My Ronny Can Do Anything

Or; "Oh Ronny, If Only We Had Your Steady Hand

My goodness gracious, is Peggy Noonan on drugs?

Does she have an abuse problem?



We brought this up a few weeks ago, and, again, yesterday, in her Murdoch Street Journal column, she's all over the place, the wine swishing out of the glass with her sweeping arm motions, dissing - again - President Obama, in a greatest hits tribute to the Right Wing Freak Show.

And, of course, as the #1 Ronald Reagan Groupie, she brings her sweetheart, love bunny touchstone to the forefront, letting us all know that, according to her, if only we had Ronny's steady hand to guide us today, the world (well, her world) would be Shangri La.

In her "Neither a Hedgehog Nor a Fox: The unbearable lightness of Obama's administration", she opens with;

Such impressions—coolness, slightness—can come to matter only if they capture or express some larger or more meaningful truth. At the moment they connect, for me, to something insubstantial and weightless in the administration's economic pronouncements and policies. The president seems everywhere and nowhere, not fully focused on the matters at hand. He's trying to keep up with the news cycle with less and less to say.

It's the "Obama is too cool" thing, again.

And, too busy.

Mr. Obama likes to say presidents can do more than one thing at a time, but in fact modern presidents are lucky to do one thing at a time, never mind two. Great forces are arrayed against them.

See, Obama is supposed be more like those Republican Presidents of the past, just chillin' out, not getting too worked up about punching the time clock, just, kind of, go at, in a nice soft pace.

I guess that is the impression you get of how the job should be, if you happen to be a speechwriter for a President in his mid-to-late 70's, and in the early stages of dementia (but we know, in her heart, Little Miss Peggy was much more than just a speechwriter to her Ronny).

With naps built into Ronny's schedule, we can see how Peggy must think Obama is too busy.



And, in her first salute to the Right Wing Freak Show, in their unending meme of Obama's use to the teleprompter, Little Miss Peggy has to dwell on that, just a bit (well, actually, more than just a bit), and lets us know her Ronny didn't need a teleprompter, and could tell jokes better than Obama;

This in part is why the teleprompter trope is taking off. Mr. Obama uses it more than previous presidents. No one would care about this or much notice it as long as he showed competence, and the promise of success. Reagan, if memory serves, once took his cards out of his suit and began to read them at a welcoming ceremony, only to realize a minute or so in that they were last week's cards from last week's ceremony. He caught himself and made a joke of it. One was reminded of this the other day when Mr. Obama's speech got mixed up with the Irish prime minister's. Things happen. But the teleprompter trope has taken off: Why does he always have to depend on that thing?

There is a new Web site where the teleprompter shares its thoughts in a breathless White House diary. It's bummed that it has to work a news conference next week instead of watching "American Idol," it resents being dragged to L.A. in Air Force One's cargo hold "with the more common electronic equipment." It also Twitters: "We are in California! One of the interns gave my panels a quick scrub and I'm ready to prompt for the day." And: "Waiting for my boss's jokes to get loaded for Leno!"

Index cards ... Teleprompter ...Eh!

Maybe it's the drugs, or the wine, but Little Miss Peggy then comes down with amnesia, defending The Bush Grindhouse, in particular, the war crime-committing Vice President, Dick Cheney.

Mr. Obama's second job is America's safety at home and in the world. Dick Cheney this week warned again of future terrorism and said Mr. Obama's actions have left us "less safe." White House press secretary Robert Gibbs reacted with disdain. Mr. Cheney is part of a "Republican cabal." "I guess Rush Limbaugh was busy." This was cheap.

[Snip]

Mr. Cheney's remarks, presented in a cable interview, looked political and were received as partisan. The fact is he was wrong and right, wrong in that a subject so grave demands a well documented and thoughtful address.

[Snip]

But Mr. Cheney was, is, right in the most important, and dreadful, way. We live in the age of weapons of mass destruction, and each day more people and groups come closer to getting and deploying them. "Man has never developed a weapon he didn't eventually use," said Reagan, without cards, worrying aloud in the Oval Office.

What can be used will be used. We are a target. Something bad is going to happen—don't we all know this? Are we having another failure of imagination?

Little Miss Peggy must have bought the subscription series of the Bush Legacy Project, since she is pitching the "Bush (and Cheney) kept us safe" thing - again.

Yeah, as pointed out, roundly, they kept us safe - after September 11th.

See, and again, perhaps the drugs, or wine, Little Miss Peggy has forgotten how The Commander Guy, and his henchmen cronies, lied, manipulated and altered the intelligence, so as to go on fearmongering, raising the Terror levels, most vigorously, whenever one of their many scandals was hitting the front pages, or a big vote in Congress was coming up.

And, Ronny kept us safe, without a teleprompter, or index cards.

All Ronny had to do was, sigh, "worry aloud".

I don't know, we get the feeling, perhaps with an empty wine bottle knocked on its' side, the little bottle of her prescription nearby, the wine left in her glass still swishing around, spilling over the edge, as Little Miss Peggy throws in the CD player, the Luther Barnes classic, and sings along, substituting the word "God", with "Ronny".

Her Ronny can do anything.

Luther Barnes, and the Red Budd Gospel Choir - My God Can Do Anything

My God Can Do Anything - Luther Barnes- Church Mix 3





Bonus Little Miss Peggy

Kevin Baker: The Magic Reagan - More misguided arguments for his greatness

Blue Texan - Peggy Noonan: At Least Bush Kept Us Safe, Except For That Whole 9/11 Thing

Bob Cesca: No Attacks Since When?

We Already Know What He Was Thinking - Us vs. Them

Noonan Gives Palin, McCain A "Full Detroit"

For Peggy Noonan, Next Stop, Willoughby!

Obama's Go Galt, Abandon Supermarket, Will Live Off The Land

I'm a bit surprised the Flying Monkeys and Santelli-sign-totting Teabladders haven't been out in front for this, heralding that the First Couple is embracing their "Going Galt" malarkey.

The Obama's are eschewing the giant, chain supermarkets, not wanting to spend their arduously-produced money, maybe with an eye to keeping themselves in the lower tax bracket, and will be growing their own food.

No, what am I saying, there's likely a draft sitting in Michelle "Stalkin" Malkin's computer, calling this move another step to Socialism, or Communism, that President Obama will soon be dictating the elimination of pre-packaged food, with Malkin exhorting the Flying Monkeys to start up "Garden Parties" in protest.



Obamas to Plant White House Vegetable Garden

Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of the South Lawn on Friday to plant a vegetable garden, the first at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. There will be no beets — the president does not like them — but arugula will make the cut.

While the organic garden will provide food for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, its most important role, Mrs. Obama said, will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have become a national concern.

[Snip]

Whether there would be a White House garden had become more than a matter of landscaping. The question had taken on political and environmental symbolism, with the Obamas lobbied for months by advocates who believe that growing more food locally, and organically, can lead to more healthful eating and reduce reliance on huge industrial farms that use more oil for transportation and chemicals for fertilizer.

[Snip]

The Obamas will feed their love of Mexican food with cilantro, tomatillos and hot peppers. Lettuces will include red romaine, green oak leaf, butterhead, red leaf and galactic. There will be spinach, chard, collards and black kale. For desserts, there will be a patch of berries. And herbs will include some more unusual varieties, like anise hyssop and Thai basil. A White House carpenter, Charlie Brandts, who is a beekeeper, will tend two hives for honey.

Well, President Obama has touted, frequently, about doing things different in the nation's capital, and it sure looks like they, the Obama Family, is walking the talk.

The article does state that all the Obama's will be working it, even the President will be "pulling weeds", but, let's face it, I'm sure the grounds staff there at the White House will be pitching in, as well.



I suppose, somewhere, perhaps late-night cable, the shopping channels, the "Presidential" set of gardening tools will be popping up.

And, the headline writer (or perhaps, article author) gets a Dolt nod, for coming up with the all-too-cute, and all-too-obvious "Shovel-Ready Project: A White House Garden."

Also, let's not forget, and give a tip-of-the-gardening hat, to chef extraordinaire Alice Waters, for her victory, as she as been lobbying, for about 16-years, for just such a White House food garden.

Alice Waters renews call for White House organic garden on '60 Minutes' segment Sunday

The bestselling author has been pushing for the garden since at least 1993; she may see her wish come true with the current White House occupants, both of whom know a thing or two about healthful food. Then again, former President Clinton is a known Chez Panisse fan, and we saw no garden bloom at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. under his watch, other than a small one on the roof that Hillary Rodham Clinton helped set up (It also should be noted that Laura Bush, to her credit, advised the White House kitchen staff to buy organic produce whenever possible, even though no large garden grew under her watch, either).

(You can watch the entire Alice Waters '60 Minutes' interview HERE)

I suppose, if the garden does take off, we can, perhaps, see cattle, and other livestock, roaming, and grazing, the White House grounds.

They'll need some free-roaming, chemical-free meat to go with those home-grown vegetables.

Then, the Right Wing Freak Show can drop the "celebrity" bromides, and start calling for the impeachment of Obama, for dragging down the country by going Farmer Dell on us.


Bonus This Land Is Your Land Riffs

Christy Hardin Smith: Obama Family To Plant Organic Garden At White House

Rikyrah: Obamas to Plant White House Vegetable Garden

Ryan Tate: Obama Vegetable Garden Is Hippie Victory

D-Day: The White House Vegetable Garden

This Date ... On The Garlic

21 March 2008... On The Garlic

Retro Garlic: "We Got An Eight-Page Layout With Viceroy ... The New Pope Is A Thinking Man ..."


21 March 2007... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Other Conditions President Bush Has To Allow Rove and Meirs To Testify Before Congress


21 March 2006... On The Garlic

New Salvo In War With Media - President Ups Media-War Ante; Bush, White House To Meet With Tom Cruise

Top Ten Cloves: Reasons Bush, Cheney, RNC Keep Tying Saddam Hussein To al-Qaeda and 9-11


21 March 2005... On The Garlic

Lucas To Increase Production of Stars Wars; 3D Remakes Tip of Iceburg; New Galaxies, Wars Offer Endless Plots

Liz Taylor Miffed At Snub for Fat Actress Role

Obituary: DeLorean Founder Dies at 80

Top Ten Cloves: Signs Your Boss Is Incompetent

Up Jumped Spring

Happy First Day of Spring!

Cool and windy, but, otherwise bright sunshine up here in the Northeast.

And, to help usher in the new season (or Spring Equinox, if you prefer), we employ a great old gem, from Freddie Hubbard.

Enjoy!

Up Jumped Spring

Up Jumped Spring - Freddie Hubbard

This Date ... On The Garlic

20 March 2008... On The Garlic

Hillary Camp Livid: - "They Look At His Passport, But Not Ours!" ...Breaking News: Bias Charged; Hillary Wants Florida and Michigan To See Her Passport

Top Ten Cloves: Signs That It Is First Day of Spring In the White House

"So Long Scooter, We're Through With You ..."


20 March 2007... On The Garlic

The Laura Bush Bummer Bombing-of-the Day; Warning - Bypass this post if you don't want to be discouraged

Top Ten Cloves: Things Not Anticipated About Grand Canyon Skywalk


20 March 2006... On The Garlic

Iraqis To Launch Massive Protest Against Bush and Cheney, Over Civil War; Want Credit For Battles; Some See As Early Positioning For Future Funding When Government Collapses

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard At HP Shareholders Meeting Last Week

The Garlic Is Offering A New Feature - The Garlic Poll!

We Already Know What He Was Thinking - Us vs. Them

They can't be serious, can they?

The Commander Guy, Mr. Mission Accomplished, The "Ek-A-Lec-Tic" Reading List Man, is going to write a book?



He dropped word of it, during his all-but super-secret speech up in Canada, where some where looking for the Canadian Government to arrest him as a War Criminal;

Bush: Won't criticize Obama, says he 'deserves my silence'

Bush said that he doesn't know what he will do in the long term but that he will write a book that will ask people to consider what they would do if they had to protect the United States as president.

He said it will be fun to write and that ``it's going to be (about) the 12 toughest decisions I had to make.''

``I'm going to put people in my place, so when the history of this administration is written at least there's an authoritarian voice saying exactly what happened,'' Bush said.

``I want people to understand what it was like to sit in the Oval Office and have them come in and say we have captured Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, the alleged killer of a guy named Danny Pearl because he was simply Jewish, and we think we have information on further attacks on the United States,'' Bush said.

Bush didn't specify what the 12 hardest decisions were but said Iraq is better off without Saddam Hussein in power.

Yes, we quite sure it will be done in an "authoritarian voice".

Much like his dictatorship.

Funny, Boot-Lickin' Mike Allen doesn't mention that malapropism in his article today, gushing, almost breathlessly, "Former President George W. Bush has already written about 30,000 words of a memoir tentatively called “Decision Points” that will cover everything from how he found faith to how he quit drinking to how he chose Karl Rove and Dick Cheney for their jobs" and "The chapters include: the terrorist attacks of 9/11; the decisions to send American troops to Afghanistan and Iraq; the response to Hurricane Katrina; his commitment to fight AIDS around the world; the formation of his stem cell research policy; and his relationships with his father, mother, siblings, and wife."

We already know, with reams-and-reams of documentation, what he did in those circumstances.

He ginned up, manufactured evidence, and lied about having to invade and occupy Iraq, and, when they started catching some of the terrorists, they launched a chain of black hole prisons, Abu Ghraib and Gitmo, and ordered torture.

It was Us versus Them.

And, that included domestically, calling anyone who challenged his decrees, traitors and appeasers.

HIS Executive Office, HIS Vice President engineered the exposure of a covert CIA Agent, for political retribution, for calling out one of his lies.

Listen, from the Allen piece, how Chris Michel, Bush’s last director of speechwriting, is already spinning it;

The former president often e-mails and calls Michel and people from the White House, including Josh Bolten, his former chief of staff, and Steve Hadley, his former national security adviser.

“He’s having a lot of fun doing it,” the aide said. “He’s reliving some great moments, and thinking about how he can bring the reader into his shoes or put them in his seat for a fascinating period in history.”

He’s having a lot of fun doing it!

He lied us into war and melted down the country, but the important thing, he's having fun with revising his legacy!

With the book, scheduled for a Fall 2010 release, Steve M., of No More Mister Nice Blog, calls attention to the Mid-Terms at that time, and The Bush Grindhouse program of "The Permanent Campaign";

This isn't going to be a memoir -- it's going to be a campaign book. The timing is based on the assumption that the GOP base will be more motivated than the Democratic base in the next round of midterms, that they'll be furious at Obama (they already are), and that (after being softened up by Laura) they'll be ready to be moved again by the story of the brush-clearin' good ol' boy whom God personally steered away from Demon Rum and directly into a fight to the death with the evildoers, as opposed to the Kenyan-born Muslim America-hating effete basketball-playing interloper. There'll be a torrent of compare-and-contrast op-eds from right-wing hacks, and a book tour will ensue, managed as carefully as Bush's campaign appearances, with Dubya packed into pre-selected crowds of worshipful loyalists.

That ought to be very interesting, the PartyofNoicans having to carry that dead weight through, yet, another election.



Now, if they really want to put a book out that captures the Bush Grindhouse, that "puts us in his shoes" and flies off the shelves, he should write about the "12 toughest lies"

You know, takes from the facts, to how the cronies of the Bush Grindhouse, the White House Iraq Group (you can probably cull a good number of whoopers from these files), the VP's office, would dissect them, start inserting the lies, spins and smears, and then, the final product.

You know, kind of along the lines of a "Before" and "After" picture.

Be sure to have, at least, one chapter on the "mushroom clouds", 'cause that has to bring up fond memories

Oh yeah, two more things.

Remember your mouthpiece's advice, about "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August", so when you say "Fall of 2010", be sure it's after Labor Day.

And, embrace the Shoe Cannon, for, more than likely, it will be accompanying you on your book tour.


Bonus Our Pet President Riffs

Motoko Rich: ‘The Decider’ to Become ‘The Author’

Robert Stein: Bush's Chinese-Menu Memoir

White House "Embarrassed"; Bush Victory Strategy Speech Written By PR Agency ... Gave President Wrong Folder; Iraqi Newspaper Prints Slams Against Murtha, Kerry, Pelosi

New White House Iraq and Iran Group ...IG Report Casts Doubts On New Bush Security Plan; Says Nation “Out of Strategies” ...Shortage of Strategy Makers and Bush Administration Wiping Out Inventory Puts Office On Brink Of Crisis

Breaking News! Report Slams Seeds Of Democracy Currently Used “Worthless” ... Stunning IG Reports Cites Use Of Cheap, Mail-Order Seeds Of Democracy For Iraq, Middle East ...Spotlight On White House, Rumsfeld For Low-Cost Military Vision; Dirty Halliburton Water Also Cited

Breaking News! With DisneyBaghdad, Bush Says “Nobody Wins Hearts and Minds Better Than Disney ...Disney, With Secret Contract, Working With White House, Military On Building Baghdad Moats ...‘Pirates of the Caliphate’, Other Attractions To Mask Security Measures; State Dept. Touts “DisneyBaghdad Will Pay For Itself”

Breaking News! Analyst: President May Soon Need To Deny He Has Troops In Iraq ...White House Plunges Into New Iraq Strategy; Moving From ‘Keystone Cops’ To ‘Marx Brothers’ ...Denials Of “Stay The Course” Signal Major Shift; Possible Complete Erasing Of Iraq May Come In Time For MidTerms

This Date ... On The Garlic

19 March 2008... On The Garlic

No Intel Inside

Good Thing Time Travel Isn't Here Yet

The O.K. Corral Is About To Become A Whole Lot Bigger


19 March 2007... On The Garlic

Garlictorial: The 4th Anniversary, Or "How I Invaded and Occupied Iraq and All I Got Were These Lousy Iranian Bombs"


19 March 2006... On The Garlic

Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves

That's Amore!

Not exactly as riveting as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in his awesome "Cien Anos de Soledad" (One Hundred Years of Solitude), where he spent about the first page-and-a-half having his protagonist describe, while standing in front of a firing squad, the first time he discovered ice, but interesting nonetheless.

Kim Young Ill had completed a 10-year project to bring pizza to North Korea

It has taken almost 10 years of work, but North Korea has acquired the technology to launch a project very dear to its leader's heart - the nation's first "authentic" Italian pizzeria.

The launch of Pyongyang's first Italian restaurant meanwhile brings to fruition a ten-year effort by Kim Jong-il - a renowned gourmand and lover of western food - to create the perfect pizza and pasta in his homeland

Imagine that.

All that huffing-and-puffing by The Bush Grindhouse, the Axis of Evil bullshit, when all they had to do was woo him with "a couple of slices".

Perhaps, we need to update that old saw of "guns-and-butter", to "nukes-and-pizza".

Last year a delegation of local chefs was sent by Kim to Naples and Rome to learn the proper Italian techniques after their homegrown efforts to mimic Italian cuisine were found by Kim to contain "errors".

In the late 1990s Kim brought a team of Italian pizza chefs to North Korea to instruct his army officers how to make pizza, a luxury which is now being offered to a tiny elite able to afford such luxuries in a country that cannot feed many of its 24 million inhabitants.

Despite the food shortages high-quality Italian wheat, flour, butter and cheese are being imported to ensure the perfect pizza is created every time.

Ahh, Little Kimmy, you need to go the distance with this.

If you are building the perfect pizza parlor, that you gots to get a Wurlitzer, and make sure this tune is in it;

That's Amore - Dean Martin




Bonus North Korean Riffs

Deadline Looms For Axis of Evil Applicants ...White House Cramming To Fill List For State of Union Address; Is Considering Adding Individuals For First Time

Axis of Evil Update ... It's Sheehan; Anti-War Mom Makes Axis of Evil List ...Down To Minutes Before Speech, Sheehan Arrested, Removed From House Chamber

Developing Story - Secretary of State Defends “Mushroom Cloud” Prediction ...Rice Touts ‘Axis of Evil’ Program As “Wildly Successful” In Wake Of North Korea Nuke Test ...AEL Members Adhering To Program; Allows Bush, World “Swift and Unfettered” Rhetoric” As Precursor To Planting Seeds of Democracy

Developing Story! Rove Has Gone From “Bush’s Brain” To “Bush’s Drain” ...White House In Crises, As Rove Takes Credit For North Korean Nuke Test ... Sources Say ‘Bush’s Brain” Weary From Sinking Polls, Fundraising; Too Tired To Come Up With New October Surprise

Breaking News! Back To The Drawing Board For Security Council ...New Problem As Jong Il Issues “Korean-Style” Signing Statement To Invalidate U.N. Sanctions ...U.S. Irate But Must Abstain Due To Conflict of Interest; North Korea Also To Start Page Program For Potential Scandal

Idiocracy, The Sequel

When the casting call comes for the sequel to "Idiocracy", these jurors - and court officials - must make all effort to be first in line.

Mistrial by iPhone: Jurors’ Web Forays Are Upending Trials

Last week, a juror in a big federal drug trial in Florida admitted to the judge that he had been doing research on the case on the Internet, directly violating the judge’s instructions and centuries of legal rules. But when the judge questioned the rest of the jury, he got an even bigger shock.

Eight other jurors had been doing the same thing. The federal judge, William J. Zloch, had no choice but to declare a mistrial, wasting eight weeks of work by federal prosecutors and defense lawyers.

[Snip]

Last week, a building products company asked an Arkansas court to overturn a $12.6 million judgment against it after a juror used Twitter to send updates during the civil trial.

And on Monday, defense lawyers in the federal corruption trial of a former Pennsylvania state senator, Vincent J. Fumo, demanded that the judge declare a mistrial after a juror posted updates on the case on Twitter and Facebook. The juror even told his readers that a “big announcement” was coming Monday. But the judge decided to let the trial continue, and the jury found Mr. Fumo guilty. His lawyers plan to use the Internet postings as grounds for appeal.

Jeralyn, over on Talk Left, seems to have the Luke Wilson role here;

The solution seems easy enough -- require jurors to park their cell phones with the Marshals when entering the courthouse.

Holy Cow!

Bonus High Tech Hijinks

News In Brief - Wikimania Attendees Take Over Event ...Wikimania Conference Ends Abruptly In Cacophonous Chaos ...First Speaker Drowned Out By Attendees With Edits, Footnotes and Sub-Categories

Apple Settles With Cisco!; Rolling Dice With New iBeckham Phone ...Jobs Promises Aging Soccer Star Can Store "Billions of Photos" of Himself; New "Posh" Command Added

New iPod Phone Requires Downloading Calls

Life Imitates Art ... Or, Did Burt Lancaster Invent Google Earth?

Breaking News! Giant Search Engine Downed By GOP and RNC Staffers ... Google Crashes! Besieged With “I’m Feeling Lucky” Searches From White House, Congress ... Amazon, D.C. Novelty Stores Hit With Run On Magic 8-Balls

Top Ten Cloves: How The Amazon Kindle Can Effect The Legal World


Bonus Bonus

Idiocracy - Trailer

A Bonus, For Your March Madness Fever!

If you are jonesin', pacing the floor, not be able to sit still, awaiting the opening tip-off for March Madness, than jump on over to Crooks and Liars to get in on the action.

John Amato, C&L's big cheese, has a contest for you

C&L's NCAA March Madness tournament. Win a Blu Ray Player!

The prizes?

First prize is a Blu-Ray disc player.
Second prize is an IPod Shuffle.
Third prize is a $25 ITunes gift card.

Not too shabby ...

Go for it!

This Date ... On The Garlic

18 March 2008... On The Garlic

Down Goes Rose! ... Down Goes Rose! ... Down Goes Rose! ... Or: Charlie Rose Wins "Save of the Day"!

Obama-Wright, Part II ... Some Perspective


18 March 2007... On The Garlic

"Karl, We're Going to Have Harriet Coach You For The Grand Jury This Time, Okay? ... The Results - The Garlic Weekly Poll

Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves


18 March 2005... On The Garlic

HP To Auction CEO-For-The-Day On eBay

Scandal Hits OPEC; Pricing Tied To Racing Wagers

Top Ten Cloves: Other Things Mark McGwire Won't Talk About

Nice Little Piece of Jazz History

Well, I don't know about you, but I certainly could enjoy a respite from the cacophony of blowhards, in Day Two of the A.I.G. conflagration, that even, if he were still around, the legendary Red Adair would find it difficult to cap.

Quite a bit of fulminating, by far too many people that are in desperate need of a tailor.

Those on the Obama Team, and in Congress, have been caught with their pants down, and can't say "I'm shocked ... shocked to find gambling going on here ..." fast enough, or often enough, over the Always Incredibly Greedy bonuses.

Go out to Memeorandum for all of that.

We, here, offer you a wonderful oasis to get away from it all, found on Open Salon (to which, The Garlic, has staked out a little piece of turf, primarily, for cross-posting purposes).

Writer Rebecca Clay Haynes has penned "Dropping Bombs with Kenny Clarke", a nice little piece of Jazz history, on the legendary drummer.



Clarke had an incredible arc, of both pre-and-post Bebop, playing with all the cats and giants of the times, a majority of his career spent in Europe.

If you don't recognize the name, singularly, you may know him from the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, a monster group that was a bit under-the-radar, but, certainly, well critically-acclaimed (and they were as tight as Ellington or Basie).

A few snips from Haynes' "Dropping Bombs with Kenny Clarke";

When I taste madeleines, I remember sitting at the feet of the great jazz drummer, Kenny Clarke, in his modest living room in Montreuil-sous-Bois, while his wife, Daisy, plied us with those fluffy scallop shells.

As a starving young journalist, I'm sure I ate more than my fair share.

[Snip]

But the "most enjoyable moment of playing jazz for me was with Dizzy Gillespie," he said. He had known Dizzy since at least 1940 but he said that "the big band he brought to Paris was the most fantastic and stimulating band I had ever played with. It was so advanced, so new, so, ohhh."

[Snip]

Despite his own failing health at the time of our interview, Kenny was still teaching drumming at schools and conservatories in Paris and throughout Europe.

He also played "from time to time" at Le Dreher, a popular jazz venue on the Place Ch âtelet in the heart of Paris. I went to hear him perform in that cramped, smoky subterranean club, several winding sets of stairs down into the ground.

It's a good read, a small window, in a smaller time machine, of a piece of Jazz history.

Go check out "Dropping Bombs with Kenny Clarke"

And, here's a video, of the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, circa 1970

Retro Garlic ... Boy, That Karma Thing Works Fast!

I espied a headline last evening that, well, jarred me in a certain way

Don Imus Suffering From Stage II Prostate Cancer

The link was from Fox News (which automatically makes it suspect - especially with what they did the other day, smearing VP Biden), and searching this morning wasn't yielding much more info on it.

So, we cull from the San Jose Mercury News.

People: Radio host Don Imus announces on air he has prostate cancer

Controversial radio host Don Imus announced on the air Monday morning that he has Stage 2 prostate cancer.

Colleagues said the cancer was considered treatable and that the prognosis was good.

"The day you find out is fine," Imus told his listeners on the "Imus in the Morning" show. "But the next morning when you get up, your knees are shaking. I didn't think I could make it to work."

Now, there could be numerous factors to bring about his cancer, including genes, lifestyle, diet, environment, etc., but you do have to think about it ...

Karma?

It was just a little less then two-years ago, remember?

Don Imus and Nappy Headed Hos

And the ensuing firestorm.

Don Imus Is Fired by CBS Radio ... Racial Slur Doomed Shock Jock's Broadcast

Don Imus Sued by Rutgers Basketball Player ... Star Center Kia Vaughn Names Imus, NBC, CBS in Civil Suit

Gwen Ifill Calls Out Russert, Brooks For Their Silence On Imus

Imus Settles With CBS, May Make Comeback

As someone I talked to this morning noted, "It's going to make it tougher for him, to talk out of his ass ..."

And, yes, save your "asshole" jokes for the comment section.

The Retro Part;

Top Ten Cloves: Things Don Imus Will Do During His Suspension

This Date ... On The Garlic

17 March 2008... On The Garlic

It's A Pig, with Lipstick, and She Likes To Be Called Bear Stearns ...

OMG! ... The Country Is Still Safe, and Standing!

The Rightwing Smear Machine, Running As Strong and Smooth as the Edsel!


17 March 2006... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: How To Tell That It’s St. Patrick’s Day Around The White House


17 March 2005... On The Garlic

Top Biz Schools Extend Hacking Penalty; Even Thinking About Doing It Earns Rejection

Iraq Parliament Holds First Session Amid Chaos

Top Ten Cloves: How President Bush Will Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

Breaking! ... Obama Takes Action, Seizes AIG's March Madness Office Pools and Brackets

Feeling a building backlash to the corporate bailouts, and the news this weekend of insurance giant A.I.G. (Always Incredibly Greedy) paying out hundreds-of-millions in bonuses, Federal Marshalls, in this country, various law enforcement in other countries, raided A.I.G. offices and seized the company's March Madness office pools and tournament bracket funds.



The order came from President Obama.

"In the last six months, AIG has received substantial sums from the U.S. Treasury. I've asked Secretary Geithner to use that leverage and pursue every legal avenue to block these March Madness pools and make the American taxpayers whole," Obama said.

A spokesperson for Treasury indicated they would follow through with the President's directive, but that Secretary Geithner was "unaware" that March Madness had begun.

Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that President Obama ordered the action late yesterday, shortly after the NCAA Basketball Tournament selection process was completed.

"We expect this will net hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars," a stern Gibbs announced, citing much it taxpayer money already given A.I.G. in the previously-released TARP fund bailout.

"The President found in unconscionable that public funds would be used in this manner."



Rumors are circulating in the Capital that President Obama is weighing issuing an Executive Order, to, effectively, nationalize all March Madness office pools and bracket funds, redirecting the money to possible future Stimulus Packages, or additional corporate bailouts.

Reaction to the move by President Obama, against A.I.G fell along party lines.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi hailed the action, saying it was "unfathomable" that A.I.G would be running March Madness pools in light of the dire circumstances facing the company.

Pelosi stopped short of endorsing the possible nationalizing of March Madness pools, saying that "they are not on the table at this time."

Congress Eric Cantor (R-VA) slammed Obama.

"The President talks about creating, or saving jobs. Well, he just wiped out dozens of them, the people that create the squares, run around the office selling them, collecting the money, having to monitor the tournament and update the squares ... That's not change you can believe in."

Senator Richard Shelby (R-ALA) called on the President to direct General Motors, and the UAW, to downscale their March Madness office pools, to match the March Madness office pools of non-union shops.



In a scathing press release, A.I.G. Chief Edward Liddy cited he was "extremely disappointed in the President's actions" and that there may be "legal ramifications" to the seizing of A.I.G.'s March Madness office pools, citing some of the employees "may have used their own, personal funds".

When pressed by reporters, Liddy admitted that he drew in his square, University of Connecticut, to win the tournament.


Bonus "Always Incredibly Greedy" Bonus Riffs

Glenn Greenwald: The sanctity of AIG's contracts

Jane Hamsher: Who Stole Our Country, and How are We Going to Get It Back?

TBogg: Bring on the Bobs

Robert Stein: Bailout Roulette

Steve Benen: AIG'S TENTACLES...

NYT: A.I.G. Lists Which Banks It Paid With U.S. Bailout Funds

MSNBC: Obama seeking ways to block AIG bonuses ... President calls $165 million in bonuses an 'outrage to the taxpayers'

CBS News: White House May Want AIG Money Back ...Administration Investigates Ways To Retrieve Some Of The Millions AIG Used For Bonuses

This Date ... On The Garlic

16 March 2008... On The Garlic

Tinkerbell Meets Norma Rae - The Daily Kos Strike

Clinton Campaign Causes Havoc, Sends Map Makers Scurrying For Updates ...Satellites Scrambled, Causing Hours of Blank Screens On Google Earth; Rand McNally. Others Dig Through Antique Maps For Answers

Hillary's New Campaign Slogan: Keep Hopelessness Alive! ... The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll


16 March 2007... On The Garlic

The Laura Bush Bummer Bombing-of-the Day


16 March 2006... On The Garlic

IG Report Casts Doubts On New Bush Security Plan; Says Nation “Out of Strategies”

Top Ten Cloves: Biggest Surprises In "The Da Vinci Code" Author Trial


16 March 2005... On The Garlic

Summer's Takes Vote In-Stride; Won't Resign

Martha Slouching It Through House Arrest

Youths Said To Be Emulating Govt Rendition Program

Top Ten Cloves: Signs Your Massive Fraud Court Case Isn't Going Your Way

The Question John King Didn't Ask

The blogosphere is all aflame today, with the big interview by CNN's John King, with former Shadow President, the VP Dick Cheney (go to Memeoradum, now, or earlier today).



Cheney dissed President Obama, stuck to the script on his disastrous record, and pissed-and-moaned how Scooter Libby is innocent, and a really great guy.

Most of the posts (we'll have a cavalcade of them below) were, of course, slapping Cheney upside-the-head, as he included, in defending the financial meltdown of the country, stating with a "So" attitude, the Rumsfeldian gem of "Stuff Happens".

There was one exception, naturally, by The Politico's Mike Allen, who achieved the remarkable feat of licking Cheney's boots from miles away, The with not one, but two posts on it.

But, since CNN reminds us, about every five-seconds, that they have "the best political team on television", how is that King, without his customary magic board, blow it, miss the BIG GET, and not ask the former Shadow President about the Death Squads he was (maybe still is) running?

I mean, that dropped on us in the past week (mixed in with other Torture News of The Bush Grindhouse) with, despite the evil we already know about, like the mushroom clouds The Commander Guy's keeper used to gush about all the time.

Storied journalist says Cheney oversaw "executive assassination ring"

Cheney’s Assassination Squads

Hersh: 'Executive assassination ring' reported directly to Cheney

Robert Stein, on Connecting The Dots, posited;

Until now, President Obama has been discouraging retrospective investigations of Bush lawbreaking by Sen. Patrick Leahy, but Hersh has opened an ugly can of worms that can't be resealed.

Stopping the operation of American death squads, as the Commander-in-Chief has just apparently done, is one thing. But now that news about them has been made public by the most respected investigative reporter of our time, it's unthinkable that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney will not be called to answer for possible war crimes.

It very likely, has King asked the question, Cheney would have huffed it off as "garbage", but if King didn't cower (I suppose, he did have to think about, like, if his car brakes would work on the way home, or would his house have an "accidental" gas leak and blow up), it would have been fascinating to hear what Cheney would say.

Would he go off on a tangent, how he, and the other cronies, had the task to keep us safe, and you don't do that by playing tiddlywinks.

King could have gotten, for the record, the first public response on, answering the question if a then-sitting Vice President was running a Death Squads.

How could he let that one go by?

There he was, the glob of molten evil, sitting right in front of him, and he babbles on about Cheney having a Blackberry, and Cheney now driving himself around now, bemoaning how he doesn't get his cooked intelligence reports anymore (over-easy, sunny-lies up).

I am fairly certain, the "best political team on television" would have asked the question.

I guess, we'll have to wait for the War Crimes Trial, to get the dirt.


Bonus Darth Vader Speaks! Riffs

CNN Video: Cheney says Obama's policies 'raise the risk' of U.S. terror attack

Faiz Shakir: Cheney’s Excuse For Economic Failures Under His Watch: ‘Stuff Happens’

Jon Perr: Cheney's "Stuff Happens" Defense of Republican Failure

DownWithTyranny: The Cheney Quartet For The Future Of The GOP: Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, Rob Portman & Mark Sanford

Ron Chusid: Dick Cheney Still Does Not Understand How To Prevent Terrorist Attacks

Matthew Yglesias: The Cheney Factor

Taylor Marsh: Dick Cheney Ignores that 9/11 Happened on Their Watch

MediaMatters: John King cites Human Events headline, asks Cheney, "Is the president of the United States trying to brazenly deceive the American people?"