We at Various Things & Stuff don’t generally draw attention to ourselves. Our undeniable raw sensuality and rugged good looks generally do that for us. But since a couple of alert readers have noticed, we will confirm that, yes, that is a new picture of us on the blog.

Nevada’s Democratic Party is showing some pretty big gains in 2007, undoubtedly due to organizing for the Jan. 19 caucus. (In fact, it’s probably the most visible manifestation that there is a caucus, aside from that one debate and the occasional candidate visit.)

We don’t totally subscribe to Derby’s unrestrained optimism. (And we hate color labels, especially "purple." Please.) It still remains to be seen how many of these active voters will actively turn out in November. But the trend is certainly positive for Democrats, and nobody should take that away from the party and its organization.

OK, so here’s our question: If the Clark County Commission has decided that most people in the Las Vegas Valley don’t want to give up their twice-a-week trash pickup, then why the hell is a recycling pilot program blessed by the commission testing once-a-week trash pickup?

It’s never going to happen, right? So why even explore that possibility?

"The general public does not want to go to once-a-week trash pickup," says Commissioner Bruce Woodbury. And from what we’ve seen, he’s right.

Moreover, why should they? Republic Services touted its legendary twice-weekly trash pickup as part of the deal when the company was granted an extra-long franchise at the tail end of the last century, a franchise that stretches well into this century. If the company doesn’t want to live up to its end of the deal, it should surrender its franchise agreement and let the county go out to bid for a new trash hauler.

It seems to us that Republic is using its desire to increase recycling in Clark County to try to get a better deal, despite its franchise. (You know, they way the company is trying to get out of its commitment to fix the Sunrise landfill, a key component of the franchise deal, unless it get more money.) And that’s just uncool.

What’s that? Republic is cool with keeping up twice-weekly pickups?

"Republic is happy to provide whatever service you want. I don’t have a horse in the once-a-week garbage pickup and once-a-week recycling race," says Republic Area President Bob Coyle.

Great, it’s decided, then! Whatever recycling option is chosen — once a week, once every other week, etc. — two-time trash pickup is guaranteed.

Or is it? Because despite what Woodbury said, and despite what Coyle said, the county still has at least one plan being "pilot" tested that would see trash picked up only once a week. Why, if everybody says that’s not an option?

Because, frankly, that is an option. And it’s one that Republic has been trying to get for a long time.

So when Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani suggested keeping twice-weekly trash pickup and bumping up recycling pickup to once weekly, Coyle replied that it would cost too much. Who’s going to pay for the new trucks necessary to do that? he asked.

That’s not Giunchigliani’s problem. It’s not the county’s problem, either. It’s Republic’s problem. And if Republic can’t figure out a way to fix it, well, maybe another trash hauler can. We’re sure the county would be happy to entertain a bid from Republic, right along with everybody else’s bid, too.

Sure, there’s a National Intelligence Estimate that says Iran abandoned its nuclear weapons program four years ago. But why should that change the Bush administration’s approach to affairs in that country one bit? That would be crazy talk. And speaking of crazy talk, George W. Bush said this:

"Look, Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous and Iran will be dangerous if they [sic] have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon. The NIE says that Iran had a hidden — a covert nuclear weapons program. That’s what it said. What’s to say that they couldn’t start another covert nuclear weapons program?"

Well, Mr. President, there’s nothing that says the Iranians won’t start another nuclear weapons program. But a few things first:

No. 1: We think everybody can agree that a nuclear-armed Iran is a bad idea, in that that country is run by religious nuts who can’t be trusted to not bring down the wrath of the Almighty (as they see it) upon the world. And if anybody knows how bad things can get when their country is run by religious nuts, it’s us Americans! Are we right people? Can we get an amen?

No. 2: If we know now that Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapons program, and we can figure out that they stopped trying four years ago, it’s likely we’ll be able to tell if that nation started to try to get the bomb again, no? Especially if we’re really keeping an eye on them?

So why not dial down the rhetoric, instead of dial it up? Hell, the Iranians may also want to build a Death Star from which to menace our hidden rebel base, but we need to have some proof before we go scaring the children, right? So let’s deal in facts, and from those facts draw a conclusion. It’s a little thing we like to call "reason."

No. 3: Speaking of dangerous, did you notice what the Fearmonger-in-Chief did there? He changed the terms of the debate entirely. Iran isn’t a danger if it has a nuclear weapon. It’s not a danger if it’s trying to get a nuclear weapon. It’s a danger if it has the "…knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," according to the president. So, what does that mean? We’ll invade unless all nuclear scientists leave the country? If somebody orders Nukes for Dummies and has it sent to Tehran?

No. 4: And still speaking of dangerous, aren’t we on a slipperly slope? Yes, Iran invaded Iraq before it was cool, but haven’t we now done the same thing? Based on intelligence that was false and rhetoric superheated by our nation’s leaders? And aren’t we seemingly on the runup to war with another credibility-straining string of arguments?

This situation calls for patience, wisdom and diplomatic skills on the part of the United States, which means we wouldn’t build that Persian Gulf beach house anytime soon, if we were the Iranians.