Here's an interesting view in the MSM (mainstream media) of the Democratic party's working assumptions.

. . . as are hockey fans across North America. The NHL and the players can't come to terms, so all concerned will be exercising their negotiating skills and tempers instead of their quadriceps. But here's a little consolation prize for you Red Wings fans: a Wingless Winter screensaver.

Microsoft has nimbly lept into a new market niche. Now that's customer focus.

Like cheering for the home team, I'm fully enjoying the glee of the blogger-world as they go toe-to-toe with Mainstream Media (MSM) a.k.a. Dan Rather and CBS. I have no particular animus toward Mr. Rather, but his and their, well, shall we call it 'dullness of intellect' regarding the forgery scandal have created the credibility vacuum into which bright-eyed bloggers have swarmed.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, Rather attempted a 60 Minutes expose' of alleged shortcomings in President Bush's National Guard record based on documents that now appear to be thinly-veiled forgeries. The typescript of the memos is consistent with having been created in Microsoft Word rather than on the typewriters available at the time. This was discovered, not by the vaunted and anonymous experts cited as authenticators by CBS, but by bloggers who did a little detective work of their own and published the results. This uppitiness does not make MSM smile.

What's fun about this is that CBS continues, as of this writing, to defend the authenticity of the documents against a proponderance of evidence. And what's most fun about that is the appearance of commentary like this:

"Key to the unraveling of CBS's hyped documents, as bloggers pointed out, were the superscript 'th' and the Times New Roman font used in the alleged Killian memo, both of which seem to belong to a rather modern Microsoft Word default letter-writing program rather than a 1972-era typewriter.

Make that yet another victory for the nerds, but not nerds in pajamas , as former CBS executive Jonathan Klein said in an attempt to impugn bloggers. 'You couldn't have a starker contrast between the multiple layers of checks and balances (at '60 Minutes') and a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas writing,' said Klein. (Emphasis added.) The implication that bloggers are slacker dust bunnies has delighted bloggers, the best of whom are lawyers, professors, scientists, renegade journalists and techies of various sorts . . .

Well, I can't measure up to the credentials of the lawyers, professors, scientists and the like, but I certainly can blog in my pajamas. What a party! If you want to join in, just visit www.blogger.com. And get a comfortable pair of slippers.

Among the community of bloggers, I am quite apolitical. In fact, I report with much pleasure that I have yet to view a political commercial all the way through during this election year. However, I am a huge fan of irony, and I cannot pass up the chance to celebrate the juicy example presented by this editorial, excerpted in its entirety from today's Wall Street Journal.

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Not So Greenpeace

Environmental regulations are notoriously difficult to keep up with, what with all the paperwork and communication required. Just ask Greenpeace.

The radical environmental group and habitual filer of lawsuits is learning how the other side feels after prosecutors in Alaska filed criminal charges against it for violating state environmental laws. It seems a Greenpeace boat, the Arctic Sunrise, entered Alaskan water without the required oil spill prevention plan and proof of financial responsibility should a spiill occur. The vessel, which can carry 128,000 gallons of fuel and lubricants (Exxon Valdez, anyone?), was sailing near Ketchikan to protest logging activities.

The state charges that when the environmental group was notified of the violations on July 14, the ship's agent agreed to remain anchored until the situation was fixed. Instead, the Arctic Sunrise left port that very morning and went joyriding in environmentally sensitive areas during peak salmon runs, without care or consideration for the catastrophic impacts that would occur from failure to have the necessary resources to initiate a response." The case goes to trial in October.

As for Greenpeace, it sounds, well, positively corporate in its explanation. The organization pleaded not guilty at its arraignment. But it has also blamed its decision to go sailing on a communications mishap and noted that a "clerical error" was behind its lack of proper documentation. According to the Washington Legal Foundation, a lawyer for Greenpeace was also quoted as saying that environmental regulations are "getting to be more complicated in this day and age." You don't say.

All right, sports fans, it's time for another self-indulgent venture into Obscure Things Roz Likes.

• Northern Michigan in the autumn
• A male voice speaking French. Or Italian. Not German.
• The aroma of freshly ironed linen
• Crosby, Stills & Nash
• Thunderstorms
• An Izzy's Italian sub with a diet root beer
• The sound of ocean waves at night
• When Harry Met Sally
• Almost anything by Josephine Tey
• Hymns set to the theme of Sibelius' Finlandia
• St. Theresa of Avila
• Toronto's Kensington Market
• My living room sofa
• Michaelangelo's Pieta
• Good quality roller ball pens
• Cheering for things
• Mount Rainier
• Etta James singing At Last
• My parish, especially during Holy Week
• New babies
• Seeing a UPS package on my front porch
• Songs by Rogers and Hammerstein

Happiness is old friends, a lovely setting, and beautiful weather. That's what I got last weekend as a group of friends of close to 30 years standing got together at the lovely lakeside home of one of the couples. We were not all there, unfortunately, but those who were had a wonderful time.

I'm now beginning a stretch of close to three weeks at the Leadership Center. It's not one of the Coach Goes Crazy programs, at least not for a week or so. It's been long enough to be glad to be back. Isn't God good to build cycles, seasons and variety into our lives?

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I want to acknowledge the third anniversary of September 11. May God have mercy on all those who are still suffering as a result of the attacks. Pray for all those in positions of defending us from harm -- emergency responders, medical professionals, and the men and women in the armed forces. May we never forget the lessons of love, service, loyalty and community that we were taught that day.

The Detroit Tigers -- Kaline's, Cobb's, Gehringer's Tigers; the 1984 wire-to-wire champions -- were spanked 26-5 by Kansas City in the first game of a doubleheader today. Improbably enough, they proceeded to shut the Royals out 8-0 in the second game.

And people say baseball is slow and dull. Bah. It's a sport of strategy, of intellect, of sportsmanship and gamesmanship. Apparently it's sometimes an opportunity to let 13 of the other guys on base in a row. What generosity, what spirit, what hospitality.

Welcome to Detroit.

I'm a tremendous putter-offer. If I let something go too long without taking care of it, it gets filed in my "Too Uncomfortable to Think About" file. I wish things like that would go into my "Can't Wait to Act On Right Away" file, but I misplace that one a lot.

That's the silliest of the reasons I haven't been posting. Others include:

• There's not been a lot to tell.
• I've moved and can't seem to get organized.
• There must be some others, but I can't think of them right now.

So here's a quick synopsis of what's up with me, for what it's worth. I now live back in Ann Arbor where I telecommute when I'm not needed on site at one of the company locations. This is a bit difficult since I'm currently restricted to a dial-up connection, the speed of which leaves a good deal to be desired. You may often find me in my Annexe Office, which is Panera Bread where there's a free high-speed wireless connection.

I'm delighted to be back at Christ the King parish. It's wonderful. Ask anybody.

A particular pleasure is to be living with my daughter M again. She's a wonderful companion. I only wish J weren't so allergic to this house. Anybody want to give a good home to the two reasonably lovable cats who make her sneeze?

A secret and trivial delight is that I thought I was going to miss the chance to experience football season in Ann Arbor, but here I am back again. Go Blue!

See, I am as fixated on trivial things as I've ever been. But I have to work my way back into this blogging thing. Any questions from the floor?