Random Thoughts 5/21/06

• Iraq finally formed a new permanent government Saturday! Shouldn't that be big news? It's a huge victory by anyone's standards. Remember, these groups were not supposed to be able to get along. Some American politicians (I'll give you a hint: the group starts with a "d" and rhymes with democrats) were saying just recently that Iraq ought to break up into semi-autonomous states because they would never be able to form a unity coalition government. Well, look what happened! As this government gets on its feet and its new military matures, our troops can begin to come home – victorious!
• It looks like the Da Vinci code is making some real money. With as much as a $77 million opening weekend (estimated), that puts it among the top movies all time. Oh, well. I still don't feel like it's that big of a threat, it's so far out in left field.
• You're keeping up with NFL news right? It is May afterall. The Chiefs cut Jerome Woods last week, re-signed our kicker, and failed to land QB Joey Harrington, who went to the Dolphins. Kansas City's offseason performance in the free agent market has been pretty feeble. Apparently, the young players on defense don't need that much help. Uh, ok.
• I checked with my "sources" and there will be a Sam's Club at Village West (the shopping area down the street from us). That's really cool. It's a 30-minute drive to get to one now and I've been told that Sam's has already purchased the land. I also talked to someone "in the know" who said that Edwardsville is getting ready to jump in and develop the land south of the race track. One rumor put television studios and backlots moving from California to Kansas City but I think that sounds a little far-fetched.
• Have you caught any White House press briefings this last week? Tony Snow is the new press secretary for the President and he's really good. He's interesting and articulate, funny and compelling, exactly what this President has needed for years now. So why did it take so long?
• Here's a stat for you: 1 out of 10 Mexican citizens are living illegally in the United States.
• According to a recent survey, Wichita has the cheapest average gas price (self serve unleaded) in the whole country at a mere $2.59 per gallon. San Diego is the highest at $3.40.