Ted Cruz will run

As they say you can't make this up:

To quote from the story:

While in New Hampshire, Cruz told voters his daughter, Caroline, had given him permission to join the presidential race in the hopes that the family puppy would get to play on the White House lawn instead of near their Houston high-rise condo. 

 "If you win, that means Snowflake will finally get a backyard to pee in," Cruz said his daughter told him. 

Somewhat later:

In a recent Associated Press interview, he said he wants to counter the "caricatures" of the right as "stupid," ''evil" or "crazy."

I always thought Cruz was a very smart guy who realized that he could make a lot of money from conservative people who had money to give.  There was nothing in his own actions to counter the caricature of evil or cynical attributes of the right.

As flag burning was ruled a right under free speech, I guess the argument can be made that his daughter will be asserting her free speech rights on government property.

I can't quite see the bumper sticker, but I wait with breathless anticipation.  For the time being I'll have to be content with: "Ted Cruz, the first person and only Republican presidential candidate is already in last place."

Spocking Fives and Dick Nixon Stamp

Proof that the Canadians have a sense of humor is documented by “Spocking fives” described as "a fine Canadian tradition that involves etching the beloved Vulcan’s profile over Canada’s seventh prime minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier on the five-dollar banknote." (qz.com/353488/canadians-spock-their-banknotes-to-honor-leonard-nimoy/)

It brought to mind a cherished memory of  the Nixon stamp.   Some would add to the postmark (below left) or one could purchase special envelopes with a place for he Nixon stamp (below right).  Legend has it that sales of the Nixon stamp surged in response to the envelope. 

According to a contemporaneous report in the LA Times (articles.latimes.com/1995-07-09/news/mn-21870_1_nixon-stamp) 10,000 envelopes were sold in a month.

Thom Zajac, publisher of the Santa Cruz Comic News, a cartoon newspaper, was quoted as saying "Buy soon, because according to the post office, you won't have Dick Nixon to lick around anymore."

As of this post, the envelopes are offered on eBay for $2 each.