At least I can move ahead -- the doc said I could take my braced, bum knee out to the driving range and roll back the clock to pre-dislocation.

Which is far better than being in Washington, D.C., or Sacramento at the moment, where movement is either a mirage or lurking like a python. Last weekend, President Bush signed what may be the first of several "CR's" -- continuing resolutions -- that keep the government operating at its previous year's budget levels because -- surprise! -- none of 12 annual appropriations bills has been signed into law. It's the first time in five years that none has become law by the Oct. 1 deadline.

The House has OK'd 12, according to the Associated Press, and the Senate, 4. And, where they disagree, conference committees are supposed to meet, iron things out and put the bills up again before each house. But, there have been no committee meetings.

Bush has promised to veto 7 of the 12 bills because they seek to spend $23 billion more on domestic programs than his original $933 billion. One of those promised vetoes, of course, is for SCHIP expansion -- the state children's health insurance program.

On Sunday, Gov. Schwarzenegger released a 195-page working draft of his health care proposal. While it is the usual jungle of lawyer-ese, it is also missing a few pages -- the pages that would have spelled out how much each hospital would get for caring for the uninsured and Medi-Cal patients.  It seems the "modeling" and the "modelers" are at odds after weeks of discussions, promise-making and error-finding.

So, have another healthy helping of bad coffee and bad blood. Good thing dueling is illegal.