The Dow first broke 10,000 in 1999. It reached a peak of 12,500 early in 2000. It went back down as low as 7,500 during the dot-com bust. It broke 10,000 again in 2004 and stayed there (until now).

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I was interviewed after the bike ride I did with my boyfriend yesterday morning. I tried to get her to list my occupation as lead singer of Secret Crush Society but I don't think she believed me!

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The Dow has gone down 200 points since my last post.

So, things are starting to get creepy. I gave up waiting for the fire department to let people into my office building and came home (I was planning to leave early today anyway b/c Dylan has a doctor's appointment). Now there are fire trucks at the other end of my block AT HOME.

Was I nominated for a position as Fire Goddess over the weekend and somebody forgot to tell me? Because I resign! Do not want!

Sarah Palin - the early years: Barracuda

The whole thing is interesting. This stood out for me:

Palin's first year or two on the council went smoothly by all accounts. "I was relatively pleased at the fact that she did communicate back and forth to that group," Carney says. "She would make good decisions." But, in retrospect, there were signs of tension. Though council members routinely bickered with one another, Palin became defensive when she was on the receiving end. "Sarah is intimidated, in my personal opinion, by people who are intelligent," Laura Chase says.

The city had traditionally put up part of the purse for the Iron Dog competition--the grueling, 2,000-mile snow machine race that usually starts in Wasilla--and one year the council considered upping its ante. (First prize could be tens of thousands of dollars.) When a colleague pointed out that Palin should recuse herself because her husband was a perennial Iron Dog contender, she protested, "I don't think I have a conflict of interest here because Todd won it last year. There's no guarantee that he's going to win it this year." As others chimed in to explain the problem, Palin dug in her heels. "Well, it could be perceived that way, but it isn't," she harrumphed.

As a rule, the city's department heads attended every city council meeting. One evening, as the session wound down, Palin mentioned to Mary Ellen Emmons, the library director, that something had been bothering her--a book she thought was overly indulgent of homosexuality. "She said there was no room in our library for that kind of stuff," recalls Chase. Emmons curtly disagreed, but Palin was adamant. She suggested the librarian could at least keep such books in the reference section, where visitors would have to request them. "We don't believe in censoring books," Emmons finally told her, at which point Palin trailed off muttering.

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In 1996, Palin was also asserting herself more and more. For example, she'd demand to know why Stein, the mayor, had "raised the budget." Stein and Carney tried to explain that he'd done nothing of the kind--that, when a city grows, businesses collect more in tax revenue, but that new residents also increase demand for public services. Palin wasn't appeased. She'd say things like, "'Oh, okay. Well, that's the way you think about it,'" Stein recalls. "I was thinking--these are things she should know better. Why is she asking me these stupid questions?"

Turns out, she was getting ready to run for mayor....

The credit markets don't seem to be unfreezing either. Boy am I glad congress was panicked into giving 700 billion dollars away to prevent a crash...

You know, it just occurs to me, upon reading this, that Bush might be an idiot:

As the man took his seat in the wing chair next to the president's desk, he began to explain his problem with the president's decision. The fact of the matter was that in this area of policy, this advisor was one of the experts, really top-drawer, and had been instrumental in devising some of the very language now used to discuss these concepts. He was convinced, he told Bush, that the president's position would soon enough be seen as "bad policy."

This, it seems, was the wrong thing to say to the president.

According to senior administration officials who learned of the encounter soon after it happened, President Bush looked at the man. "I don't ever want to hear you use those words in my presence again," he said.

"What words, Mr. President?"

"Bad policy," President Bush said. "If I decide to do it, by definition it's good policy. I thought you got that."

The advisor was dismissed. The meeting was over.

What Bush Meant

That's awesome, lisah! Also, I want to live in Ridgely's Delight.

Was I nominated for a position as Fire Goddess over the weekend and somebody forgot to tell me? Because I resign! Do not want!

Um....oops?

"If I decide to do it, by definition it's good policy. I thought you got that."

I am totally taking this as my life philosophy.

You can see how well it's worked out for Bush over the past eight years.

After eight years of prunes...