Sayonara Saddam
Friday, December 29th, 2006NYT:
Toppling Saddam Hussein did not automatically create a new and better Iraq. Executing him won’t either.
Mission not accomplished? Screw it, we should just pull out and come home anyway.
Archive for December 29th, 2006
Baby X
Friday, December 29th, 2006
Part two of Tuffy’s 20 Questions with my favorite person in the world is now up.
The breaking news included in the interview is the fact that Mrs. Smithers and I are expecting to provide a sibling to Baby Smithers on or around July 1 2007. This creature will be referred to as “Baby X” until birth at which point it will then be referred to as Baby Smithers. The current Baby Smithers will then take on the moniker Toddler Smithers. I hope this all makes as perfect sense to you as it does to me.
What with the holidays and all I have not had much time to think about the impact that Baby X will have on my life, but I am sure it won’t be that big a deal. I mean, I’m totally up to speed on diaper changes, I am pretty much tone deaf to crying, the house is all baby-proof. Plus we have a dog that is excellent at cleaning up after babies.
Yesterday Baby Smithers had a king size diaper blow out. I noticed it as he was running past me with crap escaping out his pant leg and onto the floor. I was able to grab him and get him cleaned up but when I went to clean the crap off the floor I noticed it had completely disappeared. The dog was walking around nearby licking his chops and looking for more tasty treats. Throughly disgusting but very convenient none-the-less.
VeloNews: all credibility lost
Friday, December 29th, 2006This was a strange year to select some of the winners of the VeloNews Awards, and no category produced a more debatable outcome than top North American man. We chose Floyd Landis, the embattled former Phonak rider who stands accused of cheating his way to victory at the Tour de France. Here’s why.
It’s not about whether we believe Landis is guilty or innocent.
Obviously.
Picking Landis as North American male cyclist of the year is an absurd choice. VeloNews attempts to justify their decision by stating that Landis won the Tour of California in February, Paris-Nice in March and the Tour of Georgia in April, all before he tested positive during the Tour de France.
What is known is that, for six months in 2006, Landis was the dominant North American in the pro peloton.
My response is: so what?
The fact that Landis tested positive in July calls into question everything he accomplished for the whole year. It is typical of VeloNews to ignore the doubt about Landis’ success and give him an award like this while the facts about his positive test have not yet been determined.
I have long noticed VeloNews penchant for rooting for American cyclists, and cyclists who happen to ride for American teams. The lack of coverage of the dust up in Europe over Ivan Basso’s recent signing by the Discovery team is a classic example. Maybe VeloNews should change their name to “The Journal of Competitive American Cycling.”
If VeloNews wanted to make a great pick for the top North American man they could have picked Levi Leipheimer since he won the Dauphiné Libéré in 2006. Or Hincapie, I guess. Neither one of those two guys is embroiled in a doping controversy.
