Well talk about not bothering to leave a two - week notice:

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg dropped the Republican Party yesterday, saying he was now free of a “rigid adherence” to ideology.

Buzz is already circulating that he will mount an independent bid for the White House. (After all, he is the Mayor of New York)

Still, at a technology conference yesterday in which he attacked partisanship in Washington, he said: “I plan to be mayor for the next 926 days.”

But actions have spoken otherwise, Bloomberg has talked about a presidential run with former senator David L. Boren (D-Okla.) (according to the Washington Post) and has logged a trip to New Hampshire. Forbes magazine lists his net worth at $5.5 billion, although estimates run as high as $20 billion. Bloomberg has reportedly told those closest to him that he would spend as much as half a billion dollars if he ran for the presidency.

Bloomberg was a longtime Democrat before shifting his allegiance to the GOP before his first mayoral run in 2001. Recent polls show that 70 percent of Americans or more say the country is off track. That creates a climate that some Bloomberg associates believe makes an independent candidacy more viable.

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Here are my concerns:1. Why do I get the distinct impression that Bloomberg plans to buy his way into this election? Please, please someone tell me what average citizen will have in common with a President worth billions of dollars?? eh.

2. His flaky allegiance. Jump ship when the going gets rough huh? Dropped the Dems in 2001 (note the timing) & drop the GOPs in 2007. Don’t know about you, but I sure don’t plan on placing any bets on any of his 08 campaign promises.

A truck bomb exploded at a Shiite mosque in central Baghdad today, killing about 75 people and injuring more than 204.

The bomb erupted about 2 p.m. in Khalani Square.

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has already blamed the attack on Saddamists and other extremists.

The explosion came on the second day of a major offensive against Sunni insurgents around Baghdad. More than 10,000 coalition troops pushed their way through Diyala province and thousands more engaged in operations near the capital.

More info to come….

For those of us salivating over the release of this phone:

Apple’s iPhone will have a longer lasting battery than originally expected, exceeding those in rival phones, the company said today.

Apple said it expects the iPhone to provide up to eight hours of mobile phone talk time, or six hours of Internet use.

ALSO: Apple said the top surface of the touch-screen phone has also been upgraded to optical-quality glass from plastic, making it more resistant to scratches.

If you didnt’ already know, the release date is JUNE 29TH (local time, sorry West Coasters) and priced at $499 (with a 2 YR AT&T/Cingular Plan)