JIMMY BUFFETT'S SMALLEST AUDIENCE EVER



Today, jurors in the trial against former-Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski viewed a video tape of an extravagant party help in honor of Mr. Kozlowski's wife. The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reports:

The weeklong event, which included a birthday party for Karen Mayo, Mr. Kozlowski's wife, cost $2.1 million. About half of the cost was paid by Tyco, the rest by Mr. Kozlowski...



...Judge Michael Obus sided with the defense about which scenes should be edited out of the tape and which accompanying still photos shouldn't be shown, saying many scenes -- including still images of guests "mooning" the camera or jumping into the pool -- were of "extremely marginal relevance" to the case...



...Later on the video, pop musician Jimmy Buffett performed his version of Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl." Mr. Buffett was paid $250,000 for the appearance. The party ended with an archer firing a flaming arrow, which set off fireworks. In sparklers, a sign read "Congratulations Karen and Dennis."

Mr. Buffett was paid a quarter of a million bucks to entertain a whopping 75 guests.



You can check out a clip of the video here. Having now seen an excerpt of the video, all I have to say is this: Dennis Kozlowski is a horrible dancer.

MORE CRAPPY NEWS ABOUT THE ECONOMY II



And from the New York Times, no less:

Wage increases for employees at almost all income levels are giving important and unexpected support to the nation's economy. If the gains continue, they offer hope that the rapid economic expansion of recent months could prove more durable than other spurts of growth over the last two years.



Forecasters expect the Commerce Department to say in its quarterly report on Thursday that the economy grew about 6 percent in the three-month period ending in September, which would be the fastest pace since 1999. Most of that growth stemmed from a sharp rise in consumer spending, driven largely by a continuing boom in mortgage refinancing and checks that were mailed out as part of the recent tax cut.

What? The President's tax cut may be spurring economic activity, as predicted? The Democrats are going to run out of issues, folks.