My New Toy

This pic deserves its own post. This is my new truck. Just bought it today.
The specs:

99 Ford Ranger 3.0L V6 Super Cab with Step Sides
Roughly 82K miles
Automatic
Power everything

Color me stoked.

Some Pics

This is me at the Pepsi Center. Behind me is a bit of the Denver skyline.This is the Denver skyline. Can you spot the famous "cash register building?" It's kind of hidden.Here's a pic of the hockey action.We had a lot of fun...but the Avs lost and the game wasn't pretty. It all kind of fell apart there at the end. The Canucks scored two empty net goals. Two! WTF?

Alright, veering from hockey, to the garden. Not much is going on there so early in the season, but I did plant some asparagus (for harvest next year) and some onions. The onions are doing well.

Tuesday Night at the Pepsi Center

In case you were wondering, this is where I'll be tonight.

On Timetables

The other day I read a quote from Trent Lott (and I'm paraphrasing here because I'm loath to google Lott's name) that said, "We don't need artificial timetables in Iraq, not even as a goal."

I disagree there, Trent. One thing we need in Iraq at this point is a goal.

As for a timetable for withdrawal? I'm a bit iffy on setting one. But even as I say that, I'm vaguely aware that the Iraq war has an in-built timetable: January of 09, when we inaugurate our next president.

I predict (somewhat obviously at this point, I admit) that whoever the next president will be, he (or she) will not pursue the same reckless, vague, and counter-productive course that Bush has been staying in Iraq for the last five years.

So this question of "Should we set a timetable?" is really kind of moot. We have a time table already. The question is do we move it up? Or do we put it off for another two years?

Ancillary Thoughts on the Althouse Blow-Up

If you're a blog nerd like me, you've probably heard of or already seen the Ann Althouse blow-up on Bloggingheads.tv.

I've got nothing to add to the discussion, but I did find this graph in a 3rd party blog post about the subject:

As it happens, I'm an old-fashioned conservative who believes in privacy rights—which is why I'm pro-choice, support same sex marriage, believe drugs should be legalized, and endorse right to die policies...and that makes me a modern progressive. I'm an old-fashioned conservative who believes that everyone can help themselves, given equal opportunities—which is why I support well-funded schools, equal educational opportunities everywhere in America, a strong social safety net, workers' rights, reforming all-or-nothing welfare, jobs programs, and affirmative action until we don't need it anymore...and that makes me a modern progressive. I'm an old-fashioned conservative who believes in family values—which is another reason I'm pro-choice (or, pro-family planning, along with comprehensive sex education) and another reason I support same-sex marriage, along with same-sex parenting, adoption, and fostering, and I support family-first legislation for working parents and elder-care providers, including extended leave for births and deaths and illness, and I relatedly support universal healthcare...and that makes me a modern progressive. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. It's obvious why the conservative blogosphere doesn't welcome me as a modern conservative.

You too? I thought I was the only one.

Still, I don't like this "progressive" label. It strikes me as a bit wobbly and dishonest, a way to be "liberal" without carrying the baggage associated with a few decades of Limbaughish liberal-bashing.

I'm not afraid to call myself a liberal. That doesn't mean I'm a hedonist or a terrorist or a nanny state loving wimp. It means this:

Broadly speaking, liberalism emphasizes individual rights. It seeks a society characterized by freedom of thought for individuals, limitations on power (especially of government and religion), the rule of law, the free exchange of ideas, a market economy that supports free private enterprise, and a transparent system of government in which the rights of all citizens are protected. In modern society, liberals favor a liberal democracy with open and fair elections, where all citizens have equal rights by law and an equal opportunity to succeed.

Yeah, that's what I believe in.

Rage Against the Dying of the Light

Just saw on CNN that Tony Snow has cancer in his liver. I got two words to say to that:

Fuck cancer!

For Elizabeth Edwards, Tony Snow, Creepy's Dad, and my own Grandma...FUCK CANCER!

(And I don't even like Tony Snow.)

God Save the Queen

CNN In the Morning

Good news of the morning so far...John Roberts is in for Miles O'Brien. Miles, presumably, is flying around the country in his private jet.

Oh, and Soledad O'Brien is still hot.

Updated: You know, yes, Soledad O'Brien is hot, but those teeth aren't real, sorry. Great veneers though.

The Crooks and Liars Wing of the Democrat (sic) Party

So I was looking at Crooks and Liars today and noticed something quite interesting.

You, too, can see it. Just click on over and scroll down to the left-hand side. Yeah, right there, under the Categories section.

John Stossel has 5 posts about him.
Bob Shieffer has 12.

But wait...what's this? Cindy Sheehan, the Supreme Leader of the Loony Left, only has 3 posts about her?

Oh, and Michael Moore has none.

Apparently Crooks and Liars, a shamelessly liberal blog, didn't get the memo. Either that, or Sheehan and Moore's stature within the liberal establishment has been vastly overrated.

On Comments

So whose commenters are more offensive, those on Huffington Post or Little Green Footballs?

I'll give you a hint: The FBI investigated comments on LGF. Huff Post? They just get investigated by Howie Kurtz.

Howie asks:

One of the unique qualities of Internet discourse is its freewheeling, no-holds-barred nature, where passionate arguments are often accompanied by some choice expletives and a virtual finger in the eye.

But what happens when the talk turns ugly, racist and violent?

This is what happens.

You embed a bunch of Youtube videos on your blog, preferrably with some earth-shattering rock from the likes of Sepultura, Metallica, and Tenacious D.

And then you listen to the soothing sounds of silence in your comments section.

Master Exploder

This song was in my head all night, a fantasy sequence from Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny.
I have to say this is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I love it when he blows the guys head off with the power of his voice.

The power of rock can't be denied!

Bill Maher Rulez

The Pick of Destiny

I'm watching The Pick of Destiny on the video wall. Jack Black is his funniest when he's in manic Jables mode and KG is just funny looking.

But why does Tenacious D play acoustic guitars? If you want to rock, you gotta go electric, man! And I don't mean an electric acoustic. I'm talking about a full-on overdriven tube-amped electric guitar, maybe with a phaser on it or an expression pedal, but at least an EQ box.

They rock pretty hard with their acoustics, but imagine if they had crunch too!

Wonkette is Funny

Wonkette takes the Bush-Cheney rhetoric to its logical conclusion:

Terrorists everywhere are celebrating today in whatever way Muslims celebrate things. Why? Because the House of Pelosis just voted to end the Iraq War!

Today at 3 p.m., U.S. General David Petraeus will meet Terrorist General “Al Qaeda’s Number Three” on the deck of the Terrorist warship T.S.S. Terrorism and officially surrender to the Terrorist Forces. Together with their allies the Mexicans and the French, the Terrorists will be handed control of the United States, effective immediately.

After the show trials and executions in Washington, lawyers and diplomats in the Terrorismland capital, Terrorism City, say life will be relatively unchanged for most Americans — but women will have to wear burqas and speak Spanish.

Ha!

The Wit And Wisdom of James Pearce

I find it useful at times to remind myself that there are literally billions of people on this earth, and not all of them are assholes.