Quick takes

You may have noticed that they're haven't been any posts lately. Or maybe you haven't noticed. I'm not exactly raking in the hits. Part of the reason for this (the lack of posts, not the lack of hits) is that I don't want to comment on a lot of stuff. I refer to the entire United States outside the Capital Beltway as "The Real America." "Real Americans" inhabit TRA. Real Americans have different interests and priorities than those of us not in TRA. For instance, there are other news stories besides immigration, Paris Hilton, and Iraq. So usually, I wouldn't touch this stuff. But in an attempt to be a Real American by doing something other than watching Washington Journal (sorry, the C-Span WJ page is not functioning) on Saturday morning, I offer you Tha Suburban Original's Quick Takes, Volume 1, Number 1. Perhaps this will become a regular feature. If I can remember to do it. I'll increase my curcumin consumption, and perhaps that will help.

1. The 2008 Presidential campaign - if anyone has made up their mind as to who they're voting for, I am concerned for you. If you've TRIED to make up your mind already, I am concerned for you. I would feel a lot better about the campaign if Clinton, Obama, Hunter, Brownback, et al were on the floor voting. You know, doing the job that American taxpayers are putting money in their pockets for.

2. Paris Hilton - She's famous because she's the kid of a hotel magnate and had a homemade porn tape leaked online. That makes her like a half-step above Dustin Diamond. Yeah, I went there.

3. Kobayashi's inability to compete in the hot dog eating contest - I haven't made a lot of anti-New York rants on this site. I will atempt to stay on focus here. But does anyone outside the New York area actually like Nathan's hot dogs? They're horrible. That "special taste" they have is just gross. They always look like they've been fried in something, and I think it's also pretentious that they manufacture their own mustard. It is my humble opinion that there is no finer meat than Koegel's and no reason to purchase any mustard other than Plochman's. I will note, however, that both are extremely difficult to find on the East Coast, so I have learned to love Esskay Oriole Dogs (or "franks," I guess) and have learned to tolerate Gulden's.

4. The Dick Cheney executive privilege thing - I'm going to be honest, I have never cared about Dick Cheney. Many may find this ironic, since I'm sitting about four blocks from his office right now. However, the Washington Post has done a four-part series this week chronicling his tenure as VP and it has been mostly fascinating. I urge all of you in TRA and beyond to read it. While I can't say it's made me care about Cheney, I do agree with someone who commented to me the other day that it is a must-read for political science students, particularly those studying the Executive branch.

5. Iraq - I am Iraq-ed out. Can I be the only person who feels this way? Seriously?

I have nothing else right now. Hopefully this will emerge and I can rant on other stuff in this format. Curcumin. Right.