaic, and downright stupid method of leadership. I fear for the Mid-East. The violence is unnecessary but sadly blind. So it continues: Eye for an eye until they're all blind.

If only we had real leadership.

Problem is, if I did that, My customers would expect even faster results. Already my "three-day" rule has been broken. That rule is, simply, for any data request, it'll take at least three days to fulfill. Now it's down to hours and they want more. Uggh. Why this career path? Why can't I be something fun or interesting like an engineer or a movie director?

Ah well. That's life. C'est la vie.

I plopped my skinny Mahatma ass down and took care of business. No problems, right?

Wrong. This was no ordinary toilet. This one was outfitted with one of those auto-flush gizmos that works when your body moves away from the sensor. Well, guess what happens when you:

It wouldn't be a problem if the toilet was one of those castrated, low-power flushers that can barely handle urine much less a dump but this baby was rigged high-pressure. We're talking whitewater class V. Before I could respond the backsplash soaked the back of my shirt, not to mention all visible body parts within spraying distance.

You could say I was red-cheeked with embarassment in more ways than one. Luckily I was able to dress and look like I was serious sweater while sneaking out of the building into the blast furnace mid day sun to dry off. Granted there was a lingering odor but I simply explained with "Cafeteria!" and people understood.

But lesson learned. I'll have to either take a number for the handicapped stall or sneak up to the Executives washroom.

After the kids finished eating, my wife said "Target! They're open until 9 and they have hotdogs in their food area." What the hell, why not. We drive to Target and, sure enough, they're open until 9 and serve hotdogs in their food area. Except there weren't any dogs actually being cooked. Oh for two.

On the drive home, my wife suggested going to K-Mart to see if they had a food area but, by then, I'd had it. No doggies with mustard, onion, and sauerkraut for me. Maybe tonight I'll drag the family across town to Hots, Cupids, Pinks, or the Munch Box.

It's all PBS's fault. Can't find a freaking hotdog on a Sunday night.

Yawn.

Another game ended with the Shoot-out. And Italy won. That's that.

This was not a satisfying World Cup. The only real excitement was seeing whether Ghana could advance further than the second round and having Brazil fall. Now with four more years to the next, I do wish the World Cup were on a two-year cycle. That would give fans more exposure to their favorite players and allow players to become real legends if they have the talent. You figure a great player has maybe 2 or 3 World Cups in which to contribute. That's not enough.

Think of it: Could Italy hold the title still two years from now? They could very well have the same team then but four years from now will show nearly a different lineup. That's just too much time passed.

And there'd be more money to be made. They could alternate venues between established locales like England, Spain, Brazil, etc. and developing locales like in Africa or Asia or the U.S.. Yes, they'd have to re-cycle the preliminaries and figure out a way to not have such an impact when pulling players from leagues for national play but it is do-able.

That or open up the Champions League worldwide.

The problem is, with the cubicle environment, noise. The people around me insist on using their phones in speaker mode and because they all do it, they all have to TALK LOUDER to be heard. But, you see, they're "Creative" and they put up with this crap because that's part of the "Creative" quirk. But they're not the only annoyance. Cubicle world means people tromping by, popping in, passing by and making comments.

But you got to be a team player and take one so I grit my teeth (or what's left of them) and do my work. Still, I've worked at worse places and the truly awful thing is the commute. My last job had no parking. Here I have plenty of parking but to drive would be insane. I'd be taking on the worst of the L.A. Freeway system - no thanks!

Oh well. World Cup Final on Sunday and then go back to work. Unless I win the Lottery.

But if anyone out there (Bill? Warren?) wants to take pity on Ol' Mahatma here feel free to donate a few million. It will go to a good cause.

I missed the subway connection too. In short, I got to work late. I hate that because I've been in the situation where if you show up to work late once or twice THEY never forget it and you get dinged come review time. But show up to work early for a month and...nothing. At the very least, I like to be consistently on time. Arrive on time and damn well leave on time. I still left on time.

Only to get near home and see a sports car flying through an intersection to smash into an SUV. No one was hurt fortunately and there was a firestation literally half a block away. Just one of those days.

Got home. Did the dishes and laundry. Went to bed. Got out of bed to write this. Now back to bed. Maybe tomorrow will be more than just another day. Didn't even win the lottery.

Ken Lay died. That's one way to avoid justice. Pity that he didn't leave a few choice parting words.

France vs. Italy in the Final?!? Who'd a thunk it? But, I guess I'm slightly siding more with France because Zidane and I have the same lack of hair.

So Iraq didn't have WMDs but we invaded just in case. Iran's working on nukes. North Korea's working on nukes. Go figure. Bush had a 1/3 chance on the "axis of evil" (as if the axis members ever talked together like Germany, Italy, and Japan during WWII). If we really wanted to give America a present we'd get rid of Bush for someone at least partially competent.

A few days ago I read that Jeb Bush was thinking of maybe running as the Vice President part of a ticket. He's considered one of the smarter Bush Boys, or, at least, smarter than Dubya. HELLO! The dog could be considered smarter than Dubya. But, please no!, no more Bush's in office. They've done enough damage.

So on this Fourth as many will call out for us to blindly cheer on in the name of patriotism the selfish madness that has gripped our Government, cheer instead for resisting the madness and for not giving up that which allows you cheer freely instead of blindly.

Be safe.

Frankly put, the world would not end if us Americans didn't work so hard. But we're brainwashed from birth that we must work, work, work. Company loyalty. Team player. Sacrifice all for the company good. Until we get laid-off or the pension fund gets raided. And before any critics claim that this sounds like communist propaganda needs to read some John Steinbeck. It's about fairness. For us that work so hard we should reap the rewards so like Executives we can take months off.

Companies can't exist without their trench warriors but they can without their over-paid stuffed shirt Executives, at least, for a short time. SUre, there needs to be a leader but when I read about some incompetent Executive getting a few million for doing a poor job while another company lays off thousands to boost up the bottom line, it just doesn't sit right. Our American priorities are off and contrary to what we are told, we do have power. Power to strike. Power to vote corrupt politicians out. Power to say "No!"

We need to exercise that power.

For some time now I'd been lamenting that there wasn't some form of pro soccer closer to Chatsworth than the L.A. Galaxy over the hill. Little did I realize! Yesterday I stumbled upon the San Fernando Valley Quakes and they had a match that night against the San Diego Gauchos. Could it be? Real soccer in the Valley? I insisted that the kids, wife, and a grandmother join me to check this out.

YES!!! Real soccer! There was about two hundred people in the stands (at Granda Hills High School, once home to John Elway) about a quarter of whom were rooting for the Gauchos. The heat was still oppressive but with the sun quickly sinking it cooled off just right.

The first three minutes saw the Gauchos take a 1-0 lead off an impressive run by a Ronaldo clone. This player (#12) was most impressive and continued to be so throughout the game. But the lead didn't hold. The Quakes equalized and, in the second half, add two more to secure the win and break a Gaucho four game win streak.

I enjoyed the game as did my mother and middle kid, who bought a duffel bag and got as many autographs as he could. My wife enjoyed screamining her lungs out and being herself. Before the game the announcer kept telling people to stay dehydrated by buying water and drinks at the refreshment stand. My wife couldn't handle this. She went to the announcer and corrected him so for the rest of the evening we were admonished to stay HYDRATED. One guy sitting next to us shook his head and muttered "FInally! He gets it right."

My older kid didn't really get into the game that much but my youngest (and loudest) enojyed being a cheerleader. Sadly he kept rooting for the wrong team but later he would vary his directions.

The only knocks against the team, or more precisely the organization behind the team - the United Soccer League, are that ticket information (prices) and schedules aren't found on the link given above. You have to go here. I was surprised and pleased to find that the teams are widespread with development and women's league. It'd be nicer though if they had a relegation system going with the MLS.

But it's a great start and wonderful discovery. The Quakes are in third place in the Premier Development League's Western Conference - Southwest Division. They play again locally in two weeks. I'm game.

England lost to Portugal. Not really a surprise but I'm unsure who to blame. Rooney shouldn't have been sent off with a red card. That his foot got caught crushing an opponents cajones was truly an accident but pushing an opponent right in front of the ref was downright stupid (or to use the British styu-pid). But England still had an attack and a helluva defense. Unfortunately for them so did Portugal. So the blame must go to the Keeper for England who, during the penalty shoot-out phase, rarely moved from the line. He didn't even try on a couple of shots. Pathetic.

On the bright side, France took out Brazil and gets from me an "!".

So it's France vs. Portugal and Germany vs. Italy. All of my favorites are gone. I guess it will be France vs. Germany in the Final with France winning it all. Pity that. I really had hoped that England would continue because frankly I still haven't figured out how Crouch can move in five different directions at once. A skeleton playing football - really now.

To the uninitiated chilimac is pasta made with, instead of normal spaghetti sauce or a fine pesto, chili. As you may or may not know, the quality of chili varies tremendously with the majority of commercial offerings ranking somewhere below curdled shoe polish. This was industrial-strength chili, purchased by the gross ton and packaged in boxes covered with hazmat stickers.

In short, this chilimac and arguably all chilimacs can be summed up in one word: nasty!

The one I had for lunch would prove no exception.

At the very best one can expect massive gastrointestinal twinches with a little gas. One hour after eating lunch I felt the gurglings but I ignored the warnings. With the big weekend nearly here, I looked forward to leaving work early and fairly soon I got the go-ahead. Bye work - see you in five days.

My commute has four parts: the first part is getting to the subway. Usually it's a brisk 8 minute walk. But with the hundred-plus degree heat, it's been taking a bit longer. Today it took about fourteen minutes and the stifling heat re-cooked that which I had for lunch.

The second part of my commute is a short subway ride to catch the longer third section that consists of a bus ride. The second phase of the commute went well. Stomach was still gurgling but no pain.

It was the third part - the forty minute bus ride - that proved the breaking point. Sitting and jostling riled up the chilimac. The resulting gases expanded far too quickly for a mortal human to contain them. In a flatulence blast worthy of the Bush Administration, I loosed a cloud of searing poison. Children screamed. Women fainted. Men curled up to fetal positions as the bus driver swerved in panic. Oxygen!! They needed oxygen.

The driver managed a miraculous controlled swerve to a bus stop where upon opening the doors the huddled masses of coughing, choking vicitms fell out to the fresh air.

Except for me and an elderly gentleman who sat watching me. He was laughing and shaking his head. He looked at me and cackled "43 years cooking for the military. I know a chilimac blowout when I smell one!" I couldn't help but laugh with him.

But I am permanently banned from riding the Metro.

Rip off.

So I figured I'd get the DVD at Target. They usually have better prices on DVDs anyway. Got home. Fired up the computer and check Target online. There it was - "Kronk's New Groove" for...

$29.99.

WHAT THE ?!?

Amazon - $29.99

(sputtering, choking sounds from Little Mr. Mahatma)

As I've blogged before, DVDs should cost no more than $6 retail. $8 absolute tops. To sell DVDs for $19.99 or $29.99 each is like selling gasoline for $3.50 a gallon. It's a blatant ripoff. BLATANT-RIPOFF! And yet these same companies have the gall to cry about losing profits to pirates.

HEY EXECUTIVES!!! YOU'RE LOSING MONEY BECAUSE (1) NO ONE WANTS TO PAY PREMIUM FOR YOUR CRAP; And (2) THERE'S SOOOOO MUCH STUFF OUT THERE ALREADY, YOU'RE COMPETING AGAINST YOURSELF. So you'll excuse me while I go to EBay and find that the DVD I want can be had for about $8, including media shipping. Get a clue guys.

Maybe even the serious threat of action will spur Bush to do something legal, ethical, or semi-not-selfserving for once. But likely it would only result in a long vacation in Gitmo for this Mahatma. What an image I just had: Kafkaesque bureaucracy tinged with Nazi regalia. But can there be a better description of what's going on? Thanks to Bush, we live in age of secrecy, distrust, fear, paranoia beyond which I can usually blame on Microsoft. It's too much. It's not American. It's not us.

Recall Bush!

Senate rejects flag desecration amendment

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer 

WASHINGTON - A constitutional amendment to ban flag desecration died in a
Senate cliffhanger Tuesday, a single vote short of the support needed to send 
it to the states for ratification and four months before voters elect a new 
Congress.

The 66-34 tally in favor of the amendment was one less than the two-thirds 
required. The House surpassed that threshold last year, 286-130.

President Bush, who supports the amendment, called the failed vote 
unfortunate and commended Republicans and Democrats who voted to move 
the ratification process forward. In a statement, Bush said he continued to 
believe that "the American people deserve the opportunity to express their 
views on this important issue."

The proposed amendment, sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (news, bio, voting 
record), R-Utah, read: "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical 
desecration of the flag of the United States."

It represented Congress' response to Supreme Court rulings in 1989 and 1990 
that burning and other desecrations of the flag are protected as free speech 
by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Senate supporters said the flag amounts to a national monument in cloth that 
represents freedom and the sacrifice of American troops.

"Countless men and women have died defending that flag," said Majority 
Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., closing two days of debate. "It is but a small humble 
act for us to defend it."

Our Government needs to focus on important things like where the money is disappearing to in Iraq and why our President believes himself above the Law. Accountability is a much bigger issue than this time and money wasting Flag Amendment.

Bush ignores laws he inks, vexing Congress

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer 

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain thought he had a 
deal when President Bush, faced with a veto-proof margin in Congress, 
agreed to sign a bill banning the torture of detainees. Not quite. While Bush 
signed the new law, he also quietly approved another document: a signing 
statement reserving his right to ignore the law. McCain was furious, and so 
were other lawmakers.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is opening hearings this week into what has 
become the White House's favorite tool for overriding Congress in the name of 
wartime national security.

Bush slams leak of terror financing info

By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent 

WASHINGTON -
President Bush said Monday it was "disgraceful" that the news media had 
disclosed a secret CIA-Treasury program to track millions of financial records 
in search of terrorist suspects. The White House accused The New York 
Times of breaking a long tradition of keeping wartime secrets. 

But it took just a few moments of realization that tomorrow it's back to work and my ulcer and tensions kicked back up. It's just not fair. Maybe I should try a 4/10 work week since the commute's going to keep me from home anyway. Or, I should win the darn lottery. 80 mil would do the trick. You listening up there? How about a little taste for Ol' Mahatma? Let me spend some quality time with the family, get the house repaired, take care of the elder Mahatmas. The money would be for a good cause, I guarantee.

School is out so the vultures are on the loose for summer. That's something I miss from when I was unemployed, having the summer back (and fall, winter, and spring). It was nice not working plus having the time to spend with the kids. And they're growing up too fast. One is now out of elementary school but I know it was yesterday or last month that he just entered Kindergarten. Damn clock ticks too fast. No more diapers, highchairs, drop cloths. No more "Goodnight Moon" at bedtime. No more giggles at tummy tickles. A part of me wishes that I started having kids at an earlier age and had more of them. My wife begs to differ at the technical aspects but agrees with the sentiments. I guess we have the post-baby blues about 5 years too late.

Oh well. The temperatures been well over a hundred but is now looking like it might break. The early evenings have been wonderful. It's a shame I don't really drink much alcohol. I expect a nice light wine would fit in the scenario. Bed time now as soon as the kids are done with their video. Bugs Bunny. One can't argue with that.

Analysis: CIA program expands Bush's power

By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer 

WASHINGTON - A secret CIA-Treasury program to track financial records of 
millions of Americans is the latest installment in an expansion of executive 
authority in the name of fighting terrorism. The administration doesn't apologize 
for President Bush's aggressive take on presidential powers. Vice President 
Dick Cheney even boasts about it.

Bush has made broad use of his powers, authorizing warrantless wiretaps, 
possibly collecting telephone records on millions of Americans, holding 
suspected terrorists overseas without legal protections and using up to 6,000 
National Guard members to help patrol the border with Mexico.

That's in addition to the vast anti-terrorism powers Congress granted him in the 
recently extended Patriot Act.

Civil liberties activists, joined by congressional Democrats and some members 
of Bush's own party, suggest the president has pushed the envelope too far 
— usurping authority from Congress and abusing individual privacy rights in the 
process.

So far, the administration has been unapologetic.

But what we're really talking about here is data mining and I have two article links that may give some insight as to the effectiveness of the overnments snooping. The first article is called TIAin't and it examines some problems and fallacies of "data mining for terrorists". The second article Using Data Mining to Find Terrorists expands on the first article and shows some likely pitfalls faced by the miners.

In short, you must ask yourself whether it is worth giving up so much of your privacy and freedoms for what has be called a theoretical direction of attack against terrorists. Considering the Government refuses to give explicit examples of ANY terrorist caught by either phone tapping or money tracing, we must question the efficacy of such policies as well as the true intention of the Government

This we do know about our Government. It is corrupt beyond measure. Why they should expect us to believe anything they say or do is beyond fathom. That Bushs' approval rating is rock bottom is no surprise. We need a change for the better. We, and the rest of the World, deserve a change for the better.

I laughed. Our government here isn't exactly trustworthy or morally stable either. Too often we hear from our elected officials how they'll do one thing and they'll do the opposite. If you question their actions you get spin, spin, and more spin. For myself I want honesty from the get-go. If a politician smoked pot then say so. Don't hem and haw and look at your poll ratings to determine your answer.

Well, I'll generalize and state that likely most governments suffer from the same predicament of interpretive morality and a fair level of corruption. After all, the First Rule of any government is simple: stay in power - keep the system. So, for us, switching from Democrats to Republicans doesn't change things all that much. Bush just happens to be a crappy Republican President, like we've had crappy Democratic Presidents. I would prefer a good Republican to a crappy Democrat but there aren't any of either party right now. Third party? Forget it - the Big Two have made damn sure a third party won't gain a true foothold in our political system because of the above First Rule.

True revolution comes bloodily from the people and, frankly, the American people are too freakin' braindead from their TVs, video games, iPods, and constant electronic brain numbing to achieve any decent change. Pity that.

One of my sons asked whether Yao will come to L.A.. I don't know whether Buss (or his successor) will pony up that kind of dough considering that the big money has to go to Kobe. Now if the Lakers could get a Dirk Nowitzski clone, maybe there'd be a ring awaiting.

But Wade...woof!...what a player!

And Thursday is the big day for the U.S. in the World Cup. They need to beat Ghana by about a jillion goals to get to the next round. If the U.S. loses, well, the next version will have Freddy Adu on board and maybe he can make some magic.

I did catch the first half of the England-Sweden game. Yep, Rooney was worth waiting for to watch. He didn't score but he gave Sweden fits.

The Lakers won. I mean, the Miami Heat won. I get confused between Shaq and Kobe to Shaq and Wade.

The U.S. really needs to win and win big against Ghana. Funny thing is that Ghana is no guaranteed pushover. This has been a great World Cup. Brazil didn't destroy Australia though they did win. I think Brazil can be upset. And Korea - WOW!

I've been having a commentary dispute with Little Miss Attilla about Osama Bin Laden HERE. Simply put. She's comfortable with Bush bailing on the chase after Osama. I say, finish the job that he said he would. You can ignore the secondary thread running through it. Really.

Ghana just upset the Czech Republic in the World Cup. That opens up the group, meaning if the U.S. beats Italy and Ghana they advance. If Ghana beats the U.S. Ghana advances. Every game counts now and it just made the World Cup more tense. Hopefully the U.S. can beat Italy. They've never done so before and now would be a great time.

The kids are holding a yard sale but with little luck. hey started too late and, frankly, it's just too damn hot. I'll take them out for ice cream - not dots! - and maybe a movie. That'll be my nice Father's Day, more time with varmints.

The dots tend to clump together and to unclump them results in dots flying all over the place and then quickly melting. The dots are also kept colder than normal ice cream and can "burn" you tongue. But the most important test, and where these critters fail, is taste. I had chocolate-flavored dots. Yes, there was a chocolate-flavor but it wasn't chocolate "wow!" or even chocolate "yum!". It was "chocolate?" For the money, I'd much, much, MUCH rather have a scoop of Baskin-Robbins, Ben & Jerry's, or - YES!!! - Double Rainbow Ultra Chocolate over the dots. Save your money.

The bus drivers have taken to slowing as they approach intersections and honking like crazy. Still it hasn't stopped some distracted nimrods from nearly getting creamed by the busses.

I thought that was the worst thing that could happen on the Metro. Yesterday, I was proven wrong. On the Red Line - the underground portion of the Metro - I was treated to a nice female gang fight. These two girls were duking it out with their respective "homies" egging them on. Funny thing was that there was no Sheriffs around. Usually they are pervasive but not this time. ANd some of the Metro workers seemed to wiisely disappear.

But no blood, no deaths just a worry on the Mahatmas part that this incident could grow. With summer coming and all the schools out, I hope the Police beef things up a bit. We have enough violence.

Bush rejects calls for pullout from Iraq

By NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON -
President Bush, just back from Iraq, dismissed calls for a U.S. withdrawal as 
election-year politics and refused to give a timetable or benchmark for success 
that would allow troops to come home.

"It's bad policy," Bush said in a Rose Garden news conference Wednesday, 
about six hours after he returned from Iraq. "I know it may sound good 
politically. It will endanger our country to pull out of Iraq before we accomplish 
the mission."

Bush reviews Iraq plan, says oil is key

By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer

CAMP DAVID, Md. -
President Bush began a two-day strategy session on Iraq at Camp David on 
Monday, saying Iraq's neighbors should be doing more to help and suggesting 
the nation's vast supply of oil could be a way of reuniting the country. 

Pity that Ghana couldn't keep the ball lower in their bursts of offense against Italy. They sure had some nasty looking shots. Still, it was a fun match. And I thought this morning when I flicked on Australia-Japan that Japan had it in hand. Pity that I had to go to work. I'd loved to have seen the massive Australian comeback.

Tomorrow: Brazil. Nuff said.

At work, even though I've been there for a month, I still feel like I'm working stupid. There's still so much to learn and so little documentation or people to help. You'd think it'd be job security but it's more insecurity. I'm afraid to run analyses because I have nothing to compare against and mistakes can only be "learning mistakes" for so long. I need more chocolate.

We visited en famille the livestock and imagined what it woukld be like to live on a farm and whether we could live off the land. The idea though of raising critters knowing eventually we'd eat them kept us realistic. But who knows, maybe one day the Mahatmas will be on our own Green Acres instead of the Valley.

We spent three hours total at the Fair and it was fun. The wuestion was whether it was worth it. We easily broke triple digits between entrance costs, wristbands, and food. Looking at the sunburnt faces of the kids and having them quietly shlep around at home from the near heat exhaustion, yeah, it was worth it. Peace has returned.

But with that book done I've started in on Black Dahlia Avenger. I had read Severed and was gruesomely fascinated. I picked up BD Avenger at an outlet bookstore. What the heck. So far it's holding my interest but the problem is that this book proves one guy (father of the author) did it while Severed proves it was someone else. Who's right?

What to do tomorrow...maybe we'll go to the San Fernando Valley Fair. It's not the L. A. County Fair but a small and manageable endeavour. If it's not blazing hot tomorrow it'll be perfect. Maybe even get in some horseback riding.

And I'm still rooting for England just because and for the Netherlands. I've always wanted to live in the Ntherlands so here's to my adopted other home. (insert virtual beer here).

Realistically though, can anyone stop Brazil other than self-implosion on their part?

Well, my wife - bless her! - decided to copy it and she succeeded. So come summertime when we want something cool yet filling and relatively healthy, we break out the potato salad. Assuming I haven't demolished it already.

Kubuntu Upgrade
As some of you may remember I had an old computer (1 ghz) sitting around taking space so I wiped out Windoze 98 and installed Kubuntu, which is simply Ubuntu but using KDE instead of Gnome as its manager. Well, Kubuntu got upgraded this past week and I made the executive decision to go for it. Sunday morning, I booted the computer and - lo and behold! - it told me that a new version was available. So I started the process and away it downloaded.

Sure, it took five hours to download and install everything but it was one smooth process. So smooth in that there was only one, count them Microsoft, ONE reboot at the very end. I didn't lose any data not that I had any to lose and everything works well. There was only one minor glitch with the upgrade in that the old system would shut off my computer on a shutdown and this version doesn't, it justs halts everything. I thought I had found the solution when I found the SHutdown options and add a "-p" to the the Halt command but it didn't shut off my computer. I'll find it though unless someone tells me first (hint, hint).

But, to summarize, the upgrade was painless, the price was perfect (free!), and the OS is stable. installed Kubuntu r00l3z!

al-Zarqawi Dead
I'm surprised that Bush is on TV 24/7 gloating "Mission accomplished!" about the death of al-Zarqawi. Humility is not Bush's style but maybe the Admin is getting wise to the fact that most Americans don't give a flying anymore about Iraq or any of that "War on Terrorism" we're so embroiled in.

Fact is, Bush *STILL* hasn't done jack about getting bin Laden despite all of the proclamations against terrorism. Not only is bin Laden still loose somewhere but the Taliban are making a comeback in Afghanistan. Mission not done there.

As for al-Zarqawi, had anyone outside of the snoops heard of this guy before the invasion or Iraq? Nope. Not until after we invaded and gotten stuck in the mire did he start up. Arguably, Bush made him what he was by giving him the opportunity to ply the bomb trade using our kids as targets.

And as for the "War on Terrorism", forget it. It can't be won or lost. It's not a military thing either. It's a cultural thing and unless we want to do a little bout of genocide the "terrorists" can't and won't be eliminated. Keeping our troops in Iraq won't help matters either. Somehow making Iraq stable isn't going to, miraculously, make the world free of terrorists. We'll just have a change of venue and even then there's no guarantee that Iraq will stay stable or remain free of the bad guys.

But give Bush a brownie point for not saying something stupid about al-Zarqawi...yet.

Once summer ends and school starts, I'll have one in Middle School and two in Elementary. That translates to, again, getting to work late, staying late, and coming home late. In all, less family time.

I'll admit I like time away from the family but only when it's voluntary, like when I'm on a trip with my friends. I don't like wasting 15 hours per week in commuting topped off with forty hours of work.

I could work part-time but as a Mid-level Professional it is near career suicide to work part-time. I could work from home but I'd still have the horrible commute the other days.

And so I need a new job, something much closer to home. Any one need a data jockey?

On my daily Metro rides I figured about 25% of the people are "Learying" with their iPods or cellphones. They can't be bothered or put another way "when the buds are in, the bud is out". I saw quite a few people fondling their cellphones, flipping them open and shut, or playing with the buttons but fiddling nonetheless like the phone were electronic rosary beads.

My kids want cellphones and iPods but no way. Although the case can be made that phones are great for emergencies the case can also be made that there are plenty of responsible adults with cellphones around them at all times. They don't need to be tethered electronically and we don't need the hassle of lost or broken phones. When they can demonstrate that they can take care of breakable things for more than a month then we'll talk.

More importantly I don't want them used to phoning their friends every second. They can visit them in person, learn some social graces instead of fon3sp3ak. The phone should be for planning to get together with friends, especially considering they're all in the neighborhood. No lazy kids mine!

Yeah, arguably electronics are ruining America - movies, music, ebooks, pcs, consoles. We've lost something social. Pity.

Alright kids, your turn on the computer...I'm done.

Now that the temperature broke how about a break in the damn humidity...

Shaq or Dirk? I have to still go with Shaq and Miami, if anything, because Mark Cuban is such a putz. Of course, if I had his money I'd be a putz too.

My kids can smell the end of the school session. They're getting restless. With just starting a new job I doubt I'll be able to take off for our usual week-long family vacation. But I've got to do something even if it's unpaid vacation.

There is another Valley Produce-type place in Sun Valley called, of course, Sun Valley Produce. It too is recommended.

We solved our banana problem but the heat is still hitting us. We woke up at 5 covered in sweat then passed out for another 3 hours. We've pretty much sequestered ourselves inside with the air conditioner going full blast. But the heat is still there. Even with the AC you can feel the invisible arms or heat around you softly squeezing.

I do not look forward to tomorrow going to work in this heat.

But it does get nice around 7 at night when the cooling off starts. The air gets a special sweetness perhaps from the jasmine and you can breathe again. But is it worth an hour or two of paradise for nine hours of heat exhaustion?

I can tell it's been a bad week because we have no bananas. We haven't had the energy to shop because of the damn heat. When my wife picks up the kids, instead of hitting the grocery store they go home and straight into the pool. I'm guilty too. When I finally finish my Metro maze of commuting and reach my car, I could on my drive across the Valley stop at a store but my thoughts are on (1) getting nearly naked as quick as possible; and (b) sleep. Food doesn't even rank in that list.

So Saturday comes with blast furnace termperatures and we have no bananas. Maybe when it cools off later we'll go shopping. Maybe.

Coming home on the Metro we nearly had another accident. This time it was a man who decided to cross the street even though there was a multi-ton bus blazing towards him with horn a-honking. What's unbelievable is that the view of the bus route at this particular intersection has visibility for about a half mile in either direction. If man had only looked he would have seen the bus; he couldn't have missed it. But, for whatever reason, he decided to cross. Luckily some lady literally grabbed his shirt and pulled him over to safety, thereby dealing the Law of Survival a temporary setback.

But no gripes. No rants about Bush. No rants about bills. I'm just going to enjoy the sticky, sultry night with the sounds of crickets and screaming kids. Aaaah!

Court Limits Public Workers' Speech
Rules That First Amendment Does Not Protect Every Whistleblower

WASHINGTON, May 30, 2006
 
(AP) The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it harder for government employees 
to file lawsuits claiming they were retaliated against for going public with 
allegations of official misconduct.

By a 5-4 vote, justices said the nation's 20 million public employees do not have 
carte blanche free speech rights to disclose government's inner-workings. 
New Justice Samuel Alito cast the tie-breaking vote. 

Or, what could be worse, if Government Employees have limited speech, how long before the Supreme Court declares that - lo and behold! - we're all Government Employees and subject to the same restrictions?

But what's most disgusting about this is simply that it's a curb against whistleblowers, which can only add to the current layers of secrecy and corruption plaguing the Bush Administration. Disgusting but sadly not surprising.

Shaq + Great Coach (Riley) + Great Player (Wade) = 1 Championship Finals + ? Rings

Kobe + Great Coach (Jackson) + No Real Center = 1st Round Elimination

Either the Lakers get a great center real soon or they'll be a long ways from any Finals any time soon.

It's been a quiet Memorial Day. We had piano lessons today. The final ones we're having on the Westside. The kids have outgrown their teacher and now we're trying some new tutors next week closer to home. Coming home though was a bear. Typical rush hour on the 405: packed and plenty of idiot drivers gabbing on their cellphones switching lanes without signalling.
I'm amazed that so many BMWs, Mercedes, and Lexuses don't have working turn signals. Why isn't there a recall?