Many of us scoffed at the notion that Iraq had any connection to al Queda and 9/11, and that’s still a valid scoff, but the various anti-Israel, anti-US radicals throughout the region are interconnected. They communicate with one another, they receive protection and financial support from the same sources, including governments in the region, and they have similar goals despite occasional differences in religious dogma. Some governments make nice with the US on a diplomatic level while simultaneously providing support for people who are organized to kill all the infidels. These are not random pockets of radical fundamentalists. There is a unifying theme, and it extends to all sides of the conflicts. Iran wants to unify the entire region, but so does the US. We’ve heard the Secretary of State and the guy who thinks he’s President say that there will be no cease fire in Lebanon until Israel gets what it wants. We’ve heard the Secretary of State talk about, in her own words, "A new middle east where we will prevail; they will not." That kind of talk, of course, tends to unite the middle east despite centuries of fighting among the various kinds of Muslims. The US seems to be wandering around the middle east randomly lighting every fuse it can find. Even if the Bush gang can be shut down at the voting booths, it’ll take a few decades and a few miracles to shovel out the mess they leave behind in that part of the world.

The Castro story could be changing as we speak, but whether the old Commie is alive, dead, or somewhere in between, the story is much less than it appears to be. The Cuban community in Florida already is celebrating Castro’s anticipated demise, but the joy is more personal than political. Castro’s faithful, traditional Marxism has been irrelevant for a long time. Even brother Raul, the heir apparent who was a Commie before Fidel, says he likes what he sees the Communist Chinese doing with a little capitalist ingenuity. The social and political climate inside Cuba isn’t likely to change much when Fidel goes, but the economy could use a little juice in the form of lifting the US embargo. Cuba once was and could again be a convenient playground for US tourists, and US companies are poised to grab some of that action. Golden arches over Havana. Castro and Hemingway will be turning over in their graves.

I still can’t find much interest in the race for governor of California. Angelides spent all his money on TV ads claiming he’s a leader not an actor, reminding voters that neither candidate is much of an actor. Arnold is so inherently colorful that he seems to be intentionally toning down his image. He’s got a lot more money behind him than Angelides, and that’s apparently what will carry the election. Amazingly, Arnold is coming up looking greener than the Democrat. He rubbed elbows with Tony Blair last week, and they both crowed about how much they hate greenhouse gasses and global warming. It was almost as if Al Gore was in town stumping for Arnold.

Make sure you’re sitting down for this shocker. Profits are up to record levels for US oil companies. Remember back in the early 70s when we were outraged about $.50 a gallon for gas? The oil companies said they couldn’t help it because OPEC was raising the price of crude. We’ve been hearing the same story ever since. I’m sure OPEC countries aren’t going broke, but the gap between what US oil companies take in and what their stockholders take home just keeps getting wider. And remember, US soldiers are killing and dying in the desert to keep it that way. Makes you want to put another American flag decal on your car before you get your next $60 fill up.

The irony just gets thicker from here on. Remember Katherine Harris, the Florida secretary of state with the obvious distaste for counting Gore’s votes in 2000? She went on to win a seat in Congress, but her attempt to move up to the US Senate is falling apart. She’s been burning through campaign managers as fast as she can recruit the next sucker. Among the nicer things they say about her is that she’s arbitrary, inconsistent and foul tempered. Now her own party, the Republicans of course, has said it can’t support her because she can’t possibly beat incumbent Bill Nelson in November. What a shame after Harris did so much for the elephants just a few short years ago.

Like all the heirs of people killed in the course of military service, Cindy Sheehan got some money from the federal government as compensation for the death of her son in Iraq, and she just used it to buy five acres of land near the scene of her greatest accomplishments, Crawford, Texas. She says she just likes it there, but don’t expect her to actually become one of Dubya’s neighbors in the near future. She’s planning to use the property as a permanent base for demonstrations against the Bush gang’s warmongering. Should be a busy place when they start sending the troops to Iran.

For all you telephone dinosaurs, it’s sobering to note that Cingular Wireless now will charge an extra $5 a month to every customer still talking on a phone that uses an analog signal. The company says it’s just not cost effective to keep generating digital and analog signals simultaneously. It is cost effective, however, to bank the additional $23.5 million a month the surcharge will generate. The next step will be when analog broadcast signals start disappearing. We’ll all be buying those new digital TVs and radio tuners whether we want them or not.