OK, if you are, or ever were a D&D geek, and have ever asked yourself what D&D Character you are? in real life, check it out. Also, the Southern New England Weblogs home is up and running, so if you're a local, check it out, or even join! Come on in, the water's fine, only a few sharks lurking, promise.

I decided to do my part for the economy by spending a portion of the tax rebate on a new computer. Actually, on computer components. I'm a semi-geek and began building my own systems a few years ago. Once you start, you have a hard time legitimizing to yourself buying anything off the shelf again. Anyway, here are a couple sights that I used to get the parts I needed. First, checkout Spoofee.com which has the inside track on ways to get great deals, as does Slickdeals. Also, comparison shopping is a must, try either Pricegrabber, Nextag, or Techbargains. They also include opinions on products from other consumers. Similarly, and finally, I have always found Epinions to be an invaluable resource in canvassing reviews from the Average Joe. Just beware of company "plants" and people who really don't know what they're doing but still offering opinions! Amazon also has good reviews, usually both "professional" and consumer.

I loved Paris when I visited. I am of French ancestry and am naturally interested in the history of France and its people. Yet, like many, I don't intend on going back any time soon as long as the government in France is as knee-jerk anti-American as it is currently. Many U.S. tourists are staying away from France. The best part? The French Tourism Ministry attributes the decline in the first half of 2003 to the weak dollar...um...yeah, right.

Cheney Speaks on Terrorism yesterday. It's always nice when the Veep speaks. He has a way of putting the picture back in focus.

Mel Gibson's 'Passion' elicits unfair conflict already, and it won't even be released for a year. Looks like Mel has his work cut out for him.

For the REAL STORY in Iraq, go to this letter from a soldier on the ground and see who you believe, him or the media.

Had a nice day in Boston on Saturday. Saw some of the historical sites along the Freedom Trail, though I missed the USS Constitution as it went to "sea" (actually, just Boston Harbor) to do a change of command ceremony. Just my luck, the ship doesn't move 363 days out of the year and I pick the one day, other than the traditional 4th of July turnaround, that it did. Oh well, good excuse to go back! It was nice walking the city. Saw the North End and South End more than I ever had. I particularly liked the old world feel of the North End. Maybe a dinner there will be in order someday. I recommend the Rock Bottom Brewery in the theater district. Food was good, beer was excellent. Wrapped up the night with a concert at the FleetBoston Pavilion by Big Head Todd and the Monsters and Hootie and the Blowfish. I've been a long time fan of the former; a band you really have to see live to appreciate. Hootie was pretty good too, though I am a bit sick of a lot of their overplayed "hits". They did a good job of covering Zeppelin's "Hey, Hey, What can I do?" though and also did good renditions of Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" and "Black Water" by the Doobie Brothers. They also did "Will The Circle Remain Unbroken", the classic country tune, pretty faithfully. Notice a pattern? I liked Hootie when they did other people's songs! Oh, they also did "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" by the Georgia Satellites for an encore. Again, pretty good! Anyway, there's nothing like walking around Boston on a mid-summers day, good time all around. Can't wait to go back, maybe even with the kids!

What an amazing speech by PM Tony Blair in front of Congress yesterday. Sometimes, he can do what our President cannot; present an eloquent and colorful argument for why we, the Brits, U.S. and our coalition are in the right. An excerpt:

"We are fighting for the inalienable right of humankind; black or white; Christian or not; left, right or merely indifferent, to be free. Free to raise a family in love and hope; free to earn a living and be rewarded by your own efforts; free not to bend your knee to any man in fear; free to be you, so long as being you does not impair the freedom of others. That's what we're fighting for, and it's a battle worth fighting. And I know it's hard on America, and in some small corner of this vast country, out in Nevada or Idaho or these places I've never been to but always wanted to go (laughter) I know out there, there's a guy getting on with his life, perfectly happily, minding his own business, saying to you, the political leaders of this country, 'Why me, and why us, and why America?' And the only answer is because destiny put you in this place in history in this moment in time, and the task is yours to do. And our job, my nation, that watched you grow, that you fought alongside and now fights alongside you, that takes enormous pride in our alliance and great affection in our common bond, our job is to be there with you. You're not going to be alone. We will be with you in this fight for liberty. We will be with you in this fight for liberty. And if our spirit is right and our courage firm, the world will be with us."

Smoke signals in Charlestown as the RI State Police "take down" the Narragansett "Indians" tax-free, and illegal, smoke shop. Sounds like the natives were looking for trouble to me, plus:

"The Narragansett Indians have refused to cooperate and have chosen instead to flout state law," said Carcieri. "They demanded that in return for closing the smoke shop that I must drop my opposition to a casino."

"That was outrageous," said Carcieri.

You bet it is. These guys have been grandstanding for years and are willing to go to any length to get a casino. Even if it means breaking the law along the way. The usual charges of civil rights violations and living in a police state are being made. Please. More from the article:

"Today's actions were precipitated by the Narragansett Indians and their flagrant violation of state law," said Carcieri, who was flanked by state police Col. Steven Pare and Atty. Gen. Patrick Lynch.

The troopers entered the property under a court-issued search warrant that he ordered be executed, the governor said.

"We do not take today's actions lightly," Carcieri said. "We deliberated long and hard before authorizing today's response."

Lynch supported Carcieri's action, saying the governor had been "remarkably patient" in the face of obvious lawbreaking by the tribe.

Lynch said the tribe's operation of an illegal, tax-free tobacco store was no different than if "Cumberland Farms," the convenience store chain, had decided to sell cigarettes without collecting state and federal taxes.

LIMBAUGH JOINS ESPN-TV AS FOOTBALL COMMENTATOR according to Drudge. This should be interesting!

OpinionJournal - Best of the Web Today led off with a bit about the continuing "controversy" regarding WMD in Iraq. Best part of the story was this quote from Rummy:

"The coalition did not act in Iraq because we had discovered dramatic new evidence of Iraq's pursuit of weapons of mass murder. We acted because we saw the existing evidence in a new light, through the prism of our experience on September 11."

That's what the Left and others keep forgetting. We, the average American led by our President, are no longer willing to take the risk of "diplomacy" (re prevacation and stalling) when on September 11 our picture of an America immune to terror was so quickly and brutally shattered.

The Governor said he'd do it, and now he has. The "budget" put forth by the General Assembly has been vetoed. Sure, it may be only a temporary thing as the Democrats easily have the votes to overturn the veto, but the message has been sent. From the article:

Carcieri said the Assembly has accomplished many good things this year, including passing separation-of-powers legislation, overhauling the state's fire codes and helping to keep GTECH in the state.

"However, there is one overriding issue that will smother that spirit . . . It's what I call a spending addiction," Carcieri said. "The General Assembly -- not all [members] -- has continued a bad habit of out-of-control spending that was born in the prosperous years of the late '90s. That party came to an end almost three years ago. But most of the General Assembly has refused to accept that fact."


Meanwhile, I saw that Rep. Sherlock tried again to play the "poor state worker" card and say that the Governor was really just attacking the little guy blahblah blah blah.

The problem is this:

To balance the past two budgets, the General Assembly relied on money from the settlement of a tobacco lawsuit. This year, $102 million in last-minute federal aid closed the gap.

"That's like cashing in the 401k to pay the mortgage and electric bill," Carcieri said.

Noting that these are one-time revenue sources, Carcieri asked: "What happens next?"

The state is projected to start this year with a $34.7-million surplus -- the last of the tobacco settlement -- and to end the year with a surplus of about $250,000. Carcieri predicts that in next year's budget, the state will face a deficit exceeding $170 million.

"Reasonable budgeting does not assume that the doors of the federal treasury will be open again next year," Carcieri told the Assembly in his veto message. "By increasing our operating costs on the basis of an unexpected windfall, we are simply creating a larger problem for next year."

Yup. And it has to stop. I believe when most people come up with a budget for their own family, they generally try to live within their means and don't plan on winning the lottery to pay for the SUV they want. Instead, they actually set money aside for emergencies, learn to live within their means and hope for some growth. That's not what has been going on here in the Ocean State, and it's time for some fiscal sanity to start. Finally, this editorial in today's ProJo really boils it down. The problem is the cost incurred by the state in employing its workers.

I'm back from vacation and thought I'd start with this link to the Open Government Information Awareness site, specifically to the Rhode Island Congressional delegation page. If you're interested in tracking your Congressman, here is the place.

Carcieri takes firm stand on changes to spending plan says todays ProJo. He's going to stand tough folks. Also, the Separation of Powers Bill may be finally moving again and the Legislature would like it on the Governor's desk befofe July 4 to sign. Cross your fingers, the moment when Li'l Rhody finally enters the 20th century politically is almost at hand. (Yeah, I know, it's the 21st century now...do you get the point?)

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I shouldn't do this, because it's too easy, but Howie Kurtz in his Reliable Source Column today has a blurb about the latest from our very own Patrick Kennedy. To quote Kurtz:

"As sometimes happens with Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), he let his mouth race ahead of his brain Wednesday night at a gathering of Young Democrats at the Washington nightspot Acropolis. After presidential candidate Howard Dean spoke, Kennedy delivered an impassioned peroration against President Bush's tax cut. We hear that Kennedy told the crowd: 'I don't need Bush's tax cut. I have never worked a [bleeping] day in my life.' With that he got the audience's attention -- the dropping-jaws kind. 'He droned on and on, frequently mentioning how much better the candidates would sound the more we drank,' a witness told us. 'Finally, he had to be stopped by a DNC volunteer.' Kennedy's spokesman, Ernesto Anguilla, told us yesterday: 'He was talking to the crowd; it was a rally-the-troops kind of speech about the tax cut. He was energizing the crowd and got caught up in it and used an unfortunate word, which he regrets using. . . . And no one pulled him off the stage.' "

That's our senior Representative folks, proud do not have worked a day in his life. Good thing he's so in touch with the common man, huh?

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The Celtics drafted 3 players last night, highlighted by Point Guard Marcus Banks from UNLV. For more, go here.

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Finally, vacation time is here. Blogging may be non-existant or light. See you in a week!

Looks like Governor Carcieri has hit a nerve as the Rhode Island House leaders chafe at the governor's criticism that they are unduly influenced by labor unions. Truth hurts, huh? Carcieri has positioned himself as the "People's Lobbyist" and has taken to wearing the red badge of a lobbyist that all wear on Smith Hill. Clever. Here's an example of the tired pandering that Carcieri is facing (from todays ProJo):

"You know who really has the undue influence in this budget? It's the schoolteacher that's in a Providence classroom that's dealing with a classroom where 65 percent of that classroom is not speaking English. It's the firemen that have to go and save somebody from a burning building. That is the influence on our community," said House Deputy Finance Chairman Steven M. Costantino, D-Providence.

Mr. Costantino, spare us. Or, let's let the Guv have his say (again from the ProJo):

As he has argued before, Carcieri said compensation packages for state and municipal employees, including teachers, "bear no relation to what's happening in the real world today."

"This kind of pension benefit and other benefit costs is what brought Cranston to the brink of bankruptcy, it's threatening right now to bring Providence to the brink," he said. "And by the way, if we don't start doing something now, it's going to take the state to the brink."

The biggest check this Governor wants to send to the Legislature is the Reality Check.

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On the Iraq front, It may not be the smoking gun, but it sure looks like it's getting hot! Maybe it's not the weapons, but plans and other findings, both official and unofficial, seem to be coming up, finally.

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The Supreme Court has a few final decisions today and many are waiting with anticipation. Will one retire? Two? We shall see.

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I confess: I'll be checking in on Spike TV to see how it is. I am in the target demographic, after all.

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Finally, it looks like the "new" Blogger is being implemented as we speak. Error windows pop up and I can't seem to use the "Blog This!" feature. Oh well, a few growing pains I guess.

The Governor takes it to the people and some of us are listening. As the governor says in the article:

"I think what happens -- and what these people don't realize," Carcieri said of the state's overwhelmingly Democratic lawmakers, "and I realized shortly after I got here, is that what happens within the four walls of this building often bears little relationship with how people feel or what people care about outside this building.

"I don't know whether it is in the air or what it is. But what happens is they are only busy talking to each other -- or the lobbyists," he said of the army of suits and ties camped out across the marble divide.

Who are these people that have access? Again, from the ProJo:

They included teachers' union lobbyists, casino lobbyists, the father and son who represent local business interests, and the tie-less former senator who represents the insurer with a monopoly on the state employee health contract: Blue Cross.

To counter this we have:

In interviews earlier in the day, House Finance Chairman Paul V. Sherlock, D-Warwick, and Deputy Finance Chairman Steven M. Costantino, D-Providence, denounced the increase in pension contributions as a "tax on one segment of the Rhode Island work force . . . [the] people who take care of people in our hospitals, the people who teach our children in schools . . . all the people who are meeting the needs of the state."

Guess what Mr. Sherlock and Mr. Costantino? We, the taxpayers of Rhode Island, pay them, not some magical pot of gold! Right now we don't think we're getting enough bang for the buck AND we think they should kick in a little more for their own benefits, just like the rest of us. Spare me the sob story of poor hospital workers and teachers, the fact of the matter is, in tough times, we all have to cinch the belt, and that includes government workers. They have no more "right" to guaranteed increases in pay and benefits then we do. It is the height of arrogance to believe that those of us who are forced to subsidize more and more of our own pensions, health care, etc. should also be forced to pay for obscene increases in those very same benefits for those who work FOR us in the public sector. Hopefully, with the leadership of Governor Carcieri, those days will be behind us soon. Finally, I leave it to the Governor to wrap it up:

He (the Governor) also served notice that "come the next election cycle, I intend to point out who was with me and who was against me . . . We want a floor fight . . . I want people to know who's voting how."

We'll remember.

So now, the ACC is going after Miami and VIRGINIA TECH! A VaTech spokesman said he had no idea about such a plan. Hope not as his school is one of the plaintiffs in the case filed in Connecticut. I wonder how Boston College feels about now. Left at the altar, perhaps?

Baghdad Bob has been caught!

Major Issues Before the Supreme Court is an understatement. More on tap throughout the week. So far, they've already said that the ends justify the means in allowing a fundamentally discriminatory policy to stand at the University of Michigan Law School. Just because the outcome is desirable, doesn't make the way that outcome was achieved Constitutional. Apparently, the Equal Protection Clause isn't as important as making sure the right amount of the "right kind of people" graduate from school. It's not fair and it's an example of pandering and coddling.

Meanwhile, in Patriot Nation...Cloud will have to serve four-game suspension then start playing for the Pats. A local kid who may or may not deserve the benefit of the doubt, thought there was no prior indication of him being of shaky character. Just another in the mix in the Pats backfield.