THE PART OF YOUR LDOT STAFF that writes this section every morning is racing out to find some sort of transportation that will get them to a place where there are some trees and snow. Therefore, this morning's brief notes are linkless (that's the time consuming part of Short Cuts and we need the time).

There is much of interest this morning on the board. Here's our brief commentary accomplished while looking for a missing and much needed waterproof boot.

RUDY GIULIANI said goodbye to us yesterday. It was a moving speech, proud and patriotic, and ended with his senior staff receiving and giving him actual lips to cheek kisses. A refreshing sight. Few men have been more publically vilified than Sir Rudy. No man has done more for New York than Sir Rudy. Few men have eventually been as so vindicated and so revered. His "shut-up-and-eat-your-peas" approach to public governance won out in the end. He will be gravely missed.

THE RATTY SHOE BOMBER is turning out to be a regular Mr. Jet-Setter, flitting from city to city testing the Bombe Plastique he claims he ordered off the Internet.

THE MUSLIM ORGANIZATION that was quick to shriek "profiling" when an armed Secret Service agent who was kept off a flight from Baltimore to Dallas (where is was to join the President) may have to rethink their outrage. Seems his papers, not his ethnicity weren't in order and his gun was a problem. Fine with us. We have a problem with guns on planes too.

WE APOLOGIZE for suspecting that the mother of the little girl who was kidnapped from a Chicago bus station Christmas Eve was telling a tall tale. Seems the child turned up in West Virginia. Nonetheless, the look and sound of the story has all the ear marks of a phony. Again, no matter how cynical we get it's hard to keep up.

THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE has some biting commentary on Clinton's recent attempt to regroup his spin machine and polish his legacy. The link is in our quote of the day. The story of that meeting has raised many questions, the most intriguing of which is who it was that actually dropped the dime on the Clinton crew and their not-so-secret Harlem pity-party? When is the last time you heard the details of a high level Bush meeting? Never, right?

WORD JUST REACHED us that the escape attempt by the snow boot has been foiled and we leave you with this parting thought. How much could Hillary Clinton have changed her world and ours had she treated September 11 the way Rudy Giuliani did....showing up a funerals and firehouses, visiting the fatherless children of the rescue workers, sticking around the city that elected her to offer comfort and strength, going to functions that would raise money for them all...in other words, being a powerful leader instead of a power leach?

Have a wonderful, food and fun filled weekend and drop in for our Weekend Roundtable. Subject hint?
The year 2001.

-Your momentarily fleeing LComStaffer