One of the worst ledes (yes, that's how it's spelled) I have ever read:

Davis on Letterman tonight
:

"Maybe it was only a matter of time, but still-Gov. Gray Davis has gone Hollywood. Well, maybe not Hollywood, but tonight he will go late night, 'Late Night with David Letterman' to be exact."

1 in 5 doesn’t speak English at home

"Nearly one in five Americans speaks a language other than English at home, the Census Bureau says, after a surge of nearly 50 percent during the past decade. Most speak Spanish, followed by Chinese, with Russian rising fast."

I found the study that the article article is based on. Portuguese ranked so low that they had to lump it in with Portuguese Creole. Yes, there is such a language. Considering the size of Brazil that can mean: 1) Not a lot of Brazilians emmigrate or 2) They all speak English, even at home.

I'm doing my part to make sure the latter is true.

Arnold's revenge on the L.A. Times

And on any newspaper, for that matter: ever try fitting "Schwarzenegger" into a headline with a subject, verb and object? Copy editors can't use "actor" as a substitute anymore, and his new position makes "Arnold" too demeaning. California journalism just got a lot tougher.

And for the record, I think this might be the first governor most people have seen naked.

Fox distorts, we deride

Study hits war views held by Fox fans


"Heavy viewers of the Fox News Channel are nearly four times as likely to hold demonstrably untrue positions about the war in Iraq as media consumers who rely on National Public Radio or the Public Broadcasting System, according to a study released this week by a research center affiliated with the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs"

A big reason why homes cost so much in California

From today's San Jose Mercury News: "Because of the city's strict voter-mandated residential growth control initiative, the group had to go through the city's competitive application process multiple times to secure approval to build their 100-unit project in two separate phases, said Tom Iamesi, the group's director of housing development.
The city program, enacted by voters in 1977 and updated in 1990, established a formula that limits growth to about 200 homes per year, with 20 percent of those new homes allotted to affordable housing annually, said Jim Rowe, Morgan Hill planning manager."

And a primary motive for the growth-control measures, of course, is the state's wacky property tax laws, which reward cities for businesses, but not the residents who live there.

Why are Republicans so wasteful of tax dollars?

Questions are Raised on Awarding of Contracts in Iraq

From the New York Times:


"Last month the Iraqi Governing Council questioned why the American occupation authority had issued a $20 million contract to buy new revolvers and Kalashnikov rifles for the Iraqi police when the United States military was confiscating tens of thousands of weapons every month from Saddam Hussein's abandoned arsenals.

On Wednesday the Iraqi council, in a testy exchange with the occupation administrator, L. Paul Bremer III, challenged an American decision to spend $1.2 billion to train 35,000 Iraqi police officers in Jordan when such training could be done in Iraq for a fraction of the cost. Germany and France have offered to provide such training free."

Of course, the real question is not why the Republicans are so wasteful, but why they're so brazenly corrupt. They're spending like this so their contributors can get nice hefty government contracts.

Another Bush lie

Report Offered Bleak Outlook About Iraq Oil

New trouble for Schwarzenegger

New trouble for Schwarzenegger

"Browne said Friday on the television show “Inside Edition” that Schwarzenegger groped her ankles and knees during an interview in the 1970s."

OK, I'm no Schwarzenegger fan, but is it really possible to "grope" someone's knees and ankles?

Big news day

Lets summarize:

1) The Gropenator apologizes.

2) Rush Limbaugh is a drug addict.

3) No weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

4) The Bush recovery continues.

Am I forgetting anything?

My favorite is Drudge's take on the Limbaugh story. It wasn't "Limbaugh accused of drug abuse," but "Media orchestrates attack of Limbaugh." Ah, yes, the liberal media made him do it. And it looks like one of the side-effects of the drugs he was abusing is hearing loss, which may explain why he went deaf so early. Drug abuse is tragic, but it's hard to feel sorry when it happens to someone who'd made a career of castigating others for the very same thing.

Why can't Republicans just control themselves and take personal responsibility?

Women Say Schwarzenegger Groped, Humiliated Them

It's official

Andrea formally got a graphic design job at the Mercury News, the news I couldn't say publicly until today. Congratulations, sweetie!

Yeah, right.

White House gathering inquiry data

Why can't they just admit what everybody already knows? It was Karl Rove. I'll be glad to see that slimeball lose his job. It's too bad people that connected always land feet first, though.

Next up, the Lewinsky-style finger-wagging denial

White House Denies Leaking CIA Agent's ID

Why does George Bush hate America?

White House grapples with allegation

That's right folks, two senior officials blew the cover of a CIA agent to get revenge on her husband for criticizing the government. So basically somebody there broke two laws and obviously has no respect for the First Amendment. But then again, would we expect anything less from an administration that likes to keep public policy secrets, rewrite history and hide facts when they become inconvienent?

Oh, and here's the beauty. The guy's criticism was 100% correct.

A fine whine

Sour Grapes - Why is there no such thing as a good, low-priced California wine?

Finally, someone agrees with me about the state's crappy, overpriced wines.

Like father, like son.

Poll: Bush rating at lowest ever

Nice.

Official moving date

I'll be moving back to the Bay Area to be with my love at the end of October, so I'll be spending a week up there to look for an apartment soon. Andrea and I just realized it's the first whole week we've gotten to spend together since I moved.

In other news, we probably won't be going to Brazil for Thanksgiving as planned. I can't publicly say why now, but it's a good thing. Well, maybe not for Andrea's family, but on the whole, good for Andrea.

Aw, yeah. Let's roll.

Clark Tied With President Bush in Poll

A great day for mail

Here's what I got today:

1) The newest issue of Dwell, the home design magazine.

2) The newest issue of The New Yorker. It's nice and thick. Together, the magazines will make great reading material for my flight to San Jose this weekend.

3) My passport. Soon, I will be a world traveler. Or, at least I would be if the world consisted solely of the Americas. So in that sense, I'll be a New World traveler.

4) My Oct. 7 California recall ballot. It includes some sadly overlooked candidates, including psychologist/farmer Robert C. Newman II and middleweight sumo wrestler Kurt E. "Tachikaze" Rightmyer. Also running are a few notable, shall I coin a term here, "nomonyms." (If there's a real term for a non-celeb who shares a famous name, please let me know). Please, ladies and gentlemen, give a warn welcome to Michael Jackson, Ed Kennedy, Richard Simmons and Robert Dole.

My neighborhood poll location is the nearby Borders, so I have no excuse to vote in this one. I hope they make it really easy for me and put the booths near the computer magazines. Naturally, I'll be casting my ballot for Gary "Whachutalkinbout" Coleman.

RIAA sues 12-year-old girl

Here's the stupidest part of the whole thing: this was a customer that was perfectly willing to pay for online music (they thought they were paying a legitimite service for what turned out to be a link to download a Kazaa variant). In other words, they're suing their very best customers, the kind they'll need if they hope to survive much longer.