SUNDAY STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

With all of the stupid things people make or buy for their pets, you'd think someone would come up with the Canine-ostomy bag, for easy clean up . . . Been listening to the Audio version of Al Franken's "The Truth . . .With Jokes" and thinking about how good it is that I live soo far away from some of my better - but conservative friends. Franken's book isn't saying anything LOST didn't already read or hear about in 03 or 04, but he's definitely put it into an easily understandable and pointed package . . . too many people know too much about who is on "American Idol" and not enough about American Foreign Policy . . .That said, how 'bout those Bruins? . . . Half a million people in the streets of Los Angeles yesterday protesting the GOP push to criminalize Hispanic Immigrants - weren't those who were here illegally already breaking the law? Why in the name of Sensenbrenner did we need a new law, rather than enforce the existing ones (and you gun nuts didn't think anyone listened to you, didja?) Did any of the L.A. area's "Denny's" restaurants have to shut down for lack of kitchen staff? Someone really should take a survey at the local greasy spoons from the patrons, find out the feelings of those frequent consumers of $2.99 breakfast specials how they feel about this evil immigration stuff - with a few questions about who does their lawnmowing and leafblowing while your at it . . . will the Mayor of Kabul, Mr. Karzai, release Abdul Rahman, the man "Standing trial" for the capital crime of converting to Christianity ten years ago, or will the Religious righties go into full apoplexy over this element of Freedom on the March? Don't bet on it, Sean Hannity will shout it all down and make it all better, nighty night righties . . . don't listen to 'em when they protest, everybody likes a little potty humor now and again . . . In a paperwork snafu of epic proportions, could we please have Rove and Cheney mistakenly routed on the next "Strategic Rendition" flight to Hotpokerstan, and not have the mix up cleared for at least a week? Oh, yeah, I forgot, the US doesn't torture anybody, thanks George, I forgot. The worst part about the Spring is that Bud Selig crawls out of his hole, sees his shadow and we get 7 months of baseball . . . rather watch Little League, so long as the stands have cry rooms for the most misbehaving parents . . .

AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR


Free throw shooting was bad again. Shooting from the field was horrible, and it was by some reports the lowest scoring regional final game since the days before the shot clock, but the Bruins are in the Biggest Dance again!!! clap clap clap clap clap clap clap clap
U (clap clap clap)
C (clap clap clap)
L (clap clap clap)
A (clap clap clap)
U-C-L-A
all . . the . . way!

No need to beat Duke
No reason to overlook LSU though.
And let's see what the other half of the bracket brings tomorrow.

DESTINY IN BLUE AND GOLD

They made it past 0 for 8 from the field to start the game. They clawed back from a 17 point deficit with a couple of minutes left before half. They made it despite Lavinesque relapses in ball-handling and defense. They made it past ticky tack officiating which practically escorted Adam (Wayne's World) Morrison to the hoop. They made it past their best player saddled
with his fourth foul five minutes into the second half. Above all, they made it, and live to fight another game, a rematch with a team that bested them earlier in the year. Get past Memphis and now there's no Duke awaiting in the final four.

LOST had his chances earlier in the Season, when informed that Caliente had posted UCLA a 30-1 shot to win the NCAA's. That would have been a wise expenditure of 50 bucks, or so it would seem now. Can anything stop them? No, there's nothing. GO BRUINS!!!!!!

Oh, and take heart, CAMOON, my friend, your Huskies are still in it, too. Look for them to give UCONN all they want . . . and more. GO PAC 10!!!!!!!!!!!!! How d'ya like us now, Dickie V (nimrod) ?

BLAME THE MEDIA!!


Its a wonder anyone is paying attention to them anymore. The stench of their dishonesty arrives hours before they do. Now, as the violence escalates, and while no asks the important questions like "Who's side do we want the Iraqi soldiers to stand on when they stand up?" or "what was the Threat that you saw in Iraq?" and "If you never said, and you very careful never to say Iraq and 9/11 were connected, how do you account for the military getting that one so wrong, given the Zogby poll results?" Does that mean that others in your administration said those things and if that weren't true why did you allow them to mislead people? If it was the conservative talkshows why did you let them pass out disinformation like that?" they've come up with a new scapegoat. The Media is losing the war for us, 'cause they won't report all the good things that are happening in Iraq. In fact, little kids get candy, people dance and sing, and walk their dogs and go to school and their high paying jobs. Its just like Pleasantville or Springfield, but with a few more explosions.

Has it occurred to the Rovian automatons that, perhaps the public's perception on things going bad has been shaped by the clumsy efforts of this administration to spin certain events positive - like the Pat Tillman fiasco, or the puffery surrounding Jessica Lynch's "rescue," Hussein's capture, those great elections which installed a plurality of Iranian-enamored Shiites, or the desperate and oafish efforts put into first blocking the Abu Ghraib photos, then trying to shift all of the blame onto a small handful of renegade nobodies in the rank-and-file. Perhaps the real issue is the lack of credibility held by the Administration, and this deficit accounts for why so many folks turn away when they start pimping all the great successes and progress in Iraq.

Sure there are still 33 percent of Americans who eat this crap up like it was Ambrosia. But for a growing majority, the masks are off, and the porcine mammals are being caught crimson snouted in the trough. For the "its not our fault" crowd, newsflash - you're a walking bunch of disasters

THREE YEARS LATER: DEATH, DESTRUCTION AND WASTE

In the church of LOST's lineage, today is Saint Joseph's day, the unsung hero of the Catholic New Testament, whose human impulse was to sneak away quietly after finding out that his virgin wife was in a family way, but who adhered to celestial intercession, rejected running away, and gave into a Divine plan.

The admittedly annoying swallows return to Mission San Juan Capistrano on this fabled day, and many a Californio has traveled for decades to watch that natural spectacle, itself, too, a phenomenon worth observing at least once.

Since 2003, March 19th has been given another significance. Today marks the third anniversary of the debacle unleashed by George W. Bush in Iraq. As we have learned since that time, commencement of this wretched fiasco has been near to Bush's heart since long before 9/11/01 "changed everything." Paul O'Neill and Richard Clarke both told the country that invading Iraq and deposing Hussein had been on this President's docket since taking office. We sat back and let the Karl Rove smear machine marginalize these two men, whom history will judge as patriots. We've learned other things as well - or at least we've had other lessons become available to us since 2003. Now we know that, in no particular order:

Pope John Paul II was right about the war;
The Downing Street Memos note that the decision to go to war in Iraq was made in 2002 but the "Facts were being fixed around the policy;"
We know that in 2002 something called the White House Iraq Group (WHIG) was started, and its sole purpose was to drum up support for invading Iraq. We know that Condoleeza Rice, Scooter Libby and Dick Cheney were members of WHIG;
We know the weapons inspectors' reports that they weren't finding anything were accurate, and their work should have been allowed to run its course;
The yellowcake Uranium story - told to America in the 2003 State of the Union address - was a fraud, and Joe WIlson's reward for telling us so was the destruction of his wife's CIA career;
We know that Dick Cheney lied through his rotted teeth on Meet the Press on Sunday March 16, 2003 when he said we "know in fact that Iraq has reconstituted nuclear weapons"
Because of John Zogby's latest polling, we know the troops have heavily bought into the lie (82%) that the Iraq war was to pay Hussein back for his participation in 9/11 - participation that the Bush Administration has since grudginingly admitted here at home was non-existent
We know that 2300 American Service personnel are dead, and nearly 20,000 others have lost limbs or worse.
We know somebody tried to lie and politicize the death of NFL star turned ranger Pat Tillman;
We know that wearing the "wrong t-shirt" someplace can get you forcibly removed and arrested.
We know that the U.S. has been torturing people, spiriting away others to places and countries who are good at torture, and that we're holding hundreds of people in communicado with no charges filed against them, and no access to counsel or court.
We know that the President has been wiretapping people without warrants - which means anyone that the administration wishes to spy on is a target. We know that surveillance has been conducted of such bloodthirsty tyrants as groups of Quakers and Vegans here at home.
We know that that all of the big push to go into Iraq is starting up again - this time its being targeted toward Iran.

Have we learned anything? If not, it will be a long time before this day returns to its original significance of commemmorating a man of peaceful submission.

FREE THROW PRACTICE

Preferably, before leaving for Oakland next week. 38% from the freebie line won't get it done, Bruins.

LET THE MADNESS BEGIN!

The Bomb scare couldn't stop them. Their cold, clanky shooting in the first ten minutes couldn't stop them, and no, not even the evangelical Bruins could stop them. Down 18-12 with 10 minutes left in the first half, UCLA flipped a mental switch, corrected its early accuracy problems, and cruised to a first round victory at Cox Arena in San Diego, 78-44. After allowing the Belmont squad to jump ahead and score 18 points in the first 10 minutes, the Bruin defense held the plucky Tennesseans to 26 points over the last 30 minutes of the game. Prince Luc Richard Mbah A Moute led the Bruins with terrific shooting and assists. UCLA doubled the Belmont rebound tally, 44-22, and rather quickly took the air out of a noisy, anti-UCLAN rabble which dotted the breadth of the arena. Sour grape Aztec locals, no doubt

SUNDAY STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Here, its beginning to feel a lot like Christmas - three bloody weeks from Spring . . . yesterday felt like a winter day in Colorado, hail, sleet, heavy rain and gray all around, the perfect weather to test-drive new cars (NOT!) . . .has anyone else noticed that new auto dealerships are beginning to resemble casinos - without the booze, games or fun? Oh, but like their emulated models, the house still wins big all the time! . . . So Dubai Ports World takes the Bush tush out of the frying pan by selling off its port operations - to Halliburton? . . . Mr and Mrs. LOST spent some time "phone banking" for local Congressional underdog Francine Busby yesterday, come to find out that a disturbing number of Dems either have no idea of, interest in or appreciation for the idea of a Dem holding the 50th District Congressional seat. Sheesh! . . . Tom DeLay gets a reprieve in Texas, proving once again that the Loyal Order of Cheese Sandwich Partisans is strongest in the Lone Star State . . .no, I didn't know that its "Hard out there for a pimp" and wish that I was still blissfully ignorant. Must've been a whole lotta songless movies last year . . . the only thing worse than buying a new car at a dealership is having an existing car serviced by one. How can you tell if your "Service Advisor - read commision paid salesman" is lying to you? His lips are moving . . . the Madness awaits, and this dyed in the wool Bruin has an outside chance of seeing his beloved team play in a tourney game this week, if the "Selection committee" obliges and sends 'em to San Diego . . . getting older means that muscle strains last at least a week to 10 days, minimum . . .

SUNDAY STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Does any conservative guest ever answer the questions on Meet the Press anymore . . . John Edwards honestly said "sorry" nearly 3 times for his vote to authorize force in Iraq - was John Kerry, or Dick-I-still-haven't-said-"Sorry"-for-shooting-Harry-Whittington Cheney watching . . . The Bruins are Pac-10 basketball champs again, the last one was before we needed to know what the definition of "is" is . . . little league baseball continues to bring out the worst in every adult who watches it . . . what exactly is the point in acquiring more stuff when we cannot manage, maintain or enjoy what we already have . . . few things are more loyal that a good dog, and few things are more suddenly noxious that canine flatulence . . . if ten people could just corner Bill O'Reilly, encircle him and chant "Keith Olbermann and Al Franken" to him, O'Reilly just might do his Margaret Hamilton impression and dissolve away . . . if "Brokeback Mountain" wins Best Picture, will Don WIldmon and William Donahue stroke out? . . . Was "Crook" Cunningham serious when he pathetically asked the judge "if you just let me go . . . I'll be the best American anyone can be, ever? . . . Come Tuesday, Texas voters can make Tom DeLay a political irrelevancy, hope they're smart enough to realize that . . . I guess Spike Lee doesn't like Condoleeza Rice very much . . .If the Chevrolet Suburban is "An American Revolution," does that make the Ford Pinto "an American Hindenburg?" . . . does your local shopping mall look like a ghost town lately? The 3 level palace of consumerism in this neck of the woods has been quiet as a tomb lately . . . I'm gonna miss Robinson's-May - the merger that created it more than 10 years ago was a terrific move, but hey, I liked Broadway much more than Macy's . . .funny how a little bit of rainwater can spark growth in lawn grass . . .

EIGHT YEARS AND FOUR MONTHS BEFORE OPENING NIGHT!!!!




Aw hell, let's face it, he'll be out in 4 years, 2 months, which will probably be spent in the Donald Segretti wing of Club Fed in Lompoc. And when that happens, he'll come right out and wind up fillin' in for Rushbo, Ollie, the Savage Wiener and Smarm Hannity, and this flick will never get made. Damn.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRO, THE PRINCE GOT YOU A PRESENT



LOST's brother turned another year older today, and his favorite team (and mine, of course) responded with an over time victory over Cal, to claim their first Pac 10 basketball title in 9 years. Here, Prince Luc Richard Mbah a Moute serves up a bucket on uber offensive Leon Powe. Better luck next year, Leon.

SMELL THEM BURNIN' DOCKERS?




Hey Wing-nuts! How many people got killed by that stain on Lewinsky's dress? Yep, I know the answer already. Just testing.

Here's a great idea. Remember in the 90's when police departments conducted sting operations to get at large felons, by putting out the word that some big sport event was happening, and inviting all the outlaws to the arena, only to greet them with warrants, cuffs and jumpsuits? Well, this time the invites go not to felons, but to the felony-stupid. Yep, I'm talking about the simps and cretins who are so ignorant of reality that they still proudly display their "W-O4" ovals on their car. Each person still pimping for Bush or Bush Cheney gets invited to a big GOP rally of the faithful held all over the country. WE could call it "Freedom is on the March SUnday" and stage them simultaneously. All those with the "ovals" still on their car, upon arrival, are given 2 pairs of rubber gloves, some scrub brushes, a bucket, some disinfectant, and a ticket to the Gulf Coast, with a 6 month hitch on Katrina clean up. Anyone with a Bush sticker and a Yellow ribbon on their vehicle gets a crew cut, some desert cammies and a plane ride to Baghdad with accommodations for 12 months. Anyone with a "Bush Cheney 04" sticker gets an adult sized bird suit, a six pack of Lone Star, and a non-refusable invite to accompany THE DICK at the Armstrong ranch.