New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is on his way to a big re-election victory according to all polls. We couldn't replace him easily – it would be hard to find someone to fill his pants, I mean his shoes. ... A news item last night reported an incident in which spices on grocery store shelves have been contaminated with insect parts and rodent hairs. Seems to me if they are good spices, you wouldn't notice. Besides, there's always the chance for new flavors. "Honey, can you pass me the shaker with the insect parts?" ... I'm having a dinner next week for all the people not being spied on by the NSA. I figure I'll need two tables. ... The NSA apparently learned many of its surveillance techniques from Rupert Murdoch's editors in Britain. Not to miss a trick, Apple's new iPad will be promoted via a marketing campaign that calls it "NSA endorsed." ... Credit Suisse has dismissed a securities trader who lost $6 million of the firm's money. But, not to worry about his future – given how Wall Street operates these days he has more job offers than he can handle. ... In other financial news, JPMorgan has given the government into on its relationship with Ponzi king Bernie Madoff. Regulators were suspicious about how sound the bank's practices were when staffers began asking depositors if they wanted to put their money or the black or the red. ... When I was on our farm in Indiana, a couple of weeks ago, I saw about 40 buzzards circling upward late in the day. Apparently, they understood my high school class mates and I were getting together for a meal.