I do want to point out the major, ass-kicking move by President-Elect Obama today.
In his weekly YouTube Chat, he laid out a gigantic, public works program, New Dealesque in scope, something the NYT said would"create the largest public works construction program since the inception of the interstate highway system a half century ago as he seeks to put together a plan to resuscitate the reeling economy."
Obama name-checked Eisenhower, but somewhere in the afterlife, FDR is smiling. This is a slap in the face to thirty years of Reaganites -- a rejection of the notion that all good things come from the profit motive and the private sector. And it's pitched as a response to the economic crisis, but we know some of it was on Obama's mind all along. (And this country, old and worn down in a lot of places, needs it and will benefit from it.)
When he started doing his Special Comments, we featured them, in our "Minced Garlic' posts.
Now, these things have happened a few times, hearing some pundit on the tube, or seeing in another's column, something eerily and striking similar to something we put up on The Garlic.
I suppose you can chalk that up to hot news, common, or obvious deductions.
Number one, our attorney general is not rational-gate. Mr. Mukasey met with reporters today for the first time since he blacked out while giving a speech defending enhanced interrogation and Gitmo and the whole post-traumatic stress bag of tricks two weeks ago.
He told the correspondents that if a military commission were to impose a short sentence on a Gitmo detainee considered to be a dangerous terrorist, it would be suicidal to release the individual even after the individual's sentence had been served. Mr. Mukasey was asked, is that justice? He answered yes.
They still don't know why the attorney general passed out during that speech two weeks ago. Apparently they found nothing medically wrong with him. I don't mean to sound crass but those with psychiatric training would probably suggest that he be examined to rule out the possibility that he collapsed under the weight of all that paranoia, delusions, revenge fantasies and hypocrisy.
Hmmm ...
"He collapsed under the weight of all that paranoia, delusions, revenge fantasies and hypocrisy"
You don't suppose ... No, I'm sure it was just a case of commonality, the obvious, satire and snark that was just begging for it.
Then again, times are tough ...
Maybe I should contact that Mayor in Turkey, see if he can help, or refer a good lawyer to me.
The Man-Who-Likes-To-Out-Covert-Agents, the former half of "Errors and No Facts", the curmudgeon for whom real curmudgeons would (should) protest that is insulting to them, is totally unrepentant.
And that he would do the same thing over again, because, ruining Valerie Plame's career, throwing a gigantic wrench into a covert government program, monitoring and attempting to stop nuclear proliferation, even, possibly, putting Plame, her family, and other covert agents lives in danger, well, that just gets the back of his hand.
And just whose dung-under-the fingernails hand are we talking about. Robert Novak!
Q: Let's talk about the Valerie Plame affair, which caused you so much grief. If you had it to do over again, would you reveal who she was?
A: If you read my book, you find a certain ambivalence there. Journalistically, I thought it was an important story because it explained why the CIA would send Joe Wilson -- a former Clinton White House aide with no track record in intelligence and no experience in Niger -- on a fact-finding mission to Africa. From a personal point of view, I said in the book I probably should have ignored what I'd been told about Mrs. Wilson.
Now I'm much less ambivalent. I'd go full speed ahead because of the hateful and beastly way in which my left-wing critics in the press and Congress tried to make a political affair out of it and tried to ruin me. My response now is this: The hell with you. They didn't ruin me. I have my faith, my family, and a good life. A lot of people love me -- or like me. So they failed. I would do the same thing over again because I don't think I hurt Valerie Plame whatsoever.
Q: You saw up close what it's like to be the subject of so many news stories. Has this changed the way you view the journalistic profession?
A: I thought the journalistic community was terrible to me -- even members of the Gridiron Club, which is supposed to be a band of brothers and sisters. I thought one of the worst columns written on the Plame affair was by William Safire. He wrote a stupid column saying I should reveal the name of my source. He wanted to get his colleague at The New York Times, Judy Miller, off the hook with the prosecutors. He didn't know, as I knew, that my source, Richard Armitage, had long before identified himself to the FBI and the Justice Department. But my attorneys advised me to keep silent about the whole affair.
Here's a guy, priming with so much confidence, so much character and integrity, that he has to qualify "A lot of people love me ..." with an "or like me".
Not to mention how far up his ass his head is.
"I would do the same thing over again", due to abject horror directed at him, for being a lackey to a bunch of nitwit cronies, and outing a real, live covert agent, merely for political gamesmanship, retribution against a critic.
He was criticized for that as well, so, by his own beliefs, would he answer "To hell with you ... I would do the same thing over again because I don't think I hurt that homeless person whatsoever..."
Heads up you downtrodden men and woman of the D.C area ...
The Republican National Committee is scheduled to file a campaign report with the Federal Election Commission Thursday disclosing that the committee spent additional funds to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Snip ...
While not providing much in details, Republican officials say that the RNC’s post-election financial report will include information on other “accessories’’ purchased for Palin before the Nov. 4 election.
“The amount to be reported is significantly less than $150,000,’’ one RNC official told National Journal. “The accessories on the report are less than $30,000.’’
I'm beginning to think she took this gig, just for the freebies ... Load up ... Juice up the wardrobe ...A proverbial "Supermarket Sweep"...
What are these people going to do for a muse when their “terrorist-in-chief” is gone? Even their protest art, fueled by such all-consuming righteous indignation, has proven banal and predictable at every turn, fraught with hackneyed Hitler imagery and the occasional bodily fluid. How very 1990s.
The latest fruitless artistic tantrum comes from Seattle artist Deborah Lawrence, who was asked by her local representative, Jim McDermott and Laura Bush to decorate an ornament for the White House Christmas tree. Each representative commissioned an ornament from a local artist of his choosing.
Spurning the honor bestowed upon her, the good will encouraged by the season, and any manners her mother ever taught her, Lawrence set about creating an impeachment ornament, featuring pictures of McDermott and thanking him for his backing of another fruitless tantrum— the effort to impeach Bush. How festive!
[...]
… The cranky collage artist, apparently unimpressed by the rather rare opportunity of having her elementary arts and crafts admired by foreign dignitaries and heads of state, refused to allow her paste and magazine clippings to work in the service of American hegemony.
Oh, I thought it was somebody who actually had something important to say.
Kathy added that "Imagine that. Doesn’t everyone yearn to serve American hegemony? I mean, it’s like refusing an opportunity to eat a double stack of banana pancakes smothered in butter and syrup."
Hmmm ...
I wonder if Ms. Hamm believes if that Obama Waffle Mix is part of the "American Hegemony?
Beginning Tuesday evening, we had the start of come complaining, of aches and pains, that fell into the category of de rigueur, the typical daily routine.
However, it also effected her sleep that night, and into Wednesday morning, the complaining continued, and I soon realized we had an aberration, and aberrations demand action.
A telephone consultation with her doctor yielded a direction to get her to the hospital, and away we went.
Nearly 6.5-hours were spent in the Emergency Ward (and less than 30-minutes of that actually doctor-time) and accompanying that was the soundtrack of my Aunt, asking, demanding, pleading to "Go home", "Let's go home", "Get me outta here", with nary a break.
The results: Cat Scan okay, one of the blood tests showed an inflammation (though not specific, and in elderly, not uncommon), and the prognosis was a "nerve inflammation", causing the pain to travel to another location. Tylenol, and if it persists, or gets worse, follow up with a neurologist.
So far, this morning, after a zombie-like nights' sleep, A-Okay on the homefront.
I had one post written yesterday (though, not edited) and two others started, but not completed, so, we'll be getting those up today, along with anything else that sparks inspiration (or demands attention).
Thanks, as always, for visiting and reading The Garlic!
Gregory, 38, celebrated his 30th birthday — complete with cake — aboard George W. Bush’s presidential campaign plane, the assignment that solidified his stature as a network rising star.
David Gregory will be the permanent host of Meet the Press. Expect many more years of false equivalencies and fake balance.
Rumors abounded, and now Mike Allen, another pantheon of objective journalism, is confirming that "Stretch" (that's The Commander Guys affectionate moniker for him) is going to take over Little Timmy Russert's job, being, not making phone calls, not asking needed, uncomfortable questions, unless it's a long winded "Gotcha" softball, with the on-screen quotes.
Errr, excuse me, he's talked about being named host of NBC's dinosaur, Meet The Press.
The title of “moderator” — unique in network news — reflects the 61-year history of “Meet” as the premier forum for Washington insiders to talk to the country and each other.
Yeah, you certainly don't want to break tradition of 61-years of a boring, and boorish, white guy anchoring the show
And, heaven forbid, if there's not a network "news" show where Washington insiders can sit and talk, free from actually having to be held accountable for any policies or actions they undertook, rather, let's give them a "premier forum" to regurgitate their self-serving talking points, without any needlesome, penetrating questions.
Here he was his penetrating question of Sen. John Thune (R, SD) at midnight after Sarah Palin's St. Paul speech: "Senator [John] Thune, was a star born here tonight with Sarah Palin?"
As with most of Gregory's time on television, the only thing missing is his red, GOP pom poms.
Just what we need, for another decade, or so, assuming, certainly, that 'Meet The Press" remains that "premier forum" for Washington Insiders to talk to each other, for it sure doesn't sound like David Gregory is going to rock that swift boat.
Looks like I'll have an extra free hour come Sunday mornings.
"I was at first nauseated, then realized it was an opportunity," said Lawrence, 55, who frequently combines politics and satire in her work and saw this as the perfect way "to highlight Jim McDermott because he's a hero of mine."
The nine-inch ball is covered with swirly red and white stripes -- and, in tiny glued-on text, salutes the Democratic congressman's support for a resolution to impeach President Bush. (Also showcased: Washington state's 1919 labor strike, its suffrage movement and the violent anti-World Trade Organization riots of 1999.) Lawrence sent it off to D.C. in September and was very surprised it was accepted for the tree -- and that she was invited to this afternoon's White House reception for the artists, which she flew to D.C. to attend.
Ah, if you expect a Frank Capra movie, with Clarence Oddbody showing up, and Sam Wainwright wiring in enough money to bail out the Government, small-artist-makes-it-big, well, dash those thoughts, and start playing the villain music.
"Oh, dear," said Seattle-based artist Deborah Lawrence, who created the red and white ornament that salutes Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) and his support for a resolution to impeach the president. "This doesn't really surprise me. But it's disappointing that I won't get to see it on the tree."
Snip ...
Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman for the first lady, confirmed the ornament would not be displayed. "It's inappropriate and it's not being hung," she said. She said that when asked about the issue yesterday, the White House tree decorations were not complete. "We reviewed the ornament along with all the [other] ornaments, and Mrs. Bush deemed it inappropriate for the holiday tree."
Lawrence is still slated to attended a White House reception for the artists this afternoon.
Of such delicious irony, with icicles and tinsel, that Laura Bush would veto a protesting Christmas ornament, knowing the decisions that have emanated out of the same building.
I guess, the First Lady was just going in to mode, you know, where Christmas is such a joyous time, but if people see that one, subversive Christmas ornament, with the word "Impeachment" on it, much like that one bombing a day on television, well, that just discourages everybody.
If you are curious, from the trailers being run on HBO, here's a glimpse of the upcoming series, 'House of Saddam', from Sally El Hosaini, who worked on the script.
When I first heard of the proposed mini-series 'House of Saddam' I was suspicious. Why would the BBC/HBO, UK/America, want to make a drama series about Saddam Hussein? I wondered what the hidden agenda might be.
Snip .. .
After meeting Alex Holmes I soon realised that this drama series would be different. Not a lesson in the history of Iraq, not about condemnation or praise, it was to be about understanding a tightly knit group of people whose lives orbited around their sun, Saddam Hussein. The perspective was going to be from inside the inner circles and family, looking out. It would be an attempt to go behind closed doors and shed light upon the man himself. That really interested me so I spent the next 2 ½ years researching and script editing the 'House of Saddam' mini-series.
He, in his lame-duck, swan-song status, may become confused, and get himself all fired up, and in the waning days, rev up that White House Iraq Group for a final "Shock-and-Awe" exit out-the-door.
Sources have told The Garlic this evening, that within minutes after announcing his National Security Team, President-Elect Barack Obama's transition squad began a scheduled vetting of food tasters, that will be employed in the administration.
"This has been in the cards for quite some time," indicated the source, an Obama insider.
"Once they won the primary, and began thinking about the "Team of Rivals" thing, this was put in motion."
It is not known who these potential "Food Tasters" are, how they will work, if they will actually taste the food for the President, or merely test it.
The Obama Team has no concerns, as to the integrity of the White House Chef, or any member of the staff.
However, guidelines are continuing to be worked out.
During Cabinet meetings, in which the President will attend, Cabinet members, and any staff, will have their own, separate table of food and beverages, the President, his own, guarded by Secret Service agents.
The President will drink from a covered, travel-type mug, and any food brought into the meetings must be sealed, and have a Secret Service escort.
Other meetings (outside of the White House), and formal events, in which Cabinet members are in attendance, a similar protocol will be implemented.
Should a Cabinet member visit the President in the Oval Office, that Cabinet member may have a full search conducted, before entering, and they will be instructed to sit, at minimum, ten-feet away from any food items the President may have in his office.
Another recommendation, that our source indicates the President-Elect was balking at, is that he must wear surgical latex gloves when shaking hands with any Cabinet member.
That's the new Weblog of Nick Zaino, intrepid writer, reporter, and chronicler of all things Stand-up Comedy.
Nick was the long-time beat reporter for The Boston Globe (as well as other publications), covering the enormous comedy scene in, and around, Boston.
Least you forget, Boston (primarily, the old Ding Ho, in Inman Square, Cambridge) launched the careers of people such as Barry Crimmins, Steven Wright, Paula Poundstone, Kevin Meany, Bob "Bobcat" Goldthwait, Lenny Clarke, Dennis Leary, Steve Sweeney, Jimmy Tingle and dozens of dozens more, and continues to be a hotbed of up-and-coming talent, the new and next generation of smart alecks.
Nick, for the past 10-years+ has been working the beat, covering the local clubs, the big headliners that would blow into town, and keeping tabs on who was where. and what was going on, locally, and nationally.
So, rather than wilt away, Nick is channeling his energy into doing what he has been doing, that being covering the Stand-up comedy scene, now, working for himself.
He's open to taking donations, advertising, sponsorships, or any positive assistance you can provide.
If you want to know what's happening in the world, then Memorandum will tell you – at least in a couple of areas. It's an automated news clipping service, known in the trade as a "news aggregator". It provides headlines and short texts updated every few minutes, with links to the original sites, much like Google News.
Memeorandum is based on the idea of "memes" or ideas that spread across the web (along with a pun on memorandum). Someone publishes an interesting story, other people find it, discuss it, and link to it. That's how the web works. Small stories come and go quickly, while big ones generate lots of comment and dominate the page for hours.
Snip ...
Google also follows links and assesses content, but Memeorandum is embarrassingly better than Google News. Google reckons that the more coverage a story gets, the more important it is. Unfortunately, broad coverage takes a long time to develop, so Google News can run hours or even a day behind Memeorandum. This is fine for casual consumers, but if you're a news junkie – or a journalist – it's hopeless.
We mentioned, referenced and linked Memeorandum here on The Garlic (go down the left sidebar, to their News Box), especially on gigantic, breaking news, frequently.
It is, perhaps, the best, single-source to jump to in the morning, to see what's hot in the news, especially if you want to track the buzz on the blogs.
And many parts of Iraq are stable ahh..now. But, of course, what we see on television is the one bombing a day that discourages everybody ...
I suppose, if with the terror attack in Mumbai, Laura could modify that and be bummed by the one hotel bombing a day, but we're getting off-the-track with that.
For, we get news today, of Laura speaking, wistfully, perhaps, looking ahead, to her days outside the confines of the The Bush Grindhouse.
OMG! ... Laura, you're not going to recognize television when you begin resuming watching it (as we talked about in those previous LBBBOTD posts, least she glimpse a news clip with one of those discouraging bombings, she was going cold turkey on the tube).
It's all changed, so much.
Reality shows, Laura, get used to them, they're everywhere, about everything, and none of them the least bit worthwhile.
The really cool shows are on cable now, places like HBO and Showtime.
And, let's hope, for you, they keep going with that 'Dancing with the Stars' pap, that's about your speed, you will probably like that one.
But getting to your comments today, is that what you want out there?
"I'll miss all the people that are around us all the time. From the ushers and the butlers who are there for every president and have been there four or five administrations, to our own staff, of course, that we love to laugh with and talk with and solve problems with. And so I'll miss the people the most."
The first people you say you will miss are the ushers and butlers? No shit, Dick Tracy!
Nice to have a staff running around, and after, you ... If you spit sideways, someone would be there to catch it, before it hits the ground.
Now, you're going to be back, down THERE, with HIM ... ALONE! (well, most of the time; Something tells me y'all aren't going to fork over the bucks to keep a staff of the size you had in the Grindhouse)
The first lady spoke on NBC's "Meet the Press" in a taped interview that focused largely on her advocacy for women and girls in Afghanistan. She encouraged Americans not to forget about Afghanistan, particularly as the militant Taliban, which brutally represses women, is fighting to re-establish itself.
"Our tendency in the United States is to become isolationist, become protectionist," she said. "I hope people in the United States will look outside of our life here in the United States and do what they can both financially, to be able to support the people of Afghanistan, and then every other way."
Hmmm ...
Yes, Laura, that old saw.
If you had spoken up, perhaps, when your husband was in his flight-of-fancy, slam-dunking his manhood around, maybe you could have convinced him to stay in Afghanistan, fighting Al Qaeda, and capturing that son of all your Carlyle friends' buddies, there's a good chance Afghanistan would be a bit more stable now, or at least progressing in that direction
Think of all the lost Photo Ops you missed out on, going over there, reading books with young school girls.
Dare I say, you may even, perhaps, could have been watching television again, sooner?
I suppose there are worse things than being married to the person that will do down as the worst President in U.S. History ...
