Yes, yes, that's all good and fine... diamond cartels, monopolies, slavery, etc. etc. But I'd like to see you just try being the dude who attempts to break this trend. Good luck, chump! How Two Months' Salary Lasts a Lifetime in Really Evil Shit.

Thanks for the head shot Gov. It really is a breath of fresh air in there.

A recent plane ride from beautiful Cleveland to Connecticut this week offered me the pleasure of sitting next to the second cousin of the step father of LeBron "King" James, an 18-year-old hoopster who just signed on with the Cavs for a cool $150 million. Unbelievable story, especially when cruising at an altitude of 20,000 feet.

Apparently, he's good, too.

And he's an all around good guy, according to my high-altitude pal; he donates jerseys to the local pop warner leagues, hands out free Nikes to fans, and hires local down n' out Cleve kids to drive his Escalades and Porches.

Ah, I remember my first job bagging groceries at the local Stop n' Shop. Those were the days.

Another year of the CMJ Music Marathon down the drain, and we here at Fresyes are exhausted... Not really because we attended many shows, mind you, but because we just really needed some sleep last week.

The problem with CMJ is that there were so many damn shows, it rendered us paralyzed. The Mars Volta? Nope. Earlimart? Nah, sorry. We saw next to nothing, basically. Herewith, a list of highlights:

-Straylight Run: A nice little pop combo featuring former members of Taking Back Sunday and Breaking Pangaea... While we've been digging on their MP3 demos for some time now, the sound at NY's Downtime was pretty craptacular. It was entertaining, however, watching Lyor Cohen drool over them from the fifth row.
-The Bronx: Dirty, ugly (in a good way) L.A. punk rock recorded by GN'R's Gilbey Clarke. They were supposed to crash in our living room after their recent Bowery show, but I think we saved a few broken windows when they decided to stay out and party all night. Excellent stuff.
-My Morning Jacket: Sleeping, sorry.
-Cooper Temple Clause: Asleep
-Elbow: Didn't even think I'd get in. Watched TV.
-Andrew WK and Joan Jett: Would have been awesome! Uh...sleeping.

Screw the bedsheets and crystal punch bowls. Our newly married Fresyes handyman has just found his perfect wedding gift: Breathe-easy Respirators.

Actually, I think the first anniversary is better for giving wood chipping filters.

I smell publicity stunt, but let's just be thankful that Shaq and Kobe are gonna sort things out in time to blow another title. "I'm pretty sure it's mostly this fat-ass who couldn't hit a free throw to save his life."

Well, well, well... Doesn't this look freakin' familiar. I am now convinced that these "networking" sites are merely hipster tracking devices set up by the U.S. government. Resist, people.

But fill out a testimonial first, please...

Sure baseball season is over for us die-hard Giants fan, but with spring training a mere five months away and all of the contract negotiations...there's plenty to keep me occupied.

Unfortunately, with the slashing of their budget, we may be losing some valuable (read: uber cute) players. The women of the Bay Area are in mourning this week at the news of a possible loss of one of the finest men ever to don a Giants uniform.

God Bless the Giants and Brian Sabean in his decision making.

It's like me an Alan are the only ones around here with anything to say! shut me up already.

(and by the way, Clinton fought his own war on terror and liberated Bosnia from brutal war with the help of an international community, and managed to pay for the kidies to go to school. The deficit hasn't affected my lillie white ass but why does it always have to be about me?)

Are you alive? If so, write something!

Clinton enjoyed a huge surplus because all he had to spend money on was dry-cleaning and cigars. Bush has had to deal with significant, complex and amazingly costly issues like terrorism and an economy that crashed right before he took office.

But, I ask you, has the deficit affected your life? Probably not. We still have emergency services, paved roads, the postal service and countless other mundane "perks" provided by our government. So quit your gripping, it's essentially pointless.

The Niners kicked some serious butt this weekend, much to my astonishment. Without TO's two end-zone drops, Hearst's critical fumble and a slew of really awful field goal attempts the game would have been textbook. Playoffs? Too early to tell.

As a young holligan growing up in the Bay Area, I associate many of my best childhood memories to the 49ers -- backyard barbeques, gameday parties, and best of all Winnie Cooper. Many of you don't know but "The Wonder Years" aired its first episode following a Niners superbowl victory. Unfortunately, like Winnie, the Niners have grown old and awkward.

On to more bitter news. Did you read today that the Bush Jr. has set a new record -- the highest budget deficit this country has ever seen. Thanks to Georgie Porgie, the U.S. has a credit card bill of $374.2 billion. Granted it equates to about 3.5 percent of the GDP, but its still a bundle considering Bill C. gave us a budget surplus during his 8 years.

I love it...our opinions have fueled the conversation. Marks' master plan is working perfectly!

Okay, my new attitude on the whole recall issue is this now -- we've got a new guy in office, let's see what happens. None of us can say for sure how he'll govern, or where his ideas will come from because we're not there, nor do we know anyone there. I do hope, however, that the governor-elect chooses to take advice from as many people around him...smart people who know how to accomplish lofty goals in politics. Rule through delegation, isn't that democracy?

On to more pressing issues. The San Francisco 49ers suck. They didn't always suck, but they suck now. One of our guys was injured today by hitting a practice dummy? Can't we even beat the practice dummies???

This is a serious issue for the Bay Area. The Niners were really all that this town had left that hadn't been regulated, politically-correctedicized, made to hug trees or smoke medicinal pot. Now we have nothing...except for a team who's facing the Bucs this weekend and will probably lose.

You've all heard about Terrell Owens. Update, nobody here likes him anymore either. He can't catch. Dropping balls is not acceptable. And all the bitching with no solutions! Who does he think he is, Diane Feinstein?

But I digress.

Wow, when I agreed to participate in Mark's website, I didn't realize it would be a forum for Matt and Al to "one-up" each other in the political opinion savvyness arena. I have never touted myself as being anything remotely proficient in politics and wouldn't dare cross the paths of these two pure blooded white middle-class American males, but let me just say this.

During the past few years, through my place of work and through my husband's business, I have seen a trend in law-making and various government regulations that make it very difficult for businesses (mainly small) to survive in this State. From an out of control worker's compensation and medical insurance industry to the return of the 8-hour overtime work rule, it's the small businesses that are feeling the brunt of the current "worker-happy" administration. If the businesses aren't surviving, then all these great worker's rights fly out the window.

I'm not sure who the blame needs to be given to, but do know that small and mid-size businesses are crucial to a state's economy and it seems that little to no thought is being given to this group of citizens. Gray has done enough damage for one lifetime, let's give someone else a shot. Even if he is an Austrian-born-turned-Hollywood-Kennedy-loving-muscle-head.

And for some laughs (and no harm intended to any and all Asians reading this site) please see this.

Okay. I can't stop thinking about this Arnold dude. I'm either warming to his politics or I just watched the Schwarzenegger movie marathon on the Spike network. I'm going with the latter.

It comes down to this for me. California voted for Arnold Schwarzenegger but they really elected a gang of back room poker buddies (Pete Wilson, Willie Brown, George Bush...) who are going to tell Arnold what to say and do, and then sit back as the public eats it up because we all love to look at those perfectly chiseled muscles and his accent makes us happy like we're watching a Saturday Night live sketch.

I agree that Schwarzenegger is actually a really smart and successful guy. Anyone who can grow his pectorals that size really is motivated and dedicated to his work. No joke. But I don't believe he knows how to run a government. Which brings us back to the gang of back room poker buddies. Schwarzenegger will just listen to all the dudes who screwed us up in the first place. And then what?

Very gracious note, Matt. I agree that many problems were in place before Davis took office - but were exasperated by his administration's poor fiscal policy management, bad judgment (come on, did anyone think the dot-com era would never end?) and shady leadership.

We're all in a wait-and-see mode now. Let's hope CA can find its way our of this mess and back to high ground.

As for the digs on Ventura, take a look at where MN was before he took office, and where the state is today...I think you'll find that it's on the serious rebound.

Looking forward to our next meeting, my liberal friend.

I'm recovering from a cold today so this is one liberal that is not high on medical marijuana, at least not at the moment. So with a clear head I can tell you, Alan, and all the other muscle heads that voted Arnold into office, no amount of pumping iron is going to lift California out of its budget crisis.

Grey D. inherited much of his fiscal pains from his GOP predecessor, Pete Wilson, who I remember best for turning California's public school system into a scene out of "The Principal" (one of Jim Belushi's best performances). Then there's the dot-com bust, which depleated many city and county coffers of their tax base. Not to mention Enron and all the other fat energy pimps that strongarmed California into pricey energy contracts. Arnold's not going to be able to arm wrestle his way out of those.

I'll I've got to say is good luck, and I hope you make out better than Minnesota because Arnold may get himself a Saturday morning talk show but I doubt he'll balance your budget.

Politics. Want to alienate your coworkers? Bring up the subject at the office. Looking to cause a "scene" at Thanksgiving dinner? Tell your aunt why your political partly is better than hers. Want to confuse that hippy standing on the corner with an illegible sign screaming, "Impeach Bush!"? Tell him the rubber soles on his Birkenstocks were made using oil, not to mention the gas he put in his '62 VW Bus to get to the corner in the first place.

But I digress. Let's address the number one news item of the week - the California Recall. Many opponents to the recall ("many" might be too kind a word) argue that the recall makes CA the laughing stock of the country. I disagree. On the contrary, supporting the recall is one of the last pure forms of democracy available today. The recall is essentially a forum in which "we the people" tell our elected officials that we are disgusted by the manner in which they have served us, and we want them fired. This is what democracy is all about.

Too many liberals have forgotten that elected officials work for us -- they don't work for themselves. When the Governor of CA leads the state into an energy crisis (don't even try to debate me on this one, you will lose), plummets us into an insurmountable debt ($38 Billion) and lies about it to get re-elected, my political sense says, "Let's fire this guy."

Another argument you hear from the liberals (are all these people stoned?) is that if the recall succeeds, it will create an endless cycle of recalls nationwide, thus crippling the fragile decision making process at all levels of government. Hey, if your cause can gather 10-million signatures then by all means do what you have to do - but it's doubtful you will.

If the recall succeeds in one thing only -- sending the message to career politicians that they are our servants and must act in OUR best interests - or else - then the recall will have achieved its primary goal.

Don't fear the recall. Instead, direct your fear towards anyone who does not want you to have the opportunity and ability to exercise your political rights.

What a wonderful time to be a die-hard Giants fan. After a stellar performance yesterday by the Giants' pitching ace, Jason Schmidt, the Giants took Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the (who?) Florida Marlins.

Apparently, no one in the Major League world THINKS about us poor schmucks who actually work for a living and couldn't watch the 1:00 pm PST game live. Leading me again to state my favorite mantra, "Work is for the birds."

We would have all loved to see Barry hit one out of the park, but those a%@hole Marlins thought otherwise. Come on jerk-offs, pitch to the man already! Poor_Barry