Our '97Dodge Caravan is in my wife's name.

That's fine with me. It ain't a manly vehicle.

But I'm happy enough to have it; it has it's uses.

I've mentioned that I had an accident a while back with the '99 Ford F-150.

Well, since she hasn't been paid off, the lien-holder insisted that she be properly restored to new condition. Well, the insurance company talks like this is all my fault, the opposing insurance company wants to prove that it's all my fault and the auto-body shop talks like it is all the insurance companies' fault... Well, let's just say my premiums are soon to hit the level of my car payments.

They had the SOB for the entire month of January.

But it sure is a pretty truck!

I ain't s***in' ya! The @*&^er's beautiful!

Did I mention that it has a Waldoch-customized interior? That's real wood, real leather... Dude! I own the Rolls-Royce of Pick-up trucks!

I'd pay any price for that.

Babysat tonight while the wife argued about Girl Scout cookies with the troup leader.

I finally found some batteries with a charge in 'em for the digicam, so Nina posed for some cute pix.

I call this one, "Yes, Father?"


She sees I've got the camera out, so she indulges me with this pose:

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful!"

Here's where she realizes she's having a bad hair day:

When she saw it later, she was in denial. She wanted to call it, "Baby's Sleeping." Yeah, right, kid! "Baby Butchering Pose" more like.

When Rosie got home, she spent her free moments while I was reading to her from Anne of Green Gables expressing her artistic...muse or whatever...with blocks:


Thanks to ImageShack for [URL=http://imageshack.us]Free Image Hosting[/URL]

That goalpost lookin' thing reminds me of somethin'. How about them Steelers, eh? Now I think the Seahawks got screwed on a couple calls (the called-back TD on the tiniest of push-offs and Hasselbeck getting called for a low block on a tackle{?!!})... But those weren't enough to stop a great team. The fact is, that even though it was a bit frustrating to watch, the Steelers were the better team. They just had too many weapons.

I'm a fan of Mike Holmgren, I like Hasselbeck, but I found myself rooting for the Steelers. The Steelers had more, personable characters to like.

I'm sad somebody had to lose, but I'm glad "The Bus" won. And Heinz Ward deserved the MVP Award.

We're gonna hold you to that, John.

"I've taken no pork since the day I got here," Boehner declared, and for several years he's favored changing the rules about hiding pork for special interests.

"I have no illusions we're going to eliminate that or we're going to eliminate all these projects" – or should we, he said. "But there ought to be a process where we can distinguish worthy projects from worthless pork."

He suggests making public the names of members tied to specific spending earmarks because "sunlight is the best disinfectant."

This is how Republicans have become embroiled in the latest lobbying scandal involving Abramoff, Boehner said.

He notes that lobbying scandals crop up from time to time, but the real problem is the overall size of the federal government.

"We're going to spend $2.6 trillion of people's money. And when you have a pot of money that large it's going to attract unsavory characters who will want to be selfish.

I'd prefer to call that stupidly short-sighted.

"The mere size of government is a problem ... And the burgeoning use of earmarks [is] the dynamic that's going to produce an Abramoff or a Duke Cunningham." The latter refers to former California Republican Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who pleaded guilty last November to a variety of crimes including bribery.

To Boehner's thinking, while proposals from his party and Democrats to clean up real or perceived corruption are worthy goals, "I think that more transparency in the relationship between lobbyists and members would be more helpful."

He pointed out what he considers to have been bad law – the McCain/Feingold campaign reform law, which he voted against because of its fundamental flaw in attempting to put more rules into place without being honest with the American people.

Most important thing a politician has said since 1995.