Maya lobbies for a space of her own

Don't EVEN get me started on L. Paul "Jerry" Scooter Mayor McCheese Bremer's "Meet the Press" appearance this morning. He's so perfectly Bushie in the post-Iraqcle debacle context - trying to now get credit for supposedly "admitting" mistakes while entirely spreading the blame outside everyone else's campsites. Whatta dooshbag. Can't wait to see if Jon Stewart actually gives him a moment of proper astonished indignation on "The Daily Show" this upcoming week. But before I drop this (as I'd intended to do after a brief opening rimshot), can you believe that the Bushies have allowed "What's my declassified nickname again?...The Frickin' Bremster?!" Bremer to go off the reservation with this critique? In his assuredly horrible book, L. Paul criticizes Rummy. And he talks disparengingly of inadequate troop levels. Or is it troops level. Whatever the case may be, this shows a chink in the previously inpenetrable claims of always giving those brave commanders what they need. Any chance he'll backhand back that Medal of Freedom? Doubt it.

Much more importantly on this NFL Playoffs weekend - I just got through the Steelers' crazy victory over the Colts. Look for more assholy comments about the Colts' kicker Mike Vanderjagt following his horrendous "Wide Right!" like those previously uttered by Peyton Manning ("our drunken kicker had to go off and shoot off his damn mouth..."). But let's all remember just how completely outclassed the Colts were in this one. Just as the previously unstoppable Patriots were - the Donkeys finished off Tom Brady's streak in a fashion that was more entertaining on a Saturday night than a nude drag race. Oh, yea...the Seahags finished off the seriously streaky Sunburned-Native-Americans, too. Great Playoffishness thus far.

Maya's elevated her busy and mischievous hands to a new level of hard-to-control fun. Earlier this morning as she tore her way through the far-too-adultish junk on our endtable I suggested to Sarah that we should build a little rubber room which we could fill with disconnected cordless phones, a TiVo remote control, some paper clips, a cellphone and a 50-pound bag of pretzels - everything that Maya seemingly loves at this point in time. Sarah didn't exactly veto it. So look for fresh pics of this New-Improved Gitmo in the weeks ahead. But in all seriousness, Maya's a freakin' delight of a handful. In that line of reasoning, the week ahead should be especially important. Namely - we found a nanny. More accurately, two. The primary woman is named Megan - a former actor with tons of experience with kids and truckloads of pop-culture cred, which was one of Maya's requirements (Megan was on a season of "Dawson's Creek" and did a handful of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episodes ). More importantly, she's warm, funny, and kick-ass cool. Our part-time part-timer is named Collette - an occupational therapist who welcomed the chance to work with Maya while studying for her post-grad-school licensing tests. I'll do my best to respect their privacy while showcasing their amazingness in the months ahead. Hope your own positions are equally filled with satisfaction. Rock on.