A Thistle to Des Moines Register

How cute. Sunday readers of the Des Moines Register, arguably one of the most important political newspapers in the country, are provided a fun column that gives roses to newsmakers who do good and thistles to those who don't. Well, to our shock, Whispers seems to be responsible for a thistle to Sen. Tom Harkin, which he doesn't deserve. See, we recently wrote about his moonshine roots in a fun item about his induction into the George Washington Spirits Society. In it, we noted that he likes to take a bottle of local fave Templeton Rye with him on pheasant hunts. Here's what we wrote: "He's also a fan of Templeton Rye, a whiskey from the Hawkeye State, which sometimes accompanies him in a milk jug for pheasant shoots." We never suggested he takes swigs in between shots. In fact, we hunters know that there are several cardinal rules—one being no booze while the gun's off safe. But a celebration swig at sundown is perfectly fine, and that's what we believed the senator meant. But the Register suggested something else yesterday:

"A thistle to Sen. Tom Harkin for suggesting it's OK for hunters to take a few shots from the jug while out taking a few shots at pheasants. According to a U.S. News & World Report item, Harkin admitted to sometimes taking along a milk jug containing Templeton Rye. That might explain Dick Cheney's bad aim, but it's a risky combination in any case."

Sorry, Register editors, but that was a wild shot.