It Takes A Lot Of Luck...

I live in New York City. This is the land of Alpha Males and Alpha Females as far as the eye can see. It takes a lot to stand out. When I walk down the street I am constantly impressed by the number of attractive women all around me.

Yet, when I talk to them, I often find that we can't really make a great connection. It's the way life is. I realize how much is luck, or a crapshoot, or God's guiding hand that sometimes leads me to someone special in my life.

And, it's when I meet a special person and spend time with them and build a relationship that I realize how rare it can be in the world and how truly special it is.

It takes a lot of luck, though.

The WSJ Reports the News But Doesn't Read It

I am shocked...shocked (To be spoken with a stone-face in a monotone voice) to find out that the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) today reported that "Problems Mar Iraq Reconstruction, Audit Finds." (1/31/2006, pg. A7)

With this headline in hand, I ask you, Paul Gigot, who are you going to believe your President (and his staff) or your own eyes?

I like Paul Gigot. He used to be on The Newshour on PBS and every Friday he would sit down with the democratic know-it-all, Mark Shields, who seems to be stuck in a 30 year time warp, and discuss current issues. He would hold his own and together they would provide great commentary.

Somewhere along the way, though, he seems to have shut down the objective part of his brain and believe that the only way to U.S. salvation is through lower taxes, less regulation and smaller government.

One would think he could learn the importance of that by reading the paper actually produced where he works. Yet, on

In an ideal world, this would be fantastic. To paraphrase Ralph Nader, "When we have justice, we won't need charity." Our current system, though, shows very little justice, so we continue to need a strong government to protect its own citizens. Forget protecting the world, we can't seem to get it straight at home.

Isn't this like the divorced person giving marriage advice?

We have a President who tells us he's restoring integrity to the White House, yet he won't release the photos of himself with Jack Abramoff.

That's integrity?

The corruption, convenient morals, and outright lying are not limited to this President or this Congress. It's just that everytime the bar is lowered, the next group finds a way to burrow under it.

A Rough Guide To The Next Few Months

I think it's off to Katrina affected areas next for me. I think I'll likely take March and April and work where I can help out with roofs and other construction type stuff.

My friend, Molly McKinley, was down in New Orleans recently doing some work and recommended that I should go down and check it out.

And, since I have skills that could likely be of use down there, it seems like a good place to them to use. I think I'd leave tomorrow if I could. I'm really ready to get out of New York. But, I've committed to staying until the end of February.

There's only one thing that has me at all interested in staying around. It's somebody I've met recently. She kind of left me speechless when I first met her (no easy task). But, since I've taken speaking back up, she seems to have really warmed up to me.

Of course, a few dates does not a relationship make, but I've been around long enough to know that I'd like to follow this through for a little while.