I shoudda knocked on wood ... how many "October Surprises" can we stand?

Hey ... hey! Today has been one helluva newsday, hasn't it? With so many of our youngsters dying over the weekend and through today; the salacious crap being tossed around the Capitol Building (and beyond) and then, seeming to want to get in the game of "can you top this?" the North Koreans announce today that they will be conducting their first ever nuclear test as a "response" to what they allege is US hostility.

The full quote from the DPRK (Democratic people's Republic of Korea) states, "The US extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel the DPRK to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent, as a corresponding measure for defense."

I had just mentioned to my brother, Richard from Connecticut, on my cell phone on the way to Grays Harbor College this evening that, although North Korea has tested missiles capable of carrying warheads, they haven't actually tested a nuclear warhead. I was driving my car, or would have knocked on wood.

Well, it's only October 3 and we've had Woodward's book (State of Denial), the revelations about Congressman Mark Foley's emails and instant messages with the Congressional pages ... and now this -- all with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan heating up like never before.

Exactly how many "October Surprises" did Karl Rove promise the GOP faithful a month or so again anyway?