Saturday, May 30, 2009

Orlando Does It!

Well, you can start calling him "LeGone James ((H/T Barry Crimmins)).

The Orlando Magic, led by Dwight "Superman" Howard, kicked ass and took names this evening, stomping on the Cleveland Cadaverliers (also a Barry Crimmins H/T), 103-90 (and the game wasn't this close - Orlando led by 18 at half-time, and 16 at the end of the third), taking the Eastern Division finals, 4-2, and heading into the NBA Finals, against the LA Lakers, for the first time since 1995

This was especially sweet.

Not so much from James, but the Media, as Cleveland cruised through the first two rounds, tremendously easy, they (the Media) was already building statues of James as THE GREATEST EVER.

They couldn't say it enough times, they couldn't talk about it enough, they couldn't show enough highlight clips, and James' last second (about three-minutes in any other city) shot to win Game 2, only added to this nonsense.

As Orlando then took a 3-1 lead games, all-of-a-sudden, the conversation shifted to the rest of the Cleveland team sucked, and when was someone going to help King James, that King James couldn't be expected (though they suspected he could) do it by himself, and that, with playing so many minutes (hey, it's the playoffs, baby, there's no crying in the playoffs), that King James (gasp), maybe, was tired, fatigued.

With crunch-time on-the-line, a ticket to the finals (or, in the Cadaverliers case, a ticket to Game 7, at home), it was "Superman" who punched the time clock, going for 40-points, with 14 rebounds, seemingly, being unstoppable.

King James went for 27-points, but with zero (yes "0") points in the second quarter, and only 7 (I think) in the final quarter.

And, it got little play, that Orlando slugged it out in the playoffs, and now go to the finals, without their #1 Guard, Jameer Nelson, out injured.

So, now the Lakers, and here's to the Orlando Magic, that they can go in there, and disappoint La-La Land, again, this year, much like they were last year, by the Celtics.

Go Orlando!
Beat LA!

This Date ... On The Garlic


30 May 2008... On The Garlic


Happy 5th Anniversary of "Suck On This" Day!

What If It Came From SNL?


30 May 2006... On The Garlic


Breaking News! Cheney’s “Cheney” Driving Force Behind Signing Statements; Bush Considering Adding Signing Statement To Enron Verdict; Addington Sees Court Muting President’s Powers

Top Ten Cloves: Reasons President Bush Sealed Jefferson Records For 45-Days


30 May 2005... On The Garlic


HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!


Friday, May 29, 2009

This Date ... On The Garlic


29 May 2008... On The Garlic


Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard In Bush Grindhouse, Over Scott McClellan's New Book

M-Stalkin'-M Update ... She's A Terrorist Sympathizer!


Thursday, May 28, 2009

Top Ten Cloves: Possible Reasons Obama and Sarkozy Didn't Invite Queen Elizabeth To D-Day Ceremony

News Item: Left Out of D-Day Events, Queen Elizabeth Is Fuming

10. If she comes, that means all those crazy, drunken, British soccer fans would probably show up, as well

9. Worried that the Queen would host a dinner, and, ...Well ... The English food thing...

8. Sarkozy didn't want to hear another lecture about his wife

7. If she came, they would both be dragged back to the Queen's hotel, to play a game of cricket on her Golden Wii

6. They've already heard all her Dunkirk stories, and couldn't bear another "Spirit of Dunkirk" speech

5. Afraid the Queen will be expecting another gift- a bevy of iPhone Add-ons

4. They've already heard all her Winston Churchill stories

3. Rumors were Susan Boyle was going to come along, and sing 'La Marseillaise'

2. If the Queen brings her son, Prince Charles, then there's a major "ear" thing to deal with

1. Obama and Sarkozy wouldn't agree with Buckingham Palace, and promise not to tease Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh with the "Nudge, Nudge, Wink Wink" routine


This Date ... On The Garlic


28 May 2008... On The Garlic


Round Up The Usual Suspects ...

If You Can't Lick'em, Lie About'em ...

She's Stalking Donuts Now!

Radio Listeners Diss McCain's Mini-Me


28 May 2006... On The Garlic


Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves

Results for The Garlic's Weekly Poll - President Bush’s Numbers Are So Low That ...


Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Latin Lady

Sorry Garlic Fans, another light post this evening.

We continue to be pummeled by allergies, to the point, I fear, we would be creatively-challenged to write out a shopping list.



It has become a Sonia Sotomayorpalooza out there, with cable news settling into what will be their programming for the next number of weeks.

And, as we noted yesterday, the Flying Monkeys are running around today, with their hair on fire.

Judge Sotomayor has been attacked, and smeared, over;

Her education

Matt Corley - Rove: Attending top schools doesn’t mean that Sotomayor is smart, but it proves that Bush is

Joan Walsh - Buchanan on Sotomayor: "Not that intelligent"

How she handles her finances

Brad DeLong: "Most Unfair Attack on Sonia Sotomayor" Contest Entry: Greg Mankiw

And, what is the Headline-of-the-Day;

Nate Silver: Grandmother of World's 23rd Best Economist Posthumously Offended by Sonia Sotomayor's Spending Habits; Will Obama Withdraw Nomination?

Even, that she is pronouncing her own name wrong

Amanda Terkel: Krikorian: People should stop pronouncing Sotomayor’s name correctly

What she eats

Wonkette: Sotomayor’s Magical Bean Foods Make Her Hate White People More

David Kurtz: Parody?

And, not surprising, Paul Krugman has a good finger on the pulse of things (A note on identity politics);

The thing that is really driving conservatives crazy, I think, is that their identity politics just isn’t working like it used to. Their whole approach has been based on the belief that Americans vote as if they live in Mayberry, and fear and hate anyone who looks a bit different; now that the country just isn’t like that, they’ve gone mad.

We may need to, having thought we'd have to wait for the confirmation hearing, shout out a "Help Me Mr. Wizard!", to help us all get through this.

So, with that kind of garbage being thrown at her, we just have to throw out another musical treat, as nod to the pending first Latino Supreme Court Justice.

Carlos Santana & Gato Barbieri - Latin Lady


This Date ... On The Garlic


27 May 2008... On The Garlic


Nolan, On Think Progress, vs. Comcast and O'Reilly ...It's Not The Whole Story

Yes ... My Aunt Has One ...

McCain's Mini-Me Hearts Hagee

Barr To Lead Libertarians; Is Operation Chaos II Coming Down The Pike?


27 May 2007... On The Garlic


Happy Birthday Rachel Carson!


27 May 2005... On The Garlic


Piercing, Shattering Noise Rocks DC Area; Authorities Trace To Capitol Bldg; May Be Frist Presidential Hopes

NBA Considers Selling Uniform Space To Advertisers; Carl's Jr. Looking To Place Paris Hilton To "Our Key Demo's"

Top Ten Cloves: How John Bolton Will Relax Over The Memorial Day Weekend


Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Ella Fue!

Azucar Sonia Sotomayor!



If you caught, even only, a fleeting glance at cable news today, you, no doubt, heard the anchors, or talking heads gushing over the historic nomination of Federal Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor, by President Barack Obama, to the Supreme Court.

This, from an email received today, from the President;

I am proud to announce my nominee for the next Justice of the United States Supreme Court: Judge Sonia Sotomayor.

This decision affects us all -- and so it must involve us all. I've recorded a special message to personally introduce Judge Sotomayor and explain why I'm so confident she will make an excellent Justice.

Judge Sotomayor has lived the America Dream. Born and raised in a South Bronx housing project, she distinguished herself in academia and then as a hard-charging New York District Attorney.

Judge Sotomayor has gone on to earn bipartisan acclaim as one of America's finest legal minds. As a Supreme Court Justice, she would bring more federal judicial experience to the Supreme Court than any Justice in 100 years. Judge Sotomayor would show fidelity to our Constitution and draw on a common-sense understanding of how the law affects our day-to-day lives.

A nomination for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land is one of the most important decisions a President can make. And the discussions that follow will be among the most important we have as a nation. You can begin the conversation today by watching this special message and then passing it on.
You should also read;

Al Giordano: From the Bronx to the Court

Jack Balkin: Why the Sotomayor Nomination Makes Sense

Jane Hamsher: Obama Ignores Smear Campaign, Nominates Sotomayor for High Court

Glenn Greenwald: Obama's choice of Sotomayor deserves praise

Of course, no matter who Obama nominated, the PartyofNoicans, and the Flying Monkeys of the Right Wing Freak Show would be lighting their hair on fire, shouting it's the end-of-the-world, and they, surely, hit their marks, on cue.

Alan Colmes: It Didn’t Take Long For the Right-Wing Mob To Attack Sotomayor

Joe Sudbay (DC): Get ready for an onslaught of right wing attacks on Sotomayor -- aided and abetted by the traditional media

Blue Texan: Conservatives Already Screwing Up Opposition to Sotomayor

David Corn: Will Sotomayor Split the Right?

Nate Silver, and Eric Kleefeld have the counts, from the past two times Sotomayor faced Senate confirmation

Want more?


Talk about serving up a big slice of the American Dream, Sonia Sotomayor saved baseball!

More Bonus Riffs


David Neiwert: Obama cites Sonia Sotomayor's life experience in naming her to Supreme Court

dday: Sotomayor

John Cole: The Sotomayor Pick

Steve Benen: RNC 'TALKING POINTS' ARE 'ACCIDENTALLY' LEAKED...

And, of course, we have a tune to go with the title, from the Fania All-Stars

It seemed quite appropriate, and fitting, for the day.

Ella Fue (She Was The One) - Fania All-Stars


This Date ... On The Garlic


26 May 2008... On The Garlic


Lest We Forget ... Memorial Day 2008


26 May 2006... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard During President Bush – Tony Blair Meeting Yesterday


26 May 2005... On The Garlic

Tiger Jam Raises Over $1-Million - Without Name Host; Woods Slump Continues; Fails To Make Cut For Fundraising Concert

BBC Employees Stage Strike That Almost Goes Unnoticed; Management Doesn't Notice; Thought It Was A Gag and Goes Along With It

Mötley Crüe To Expand Lawsuit Beyond NBC

Top Ten Cloves: Other Things The Parents Television Council Doesn't Like About New Paris Hilton/Carl's Jr. Commercial




Sunday, May 24, 2009

What If Spartacus Had A Stinger Missile?

Once again, we have to turn to Senator Roark;

Power comes from lying ... Lying big and getting the whole damn world to play along with you ... Once you got everybody agreeing with what they know in their hearts ain't true, you get them by the balls

Senator Roark, from “Sin City - That Yellow Bastard

A flourishing H/T today, to Larisa Alexandrovna ("The Department of Pre-Crime is now open..."), pointing to, despite the change to a new administration, the continuation of the Fatherland Follies;

FBI Blows It: Supposed Terror Plot Against NY Synagogues Is Bogus

"So a creepy thug buttonholes people at a mosque, foaming at the mouth about violence and jihad? This is law enforcement? Just imagine if someone did this at a local church, or some synagogue. And the imam says the people "believed he was a government agent."

Preying on these losers, none of whom were apparently actual Muslims, the "confidential informant" orchestrated the acquisition of a disabled Stinger missile to shoot down military planes and cooked up a wild scheme about attacking a Jewish center in the Bronx."



Even the Sunday Times in London is picking up on it;

FBI ‘lured dimwits’ into terror plot

“One question [about the synagogue case] that has to be answered is: did the informant go in and enlist people who were otherwise not considering trouble ?” said Kevin Luibrand, who represented a Muslim businessman caught up in another FBI sting three years ago. “Did the government induce someone to commit a crime?”

The other question that US security experts were debating was how much had been achieved by assigning more than 100 agents to a year-long investigation of three petty criminals and a mentally ill Haitian immigrant, none of whom had any connection with any known terrorist group. “They were all unsophisticated dimwits,” said Kindlon.

[snip]

This unlikely crew was said to have planned to use remotely detonated C4 explosives to bomb synagogues in the New York suburb of Riverdale; they then intended to drive north to a National Guard base near Newburgh to shoot down military aircraft with a Stinger missile supplied by a man they believed was working with Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based terrorist group.

That man is now understood to have been Shahed Hussain, a former New York state motel owner who became an FBI informant in 2002 to avoid deportation to Pakistan after being arrested on fraud charges. Hussain appears to have met Cromitie at a Newburgh mosque where the plot to bomb Jewish targets was hatched.

[snip]

The FBI is known to have infiltrated mosques, and many anti-terrorist experts believe a mosque is the last place a serious Islamic terrorist would plot an attack. “Anyone with any smarts knew to stay away from [Hussain],” said Muhammad. Yet nobody will accuse Cromitie and his cohorts of being smart.

Admittedly, this wasn't as fun as seeing Former Crony General John Ashcroft baying at the moon, from Moscow, no less, about the terror-plot-de-jour that was part of the package of lies The Commander Guy used to sell the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

You see, there's machinery in place to keep cranking this stuff out.

The unwritten headline here is, we can't prosecute The Bush Grindhouse for torture, and their War Crimes, there's rag-tag, and mentally-challenged, terrorists out there, working overtime, to get us.

In fact there were no crimes at all, just sound, good ol' USA policy, to keep us safe, an umbrella of compassionate humanity, to shield us from those pending mushroom clouds, and those uranium-enriching aluminum tubes.

If we close Gitmo, the location we are now "preventively detaining" people, where are we going to put these rag-tag, and mentally-challenged, terrorists?

Where would Spartacus put them?





Quick, Someome Call The Lifetime Channel!

Is this a made-for-television movie, or what?

Mayor quits job for gay illegal immigrant he loves

Only two weeks after being elected to serve his fourth term, Mayor J.W. Lown of San Angelo submitted his resignation letter Tuesday from an undisclosed location in Mexico.

[snip]

Lown told the San Angelo Standard-Times he had fallen for the man in March, after he had already filed for re-election. The man came to the U.S. five years ago to study at Angelo State University.

It was unclear whether he had a student visa, but if he did it apparently had expired.

Lown told the Standard-Times he chose not to take the oath of office while “aiding and assisting” a person who was illegally in the country.

Lown had been an extraordinarily popular mayor. Only 32 years old, he was elected in 2003 as the city’s youngest mayor. Serving in an office that inevitably requires decisions that accumulate enemies, he managed to get re-elected three times with increasing margins of victory each time. Two weeks ago he defeated two challengers by garnering 89 percent of the vote.

Lown did not give the name of his lover, but said he planned to stay in Mexico to try to obtain a visa so that his partner can return with him if “the people of San Angelo will welcome me back.”
Holy Cow!

Talk about hitting the jackpot!

Love, sex, politics, hot topic issue of Illegal Immigration, against the backdrop of a small, dusty town.

Think Last Picture Show meets Will and Grace (like Eric McCormick isn't going to play this love-stricken mayor?)

And, can't you just see this playing, on Lifetime, perhaps the "E" Channel, maybe even a HBO big bang (no pun intended) mini-series?

Of course, there'll have to be a cameo by Lou Dobbs, or Pat Buchanan, deep into a foaming-mouth rant against illegal immigration, now corrupting our politics, surely leading to, in a matter of days, or weeks, the country turning Communist

I smell September Sweeps ...


Bonus Links

Bob Cesca: For Marriage

John Amato: David Shuster destroys NOM's Brian S. Brown over their misleading ad against gay marriage

Matt Corley: Former McCain campaign chief endorses same-sex marriage

"Prop 8 - The Musical"

What Would Joseph Smith Do?


Say It Ain't So, Big O!

On one hand, yes, the White House is an extremely busy place.

Not only the hot button issues of the day, but also the always-overloaded, perfunctory business of any given day.

But, really, with all the egghead geniuses they have working there, couldn't they have figured something out, so this wouldn't have happened;

Sobbing Kindergarteners Snubbed for Steelers? ...Kids locked out of White House; officials say they were too late

Thursday was supposed to be the highlight of the year for more than 100 kindergarteners from Stafford County, Va. They got up early and took a chartered bus to the White House for a school field trip. But when they arrived, all the 5-year-olds got was a lesson in disappointment.

The buses from Conway Elementary arrived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a little later than planned, and they were locked out.

[snip]

Parents say they were just 10 minutes late for their scheduled tour. School officials say White House staff said they needed to get ready for the president's event with the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, so they couldn't come in.

[snip]

A lot of preparing had gone into the trip. Conway Elementary teachers had been planning the trip for months, each child paid $20 for a seat on the chartered bus, and names were submitted to the White House for clearance.

Parents say they tried to make it on time, but their chartered buses hit heavy traffic that slowed them down substantially. They thought they were supposed to show up by 10:15, but they say they arrived at 10:25 instead, and couldn’t get in.
Adding to their shame, a White House spokesperson then threw the little tykes under-the-bus, claiming "the group was actually supposed to be there at 9:30, but they held the gates for the group until 10:30, 15 minutes longer than they told the group, but when they still hadn't arrived, they had to draw the line."

Yeah, that's the ticket, draw a hard-ass line on a bunch of kindergarteners ...You show them who's boss!

Think about, how, if the situation were reversed, and President Obama was going to be visiting these children at their school, and they are all packed into a hot auditorium, maybe, even, cutting into their lunch period, and the President's motorcade hits traffic, and arrives late, do you think the school would blow the President off?

I would speculate, heavily, that the Secret Service would have a SWAT Team ringing the place, with the school in the ever-growing ubiquitous state of "lock-down".

Here's a clue, Obama White House.

Maybe, just maybe, you could have let the kindergarteners go play on the Obama kids' much-publicized swing set, maybe bringing them some White House juice and cookies, and then the President, or First Lady, swing by for a 5-minute pit stop (well, in your lingo, that would be "photo-op").

That would have made for a much better headline, as opposed to getting tagged with making kindergartners cry.

C'mon there, get a glove, get in the game, will ya!


This Date ... On The Garlic


24 May 2008... On The Garlic


She Was The One She Was Waiting For!

Biden Slaps Down McCain's Mini-Me

Three "Must Reads" From Al Giordano


24 May 2006... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: How Freezer and Refrigerator Manufacturers Are Exploiting Congressman Jefferson’s Scandal Situation


24 May 2005... On The Garlic

Frist Wary Of New Compromise; May Continue With Justice Sundays; Seeks 'End of Days' Commitment

Apple To Support Podcasting; Believes More Apple Dissent To Be Thwarted With New Support

F.D.A Readies Depression Device Implant

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard On The First Lady's Mid-East Trip