Notes while traveling and visiting with mostly Catholic friends and family. You have no idea how angry Catholics are about the scandals in the church. "Why give money to pay off law suits?", was the most heard remark. American Catholics are almost sure to break with Rome; contempt for the Pope, Vatican, Bishops, Cardinals, and celibacy is all you hear. None I've met has seen The Passion either. So who is coughing up the 200 mil???

No cable news, so I get the smaller city news feeds. Idiotic is the only word I can think of.

Real estate prices in Florida are shockingly low compared to SoCal. In fact housing isn't that expensive throughout the South.

There are good restaurants all over the place. Best I've found so far is a small chain called "Bonefish Grill". This is really good.

SoCal weather is so good it spoils it for everywhere else.

Stock Market a barometer of the feeling that Bush is toast. The charts this AM look like the top is in. You better have your stops set for a huge drop. Face it everyone, the President is the least articulate person in Federal Office. He cannot articulate. He is not capable of running his own campaign. What you will see this week is the anticipation of a Democratic win. Only Jobs Numbers can save this presidency, and I increasingly doubt that a person who cannot communicate anything can win. Even if unemployment drops to 4.9%. The market is about to tell you plenty.