It seems like a day for hubris and comeuppance in the corporate world. Dethroned New York governor Eliot Spitzer may be starting a "vulture fund," to make investment in distressed real estate projects. Meanwhile, Kenneth Lay's widow settled some fuss over her distressed real estate, a dispute over condo dues as the Enron debacle continues to have impact on Texas communities. And Donald Trump is also in the news, defending a golf course he wants to build in Scotland.

News nuggets you need to know today:

• Staples Buys Corporate Express for 2.65 Billion
• Gap May Shrink Stores to Save Money
• Why Did Food Sellers Treat Tomatoes Like Hot Potatoes?
• Abu Dhabi to Buy NY's Chrysler Building
• Beef Protesters Take Aim at McDonald's
• Raid on Kosher Meat Plant May Spike Prices
• Gay Marriage May Boost Ailing California Economy

Elsewhere on the Web:

• Supply of Hybrids Runs Out of Gas as Demand Soars
• Geyser Peak, Six other Wineries Sold
• Organic Alcohol Sparks New Cocktail Trend
• 13 Dumb Job-Interview Moves
• Do You Know What's in Your Spouse's Wallet?
• St. John's Word Fails to Help Kids with ADHD
• Grow Your Own Tomatoes
• Six of the Coolest, Most Futuristic Car Gadgets fr your Car
• Rising Gas Prices are Hurting Non-Profits
• Four Alternatives to Summer Jobs for Teens
• Beloved Characters Reimagined for the 21st Century
  

In what could probably be construed as an act of war, the United States is unleashing The Donald on the friendly folks from down under. This November, The Chump will be heading to Australia for a series of "Think Like a Billionaire" seminars

The Age reports that while promoters declined to say how much Trump is being paid, his usual fee is somewhere in the $1.5 million per hour range. All of this raises an interesting question: What could Trump possibly have to say that's worth $1.5 million per hour? Perhaps he could put together a Power Point presentation on how he actually managed to lose an enormous amount of money operating a casino.

Apparently this is Trump's first visit to Australia. The visit could do wonders for diplomacy as those wonderful folks will now get some idea of what Americans have been putting up with for the past 62 years.

Perhaps we could threaten to send Trump to Iran -- that should put an end to the country's aggression in a hurry.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Ivana Trump -- the former Mrs. Donald and mother of Ivanka, Donald Jr. and Eric -- failed to pay a $145,216 tax bill because of all the excitement surrounding her $3 million wedding to Rossano Rubicondi.

According to The Daily Dish, "Trump was named and shamed by Florida authorities after failing to pay the property tax on her $10 million estate."

I say leave this woman alone. Not only did she marry Donald Trump, she slept with him enough times to have 3 children. Anyone who did that should not have to pay taxes again. She's suffered enough! I know that she received a reported divorce settlement of more than $40 million but still. That's not nearly enough for putting up with him.

As you may have noticed, I scour the internet several times a month with one goal in mind: finding stories that reinforce my distaste for Donald Trump.

This week, I have three for you -- all in one post!

First, in an interview with Martin Bashir of Nightline, Trump said that his confidence has increased with age: "You do develop a confidence, sort of like golf. If you sink the first putt, and if you keep sinking a couple of more putts and as the round goes on, you just feel confident. It's that way in life. If you sink the putt, you get more and more confident. And very few people have sunk more putts than I have."

But here's the problem: if Donald Trump were a golfer, he wouldn't exactly be giving Tiger Woods a run for his money. He'd be more like Happy Gilmore in the first part of that movie: shanking drives and missing 1-foot putts. If you don't believe me, just ask the shareholders of his Trump Entertainment Resorts company or the numerous other failures that he's lent his name and ego to.

In my weekly quest to find at least one bloggable item to serve a vehicle for mocking Donald Trump, I bring you this: Donald Trump runs afoul of 1672 Scottish law.

It seems that the Donald has been using an emblem with three lions and a fist holding an arrow to promote his proposed golf resort in northeast Scotland. The problem is that there's a Scottish law from 1672 that says you can't use a coat of arms without registering it.

According to the Associated Press, Heraldry expert (!) Hugh Peskett said authorities have the right to fine Trump or destroy the emblems unless he pays a registration fee of $1,700: "The Lord Lyon may not have used its powers in decades, but he has the power to send the boys round and go in and smash up any of these coats of arms."

I'd like to see Donald's comb-over sentenced to a lengthy stay in a Scottish penitentiary. Trump's people say he will register the coat of arms and pay the fee. Glad to see the Scots taking a stand against this clown.