Dumpster diving senator

It just keeps getting better here in fly-over land. First we have Michele, the MN 6th district Congresswomen who can't keep her hands, or mouth, off Current Occupant. Now we have Senator Flexible, aka Norm Coleman, who showed up at the SOTU address on Tuesday with a big gash in his forehead. Turns out a redecorating effort had resulted in a treasured antique lamp being thrown in the dumpster. Stormin' Norm was dispatched by wife Laurie to retrieve it. The dumpster and the senator met, and the senator came out the worse for wear. Fortunately, the lamp was OK.

You just can't make this stuff up.

The girl in the white slinky dress, or Michele gets her man

What an embarassment. Michele Bachmann, the recently elected congresswoman from the MN 6th district, made a specatcle of herself on Tuesday night. Pawing the President, whom she admits is a hunk, Michele gave him a big kiss on the lips as he passed by her carefully selected aisle seat. She then kept her hand on his back as he pulled away from her. Luis, watching the State of the Union as part of his effort to understand Norteamericano politics, was shocked.

And Luis and I were not the only ones who noticed her surprising behavior. Even the New York Times mentioned it. And Michele is counting her lip-to-lip encounters with Current Occupant. "He kissed me in Minnesota, too", explained Michele. And I though Jesse Ventura was bad for the reputation of the North Star State....

Toys for Boys

XM Radio. This is our newest toy. OLGS got it so he could listen during his long commute to the 25 or so sports radio stations that broadcast via satellite. Covering golf, the World Cup (and when is the next one? 2008?) and, of course, Major League Baseball (MLB), XM Radio has something for everyone. And it is pretty cool.

But so totally old fashioned. It operates via a clunky antenna, which you can run through your car tape player, making an annoying hiss. Or you can attach it to your car radio antenna, requiring massive amounts of wire to be draped throughout the car. Either way, it seems like a primitive technology. It is also available online, but with 85 stations rather than the 200+ available via satellite. And their web site is quite basic, i.e., doesn't work.

We are radio and movie junkies. We do not watch TV. The first and last time I've watched TV in recent months was Tuesday night, when Current Occupant mounted the podium and tried to read the teleprompter. And look where that got us. I'll stick to radio.

Swimming upstream

What a choice. I can talk about Current Occupant and his deer-in-the-headlights look last night as he tried to look presidential. Or I can tell you that Joe High School broke the pool record at a swim meet at the Buffalo Middle School, population 15,000. He was 10 seconds off his usual time, due to a nasty cold. But they probably don't get too many 500 freestyle swimmers at the Buffalo Middle School. Joe's name will be listed on the side of the pool until another record-breaker comes along.

And speaking of record breaking, Current Occupant only came alive during the tugging-at-the-heartstrings portion of his State of the Union speech. Otherwise he was completely wooden and totally inarticulate--for example, his explanation of the tax savings that his health insurance scheme would provide was incomprehensible. He must have skipped a sentence on the teleprompter. You almost feel sorry for the guy. And that's what's record-breaking. But remember, I did say almost....