"I think being a woman is like being Irish." — Iris Murdoch

When I heard that Cheney is in the hospital for a heart attack, I said, "Nelson!  I bet he's just doing this so he can step down and pretend it's for health reasons."

Nelson:  "What!?  Are you kidding?  They could never pull off something like that! A heart attack!  Come on!"

Me: "Sure he could!  Besides being vice-president, he's incredibly wealthy.  Listen --  suppose he heard that somebody had proof that he's been funnelling money into Halliburton from the beginning.  He'd say, 'George, you got to let me slip out of here before they catch me.'"

Nelson: "It would all come out.  It's not like they'd only have to corrupt one Republican somewhere.  They'd have to get at least one doctor, all the nurses, all those people in the hospital, to conspire together.  The doctor could lose his career.  I mean, it's fine to come up with conjectures, but that one just doesn't make sense."

Me: "Hmmph."