So how's life treating you? From this desk, the picture's pretty good: Filled up my tank at Phillips 66—It's performance that counts!—for $1.36 a gallon, we're keeping decent wines on the table, survived tax season, the portfolio's on a strong up-tick, and an army of domestic terrorist cells failed to launch a counterattack. Pyongyang's bellying up to the bargaining bar, the Francophones have put a sock in it, and the Middle East is doing what they always do: seeking advantage and avoiding trouble.

In short, the domestic scene is firming up while the international picture is cooling down. If the current trends continue in this vein...Well, I'm sure you can draw the obvious conclusion.

A Cold Place

At least one mystery surrounding the strange case of John Jamelske has been solved, namely, why we didn't see any pictures of the 67-year-old mad rapist.

ABC has the details this morning in a breaking story titled: Fifth Woman Says She Was Held in Dungeon.

Turns out that police were sitting on these undated mugshots, because they wanted to "avoid tainting the recollections of the identified victims." Now, following the opposite logic, they're publicizing Jamelske's picture in the hope that other victims will recognize him and come forward. Which is where the fifth woman, who says she was kidnapped, raped, and held in Jamelske's underground dungeon for 10 months, enters the story.

The latest alleged victim, who does not speak English as a first language, first reported her case to police after she was released at the Syracuse bus station. Recently, she related her captivity to a friend, who contacted police.

A Dead-End Course

Finally, our much-vaunted free press are starting to ask pointed questions about the real reasons for our war with Iraq. ABC News has a story this morning that was developed from off-the-record statements by White House "officials and advisers."

To build its case for war with Iraq, the Bush administration argued that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, but some officials now privately acknowledge the White House had another reason for war—a global show of American power and democracy.

The Bush administration felt that a new start was needed in the Middle East and that Iraq was the place to show that it is democracy—not terrorism—that offers hope.

If you'd really like a scare to get your day started, take a look at this Washington Times interview with Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, titled: 'Shaming effect' on Arab world. Here's Wolfowitz, discussing the White House perspective on Iran and Syria:

"In terms of the larger picture, I think they're like several other countries on a sort of dead-end course," he said. "They're less immediately threatening to us than some of those countries, but I think they're going to have to face that opportunity."

As If They Didn't Have Enough Problems

Let's hear it for Sen. Charles Schumer, who yesterday ripped into the new IRS plan to make "working families prove their eligibility for a tax credit at the same time the agency scales back tax investigations of corporations and the wealthy."

"It would be hard to write a more bizarre script," said Schumer, criticizing the upcoming IRS procedures that could force low-income New Yorkers to provide "huge amounts" of documentation—including proof of marriage—before gaining the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit.

The Evil Empire

I mean the one that Sam Walton built. Yesterday's Today show had Matt Lauer interviewing some of the women who are suing Wal-Mart for sex discrimination. Here's a typical complaint:

Kathleen MacDonald of Aiken, S.C., who said she learned in 1999 that she was earning less than male employees in similar jobs, and complained to her department manager. He told her women would never make as much as men, she said, because "God made Adam first."

The Inbred

Not sure what to say about this: Got 3 ways to mark Dale Earnhardt Day? The Charlotte Observer looks at how North Carolinians are celebrating what would have been NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt's 52nd birthday today. Whatever sound you just made, trust me, I made the same one. Something like, "pffphbbtt." Apparently, he drove car number 3, so you're supposed to mark this solemn occasion by doing things in poignant triads today.

"I was going to eat three pancakes and three eggs and drink three glasses of milk to start the day," said Lowe's Motor Speedway spokesman Jerry Gappens.

9:43:45 AM