Yes, Virginia, There Is, Sadly, A William Kristol ...

Oh, boy ... Like you couldn't see this one coming down the turnpike, pedal-to-the-metal and the high beams on ...

Christ, even a young toddler, that still believes in Santa Claus, knew, instinctively, this would be coming.

Gen. David Petraeus, Man of the Year; Time magazine got it wrong

Little Billy Kristol is all plump-in-the-crotch with this one.

"We are now winning the war. To say this was not inevitable is an understatement ..."

"Petraeus pulled it off. The war is not over, of course. Too quick and deep a drawdown--which some in the Pentagon and elsewhere in the Bush administration are, appallingly, pushing for--could throw away the amazing success that has been achieved. Still: It is as clear as anything can be in this world, where we judge through a glass darkly, that General David H. Petraeus is, in fact, America's man of the year."

What, exactly, has Petraeus, or us, won?

There's a lull in the action and OMG!, the surge worked.

Pardon me, if we wait and let all the sand fall through the hourglass.

There's still a pretty huge shoe - and we're talking gargantuan-sized clown shoes here - that will "inevitably" drop, namely, what happens to all those former insurgents that Petraeus armed - intentionally (and the ones he armed unintentionally) - when they decide to switch back to be regular old insurgents again?

Or they don't like a certain Iraqi politician? Or they don't like what's being served for lunch at the local deli?

Sounds like Little Billy Kristol is pushing for a Mission Accomplished II (which I suppose we get both Bush and Cheney in flightsuits) and a Wall Street-Ticker-Tape parade for the Golden Boy General.

I'm sure this will be a heavily-buzzed topic of conversation on the next Weekly Standard cruise (the Ad hanging over Little Billy's love note) and, who knows, maybe the victorious General will be on-board as well.

Can't you just see The General pulling some aging neocon out of the audience, one poured into the tuxedo bought thirty-years ago, to give some razzle-dazzle demonstration of "the surge"?

The neocons, freakshow and dittoheads on board will eat it up like happy soup. There'll be shouts from the crowd for Petraeus to run for the Senate, run for President. Surely, if he can "win Iraq", he can easily knock some sense into Washington.

Quickly, the crowd will begin foaming, delirious that are in the same room with the Golden Boy General, and it won't be long before the catcalls come for a "surge into Iran".

And Little Billy Kristol crashes through the swinging doors, all dolled up in his little cheerleading uniform and ... Well, let's not go there ... It would take us into a Russ Meyer-Meets-Tim Burton-Meets-David Lynch-Meets-John Waters-thing and that is too sick and twisted to conjure up, even for a satire piece ...

Suffice it to say Little Billy Kristol will have boatloads of more columns calling for war and destruction.

It is, he will argue, the American way.


Cleaning Up Little Billy Kristol Droppings

Think Progress: Time drops Kristol, Krauthammer

Juan Cole: A surge of phony spin on Iraq - Bush's backers are peddling a sunny view of the president's strategy -- despite Iraq's political chaos and soaring death counts

The PetraeusReportpalooza ... Ready For Your Close-Up, General?

Of Legacy Maintenance - And Corrections! ... David Corn's "REBUTTAL - Why Bush Is A Loser"

Where's Ernest Borgnine when you need him?

Good Post Alert - Tomgram: Rebecca Solnit on Hope in Print

If you are not currently hip to TomDispatch, correct your awareness at the earliest convenience.

This is a knock'em dead site, chock full of fantastic content, great writings and insight and copious amounts of knowledge ... All just a click away.

As they say in the header;

Tomdispatch.com is for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of our post-9/11 world and a clear sense of how our imperial globe actually works.

Nearly a week ago, they closed down for the year and in doing so, went out with a bang.

Tomgram: Rebecca Solnit on Hope in Print

"Consider that work the secret thirteenth companion to Solnit's 12 book choices below -- her "secret library of hope" -- which offer a reader encouragement not to curl up in despair when faced with a grim world. And here's a bit of small-scale synergy that brightens my own life. My favorite bookstore on the planet, City Lights in San Francisco, is putting up a "Secret Library of Hope" window display of Solnit's suggestions, with most of the books specially stickered and available inside (along with this essay).

While I am tempted to quote more, better you go and read for yourself.

Okay, one more, a testimonial for her book, "Hope in the Dark - Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities"

"Seemingly lost in the woods of deceit and banality, bereft of hope, we are confronted by Rebecca Solnit and her astonishing flashlight. In a jewel of a book that is poetic in substance as well as style, she reveals where we were, where we are and the step-by-step advances that have been made in human rights, as we stubbornly stumble out of the darkness." --Studs Terkel

It is well-timed, and very much needed, the bolstering of hope in the times we live in (and we will have another "hope" or "hopeless" post in the upcoming days).

Read Tomgram: Rebecca Solnit on Hope in Print

Visit (and bookmark) TomDispatch

Top Ten Cloves: Other People Mitt Romney Saw His Father With

News Item: Romney never saw father on King march; Defends figurative words; evidence contradicts story

10. The first Super Bowl... I still have the picture in my head, Dad standing there, arm-and-arm, with Max McGee

9. Margaret Mead... I was very young, and it was on a dig in some foreign country ... I can still see, both of them, in their dirty khakis

8. U Thant... I believe that I saw Dad be the first person to greet him at the United Nations

7. Charlton Heston... In the early 60's, I think it was on the set of "The Greatest Story Ever Told" that I saw them ... If Dad were still alive, I can see him, at the NRA convention - who has endorsed me, by the way - handing Mr. Heston the "cold dead hands" rifle

6. John Glenn... It's so crystal clear, that I could swear Dad was on the first orbit with him

5. Miles Davis... It was just before 'Bitches Brew' came out ... Not many people saw it, but Dad was an old hipster ...

4. Ian Smith, the Rhodesian Prime Minister... In fact, as I remember seeing, Dad had, kind of, a Mormon Prophecy, and told Smith that the country would, some day, have a name like "Zimbaby", or something like that ...

3. Hank Aaron ... Dad was there the big night, No. 715... Almost can see Dad himself, hitting that homerun

2. Abba Eban ... I can still see them, like they were standing here today ... Dad told Eban, he could wrap things in in five, or six-days

1. I can see it clearly... August 15, 1965 ... Shea Stadium... Dad up there with The Beatles ...


Bonus Make-Up (and Made-Up) Mitt Riffs

Steve Benen/Crooks and Liars: Romney’s tall tale about MLK

Josh Marshall: Saw in the Sense of Imagined

TBogg: Black History Month with Rahsaan Roland Romney

Andrew Sullivan: It Gets Better

Is John Boehner Consulting The Romney Campaign, Giving Make-Up Mitt Crying Lessons?

Romney Speech: Where's Leonard Pinth Garnell When You Really Need Him?


















Well ... Mitt would have seen his Dad there ... But, what the hey, he got the NRA endorsement, anyway ...

The Garlic's 2007 Sounds of Christmas

In what will likely become an annual tradition, The Garlic has had its ear to-the-ground, wide and far, to bring to you the Sounds of Christmas. Who's listening to what to get into the holiday spirit (and I do realize, using the phrase "holiday spirit" versus "Christmas spirit" may bring upon me Bill O'Reilly's war machine)

While you're reading, click on to listen to Louis Prima, and his What Will Santa Claus Say (When He Finds Everybody Swingin')


President Bush (and his Telcom Buddies) - Angels We Have Heard On High

President Vice President Dick Cheney - Silent Night

Condoleezza Rice - I Wonder As I Wander

Dana Perino - What Is Santa Claus? (Stan Kenton version)

Paul Wolfowitz - I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm

Donald Rumsfield - Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby - I'll Be Home For Christmas

Blackwater USA - Sleigh Ride

Mitt Romney - O Come All Ye Faithfull

William Kristol - Little Drummer Boy

Michelle Malkin - What Child Is This

CIA agent John Kiriakou - Hark The Herald Angels Sing

Lou Dobbs - White Christmas

Howard Krongard - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

French President Nicolas Sarkozy - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg - Our Little Town


Bonus Xmas Links

Garlic Christmas Special - David Sedaris Christmas Letter

Twas The Night Before The New Congress

Twelve Days of Dubya ...The Twelfth Day

The Garlic's Recommend Late, "Save Your Butt" Christmas Gift Ideas

Okay, it's five-days out, and you're starting to panic.

Even though - this year - you started your Christmas shopping back in June, there's still a few names on your list (certainly, at this date, the "borderline" friends or family).

Now, you could cop-out, and give one of those ubiquitous gift cards (you know, the one's that lose value after a certain period of time, or penalize you if you misuse it in some fashion), but that's not your cup of tea.

You want something cool, something hip, something obscure, that only YOU could fine, something that will make you a star in the eyes of the receiver.

Well, you've come to the right place.

For the first time, The Garlic is entering the fray, with some clutch recommendations, items that will surely look swell under someone's Christmas tree.



















You can never go wrong giving a book, and the first tome from America's greatest political satirist is waiting for you.

Crimmins has toiled on stages, near and far, for over 30-years, skewering the political nitwits and media elites, and "Never Shake Hands With A War Criminal" takes you on much of that journey.

“Barry Crimmins uses his sharp sense of irony as a political weapon. In his hands, the subversive joke is the first small act of resistance.”—Billy Bragg

“Like a mixture of Tom Paine and Mark Twain, Crimmins mixes politics and humor with savage results.”—Michael Blowen, Boston Globe

“He breaks down reality in a hilarious way. He seems ticked off at everything, and when you hear him, you agree. One of the few political comedians who are really good.”—Steven Wright

Purchase the Seven Stories Press book Never Shake Hands With A War Criminal here

If you prefer to shop at Amazon, click here

And be sure to visit - and bookmark - Barry's website









This product is not endorsed by Tiger Woods (Just wanted to take care of the housecleaning first off).

If your Holidazed shopping leans towards the bizarrely funny, unique, or unusual, old Ding Ho buddy and Boston comedian, Mike McDonald, and his comedygolf.com present, “The World’s Funniest Golf Balls”.

McDonald, a 25 year Funnyman and contemporary to Denis Leary, Steven Wright and Lenny Clark has been seen on Showtime, HBO and the Comedy Channel and entertained our troops in 40 countries while touring with the USO. This year, Mike has applied his comedy Super Powers to a gift you can give America’s 27 million golfers, and these hilarious hip packages spare no duffer on your list from a laugh.

Fans of the Soprano’s can Whack the Hitman Golf Balls. The Axis of Evil lets you to “Take your favorite Dick-tator for a Drive”,...or get a special Christmas “Package” filled with Gay golf balls that “Cannot be hit straight”. Give your freshly divorced friends some “Swing Therapy” with Ex-Wife and Ex-Husband golf balls while Catholics can “Resurrect their Games” and receive “Deliverance from Sand Traps” with Miracle Balls. Chanukah fans are not left out in the cold. They can grab a sleeve of the “Chosen Balls”….

Everything is made in the USA and USGA approved so we’re sure they’re not filled with Chinese lead and Plutonium

To purchase, visit Mike McDonald's Comedy Golf


Perhaps you would prefer to give the Gift of Music? ... Well, we've got two tremendous recommendation for you


Laszlo Gardony










Larry Gordon has often said that "when God was ready to make the first, perfect, jazz pianist, along came Laszlo Gardony".

Banging the keyboard in his native Hungary at five-years-old, it didn't take long for Gardony to grow into a much-sought player, working with a who's-who of Jazz, and other genres, including the Boston Pops, the Danish Radio Big Band and The Wayfaring Strangers.

You can't go wrong with Laszlo Gardony, be it standards, or his impressive body of original compositions.

Visit Laszlo Gardony's website to make your purchase.



Shawnn Monteiro











If you never had the opportunity to catch Ella, Sarah, Carmen McRae, Betty Carter, et all, than you should make all effort to indulge in their torch-carrier, vocalist Shawnn Monteiro.

Shawnn Monteiro is the real deal.

Let me restate that - Shawnn Monteiro is THE REAL DEAL!

Born of Jazz royalty (her father, bassist Jimmy Woode, played with Duke Ellington, among others; And her godfather is the legendary Clark Terry), Shawnn can hit it with the best of them. Be it scat, standards or knocking out a ballad, you will be enthralled listening to Shawnn Monteiro, instantly knowing you are listening to a future legend.

Visit Shawnn's website and her MySpace Page

You can purchase Shawnn Monteiro CD's on Amazon or CD Universe

















It will soon be time to get hip to The Savvy Girls of Summer, two ladies from Seattle, who will be taking the country by storm in 2008, with the publication of their book, "Are Diamonds for Everyone?".

Deidre and Jackie merge baseball and life, in their own, unique way, and you can share in it as well.

Get prepared for a steroid-less 2008 baseball season, and keep score with The Savvy Girls of Summer Scorebook Journal.

Visit The Savvy Girls of Summer here

Order The Savvy Girls of Summer Scorebook Journal here



Give Yourself A Gift






Whether you just want to spiff-up your own work, of, perhaps you have a business and need a professional graphics artist, to build or upgrade a website, layout a book or magazine, or create a unique logo, perhaps cartoon character.

If so, give yourself the gift of Sean Collins, and his Tenten71 graphic services.

Tenten71 provides affordable graphic design services in print design, web design, Flash, and illustration. If you're looking for a professional artist who can take your ideas and turn them into a creative, beautiful and productive result, you've found him.

Visit Sean Collins' Tenten71


And, lastly, here's a little holiday treat for you

CHRISTMAS NIGHT IN HARLEM - Louis Armstrong (1955)

Is John Boehner Consulting The Romney Campaign, Giving Make-Up Mitt Crying Lessons?

Maybe there's a product endorsement deal from Kleenex?

Make-Up Mitt Romney has been bawling his eyes out lately. If it gets any worse, someone will remake the movie and title it "Play Romney For Me".

Joe Gandelman, over at The Moderate Voice offers a good post today - "Advice For Mitt Romney: Beware Of Too Much Crying";

"Romney first misted up when recalling how he felt when he heard his LDS Church admitted blacks to the priesthood in 1978. And, then, a day later, he misted up when he talked about how he felt in seeing a casket of a fallen soldier killed in Iraq and imagining it could have been one of his sons.

Fortunately for Romney, his two eye-mistings in two days happened when Jay Leno and David Lettermen were in re-runs due to the writers’ strike. And there is a larger political danger."

But Joe doesn't offer, perhaps, the only explanation - Is John Boehner now a consultant for the Romney campaign? Is he giving Make-Up Mitt crying lessons?

Boehner is the reigning champ of crying, flooding the House floor on numerous occasions this past year.

Must be a new, macho thing ... Something along the lines of "Real men eat quiche ... Real men cry ..."

I wonder if Make-Up Mitt cried, after discovering he left the family dog on the roof of the car, on a long road trip?

Romney seems to be taking on the persona of our Court Appointed President (h/t Barry Crimmins), pulling the "you can't criticize me" routine.

He cried and whined about people picking on him because he is a Mormon, so much to the point, that he just had to do something about it.

Building it up like he was going to lay it all on-the-line, sucking up comparisons to JFK, and his 1960 Catholic speech, Make-Up Mitt went out, stayed as far away from Mormonism as he could (only mentioning the word "Mormon" once), and delivered a clunker of a boiler-plate speech on faith.

While most of the MSM is treating Romney's fast food faith speech last week (see The Garlic's "Romney Speech: Where's Leonard Pinth Garnell When You Really Need Him?") like it was the "Song of Bernadette", both Lawrence O'Donnell (twice, having to fight back against an onslaught of double-barreled criticism) and Frank Rich saw through it.

So Make-Up Mitt has to up-the-ante (or, perhaps he forgot to cry during his speech), and get all misty with Little Timmy Russert, on 'Meet The Press', telling of the first time he cried, about learning his church was now - suddenly - accepting of blacks;

I was driving home from, I think, it was law school, but I was driving home, going through the Fresh Pond rotary in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I heard it on the radio, and I pulled over and, and literally wept...

Hmmm ... I was born-and-raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts ... I wonder if Make-Up Mitt pulled over at the IHOP (though, it could have still been a Howard Johnson's back then) or the liquor store, because those were the two most prominent establishments on either side of the rotary (and he didn't say he pulled into the Fresh Pond Mall, which would have been about 200-ft from the rotary) and in the direction he would have been heading, going home, up to Belmont.

We should mention that the Fresh Pond Rotary, with its' heavy, peak-time traffic, where one could wait double-digit minutes before someone will let you through, has been known to frustrate drivers, perhaps, to the point of tears.

But we digress.

We're not here to talk about urban planning and gridlock, but rather to point out the continued pandering of Make-Up Mitt.

If he thinks he can pass off policy and positions by sprinkling a few tears on them, think again.

But then again, we already rated Make-Up Mitt's chances of winning the presidency;

"Hey, we do have 2000 as precedent, and, anyway, you'll likely see Elvis, with monkeys flying out of his ass, before that happens."

And, as it has been said, over and over, "Elvis has left the building".

But don't tell Make-Up Mitt that ... He might start crying again.


Bonus Make-Up Mitt Riffs (with no tears)

Ryan J. Davis: Lawrence O'Donnell was Right About Mormonism

Michael Scherer: "A vote for Romney is a vote for Satan"; Some members of the GOP's largest voting bloc, like Florida preacher Bill Keller, think a Mormon in the White House would mean more souls going to hell.

Top Ten Cloves: Disappointing Things Left Out of Mitt Romney's Mormon Speech Yesterday

Breaking News! Romney On Debate Gaffe: "Meant To Say I Would Consult With My Sons"; Candidate Feverishly Works To Correct Impression; Campaign Said To Be Firing All Its' Lawyers

"You question me? ... My faith is out to here!"

Tough Slogging On The Revisionist Front ... Rove Having A Hard Time Working That Etch-A-Sketch

I'm sure there's some hardcore, dyed-to-the-bone, rightwingers and freakshow freaks, that are salivating for a book from the Smear Meister, Herr Karl Rove, to get the latest revisionist view of his handiwork, but it appears they have a longer wait;

Slow going for Rove memoir auction; Early reports had predicted a $3 million sale, but an auction for the Republican strategist's memoir has dragged on for a month.

“It's very, very slow,” says an executive at one of the few houses left in the bidding. Early reports had predicted a $3 million sale, but some insiders are wondering if Mr. Barnett has had trouble getting to that number. He declined to comment.

And the Turd Blossom isn't the only one having a problem, or two, with his Etch-A-Sketch;

His female counterpart, the doyenne of the Freakshow, plagiarist extraordinaire, Ann Coulter is having the air popped from her balloon.

Mr. Rove isn't the only conservative meeting a backlash. The latest tome by right-wing scribe Ann Coulter, If Democrats Had Any Brains They'd Be Republicans, hasn't caught fire with book buyers.

The title spent just four weeks on The New York Times' best-seller list—compared with 12 for her previous book—and has sold 97,000 copies in the last 10 weeks, according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 70% of the market.

Hmmm... Maybe Coulter has to out a covert CIA agent and Rove needs to don an eyepatch to start the climb out of their self-made muck, to win back the hearts and minds of the Dittoheads?

No doubt, we'll probably see a great deal of these two on the Fox News Network... Nothing a few softball smear sessions can't cure ...

Bonus Rovian Riffs

The Carpetbagger Report: Karl Rove’s transition from mythic to comic figure

War blame-shifting fall out - Nov. 30: If the White House knew that Karl Rove had lied on Charlie Rose, on national TV, about the war, why wouldn't they correct the record the very next day? MSNBC Political Analyst Lawrence O'Donnell talks to Keith Olbermann.

Ed Secretary Spellings On Turning Down Date With Rove: "He Was So Inept And Inartful"

Scott Horton: It Started in Texas: Karl Rove’s Political Prosecutions

Top Ten Cloves: How Bush Administration Reacted To News of The Death Star Galaxy

News Item: Jet From Supermassive Black Hole Seen Blasting Neighboring Galaxy


10. Checked with NASA, to make sure it wasn't some drunk astronauts pulling a prank

9. Debated for a few hours about using it as an opportunity to raise the Terror Alert Chart, and call for Duct Tape and Plastic

8. For a short period of time, not knowing what was going on, Bush changed into his flightsuit, just in case

7. Rush Limbaugh called... Wanted to know which was older - the Death Star Galaxy or Hillary Clinton

6. Worked late into the night to see how that could fit this into FISA Debate and giving Telcoms Immunity

5. Condoleezza Rice raced over, in case they needed her to go out and talk about "mushroom clouds" again

4. Immediately started writing press releases, blaming Al Qaeda in Iraq

3. Bill O'Reilly and William Donahue called on Bush to renounce this Death Star Galaxy as a liberal, secular ploy to diss Christmas

2. Had someone call Erik Prince and get assurances Blackwater USA wasn't involved

1. Assigned someone to tutor Dana Perino, to make sure she knows something about the Hubble Telescope

Bonus Video

MSNBC Countdown - Alison Stewart Interview with Derrick Pitts, chief astronomer of the Franklin Institute, discussing the emergence of the “Death Star Galaxy"

American People 2 Bush Grindhouse 0

It wasn't exactly Bad Day at Black Rock, but pretty darn close.

The incredible display of both passion and, something not seen in the U.S. Congress in recent years, leadership, a dogged refusal to not cave in, stand up and say "No More", Senator Chris Dodd, and his threatened filibuster, forced the hand of Give'em What They Want Harry Reid this evening, with Reid tabling the FISA bill, containing retroactive immunity for the Bush Grindhouse illegal wiretapping accomplices, until next month.

From Crooks and Liars;

Logan Murphy made the vids and says:

In his closing speech Dodd vowed to filibuster again in January if telecom amnesty is still part of the FISA legislation. This speech should be watched by every student, every member of Congress as well as all Americans who value their civil liberties. No matter which presidential candidate you support, you can’t get around the fact that this is what REAL, American leadership looks like. Bravo Senator Dodd, BRAVO!

Matt Browner-Hamlin, Dodd Campaign Blogger: Constitution Protected...For Now

Jane Hamsher: BREAKING: REID PULLED TELECOM BILL

Greg Sargent - Breaking: Reid Pulls FISA Telecom Immunity Bill Off Senate Floor


And, on another front ...

CREW STATEMENT: FEDERAL JUDGE DECLARES WHITE HOUSE VISITOR RECORDS SUBJECT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT

Paul Kiel: Judge to White House: Nice Try

Yes, all those visits from Indian Activist Jack Abramoff, the other rightwing Soldiers of God, as well as who-knows-else to the Bush Grindhouse can now - possibly - be discerned.

Now, it ain't a done deal yet, as you can bet your private Social Security account, the Bush Grindhouse will lawyer this up long past the time they leave (preferably via indictment, or impeachment).

It's only one battle, not the whole shebang, but for tonight, bask in the glow of good triumphing over evil.

(I guess Orrin Hatch will have to sleep more nights with the boogeyterrorist under his bed)

God Bless Orrin Hatch ... Defending The Bush FISA, and Telcom Amnesty, He Indicts The Bush Grindhouse

Watching the FISA debate on C-Span 2, and Senator Chris Dodd's filibuster, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), in growing passion, and increasing fearmongering, is defending the Bush Grindhouse in their practice of illegal wiretapping, and their call for immunity for the Telcom accomplices.

In his rambling, Hatch, citing the danger of lawsuits from citizens who have been illegally wiretapped, that it would put our national security in jeopardy, that it would expose classified information, offered this gem, something that fits like a glove to the Bush Cronies;

"There are people in this country who just love to expose classified information, regardless of who it harms ..."

Sound like, if they win their appeal, the Wilson's will have to subpoena Senator Hatch, to see what he knows about who loved to expose Valerie Plame, former covert CIA agent.

Heck, there's probably some tapes sitting in the NSA (unless they've adopted the CIA practice of destroying them) on it ...

Ahh, such irony.

More Wisdom From The Senator from Utah

Glenn Greenwald: The Grave and Epic War -- Spending time with Alberto Gonzales, Orrin Hatch and Russ Feingold

Think Progress: VIDEO: Hatch Says Banning Flag Burning Is ‘The Most Important Thing The Senate Could Be Doing’

Think Progress: Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT): ‘Nobody With Brains’ Denies That Hussein ‘Was Supporting al-Qaeda’

Talk Fight At The FISA Corral ... And While That Goes On, Eye and Hearing Tests For All

"A date which will live in infamy".

Yeah, that was FDR's line, after the attack at Pearl Harbor, but it could take a secondary spot in posterity, depending on how effective Senator Chris Dodd's heroic filibuster goes today, in his almost singular effort to stop the Bush Grindhouse - and their Democratic collaborators - from granting amnesty to the Telcoms who aided the illegal wiretapping.

It's pretty stunning that the Congress, and, for that matter, the American public, isn't red-faced with rage over this.

Give'em What They Want Harry Reid, allegedly the Democratic Leader of the Senate, is placing on the floor the bill that will give the Bush Grindhouse, and Telcoms what they want - this over another bill that does not.

Has Reid been lunching with, and/or, drinking from Joe Lieberman's cup?

Multitasking: Filibuster and Healthcare

Perhaps, while Senator Dodd is engaged in his filibuster, the rest of Congress can, in shifts, do something very practical, and, by all accounts, something very much needed.

Get themselves eyesight and hearing tests.

They, supposedly, have tremendous healthcare coverage, so that shouldn't be in issue.

Heck, they have pull, so they could probably get one of the big trailers to come and park in front of Capital, or find an empty office the docs can set up in for this.

Why eyesight and hearing tests?

Well, it seems an overwhelming number of people in the country (and probably just as many outside the country) have seen and heard that The Commander Guy, and his Grindhouse cronies, illegally wiretapped American citizens - clearly in violation of the FISA Act - and, in the process, numerous telecommunication companies carried out the work for this illegal wiretapping (one didn't - Qwest).

Seemingly, not included in all these people who have seen and heard about this illegal wiretapping are the elected members of Congress, who, as part of their duties, is to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic."

Now, many of these elected members of Congress (and, certainly, not all) are intelligent people.

So, if they can not reasonably, and cognitively, understand that this illegal wiretapping has gone on, it must be something medical, like eyesight and hearing (particularly the older congressman).

And it has been crystal clear that we have been attacked by enemies, foreign (Sept 11th) and also domestic (The Bush Grindhouse and their obtuse dismissal of the U.S. Constitution).

So, please, staff members, loved ones, urge and demand that your congressmen and senators go get these eyesight and hearing tests immediately.

The fate of the nation rides on it.

Mucho FISA-Filibuster Links

Support Senator Dodd's Filibuster

Glenn Greenwald: Harry Reid -- compare and contrast

Matthew Yglesias: The Hold

Christy Hardin Smith: Being A Patriot Is Something That You Do

Digby: Mr Dodd Goes To Town

Scarecrow: Who Will Stand with Chris Dodd for the Constitution?

Anonymous Liberal: A Lonely Filibuster

Taylor Marsh: Mr. Dodd Takes on Washington

The Carpetbagger Report: Perhaps ‘Terrorist Surveillance Program’ was a poor choice

Glenn Greenwald: The Lawless Surveillance State

Another "I Told You So" ... Lieberman Living Up To His True Colors

Boy, it just keeps going south, more-and-more ...

It was bad enough, the Rightwing and Freakshow calls for him to be the next Vice President - on a GOP ticket, but it appears that giant of fair elections, Senator Joe Lieberman (R&I CT), is taking steps to, perhaps, achieve such.

Today, we get;

Breaking News: Lieberman will endorse John McCain

And, from the Garlic's intrepid reporting, we had this scoop last year;

Breaking News! Lieberman Pledges To Support “Whichever Party Elects Me”; Post-Debate Bombshell - Lieberman Announces Plan C – Will Run In All 50 States; Hires Nader For ‘Underdog” Experience; Pledges To Support “Whichever Party Elects Me”

Jilting Joe does it again ...

Bonus Lieberman Links

Pluto Planning Run With Independent Solar System; Takes Cues From Lieberman, Who Says May Caucus With New Galaxy

And who can forget "The Kiss"

A Newly Meaningful Relationship?

And, In The Double-Take Department ...

Gonzales Named Lawyer Of The Year

Yeah! ... When I stumbled on this a few days ago it was definitely a "WTF!"

A quick thought also flashed, could the Bush Grindhouse have also rigged this vote?

According to the Associated Press;

The monthly magazine gave the awards to lawyers who made the most news, said editor and publisher Edward A. Adams.

"Think about Time magazine's Person of the Year," Adams said in an interview. "In years past they've named people like Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin. So we're not suggesting by these awards that these are the best lawyers in any sense of the word. We are saying they are the most newsworthy — and perhaps also the best."

Most newsworthy?

What an understatement!

I expect, in years to come, the name "Crony General Alberto Gonzales" will be listed in dictionaries, under the word "corruption" and, perhaps, double-dipping with the word "incompetent".

The kids from 'Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead' could have run a better Justice Department than Fredo.

By all accounts, it would appear Gonzales (well, really Cheney, Addington and Yoo) took and twisted Donald Rumsfield's philosophical gem and applied it to the Crony General's office;

"You don't govern the country with the laws you have ... You govern it with the laws you might want, or make up at a later time ..."

Bonus Fredo

Coleen Rowley: The Law School Commencement Speech that Alberto Gonzales Did Not Give

Eugene Robinson: Gonzales's Signature Moment

Cold Body Assoc. Denounces Gonzales For Finger-Pointing, Break In Tradition; "Blaming McNulty At This Point In Time Is Scurrilous"; CBA Membership Upset, Fears Could Be "Open Season" On Scapegoats

Top Ten Cloves: How It Would Be Different If Alberto Gonzales Was The Head of March Madness

Alberto Gonzales Sings 'Justice For Sale'

Bill Moyers Talks with MSNBC Host Keith Olbermann

In case you missed it, doing something like ... Oh ... Maybe shoveling 11-inches of snow! ... MSNBC 'Countdown' host Keith Olbermann was the guest of the esteemed Bill Moyers on his Bill Moyers Journal Friday evening.

It was a good chat, lasting close to 20-minutes, and clearly, Mr. Moyers has some respect (and appreciation) for Olbermann's work, particularly his Special Comments.

At one point in the interview, Olbermann explained how he resisted management, after delivering his first Special Comment;

"I didn't know if I was going to be gunned down as I came out of the building or put in a black car or, you know, or lauded or whatever. People, for the most part, were ecstatic about this. And our ratings went up immediately. And the reaction from management was-- "Can you do one every night?" And I said, "No, I can't do one every night. I don't want to turn into that either." I don't want to be silent here. But I don't want to turn this into a manufactured thing. And they said, "Well, how 'bout once a week?" And I said, "No, you're not following me. It has to be organic." When I get angry on the air, it's because I'm angry about that particular subject and because of the revision of this country that has been done under our noses for the last seven years against the will of the people."

Watch Bill Moyers interview with Keith Olbermann

Transcript of Bill Moyers interview with Keith Olbermann.