After Canada’s tie, Gretzky loses it

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, Feb. 18 — Team Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky lashed out Monday at critics of his Olympic hockey team, saying other countries — especially the United States — revel in Canadian failure.

He says that like it's a bad thing.

If you're not following the big debate oncampaign finance reform, you ought to. I'll be amazed if this bill makes it through the process intact. And though I'm a big fan of campaign finance reform, I have to agree with some Republican critics who say the ban on television ads within 60 days of an election is probably unconstitutional. But equating campaign contributions to free speech? Pu-leeeze.

Whatever you do, don't rename a JPEG file as a *.pif, even if you just want to see what the heck the "pif" format refers to. Trust me.

Still sick, so I didn't go to church today. I think I'm going to sleep most of today and maybe catch up on some reading.

I just took Andrea to the airport and now I am feeling sick again. I think I've actually been sick all week but too busy to notice. Now I will get some sweet, sweet sleep. ZZZZZzzzzzzz...

Here's my very late Friday Five:

1. What was the first thing you ever cooked?
I have no idea, but in 7th grade everyone had to take both home economics and shop (quite a gender-progressive requirement in the heart of the Bible Belt, Oklahoma), meaning all the girls had shop class and all the boys had home economics at least one semester. Anyway, this is where I learned to cook. The only thing I can remember actually making, though, was a V-shaped cookie in a desperate attempt at extra credit in geography class, taught by Mr. Victor or Vickson, or some other V-named instructor. I did get the extra credit, but that didn't help my grade much. I aced home economics, though.

2. What's your signature dish?
Spaghetti. Ah, yeah.

3. Ever had a cooking disaster? (tasted like crap, didn't work, etc.) Describe.
The "Great Chocolate Chex Experiment." In theory, it sounded great -- I love Rice Chex cereal, I love Hershey's chocolate syrup. Why not combine them into something doubly delicious? The actual product was a disaster.

4. If skill and money were no object, what would make for your dream meal?
Capellini Pomodoro, which I understand takes only a little bit of skill and a little bit of money. I really ought to learn how to cook.

5. What are you doing this weekend?
I'm starting the Friday Five so late that my weekend has already started. I went shopping with my girlfriend -- she spent $138 at Walgreen's alone -- and we went out for dinner at a Greasy Tony's-type place in downtown Sunnyvale. Tomorrow I take her to the airport for her week-long trip to Brazil, and I suppose I spend the rest of the weekend pre-girlfriend style: back to Fry's and Barnes & Noble. I'm sure they've missed me.

An excellent proposal for a Sept. 11 memorial. Slate wrote a piece on it, but other than that, I've seen nothing in the media about this.

CNN.com - Alert issued for potential teddy bear bombs

If you receive this bear for Valentine's Day, you may want to re-evaluate your relationship. (Thanks to Chad for this item.)

Heinz launches chocolate fries

I love progress.

Star Wars Galaxies - Official Site

I may have found my new favorite game. I hope this comes out soon.

‘Highest alert’ after FBI warning

It's just after midnight Wednesday morning and still no attack. I guess we'll have to go back to reporting on the Olympics and Enron.

Be on the lookout for these men.

I was sick today, so I stayed home, sleeping and watching TV. I think I'll be able to go to work tomorrow, but man, it sure was nice staying home for the day. I still have so much work to do this week...

Here's my Friday Five. It's a semi-risque Valentine's Day set of questions, and like several other participants, I'm exercising my right to pass on a couple of them:

1. What's the most romantic thing you've ever done for someone else?
I've written plenty of silly songs for girls I had crushes on, serenading them with my limited guitar-playing skills. That's too many songs, and too few chords.
2. [pardon the Cosmo question] What are your erogenous zones?
Chest and neck. And the usual manly places.
3. How old were you the first time you had sex? Care to expound?
N/A
4. What's the most unusual place you've ever had sex?
N/A
5. Do you have plans for Valentine's Day or is it just another Thursday?
Actually, this is the first Valentine's Day I've had a girlfriend, as far as I can remember. Since she reads this Web site regularly, I won't reveal what the evening has in store. Disclaimer: Due to my Valentine's Day inexperience, I'm asking for special leniency if my activities are insufficiently romantic.

OK, here's what I wanted to write about last night:

I've never seen such a black-white contrast in the way we business reporters are treated by big tech companies than I have in the last two days. On Tuesday, I went to Nvidia's launch event for its new GeForce 4 processors, where we press got the royal treatment. We got a big show at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, were well fed and liquored up, and even got a goodie bag that included a pretty nice sport jacket.

The next day, I went to PalmSource, where I and other journalists were told that we could have only Expo passes because "there are limited press resources." When I explained that I didn't need access to the press room, only the keynote talks, the registration officials wouldn't budge. And judging from the nonexistent lines, there was no way those keynotes were anywhere close to full. Needless to say, the event didn't get any coverage from the Business Journal. Actually, neither the the Nvidia event. So I suppose it doesn't matter.

Anyway, here's my first impression of the GeForce 4 graphics chips: they're good, but I wouldn't recommend buying them just yet. They're not completely DirectX 8 compliant, most games won't even begin to use their most advance features for a year, and there should be some pretty nice bargains on the GeForce 3 cards now. Also, the low-end GF4s don't perform much better than the bargain-basement GF2s).

So very, very tired. I have much to write, but I'll have to save it for later...

Alright, Fox News, what have you done with the real Greta Van Susteren?

CNN.com - Man convicted in wife's killing wants state to pay for sex change

"He claims in a lawsuit that the corrections department is violating his civil rights and subjecting him to cruel and unusual punishment by refusing to provide treatment for his gender identity disorder. He said he suffers continuous depression, anxiety and a high level of stress as a result of being denied treatment."

Are those symptoms consistent with simply being in prison?

‘Sesame Street’ gets a makeover

They're dumbing down Sesame Street! Please help me organize a consumer boycott to urge the letters P and L and the number 5 to withdraw their sponsorship of the show.

Salon.com Comics | This Modern World

Another good one.

Here's my very first Friday Five:

1. Have you ever had braces? Any other teeth trauma?
I only wish my family could have afforded braces. Sometimes I mull over whether to get them now, but adults always -- and I mean always -- look silly in them. Maybe I can get those invisible kind.

2. Ever broken any bones?
No.

3. Ever had stitches?
Nope, no stitches, either. I'm unbreakable. Well, I once had to go to the emergency room for kidney stones. That's pain, my friends.

4. What are the stories behind some of your [physical] scars?
I have a weird mystery scar on my chin. No one from my family can explain it, though I do wonder if it had anything to do with an accident I barely remember from early childhood -- some kid riding a bicycle ran into me as I was walking down the sidewalk. Dismissed as...coincidence!

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend?
Friday night: Barnes & Noble woo-hoo! I'm a wild man!
Saturday: Don't know for sure, but it will probably involve Fry's Electronics.
Sunday: Church, Evita (the musical), and maybe some Super Bowl action.
That's right, folks. Having a girlfriend has not changed my weekends in the least.

Well, here I am at the fourth Web services conference I've attended in the last three weeks. As big as this concept is going to be, I'm getting a little sick of listening to all of this...

Taliban Prisoners Plead To Go to Cuba

Amnesty International: what is it you were saying about our treatment of the captured terrorists?

Freshette ®

Who says girls can't aim?

CNN.com - GAO to sue White House over energy notes - January 30, 2002

Anticipating a court battle, Bush said Tuesday, "Bring it on."

Hey, Mr. President: this ain't Texas. So leave your six-shooter at home.

Anyway, nice to see Bush isn't letting his ego or covert partisanship cloud his judgement.

Enron memo lobbied Cheney on price caps

The plot thickens.

Another out-of-control Bush kid:

President Bush's Niece Arrested on Drug Charge

Another Enron cartoon.

New Republic's Longtime Owner Sells Control to 2 Financiers

This is probably the worst news I've heard all day, with the possible exception of my girlfriend getting hit by a truck at lunch (she's fine -- more on the incident later). The moderate-left publication is being sold to a partnership that includes at least one arch-conservative. Quoting from the Times article:

"Diehard liberals often complain, of course, that The New Republic has gradually shifted to the right over the years. But the transaction nonetheless marks a break with the venerable magazine's history. At least one new owner, Mr. Hertog, is a prominent patron of conservative organizations, as chairman of the Manhattan Institute and a trustee of the American Enterprise Institute. And the new partners have stirred questions among readers and contributors about both The New Republic's future and about Mr. Peretz's reasons for selling two-thirds of the magazine."

KPCC - KPCC Reveals President Bush Has A Heart Arrhythmia

Pretzels, huh?

In case you're wondering, the post below is for a story I'm working on. We needed a screenshot to show how it works, so I had to type some filler text.

I'm using the new Blogger Pro, which allows me to make quick updates to my Web site. Thank goodness I don't have to format text, edit HTML, or perform cumbersome FTP uploads.

Best of all, I can create a running commentary on my Web site from any Web broswer -- or even my Internet-connected phone.

With the Pro version, I can check my spelling, use formatting shortcuts, add links, upload photos and more.

Here's a link to my favorite site. Should I post now? Or sometime later today. I should probably make a draft of this and send it later. Or maybe I can finish it and have the site updated later. So many choices, so many features, so little time...

Yahoo! News - Cheney: Won't Turn Over Energy List

Hmmmm, I wonder why he won't turn over this list. Could it be related to the largest corporate implosion in U.S. history and its hand-in-hand relationship to Republican energy policy?

I've upgraded to the new BloggerPro, so expect more pictures with posts soon!

Oh wait, we do.

Enron-o-Rama: From Scandal to Spectacle By Rob Walker

Ex-Enron vice chair commits suicide

Keeping in mind that this guy was an internal whistle-blower, where are all the Vince Foster-era presidential conspiracy theorists now? Man, I wish we Democrats had a kooky religious fringe.

I had to sit in a room full of Republicans this week to help out our political reporter (the first GOP gubernatorial debate) and was reminded again why I despise the GOP. Of course, the leading Republican candidate, former LA mayor Richard Riordan, would be a Democrat if he were running in Arizona. If you think CEO's of tech startup companies crave media attention, get within 50 feet of a campaign event with a notepad in your hand.

And while I'm on the topic of angry mobs: if you think Mormons and Scientologists are cults, try offending Apple fans. This was just one of a flood of angry letters over this story. Can you find the offensive paragraph? (That's a trick question: the letter-writers were offended by the paragraph we forgot to include, one equating Steve Jobs with God.)

How, in the name of everything that is good and holy, did this nut-job get his own show?

TNR Online | The Real Enron Scandal by the Editors

Once again, policy does matter.

Woo-hoo! Off to San Francisco again!

TNR Online | Recount by Jonathan Chait

A well-reasoned argument for a repeal of Bush's tax-cut plan.

It looks like the war honeymoon is over;

Simple Gifts - How Bush's shallowness makes him a good war president. By Jacob Weisberg

Also, see item below...

Daschle attacks Bush on deficits

Finally, someone noticed that last year's tax cuts were bad.

How's this for the start of a New Year: I woke up at 11:30 or so, played Tribes 2, went back to sleep, woke up, took a shower, and for a highlight, visted the giant downtown San Jose Fry's I didn't realize is there until about a week ago. It even has a cafe that serves a pretty decent Tuna Melt.

Last night was fun. I went down to Santa Cruz and met up with my buddy Murray and his wife for First Night, an arts program started in Boston that now includes 200 cities. We had an awesome dinner and saw a couple of performances, including a ska band and a blues duo.

But it's time to get back to work. I dread going back to the office tomorrow. But I guess I should be happy I have a job.

Happy New Year! Let's hope 2002 is better than 2001.

I've always suspected that the graphics department girls despise the reporters here, but now I finally know for sure: the one I really hate just asked who makes the Xbox, obviously having not bothered to read even one of several stories I've done on the subject. When my editor told her, the other graphics girl said "Really?"

I hate that department.

In case you were wondering, snakes do pee and poop.

Don't believe me? Ask Earl

It's so nice sitting around doing nothing...

I couldn't find a cheap flight out, so I'll fly back to San Jose tomorrow. What sucks is that I don't have any firm New Year's plans. It looks like I may go to Santa Cruz with Murray and his wife, but a friend from Orange County may be in town, and I'm sure she'll want to go to San Francisco.

After briefly debating whether to drive to Phoenix (in light of certain shoe-related events), I will go ahead and fly. But you can be sure I'll be sniffing the air for signs of sulfur.

Just one more gift to buy...

I know, I know. It's been awhile since I last updated. I've been really, really busy with end-of-year/Christmas madness, scrambling to get everything taken care of in terms of shopping, work, etc/ before I take off to Phoenix.

Nvidia finally released drivers for my 3D gaming glasses, but unfortunately, Tribes 2 is one of the games that doesn't work well with them. Sigh. But the 3-D versions of Quake 3 and Castle Wolfenstien are pretty cool.

Another cool thing I have to mention: for those of you who use multiple instant-messaging systems, Trillian is an excellent instant-messaging client that aggregates your Yahoo, AIM, ICQ and MSN accounts into a single application. No more having to run multiple programs just to keep in touch. You won't be able to use the most advanced features of your favorite instant-message systems, but Trillian does a superb job of handling the basics of sending and receiving messages -- and that's really the point, isn't it? One minor detail: my Yahoo"Web presence" indicator (the smiley-face under the "contact me" section of this site) makes it appear as if I'm offline, even when I'm not.

That's right, folks, the Newshounds (the Business Journal softball team) have actually won a game. It was a beautiful come-from-behind victory that left the other team so stunned and defeated that one player on the opposing team (Washington Mutual) threw her glove on the ground.

It was a great game, perhaps better than this year's World Series.

Okay, maybe not...

WE WON!!! WE WON!!

Details to come...

Who here remembers W.'s promises about the big tax cut?

The Deficit President - And how he's getting away with it. By Jonathan Chait

Of course, now he can blame bad economics on Sept. 11.

CNN.com - Taliban fighter from prison uprising says he's American - December 2, 2001

And of course, he's from Northern California. Actually, that explains a lot.

Well, it looks like they finally caught me. I tried to download a firmware update for my new 3Com wireless LAN card that includes 128-bit encryption, but got the following e-mail instead:

"Your request to download software from 3Com Web site has been denied because you have supplied invalid information or your company or name is listed on the U.S. Government's Prohibited Parties list. Federal regulations prohibit 3Com from engaging in business transactions with companies or individuals that are on this list."

Now let's hope John Ashcroft doesn't detain me.

Flak Magazine: Review of BBSes, 11-23-01

A nostalgic article for those of us who stil remember BBSs. May they rest in peace.

Spain Sets Hurdle for Extraditions

Ironic that the Europeans are forcing us to apply our own constitutional principles.

CNN.com - China plans moon landing

Hey China: bad idea.

I love holiday weekends, particularly those occurring near Christmas.

Yesterday, I had Thanksgiving dinner with Geoff, Sarah and Geoff's family, who are visiting from Arizona (if you can really call Sun City Arizona), Gregg P. and crazy Jamie. Afterward we all watched a DVD with the first season of the Simpsons. It was nice, but I would rather have been in Phoenix. I slept in until 1:30 p.m. and totally missed the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Bummer.

Today, I went into work to find maybe four people in the whole building, so I went to the mall for lunch (Rubio's), visited the new Apple store and bought the new Castle Wolfenstien game. Naturally, I went home early. Awesome graphics and gameplay, but for multiplayer, I still say there's nothing better than Tribes 2, even when some dork calls you a "dumbass" for mounting an AA barrel on a turret to replace the ELF turret when it's clearly the better choice. But that's another story...

I saw "Shallow Hal" tonight. Not exactly challenging, but cute.

Wow, it's been a few days.

Comdex was good, though it seemed far less crowded and spectacular than in past years -- it was almost like a big trade show. I saw a few cool things, including a 3-D glasses system that' supposed to make any Direct X or Open GL game (that's just about any PC game made these days) three dimensional. I bought a pair, but Nvidia hasn't updated their drivers for Windows XP yet.

Speaking of graphics cards, I finally figured out what setting was causing all those lockups. I was so happy to have my games working again I ended up playing Tribes 2 until four in the morning.

Oh yeah -- the other cool thing I saw at Comdex was a 3Com 802.11b wireless card with a retractable antenna. I didn't see them for sale at the show, and haven't seen them at Fry's, Circuit City or MicroCenter, so I bid for one on eBay. So far, I'm winning the auction, so I may just get a refurbished unit for $50. Sweet!

Watched the Britney Spears concert tonight on HBO. I haven't seen anything that cheesy since the 1989 Debbie Gibson concert at ASU.

TNR Online | Hit the Ground by the Editors

The case for ground troops.

Gauging Bush’s credibility index

Someone finally writes what I've been thinking for awhile.

Woo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Arizona finds 9th-inning magic

Yankees rally in 10th to win Game 4

Crap.

Economists are cool to stimulus plan

Amazing. Republicans managed to turn a national tragedy into corporate tax cuts.

It's too good to be true: after six months of having to park a mile away in a garage that constantly oversold its spaces, the Business Journal finally got parking across the street. Suddenly I'll have more free time, happier feet and the ability to leave stuff in my car. It's like a dream.

Speaking of simple pleasures:

I got this cool super-backpack, which I believe will make me the ultimate road warrior. I mean, this thing has pockets for everything. The only thing missing was a shoulder-strap holster for my cell phone (the one that came with the backpack was too small), but lo, I saw the perfect holster at an event I was covering called SyncFest and bought it on the spot. So now, I have the perfect traveling setup. NO ONE CAN STOP ME!!!

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

TNR Online | The Big One by Gregg Easterbrook

If Anthrax doesn't scare you, this will.

Sometimes I get pleasure from the simplest things. This weekend I bought a much-needed nightstand -- a last-minute purchase I almost didn't see at "Bed, Bath...and Beyond!" Anyway, it's a surprisingly elegant little prefab unit that looks like a carefully handcrafted wooden shelf, stained with a rich brown finish. It's funny what a little piece of furniture can do to a room. In addtion to finally giving me a place to put my cell phone, wallet and keys, it makes everything look a little neater. I love going into my room.

Well, I feel better, so I guess I didn't have Anthrax. That's a relief.

Tonight I had a bowl of Cap'n Crunch for the first time in years. I'd forgotten how delicious Crunch Berries are, and completely unaware that they now come in three different colors. That's progress for you. Unfortunately, they're still physically hard on the mouth. They really ought to work on a softter shape.

If you haven't seen this yet, it's a cool collection of 3D models of U.S. jets.

Wow, it's been a few days since I've updated this. I'm finally getting over a fierce cold/flu. I'm not sure how I got it, but I think a week of getting no sleep in New York finally got to me. I spent all day today inside, alternating between playing video games and sleeping. I think I'll do the same tomorrow, but will try to get out for church and a little grocery shopping.

I set up a wireless network at work, which should make life just a little easier at the office. It'll be nice to be able to use the laptop anywhere in the building and have one less thing to plug in every morning.

Waging war by remote control

Finally, the killer robots we've all been waiting for.

It looks as if I'll be in Phoenix a little longer than anticipated, so I have a few minute to update the Web site. Had I known I'd be in Phoenix all day, I'd have made plans with friends.

Our last day in NY was a extremely fun. We did the Empire State Building, Rockerfeller Center, and Macy's, among others. And let's not forget the highlight of the trip, a Conan O'Brien taping. If you looked closely enough, you could see me on national TV last night (I'm the guy in blue sitting behind "Preparation H Man." I wish I had gotten to stay in NY longer, but I'm also glad to be getting home.

Today was a blast. We went to Times Square, saw the Statue of Liberty (from the Staten Island ferry), the Brooklyn Bridge, Greenwich Village, and "Rent." We also got as close as we could to the World Trade Center, a couple of blocks away. It looks pretty much like it appears on the news, only with a strong, almost burning stench of smoldering plastic. It was hard to believe that the fenced-off area only a few weeks ago held the city's two largest edifices. One of the old men in the crowd could only shake his head and click his tongue. What a shame indeed.

As expected, security was especially tight over the city as a whole. But I never thought I'd see so many police and National Guard units camped out in the middle of a city.

Statue of Liberty: closed.

New York Stock Exchange: closed, with a buffer of police cars and barriers around the building.

Well, it looks like we're finally hitting back. I wonder how this will affect my time here in New York or my trip back.

Today, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a fake medieval
monastary with real medieval religious atrifacts you'd expect to find there, the Hudson River, Little Italy, Chinatown (not as good as San Francisco's Chinatown), Soho, and the Deli made famous by Seinfield.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, when we'll see a Broadway show, visit the Statue of Liberty (assuming it doesn't get a bomb threat) and something else.

Today we went to the Hamptons, a group of fancy beach towns on Long Island frequented by celebrities and best remembered -- by me, anyway -- as the focal point of certain Seinfield episode. Some of the landmarks dated back to the 1600s, which is interesting from an America historical perspective. We shopped at a few antique shops (as a guy, not my first choice of activity), participated in a wine tasting and visited a cool mansion whose name escapes me. MBV wanted to show us that there's more to New York than "the City." Maybe so, but judging from today, not much more.

In the "This Always Happens to Me" Dept.: Last night we wanted to see some live music, so we saw a listing for a ska concert. MBV noticed that the band was from Arizona and asked me if I'd ever heard of them. She misstated the name, so it didn't ring a bell. We went to the venue and while listening to the opening band noticed a poster for "Warsaw Poland Bros." I realized this was the new name for Warsaw, the band whose lead singer SB "dated," (for lack of a better term) and whose guitar player made fun of me for drinking a Zima. Suddenly, I realized that that was the band MBV was talking about, and that I was about to sit through an excruciating concert of bad memories...MBV even recreated one of them by requesting "Slow Down Sister," also known as the P-word song. Oh boy...

Tomorrow: Manhatten.

Now I'm in Central Park. I'm struck by the enormity of this city and the foresight of whoever envisioned establishing public space as the municipal core. NY is awesome, in the original sense of the term.

Here I am -- in New York city! I got an unlimited subway/bus card (Bay Area Rapid Transit, are you listening?) and am heading toward Manhattan. I have about nine hours to kill before LS gets here.

I'm sitting in Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, which seems reassuringly busy. The only real difference I've noticed is the Phoenix "bike cops" riding around the place. San Jose, by contrast, looked deserted. Guards searched my ride's car at the airport parking lot, and in addition to the usual check at the ticket counter, asked for a photo ID at the security gate and even at the plane itself. Uh, weren't those hijackers TICKETED PASSENGERS?

MBV called me a "motherfucker" when I told her I was getting in at 6 a.m. Apparently, she's still a little jet-lagged.

Protesters march on Washington

Those anti-globalization cabbage-heads are at it again.

Wanna see something funny?

Whopper of the Week: Karl Rove, Ari Fleischer, and Dick Cheney by Timothy Noah

Well, it looks like Talbot's statements do have some basis.

Salon.com News | Democracy held hostage

"When White House vizier Karl Rove and Ari Fleischer feed an egregious lie to the public about why the president did not immediately return to the White House on Sept. 11 -- insisting that Air Force One and the White House were under threat -- and then try to spin their way out of it when the story unravels, that does not inspire confidence."

Was the White House lying about why Bush didn't immediately return to the Capitol Sept. 11? David Talbot seems to think so, though unfortunately, he doesn't fully explain his remarks.

I've been thinking about that luggage story -- why would someone planning a suicide air attack bother packing up a suitcase?

Hijack instructions found in luggage

The first time in history an airline's luggage screwup has been a good thing.

Well, it looks like the New York trip is still on. MBV finally checked her e-mail from Europe, and said she still wanted LS and me to come. Let's hope my flight plans haven't been completely screwed up. As much as I'm trying to avoid letting terrorists alter my way of life, I can't get around how much the context of this visit has changed in the last three weeks. Not only am I nervous to fly for the first time in my life, a certain sense of solemnity and even gloom has replaced the excitement I felt before. Funny how a terrorist plot can ruin a good trip.

The funny thing is, MBV didn't seem at all fazed by the fact her hometown has been attacked by terrorists. I guess there really is something different about New Yorkers.

The Bush Sr. Apologizes To Son For Funding Bin Laden In '80s

Near the bottom of the page. Funny and more than a little insightful...

TNR Online | No Choice by Lawrence Kaplan (1 of 2)

Just when you think The New Rupublic is moving too far to the left. A nicely argued essay.

Bush issues ultimatum to Taliban

Finally, a Bush speech with actual content. It sounds like we're doing all the right things. If I were a terrorist, I'd have to be a little nervous right now. I like that Bush made it clear that terrorist governments will pay a high price for harboring terrorists. Let's face it, the Taliban is a "government" that should have been taken out a long time ago.

I attended an industry dinner last night purportedly on the riveting topic of real-time computing. But of course, everyone ended up talking about the terrorist attacks. Over and over again, we asked ourselves how such a small and unsophiticated group could cause such severe damage on the most powerful nation in history. I think Taliban officials answered that best earlier this year when they blew up priceless Buddhist artifacts: "It is easier to destroy than to build."

Truth or Consequences by William Saletan

This is an excellent response to those who who suggest that the United States alter its foriegn policy to mollify terrorsts.

God Gave U.S. 'What We Deserve,' Falwell Says (washingtonpost.com)

"I put all the blame legally and morally on the actions of the terrorist," [Falwell] said. But he said America's "secular and anti-Christian environment left us open to our Lord's [decision] not to protect. When a nation deserts God and expels God from the culture . . . the result is not good."

Because, as we all know, radical Muslims love Christianity. God bless the Religious Right.

I'll put this in a more permanent position on this site this weekend, but for now, here's a way to contribute in the wake of this week's horrendous act of terrorism.

Well, I'm trying to scrounge up story ideas for this week and can't get past the feeling that, in the wake of this week's tragedy, anything I do will be laughably insignificant. I don't think even I would read a regular tech story this week.

How Missile Defense Would Help Terrorists, by Robert Wright

An excellent argument that this Bush's missle defense whould spur, not dampen, future terrorist attacks.

"The more nuclear materials there are floating around beyond American control, the worse things look. And missile defense would probably raise that amount."

Salon.com Politics | "We predicted it"

Even more interesting:

They went to great pains not to sound as though they were telling the president "We told you so."

But on Wednesday, two former senators, the bipartisan co-chairs of a Defense Department-chartered commission on national security, spoke with something between frustration and regret about how White House officials failed to embrace any of the recommendations to prevent acts of domestic terrorism delivered earlier this year.

Another good one, from the same center-left magazine...

TNR Online | Fighting Fire by Eliot A. Cohen