Big weekend. Spent most of Saturday prepping for a little birthday celebration for Alexis. Other than the usual last-minute hustle, things came together in fine style with a small group of 10 friends.

Rose the next morning for a hike near Ridgefield, WA with a good friend. Got to the wildlife preserve mid-morning and proceeded to reacquaint ourselves with the local flora and fauna. Saw three deer and multitudes of sandhill crane, turkey vulture, sparrow and duck. Spent most of the day in one area of the preserve - a small hill overlooking a marshy basin full of iridescent greens and yellows. Eventually the weather chased us out, as impending thunderheads rolled in. Got some rain, but had plenty of sunshine to balance the day. Fall has officially arrived.

Today has been a bit of a blur. At lunch, I drove through Northwest Portland and had a hard time processing the transformation. Apparently, no one has a job over there, because the place was crawling with people. No parking as usual and an unusual display of well-groomed idiot drivers. Not that I dislike Northwest Portland. The scene can be interesting, but development has created a monster on that side of the river. At least the drugstore on 21st hasn't been razed.

In other news...

Apparently dissent is now illegal in Bush's backyard. Police decided to preempt the IMF protests by arresting everyone (including the press) without legitimate cause. Since when was it legal to be arrested with having charges brought? Regardless of the police offensive, about 2,500 people showed up the next day and marched to Dick Cheney's residence in protest.

Rumblings of discontent in the U.K. 400,000 march for peace.

80's American foreign policy catches up with Bush. This issue has the potential of causing a serious stink if the corporate media decides to run with it.

More evidence of two-sided American mucking in the Mid-East. Did Rumsfield really shake hands with Saddam? Will anyone care or spend a moment to ponder our foreign agenda while Nero fiddles and the market continues to tank.

This is creepy. George W. Bush told Rudy Guliani that he could have the privilege of executing Osama Bin Laden if U.S. forces ever capture him. Great. Do you get fries with that?

New Jersey Democrat Robert Toricelli bows out of the Senate race due to ethics controversy. Dems want to run Bill Bradley in his place, but the GOP says it will fight an appointment of any new candidates so close to election day. According to New Jersey law, the governor can appoint a new senator if they resign 30 days before an election. Toricelli's resignation comes just 36 days from the November elections. We'll see what happens...