Soy Califa

Well, lessons continued to be learned, as we have had a difficult time climbing off the DL.

A few days of "feeling pretty good" does not a full recovery make.

Not to mention the mandatory tasks that get carried on, regardless of status, on-or-off the DL.

Rather then push it, and we do have our Ignorant Dolt of the Week lined up (we'll endeavor to post that tomorrow), we post the legendary Dexter Gordon, on the kind to tune you would expect, or want to hear, on a Saturday evening.

Enjoy!

Soy Califa - Dexter Gordon




Visit the Dexter Gordon Website

This Date ... On The Garlic

31 January 2008... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Ways To Liven Up The Democrats' Debate This Evening


31 January 2007... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Surprising Discoveries At New Stonehenge Site

Minced Garlic: New Keith Olbermann Special Comment - Bush shoots for ‘Jaws,’ delivers ‘Jaws 2’


31 January 2006... On The Garlic

White House Fiercely Divided; VP Cheney Wants State of Union Address Kept Private

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard At The Oscar Nominations This Morning

Qui couper le fromage?

It was the The Commander Guy who cut the cheese.

Not quite the same, good intentioned, vibe as, say, Charlie Wilson's War



Bush War on Roquefort Raises a Stink in France ...Departing Officials Set Duty at 300%

This seems an unlikely spot to fight a trade war.

A village of 600 souls in a remote part of southern France, Roquefort clings precariously to the side of Combalou Rock, a promontory overlooking a deep valley where sheep graze in the shadow of limestone cliffs that were sheared off by a seismic jolt in prehistoric times.

But the primal shake also carved out aerated underground crevasses that give a unique economic value to this jagged landscape about 65 miles northwest of Montpellier. They make possible a gastronomical wonder that has delighted gourmets for centuries: Roquefort cheese. And now, in an era of globalized competition for trade, the smelly delicacy and its little home town have become ground zero for the warriors of export-import in Washington.

It seems, on his way out the door, the man who had a Ek-A-Lec-Tic reading list, but not such sophisticated taste buds, gave a shout out to the Freedom Fries crowd and whacked the French with a 300-percent duty on Roquefort cheese.

Yikes!

The measure, announced Jan. 13 by U.S. Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab as she headed out the door, was designed as retaliation for a European Union ban on imports of U.S. beef containing hormones. Tit for tat, and all perfectly legal under World Trade Organization rules, U.S. officials explained.

All you stinky cheese lovers, better get your dander up, and start lobbying the new Obama Administration.

Hmmmm .... Perhaps, if they could get McDonald's to start making their cheeseburgers with Roquefort ... Man, it would in no-time at all, see those walls come tumbling down, and a less-taxed stinky cheese makes it into the country ...

Or, you know ... They could tie it into the Stimulus Package ...Part of the next TARP payment

For all those Wall Street fat cats, the ones who got the $18-Billion in bonuses (I wonder how big their bonuses would have been, had they actually plunged us into a full-fledged depression) ... They're gonna want some good, imported Roquefort, to go with their whining ...

And, at least for a few moments, take away the stink from them.

You Gotta Check This Out!

Good (Fuckin') Post Alert here today ...

Really good one ...

Skippy the bush kangaroo nails it!

Perfect!

today's repubbblicans

Click over and check it out ... Be sure to play the video!

This Date ... On The Garlic

30 January 2008... On The Garlic

The Bob Dole For The New Millennium

The Buzzards Are Picking At Each Other ...

Good Post Alert: Fox News is in for a very rough 2008

Thank You, John Edwards!


30 January 2007... On The Garlic

Libby Trial Update - It's Miller Time!


30 January 2006... On The Garlic

Enron Trial May Face Delay, As White House Mulls New Court Appointments

White House Calls Coulter On The Carpet; "Poison" Remarks Force Increase In HSD Budget

Top Ten Cloves: Ways Exxon Will Celebrate Largest Annual Profit Ever For A U.S. Company

Stand

(Ed. Note: Rough Day, and trying to fight my way off the DL)

Stand, they did ...

All the dittoheads ... All the dwarfs, finks, phonies and frauds ...

In other words, the Republican Caucus of the U.S. Congress.



Christ, could you imagine if they were staffing the Titanic?

I certainly wouldn't want passage on that trip, worrying that they would vote, en block, not to lower the life boats.

"Sorry, folks, but we want the Captain to use our plan."

Ahh, but they already have run us into the proverbial financial iceberg, and now, they want to nitpick over what type, or what size, buckets we should use to start bailing out the water.

Or, their whiny bleating about Tax Cuts, just who should be able to climb into those lifeboats.

There's some other noise, as well, but it's hard to make out - it's only Mark Halperin, talking with his head up his ass, again.

I'm with John Kerry, and Kathy, from 'Comments from Left Field' - Fuck'em (my choice of words).

Blast out the Tax Cuts, squeeze back in the Contraceptives, and tell the GOP nitwits to follow the advice of their Leader-in-Exile, The Cheeseburger That Sweats (h/t Barry Crimmins), that being, to bend over and grab their ankles!

It ain't their playground anymore.

They are the MINORITY Party, and, they don't get to call the shots, or grease the skids, as they did, so proudly and willingly, for The Bush Grindhouse.

All President Obama, and the Democrats have to do is keep up the Eddie Haskell routine, keep saying nice things about the MINORITY Party, invite them to join in at every turn, but keep the eyes straight ahead and get the business that needs to be done, done.

At some point, their own supporters, their own constituents, will see their obstructionism, and ask why they don't have their gloves on, why aren't they in the game.

Something tells me, that despite decades, and generations, apart, Sly and the Family Stone are singing this song to President Obama, and the Dems;

Sly & The Family Stone - Stand




Bonus Riffs

No More Mister Nice Blog: TIME FOR A FIRESIDE CHAT

Nate Silver: The Republican Death Spiral

Skippy the bush kangaroo: "oh yeah? well, just for that, we're going to sh*t in our bed again!"

Tristero: Ominous

Greg Sargent: Obama Allies Launch Ad Campaign Targeting Republican Senators

This Date ... On The Garlic

29 January 2008... On The Garlic

Conservative Journalist, Unaware of Google, Wikipedia, Earns Olbermann's 'Worst Person in the Word!


29 January 2007... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Most Surprising Things To Come Out of the Scooter Libby Trial So Far


29 January 2006... On The Garlic

Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves

Pennies from the Heaven

Boy, rough day to sit on the sidelines, still on the DL.

We had to listen to the Congressional Republicans whine and moan like cats in a warehouse full of rocking chairs.

Stimulus Bill Passes House With 0 Republican Votes

President Obama won his first vote, with the House, going strictly along party lines, but this is just the first dance, with much more, and, perhaps, greater theatre, to be played out.

Steve Benen asks a rather interesting question;

If the House Republican caucus, en masse, isn't willing to support a stimulus package in the midst of a global economic crisis, it's hard to imagine when, exactly, GOP lawmakers are going to work with the majority party in a constructive way.

[Snip]

Of course, the last time we saw a vote like this one was probably the 1993 vote on Clinton's first budget -- every single Republican in the chamber voted against it, hoping to prove, once and for all, that they were right about economics and Democrats were wrong. If memory serves, that budget was the first step towards the longest economic expansion on record, the creation of 22 million jobs, and the total elimination of the federal budget deficit.

Cue me when the Third Act starts up

In the meantime, sing along with Louis, because they better start falling damn soon ...

Louis Prima - Pennies from the Heaven

This Date ... On The Garlic

28 January 2007... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard During The Presidents State of the Union Address

We Looked In the DIY Section, But Bob Vila Didn't Have A Handbook On It ...

Hey, Dems, Let'em Veto It! ... Here's All The Ammunition You Need!


28 January 2007... On The Garlic

Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves

No, Really, I Do Want To Be President ... Really, I Do ... The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll

Mirror Mirror

While there is light at the end of the tunnel (and not a freight train, but rather, some good meds), we stayed on the DL again today, and dreading the snow/sleet/ice/rain storm barreling this way tomorrow.

So, we look to be back on track very soon.

For this evening, we have a little treat to share with you.

One song, two versions.

First, we start off with the classic, 'Corner Pocket, a warhorse of a tune from William "Count" Basie, and his monster orchestra.

Then, fast forward a few decades, to the Manhattan Transfer, and their "Until I Met You", which is none other than a vocal rendition of "Corner Pocket"

Enjoy!

The Count Basie Orchestra - Corner Pocket




Manhattan Transfer - Until I Met You ( Corner Pocket )

This Date ... On The Garlic

27 January 2008... On The Garlic

Bush Fatigue Alert - Monday's SOTU

Neocon Dolphins? ... Say It Ain't So, Flipper!


27 January 2007... On The Garlic

New Liz Cheney Op-Ed!


27 January 2006... On The Garlic

Iraqis Wake-Up To Their 'Dewey Beats Truman' Snafu With Hamas Upset

Disgraced Author Frey Claims Kidnapped and Beaten By Oprah, Staff

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard In The Hamas Election Headquarters

Yes, Virginia, Even A Stopped Clock Is More Accurate Than Little Billy Kristol

We couldn't stay on the DL, anchoring the sofa, in a wave of wonderful power naps, without jumping in on this one.

It came down today, that the New York Times was ending their subsidy of The Weekly Standard, gainfully, if not painfully, employing their editor, William "Little Billy" Kristol, for the past year, to promulgate the propaganda of The Weekly Standard, on the Op-Ed pages of the aforementioned, New York Times.

Funny, they never did alter their motto, to "All The Bullshit Fit To Print".



The running thread that kept popping up today, as Attaturk noted, on Firedoglake, in his post And how’d that work out for you?;

The most significant and intelligent part of Bill Kristol's column in the New York Times wasn't written by him.

This is William Kristol’s last column.

Well, his last column in the NYT, as Think Progress (and others) are reporting that The Washington Post will pick up on the journalistic bailout, having Little Billy on their pages, on monthly basis.

I guess they don't mind that Time Magazine, and now the NYT, have given him his pink slip.

Kristol was one of the Right Wing Freak Show's loudest cheerleaders for The Bush Grindhouse, and their invasion and occupation of Iraq, and, using his sterling judgment, backstopped and waved the pom poms for The Wasilla Whiz Kid, ushering her into the Dead Campaign Express.

Yes, Virginia, Even A Stopped Clock Is More Accurate Than Little Billy Kristol ...

It's one thing, tossing off scraps for the Flying Monkeys, they eat up everything, especially the false and untrue, like happy soup.

But he was now tied to the strings of the Grey Lady's dress, and the errors kept coming, and coming, and coming, earning them headlines, such as "The NYT's latest Kristol embarrassment.

Jesus, he even took to dissing the NYT, while he was getting a paycheck from them!

As Steve Clemmons rhetorically asked; "Why are any of the majors publishing Kristol on a continuous basis when he has his perch at the Weekly Standard?"

Why, indeed ...

In the end, at just about the year anniversary, it was the shoddy writing that brought about the final drips of his gravy train

The ever-sharp cracker jack, Scott Horton, whose articled was prefaced with"...Scott Horton, who broke news on Kristol's involvement in the selection of Sarah Palin, reports on real reasons the Gray Lady didn't renew his contract", has the scoop;

The New York Times’ decision not to renew Bill Kristol’s opinion column was because of the conservative writer’s sloppiness and uneven quality, according to a reliable source with first-hand knowledge of the decision. Today, the Times features a signature Kristol piece, discussing the heroic role of conservatism in modern American history and contrasting this with the fecklessness of American liberals. But only the last line is newsworthy: “This is William Kristol’s last column.”

The problems that emerged were more fundamental. Kristol’s writing wasn’t compelling or even very careful. He either lacked a talent for solid opinion journalism or wasn’t putting his heart into it. A give-away came in the form of four corrections the newspaper was forced to run over factual mistakes in the columns, creating an impression that they were rushed out without due diligence or attention to factual claims. A senior writer at Time magazine recounted to me a similar experience with Kristol following his stint in 2006-07. “His conservative ideas were cutting edge and influential,” I was told. “But his sloppy writing and failure to fact check what he wrote made us queasy.”

Notice how, when talking about Kristol, and his writing, the word "sloppy" keeps jumping up?

Go check out Greg Mitchell, over on Editors & Publishers, and his Kristol Bawl: An 'Appreciation' As Column Ends at 'NYT', which details the errors - "He gave us many belly laughs, several glaring errors to point out, some choice takedowns by Jon Stewart -- and Sarah Palin, who doomed McCain."

Now, Little Billy Kristol gets to "doom" The Washington Post.

We'll give Robert Stein, from Connecting The Dots, the last word on that;

It's fitting for Kristol to go out on a high note of error. klutzy writing and self-delusion, but apparently the market for his kind of babbling is not entirely dead. He came to the Times after a stint with Time, and now there are reports that the Washington Post, apparently suffering from a lack of wrong-headedness not completely satisfied by Charles Krauthammer and Michael Gerson, will avail themselves of Kristol's wisdom occasionally.

We can hardly wait for that fun to begin


Little Billy Kristol's Greatest Garlic Hits!

It Takes A Neocon To Raise A Legacy ... They're Drinking The Kool-Aid Again ...

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

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

Yes, Virginia, Even Sadder, Little Billy Kristol Is Going To The NYT

They Call Me "Mister Glass"

This Date ... On The Garlic

26 January 2008... On The Garlic

Na-Na, Na-Na-Na ... Obama Wins ... And Gets The Keys To Camelot!


26 January 2007... On The Garlic

Breaking News! Hagel Speech Causes Havoc; Payless Shoes Flooded With Job Seekers, Resumes; Applicants Looking For " The Safe Jobs Senator Hagel Talked About"; Tancredo Offers Threats

Top Ten Cloves: Reason President Bush Is Now Only "The Decision-Maker" And Not "The Decider"


26 January 2006... On The Garlic

Bush Says Palestinian Elections Not Valid; "No Official Purple Fingers Verified

Top Ten Cloves: Reasons Kayne West Posed As Christ For Cover of Rolling Stone Magazine

For Me, It's John Denver ...

But Billy Joel ranks right up there.



Still on the DL, Garlic Fans, but I wanted to pop in with this gem from today, espied in the morning read.

The Worst Pop Singer Ever - Why, exactly, is Billy Joel so bad?

Ron Rosenbaum, over on Slate, weighs into Christie Brinkley's ex, sans anything other than 16-oz boxing gloves, whacking Joel around the ring, so to speak, unmercifully.

Which brings me to Billy Joel—the Andrew Wyeth of contemporary pop music—and the continuing irritation I feel whenever I hear his tunes, whether in the original or in the multitude of elevator-Muzak versions. It is a kind of mystery: Why does his music make my skin crawl in a way that other bad music doesn't? Why is it that so many of us feel it is possible to say Billy Joel is—well—just bad, a blight upon pop music, a plague upon the airwaves more contagious than West Nile virus, a dire threat to the peacefulness of any given elevator ride, not rock 'n' roll but schlock 'n' roll?

[Snip]

He thinks people can't stand him because he dresses wrong or doesn't look right.

Billy Joel, they can't stand you because of your music; because of your stupid, smug attitude; because of the way you ripped off your betters to produce music that rarely reaches the level even of mediocrity. You could dress completely au courant and people would still loathe your lame lyrics.

In-between those two samples is a boatload of great insight, and most amusingly, quite frequently.

John Denver is the worst for me ... Skin crawls each and every time my security breaks down, and a few notes of his singing breaks through

Being a Jazz Guy, I don't have as strong a dislike for Billy Joel as Rosenbaum, not being all that familiar with his work, yet, on the other hand, what I have heard of him, it hasn't made me want to run out and buy any of his recordings. What I have heard, it sounds like Pop pap, too cute, by half

And, one of his songs, 'New York State of Mind', is done infinitely better, by jazz pianist/vocalist Ben Sidran (and apologies, could not find a YouTube, or (free) audio file of it to post).

Go and read The Worst Pop Singer Ever, and check out the links, as Rosenbaum has also riffed on Angelina Jolie, and Starbucks.

Bonus Bonus

Since we brought him up, we thought you should hear a little of Dr. Ben Sidran, one of his better tunes, the Frank Rosolino-penned 'Blue Daniel'.

Some of you might know him, from his NPR program, "Sidran on Record", or, his time, early in his career, with the Steve Miller Band, writing their big hit, "Space Cowboy".

With the unrelenting, full measure of Winter we have had to-date, this tune might just hit-the-spot right now.

Ben Sidran - Blue Daniel

Blue Daniel - Ben Sidran

This Date ... On The Garlic

25 January 2008... On The Garlic

Does He Get A New Girlfriend With This Job Too? ... Does The Job "Pay For Itself?

Wanted Dead Or ... Ahh, The Hell With It .. I'll Let The Next President Get'em ...

Good Post Alert - Martin Lewis's "Ads The GOP Would Run Against Obama - #1 "Ooops!"


25 January 2007... On The Garlic

News In Brief - Watergate Plumber Chief Passes Away; E. Howard Hunt, Watergate Figure, Dead At 88; Nixon's Chief of Dirty Tricks Was Ex-CIA; Hand In Everything From Guatemala To Bay of Pigs


25 January 2006... On The Garlic

White House: "We Know No Such Person Named Jack Abramoff"

Top Ten Cloves: Ways Google Tried To Avoid Censorship Of New China Search Engine