Cowboy up

While it saddens most of us, the Supreme Court ruled today that Joe's preferred mount can stay on the grounds of the Texas capitol.

No, it's not Bevo.

Departure

Both of my readers already know this, but in the unlikely event others run across this space, just be forewarned that I'm on my way out of the country for two months, so posting could be erratic (more so than usual), pending the frequency of my Internet access, namely whether I can connect with my laptop from where I'm staying.

The only way to save our freedom is to destroy it?

Seems like Congress has no sense of irony, or intelligence, though this should come as no surprise to, well, anyone with a brain. (Offhand I can think of at least 535 people to whom this does not apply.)

Today the House overwhelmingly approved a measure for a constitutional amendment outlawing physical desecration of the flag.

O.K., in fairness, there are some legislators who are smart enough to recognize that this is not only not a pressing issue, but a ridiculous one at that:

"The reason our flag is different is because it stands for burning the flag," Representative Gary L. Ackerman, Democrat of New York, said in a speech on the House floor, wearing a flag-print necktie. "The Constitution this week is being nibbled to death by small men with press secretaries."

I'm just waiting for some genius Republican to herald this erosion of civil liberties and free speech as a victory for freedom. Because nothing screams freedom like restrictions and punishment.

Idiocy

Newly minted with an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the old alma mater, Thomas Friedman continues to prove why he's such a deserving candidate for more honorary degrees, such as an honorary doctorate from clown college, or honorary chairmanship of an insane asylum.

Today he tackles the problem of why Bush is running the U.S. economy into the ground and has come up with the insidious solution, namely that current veep Dick Cheney should change course and decide to run for president in 2008.

Because that will both solve our current ills and save us in the future.

I can hope

Rumblings from the NBA have the league poised to lock out its players when the current CBA expires on June 30.

Here's hoping it'll be a long lockout. A permanent one would be best.

And here's wishing it would begin sooner, like in the next hour so I don't have to try to ignore the NBA Finals.

Now, if only the NFL could also go away for reason of a labor dispute or some other cause, things would be pretty good.

Of course, all that's pending the conclusion of the NHL's lockout, for which I'd gladly trade seeing the NFL and (especially) the NBA go on hiatus.

False advertising

Taking advantage of the rare opportunity to have exclusive use of a vehicle and being very hungry and without food in the kitchen, I decided to go through the drive thru at my local Taco Time, a Northwest chain serving Mexicanish food.

I was unfamiliar with the menu and unfortunately didn't get much of a chance to study it since a cabbie pulled up right behind me, but the soft tacos caught my eye, chiefly because they 1) cost $3.99 and up and 2) resembled a burrito in the picture on the menu.

Now, having grown up in Southern California and having dined at my share of authentic and inauthentic Mexican restaurants, I have a pretty good sense of what a soft taco is and should look like.

Needless to say, my Taco Time soft taco was actually a burrito.

They claim on their online menu that this is because they're just so fully loaded that they needed to be rolled, but evidently they don't appreciate that this is a cardinal difference distinguishing a soft taco from a burrito, since the stuff inside is largely the same and usually taste the same. And, if you look at the pictures, you'll notice an uncanny verisimilitude between the regular soft taco and the "Big Juan" burrito. Thus proving my point that the soft taco is in fact a burrito.

While this might be a bit of a trifle, and certainly I have better things to do, I just find it amusing that a place with "taco" in its name can't figure out what the hell a taco is.

On the bright side, I return to the O.C. tomorrow night and will thereafter be able to get my In-N-Out fix.

That's a first

My landlord told me that we're getting a new housemate tonight.

While he only gave me a couple of hours' notice that someone will be occupying the room next to mine, it remains remarkable in that this is the first out of now five new housemates of whose arrival he's informed me in advance. So I won't have to be surprised to come home and discover a stranger. Or start to get suspicious about signs of life coming from a room where previously there had been none.

Then again, it's now just three days until I move out and blow this two-bit popsicle stand.

Wistful thinking?

Today's entry from my Onion desk calendar:

Bush To Sacrifice Own Life For Good Of Nation

WASHINGTON, DC -- Displaying the selfless courage that has defined his presidency, President Bush announced Tuesday that he will heroically lay down his life that the rest of the nation may live on. "It is the only way," Bush said. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. I must, therefore, die to preserve future generations." Over the vociferous objections of his closest Cabinet members, Bush brushed aside their outstretched arms, repeating, "It is the only way."