Quote of the day

From Political Wire:

Quote of the Day

"El presidente de que?"

-- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's mother, quoted by the Chicago Tribune, when told by her son he was running for president. (Translation: President of what?)

I need a shower

The Taliban tried to assasinate the second highest ranking person in our government. Once you have digested that fact, aren't these blog comments from the Huffington Post, perhaps the leading liberal blog, nice?

Better luck next time!

By: TDB on February 27, 2007 at 08:18am
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What a different world we would be living in today if they had succeeded.

By: pakiman47 on February 27, 2007 at 08:18am
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Dr Evil escapes again...damn.

By: truthtopower01 on February 27, 2007 at 08:18am
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Sounds like a bullshit attempt. The VP is inside some sort of compound and they blow up a bomb at the front door? Christ, at least lob a few grenades INTO the compound.

By: loudobbs on February 27, 2007 at 08:19am
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They missed?? Dammit. I hope they try again before he leaves.

By: tripdc on February 27, 2007 at 08:20am
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Who'd have thought that Afghanistan would make such a valiant attempt to save the United States of America? By: DumbFireman on February 27, 2007 at 08:21am
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I don't hold a blog proprietor personally responsible for all comments posted but, if your blog is going to be open for comments, there should be some minimal rules for civility. These comments fail by any standard.

P.S.: Commenters on conservative blogs are also guilty of over-the-top rhetoric. But other than Ann Coulter, I don't recall it reaching the level of hoping for the murder of fellow Americans with whom you disagree.

A new era

I'm not sure that I will have the energy to keep up for 18 more months. First, the Clinton-Obama dustup. Now, this.

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack withdrew from the 2008 presidential campaign today, saying it was clear he would not be able to raise enough money to compete.

The first intra-party contest is still almost a year away, and the field is already narrowing. Now I realize that Vilsack was always a dark-horse (at best), but so were Carter and Dukakis at this point in their campaigns. Also, with a Democratic field with only one other governor competing (Richardson), I would have thought that the incentive to stick it out as long as possible would be strong. But maybe that was his point in quitting; it just wasn't possible because of the the money issue.

P.S. Initially, I thought that Sen. Dodd would be the first to go until I learned of his unexpected (to me) fundraising prowess.

(For cross-post at Centerfield and comments posted there, click here.)

New Blogger

UPDATE: First major glitch: My profile is linked to or merged with my in-laws' family blog so, until I can figure out how to fix that, either I will be them or they will be me.

I reluctantly have migrated from Old Blogger to New Blogger. I expect some glitches so please be patient if you have any problems viewing this site.

Pet peeve

I have long been baffled by the media's obsession with the age of every actor in any story. Anyway, this story is from MSNBC.

[Tiki] Barber, 31, retired after this season, playing his final game at the Pro Bowl on Sunday. . .

The 31-year-old Barber announced in October that 2006 would be his final season after 10 years with the Giants.

I'm surprised that MSNBC didn't also tell us (twice) that Tiki's twin brother, Ronde, is also 31 (31).

Anna Nicole Smith

If you have watched any cable news in the last 24 hours, you should find dead-on these lines from Jack Cafferty, which were uttered after several hours of non-stop coverage:

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Is Anna Nicole Smith still dead, Wolf?

BLITZER: Yes, we're going to -- updating our viewers coming up shortly on...

CAFFERTY: I can't wait for that.

BLITZER: ... the mysterious circumstances surrounding that, Jack. Thank you.

Dumbest Drudge story ever

Streisand looks forward to '08 elections...

Who the hell cares? How this woman continues to command attention as a political commentator is beyond me.

But it makes me wonder, is Chuck Norris looking forward to the 08 elections? Someone should get on that story.

Staking my claim

I want the TV movie rights to this story. It is, I think, the most bizarre behavior by a public figure since O.J. An extended (but within "fair use") quote is warranted. Don't miss the part about the diapers.

ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) -- NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak was ordered released Tuesday on an additional $10,000 bond on an attempted murder charge in Orlando, where she allegedly tried to subdue a purported romantic rival with pepper spray and kidnap her from an airport parking lot.

Nowak also was ordered to wear a global positioning satellite, or GPS, device.

Nowak, 43, appeared in court Tuesday afternoon to face the attempted first-degree murder charge.

Nowak is accused of accosting Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman, 30, in the Orlando airport parking lot early Monday, telling police she only wanted to talk with Shipman. . .

Nowak, a Navy captain, and Shipman, an Air Force captain, were both "in a relationship" with Navy Cmdr. Bill Oefelein, another astronaut, according to a police report of the incident. (Watch how police say a NASA love triangle went awry ) . . .

According to the police report, Nowak drove from Houston, Texas, to the Orlando airport to meet Shipman, who was flying the same route, according to the report.

Police said Nowak pepper-sprayed Shipman through her car window at the airport. Evidence found in Nowak's bag prompted police to file the attempted kidnapping charges, according to the report. . .

Shipman told police she arrived at the airport about 1 a.m. Monday but had to wait two hours for her luggage to arrive. Once she retrieved her bags, she said, she took a bus to the lot where her car was parked. She noticed a woman wearing a trench coat who appeared to be following her.

Fearing for her safety, Shipman quickly entered her car, the police report said, adding that she reported hearing "running footsteps" behind her. Shipman closed and locked her car door as Nowak slapped the window of the car and tried to open the car door, the police report said.

Nowak told Shipman her ride had not arrived and asked for help, but Shipman refused, saying she would send help instead, the reporte said. When Nowak complained she couldn't hear Shipman and started to cry, Shipman opened her car window about 2 inches -- and Nowak sprayed pepper spray into the car, police said.

Shipman, her eyes burning, drove away and found police, who returned to the bus stop and found Nowak, who was wearing a different coat. As he approached to bus stop, an officer observed Nowak put some items into a trash can. Those items were found to be a wig and a plastic bag containing a carbon dioxide-powered BB pistol, the report said.

Inside a bag Nowak was carrying, the officer found a tan trench coat, a new steel mallet, a new folding knife with a 4-inch blade, 3 to 4 feet of rubber tubing, several large plastic garbage bags and about $600 in cash, the report said.

Nowak admitted the details of Shipman's allegations, according to the police report, and permitted a search of her car.

Inside the car, police found an a half dozen latex gloves, MapQuest directions from Houston to Orlando International Airport, e-mails from Shipman to Oefelein, diapers that Nowak said she wore to reduce stops along the highway, a letter indicating how much she loved Oefelein and directions to Shipman's home address in Florida.

Stop the puns

I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but the sports pages now seem to consider puns as required in the headline on any big event. For some reason, it can't be "Colts Defeat Bears." No, it has to be something like "Sodden Impact" (StarTribune) or "Horsepower!" (USA Today).

Stop. Please.

Picture of the day

Link.

Picture of the day

Picture of the day

Franken

Jeebus.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Comedian Al Franken has decided to run for U.S. Senate in Minnesota in challenging incumbent Republican Norm Coleman, a senior Democratic official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Another opportunity for us Minnesotans to embarrass ourselves.