Ho hum. Off to the Court of Arbitration for Sport goes Albuterol Clenbutador as the UCI appeals his Spanish get-out-of-jail-free card.
Remember, doping these days is a stage race. There’s the prologue (allegedly winning the actual competition) followed by stage one (defending yourself before your national federation after tripping the Dope-O-Meter®) and stage two (battling either UCI, WADA or both at the CAS). Charles “The Explainer” Pelkey breaks it all down for you at VeloNews.com.
In between (and during) stages there is much bad noise from all concerned, worse than a battalion of drunken Belgians clanging cowbells. It’s particularly hard on the ears to hear Mr. 60% jabbering about “fairness” after cheating his way to his own Tour title.
Meanwhile, Counselor Pelkey warns against expecting a quick resolution.
“The time required by CAS to review documents, entertain motions from both sides, hold a hearing for oral arguments and then render a decision means that we won’t get a final and official word until much later this year,” he writes. “Indeed, we could see this thing pushed into late summer or early fall.”
Oh, goody. This means Clenbutador could race this year’s Giro and Tour before we get the definitive word on who won last year’s Tour.
Better start maintaining those record books online, boys. Makes it easier to airbrush folks out of the podium photos.
Speaking of freak shows, Kevin Drum — who thinks our crypto-Muslim Kenyan socialist overlord is a mortal lock to win in 2012 — is looking forward to the coming GOP primary.
“It looks like Michele Bachmann is going to run, Palin might run, Newt Gingrich is probably going to run, Jim DeMint seems like he might run, and I suppose Ron Paul will run again too. This is a freak show of stupendous proportions, and it would be perfect if Donald Trump really did decide to join all these nutbags on the stage during the debates.”
Parroting the usual insanity won’t make the nut with this lot, Kevin adds, meaning “the crazy wing is going to have to up the ante. …” And here we thought they’d already cranked it up to 11.
Mad Blog Media 
Perhaps the new Repuglicans go to 12?
Going back as far as records exist, the GOP won the vote of those with college educations, every single year … until ’08. First time ever the Dems hit the 50.1% mark amongst college educated voters.
And you’d a-thunk it would have been a wake-up call to the GOP. But instead, they went scorched earth: if those with diplomas are going to turn on the GOP, then the GOP will tell them not to let the door hit ’em on the ass on the way out. They’re not just going to dumb down the campaign, they’re going to march out the Dumb and Dumber brigade as candidates.
They must have raided Bellevue, the 5th floor of Bethesda Naval, and Danvers State to find this bunch. Nearly all are unemployable in any field save for politics or punditry.
Every time any of them talk, I’m reminded of the Boondocks cartoon: Riley asks Grampa for something ridiculous, and Grampa says, “It doesn’t bother me that you’re stupid … what bothers me is that you think I’m stupid, too.”
From that list, the Republican convention could look like that Monty Python Upperclass Twit of the Year skit.
Bottom line on the Repug’s philosophy can be best described in this 2008 New York Times op-ed piece: Best is the New Worst.
khal,
I think the twit is too smart for them. I’m thinking more like hours and hours of reality TV Colbert Reports. Fun.
Ben, Colbert has been killing it lately. I used to prefer Jon Stewart, but I’m coming around … Stewart can’t quite decide whether he’s supposed to be for real or for funny, but Colbert (like his character) is blessedly free of doubt.
I am SO looking forward to getting out of Iowa before all these crazies start showing up in Iowa regularly! Plenty of ’em are already visiting but not making too much noise yet. Karl Rove had it dead-on when he talked about education being good, but not too much, because if someone gets too educated they start voting Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing. If somehow Obama loses the 2012 election, it’ll make it even easier to just stay in Italy, where all they have to worry about is their top man and his child molestation problems!
Hey, whatever happened to spring, didn’t that just start? It seems like winter has come back to a lot of places, Iowa included.
Larry, spring is springing right the hell out of here, too. But at least we’re not up to our tits in GOP presidential hopefuls.
It’s SNOWING here today! I guess Ma Nature didn’t pay much attention to the calendar? Oh well, with any luck this could be the last winter we’ll spend on the frozen plains, next year at this time we should be down in Sicily wondering if Etna will blow up. I’ll chance it, if for no other reason than to avoid ditzy Repuglican prez wannabees!