Chicken, little

Republican Senate candidate Sue Lowden's proving to be a suitable replacement for the late U.S. Sen. Chic Hecht, R-Nev., who is memorialized with several entries in "The 776 Stupidest Things Ever Said."

Lowden, it seems, lives in the 1930s, when unemployed families and other impoverished Americans turned to barter in lieu of cash. I'd try the "chicken for medical care" idea, except for the fact that my medical guy would fall over laughing, hit his head and have to go to the E.R. for stitches.

Or, maybe she's stuck in the 1870s. Hard to tell.

There used to be a right-wing political party in Nevada that demanded a return to the barter system. Oddly, Nevadans, who rarely exhibit such smarts, turned away from the idea.

Side note: The polls showing Lowden leading Harry Reid undoubtedly include some of the three-quarters of a million people who haven't lived in Nevada much longer than 15 years. Tightwad Orange County Californians sold their cheap houses for zillions and moved to no-state-income-tax Nevada. Sadly, they have little to do in their lives except vote to prevent people who aren't them from getting help.

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I'm no fan of big airlines, but I hope they tell the passengers demanding compensation for being stranded by Iceland's volcano to go pluck a chicken.

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Unsure on the concept

Junk mail addressed to "Our friends at" my P.O. box Monday included a Special Limited Edition Golden Ticket Spring Special from the Peppermill in Reno. It's full of coupons for this and that, including a discount on an Elvis Costello concert May 15.

The main message is a pitch for people to sign up for the "Passport" club.

However ... farther down the front page, it promises "Guaranteed Luck."

If I were on the Nevada Gaming Control Board, I'd have lots of questions for the Peppermill.

And give management a dictionary so they can look up "luck."

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Take your ego and shove it

Apparently, Sarah Palin spent part of her new Fox TV show praising Americans for being exceptional. And, apparently, the far-right nutballs have proclaimed that American Exceptionalism is back.

If that's true, and if the USA were a person, it would be a full-on narcissist. I used to work for one and came close to murdering another, saved only because that jackass moved away. Anybody who lives with a narcissist will tell you that he/she is a horrid person.

Wikipedia says: Narcissistic personality disorder is ... defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ... as "a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and a lack of empathy."

Sadly, believers in American Exceptionalism are massively narcissistic, leading other countries to despise or hate the USA. Too bad these exceptional jerks won't leave the neighborhood. Insert your own Texas joke here.

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Does compute

So, I just watched a "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" episode from February 1998 and there was the Starfleet crew using handheld, 8 by 12 computing devices, rectangular, touch-screen, wireless ...

Turn an iPad beige and you've got the idea.

And people think Apple invents its own stuff.

Speaking of computers, the incessant commercials for Windows 7 show that Microsoft is turning its OS into an Apple clone. Microsoft's ads are always lame, but this cycle is beyond annoying.

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