Measuring in inches ... not miles ...

I guess I feel better. Not good. Oh, God, surely not good. But better.

Today is the last show of the year for me. Mayor Mike Tucker. Some interesting stuff going on at 1 Locks Plaza. Like the Youth Department deal ... and the Flight of Five appointments.

And then after today, I don't have a live show until Tuesday. By that point, maybe I'll feel better enough to do a REAL show. That'd be nice.

I went to bed (on the couch still) last night after the Sabres game (so, about 10:30). I didn't wake up until 4:30. That's the most consecutive sleep I've gotten since I got this damn disease.

That said, I still feel like shit.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow night. We're going bowling out at STL. I've never gone out for New Years Eve before. Well, not since I've been married, at least. One year when I was in High School I took my girlfriend to Tux & Pux. That was pretty cool.

Well, I'm off to prepare for my show. Thanks for reading.

Thanks to RattyJenn for the music I'm listening to. Interesting stuff.

Back in the saddle ...

Well, I'm back at work today, but still not well.

I'm going to do my show, but it's going to have to be supported by callers or I've got some clips to play for ya.

I called the doctor today. A secretarial person told me I might not feel better for another five days. I asked for a nurse or the doctor to call me back. That's a crock.

I can't get out a complete sentence. How am I supposed to do my job? I talk for a living for Christ sake.

Christmas was good, BTW ... at least what I remember of it. I was fairly out of it throughout the day.

I hate being sick.

That's all.

More later.

@ss kicked

So I'm starting to feel a LITTLE better, but I still would prefer to sleep than anything else. That's why GND filled in for me with the Historical Society yesterday. And today's show will be a clips show cause I'm not well enough to put on a decent show. Sorry.

The doctor says I have bronchitis. I should be myself again before Christmas. That was the goal.

More later.

Monday morning - time for new goals ...

First lets review last week's goals:

Keep the Calendar Up to Date. - I think I did a good job with that.
Get another "Best of" worthy clip. - I think I got a few ("fire the fatty," "no matter how good she looks, she's still your cousin," and the whole damn show Friday.)
Do a daily blog post. - Did it.
Get four more MySpace friends. - Did it.
Lose that pound - get back to 198. - I think my scale is broken.

Some worthwhile news stories:

1  - Cheney Roars Back on Spying, Torture, Iraq

2 - Cheney Visits Iraq Amid Surge of Violence

3 - GOP pushes agenda in year-end frenzy

4 - Reid calls Congress ‘the most corrupt in history’

Doin' my homework

So Friday while no one else was talking about the gay cowboy movie, I had a request that I do some homework and find out how long it would take Iraq to pay us back in oil for the cost of "liberating" their country.

The caller asked that I assume 2 million barrels a day and suggested a cost per barrel of $30.

The cost of the war, according to congressional appropriations - as of Sunday night was $227,480,000,000.

Using the previously stated assumptions, it would take Iraq 3,791 days to pay off their financial debt - or just under 10 1/2 years.

However, according to NYMEX, the cost of oil Sunday night was $58.06 - almost double the callers stated price. Iraq's PEAK oil production was just before it invaded Kuwait in 1990 (3.5 million barrels per day). In 2004, they averaged 2.2 million barrels per day, so to think that we're going to get all that, is silly. Let's change that figure to 1.5 million barrels a day - leaving them 700,000 barrels - more than adequate.

Using the new figures, Iraq could repay us in 2,612 days - just a hair over 7 years.

And assuming all that,  the 2,000 plus American soldiers who gave their lives would have done so for free. Calculate the loss of life and there's no price - per barrel - or anything else - that would have made it worth it.

Want more details on Iraqi oil production? Click here.

Sunday morning thoughts ...

"Ow." That was my first thought. I am so tight today after playing football for three hours yesterday. I know, i whined about this in my last post, but it still hurts - so I'm whining more. Deal with it.

My second thought was: "How did the Bills end up doing last night?" It was 14-7 Denver when I crashed. For the record, the Broncos won 28-17, which is actually better than I thought the Bills would do. How more more games do we have to lose to get the #1 draft pic?

Thought 3: "George Bush is a bastard." It's bad enough that he showed no remorse for subverting the 4th Amendment, but then he said the NY Times jeopardised national security by pointing out that he's ignoring the Constitution. It's always blame someone else with him. And the saddest part is that there's still a significant portion of the country that is willing to burn and shred the Constitution "if the government will keep us safe." Safe - slaves - what's the difference. Side note: It was nice to hear Judge Andrew Napolitano filling in for Bill O'Reilly on Friday cause O'Reilly has no interest in the Constitution, but Napolitano spent the show ripping Bush. Thanks judge.

I think that as of tomorrow, the forum at scottleffler.com will be members only. And I'll log back in and take control. Also, people will only be allowed 1 account. Anyone with more than one account will have all of their accounts deleted. We'll see if that solves any problems.

The Sabres rock! - which, needless to say, I'm happy about. A friend of mine and his new wife are coming up from Cleveland next month to go to a game. They're staying with us at the Ranch. Excited about that.

And finally, you can't judge a Santa by his colors as drunken Santas wreak havoc in New Zealand. Funny shit.

I'm not 20 anymore ...

First of all, let me just say what a great time I had playing football today in Mudbowl XIV. And I think I did quite well. We'll see what happens when Bob figures out all the stats, but I was proud of me ... and my daughters were too. That's the important thing, right? But man am I sore. Gettin' old, Leffler. *sigh*

Second: Yesterday's show has still got me laughing to myself. There really was some complaint phone calls to WLVL. I think people thought I was making up the gay cowboy movie, but I wasn't. And if you haven't heard it by now, you're media deprived. One guy said (to Angela, our Traffic Director who also serves as co-host of Dial-A-Deal and does some secretarial duties (like answer complaint calls about me)) "Why doesn't he talk about important stuff?" Well, I was open to phone calls if he had something important to discuss. I - on the other hand - had nothing important ... which is why I talked about gay cowboys.

Third: I missed an important milestone. Yesterday was my 3rd anniversary with WLVL. I began Dec. 16, 2002. So I'm not working on my FOURTH year in radio. Sheesh. Whoda thunkit?

Okay, now let's deal with some NEWS stories ...

Trent Lott is suing his insurance company cause they won't pay claims from Katrina related damage. This is a tricky one. The insurance company says Lott doesn't have flood insurance. Lott says he's looking to get compensated for wind-related damage. It's odd that I'd side with Trent Lott, but I think his insurance company is trying to screw him. They're stupid too, cause he's got the clout to win against them ... and then they'll have to pay all the other schmucks who are claiming the same thing. 'bout time someone got those bastard insurance companies.

Google keeps on rockin' in the free world. Yup, the search giant is now going to be allowing people to search for downloadable music ... another step forward for humanity. I am one of Google's biggest fans. I have used Google since it came out. I use GMail (now available on my cell phone - how kickass is that?. And I use Google Desktop, Google Earth, Google Maps, Google Talk. Google is awesome. All hail Google.

I'm mourning the death of actor John Spencer ... but for purely selfish reasons, I admit. I really like the West Wing. At least this season. Some year's it's good. Some it isn't. We're in a good year and Spencer's character was running for VP. Looks like they'll need some plot changes. I hope they work it out. And I hope Spencer's family copes well.

I'm glad to see the Patriot Act flail around like a dying fish. It's the fate it deserves. If we give up our freedoms what are we fighting for? I just don't get it. Thanks Senate Democrats - and Sens. Chuck Hagel, John Sununu, Lisa Murkowski, and Larry Craig.

That's all for now. I'll post some drivel tomorrow, I'm sure.Thanks for reading.

Oh what a night!

So I wake up last night around 2 a.m. or something. I was having a weird dream that I was on an island with some other people and we were looking for something to eat ... I remember blueberries and blue flowery things ... anyway, it was a weird dream.

When I woke up, I thought I heard my younger daughter crying. In fact, I think that's why I woke up. So I lie in bed silently to see if I really heard it or was imagining it. Can't hear anything, so I open the bedroom door. Still can't hear anything.

And right then the power went out. And came back on. And went out again.

My wife wakes up and freaks out cause the power's out and how's she going to get up in the morning? So I go downstairs to check everything out, but can't find a flashlight so I grab my phone cause I can see by the LED - a method I perfected when we were moving into the house and the electricity wasn't on yet.

So I check the house out - everything's okay - check they kids - sound asleep and not crying.

I go back to bed and Jackie's still freaking out about how she's going to wake up so I calm her and tell her I'll set the alarm on my phone. In order to do this, I have to take it off "airplane mode," which I set it to every night when I go to bed. Take it off airplane mode and set the alarm for 5 a.m.

Jackie got out of bed several times before 5 to make sure she wasn't late.

At 5, the alarm went off. Or so I thought. It was actually 4:59 - literally - and Dave Marmon from WLVL was having computer problems (I hate that friggin computer). So I got up and got dressed and went into work and fixed the computer - which crapped out again later and GND called me at home and I walked him through fixing it again.

So to take the above long story and make it short (too late).

Had I not had a weird dream and woken up to what I thought was my crying child, we wouldn't have known the power went out and I wouldn't have gotten my phone for light and/or the alarm. Jackie would have been late to work and I never would have been able to fix the work computer problems.

But since I did - all was okay ... and I got up early and Gazelled 2 1/2 miles and got the driveway snowblown nice and early.

Yeah me.

---

Last night's Apprentice was both no surpise ... and a surprise. I thought that Randall handled himself with class and poise ... up until he was hired. Breaking from tradition, The Donald looked like he might hire both Randall and Rebecca, but "the winner" said he shouldn't. And Trump listened. I thought this showed a lack of class on Randall's part. Both candidates were exceptional and he seemed to think the if Rebecca was hired too, it would diminish from his victory. I was sad. To say the least.

---

September 11th changed everything. Now we find out that the president says lets spy on the people ... and becuase of Sept. 11, it's okay? I don't think so. Don't get me wrong, we all know that Big Brother has been spying on us for years ... but that doesn't make it right.

---

Just like it's not right when the GOP pushes to exclude and exploit foreigners . Not that it should shock anyone. But it's still wrong.

---

Lastly, the president finally agrees that torture really is bad ... or at least he says he agrees. He'll likely "agree" with McCain but keep torturing anyway. We've already learned we can't trust him, right?

That's it for now. More later.

Erie County Idiocy ... (subtitled: Why do I watch the news?)

Caution: High use of vulgarity present

---

Ever notice that the things you love the most ... you also despise? Or is it just me?

I'm watching the news - local news on Channel 2 - the only station I can stomach. And frequently, even that's too much.

Anyway, they're talking about Joel Giambria wanting a county manager ... to the tune of $170,000 a year. WHILE KEEPING HIS LAME ASS, TOO!!!
The other topic du jour is the violence at Buffalo schools. Some idiot administrator or teacher makes a comment that the kids are rioting cause programming has been cut. Are you effin kidding me? That's right Mr. Union guy, the kids are beating the shit out of each other cause they only have art on Tuesdays and Thursdays now. If you just give them their fucking art classes back, they'll go back to behaving again. The worst part of it was that the news let the comments slide. What the shit?

Many of you are familiar with my buddy Nuclear Lou Ricciuti. Tomorrow morning at around 6 a.m., he is going to be in front of the Tops on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Niagara Falls (LaSalle) playing a musical instrument. I, unfortunately, can't make it. Hopefully someone who's reading this can go and tell him I said "hey."

It's been more than a week now since I dropped out of my forum. I've kept an eye on it, but must say, I've not read every post ... nor have I missed it. I have noticed that the number of users has plummeted. It was down to 120 last time I checked. I know that Lou dropped his - and his school accounts, too. I think some others got the hint and dropped out as well. I think I'll give it a few more days as it is and then step back in and make some changes and statements. First of all, I think I have to do away with anonymous posting. It just gets too damn nasty. Second, I think users should be allowed 1 account a piece. No more. And yes, I can enforce it.

In the early part of the new year, WLVL will be unveiling a new web site and it will have a forum much like that on SL.com or the US&J web site. I'm actually quite excited about the new web site. I've been told that once it opens up, I am expected to plug IT instead of my own. Understandable. I'll gladly plug it once it's plugworthy. (I'm thinking so many bad thoughts about this last sentence). Moving on.

I created the first post in the Niagara Libertarian Group. I'm hoping that others follow suit. I'm also hoping that more people get brought along. I'd really like to start pushing the cause of limited government.

GMail added a new feature that allows you to "group" contacts and send an email to a group very easily. Very cool. GMail rocks. If you want an invite, let me know, I'll gladly do it. Google Talk could rock if they get it to do what they want it to, but right now, it's just a shell. I'm hoping they pimp it out soon. They're supposed to.

Who the fuck is "they?"

I've been amazed at some of the people I've found here on MySpace - Denis Leary - Joe Rogan - KMFDM - And it's really them. It's weird.

I gotta get Tom Christy on this thing. He'd love it.

We have Dish Network. Love it. LOVE IT!!! But we only have it on one TV - downstairs. I'm thinking we should get another reciever and put it on the TV upstairs. Our bedroom is easier to keep warm and after the kids go to bed, we could go upstairs and watch TV there. The cost of the extra reciever would be paid for by the savings on heat. It's friggin X-Pen-Sive to heat this house. *sigh*

Alright, I've blogged enough. Later skaters.

Well, that sucked ...

Some days I really feel like I did my job. I had a good show and got good phone calls, discussion, etc.

Then there's today.

Man, that bit.

I didn't prepare for the show in the manner that I usually do. I hoped that the fact that I've had structured shows the past few days would lead people to wanting to get something off their chests and the phone calls would carry the show. Guess what? Didn't happen that way. Oops. My bad. Lesson learned ... until next time at least.

---

The topic we ended up landing on was pretty interesting. Charities and what ones are good/bad/etc.

For the record, I don't know firsthand what charities are any good or what ones aren't. I've been fortunate in my life to have never needed charity and as such I can't judge.

But it sounded to me like people really don't like the Red Cross. I had always been under the impression that the Red Cross was pretty good.

I've never liked what I've heard about the United Way. The organization has always been portrayed as waaaay too top heavy.

We donate a lot of stuff to the Salvation Army and I've had limited dealings with them because of that. It's frustrating that they make it difficult to donate stuff. You've got to come between x hour and y hour and blah blah blah.

As a member of the media, I've deal with the Salvation Army and they've never been very helpful, to be honest. Their last leader was HORRIBLE. I'm not afraid to say it. I haven't dealt with their new leader, so I can't say how he is.

FEMA SUCKS!!!

I don't like the YMCA cause they have a reputation for trying to strong-arm other like-minded community groups. Just ask the Boys&Girls Club on WNY.

My suggestion, give to your church. They'll get the money to people who really need it without giving high paying jobs to all their friends. But that's just my suggestion - so it need not be worth much.

---

In the afternoon, we have no news staff here at WLVL. John Raymond or whoever is filling in for him tends to leave around 12:30 or 1 p.m. And he pretapes the weather for the remainder of the day. Most of the time this works well. On a day like today - when there are several closings, I have to redo the weather or do live weather bullitins. I always feel goofy doing it. Don't know why.

---

This might sound bizarre, but I'm really hoping it snows alot ... so I can use my new snowblower. With my luck it won't snow much this winter now that I got a good snowblower. Like the summer we got a canoe and it rained every friggin day we had off. Grr. So - let it snow - let it snow - let it snow.

Oh, on that note, this thing was really expensive, so if you need your driveway snowblown, I'll do it for a price. 

---

Some of you may know I'm a big WWE fan. Yup. Wrestling. Anyway, the past year, WWE has come to Buffalo and few times and is slated to do so again in two weeks. For their previous ventures into Buffalo, they've traded advertising on local stations for tickets - so I've gotten to go to the shows. Once I went with a buddy. Once I went with my wife. Another time the whole family came along. I was hoping we'd get tickets to the next one, too, cause the kids and my wife are all off that week and the girls really enjoyed it last time - we could ALL go. But, alas, they're not advertising this time around. I don't get it. But, I'm sure Vince McMahon knows what he's doing.

---

I was really disappointed to see Jim let go on Apprentice: Martha. He was the only one left that I really liked. Now I guess I'll have to root for Bethany cause I sure can't root for Dawna. She doesn't even know how the hell to spell her name.

Tonight is the finale of the original Apprentice. I'm rooting for Randall, but Rebecca's cute ... so either way.

---

On that note, I'll sign off. More later, I'm sure.

Amazing(ly frustrating) Race ...

So the Linz's won the Amazing Race last night. I was pretty happy about that. I really didn't want the Weavers to win.

The Weavers were very open about their Christianity ... which would have been great if they were decent people. They weren't. Nothing frustrates me more than morally righteous people who are just bad human beings. That's why I never make any claim to greatness - cause I know someone out there thinks my soul is black.

Anyway - so the Linz's won by being the first family on the mat right here in Lewiston, New York.

But the race was supposed to continue after that for the 2nd and 3rd place teams, who were trying to win a consolation prize - a GMC SUV. That "episode" is only available on the internet and of course, I can't get the damn link to work. So ... I don't know who came in 2nd. I really hope it isn't the Weavers.

Anyone know who came in 2nd? I'd like to hear.

NCCC is supposed to vote tonight on whether to have dorms. I say no.

And the media gets to tour the new Seneca Niagara Hotel today. I'd love to see it. It opens to the public tomorrow. I guess I'll see it then.

More later.

And Merry Dickmas.

Merry Dickmas ...

So today's show was quite humorous from my point of view. I've gotten a few emails and some other comments about the content.

My favorite: "I think that the radical Christians just use this as a way to further divide themselves from us scum. Merry Christmas to all."

That's kind of the point I was trying to make. I don't see this as "Happy Holidays" people trying to kill Christmas. I see it as radicals trying to make sure Christmas kills off everything else. It's a friggin' holy war. What the shit?

I got four ... FOUR ... emails from the one guy that refuses to believe that the Bible is contradictory. They all basically say he feels sorry for me and will think of me whilst I'm burning in hell. Maybe I'm not explaining myself well enough ... the BIBLE ... says one thing ... and then says the opposite. Isn't that a contradiction? When John Kerry did it, I'm sure this guy said he was a flip flopper. Is God a flip flopper? No - according to Mr. Religion, God is "balanced."

*sigh*

Frustrating.

Went to Tops today. Love those triple coupons ... and 5 for $10 Breyers Ice Cream? I'm in like Flynn. Oh, and 10 for $10 Malt-O-Meals and soups? Sweet.

And look - a sale on nuts. My wife thought it was funny.

For the record, I only made 2 of my 4 goals last week. I got Lou to explain his need for those other accounts. I DIDN'T get him to sign up for MySpace (I'm done trying). I got my "Best of" worthy clip (I'm stupider than the guy thought). And lastly, I DIDN'T lose three pounds. In fact ... I gained a pound. Oops.

New goals:

Lose that pound - get back to 198.
Keep the Calendar Up to Date.
Get another "Best of" worthy clip.
Do a daily blog post.
Get four more MySpace friends.

That's all for now. I'm psyched about The Amazing Race tonight. I'm rooting for the Linz family.

Later.

Mental refuse ...

Here's me. At work. Blogging away.

I checked out some of my friends MySpace pages and noticed that some people have packed on the friends - good for them. I'm glad to see some folks embracing MySpace. I'm sad to see that some are ignoring it altogether - despite pleas that they check it out.

The Forum at scottleffler.com seems stuck in constant "he said - she said" mode. I'm not sure if everyone has noticed that I've taken a leave of absence. A few have, obviously. In fact I've gotten a couple emails asking me not to shut it down. At this point, I have no plan in shutting the forum down, but I am leaning towards making it "members only" and deleting anyone with more than one account. For now, I'll just lay back a few more days and collect my thoughts.

The Amazing Race ends tonight. And it ends right here in Niagara. How cool is that? I started watching this season just because I knew it ended here in WNY. My wife has liked this show for a while. I'm a new convert. But as I've said before I'm a big reality show junkie.

I'm not sure what I'm talking about today on Dialog. We'll just have to wait and see.

What a weekend ...

and it's still not done.

So Friday I took the kids to my mothers and Jackie and I went to the WLVL Christmas party. It's always fun cause usually someone gets drunk and stupid. Occasionally people get thrown out. You know - typical Chrismas party at a country club.

Before the party, we went to Dave & Busters in the Eastern Hills Mall. We just went for a drink, but I'll definately go back to play games and even for dinner.

So we get to the party - check our coats and start drinking ... like fish. I must have exceeded my limit cause somehow my wife and I were the first two people on the dance floor (Dancing to Atomic Dog, BTW).

This was a "community Christmas party" with different companies all taking part - but WLVL was definately THE LIFE of the party.

At one point, I hid Angela's chair from her ... so she stole a chair from another table. And when the old people came back to sit, they couldn't. ?!?!?! That wasn't nice. But it was damn funny.

Anyway - after the party, we went home and got changed and then to Gonzos to see Gorilla Punch.


They rocked the house, y'all.

Then we went to Denny's where I had my usual - Moons over My Hammy with fries instead of hash browns and a bottle of Tabasco on the side. My friends and any girl I've ever dated will tell you that this is the same meal I've ordered at Denny's since high school.

Anyway - Saturday started off very frustrating.

I tried to snowblow the drive way. Not that it really needed it, but I wanted to make sure the snow blower was working. It wasn't.

*side story* I bought this snow blower last winter from a friend for $50. It needed a tune up and some other minor maintenance - another $50 . And this year, the damn thing doesn't work. If I used it 10 times last year, I've a virgin whore. *end side story*

So I decided to go back to bed and not get up til spring.

Jackie didn't like that solution. My second solution included spending money. I love shopping. Always have. I know - faggy - but it is what it is.

So we went to Home Depot and bought me a new slowblower.

It was a little more than I wanted to spend ... (like $300 more than I wanted to spend) ... but the sales person highly recommended it ... and she seemed well informed. And actually, the one I was going to get was still a lot more than I had originally wanted to spend.

So then we went to PayLess and WalMart to get me new boots and some stuff for Jackie.

Then we came home - and set up a new electric stove (the heating kind) in our bedroom. It was an early anniversary present for Jackie. It didn't work right.

Then I decided to use my new snow blower. Couldn't get the f&*#ing thing started.

I had left the manual at Home Depot by accident, so I decided that I'd go back and get the manual in case it could help me with my problem.

I took a time out and read the manual to Jackie's heater. It offered some advice - voila - it works.

Off to Home Depot.

Then to dinner - at the Seneca Niagara Casino Buffet. (which never fails to please, BTW).

After dinner, we returned home where the manual explained the error of my ways on my new snowblower - voila - it works!

We watched Anchorman with Will Ferrell. It was horrible. But funny.

And that concluded our night - at least the part I'm going to tell you about.

Now it's Sunday and I'm gettin' ready for work.

More later.

(Moral of the story ... read the manual)

Work is a four letter word for a reason ...

So if you were listening to Dialog today, you'll notice that it was Memorex. That's "The Worst of Leffler Volume 7." I don't like to play the same "Worst of" episode repeatedly, but other work duties interfered with my ability to host a talk show today.

See, we have computers at work that record certain things and play them back and a later time and/or date. Well yesterday the power went out due to someone running into a pole on Vine Street, apparently, and when it came back on, one of our computers had lost some vital settings.

My primary function at WLVL is "Production Director," which basically means that I'm in charge of the audio elements that go into our programming - Commercials - Promos - etc. But sometimes I'm also "Computer guy" and "Engineer." A couple times a week, I'm also "Go get lunch boy."

Anyway - I was putzing around with the stupid computer trying to get it to work and couldn't do the show. Sorry.

Worst part is, of course, that I couldn't fix it. We have a team of people smarter than me (wasn't hard to find) coming in over the weekend to hopefully make it all better.

That's all for now. Carry on.

Stealth names ...

Only in America can a bill which decimates significant portions of the Bill of Rights be referred to as "The Patriot Act."

You may have heard that today the right palms were greased to ensure the votes to extend "The Patriot Act" another four years. The GOP and lazy law enforcement officials* are thrilled.

Some Dems are talking filibuster. Republicans want the Dems to "unite" and "put politics aside." What a crock - on both sides. The GOP had no interest in "uniting" or "putting politics aside" when the Democrats were in control of both houses and the executive. And the Dems can't agree on whether to pack a lunch or buy - or what policy to take in Iraq - what the hell makes them think they can unite on this?

For more on "The Patriot Act" story, click here.

I have another issue with things being misnamed.

I use Adelphia Power Link for my internet. If you really know me, you'll know that I loathe Adelphia. They are the evil empire. But where I live it's either power link or dialup - I'm too far away from the hub for DSL. And I can't abide dialup. I spend too much time on the internet to travel at 56K. Plus, by the time I got done paying for local phone service and dialup, I'd be near the $60 a month I'm paying for highspeed - but at not-so-highspeed.

Anywho - with my Adelphia Power Link internet comes free virus protection, etc. It's called "Freedom." It sucks. It makes my computer run really slow. It contantly needs to update. It delays my shutting down. It delays my startiing up. It contantly warns me about crap then won't fix what it warned me about. It bites. It's anything but "Freedom."

But the worst part is - how can you complain about it? What? Am I supposed to call Adelphia and say, "I just wanted to let you know that I don't like freedom. Yup. That's right. Freedom isn't for me." They'd just laugh.

I thought about doing a show on it. I've actually thought about mentioning it several times, but can't stand the thought of the Birchers sitting at the local coffee shop saying, "Yup. That's right. I heard that Commie Leffler say, 'I hate freedom.' I always knew it. He wants us all to become Stalinists. Shoulda known when he said he liked Clinton."

I can't wait until Time Warner actually gets control over the local Adelphia. For one thing, I hope it'll lower my bill. Secondly, I won't feel like such a sell-out.

Thanks for listening - or ... reading, actually. More later.

*Note that I'm not saying all law enforcement is lazy. But the lazy ones love "The Patriot Act" cause they don't have to worry about silly things like warrants and "cause."

Post show notes (Greg Lewis edition) ...

Greg seemed pretty irritated today. Personally, I thought it was funny.

Now I know that at some point in time, he had told the legislature to give him the budget director's duties ... or some fiscal job. Anyone know when he said that? I'm pretty sure he said it on Dialog - but I'm not particularly interested in sorting through 10 hours of stuff to get one sound bite.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. WLVL's Christmas party is tomorrow at some Country Club in Clarence. We've had it there the past three years. A little snooty, IMHO, but it's free beer.

Before the party, I think we're going to Dave and Buster's for a beer or three and then afterwards, we're going to Gonzos to see Dennis and Gorilla Punch. Jackie really likes their sound. It'll be the second time I've seen 'em live in the past few weeks. They rocked the house last time. Maybe you should join?

As I've stated before, I'm a big reality show fan. Last night I was disappoined to see Marcella leave "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart." Not that I thought she was a particularly good candidate, but she's hot. Now I only like one person that's left on that show. Jim is a friggin' riot. Bethany's not bad. I wouldn't be too upset to see her win, but I'd prefer Jim. The other woman that's left, I don't like. I can't even remember her name.

Tonight is the "Apprentice: Trump" finale. I genuinely like both candidates, but I think Randall is the better of the two.

That's all for now. I'll write more when it comes to me.

Peace Out!

Post show notes ...

Best phone call of the day - the guy that works at McDonalds who says they work harder then the folks at Delphi.

Most confusing phone call of the day - the guy (and subsequently a lady followed up) who said there are no contradictions in the Bible. This website disagrees. That doesn't mean the Bible is a bad book. Or that Christianity is somehow less than it was. It just means is a BOOK written by MAN. And man isn't perfect (something the Bible gets right).

But you can't use facts against extremists, as a colleague of mine so elequently put.

No one called me any bad words today - so I'm really glad I opened with a replay of yesterday's, "You're stupider than I thought," phone call.

I read part of a story about an Ohio school that was closed for health reasons. Click here for the rest of it.

Absolved ...

Well, I did it. I got so frustrated that I deleted my own damn account on my forum. I couldn't take all the personal messages from people asking me to edit posts and delete accounts and whathaveyou.

Next step - erase the whole damn forum without notice.

Yup - I'm a quitter. Quit the Democratic Party. Quit my own friggin' website. Quit.Err.

And yet, I was hoping that deleting said account would make me feel better. I don't. I'm still all sorts of tense. (past. present. present-perfect).

I need to rock the fuck out. Some beer. Loud music. Loose women. Or at least my wife in a "really" good mood.  :)

The smiley's on this damn thing don't always work. What's up with that?

Just thought I'd let ya'll know cause I posted no notice on the forum itself. I like you people better anyway. :)

Have a wonderful morning and a joyous new year.

Thoughts in passing ...

What the shit?

So yesterday a guy called me an asshole. On live radio. And today a guy said I'm even "stupider" than he thought. Are people new?

I've always been an asshole. I always will be. But that doesn't mean you should call me that on live radio - with kids listening.

And I've never claimed to be bright. Math isn't my thing. Science isn't my thing. I'm not so good with English. And I don't remember enough history. So ... not so bright. If you thought I was, you're mistaken.

But I don't get it. Someone explain? Please?

I'm thinking of boycotting my website. That's right. My own damn site. I might just post all my thoughts here from now on. I was going to post this stuff at my site, but then decided that people would just say stupid stuff ... so screw it.

MSNBC had a good story about voter dissatisfaction signaling an opening for a new third party. ---> story link <---

I looked for the thing the caller was talking about this morning with John Kerry putting troops in ... blah blah blah. But I couldn't find a reputable web site that listed such a claim. Sites that did list it:

World Net Daily
National Ledger
RushLimbaugh.com
NewsMax
and RedState.org

And who the hell is John Kerry anyway? Why should ANYONE care? He's not the president. He's not going to be the president. Can we ignore him in hopes that he goes away? That's my plan.

Here's the story about Hillary Clinton's flag burning bill. ---> story link <---

Personally, I think it's dumb. While I, myself, am not in favor of flag burning, I'm vehimently opposed to banning it. And no, that's not hypocritical.

Speaking of hypocrits - I mentioned the state hypocrisy in the lottery. And briefly discussed the King Kong Millions game. Whaddya know? Someone from North Tonawanda won $1 million.  (ticket #151406691  sold at YANKEE SPIRITS, 959 PAYNE AVE, NORTH TONAWANDA)

It was nice to see Tom Christy. It'll be cool having him host Scholastic Bowl. Should be fun to listen to.

Anotha day, Anotha dolla ...

Sundays are fun ... but they're very long days for me. I have a part-time job in order to help pay the bills and allow us to do fun things like eat and wear clean clothes. Sunday is my part-time job day. I usually work from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m., but today I got out early - 7:15. 

I gazelled three miles this morning and had hoped to clock another two miles this evening after work, but I was too tired.

Usually I come home and watch "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" with my wife and then head back to the real job. I go in every Sunday night to input commercials that other staff members had voiced. Plus I just sort of make sure that everything is ready to go for Monday morning. Usually I don't get home until midnight or so. Tonight went quick. I was home before 10. Jackie was watching "Desperate Housewives," which I couldn't care less about - so I surfed the internet.

I notice that everyone hates everyone else on "the forum." Some days I think that stupid thing is more trouble than it's worth. Why is there a certain set of standards for dealing with people face to face and then another whole set of standards for the internet?

The wine tour was fun yesterday. Ran into some people I know. Jackie made friends with some strangers. Our kids were the only children on the tour. Parents of the year, I'm tellin' ya. After the wine tour, we went to BK for dinner (to reward the kids - they were so good) and then Game Crazy so Emily could tell us what Gameboy Games she wants ... Then to the homestead where we watched "A Christmas Story," perhaps the best Christmas movie ever ... although, the other night, Jackie and I wached "Bad Santa." Brilliant.

Tomorrow begins another week. I'm not sure I'm ready for another week.

Goals for the week: Get weight down to 195 (from the current 198) - Get at least 1 "best-of-worthy" clip from Dialog - get Nuclear Lou signed up for MySpace - and get him to explain to me why he created 10 new users names on the forum.

Just a quickie ...

Did you know that the lame old Reality TV channel was taken over by FOX recently? Oooh. And now it'a actually worth watching. Before it was Arrest & Trial over and over and ... who gives a shit? I never even heard of that show.

But now ... They recap other reality shows (Reality Remix with Kennedy (formerly of MTV)) ... rerun old shows (like Temptation Island) and have all new shows (like The Bounty Hunters).

There's even a reality TV fantasy league. You can play by yourself or create your own league. Maybe after this round of Reality TV shows are over, I'll create a league.

I think I might have found a new go-to channel for when there's nothing on. Used to be ESPN News. Then MTV. Now Fox Reality.

Trashy, huh?

Three miles ...

That's how "far" I Gazelled this morning. Burned 400+ calories and I'm feeling great. Of course, I probalby didn't burn off last night's dinner - mmm fish fry. Beer battered nonetheless. We went with Jackie's family. For the most part, they're great. Some members ... um ... irritate me. But that's why they're inlaws, right?

I find that excercising is sOoOoOoOoOo much easier when I have music. I'd rather listen to talk - but it's difficult to get a rhythm going to talk radio ... I'm sure you can understand. Imaging working out to me. Yeah. I didn't think so.

The thing is - I tend to Gazelle to the beat of the song. Makes for a pretty ecclectic work out. Slow. Fast. Really Fast. Heart attack in the making. Back to slow. *phew* And then once I step off the Gazelle, I still have the headphones on and I dance like an idiot - appropriately, I'm sure. I really can't dance and unless I'm pickled ... I mean really REALLY plastered ... the odds of seeing me dance in public are slim to none. But in the privacy of my own home. I'm down.

I'm just resting for a bit before I go gazelle another two miles. Then I'll be done gazelling for the day.

Later we're going on the Niagara Wine Trail. Seven wineries in 3 1/2 hours. We get a wine glass at the first stop and ornaments at all seven stops. It's only $12 for the two of us. Last year we did it, but there were only five wineries. It was really cool though. We didn't buy any wine last year cause we were poor. This year we scrounged together some change and will likely pick up a bottle or two.

That's all for now. Maybe more later. If I'm not snookered off local wine and dancing naked around the house singing ... First you say whoa ... then you say yeah ... get your ass up ... throw your hands in the air ...

You can do it!!!

Why is it that I always look at my Gazelle with disdain. It sits there in the corner of my bedroom mocking me. "Hey, fatty. Bet ya can't ride me!" But then once I jump on the stupid thing, I don't want to get off it. What I had planned as a 15 minute Gazelle session this morning turned into a 30 minute session. I "Gazelled" 2.6 miles and burned more than 300 calories. I kid you not - it's addictive. I kinda hope I can get addicted to it again before I gain any more weight. All this pizza and wings is NOT good for my diet. Actually, I haven't been so good about the diet lately. But last night I ate pickles as a snack instead of ice cream ... or pie (mmm pie) ... or Little Debbies (oooohhh Little Debbies). See. I have a problem. I'm easily addicted. To ANYTHING. Gazelling. Music. Talk radio. Food. Beer. MySpace. It's a problem. And the only way I can lick one addiction is to find another. Certainly there could be worse addictions than working out, right?

New topic: A guy I met through MySpace has a talk show down in Florida. This morning he interviewed Katherine Harris ... yes THE KATHERINE HARRIS. Amonst her dribble, she said her opponent (she's running for the Senate, you know - against Bill Nelson) is "to the left of Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer." I'm thinking Miss Harris might not want to compare her opponent to two of the most popular senators in the Union. But hey - if it sinks her campaign, it's good with me.

I made a statement on yesterdays show that "if you think ... you should listen to another show." I shouldn't have said that. How can the ignorant and uninformed become learned if they keep listening to blowhards. Bring me your ignorant - your stupid - your lemmings. I'll straighten 'em out.

Someone made a comment that I do a good show "when I'm pissed off." Of course, I try to be "excited" when doing my show. Who wants to listen to a Ben Stein soundalike? But I don't want to let emotion get the best of me. Sometimes it's hard though. What's with the guy yesterday who wants to blame the whole Delphi situation on ... noneother than Bill effin Clinton. He caused the Dinosaurs to go extinct, too, ya know? Actually, I'm sure according to the guy that called, there was never any such thing as Dinosaurs cause they're not in the Bible.

Alright. On that note. I'll sign off ... for now. But consider yourselves warned.

I may post again later.

Bwah - ha - ha - ha -ha. *rubs hands together*

Morning thoughts ...

Slept in this morning. It felt nice. My eight-year-old woke me up by saying, "It's fifteen to eight." Not, "It's quarter to eight." Who says that? I usually get up around six, get some stuff done, heat the house up, make coffee, etc.

I make exceptions on Saturday mornings after having been out until 4 in the morning the night before. That happens occasionally. There's frequently alcohol involved. I don't remember the rest. j/j ... at least about the remembering part.

Today's show will be a continuation of Monday's and yesterday's shows. I want to talk about the superintendent situation at Lockport and PC Tony's thoughts on Delphi. It's created much buzz.

I'm told that the Lockport Schools Superintendent situation is a done deal. Several school board members will get jobs for themselves or their friends and family in return for their votes for Terry Carbone. Assuming this is true - and (unfortunately) I have no reason to doubt it - any board member THINKING ABOUT trading our childrens' future for a job should be tarred and feathered. And then fed to bears.

I'm getting some response from local musicians who want to hear their music played during the show. If you know a musician within WLVL's broadcast range, have them get me a CD or email me some MP3s.

On that note, the guys that did the song I played at the start of yesterday's show will be doing a whole show live. It's Karaoke on WLVL with "Horrible at Best." It's three guys in college and they seem funny as sh*t. I'm looking forward to it. I'm also in discussion with Gorilla Punch to do a 1/2 hour. And I'd like other bands to do the same.

By the way ... It's December. Just 24 days 'til Christmas.

Wag the Christmas Tree ...

Some days I immensely enjoy The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly. And some days, I wonder what got into him. He has railed for what seems an eternity about the "secular progressives" and lately has whined about the "war on Christmas." Are you shittin' me? How friggin stupid. I mean, does he just pull this stuff out of a hat? And if so, why are Sean Hannity and the rest of the folks at Fox News wearing the same hat? Today's Radio Factor was another episode of him whining about what stores say "happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." According to Mr. Falafel, the phrase "happy holidays" offends Christians, but Muslims, Jews, and the rest of the world should have no problem with "Happy Holidays." Um. What? I'm sorry. This is stupid. I celebrate Christmas. But if you want to celebrate something else, so be it. And if you wish me "Happy Holidays," I won't be offended in the slightest. Just thought you might want to know. Is the War in Iraq going soooo poorly that O'Reilly needs to invent new wars to distract people? Like the War on Christmas? Give me a break, O'Reilly. There is no War on Christmas. It's all in your head. And it's very lonely for that matter.

Know who's a ho?

She's always with Bluto and then with Popeye ... and you know she's all "with" whichever one's around once the lights go out. I don't know why Popeye don't kick her to the curb.

Sorry. Kids were watching cartoons earlier.

Now that THAT's behind us ...

Now that the wretched Thanksgiving holiday is behind us, it's time to go spend some money. I'm off to KB Toys and maybe Circuit City and who knows where else.

Later.

Morning thoughts ...

Just some thoughts about the day ahead.

1) I'm glad Cercone lost in Niagara County's 15th district. I'm not a "journalist," I'm a "talk show host." There's nothing that says I can't be openly in favor (or opposition) of one candidate or another.

2) Note the wording of #1 - I'm glad Cercone lost. Not that I'm happy Apolito won. Harry has lots of catching up to do to make me happy as a constituent, but Scott's bow to the dark side lost my vote. Considering the small margin of victory, one would have to wonder if he coulda pulled it off had he stayed positive. He would have had at least one more vote - mine.

3) In the 12th district, it looks like Ceretto beat Johnson. That means the GOP picked up a seat overall and are closer to world (or at least county) domination. And I'm a step farther from GRIDLOCK. (I should have t-shirts made).

4) Governor-yet-to-be-elected, Eliot Spitzer wants to remove the privelidge of drawing their own districts from the New York Assembly and Senate. I support that entirely. He called it "unconscionable." Hard to disagree with that. I'll talk more about this at 11.

5) Watched Star Wars Episode III again last night (this time with my wife). She thought it was as good as I did. I may be better than Empire. And that's saying alot.

6) I started a "group" on MySpace: Niagara Libertarians. Gotta spread the ideals. Hopefully some of you will help.

7) Today's interview is with Bernard Von Nothaus, architect of the Liberty Dollar. Should be interesting. All of my "the Fed is evil" listeners will love this guy.

8) More later.

Back to the ... Back to the ... PoTell ...

Another day. Another dolla.

Yep, it's Monday and as I said last week, we're getting back to politics on "the show" today. The absentee ballots in Niagara County's 12th and 15th legislative races are to be opened at the Board of Elections and those absentee ballots will be the deal maker/breaker in each race.

What won't change is that the Republicans will control the County Legislature. But that hardly makes the races a moot point. It's HOW MUCH control the GOP will have that matters. It could work out at a 4 vote swing - the difference between a "victory" and a the ever popular "mandate." Can the Elephants steamroll the rest of the legislature even moreso than they have been? Or do they need to use some due diligence?

I'll be honest, I'm hoping the Dems take both races. Not that I'd really trust the Dems running the county any more than the Republicans, but the closer we are to 50/50, the better off the public will be. Yes, I believe that GRIDLOCK is a good thing. You see, quite simply, I believe that the less government, the better ... and what better way to ensure less government than to keep elected officials busy arguing with each other rather than creating jobs for their cronies. Ooh. Look. Something shiny.

To make a long story short (too late), I'm looking forward to getting back to local politics ... and politics in general. If you want more, make sure to tune into Dialog on WLVL AM 1340 at 11:10 this morning or download the podcast later.<

Good morning Sunday ...

I have a horrible habit - regiment. It's Sunday, but I still set the alarm for 7. Saturday too. During the week, I get up at 6. Just cause. That's the time to get up.

So here it is 8:30 and I've already read two newspapers and looked at all the good ads (weak this week) and I thought I'd come blog and spill my guts.

Saw the new Harry Potter movie last night. It was excellent. Parts of it were better than any other HP movie I've seen. Parts of it were weaker. I wouldn't say this was the best movie yet, but I wasn't disappoined - as my wife was. It was a little scarier than the previous ones, but my 5 year old slept just fine when we got home. Ron said "hell" a few times, but other than that, the PG-13 is unneccesary (in my opinion). We tried to go to the 5:10, but when we got there (at 4:40) it was already sold out. So was the 6:20. So we went to the 7:20. The kids stayed up very well. I was a proud dad.

To kill time we went to ... ... the new super center in Claramherstiamsville - whatever that is there. Very nice. A little more high class than the one in Springville. More Wegmans than Tops, if you caught my analogy on the show the other day. At one point, we overheard some guy talking on his cell phone he said, "Oh, you're in Walmart. Me too. Where you at?" Thought that was funny. We ended up buying a little thing of coffee as a present for my wife's boss (don't tell him) and a bag of potatoes for Thanksgiving Dinner.

Today's ads, as I said, weren't that great. I figure the good ones come out on Wednesday. Most of the entertainment ads (Circuit City, Best Buy, etc) feature the new War of the Worlds movie with Tom Cruise, which I think looks dreadful. BUT - alongside it, I noticed that the old show, War of the Worlds, has released season one. That was one of my favorite shows EVER. I'm jazzed. Told my wife I'd like it for Christmas. *crosses fingers*

Well, I'm off to get ready for my part time Sunday job. I have a long day ahead of me. TTYL.

Working out ...

Last year (or maybe early this year) I bought a Gazelle. No, not the animal with the big horns ... the excercise machine (you can doit).

One of the best purchases I ever made. The secret to excercise equipment is to USE IT. (who knew).

I had been doing 5 miles a day (takes an hour - burns 500 calories) and eating healthy. Then I blew my knee out in drunken bowling accident. Couldn't work out any more, but still stuck with the diet (lots of celery and salads. No beer -- except Tuesday (bowling night) -- ). Well, eventually, my eating habits got worse again (although not as bad as they had been originally (I can eat like a MoFo)). And whaddya know ... of the 38 pounds I had lost, I regained about 11.

So here's me with a pre-new-years resolution.

My knee will never be the same ... but it's better than it was right after the fall. So I pop some ibuprofrin and jump on the Gazelle. I'm going to try to get back up to 5 miles a day ... I just did 2 1/2 and I feel great (that's the funny thing is it feels GREAT to excercise ... but we procrastinate).

I'd like to get back down to 180 by the end of the year. That way I won't need any New Years resolutions. (maybe to swear more ... or drink more ... waste more money at strip clubs ... I'm not sure)

So there you have it. Aren't you sorry you just wasted three minutes reading it?

Show notes (Naked black man in my bed)

Um, yeah. So today's show was officially all over the board. We talked about free tuition to college. We talked about the Niagara Power Project. We talked about Harry Potter. I played a bit with George W Bush and Dick Cheney being picked by the sorting hat. Funny stuff. We talked about the man who woke up next to a naked guy he didn't know. At least the naked guy had Blue. A woman yelled at me for swearing in front of her kids. Said I'm a model teacher. (scary). PC Tony told me off air that he'd co-host the show with me some time soon. Should be fun. A woman talked about National Fuel giving 5 years free gas to Pakistanis. (For the record, I spoke to a National Fuel representative this afternoon who said the claim is false. "No one gets free heating fuel. Employees don't even get a discount.") Monday we get back to politics. Local even. The Cercone/Apolito race and Johnson/Ceretto race should be finalized* Monday.

*barring lawsuits and challenges - which are both actually likely.

It's snowing ...

It snowed today.

I love the snow.

It's cleansing. Invigorating. And oddly - cheery.

I've always liked the snow - and cold weather in general.

I had asthma as a child (I don't have problems any more). But the cold air just opened up my lungs and allowed me to breathe like I was breathing for the first time.

I love the snow.

Even now, if I'm in a heated room. A car with it's heater on, for example. If it gets too hot, I just can't breathe. I have to crack open a window. So there I am ... doing 75 with my heat full tilt and the window open. Idiot.

I love the snow.

Next stop - Christmas.

Show notes (Dolah Saleh) and more

I must admit, I was hoping for some phone calls today. I thought it was an interesting topic - and paticularly timely ... especially in Lockport. But sometimes you just never know. At least I had an opportunity to show off my wit. For Dolah's website, click here. It snowed out today, but it's not TOO cold. Could, of course, stand to be warmer. I keep pointing people to MySpace and slowly they trickle in. A lot of people are nervous about signing up for things. It's understandable, I suppose. Thanksgiving is in a week. *sigh* I can't believe how fast time goes. More later.

Show notes (Thanksgiving with NCHS)

Ann Marie seemed nice. It's always tough when John isn't around cause he can talk FOREVER and I don't have to worry about filling the gaps when he's here. I was kind of disappointed that we didn't get a reaction to the "pie" question. I think that makes for a good poll question. Look for it to appear in the next couple days. I was being honest about the Thanksgiving Dinner thing. We really are having turkey ... and that is kind of a big deal. I was also being honest about re-running the "I Hate Thanksgiving" show for Turkey Day. I'll also be running a "Worst of Leffler" (Volume 7) the day after Thanksgiving so I can get good deals and maybe see a movie. I think "Yours, Mine and Ours" looks good. Oh, and we're going to the new Harry Potter movie this weekend, most likely. More later.

Pre-show thoughts

So it's just before 11. Usually I'd be doing last minute prep for the show - making sure I have my facts, figures, news articles, etc. in hand. But today's guest is the Niagara County Historical Society. They come with topic in hand ... and I don't find out until they get here. So I'm just surfing the web and singing Evil Bastard by Gorilla Punch. My wife and I were talking this morning about having local bands come to WLVL and jam for half an hour ... playing that for a week or so in place of The Interview. That'd be cool. I'm in an exceedingly good mood. The kind of mood you're in when you just got lucky on a first date and think there's more in the near future ... but obviously, neither is the case. But that's the mood I'm in, nonetheless. Yet, at the same time, I'm apprehensive cause the Historical Society is usually a more laid-back show and I'm concerned it'll downgrade my level of chipperness (or would that be chipperdom?). I'm really hoping more people from "the forum" will find their way over here and get their own MySpace page.

Show notes (business deals)

Tuesday's show went pretty well. I sometimes worry that a topic can't sustain a whole hour - especially when I'm not carrying reams of papers, news stories, and documents about the topic (as I wasn't on Tuesday). Some good ideas for businesses to move into Lockport, including a few businesses I've never heard of. I wasn't making it up about the Olive Garden. As a member of the media, I've heard OG rumors for five years. I'll believe it when I see it ... but man, my wife would love it. We went to the Olive Garden for dinner on Friday. The kids like it too. That woman called again at the end of the show. It's like all the oxygen gets sucked out of the room. I feel bad talking smack ... but I'm thinking anyone who's reading this (is with-it enough to be on the internet) knows exactly what I mean. Tuesday's Interview (with Stephen Ives) was actually recorded on Monday - explaining the odd exchange in the middle about it "starting tonight" instead of "last night."

Show notes (fun facts about men)

Today's show was fun ... Fun Fact about Men. As stereotypical as it was, most of it was soooo true. The best part was the guy that knew the types of lettuce. I never woulda known. Click here for even MORE types of lettuce. The pension stuff - although not exactly jovial, was a good topic ... and it met the criteria of ANYTHING BUT POLITICS. That last caller ... the woman who's always "okay, I guess" ... will someone buy her a drink! She has the innate ability to SUCK THE LIFE OUT OF A SHOW!!! The bar I went to Saturday, BTW, was Gonzos. My buddy I talked to: Dennis Farley. Good man. Also, I didn't play the President's Weekly Radio Address cause I quit playing the real one - it sucks. And I didn't play the parody cause it wasn't exactly FCC friendly this week ... but it was very funny. I suggest you listen to it ... but only if you're not easily offended.

Click here for podcast of Monday's show.

The passing of a good man

Death is something I've never dealt with well.

Whether it's the passing of my pet dog, my grandmother, or someone I've never met, death does not become me.

Of course, some losses are greater than others. Some wounds are deeper. Death of a loved one is harsh because so often, it feels like the death of a part of yourself.

It's understandable to lament the death of a family member - even if it is "their time to go." But how often do we get distraught at the death of a stranger?

Maybe stranger isn't the best word. Cause it's someone you know. You really know them. Never met them. Never even talked to them, but deep down in your soul, you know them. And they're a permanent part of you.

To many a journalist, such was Peter Jennings.

I grew up with Jennings. I saw him every day. More often than either of my parents and most of my friends. Every night at 6 - after People's Court ... or whatever lame show dad had us watching between the local news and ABC World News Tonight.

Jennings would sign on, and calmly bring the world around us into our living rooms. I heard him say the words "Israel" and "Palestine" more than I heard my father say, "honey, what's for dinner." And more often than not, Jennings' news would tell you that the world was going to hell in a handbasket - falling apart around you. But his delivery. His conviction. It made it all seem okay.

According to ABC, Jennings joined the news team in 1964, serving as the anchor of "Peter Jennings with the News" from 1965 to 1967. He established the first American television news bureau in the Arab world in 1968, and he helped put ABC News on the map in 1972 with his coverage of the Summer Olympics in Munich, when Arab terrorists took Israeli athletes hostage.
In 1975, Jennings moved to Washington to become the news anchor of ABC's morning program "A.M. America". After a short stint in the mornings, Jennings returned overseas to Rome where he stayed before moving to London to become ABC's Chief Foreign Correspondent. In 1978 he was named the foreign desk anchor for "World News Tonight." Jennings was named anchor and senior editor of "World News Tonight" in 1983.

During his career, Jennings had reported from every major world capital and war zone, and from all 50 U.S. states, according to the network.

He has been honored with almost every major award given to television journalists. And I would say he deserved each and every one.

And I'm hardly alone. Jennings work is revered almost unanimously in journalism.

Fox News commentator and talk show host Bill O'Reilly gushed during a segment of his radio show Monday about when he worked with Jennings at ABC. O'Reilly, who has often been critical of television news, had an obvious soft spot for Jennings.

As did Mike Hudson, editor of the Niagara Falls Reporter.

"I have been watching him since I was a kid," Hudson said Monday afternoon.

"I always felt he was much more natural ... than Rather or Brokaw or any of his competitors over the years."

"I was truly sad," Hudson said, of hearing of Jennings' death. "I always felt an affinity with him."

And that was one of Jennings' qualities that made us love him. He was natural. Real, if you will.

And his work ethic was unparalleled.

On December 31, 1999, Jennings anchored live coverage of the Millenium Eve. He was on air for 25 consecutive hours.

September 11, 2001, Jennings kicked it into overdrive again, working more than 60 hours in the days following the terrorists attacks in New York and Washington. Undoubtably scared himself, Jennings allayed his own fears in order to put the country's to rest. For his work, TV Guide called him "the center of gravity."

And yet, he was no propagandist. In 2003, he told Jeff Alan, "There are a lot of people who think our job is to reassure the public every night that their home, their community and their nation is safe. I don't subscribe to that at all. I subscribe to leaving people with essentially — sorry it's a cliche — a rough draft of history. Some days it's reassuring, some days it's absolutely destructive."

Tim Marren, editor of the Lockport Union-Sun & Journal explained the connection to Jennings: "You form a bond with these guys cause you're so used to seeing them at major (emotional) points."

Marren, 23, said he, too grew up with Jennings, as well as Tom Brokaw. The third member of the "big three," Dan Rather, was mainly absent from Marren's TV screen.

Even though Marren works in print media, he said TV journalism plays a big role in forming the foundation of a print reporter's life.

"You don't even realize what kind of impact it has until you get in the business," he explained.

Jennings was a dual citizen of Canada and the United States, having become an American citizen on May 30, 2003. He was said to have been very proud of scoring 100 of 100 on the U.S. citizenship exam.

On a day when I reported that one in five people think the three branches of government are Democrat, Reublican and Independent, that 100 percent looks pretty darn good. Better than many other reporters could do, no doubt.

To be honest, it was Wolf Blitzer and the glamour of the TV coverage of Operation Desert Storm that really got me revved up about journalism. Wolf and CNN pushed me into this field. But I never would have been heading in that direction if it weren't for Peter Jennings.

And so as Jennings leaves us, a little bit of me leaves with him. And the rest of me wishes his soul eternal rest. God knows he didn't rest while he was with us.

London calling

It's a world of laughter
- A world of tears
It's a world of hopes
- And a world of fears
There's so much that we share
- That it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all

- It's a Small World After All
-
Written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman

That song is synonymous with Disney - the happiest place on earth.

But it's also symptomatic of the tragedy Thursday when three subway trains and a bus in London, England were bombed by terrorists.

Of course, it's not the first terrorist attack since 9/11. It's not the first time one of our allies in the War On Iraq have been targeted on their home turf. And, dare I say ... it won't be the last.

If memory serves me correctly, we went to war in Iraq cause they had WMDs. No, I mean, cause Saddam was bad. No, I'm sorry ... it was to liberate the Iraqi people. Oh, wait. Now I remember the REAL reason we're at war there. It's to fight them there instead of here.

Is that way the Brits went to war, too? So they could fight terrorism in Iraq instead of on double-decker buses and the London Underground? The people of England have expressed great concern over their involvement in the quandary known as Iraq. As have the people of the United States.

What will Thursday's attacks do to their resolve? I'm betting it's a very polarizing issue. Many will state, "See. I told you they're bad. We have to kill them all now." Others will say, "See. I told you. We shouldn't have stuck our noses in where they don't belong."

Sadly, both are right.

Frankly, I think that we're in a war of choice. But much like the Superman ride at Six Flags Darien Lake, you can't get off in the middle ... not matter how much your stomach churns. We have to get through it. And we have to do our damndest to fight back those that would hate us for being us. But we also have to learn from our mistakes.

Mistakes.

Yup, I said it. We're not infallible. According to some, that would make me part of the "Blame America First Crowd." I'm not blaming us first. Just saying that there's blame to go around. A war of choice is a mistake. And we deserve the blame for it.

Now it's possible - likely even - that some of the world would still hate us even if we hadn't gone to war in Iraq. They'd hate us for Afghanistan. They'd hate us for Israel. They'd hate us for shaving off our facial hair and not putting Allah first. But maybe they wouldn't hate us enough to continue attacking us.

Cause WE were attacked this Thursday. Yeah, the location was London, but that was an attack on what we stand for. And just as the flag stands for the United States, so do our allies. Attack the flag and you're attacking the U.S. Attack our allies and you're attacking the U.S.

And in an ever shrinking world - one where you're with us ... or you're the terrorists - it's time we're aware that we have to share this ball of mud and grass. And maybe the best first step would be to stop throwing it at one another.

GOP wins round in Washington state battle.

JON CARROLL. Here's a neat story on "the Unitarian Jihad."

My Unitarian Jihad Name is: The Broadsword of Mild Reason.

Get yours.

Buffalo Firefighter awakens from coma 10 years later. This is the story the first caller was talking about this morning.

Cuomo warns of 'tyranny of the majority.'

Ad blitz supporting Bush nominees.

Charges not ruled out for runaway bride. Boortz, Napolitano and Hannity spent all day talking about this. Am I the only one that doesn't care?

The Telegraph Online
Man convicted in scam wins national award... and that award was presented by none other than our congressman, Tom Reynolds.

NEWFANE CARES
Citizens for Accountability and Responsibility in our Educational System... They tell me the website is chock full o' information. Enjoy.

Businessman will challenge Thruway toll hikes. Go Carl, Go!

Primary Challenge web site. Join me in welcoming Jean Latona to the Dialog studio.

CNN Money
Base closures have enormous political ramifications.

Bush adds DeLay to Social Security tour. Further known as the "thumbing their noses tour."

Microsoft to add 'black box' to Windows. That breeze you feel is more of your privacy floating away.

In Bush's Washington, no Democrats need apply.

csmonitor.com
If Senate shuts down, who's to blame? This could be fun to watch. I think its important to note that if the Republicans would nominate some more moderate judges, this whole issue wouldn't be a problem.

csmonitor.com
House ethics panel lapses at an awkward time.

Homegrown Terrorism
Sammy Sorrell is today's guest ... and we're talking about homegrown terrorism (a.k.a. crime).

Weapons Inspector Ends WMD Search in Iraq. Weapons found: 0.

Bolton Finds U.N. Nomination in Jeopardy. Very interesting ... all the way down at the bottom is this sentence: "If the White House wants to spend enough political chips they could save it." - Personally, I think they've already spent most of their "political capital."

Judicial Insanity. Pretty interesting commentary about all the judge threatening we've got going on these days.

Senate closes in on filibuster showdown.

Jeb Bush to lead U.S. delegation to Rome. Hmm. Very interesting. A lot of people believe that Jeb is being groomed to run for president in 2008. This makes you think they may be right, doesn't it?

Dems: Energy Bill Would Raise Gas Prices. Bush's plan gives tax breaks to the oil industry, allows drilling in ANWAR, and does not do anything to encourage conservancy. What do you expect with an oil man in the White House?

Activists Ask Who Led Them From Bush Event. Always nice to see people barred from an event because of their bumper sticker. Ahh - America these days. What fun.

Bush Seeks Funding for Iraq, Afghanistan.

Moussaoui Pleads Guilty in 9/11 Conspiracy. If his guilty plea is true, how could we NOT put this person to death? Personally, I'm opposed to the death penalty and would rather see him sit in jail forever, but if we're killing thieves and liars, we should certainly put to death one of the 9/11 conspirators.

Voting agency chairman quits in protest. Cites lack of funding and lack of attention to real reform.

Free PublicData.comSex Offender Search. This is the web site that a caller was discussing today on the show. A quick check of 14094 ... and I was surprised to see a name of someone I knew. Hmm.

Candid camera with Supreme Court justices. This is a very interesting story ... you don't usually get to peer into Supreme Court Justice's minds.

New push to win approval for Bush judicial nominees. But the public ain't buyin' it.

Critics Question Screening Tactics at Bush Events. This is purported to be "only on FOX," but I'm fairly certain you've heard this on Dialog before. "Fox News: We distort. You comply."

Dems Change Tack on Ethics Panel Debate. It's very interesting to see what Fox's take is on this as compared to CNN.

Hastert: Democrats protecting their own

BBC News
US may toughen airspace security. I don't have a problem with this. Do you?

Powell playing quiet role in Bolton fight. And by playing quiet, he's speaking volumes.

Man spits in Fonda's face at signing.

Christian Science Monitor
Regional impact of the new US bankruptcy law. This is a pretty neat study.

Newsday.com
A Gay Rights Milestone. Connecticut is the first state to legalize gay marriage without the courts requiring them to do so. Go Connecticut.

Senatorial courage. Voinovich praised for decision to hold off on Bolton Vote.

House votes for oil drilling in Alaskan refuge.

House panel prepared to investigate Delay

Rice says ‘da’ to 2008 run ... but it’s really ‘nyet.’ Hey, I give her credit just for trying to do an interview in Russian. Her boss can't even do one in English.

Baltimore Sun
So far, GOP squandering Bush's capital. I was thinking the same thing the other day. All the "political capital" Bush had talked about is being spent ... and he's not getting anything for it.

Independent Sen. Jeffords to retire. This is sad. He's been a good man ... even when he was a Republican.

Democracy For America. This is a pretty cool campaign to DeRail DeLay. I hope it works.

Slate
The Romenesko Effect - How a one-man Web site is improving journalism. I never heard of this web site before. Looks pretty cool, though. Especially for people like me who want to stay on top of media issues.

GOP Ethics Chair Trying to Snap Deadlock