Good morning, all.

If I’ve found one thing to be true, it’s that stuff happens. And happens. And happens.

Seriously, I’m not an obsessive collector (outside of my St. Louis Cardinals baseball cards), a hoarder or overly sentimental. I’m careful with our money, never one to buy much on a whim or because I was told to do so by a commercial during “Lost”. But despite all that, I somehow have collected a lot of stuff in my life. Glad to know I’m not alone.

Don’t know if you’ve stumbled across this or not, but a small Internet-only film called “The Story of Stuff” has been gaining momentum for months now. It’s a charming short film of 20 minutes which examines, well, where all our stuff comes from and where it goes. Take a few moments off to watch it here. A related chunk:

Good morning, all.

Michael Gerson of the Washington Post wants you to believe Sen. Saxby Chambliss and six other Senate colleagues are holding African AIDS victims hostage for the sake of politics. In an essay he penned yesterday, Gerson argues that The Coburn Seven (a group of senators including Chambliss headed by Sen. Tom Coburn) are blocking reauthorization of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

In a way, that’s true. But not really new.

Good morning, all.

More than one of you asked about Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ “girl” from my column yesterday. Only one of you raised an eyebrow toward his 1950s colloquialisms (“What, the good senator, has a Girl Friday for just such an occasion?”), however most of you were interested in her effectiveness.

Your wish. My command.

Believe me, as executive editor, I know of no secret handshake to get eartime with the senator. Like you, when it’s a matter of personal business, I’ve gotta wade through the same network of minions insulating him from the rest of us. I tried for week to get through to his office on the telephone, only to leave message after message. So when he spoke to our editorial board on one of his visits through town, I couldn’t help myself.

Good morning, all.

Leading the jet-set lifestyle I do, I work some pretty exciting hot spots into my off days. This weekend was no exception. I hit Publix, Kroger and the pet store in a single morning, and then rounded out the day with brief visits to FedEx and the post office. Yup, don’t try to keep up with me. While making my rounds, I noticed the Boys in Blue were focused on traffic enforcement this weekend.

Hey, it’s the start of a new month and those quotas don’t fill themselves. I kid. I kid.

Listen, I’ll admit I don’t fully understand our traffic enforcement strategy. Maybe there’s a method to the madness. But to me, it seems uncreative, even predictable. I’ve been in town nearly eight years and have been warned about the same speed traps since Day One: Riverbend Road. College Station. Gaines School Road. Of course thanks to a population that constantly turns over, the same old, same old speed traps keep generating revenue year after year. So why mess with a money-maker?

Maybe that’s the thinking. But if you don’t believe people are noticing, then you need to think again.