The Cheney Legacy

This guy just has no self-awareness.

And, our society ... Letting him run around, shouting his mouth off ...

It is almost the level of, say, giving Jeffrey Dahmer airtime on the Food Network.



The background.

You remember this;

On Tuesday, Cheney, serving in his role as president of the Senate, appeared in the chamber for a photo session. A chance meeting with Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, became an argument about Cheney's ties to Halliburton Co., an international energy services corporation, and President Bush's judicial nominees. The exchange ended when Cheney offered some crass advice.

"Fuck yourself," said the man who is a heartbeat from the presidency.

Not sure, in classic debating guidelines, that is acceptable, however, for Darth Vader, it is his proudest moment;

Cheney: Telling Leahy to ‘f*ck’ himself was ‘sort of the best thing I ever did.’

On Dennis Miller’s radio show today, Cheney suggested that his Leahy f-bomb was “the best thing” he had ever done:

MILLER: By the way, my, I also want to thank you, on the list of things I feel I should thank you for, almost kicking Patrick Leahy’s ass. Thank you very much.

CHENEY: Hehehehe.

MILLER: I love that move. One of my favorite stories. Muttering that.

CHENEY: You’d be surprised how many people liked that. That’s sort of the best thing I ever did.

Really?

I would have thought the mushroom clouds, or the never-happened Prague meeting lies would be up there ...

Or, shooting your friend in the face ...

Or, wait, wait ...

Exposing a covert CIA agent, for the purpose of getting back at her husband, for his exposing of your lies, would have grabbed the top spot ...

Your lackey, Little Scooter, almost went to jail for that one ...

The fact that you said this, with Dennis Miller, perhaps, and we'll have to check into it, the Has-Been Miller was simply auditioning new chimps to be his sidekick.

BarbinMD is shocked, that she actually agrees with Cheney;

Compared to the long list of heinous acts he perpetrated against this country, he's right. Being a total ass is the best thing he's ever done.

While Cheney can pat himself on the back, that using an invective was his greatest accomplishment, we, as a country, will have to wait a bit longer for ours.

That being, seeing this person, on trial, for his War Crimes.

I believe, when it's over, and he's carted off to prison, Cheney, and perhaps Miller, will be "surprised how many people liked that."


Bonus Darth Vader Cheney Riffs

James Mann: The Armageddon Plan

Source Says Secret Cabal Not In White House, But In Cheney Secret Bunker ...Wing of VP Hideout Dedicated To Iraq War, Neocon Strategy; Decisions Made Over Coffee and Krispy Kremes

Libby Trial Update - The Scooter and Cheney Show Theme Song

Top Ten Cloves: Slogans and Tag Lines For Caffeine-Free Diet Sprite – If Dick Cheney Was Pitchman

This Date ... On The Garlic

24 April 2009... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Dreams Larry Summers Had While Snoozing During White House Meeting

Krugman: Reclaiming America’s Soul


24 April 2008... On The Garlic

Retro Garlic: The Ultimate E Ticket


24 April 2007... On The Garlic

It's A Rovey Tuesday

Retro Garlic: Seriously Guys, Check Out The Jetsons

What are they smoking down there, at the Pentagon?

Are they still celebrating Weed Day?

Less than a week ago, we brought you the head-scratcher of the obscene amount of money being thrown into developing a flying car.



Today, it another WTF;

Air Force Launches Secretive Space Plane; ‘We Don’t Know When It’s Coming Back’

The Air Force launched a secretive space plane into orbit last night from Cape Canaveral, Florida. And they’re not sure when it’s returning to Earth

[snip]

The Air Force has fended off statements calling the X-37B a space weapon, or a space-based drone to be used for spying or delivering weapons from orbit. In a conference call with reporters, deputy undersecretary for the Air Force for space programs Gary Payton, space programs did acknowledge much of the current mission is classified. But perhaps the most intriguing answer came when he was asked by a reporter wanting to cover the landing as to when the X-37B would be making its way back to the planet.

“In all honesty, we don’t know when it’s coming back for sure,” Payton said.

Payton went on to say that the timing depends on how the experiments and testing progress during the flight. Though he declined to elaborate on the details. The vague answer did little to quell questions about the ultimate purpose of the X-37B test program.

A classified program, and a flying space plane, with the slightly ominous name of X-37B, it's likely a safe bet it's not a benign skywriter.

Hmmm ...

Don't know when the plane will land ...

I guess we'll have to hip the Pentagon again.

The Retro Part

Why Don't They Just Watch The Jetsons?

The Jetsons had flying cars, and, they knew when, and where, they were going to land.

It's back-engineering boys, back-engineering ...

Holy Toledo!


Bonus Links

Gordon Lubold: Air Force to launch X-37 space plane: Precursor to war in orbit?

Air Force Space Command: Air Force officials launch Atlas V carrying X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle

Michael Evans: Launch of secret US space ship masks even more secret launch of new weapon

This Date ... On The Garlic

23 April 2009... On The Garlic

For The Want Of A Lie ...

What, No Anal Glue?

Run, While You Can Shep! ... Get Out, Now!


23 April 2008... On The Garlic

Skate, But Keep Your Head Up, Obama ...


23 April 2007... On The Garlic

Minced Garlic - Keith Olbermann, Paul Rieckhoff and Larisa Alexandrovna Expose Bush Giving Aid To The Enemy

Top Ten Cloves: Reasons President Bush Decided Not To Be Funny At WHCA Dinner

Retro Garlic ... Bonds Bashing and Landis Landing ... In The Lab ... Again


23 April 2006... On The Garlic

New Bush Theme Song - I'm The Decider

Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves

There Aint Nobody Here But Us Chickens

Sue Lowden is a godsend.

The Second Coming ... The Holy Grail.

Who would have thought, in such a short time, less than two-years, we would have such a strong, strong contender, to The Wasilla Whiz Kid, and her partner in denseness, one of our favorite Ignorant Dolts, Michele Bachmann, as the dumbest politician roaming the land?



This is a goldmine.

I recall, last week, Lowden, for her Healthcare platform, suggested "bartering", which most in the press gave her a pass, the benefit of the doubt, saying she must have meant "haggling", doing a little wheeling-and-dealing on the price.

She erased that notion, prompting Jed Lawson to herald "Sue Lowden delivers quote to launch a thousand ads."

We'll let Dave Dayen, over on Firedoglake, tell the tale, from his "LowdenCare: Is This Sue Lowden’s Macaca Moment?";

Sue Lowden was the front-runner for the GOP nomination for US Senate in Nevada. She was favored to defeat Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid and go to Washington in just under a year.

I’m putting this in the past tense after her statement to a local station in Nevada that should, at least, be disqualifying for any public service job.

I’m telling you that this works. You know, before we all started having health care, in the olden days our grandparents, they would bring a chicken to the doctor, they would say I’ll paint your house. I mean, that’s the old days of what people would do to get health care with your doctors. Doctors are very sympathetic people. I’m not backing down from that system.

Say What!

Pay for your healthcare with chickens?

(You can view the video HERE)

The operative word yesterday, throughout the blogosphere, was "doubling down".

Steve Benen;

This is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard from a candidate for statewide office. If there wasn't a video, I might not even believe it. According to nearly every recent poll, Lowden is the clear favorite to defeat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) in November, but that was before she started talking about trading livestock for medical care. It's a permanent credibility-killer. It's one thing to be a confused, far-right candidate. It's another to be a laughingstock.

Steve M, over on No More Mister Nice Blog;

James Carville is reported to have said, "When your opponent is drowning, throw the son of a bitch an anvil." Lowden slipped into a bit of water, but she's not drowning yet; as I said a while back, the notion of barter isn't regarded as completely crazy by a lot of people.

But it is crazy in this case, for a lot of reasons. One is that it offers no help to people in desperate life-or-death situations that require far more treatment than painting a house could possibly offset. The other is that she hasn't thought through the implications of just what some people might offer in trade for health care -- nor have most of the citizens of Nevada.

Somebody needs to make the implications explicit. That's the anvil. And you'd better believe that if the parties were reversed, some GOP-friendly operative wouldn't hesitate to do just this.

And, Matthew Yglesias has this;

Lowden could very plausibly be representing Nevada in the US Senate a year from now, so it’s worth noting how terrible this would be. Checkups for chickens might work if we were all farmers, but what’s a blogger supposed to do? Maybe I could offer the guy free publicity with a few posts touting his services. A Web designer could build a website for the doctor. But what does the designer do if he needs to see the doctor again? Or what if the doctor needs to run a test that costs money, do you mail a chicken to the lab? It’s frightening that anyone this ignorant of how a modern economy works could be anywhere near political power.

Last night, on 'Countdown', sub host Lawrence O'Donnell wryly wondered, since Lowden is an executive at at gaming investment company, if she has gone to her bosses to ask if people can pay gambling debts with chickens.

We do have some ambivalence here.

While we don't want to see the Democrats majority dip in the Senate, on one hand, we pray, we get down on our hands-and-knees, to beseech the high heavens, to get Sue Lowden elected.

You gotta believe the "chickens for healthcare" only scratches the surface.

And Sue, we have your new campaign theme song.

Go with it ... Run with it ... Bask in it ...

Take it away, Louis Jordan!

There Aint Nobody Here But Us Chickens-Louis Jordan




Bonus Links

John Amato: Sue Lowden's 'Chicken For Checkups' health care plan is Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs

Greg Sargent: Dems To Attack Sue Lowden With “Chickens For Checkups” Web Site

Greg Sargent: Sue Lowden Triples Down, Says Doctors Support Chickens For Checkups

Play of the Day - Circus Slide Into Home Plate

The last time we posted about college baseball, it was about a tear-inducing display of what sportsmanship is all about.

Today, it's about a WOW!

From Yahoo Sports;

Kownacki leaps over the catcher

Courtesy of Fordham Sports Info - Audio is supplied by Gregg Caserta - WFUV From Tuesday night's Fordham-Iona college baseball game. Fordham rallies from 9-1 down to tie game. With score tied at 9 in the bottom of the 8th and bases loaded, Chris Walker (#4) puts Fordham ahead with game-winning hit. The baserunner at first, Brian Kownacki (KAH-nack-ee), scores by leaping over Iona catcher James Beck, and landing on home plate with a handstand, to put Fordham ahead 12-9, which was the final score

Kownacki leaps over the catcher @ Yahoo! Video

Like, we said, WOW!

Get this kid into the big leagues!

This Date ... On The Garlic

22 April 2009... On The Garlic

Yeah, Why Not!

Dorothy Rabinowitz, You Didn't Listen ...

Would Rummy Call This "Stuff Happens"


22 April 2008... On The Garlic

McGovern Straight Talks The Straight Talker

Where's That Apple Runner When You Need Her?


22 April 2007... On The Garlic

WHCA Dinner - Hey, Check That Guy For A Pulse! - Rich Little ... Frank Dell ... Frank Dell ... Rich Little

Move Over Fonzie, McCain Wants A Crack At That Shark ... The Results - The Garlic Weekly Poll


22 April 2005... On The Garlic

Frist In Dispute Over Dem Bashing Telecast; Says Only Promised to "View Tape" for 'Justice Sunday'

Surveys In: New Pope A Winner - And So Is Mortal Sin

Top Ten Cloves: Things NBC Will Do To Lift The Sagging Today Show

The iPhone That Knew Too Much

"iPhone is back! The keeper of the light! All hail iPhone! All hail iPhone! Oh iPhone can you see by the dawn's early light..."

Grand Central Station Locker Creatures

Or: Wag The iPhone.



Well, there was quite the adventure, that has all the tech blogs abuzzin'.

Mind you, Redwood City (California) will never, ever, ever be mistaken for in Marrakesh, however there was every bit of cloak-and-dagger intrigue there recently, as the vaunted, legendary, super-secret, cross-your-heart-and-hope-to-die Apple Security, especially around a new product, was breached.

And, no reports that Steve Jobs, or anyone else at Apple, had to sing "Que Serra Serra", so the lost next-generation iPhone could whistle back, like little Hank McKenna, in the classic Hitcock film we lifted our the title of our post from, in order to be found.

Here's the deal;

A young Apple engineer was out with the new, next-generation iPhone, at a bar in Redwood City, pounded down a few beers, and, ended up leaving it behind...

The Katzenjammer Kids over at Gizmodo, alledgely paid big bucks for it, tore it apart and plastered it all over their website.

Other tech bloggers, like moths-to-a-flame, jumped on it, oohing-and aahing" over it.

Gizmodo later writes how Apple is, quite reservedly, asking for it back - Gizmodo wants three Micky Mantle, and one Sandy Koufax baseball cards from Apple, but Apple, quietly, sends one Harmon Killebrew.

Gizmodo later outs the young Apple engineer, in telling the tale of how the next-generation iPhone got lost, and throws in a good word for the kid (as, possibly, gallows were being built at One Infinite Loop)

Story even makes MSM local news, primarily, as fade-out, chuckling, banter-with-co-anchor babble.

And, we back up MG Siegler, as having the first "bar-on-bar" joke.

But ...

Hold The Phone, as it were.

Something smells iFishy here.

Almost, conspicuously so.

Apple is, notoriously like The Yakuza, when it comes to security for their products.

So, how does it, despite the great storyline, one of their prototype iPhones end up in a bar, in Redwood City?

Color me iSkeptical.

Yeah, Apple recently had the Macy's Day Parade hysteria, over the release of its' new iToy.

But that dropped down in the middle of growing gripes, and flowing ink, on how Apple doesn't play nice in the iSandbox, with developers.

When you're out to take over the world, you don't stop to ask if the person you just crushed if they are alright.

So, maybe, this lost next-generation iPhone happened to be a bone tossed out.

Apple bet, correctly, that it would end up in the hands of a tech geek, who would, upon deconstructing and examining it, trumpet it out on the World Wide Web, all the techies get boners, and all is well in the iWorld again.

Much like the outing of Valerie Plame, we will, likely, never know the full story here.

Oliver Willis rings in on this, in his "Hey Tech Journalists! Are You Even Trying To Cover Apple?";

But what really troubled me as a consumer of tech news and as an Apple fan, was the kind of shockwave that went through the tech press at news about Apple coming out from a non-Apple event. Imagine that, news can be broken about Apple without Steve Jobs wearing a turtleneck and telling us how “magical” and “easy” the device is to operate (and yes, I do want an iPad… it’s magical!). The tech press has much of the same ailment that affects the political press, a willingness to sit on their hands and be spoonfed press releases. So much of tech news consists of covering releases and trade events, without enough investigation inbetween.

And, there was one post on this, that rang eerily close to something we wrote recently;

That is, of course, if Job's didn't misread the "consuming media" thing, and doesn't suddenly turn into Adam Osborne.

Dan Frommer, at Business Insider, cautions "Don't Buy An iPhone Until June";

Apple isn't likely to unveil the new iPhone officially until its Worldwide Developers Conference, which usually takes place in June. And the new phone probably won't go on sale until June or July.

But it appears to have several features that will be worth the wait. So unless you absolutely need a new iPhone now, we'd wait.

Oh No!

Will we soon see headlines of "iPhone Sales Plummet!"

Or, will that young engineer get the Clemenza "Oh, Paulie... won't see him no more ..." treatment?

Que Sera Sera, baby ...


Bonus Riffs

Farhad Manjoo: That New iPhone Looks ... Just Like the Old iPhone ...Has Apple reached the limits of industrial design?

Juli Weiner: Luckiest Tech Blog in the World Was Just Given What Appears To Be the New iPhone

Josh Duboff: Lost iPhone Is Bad News For Apple, Awesome For Nick Denton


Bonus Bonus

Since we linked to the Doris Day version up above, here's the real kick-ass rendition of the tune;

Que Sera Sera - Sly & The Family Stone

Just A Closer Armageddon With Thee

Let's see, last year, Mommy Moose was riding the Dead Campaign Express... Currently, she's saddled-up with the Tea Party Express ...



Now, it seems, she out launching the Holy Roller Express.

And, I wonder, if they know about it, and will the Russians object to Sarah Palin's "Prayer Shield" in due time?

THE THEOCRATIC WING OF THE GOP...

A certain former half-term governor appears to be drifting even further away from the American mainstream. Over the weekend, appearing at an evangelical Christian women's conference in Louisville, Sarah Palin rejected the very idea of separation of church and state, a bedrock principle of American democracy.

She asked for the women -- who greeted her with an enthusiastic standing ovation -- to provide a "prayer shield" to strengthen her against what she said was "deception" in the media.

She denounced this week's Wisconsin federal court ruling that government observance of a National Day of Prayer was unconstitutional -- which the crowd joined in booing. She asserted that America needs to get back to its Christian roots and rejected any notion that "God should be separated from the state."

[snip]

The amusing aspect of this is the notion that the United States would return to its roots with support for National Day of Prayer observances. That's backwards -- Thomas Jefferson and James Madison explicitly rejected state-sponsored prayer days. I'll look forward to the conservative explanation of how the Founding Fathers were godless socialists.

I also can't wait to hear how right-wing voices who want smaller government believe it's appropriate for the federal government to issue decrees encouraging private American citizens to engage in worship.

Yikes!

The Wasilla Whiz Kid was really painted herself into a corner.

Since she "likes all the founding fathers", I would fork out for Pay-Per-View to see her explain this one away.

Greg Sargent, over on The Plum Line weighs in;

But I’ve got a full transcript of Palin’s remarks, and it’s worse than you might have thought: She cited the Founding Fathers as proof that God shouldn’t be separated from the state. Peter Smith, the Courier-Journal reporter who broke the story, sends over the full context of her remarks:

I beg you, Women of Joy, to bring light and be involved, loving America and praying for her. Really, it is our solemn duty. Praying for true spiritual awakening to overcome deterioration. That is where God wants us to be. Lest anyone try to convince you that God should be separated from the state, our Founding Fathers, they were believers. And George Washington, he saw faith in God as basic to life.

This is substandard history. In reality, the separation of church and state, thanks in part to the efforts of those very same Founding Fathers, is enshrined in the Bill of Rights

[snip]

There was a time when this sort of thing would provoke widespread media mockery and perhaps even be seen as a potential disqualifier for the presidency.

Ahh, not when you have a "Prayer Shield" there, Greg.

Where do you get a "Prayer Shield" - Home Depot, Lowes, Lands End Catalog?

Or, is a government thing, something provided by the Secret Service?

Is it something she demands, in her Contract Rider?

Crooks and Liars has video of the speech, and a link that could be more worrisome, "Heads Up: Prayer Warriors and Sarah Palin Are Organizing Spiritual Warfare to Take Over America".

Oh My!

We're talking Prayer Shields, and Prayer Warriors.

Sounds like a "District 9" kind of thing, sans the Sci-Fi stuff.

I knew there was a reason we tagged her "Elmera Gantry".

No Doubt, Peggy Noonan Is Very, Very Happy Today

Likely, it's a multi-orgasm day.

Her beloved Gipper, back up on the, well, the little, on-line screen.



John Meroney has a great post up, over on The Atlantic;

Ronald Reagan and James Dean: Rare Video From 1954

Today, it's an astonishing, even eerie, scene: the icon of modern American conservatism, whose rise to political prominence was galvanized by the cultural rebellion of the 1960s, fighting off an attack-at-gunpoint by the quintessential modern American rebel. But when "The Dark, Dark Hours" episode of General Electric Theater aired live from Hollywood on December 12, 1954, Ronald Reagan and James Dean were just two actors yet to find the roles that would define them.

No one has seen this episode in the decades since; the kinescope has been locked away, until now. My friend Wayne Federman, a writer for NBC's Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, unearthed the broadcast, condensing it from its original 23 minutes (without commercials) into the six-minute version you see below. (Federman is planning a retrospective of Reagan's television career for next year's Reagan centennial.)

[snip]

A decade before Reagan's political career took off, with a nationally televised speech supporting Barry Goldwater's presidential campaign, and months before Dean started filming Rebel Without a Cause and Giant, both of these Midwesterners seem to be rehearsing future roles—Reagan as the happy warrior who could, in a moment, turn fierce ("I am paying for this microphone, Mr. Green!") and Dean as teenage angst writ large ("You're tearing me apart!").

[snip]

Less than a year after this episode aired, Reagan was a major primetime presence whom millions tuned in to see each week. Dean was a tragic, what-might-have-been figure, dead at age 24 from an automobile crash.

Go check it out, and play the video, it's a hoot.


Bonus Peggy Noonan Riffs

Peggy Noonan, Next Stop, Willoughby!

It's All Junkies and Guns, Says Peggy Noonan

My Ronny Can Do Anything ...Or; "Oh Ronny, If Only We Had Your Steady Hand

This Date ... On The Garlic

21 April 2009... On The Garlic

Retro Garlic: Cirque de Military Analysts ... Pulitzer Prize Winner!

Jake Tapper Liked His Shit Sandwich

Fairytales and American Idol The Standard?

Tweety, The Head of the Democrats?


21 April 2008... On The Garlic

Snow Job

Crazy-Crazy Is Back, Pumping For McCain

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard In President's Limo, with Cokie Roberts Aboard, Going To See The Pope


21 April 2006... On The Garlic

Bolten Making The Keystone Cops “Look Organized” ... White House Flooded With High Tension, As President Undecided Today ...Early Morning Signs Leaned Towards Being “Uniter”; Bolten Having Second Thoughts About New Position

Top Ten Cloves: Ways Queen Elizabeth Plans On Celebrating Her 80th Birthday


21 April 2005... On The Garlic

Bush Weighs Move To Texas for Sadam Trial; Backs Iraqi Calls For Execution; Swift Delivery of Death Sentence If Guilty Guaranteed

Egypt Protests New U.S. Use of Pyramids

Top Ten Cloves: New Pope's Pet Peeves

Smoke'em, If You Got'em

Today was, as Kevin Drum's post reminded me, "Weed Day", and beset with allergies, I don't think lighting one up was going to be much help.

However, a link in the post did enlighten me to something that would come up, now-and-then, whenever I saw it referenced.

That being, what hell is "420"?



Ryan Grim, on Huffington Post, tells the story;

420 Meaning: The True Story Of How April 20 Became 'Weed Day'

The origin of the term 420, celebrated around the world by pot smokers every April 20th, has long been obscured by the clouded memories of the folks who made it a phenomenon.

The Huffington Post chased the term back to its roots and was able to find it in a lost patch of cannabis in a Point Reyes, California forest. Just as interesting as its origin, it turns out, is how it spread.

[snip]

The flyer came complete with a 420 back story: "420 started somewhere in San Rafael, California in the late '70s. It started as the police code for Marijuana Smoking in Progress. After local heads heard of the police call, they started using the expression 420 when referring to herb - Let's Go 420, dude!"

It had nothing to do with a police code -- though the San Rafael part was dead on. Indeed, a group of five San Rafael High School friends known as the Waldos - by virtue of their chosen hang-out spot, a wall outside the school - coined the term in 1971. The Huffington Post spoke with Waldo Steve, Waldo Dave and Dave's older brother, Patrick, and confirmed their full names and identities, which they asked to keep secret for professional reasons. (Pot is still, after all, illegal.)

The Waldos never envisioned that pot smokers the world over would celebrate each April 20th as a result of their foray into the Point Reyes forest.

[snip]

It goes like this: One day in the Fall of 1971 - harvest time - the Waldos got word of a Coast Guard service member who could no longer tend his plot of marijuana plants near the Point Reyes Peninsula Coast Guard station. A treasure map in hand, the Waldos decided to pluck some of this free bud.

The Waldos were all athletes and agreed to meet at the statue of Loius Pasteur outside the school at 4:20, after practice, to begin the hunt.

"We would remind each other in the hallways we were supposed to meet up at 4:20. It originally started out 4:20-Louis and we eventually dropped the Louis," Waldo Steve tells the Huffington Post.

The first forays out were unsuccessful, but the group kept looking for the hidden crop. "We'd meet at 4:20 and get in my old '66 Chevy Impala and, of course, we'd smoke instantly and smoke all the way out to Pt. Reyes and smoke the entire time we were out there. We did it week after week," says Steve. "We never actually found the patch.

Go read all of Grim's post, as there's much, much more to it (especially, if your are a "Dead Head").

Bonus Riff

Chew'em If You Got'em!

This Date ... On The Garlic

20 April 2009... On The Garlic

Suspicious Mind


20 April 2008... On The Garlic

McCain Waves The POW Flag

Cirque de Military Analysts

It's Only April, What's Card Selling?


20 April 2007... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Most Likely Graffiti Tags That Will Soon Appear On New Baghdad Wall


20 April 2006... On The Garlic

Bolten Wielding Hammer In Shaping New White House; More White House Bombshells - New Chief of Staff Takes Rove’s Place In WHIG, WHIIG; Longtime Bush Aide Said “Devastated”; After Shouting Match, Left Way To Get Back In By Performing Special Task

Top Ten Cloves: Things Bush Administration Will Do About Valerie Plame Attending White House Correspondents Dinner


20 April 2005... On The Garlic

Brady To Retire From Patriots; SNL Offers Long-Term Contract; "Only Downhill" As QB Left

Justice Dept. Moving on Red Sox Incident; Considers Terrorist Charges, Special Rendition For Interfering Fans

Top Ten Cloves: What ABC Will Replace Monday Night Football With

Top Ten Cloves: Ways To Pick Out Teabaggers Running In Boston Marathon

News Item: Thrilling Finish - Cheruiyot, Erkessa win 114th Boston Marathon

10. When the starting gun goes off, they don't start running, they pull out their guns

9. They have the directions for the course written on the palm of their hands

8. They're the ones, getting pumped up, watching Rush Limbaugh get down, and boogie with Lady Gaga

7. They're the one's with waivers, if injured, not to treat them with government-run healthcare

6. They're the ones boasting they're "locked and loaded" for Hearthbreak Hill

5. Their supporters are the ones with the misspelled signs

4. Instead of wearing their runners' number, they're the one's wearing "Palin-Bachmann 2012" buttons

3. They're the ones complaining that the marathon qualifying standards are "socialism"

2. They're the only ones running in tri-cornered hats

1. Throughout the race, they keep badgering the Kenyan runners, if they know where President Barack Obama was born


Bonus Teabagger Riffs

Well, It Is Oklahoma, After All

Teabaggers Can't Count, Either

Tea Time, Avec Beignets

A Cement Pond of Trouble

This Date ... On The Garlic

19 April 2008... On The Garlic

Empty Suits ... “I felt we’d been hosed" ...


19 April 2007... On The Garlic

Breaking News! Gonzales To Shift Testimony, Has New Excuse; AG To Cite 'Circuit City' Policy, Claim Replacement Attorneys Costing DOJ Less; Fired USA's Can Reapply in Ten Weeks


19 April 2006... On The Garlic

Breaking News! McClellan Points Finger At Bolten, Says Rough Period Ahead For White House; McClellan Surprised Resignation Accepted; Miffed No “Vigorous Defense” From President; Guesses “You Have To Screw Up A War” To Be Protected: Rove Moved, Will Concentrate Fulltime On Smearing

Top Ten Cloves: Reasons John McCain Is Cozying Up To President Bush and Jerry Falwell


19 April 2005... On The Garlic

Gingrich To Bump Delay, Retake Top House Role; Loophole in warranty of his Contract for America Gives Edge; Never Cancelled

McDonalds Celebrates 50th Birthday; Introducing New Finger Food Menu

Top Ten Cloves: If Detroit Free Press Had Mitch Albom Cover The Boston Marathon

Sure Enough, Obama Blamed For Ash Cloud

We didn't do a good job with our post last evening, 'Paging Bobby Jindal', about the erupting volcano in Iceland.



We should have known better, should have dug around, it was there ... It was there.

We wrote last evening;

I don't believe it has happened yet, but if this does drag on, you can plan that some Right Wing Freak Show Flying Monkey, Teabagger, or Faux News will find a way to blame this on Obama, the Democrats, mock Climate Change or, incredulously, tie it in to how the government is taking of heatlhcare (we can, perhaps, count on our seminal Ignorant Dolt, Michele Bachmann)

We were off, but not by that much, as this morning brings the news, thanks to Think Progress;

Limbaugh: Volcanic eruption in Iceland is God’s reaction to health care’s passage

Yesterday, hate radio host Rush Limbaugh talked about the volcanic eruption that’s affecting air travel over much of Europe, saying it was “God speaking” in response to the passage of health care:

You know, a couple of days after the health care bill had been signed into law Obama ran around all over the country saying, “Hey, you know, I’m looking around. The earth hadn’t opened up. There’s no Armageddon out there. The birds are still chirping.” I think the earth has opened up. God may have replied. This volcano in Iceland has grounded more airplanes — airspace has more affected — than even after 9/11 because of this plume, because of this ash cloud over Northern and Western Europe. At the Paris airport they’re telling people to head to the train station to catch trains out of France, and when people get to the train station they’re telling people, “There aren’t any seats until at least April 22nd,” basically a week from now. It’s got everybody in a shutdown. Earth has opened up. I don’t know whether it’s a rebirth or Armageddon. Hopefully it’s a rebirth, God speaking.

Is this more of a watershed moment, of Limbaugh muscling in, taking over Pat Robertson's patch of lunacy?

I don't quite follow El Jeffe de Dittoheads' logic.

I mean, for the sake of argument, why Iceland, what did they have to do with anything about our healthcare bill?

Especially, for the Flying Monkeys, for it to be, officially, Obama's fault, wouldn't it have to be an American volcano that erupted?

Wouldn't we have to see some red, white, and blue lava oozing out of it, the ash cloud canceling a Teabagger rally, or something?

Ann Althouse, defending the drug-addicted media clown, tries to slap Think Progress upside-the-head, for being "humorless", pointing that they didn't call out Obama:

Somehow Think Progress has no trouble seeing that Obama had to be joking when he said "There’s no Armageddon out there" but when Rush Limbaugh pointed to the Icelandic volcano that could only be crackpot religion.

This is what the President said, after signing the healthcare bill, which came after the War-Of-The-Worlds with the PartyofNoicans, the Teabaggers, and the Flying Monkeys of the Right Wing Freak Show, who called it a government takeover, death panels, and, of course, Armageddon;

“I’m not exaggerating. Leaders of the Republican Party called the passage of this bill Armageddon. Armageddon! End of freedom as we know it,” he told a rally in Iowa City.

“So after I signed the bill, I looked around to see if there were any asteroids falling, some cracks opening up in the earth? Turned out it was a nice day. Birds were chirping. Folks were strolling down the Mall,” he said.

This is what the Flying Monkeys do.

They ignore facts.

Nice try there Ann, but the President didn't pull his riff out of thin air - you left out the context.

And, I think we covered the "crack-pot religion" thing up above.

The Cheeseburger That Sweats (h/t Barry Crimmins) said it, which means Matt Sludge will, likely, scream it on his headlines, the Right Wing Freak Show will start picking it up (as evidenced with Althouse), Faux News will be chirping about it, and, before you know it, some mainstreamer, like a David Gregory, or Jake Tapper (or Mike Allen - He'll print anything!), will insert it into a comment, ask an administration official to confirm or deny it, and off we go ...

The week's meme ...


Bonus Rushbo Riffs

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overhead While The Nobel Peace Prize Committee Reviewed Rush Limbaugh's Nomination

Jesus, It Sounded Like A Violation of the Rico Act!

NFL Singing Rush's Tune?

Wait Until The Ministry of Silly Walks Hears About This!

Minister: (rising) Mr Pudey, (he walks about behind the desk in a very silly fashion) the very real problem is one of money. I'm afraid that the Ministry of Silly Walks is no longer getting the kind of support it needs. You see there's Defense, Social Security, Health, Housing, Education, Silly Walks ... they're all supposed to get the same. But last year, the Government spent less on the Ministry of Silly Walks than it did on National Defence. Now we get £348,000,000 a year, which is supposed to be spent on all our available products. (he sits down) Coffee?

Mr Pudey: Yes please.

Minister: (pressing intercorn) Now Mrs Two-Lumps, would you bring us in two coffees please?

Intercom Voice: Yes, Mr Teabag.

Minister: ... Out of her mind. Now the Japanese have a man who can bend his leg back over his head and back again with every single step. While the Israelis... ah, here's the coffee.

Monty Python's The Ministry of Silly Walks

Now add taking a taxi to the Minister's woes.

He can lump it in with all the other troubles the Icelandic volcano ash is causing.



Being that he is already "disheartened", that fans in England think it "the 15th greatest comedy sketch of all time", John Cleese, likely, is not going to be happy with all the references to the Monty Python "Minister of Silly Walks" sketch.

Every Mode but Silly Walks to Get Around

LONDON — For the man who worked at the Ministry of Silly Walks, travel chaos across the Continent was only a modest hurdle.

John Cleese, who starred in the high-stepping sketch for Monty Python, was stranded in Oslo on Friday after appearing on a television talk show. With flights grounded by the volcanic ash over northern Europe, Mr. Cleese found another way home to London: He caught a cab.

With no planes flying and no way to get back by train or boat, Mr. Cleese’s agent in Norway, Kjetil Kristoffersen, called a friend who drives a taxi, and he agreed to take Mr. Cleese to Brussels.

[snip]

Mr. Cleese’s journey, with a fare of about $5,140, may have been costly, but it was not necessarily the most cumbersome trip travelers endured. With flights canceled and trains running out of space, many people resorted to their own ingenuity.

You can already hear the bevy of keyboards clicking, wannabe writers penning a "Made-for-Television' movie of this cab ride, or, what surely will be, scores of other off-beat tales that will settle in with the volcanic ash.

Especially, since scienctests are saying that "Iceland volcano eruption could last months", as well as other, bigger problems;

However, as Science Fair noted previously, the Eyjafjallajokull volcano isn't necessarily the main problem. It's Katla, Iceland's noisier neighbor, that's the concern. If lava flowing from Eyjafjallajokull melts the glaciers that hold down the top of Katla, then Katla could blow its top, pumping gigantic amounts of ash into the atmosphere.

Cleese was lucky to have a connection, others are not;

Demand for train tickets between Paris and London caused the Eurostar Web site to crash several times Friday morning, and long lines formed at ticket counters at Victoria bus station in London, where buses leave for Paris, Amsterdam and Munich via the tunnel under the English Channel.

[snip]

Some people resorted to a digital version of the old-fashioned hitchhiker’s thumb. Liftshare.com, a Web site based in Britain that matches drivers with passengers, experienced “a very marked increase” in international destinations served since British airports shut down, featuring destinations as far afield as Berlin, Warsaw, Vienna, Stockholm and Croatia, said Cecilia Bromley-Martin, the communications manager.

I think we might have only one solution for this problem - Chuck Norris.

After all, according to Chuck Norris Facts;

Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice

Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.

The Great Wall of China was originally created to keep Chuck Norris out. It failed miserably.

When Chuck Norris does a push-up, he isn't lifting himself up, he's pushing the Earth down.

The Bermuda Triangle used to be the Bermuda Square, until Chuck Norris Roundhouse kicked one of the corners off.

Chuck Norris does not kick ass and take names. In fact, Chuck Norris kicks ass and assigns the corpse a number. It is currently recorded to be in the billions.

Chuck Norris once shot down a German fighter plane with his finger, by yelling, "Bang!"

As President Roosevelt said: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself. And Chuck Norris."

Bonus Riffs

Ron Beasley: Grounded for Decades?

Sarah Gordon - The ultimate barbecue: Iceland's volcano becomes the country's 'hottest' eatery

Greg Neale: How an Icelandic volcano helped spark the French Revolution