Best line of the day

“When I was maybe nine, I remember crying and being so upset, and my mom would walk down the sideline and just tell me it was all right. There’s some days now, in stadiums filled with fifty thousand people, where I could still use her.”

Tim Howard, Goalkeeper, United States of America, quoted in a profile by Hampton Sides in The New Yorker. Link is to abstract of article.

Best gardening line of the day

“My friend Rob pointed out some nasty vines growing in my garden and immediately pronounced the cure: ‘Roundup.’ He’s from Portland, is very ecologically minded, rides his bike to and from his job as an urban forester, etc. So to have him sanction a toxin brought a tear of gratitude to my eye. I did not mention that I’m going to apply it with an airplane.”

Joel Achenbach, 2007

Drop some on my relentless Russian sage, please.

Best line of the day

In a comment, niece Amy offers her kids for my trip to Yellowstone. They are phenomenally cute kids.

They are however, known by their nicknames: Sassy and The Bandit.

And, according to Amy, her husband Michael refers to 5-year-old Stevie and Stevie’s pre-school buddies as The Four Toddlers of the Apocalypse.

Best line of the day

“The young were Barack Obama’s strongest supporters, and still are, though there’s been some slippage. They were wise beyond their years and ahead of every other generation on the major issues — from offshore oil drilling (not so fast), to gays in the military (duh), to tolerance of the new American ethnic stew (you mean that’s still a problem?).”

Timothy Egan

Interesting fact from Egan’s column: “Nearly one in four Americans under the age of 18 have at least one immigrant parent, according to a recent national portrait put out by the Brookings Institution.”

Another Slacker

“She’s popular, and a bit maddening, in the way that only a woman with seven children, a medical degree, fluency in three languages, an aristocratic–academic–pharmaceutical-entrepreneur husband, and a record of promoting both Christian values and paternity leave can be. She was called ‘Zensursula’—censorship, Ursula—because of a campaign against child pornography on the Internet; her father was a politician who now suffers from Alzheimer’s, and whom she cares for at home. Also, she dresses well, without being gaudy.”

Amy Davidson at The New Yorker describing Ursula von der Leyen, a favorite to become Germany’s new President.

The job pays €213,000 a year — for life. It’s primarily a ceremonial role as head of state. The German chancellor heads the government; at present that is Angela Merkel.

Best Derby line of the day

Jill reports:

We were all watching the horses come in, and choosing our picks to win.

I said, “Reid, who are you rooting for?”

He replied, “I’m rooting for Doodle!” — which is the name of the little pony he rode last year in Indiana.

Don’t scoff. I hear Calvin Borel is riding Doodle next year.

Arizona Iced Tea Shows Its Papers

To All Our Friends, Customers and Loyal Fans,

We have become aware of misinformation being circulated about AriZona Beverages and we would like to make sure statements about our company are correct. As many of you know, AriZona Beverages proudly traces its origins back to New York. In 1992, two hard working guys from Brooklyn with a dream created AriZona Iced Tea. Since then, and despite the wonderful success AriZona has enjoyed throughout the United States and internationally, we have remained loyal to our family run business based in New York. For the last 16 years our headquarters have remained on Long Island where we continue to sell and distribute AriZona Iced Teas and beverages.

We are very proud to be an American company with roots in New York and we look forward to continuing to provide you with the high quality and value driven products we’ve been making for the last 18 years.

Don Vultaggio, the founder and chairman of Arizona Beverages, as reported by The Lede Blog – NYTimes.com.

Best line of the day

“Arizona Latinos have gone, literally overnight, from being perhaps the most pro-GOP in the nation, to joining California as the most anti-GOP ones in the nation…Within a decade, Arizona will be as reliably Democratic as California is today. And when that day arrives, we’ll be able to trace it all to last Friday’s passage of SB 1070.”

Kos quoted by Andrew Sullivan who adds, “I think he’s right.”