Mike Argento, a York native and graduate of York Suburban Area High School and Penn State, first came to the York Daily Record in 1983. He even had gray hair back then. After stints covering everything from cops to city hall to state government to the environment, he began writing a column for the paper, three times a week, in 1989. His column can be about anything and so is his blog, which encompasses life in York County and beyond. And, for the record, as he told his wife the other night, he wishes people would stop asking him, 'What's wrong with you?' He really doesn't know. 
John McCain has picked first-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin is 44, 28 years younger than McCain.
As one commenter of the snarky Web site Wonkette said, "It's not the first time McCain has chosen to go with a younger woman."
Zing!
Introducing Miketerol. For whatever ails you.
U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey announced today that our local-girl-made-good Monica Goodling would not be charged with breaking the law, even though, he said, she did.
The attorney general, the highest ranking law enforcement officer in the land said this:
"Not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime."
Not every violation of the law is a crime.
That's good to know.
I seem to recall, not long ago, people harping about the rule of law and all of that. When it's your team breaking the law, I guess the rules are a little more flexible.
The Washington Post ran a story about phobias Monday that began:
"There are plenty of people who coast across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge without even a flicker of anxiety, never giving a thought to any greater calamity than whether they forgot the sunscreen or made an error in judgment in packing the Speedo.
"But for some people, the 4.3-mile span sparks feelings from mild consternation to outright panic. What if the bridge sways or collapses? What if an erratic driver forces them out of their lane and into the drink? Or worse still, what if they completely freak out and in a state of panic accidentally drive themselves into the bay?"
On Monday, there was a fatal accident on the bridge, in which a tractor-trailer broke through the Jersey barrier on the side of the span and plunged into the bay.
Timing is everything.
So many people of a certain age only know Isaac Hayes as Chef from "South Park."
The man was a great composer and influential musician.
To honor Mr. Hayes, check this out. Maximum funk.
News that John Edwards admitted having an affair has been a huge story the past couple of days.
One woman I know asked, "What kind of idiot would do something like that?"
And by "something like that," I think she meant cheat on a spouse who was battling a life-threatening disease.
Well, let's see.
How about Newt Gingrich? Newt cheated on his wife while she was ill and delivered divorce papers to her while she was still in the hospital. And he is still considered a Republican paragon.
And then there's John McCain.
McCain cheated on his first wife with the current Mrs. McCain while his wife was in the hospital recovering from a car accident. The car accident left his first wife, a former bikini model, overweight and disfigured. So McCain dumped her for Mrs. McCain No. 2, who, by the way, is 17 years younger than him and is a wealthy beer heiress on top of that.
The only lesson here is that hypocrisy knows no bounds or party lines.
Excellent Paul Krugman column from the New York Times yesterday. It begins:
"So the G.O.P. has found its issue for the 2008 election. For the next three months the party plans to keep chanting: "Drill here! Drill now! Drill here! Drill now! Four legs good, two legs bad!" O.K., I added that last part.
"And the debate on energy policy has helped me find the words for something I've been thinking about for a while. Republicans, once hailed as the 'party of ideas,' have become the party of stupid.
"Now, I don't mean that G.O.P. politicians are, on average, any dumber than their Democratic counterparts. And I certainly don't mean to question the often frightening smarts of Republican political operatives.
What I mean, instead, is that know-nothingism -- the insistence that there are simple, brute-force, instant-gratification answers to every problem, and that there's something effeminate and weak about anyone who suggests otherwise -- has become the core of Republican policy and political strategy. The party's de facto slogan has become: 'Real men don't think things through.'"
Read the whole thing here.
Here's the animated version if this very funny comic strip. Josh Groban said what about Obama?
John McCain's campaign is awarding points to people who post his talking points on various blogs.
Here's your chance to win some points. Post some talking points -- the funnier and most unauthorized, the better -- here and then go here to report it for your points.
Now, any Astroturf or serious talking points won't make the cut. Make them funny or no points for you!
A parody of the L.A. Times included this story.
A new idea for looking for for oil -- employing Buddy Ebsen! Also, harnessing the awesome power of Uncle Fester.
And, for your listening pleasure, here's Buddy singing Hank.
Paris Hilton, currently starring in John McCain's bizarre "Celebrity" ad, has responded. She refers to McCain as "that wrinkly, white-haired guy."
Watch it here:
