I like Conan O'Brien and the novelty of his fight against NBC hasn't entirely worn off yet, so I'm happy that he's on the cover of Fast Company this month. However, I think I would have been ok with one Conan, instead of Conan in the guise of various honorees from the magazine's 100 most creative people in business list (in case you were wondering...yes, Ryan Seacrest made the list).

Mostly, I think the issue is that the cover reminds me of the video for Aphex Twin's "Windowlicker" and while I'm a fan of the song, the video is a little disconcerting.

We recently received a letter from a student in Maine. She asked us to publish her request for information. Maybe one day, she'll blog and let us know she is retiring in Arizona.

Dear Reader,

I am a 6th grader in Maine and have chosen the great state of Arizona to research. I would very much appreciate any information that you could send me about your state. Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,

Keristin Grant
Benton Elementary School
68 School Drive
Benton, ME 04901

Congressman Raul Grijalva does takes questions online at the Washington Post Web site. One exchange:

Virginia: I lived in Latin America most of my life, speak Spanish fluently, and love its music, culture, and people. My Hispanic friends and I support enforcing Arizona law. Does that make us racists?

Rep. Raul Grijalva: I'm glad you like the music. No, you're not a racist. However, you might want to protect your Constitutional rights by opposing this law.

[Washington Post]

Apparently Rep. Vic Williams would prefer not to be associated with the sliver of the city that falls within his district, according to Bud Foster, whose KOLD piece on last night's contentious Pima County Board of Supervisors meeting has this delightful quote from Williams:

And he also took the city of Tucson to task for what he called the "miserable failures of Rio Nuevo."

"We have to work with the city of Tucson and the downtown area because we see it becoming more decayed, less prosperous and we don't want to be shackled to a corpse in our success," he says.

Ward 2 City Councilman Paul Cunningham filed his petitions today to run for the Ward 2 City Council seat he was appointed to after the resignation of Rodney Glassman last year.

Cunningham's filing brought a little smack talk from the Pima County Democratic Party:

In the 2011 city election sweepstakes, all three Democratic council members and mayoral candidate Jonathan Rothschild have filed signatures required to get on the ballot, while not a single Republican has managed to do the same.

In fact, the Democratic candidates filed nearly twice the required number of signatures necessary to be placed on the ballot this fall.

Where are the Republicans? Anyone?

“We may be looking at an enthusiasm gap,” said Pima County Democratic Party Chair Jeff Rogers. “The Republicans haven't yet managed to file a single set of signatures. They've been struggling to find candidates, and the ones they have recruited are cut from the same cloth as Phoenix Republican boss Russell Pearce, who is fighting an all-out war against Tucson. Tucson voters are too smart to elect a bunch of Frank Antenori clones to the city council. They want representation that’s fighting for their city, not against it.”

It’s possible the Republicans are “playing possum” and will all max out their signatures any day now, Rogers said. “But we’re not holding our breath.”

“We expect this to be a long and drawn-out campaign,” Rogers said. “To our friends at the GOP, you may want to pull yourselves away from talk radio long enough to get your candidates on the ballot. Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh will be there when you are done. Well, maybe not Beck…”

Watching Republicans embrace and then backtrack from supporting Paul Ryan's budget proposal has been kind of like that scene from The Shining when Jack goes into Room 237 and starts making out with that beautiful woman in the tub.

Now Newt Gingrich evidently wants everyone to forget that on Sunday, he pointed out that the beautiful woman was actually a rotting corpse and and suggests she's a beautiful woman after all. It's almost like the kid who noticed the emperor wasn't wearing any clothes suddenly cheering about the daring design of the new threads.

Talking Points Memo reports:

Newt Gingrich's walk back tour reached its zenith Tuesday night, as Gingrich personally apologized to Paul Ryan for dismissing his Medicare plan as "right wing social engineering." In an added twist, Gingrich claims that the merest mention of his extensive condemnation of Ryan's budget from Sunday's Meet The Press by Democrats is now out of bounds as a result.

"Any ad which quotes what I said on Sunday is a falsehood, because I have said publicly those words were inaccurate and unfortunate," he told FOX's Greta Van Susteren. ""When I make a mistake, and I'm going to on occasion, I'm going to share with the American people that was a mistake because that way we can have an honest conversation."

Democrats have been giddy — and Republicans terrified — at the prospect of new ads and messaging featuring Gingrich's attacks on the Ryan budget as "radical change from the right" and "too big a jump" for America. Newt's comments to FOX suggest that he's well aware of what's coming.

We're reminded about what Michael Kinsley said about gaffes:

Update: Force has been adopted! But don't cry, friend; there are many more animals at the HSSAZ that would love a home.

An unstoppable force! This remarkable Lab was found on the reservation in February with mange, ear infections, and a severe eye injury. Force, as his friends call him, is now back on his paws and ready for action! Among this perky pup’s many interests, Force enjoys going for strolls and taking in the sights, sounds and smells of spring. As a current student in the Humane Society’s Canine College program, Force is learning a variety of new tricks and soaking up some one-on-one attention from trainers to help him stay happy. What would really make this deserving dog’s day is a visit from you! What do you say? Please come down and meet Force and friends today at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona.

And here's Force in his own epic short film.

Come meet Force! He's currently living at the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, 3450 N. Kelvin Blvd. The Humane Society is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. The phone number is 327-6088.

The Endeavour crew recaps Day 2 aboard the space shuttle, beginning with U2's "Beautiful Day" and concluding with a weird-looking meal from pouches that float in zero gravity. Yum?

Update with playlist and download at bottom of post

• Photo Ryn Gargulinski

Wonder if he still gets his pension plan.

That story and more are up this week on Rynski’s Shattered Reality radio show on Party934.com and FM 94.9 in Hudson Valley, N.Y.

Next show is Wednesday, May 18 (today!) and every Wednesday online at Party934.com. Showtime is noon in Arizona, 3 p.m. EST.

Party 934 is a radio alternative for listeners sick of stations that play one song followed by 500 commercials.

This weeks dazzling musical theme is gems and jewelry, and we have a sparkling array of tunes to play.

Thanks! to all who keep the song requests coming.

• Photo by Flickr user tlsmith1000

A follow up to yesterday's post about former Senator Rick Santorum's questioning of whether Senator John McCain understands the logistics of torture, from the Washington Post:

McCain, of course, has direct experience of this process. He has even written that he did not become cooperative under “enhanced interrogation” at all, and in fact gave his tormentors false information to get them to stop.

So I asked McCain spokesperson Brooke Buchanan for a response to Santorum. She emailed a one word reply:

Who?

This exchange perfectly captures how unmoored from reality the debate over torture has become. One of the primary practical arguments against torture — as opposed to moral ones — is that it produces unreliable information. That’s a case that McCain’s personal story has left him very well equipped to make. But some on the right are so heavily invested in their own fantasy version of torture — or are just reflexively defending it because they can’t fathom a world in which Bush doesn’t get credit for killing Bin Laden — that McCain’s actual experience of it simply doesn’t figure into the debate in any way.