Just saw 41 at the Super Bowl:

Bob Woodward, a reporter on the team that covered the Watergate story, has advised his executive editor at the Washington Post that Throat is ill. And Ben Bradlee, former executive editor of the Post and one of the few people to whom Woodward confided his source’s identity, has publicly acknowledged that he has written Throat’s obituary.

The list of Deep Throat suspects currently in bad health can’t be that long. This should stir up speculation.

Actions speaking louder than words:

President Bush is proposing to reduce spending on public health and social welfare in the US to help pay for tax cuts and the war in Iraq, according to early reports of today’s White House budget.
In an attempt to keep government spending under control at a time of record deficits, Mr Bush’s proposals to Congress will include cuts in public housing subsidies, in health projects aimed at diseases related to poverty, and in food stamps, which help America’s poorest buy groceries.
Mr Bush inherited a budget surplus from Bill Clinton but is now running deficits of over $400bn (�215bn) a year, partly as a result of an economic slump and the September 11 attacks. But the turnaround is also due to huge tax cuts which disproportionately benefit the wealthiest 1% of Americans, and the war in Iraq, for which the administration has asked for another $80bn this year.

And don’t forget our veterans:

President Bush’s budget would more than double the co-payment charged to many veterans for prescription drugs and would require some to pay a new fee of $250 a year for the privilege of using government health care, administration officials said Sunday.

Support our troops!
None of this is much of a surprise. Bush Government, Inc. is designed to offer high returns to the investors (i.e., contributors) who brought it to power. None of the above fit in that select group. So their interests take a back seat to the preferred stockholders.

Eight plus hours of Super Bowl pre-game. Sheesh.
As far as the game goes, I’ll pull for Philadelphia, even though they’re division rivals. I think we’ve seen enough of New England for a while.

Using your cell phone may lead to your capture. Fortunately, this couple hadn’t figured that out.
UPDATE: I didn’t catch this before, but Bubba points out that this couple once operated a “Christian” school in Knox County. Mind boggling.

Catching up on some earlier news. As a Redskins fan, I note that this attempted policy was lame:

The Washington Redskins said yesterday they would no longer require season ticket holders who buy their seats with a credit card to use a Redskins Extra Points MasterCard, dropping a policy the team had announced only a week ago.
. . .
The requirement that fans use a Redskins credit card, which would have affected those buying tickets to FedEx Field’s 66,500 regular admission seats, was announced last week in a letter to season ticket holders. Since 2000, Redskins fans have been able to use any credit card to buy their seats, and have always been able to pay by cash or personal check. The team will continue to accept cash or checks, as well as any type of MasterCard, for seats next season.

Why this credit card?

The effect of the Extra Points card on the team’s profitability would be minimal, according to the Redskins. The Extra Points cards, issued by league sponsor MBNA Bank, help market the club’s brand and allow the team to track its customers’ spending habits, allowing more targeted advertising.

More consumer monitoring. Just another sad effort to make consumers wholly-owned subsidiaries of corporate America. Alas.