Mary Landrieu (D-LA) is in the news because she said:

I often think we would have been better off if the terrorists had blown up our levees. Maybe we'd have gotten more attention..."

To date, FEMA has dispersed $5.1 billion as reimbursement for infrastructure projects, yet only 2 billion has trickled down to the communities the money is intended for. $330 million alone was allocated for New Orleans, and only $124 million has actually been paid to the city.

The Louisiana Road Home Project is intended to help Louisiana citizens affected by Katrina get back into their homes as quickly and efficiently as possible. The aid comes in the form of federal grants as much as $150,000 per applicant. The federal government gave $7.5 billion to the Road Home Project. 96,000 people have applied for aid. In November of last year, only 10,000 people were awarded grants. However, the actual money has reached less than 200 applicants.

This money is already in the Lousiana's hands. Almost a year and a half later, the state's still not willing to let it go. But, the state's leadership...the Governor, Lt. Governor, both Democrats. Both the House and Senate are controlled by Democrats, over 60% in each case. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Democrat. Obviously the problem is with the Republican leadership at the federal level, right? Thank God the Democrats run both the House and Senate, now maybe something will get done.

In an absolutely unrelated matter, I've decided that Hillary Clinton is the Devil...
Hillary in 2003...

"I ended up voting for the (Iraq War) resolution after carefully reviewing the information, intelligence that I had available, talking with people whose opinions I trusted, tried to discount the political or other factors that I didn't believe should be in any way a part of this decision."

"So he (Bush) took the authority that I and others gave him and he misused it, and I regret that deeply. And if we had known then what we know now, there never would have been a vote and I never would have voted to give this president that authority."

"There is a very easy way to prevent anyone from being put into harm's way, that is for Saddam Hussein to disarm. And I have absolutely no belief that he will. I have to say that this is something I've followed for more than a decade. If he were serious about disarming, he would have been much more forthcoming."

"This was his (Bush's) decision to go to war. He went with an ill-conceived plan and an incompetently executed strategy, and we should expect him to extricate our country from this before he leaves office. There are no do-overs in life. I wish there were. You know, I acted on the best judgment that I had at the time, and at the time I said this was not a vote for preemptive war, and the president took my vote and other votes and basically misused the authority we gave him..."

So which is is, Hillary, Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, whatever your name is? Did you carefully review the information and intelligence before voting for the war, or not? Did you vote for the war because you felt that Saddam Hussein would never disarm (i.e. a preemptive action) or not? Fucking liar.

I typically tend to believe what politcians say when they're NOT running for President. I don't know what pisses me off more...the fact that she's a liar, or the fact that the American people and the mainstream media are going to give her a pass because she's not a Republican.

What a shitty game, the NFC Title Game. I'm pissed off. If the Saints had gone out, put forth maximum effort, and gotten blasted 39-14, it would be a different story. But they didn't. The problem here was coaching.

I'm still trying to figure out the "genius" behind Sean Payton and his coaching staff's gameplan for Chicago. It's in the 30's, wind chill is in the 20's. It's snowing, traction on the field is terrible. You just rushed for over 200 yards on the Eagles, and conditions seemed perfect for another rushing-oriented gameplan. Instead, the Saints came out throwing the ball. Even when it became apparent that the deadly accurate Drew Brees (who up to this game hadn't thrown an interception since week 2, WEEK 2!) was having trouble getting his passes on target, they kept throwing. Even when they could see that the Saints receivers were having trouble catching the ball, they kept throwing. Even when the Saints much maligned defense managed to hold Chicago to three field goals, they kept throwing. Even when the Saints defense needed a rest, they kept throwing the ball. Even when they had their backs to their own endzone, and it is generally considered a good idea to run to get a little breathing room, the Saints had Drew Brees sprinting backwards into his own endzone. Results...Intentional Grounding, Safety, Bears ball. They threw the ball so much that they only had 12 rushing attempts on the game. Great coaching, Coach Payton. What the hell was Drew Brees thinking throwing the ball to begin with?

Deuce McAllister, who racked up 143 yards rushing against the Eagles, only had 6 carries for 18 yards. While that's not a HUGE total, it's an average of 3 yards per carry. My old offensive line coach used to say "We'll take that every time." Of course, by the fourth quarter, the Saints were down so far they HAD to throw the ball. But it's awfully easy for a defense to defend against the pass when they know they're not going to have to look out for the run, and the Saints never even tried to established the threat of a running attack.

Two major gripes for the officials.
The Michael Lewis fumble. I don't know exactly what the referees were seeing on this play. During a kick return, Saints return man Michael "The Beer Man" Lewis was tackled. As he was going to the ground, one of the Bears tacklers made an attempt to strip the ball. The ball moved for the briefest of instants in Lewis' hands, but it appeared to me that he regained possession of the ball as he went to the ground. The ball didn't come loose until Lewis's arm hit the ground, and it appeared that the ground actually knocked the ball out. Now, there can be some debate over whether or not Lewis maintained control throughout the play, but the simple fact is the ball was in his two hands all the way to the ground and didn't not come out of his grasp until after he was prone. That was a poor ruling by the official who originally called it a fumble, and of course, an even worse job by the referee not reversing the call.

The second "Intentional" Grounding call on Drew Brees. Correct me if I'm wrong, but "intentional" means that the person MEANT to do it. Drew Brees dropped back to pass, wound up to throw and was hit by a Bears player. He was in the middle of his throwing motion as he was hit. The result was that Brees unloaded a wounded duck of a throw that landed harmlessly to the ground, and not within the vicinity of a receiver. Now, I understand that the intentional grounding rule exists to prevent a quarterback who is either about to be sacked or is being sacked from throwing the ball away to prevent the loss of yardage (which is a stupid rule in the first place, IMO.) But to call it when the quarterback is already in his throwing motion, and the throw is only off target because the quarterback is getting hit as he throws? That's hardly "intentional."

Lesson Learned
I hope Reggie Bush learned his lesson about turning around and pointing at a member of the opposing team during a play, and then doing a little piss-ant dance after you score. Reggie, act like you've been there before. In case you didn't notice, your little touchdown made the score 14-16. You're still losing by 2 points, and there is much of the game still to play. It's one thing to strut around like a rooster if you've got the game in hand, but quite another to act like you just won the Super Bowl when you're still losing and you've been pounded around the field for most of the day. It's not a good idea in either case. It's best not to anger the opposing team or evoke the wrath of the football gods. Sadly, Reggie Bush's classless little act indeed angered the football gods, and the most potent offense in the NFL didn't threaten to score for the remainder of the contest.

And Finally... I'm glad the Colts finally got that 300 pound gorilla off their back and beat the Patriots. I'm sick and fucking tired of the Patriots, I'm tired of hearing about how they're such a great team when their defense is stocked with nothing but thugs and cheap shot artists (I'm looking at you, Rodney Harrison. Go watch any tackle that "man" has ever made and you'll see nothing but an attempt to injure in every case.) Thank you, Peyton Manning, for sending Tom Brady and his team home.

Patriots fans, relax. Tom Brady can lose his next 10 playoff games and still have a winning record in the playoffs.

Alright, that's it. No more sports related posts for a while. We'll be in football "limbo" for most of this week anyway, since we, for some reason, postpone the Super Bowl for two weeks. Back to that conservative/libertarin crap for a while. Maybe something about how none of the people running for President are exactly setting the world on fire.

The coonass awakens in the very bowels of hell, confronted by Old Scratch himself. "Welcome to your fate, Boudreaux," the Devil cackles. "We will do our best to ensure that you find an eternity of torment and pain. The line at the DMV will PALE in comparison to the suffering you will undergo. Mwah hah hah hah!!!!!!'

Boudreaux, having never really listened to his momma about "Jesus and 'dem" realizes too late that it's always a good idea to listen to yo' momma. "Well, ah reckon dat's fine. Ah never really listened to mah momma 'bout Jesus and 'dem."

The Devil is pleased, normally the pitiful humans that end up before him tended to cry and scream and generally make a bad showing. "To start with, you will spend a day waist deep in ice cold water. Your skin will feel as though pins are being insterted in every pore. Your muscles will fail you, you won't be able to move. You'll eventually succumb to hypothermia, at which point we'll revive you only to have you begin the process all over again. Mwah hah hah hah! Take him away!"

Later in the day, feeling relatively pleased with his ruthlessness, cunning, and overal general demeanor, the Devil decides to check on Boudreaux. To his shock, Boudreaux is standing with his arms folded, shivering, but otherwise non-plussed. "WHAT IS THIS!" the Devil demands. "Well, Mr. Devil, you see, ah like to hunt de ducks. I don't have me a boat, no, so I usually jus' wear ma hip-waders out on de water when ah go out. Dis ain't so bad, no. Dere's not even a breeze blowin'."

The Devil is infuriated, the ice-cold water technique is one of his favorites. "FOOL! You dare mock my cruelty! You shall move to a NEW room. Yes, you shall be stripped naked and placed in a room with my minions. There you shall find a new definition of pain and anguish as they pinch every square inch of your body with their demon claws! You will be clawed and scratched and begging for mercy by LUNCHTIME!!!! Mwah hah hah hah hah!!!"

Later in the day, after enjoying an Asian Chicken salad for lunch, the Devil finds himself wandering the halls of Hell, humming "Endless Love" by Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross. He decides to check in on the poor Boudreaux, whom he thinks certainly should be crying for mommy by now. Entering the room, however, he finds all of the demons dead, mere hollow chitinous husks, and an apparently content Boudreaux napping. "IN THE NAME OF MY ADVERSARY, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY MINIONS!" "Well, Mr. Devil, ah foun' mahself wit' a bout of hunger sumtin' terrible, and ah realized dose demons you sent in here look like big ol' crawdads, yeah. So ah found me a pot an' fill it up wit' somma dat water from de last room, an' I got me some brimstone and boiled it up. I tossed me in a mess o' dem demons and cooked dem up til dey was good an' red. I broke me one in half an' ate de tail and sucked de head jus' to see how dey tasted. Dey was pretty good, but dey needed to be a lil more spicy, yeah."

Needless to say, the Devil is FURIOUS. "I will not stand for this, fool! You have destroyed my minions! I shall lock you in this room and open up the furnace! The room's temperature shall become so hot that your lungs shall sear and your skin shall crack!" With that, the Devil flew out of the room in a rage, slamming and locking the door behind him. He calls Hell's Environmental Control Center and orders the thermostat in Boudreaux's room turned up.

Later in the day, the Devil, still fuming over Boudreaux's eating his minions, visits Boudreaux to see if he is miserable yet. "Well, tell you de trut', Mr. Devil, dis kinna reminds me of Christmas time back on de bayou. It's a lil' warm." Incredulous, the Devil orders the thermostat turned up, and storms out of the room.

A few hours later, the Devil calls on Boudreaux again. "Well, Mr. Devil, ma wife an' me got married on a hot August day, jus' like dis here. Sort of meks me mis her sometin' awful.""DAMN YOUR INFERNAL HIDE! (which was a silly thing to say, seeing as how Boudreaux was already in hell) WILL NOTHING AFFECT YOU! Were you a masochist in your past life? What is wrong with you, puny human???!!!!" Beside himself, the Devils leaves Boudreaux's room, slamming the door behind him. Calling the Environmental Control Center, "Turn it down! Turn the thermostat DOWN in that human's room! I want it COLD in there! I want it so cold that there's frost EVERYWHERE in the room! I want it so cold that human's breath freezes in his lungs! Do it now, or you won't be invited to the after work party EVER AGAIN!" This flusters the operator in the Environmental Control Center because he likes going to the afterwork party. John F. Kennedy always gets drunk and can do a great impression of his brother, Ted Kennedy, and there's always a chance that Princess Di will show everyone her cans like she did at the Christma...err...HOLIDAY party (Yes, Hell has political correctness, too) a few years ago. He didn't want to miss that, so he turned the thermostat down as far as it could go.

The next day, the Devil checks on Boudreaux, certain that he would find a frozen, blubbering ice cube. To his surprise, he finds Boudreaux shivering, frozen snot and drool streaking his face, but smiling and otherwise happy. The Devil is speechless. He can't even get angry, it would be pointless. He's thrown everything he can think of at this crazy coonass and nothing seems to faze him. Obviously, this puny human is too insane and sadistic to be tortured effectively. Finally, confused, lost, wondering if he should have listened to his mother and become a podiatrist, the Devil manages to choke out the question "What are you smiling about?"

"Well, Mr. Devil," Boudreaux replies, teeth chattering, "I figure dat since it done got so cold in here, dat hell done froze over an' dem Saints done won dat Super Bowl."

Parsons won the championship in 1973, despite only winning one race, in a most unusual way. At the time, the ever-changing points systems awarded points not only for wins, but for laps completed, with the points per lap determined by the size of the track. That year, David Pearson won 11 races, but only competed in 18 of the season's 28 races. Parsons went into the final race of the year with a points lead of 194.5 points on second place Richard Petty. However, on the 13th lap he was involved in a crash not of his making. While trying to get his car restarted he noticed that the entire right side of his car was missing. Parsons took his car to the garage, thinking that his chances to win the championship were over. However, several teams pitched in with manpower and parts to get his car back on the track. He returned to the race to complete 308 laps and win the championship by 67 points over Cale Yarborough.

I'm not old enough to have seen Parsons drive, but I have associated his voice with NASCAR ever since becoming a fan. He was one of the sport's true gentlemen (which are really lacking nowadays). I will miss his familiar "Ohhh, TROUBLE!" when something happens on track.

On a lighter note
My six year old son and I try to play video games together, sort of one of the ways we bond, I guess. However, last week he was grounded from games. I was in need of a quick fix, so I thought I'd dust off the old NES controller and play one of my favorite games, Castlevania. Props to my little brother for that. My friend "borrowed" my Castlevania cart about 10 years ago, and I haven't seen it since. My brother bought me a new one a few years ago, with the box, game manual, AND cartridge sleeve. When I got it, my wife said "Why did he get you THAT?" as if he had bought me a life time membership to the Brady Campaign. I told her that she wouldn't understand the hours that two of us spent just trying to get past those fucking mummies at the end of the third level, or the jubilation we felt once we finally did, only to be completely slaughtered by Frankenstein and his gay little helper. (Yeah, I know it's Frankenstein's monster and Igor, but that's what WE called them. Christ, I hated that bouncing, annoying little bastard.) All the YEARS we spent making sure that we had The Clock to freeze Medusa, only to realize too late that it was easier to beat her with Holy Water.

What originally drew me to Castlevania, other than it being the second NES game I ever played (next to Metal Gear, and I could never get past that first pack of dogs, so I gave up), was its music. I LOVE the music from Castlevania. That's somethign that is lacking in many of today's games is a memorable soundtrack. It's amazing that in today's digital age, they have yet to equal the music created on 8-bit synthesizers. I can't tell you how happy it made me that when I started the third level, my six-year old son, never having seen the game before, said, "I like this music, daddy." The music from the third level is my favorite in the game.

Thoughts on Reggie Bush
William H Tap-dancin' Macy, that was a HUGE hit he took. How in the hell did he manage to stand up from that?
The guy is getting paid more money than Jesus to play football, and he can't handle a pitch from the QB when it matters most?

Thoughts on the Game in General
When Reggie Bush fumbled that toss from Drew Brees in the 4th quarter, how many of you life-long Saints fans were thinking "Same old Saints..."? I know I was.
Sean Payton, coach of the year? He made some questionable calls during the game, such as:

1) The swing pass that nearly cost Reggie Bush his life for instance. Bush was split out as a wide receiver. The corner was playing about 5 yards off. Any defense will realize that a running back split wide will probably be getting the ball. At the snap all Bush did was turn and face Drew Brees, he didn't try to run the corner off or anything. Brees floated the ball to Bush, and it didn't take long for the Eagles corner to read the play and plaster Bush on the Superdome turf. I'm not a big fan of the swing pass in the pros, especially when it is to a side with just one receiver, ESPECIALLY when the receiver is a running back, ESPECIALLY when the corner isn't giving the receiver any cushion, and MOST ESPECIALLY when all the receiver does is turn and face the quarterback instead of faking an upfield route. Brees should have audibled out of the play. When Sean Payton saw that Brees was not doing so he should have called timeout.
2) Clock management in the fourth quarter. You're leading 27-24 with less than half the quarter remaining, and you have the ball. The ball should never NOT be in the hands of one of your players. What that means is, no passing and certainly no pitching the ball to your rookie running back on a toss sweep. Passing risks an interception, or at best, an incompletion which politely stops the clock for you opponent. You should also never run the ball outside the tackles in the above situation. Running outside the tackles risks the runner getting forced out of bounds (especially when the runner is an overanxious rookie who looks to make the big play everytime he gets the ball.) On a day where Deuce McAllister rushed for over 140 yards, averaged close to 7 yards per carry, and scored 2 TDs, you are sitting pretty when you're leading by 3 points with 6 minutes remaining. Run straight ahead, grind the clock, and victory is assured (sorry, TMQ!) Instead Payton calls a toss sweep, Fumble! and Saints fans everywhere let out a collective "Here we go again!" Fortunately, the Saints held the Eagles to three-and-out. When the Saints get the ball back they run nothing but hand-offs to Deuce, and the clock expires.

Saints cornerback Fred Thomas is scaring me. I've always said that highly-overpaid cornerback Mike McKenzie is worthless, but I didn't find myself griping about a receiver burning him at all during the game. However, Fred Thomas has been torched on a few occasions in the past few weeks, most recently on that 300 yard TD catch by Eagles (and former Saints,) WR Donte' Stallworth. If I've noticed it, you better believe that Chicago's coaches have noticed it.

And finally...
Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid punting on 4th down...What the Hell? You're down by 3 with less than 5 minutes left in the game, less than 5 minutes left in your SEASON, for that matter....why are you punting? Your defense was allowing close to 20 yards per carry...WHY ARE YOU PUNTING? If the other team gets just one first down on their next possesion they can run out the clock...WHY ARE YOU PUNTING?????!!!! (To paraphrase Tuesday Morning Quarterback) BOOM! goes the punt, and the Eagles will not run another play on offense during 2006-2007 season.

On to next week
The Saints will be facing the NFC's top-seeded team, Da Bears, next week. Chicago's offense is not as good as Philadelphia's (IMO), but their defense can be scary good (they weren't yesterday against the Seahawks). The Saints will have their hands full. Hopefully Sean Payton won't look to make this Reggie Bush's "signature" game. He's going to need to keep the ball in the hands of Deuce and Drew Brees. Here's hoping the Saints get to the Big Show, here's knowing that they're going to find some way to blow it. For the rest of America, I'm sorry in advance for how much you're going to have to hear about Hurricane Katrina during the NFC Championship telecast. I know, I'm sick of it, too.

A Very Old Joke... This all reminds me of a very old joke that, while I am sure has been told about every sports franchise and team over the years, I believe typifies the New Orleans Saints fans. I'll post it tomorrow.

Saw a movie trailer for the film Primeval a few days ago. I've seen it a few times. Looked pretty good, it's purportedly about "the most prolific serial killer in history." The trailer is typical for a horror/thriller film. Quick shots, glimpses that go by so fast you can't really tell what you're being shown.

Based on a true story.
Over 300 victims.
Killer remains at large.
He is elusive, intelligent and cunning.

Appears to be set in Africa. I was intrigued, and thought I would check it out. Most films that claim to be "based on a true story" very rarely are. But, I can imagine some crazy-ass Zulu tribe member running around Africa and murdering people.

What you are not told is that the "serial killer" is ...(drum roll, please)...a crocodile. Yes, a fucking crocodile. Ooooh. Scary, huh?

The movie was originally titled Gustave, which probably didn't sound too evil. Plus, the aforementioned crocodile antagonist. I'm betting some studio bigwig said, "You know, guys, this is just a fucking monster movie. We should probably rethink this." "We can't, boss. The film is already in the can." "Okay, let's change our marketing strategy, then."

Here's the problem with Hollywood. This is why films are not making a lot of money. They can't come up with an original idea. Some guy in a script writing session said "We should make a movie about this killer crocodile" and never consider that this has been done before. And instead of being upfront about it, they use misdirection, sleight-of-hand. A person going to see this movie based on the trailer would probably go expecting a slasher film. At least with Snakes on a Plane you knew what you were getting. "Muffuckin' snakes on a muffuckin' plane!" (That's my bad Samuel L. Jackson impression.)

Well, I guess they did warn us. One of the film's teases is "He's real. But he's not human." The film is based on a real-life Crocodile, Gustave, who is rumored to be over 20 feet long, weighs over a ton, and killed 300 victims.

I ordered the controller on the morning of January 1. The next day at work I checked my Overstock account to see when it would ship, but it didn't show up in my order history so I thought that maybe I didn't actually order it. It was late, I was tired, I might have gotten confused. No problem, I just do the order over. They were out of stock. Damn. I used Overstock's helpful chat system to chat with a CSR. "I'm sorry, Mr. Heavyarms, I don't see an order in your history. The most recent order we are showing was shipped in November of 2005." "Are you sure? I'm almost positive I entered my credit card information and everything." "No sir, there's nothing in your order history. We're very sorry for the inconvenience. As always, any information you enter through our secure website is protected and..." I clicked "X" and closed the little chat window.

"Crap," I thought. Best price I've ever seen on that. So I checked back at Bizrate. Amazon had the controller for $29.98, plus free shipping if I used their Super Saver Shipping (which means they ship it 4 or 5 days after you order the item.) It was showing 1 in stock, so I ordered it again.

THE VERY NEXT DAY, my wife called me and asked me what I would have gotten from Overstock.com. Huh? I told her about ordering the controller but it not showing up in the system (still thinking that I may not have actually ordered it.) I asked her how big the box was, she said it was about 6 inches by 4 inches by 4 inches. WAAAAY to small for the controller in its packaging. "I don't know." I opened the box when I got home. It's a controller, only it isn't new, it's "refurbished" (electronics-ese for USED.) Hell, 23 bucks, even for a used Cordless Action is pretty good. I pop in LEGO Star Wars II to check it out and see how it works. I notice that the buttons stick. I flip it over and notice that there are several screws missing out of the controller casing, so I decide to open the controller up and see what's what. I pull the chip board out, and see that someone has spilled Coke or something on the controller. So I get out the 409, alcohol, and cotton swabs (which I learned from long hours of cleaning my old NES ans SNES controllers) and clean it up, put it back together and plug it back in.

"Buttons work okay, but the vibration's a little weak," I think. I realize that I forgot to put one of the screws back on the chip board, so I open the controller back up to put it back on. Immediately, I notice that one of the wires to one of the vibration motors has a slight cut in the insulation, but the copper wire is cut completely through. Well, this has gone from suck to blow. So I get out my soldering pen and put the wire back together and plug it back in. Well, now instead of the vibration being too weak, it's too strong. It sounds almost like a loose screw is shaking around in the casing, its so loud. "Fuck this, I'm sending this motherfucker back."

I call Overstock's Customer Service line and tell them that I want to return the item. They can't find the order in my history. That's funny because I'm holding the fucking controller in my hands right now, and I'm showing a charge to my checking account where you charged me. "Well, I'm sorry Mr. Heavyarms, but we don't have the order in your history. Would it be under another e-mail address." It can't be, because I only have the one. "I don't know what to tell you, Mr. Heavyarms." How about by my credit card? You know, the one you charged, can you look it up under that? "No. I don't have that capability with our system. What about the shipping address then, can you look it up under that? "No." A pause. "Oh wait, I CAN look it up using your name...ah, here it is."

I close my eyes and rub my temples, I feel a headache coming on.

"Okay, Mr. Heavyarms, why are you wanting to return the item?" Well, I don't know if it said this on the website or not, but it isn't new. When I got it, the buttons were sticking, and one of the vibration motors doesn't work. "Yes, Mr. Heavyarms, it WAS indicated on the website. Right where it has a picture of the item, if you click 'See larger view' it says in the window that pops up that it is a factory refurbished item." What exactly did they refurbish, I wonder? "Regardless, Mr. Heavyarms, if it is a defective item, you can return it."

So now it's all good, right? WRONG! Since the controller from Overstock was a "refurbished" controller, I didn't want to cancel the order from Amazon. But I also didn't want to get shipped another "refurbished" controller, so I decided to e-mail Amazon:

Hello, I have a question about the Logitech Cordless Action Controller you have listed for sale at $29.98. Is this a refurbished item, or is it new?

Thanks for writing to us at Amazon.com.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide further details about "Logitech Cordless Action Controller". All the information we have about the items offered on our web site is displayed on each item's product detail page or is accessible from that page.

If the item you're interested in does not have a "Technical Data" link on its product detail page, then we do not have any further information at our disposal. You might try using the Web Search on our home page, directly to the right of our Product Search box, to locate more information about the item.

Our Customer Service centers are not in the same location as our fulfillment centers. In addition, many of our fulfillment center processes are automated and computerized. For these reasons, we are unable to check the physical details of an item for you. Our information is limited to what the publishers and manufacturers supply to us; this information appears on our Web site.

If you would like to contact the manufacturer directly with your question, here is the contact information for Logitech...

Gee, thanks for completely not answering my question. Could I at least have an e-mail address to someone at your fulfillment processing center and maybe they can go look at the box and see if it is new or not? I understand that MOST of your processes are "automated and computerized" but there is an actual, physical item that someone can look at, isn't there? Have your processes become so advanced that an item can go untouched by human hands from the time you receive it from your supplier to the time you ship it to a customer? If so, I am truly amazed.

First up is an article from George Will. Will gives you some information regarding minimum wage earners you may not have heard before:

- Most of the working poor earn more than the minimum wage,...
- Only one in five workers earning the federal minimum live in families with household earnings below the poverty line.
- Sixty percent (of minimum wage earners) work parttime and their average household income is well over $40,000.
- 1.9 (American Workers) earn the federal minimum or less, and of these, more than half are under 25 and more than a quarter are between 16 and 19. Many are students or other part-time workers.
- Sixty percent of those earning the federal minimum or less work in restaurants and bars and are earning tips -- often untaxed -- in addition to their wages.
-Two-thirds of those earning the federal minimum today will, a year from now, have been promoted and be earning 10 percent more.

Then there's this article from John Stossel asking why, if we're going to raise the minimum, the proposals are so stingy. Surely if minimum wage earners would be better off making 1 or 2 dollars more an hour, why not up it to $20 an hour, or even $50? Stossel asks us to think like economists for a second...

The law of supply and demand, which operates whether we like it or not, says that when the price of something goes up, people buy less of it. That's why environmentalists like higher gasoline taxes, and anti-smoking activists back higher cigarette taxes.

The law of supply and demand works in the labor market, too. If government mandates a higher minimum wage, some workers will get a raise. Some. But something else will happen. Employers will hire fewer low-skilled workers. Others will let some current workers go. Some will choose not to expand their businesses. A few will close altogether. If an employer believes a worker creates only about $5.15 worth of value on the job, he won't pay $7, even if the government demands it.

Legal wage minimums kill all kinds of entry-level jobs, particularly those that would teach young people basic work habits and the benefits of effort. That's why there are no kids cleaning your windows at gas stations or working as ushers at movie theaters. Those jobs are extinct now because they are worth less than the legislated minimum. Who is helped by that?

Let's face it. The higher minimum wage is a feel-good law. A slight increase will pass because politicians and poverty activists will be able to say they have "done something" for the poor, while the victims of the policy go unnoticed.

As usual, I encourage (ok, beg) you to read my orginal post on the subject.

1) Vice President - Currently Dick Cheney. I would have no problem with this. At least with him we'd have a chance of reestablishing the tradition of duels between politicians in DC. There haven't been enough of those lately. I'd always put my money on Cheney.

2) Speaker of the House - Nancy Pelosi. She scares me. She seems a bit...off. But she's no where near as scary as...

3) President Pro Tempore of the Senate - Robert C. Byrd. Former Klansman Robert C. Byrd. Just imagine, a Grand Imperial Dragon Wizard* of the KKK as President of the United States. I wonder if black "leaders" like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would have a problem with that?

Did You Know...?
...that Robert C. Byrd, former Klansman, is longest serving member of the Senate in history? First elected in 1958, Robert C. Byrd (former Klansman) has served 8 consecutive terms as Senator, and was just relected to his ninth in 2006. Former Klansman Robert C. Byrd also served six years in the House. If he is still serving in 2009, Robert C. Byrd, a former Klansman, will have served as a member of Congress longer than any human in US history. Robert C. Byrd, former Klansman, joined the KKK in 1924. Former Klansman Byrd has since called his membership in an organization responsible for terrorizing black people, burning black churches to the ground, and murdering black people "wrong."

They love him in West Virginia, though.

Now, just imagine if Robert C. Byrd had that dreaded "R" after his name instead of "D."

Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds. - Robert C. Byrd (D-WV), Former Klansman

For Your Reading Pleasure
Dave Barry, whom I (probably shouldn't) cite as an influence on my writing "skills" (I use the term loosely), has written a recap of 2006. A MUST READ.

No, not the Denver Broncos (who, once again, laid a turd at the end of the season, only they didn't wait until the post-season to do it), but the Boise State Broncos. Maybe it's the knowledge that the NFL regular season is done and I'm trying to cram myself full of as many football-like substances as possible before its all gone, but I always enjoy watching the Jan. 1 bowl games in the hopes of seeing a good contest. The Capital One Bowl was a clunker with Arkansas' "Wildcat" offense was stopped. The Outback Bowl had an exciting fumble return for a TD embedded within a snoozer. The Rose Bowl did nothing but allow the national sports media to continue its four year collective orgasm over USC, which sucks. I'm fucking sick of USC. The Gator Bowl was kind of interesting when West Virginia clawed back from an 18 point deficit to win, but nothing really to get excited over. My hopes for the Fiesta Bowl...excuse me...TOSTITOS Fiesta Bowl were not high, to say the least. But if any of you managed to stay up late and watch the conclusion, you were richly rewarded.

The Broncos dominated roughly the first 3/4s of the game, jumping out to a 28-10 lead. I've kind of flucuated between "They should be ranked higher than 9 since they are undefeated" and "They aren't as good as No. 9" when I realize that half their games come against teams in the WAC (which stands for "Weak-Ass Conference. WAC fans, don't get upset, the only college football team I really care about, Louisiana Tech, are the whipping-boys of the WAC.) However, with an 18 point lead on the No. 7 ranked Sooners, I was thinking that they really were pretty good.

But then the bottom fell out. The Sooners climbed their way out of the hole, and mounted a very impressive drive to tie the game at 28 with less than a minute and a half to go. "Uh oh", I thought, "They're starting to fall apart." Sure enough on the Broncos' next offensive play following Oklahoma's tying score, the Sooner's intercept an absolutely HORRIBLE pass and return it for a score to go up 35-28 with 1:02 to go. I violated one of the cardinal rules of football in thinking it was over before the fat lady sang (and watching the Oklahoma sidelines, they were guilty of the same.) But the Broncos impressed me, they didn't panic. Going for it on 4th and 18, they tied the game with 7 seconds left up on a perfectly executed hook and lateral that went 50 yards. "Wow" was all I could say.

Maybe they had a shot after all.

Oklahoma got the ball first in OT, and scored on its first play from 25 yards out. "Well, that was quick," I thought, again violating that cardinal rule. Again, Boise State didn't lose their poise. On 4th and 3, this is it, baby. You either get in or its "game over," man This is your Super Bowl. So the Broncos line up with a Wide Receiver at QB and their Quarterback split wide. Earlier in the drive they ran a similar play which Oklahoma stuffed. You could see the Sooners think they had it in the bag. Perfect pass from a wide receiver to the tight end, TD, and the Broncos are down by 1. Gutsy as hell. I love it when teams get gutsy and take chances.

After the TD, the Broncos offense never moved toward the sidelines. They were going for 2. This impressed the hell out of me. Most teams, most coaches in that situation are going to play not to lose. Kick the extra point and see what happens on the next series. Boise State decided that the game was going to be won or lost on the next play. Oklahoma didn't know what to do and called timeout. The Broncos line up in a bunch formation, three wide on the right. The ball is snapped, the QB looks to his right, then hands the ball off to his RB who goes into the endzone off the left side untouched. Game over.

If these three plays, the game tying TD and the game-winning TD and 2 point conversion, are not the top three plays in college football this year, I'm a monkey's uncle. It certainly was the most exciting sequence of plays I've seen on the gridiron in a long time. If you get home today from work, be sure to flip on Sportscenter and catch the replay.