Governor Schwarzenegger declares fiscal emergency, and invoked emergency powers so he could impose $150 million in spending cuts without the legislature's approval.  "I was elected by the people of this state to lead. Since the legislative leadership refuses to act, I will act without them."  So be it.  There are no easy answers when you're draining a swamp.

Robert Scheer absolutely defines the left edge of the spectrum.  His take on Saddam's capture: "Bush and his allies are celebrating the capture of Saddam Hussein, but they may come to regret it."  My take: we are all celebrating his capture, and it seems inconcievable that we will ever regret it.  Go ahead and read the article just so you get a flavor for how differently people view the same thing.

Janet Daley predicts the reaction to future success...

And Tim Blair notes "Saddam’s only been in custody a few days, and already the French and Germans have become oddly compliant".  Yep, the trial should be interesting...

Roger Simon reports on his trip to Paris.  This is really sad.  I've been to Paris three times, and loved it.  But it really does seem to be in decline now...

No, I haven't seen Return of the King yet, and yes, I really really want to.  Have you seen it?  From the reviews and buzz it seems like it might be the movie of the year, or maybe the century (so far :)

Are you ready for some science?  Well then, how about a cable channel devoted to 100% science programming.  Including C-SPAN style live coverage of conferences.  Cool!

whatacrappypresent.com is a site for teens who receive music CDs for Christmas.  "I got that on the computer, like, two months ago."  No, I am not making this up.  And I'm giving iTunes gift certificates :)

Ottmar Liebert wonders "Wouldn't it be nice if we could buy a bag with 100 mini radio tags for a couple of bucks?  We would stick them on everything we usually can't find...the coffee mug, a book or magazine, maybe even the pet mouse or whatever..."  Yes, it would be nice.  Stay tuned, Ottmar, it's comin'!

AlwaysOn notes: A bank robber has lost his bid to overturn his conviction by arguing the stupidity of the crime proved he was too drunk to be responsible.  The stupidity of this defense almost convinces me he really is that stupid!

This is so cool - a paper Yamaha motorcycle!  Just go to the site, print out the PDF files, cut them out [carefully], assemble them [carefully], and poof, you have a Yamaha!  Very cool.  Makes me wish I had free time.

<rant subject="metadata" opinion="dislike" stance="philisophical">
Tom Coates savages metadata, piling on after Jason Kottke's metadata overfizzle.  "Nothing takes the fun and personality out of writing like metadata."  Yeah.  Imagine if I had to bracket every block post with attributes.  That would suck.
</rant>

Acidman engages in bible study...

This looks really cool - Tom's Hardware reviews the QuickCam Orbit, a new videoconferencing camera that keeps your face centered.

Om Malik reports Vonage is going wireless!  So - let's see now - my Treo 600 is basically just a computer on an IP network, so I can make VoIP calls on it via Vonage.  Oooh, I bet Sprint will love that =O

You might be a geek if you understand this billboard.  Actually you would definitely be a geek.  And you might want to check out Electronic Arts Canada :)

Jim Fawcette on "the forgotten 3 million".  That's VB programmers, and they probably wouldn't understand the billboard, either.  [ via Robert Scoble ]