Old fart alert!

I hate it when it is reinforced to me that I have become ... an old fart. Today's case in point, the CNN.com headline:

10 ways to avoid a speeding ticket

Because of course my first thought is:

1) Don't speed
2) Don't speed
3) Don't speed

You get the idea.

It's probably also because I read a harrowing story over at PoliTits about DCup's nightmare commute home last night, where she witnessed -- and barely missed being an innocent victim of -- an insane driver, who was driving too fast, among other things. Sadly, another driver was not so lucky and was driven off the road onto the median across oncoming traffic and flipping twice.

DCup, my new hero, got the guy's plate number and called 911.

I drive an hour on the Interstate each way, and I see a lot of "near misses." So I don't really appreciate CNN suggesting that drivers should:

Try to stay in the middle of the pack
Don't speed when you are the only car on the road
Watch for cutouts and modulate your speed accordingly
Drive a nondescript vehicle

To avoid getting a speeding ticket. I mean really. How about just going the speed limit? Why wasn't that even on their list?

photo from sfgate.com

McCain On Whether Cheney Might Serve In His Administration: ‘Hell, Yeah’

From ThinkProgress:

As Vice President Dick Cheney makes the rounds on “the GOP’s rubber chicken circuit” these days to raise funds for conservative candidates, he always implores his audiences “to make sure that we elect John McCain the 44th President of the United States.” But worried about being labeled a third Bush term, the McCain campaign has made strides to distance the candidate from Cheney by blasting “Vice President Cheney’s energy bill.”

But before Cheney became a political albatross, McCain overflowed with kind things to say about him. In fact, in July 2004, McCain described Cheney as one of the best vice presidents ever:

At a July 15 appearance in Michigan, McCain dampened the speculation by calling Cheney “one of the most capable, experienced, intelligent and steady vice presidents this country has ever had.”

In interviews for Stephen Hayes’ 2007 biography of Cheney, McCain “strongly” asserted that Cheney “has been of enormous help to this president of the United States.” Politico’s Jonathan Martin reports today that in unpublished comments to Hayes, McCain also said that he would consider Cheney for a post in his administration:

Going further, McCain even told Hayes in comments heretofore unpublished that he’d consider Cheney for an administration post.

Asked whether he’d be interested in Cheney had the vice president not already have served under Bush for two terms, McCain said: “I don’t know if I would want him as vice president. He and I have the same strengths. But to serve in other capacities? Hell, yeah.”

Read the rest of the the post here.

Did Sinbad Save America From Nuclear Annihilation?

Posted at the Wonkette, reported as only they can ....

Funnyman "Sinbad" was once simply known as "America's Entertainer," but after his heroic unmasking of the monster Hillary Clinton's "foreign policy experience" claims about dodging sniper fire in Bosnia, historians may well have another title for the beloved comic: The Funnyman Who Saved America.

It was a story seared into the memories of all Americans: Hillary Clinton, Sheryl Crow, Chelsea Clinton and Sinbad went to Bosnia to bring peace this one time, probably during the 1990s. But only Sinbad had the courage to tell the real story: That these women really went to Bosnia to hatch a terrible lie that could've very well put the senile lunatic John McCain in the White House, which would've led to Total Nuclear Devastation.

Read more about how Sinbad saved America here.

If it's 8:01 a.m., the news is all happy-like

There's an awful lot going on with our families at the Jello manse right now, and the Unnamed Partner and I are kinda tired. So I decided this morning to sleep in a little bit. And that's why I witnessed the horror that is the "Morning Shows."

On a normal workday, I'm gone long before any of these things come on. I might watch the local news for weather and traffic but that's about it. Every once in a while I see a replay later in the day of Matt Lauer interviewing a senator, Robin Roberts interviewing a cabinet head, or the guy on the CBS Early Show interviewing some economist (and why can't I ever remember the CBS guy's name?).

And then suddenly at 8 o'clock a.m., it's as if they turn a switch and become mindless morons who happily begin gossiping about Britney Spears' appearance on a sitcom, or grilling steaks -- Cajun style! -- or, and this is definitely my favorite story of the day:

Diane, Robin, Chris and Sam tasted several interesting chip flavors this morning.

To quote Ellen DeGeneres, "my point, and I do have one," is this: Are we really depending on these people for our news?! How can they go from hard-hitting interviews at 7:45 and then be "tasting chips" at 8:00?

It makes me shudder, but it also makes me understand some of the level of political discussion I see and hear lately.

Yes: chips, presidential candidates -- we do it all at GMA!

Scary headline of the day

Paula Abdul may sing at the Super Bowl