Isolation Thought

Debates crack me up. Both guys came out of this one pretty well, I thought. Kerry was strong again on foreign stuff, but average on domestic and should have blasted Bush on the "Mistakes? What mistakes?" question. Bush had a better second half and seems like his domestic angles are working for a reason I can't quite determine yet. The questions from the townies, for once, were good, and I could not detect any plants amongst the questioners.

John Kerry looked right at me and said he would not raise my taxes. That always gets my attention. And we found out Chris Reeve wants to walk again and Bush somehow inherited bad stem cells from Clinton. And what the hell do the Red Sox have to do with the environment? Kerry tends to bring more confusion to the debates than needed. If you're still not sold on Kerry and dislike Bush, this is for you. Keep in mind, he would be the first President since Andrew Jackson who has killed a man.

Bush: "I own a timber company? That's news to me! Need some wood?" had me on the floor. Of course, he has part interest in Lone Star Trust which owns a company that grows trees. It's funny, I can see why you'd want to lie on the big stuff, but not this little stuff about timber companies and Cheney not meeting Edwards. I still don't know why he didn't plant WMDs and say they were Saddam's. Nixon would have. It was great to learn Bush invented the hydrogen car, because he saw something on the Internets. The Internets, mind you. And many Canadians are dying from unsafe US drugs.

And how about at the end when the wealthy Charlie Gibson could not read the teleprompter because the two clowns stood in front of it, when he was signing off. One more of these debates next week in Tempe. Then bin Laden arrives on Hannity and Colmes about a week later. And what happened to Michael Moore's assertion that gas prices would plummet before the election? Lots of $2.15 for premium prices are floating about.

Meal of Links

"Vote for Change" concert is on Sundance, Monday evening at 6:30. Albert Maysles and D.A. Pennebaker (two of the best) have teamed for a documentary, as well. How they could edit this in a week is beyond me. Maysles did "Gimme Shelter" and amongst others, Pennebaker did "Depeche Mode 101" which are two of my all-time favorite documentaries.

The NY Times' Judith Miller digs in and won't name names in court.

If you can't spell names, such as Einstein and Shakespeare, on a mural, don't claim that spelling is a lost art because of computers, Just grab your paints and a brush and fix it.

Exercise Yard

I will never forget the atmosphere surrounding Vlad Guerrero's grand slam against Boston yesterday. Watch the tape. The crowd goes silent AS SOON AS HE HITS IT!!! Usually, you don't get that reaction or moans or boos until it's over the fence. It was so eerie, but majestic at the same time. Vlad is trotting around the bases and you cannot hear a peep. It was dead. And this was a place that was rocking as Mike Timlin threw the pitch. Amazing.

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5 Down: "Mask" actor (10 letters) Answer: Sam Elliott