Leftovers...

Sadly, I didn't have the classic turkey-stuffing-cranberry sandwich this year, since we ate out for Thanksgiving. Instead, these leftovers are still kicking around my hard drive from last summer's sojourn in southern Wisconsin.

The CowParade has made its way to Wisconsin -- why it didn't start there is beyond me, but I'm neither an artist nor a philanthropist.  In July, many of the cows were set up on the Capitol Square in Madison.

Now batting, Number 19, shortstop...

"Bobbin Yount" of the "Moowaukee Brewers."  Yes, the head does bob from side to side.  Bonus points for the old glove logo, though I'd prefer to have seen the baby blue 1982 uniform... the pinstripes didn't come until later.

And despite my lack of timeliness, here's a headscratcher for you:

Yes, that's U.S. Representative Paul Ryan's office in his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin.  Ryan, an up-and-coming Republican, wasn't seriously challenged for re-election.  But does this offer any hints as to why so many Republican incumbents (including unforeseens like Jim Leach in Iowa and Jim Ryun in Kansas) were shown to the door?

We can only hope that the nation begins to relearn the value of challenging the talking heads and Beltway punditocracy, of instituting checks and balances, and of the ancient art of civics (as so proudly proclaimed by Richard Dreyfus in the season finale of Bill Maher's "Real Time").