[mountaineer]

Just got back from dropping off some items for the troops at the local bank. They had info there from the Red Cross about what to donate, and in addition to the obvious (lip balm, toothpaste, snacks) there are few items that we may not have considered: feminine hygiene products, nail files/emery boards, deodorant, contact lens solution, and BandAids, to mention a few. Of course, as soon as I dropped off the hand lotion, toothpaste, lip balm and Kleenex packets I had picked up at Wal-Mart, I wished I had bought more stuff!

In other news (Page Six):

JOHN Kerry gets no respect in conservative Palm Beach. At a glitzy dinner hosted by Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, 500 well-heeled guests, including the presidential hopeful and his wife, Teresa Heinz, were treated to a concert by Paul Anka. The Post's Braden Keil reports that between moving tributes to Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and our soldiers in Iraq, Anka recognized several notables in the crowd - but not the Massachusetts senator. And when Anka asked, "Isn't George W. [Bush] doing a marvelous job?" there was thunderous applause. Those cheering included Teresa Heinz.

[BigWaveBetty]

Those are all good ideas, thanks. The troops could probably use lots and lots of baby wipes too. Ugh, not being able to shower after many days in the desert must be awful.

Kerry's been passing notes in the senate.

Presidential candidate John Kerry has been passing notes on the Senate floor, assuring his southern Democratic colleagues that he plans to compete in their home states.

Kerry slipped the note, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, to a few colleagues Wednesday while the Senate deliberated the budget. He was prompted by a story Monday in The State newspaper of Columbia, South Carolina, titled, "Kerry might have written off the South," that referred to his speech.

"Al Gore proved that you can get elected president of the United States without winning one Southern state -- if he had simply won New Hampshire or West Virginia or Ohio or Colorado or a number of other states," Kerry said at the fund-raiser. "We are the leaders. Democrats have to stop looking at the small solution that the country is compartmentalized in that way."

The note was marked "Personal, From John Kerrry, To Senator," and contained only the 21-line quote. His name was misspelled with an extra letter "R." Full story