So goes the last vestige of the dot.com bloom. But I wonder. Steve Case is made out to be such a fool, but with all due respect to TimeWarner investors (a good many friends work there and they're still hurting badly), where would AOL be if they hadn't bought/merged with the media company?

What's going on here? Is the Bush admin. not synchronizing message? Three possibilities that I can think of. One is that, like last summer, Cheney -- clearly deranged by his obsession with Iraq -- is talking out of turn and trying to force his boss's hand. Unlike last summer, though, force his boss to do what? A second possibility is that on Sunday Cheney was simply trying to salvage his own tattered reputation for truth, but it failed. Or, third, the whole thing was scripted. Cheney reinforced for the 70% of Americans who think Hussein masterminded the attacks on the World Trade Center, and then -- faced with guffaws by anyone paying attention -- Rummy, Condi, and Bush-boy did the ol' plausible denial thing, knowing that most Americans are, in fact, not paying attention. And don't really care, anyway. I think the third scenario is the most likely.

So, if it's never been used, especially immediately after 9-11-01, why would it threaten US security if it was repealed? Ashcroft is another member of the Bush administration who seems to be increasingly off the rails.

Geesh, even his bro' thinks he's a nitwit.

Clark is in. Does this mean, poor Dean, Kerry, and Rove? I'm not sure, but I'm staying tuned. Thanks to Talking Points for the link.

This is out of my purview, but here's a couple of more nuanced views of Gibson's "The Passion."

What is with the Brits? When he locked himself in a block of ice in Times Square, New Yorkers -- even the tourists -- sort of stopped, looked at the guy, shook their heads, and moved on. In London, they're trying to kill him.

*****

The "Rocket" passes "Old Hoss."