The Garlic

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Minced Garlic - Keith Olbermann Special Comment ... Smackdown!

This is scary.

It's scary that she said it ...

And it's even scarier that she's defending saying it ...

I don't know, is this like a Britney Spears thing? Is there anyone around Geraldine Ferraro - handlers, staff, family - that can pull her aside and ask WTF?

Throw cold water in her face? ...

Slap her, if necessary?

Or is this a long festering, soul-eating, bitterness, of being saddled with Walter Mondale in her historic run, and now, in her "golden years", she has sit on the sidelines of this years' truly history-shattering election?

And Hillary ...

No surprises there ... Anything she can hang on Obama is, in the Clinton book, a good day

So what the kitchen sink she's having tossed around has Stars and Bars decals on it ...

So what the kitchen sink she's using this week comes from the "White Only" museum ...

One of Obama's staffers calls Hillary a monster, and, Christ, you thought the country was collapsing ...

Ferraro channels David Duke, and Hillary barely raises and eyebrow.

Perhaps due to the magnitude of this ... The odiousness of it ... The disgust of it that MSNBC Countdown host Keith Olbermann just couldn't sit idle ... Couldn't sit silent ... And, unlike the Clinton Campaign, couldn't let this sit unchallenged and totally vilified.

In your tepid response to this Ferraro disaster, you may sincerely think you are disenthralling an enchanted media, and righting an unfair advance bestowed on Senator Obama.

You may think the matter has closed with Representative Ferraro's bitter, almost threatening resignation.

But in fact, Senator, you are now campaigning, as if Barack Obama were the Democrat, and you… were the Republican.

And Ferraro's weak-ass whining that she's the victim in this;

No matter what Ms. Ferraro now claims, no one took her comments out of context.

She had made them on at least three separate occasions, then twice more on television this morning. Just hours ago, on NBC Nightly News, she denied she had made the remarks in an interview -- only at a paid political speech.

In fact, the first time she spoke them, was ten days before the California newspaper published them... not in a speech, but in a radio interview.

On February 26th, quoting...

"If Barack Obama were a white man, would we be talking about this, as a potential real problem for Hillary? If he were a woman of any color, would he be in this position that he's in? Absolutely not."

The context was inescapable.

And this;

Somebody tells her that simply disagreeing with and rejecting the remarks is sufficient. And she should then call, "regrettable", words that should make any Democrat retch.

And that she should then try to twist them, first into some pox-on-both-your-houses plea to 'stick to the issues,' and then to let her campaign manager try to bend them beyond all recognition, into Senator Obama's fault.

And thus these advisers give Congresswoman Ferraro nearly a week in which to send Senator Clinton's campaign back into the vocabulary... of David Duke.

"Any time anybody does anything that in any way pulls this campaign down and says let's address reality and the problems we're facing in this world, you're accused of being racist, so you have to shut up.

"Racism works in two different directions. I really think they're attacking me because I'm white.

"How's that?"

How's that?

Apart from sounding exactly like Rush Limbaugh attacking the black football quarterback Donovan McNabb?

Apart from sounding exactly like what Ms. Ferraro said about another campaign, nearly twenty years ago?

Quote:

"President Reagan suggested Tuesday that people don't ask Jackson tough questions because of his race. And former representative Geraldine A. Ferraro (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that because of his "radical" views, "if Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race."

So... apart from sounding like insidious racism that is at least two decades old?

Apart from rendering ridiculous, Senator Clinton's shell-game about choosing Obama as Vice President?

Apart from this evening's resignation letter?

"I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what is at stake in this campaign.

"The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you."

Apart from all that?

Well. It sounds as if those advisors want their campaign to be associated with those words, and the cheap… ignorant… vile… racism that underlies every syllable...

And that Geraldine Ferraro has just gone free-lance.

God help us if this is the case, and Hillary Clinton is signing on to it.

Read Keith Olbermann's Special Comment

Watch the video of Keith Olbermann's Special Comment

Well, At Least We Should Get Some New Lies ... When He Launches Against Iran

Na, Na, Na, Na
Na, Na, Na, Na
Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye!

So long, nefarious meetings in Prague

See ya later billowing Mushroom Clouds

The cross has been plunged into the heart

The fat lady is singing her aria

Exhaustive review finds no link between Saddam and al Qaida

"An exhaustive review of more than 600,000 Iraqi documents that were captured after the 2003 U.S. invasion has found no evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime had any operational links with Osama bin Laden's al Qaida terrorist network.

The Pentagon-sponsored study, scheduled for release later this week, did confirm that Saddam's regime provided some support to other terrorist groups, particularly in the Middle East, U.S. officials told McClatchy. However, his security services were directed primarily against Iraqi exiles, Shiite Muslims, Kurds and others he considered enemies of his regime.

President Bush and his aides used Saddam's alleged relationship with al Qaida, along with Iraq's supposed weapons of mass destruction, as arguments for invading Iraq after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld claimed in September 2002 that the United States had "bulletproof" evidence of cooperation between the radical Islamist terror group and Saddam's secular dictatorship.

The new Pentagon study isn't the first to refute earlier administration contentions about Saddam and al Qaida.

A September 2006 report by the Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that Saddam was "distrustful of al Qaida and viewed Islamic extremists as a threat to his regime, refusing all requests from al Qaida to provide material or operational support."

Boy, would I like to be a fly-on-the-wall, in either Cheney's office when the news hit, or at the next PNAC meeting.

But then again, this crew of thugs never let facts and the truth get in their way.

No doubt, it probably won't be an unwise bet, that the Rightwing Freak Show, and the Neocon Nitwits will continue to employ this bullshit, and equally undoubtedly, will cite articles that have already debunked the lies.

When there's a mission to accomplish, no sense wasting time with cumbersome details.

So, there's likely, at least, one faction of the Bush Grindhouse that welcomes this news - The Lincoln Group.

After the shining work ginning up the misinformation for the occupation of Iraq, they may very well be tapped to gin up some new lies and propaganda for the launch against Iran.

Likely, since Iran is building a nuclear program, they'll try to hang on to the Mushroom Cloud thing.

There'll probably be new, breaking reports of ties, just discovered, from the documents of dead or captured terrorists, that shows ties between Al Qaeda and Ahmadinejad, though they'll have to use a different European city, other than Prague, if they want to create some non-existent meetings.

And, of course, they'll brush aside this report, citing the repetitious party line of how the decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the correct course of action.

And, if a lap-it-up, MSM reporter actually presses The Commander Guy on it, you can also bet safely, The Commander Guy will reply, citing the "available intelligence" to justify his actions.

You know, the "available intelligence" they made-up and fabricated.

And there will be no shame or irony showing when he does it.

Update - Breaking News!

As I was getting ready to post this, an email arrived containing the following news;

Pentagon Report on Saddam's Iraq Censored?

ABC News' Jonathan Karl Reports: The Bush Administration apparently does not want a U.S. military study that found no direct connection between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda to get any attention. This morning, the Pentagon cancelled plans to send out a press release announcing the report's release and will no longer make the report available online.

The report was to be posted on the Joint Forces Command website this afternoon, followed by a background briefing with the authors. No more. The report will be made available only to those who ask for it, and it will be sent via U.S. mail from Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia.

It won't be emailed to reporters and it won't be posted online.

Hmmm ...

Bonus Riffs

Emptywheel: SSCI Leaks

The Carpetbagger Report: Putting to rest the non-existent Saddam-al Qaeda link (again)

John Cole: A Comparison

Paul Kiel: Today's Must Read

Bonus Bonus Lincoln Group Riffs

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

Rumsfeld Blames Contractor, If Media Plant Stories True, But Defends Outsourcing Program; Says "Still Gathering Facts"; If It Turns Out Positive, Will Be Adopted Into New 'National Victory Strategy' Plan

Secretary Says No Reflection That We Don't Know What's Going On; More Bush Troubles As Rice Backtracks, Corrects Comments, Blames Lincoln Group; Meant To Say Was Surprised Levees Breached, Not By Hamas Election Victory; Backs Pace That There's No Civil War

Top Ten Cloves: Things Hillary Clinton and Howard Wolfson Think Barack Obama Can Do To Pass National Security Threshold

News Item: VeepTalk; or, a Crock of Clinton

10. Claim Eliot Spitzer as an Obama Superdelegate

9. Fill in as host of Tucker, after Tucker Carlson leaves show

8. Get Rush Limbaugh to urge his listeners to vote Obama

7. Rub his stomach and his head, at the same time, for at least 5-minutes

6. Take a trip with Sinbad and Sheryl Crow

5. Get the 3AM Sleeping Girl to switch and say she's a Clinton supporter

4. Give Tina Fey a good "Bitch Slapping"

3. If he really has the cojones to be Commander in Chief, criticize Chelsea Clinton

2. Have at least one, good crying jag before one of the remaining primaries

1. Go and beat up Admiral Fallon, for not wanting to attack Iran

Bonus Hillary Riffs

Frank Rich: The Audacity of Hopelessness

Good Thing Frank Rich Doesn't Work For MSNBC!

Edward Copeland: A trip down Hillary lane -- 2006 edition

Sam Youngman: Clinton camp says Obama must pass 'national security threshold' to be veep

Hillary's Smelling Burning Rubber! Or: The Garlic Was Right - Hillary Has Built Her "Field of Voices"

If Congress Does Take Up Impeachment, Here's A Piece of Evidence

Now, this was the Gridiron Club, so it's supposed, according to its' tradition, to be lively, jovial and have the ability to poke fun at oneself.

Humor and satire is, always, in the eyes and ears of the beholder.

So how are we to take this - The Commander Guy, singing off tune, a list of his failures, his Administration's failures, his corruption of the law (a line he sings about "Scooter escaping the prosecutor"), the corruption of the Office of the President?

As evidenced in the long, two-term presidency he heisted, it is a arrogant middle finger aimed at the media, the citizens, the world.

Here's the You Tube video of it (and it's choppy camera work, due to, primarily, media is banned from the event)

From Connie Singleton, who posted the video;

"President George W. Bush donned a cowboy hat and sang an early goodbye to Washington on Saturday night with a performance that lampooned White House journalists and Vice President Dick Cheney among others.

Bush surprised cabinet secretaries, diplomatic officials and journalists at the annual Gridiron dinner by taking the stage and giving the first public singing performance of his eight-year presidency, which ends in January 2009.

To the tune of country song "Green Green Grass of Home," Bush sang of longing for his ranch in Crawford, Texas and his dog Barney.

"And there to meet me is my mama and my papa, down the lane I look and here comes Barney, heart of gold and breath like honey; it's good to touch the brown brown grass of home."

Bush, singing only slightly off key, then turned to some of the long-term members of his team including Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"For there's Condi and Dick, my old compadre, talking to me about some oil rich Saudi, but soon I'll touch the brown brown grass of home."

"That old White house is behind me, I am once again carefree, don't have to worry 'bout a crisis in Pyongyang. Down the lane I look, Dick Cheney is strolling with documents he'd been withholding, it's good to touch the brown brown grass of home."

Bush told the audience, which erupted in applause and gave him a standing ovation, that they had witnessed "the first and final performance of George Bush and the Busharoos."

The Gridiron Club holds an annual dinner at which journalists put on songs and skits lampooning Democrats and Republicans alike.

Bonus Riffs

View Keith Olbermann's take on it

Greg Mitchell, on The Huffington Post with "Bush at Gridiron Dinner -- No Jokes About Missing WMD This Time!"

Mark Silva, on Swamp Politics with "Bush's Texan farewell: Brown, brown grass of home"

The Date ... On The Garlic

Garlic History - On This Day

12 March 2007... On The Garlic

Top Ten Cloves: Things The French Are Worried About With New 'Desert Louvre" in Dubai

Hit The Road Dick, And Don't You Come Back, No More, No More, No More, No More ... The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll

12 March 2006... On The Garlic

Update - Now 32-Hours Left To Vote For The Garlic; Help Lift The Garlic Into The 2005 Koufax Award Finals!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

When Former Attorney Generals Soar

Then: $52 Million-Plus Payday for Christie's Old Boss

"Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft was one of five private attorneys whom Christie hand-picked to monitor the implant makers. Now Ashcroft's D.C.-based firm is poised to collect more than $52 million in 18 months, among the biggest payouts reported for a federal monitor.

Disclosed in SEC filings, the arrangement calls for Zimmer Holdings of Indiana to pay Ashcroft Group Consulting Services an average monthly fee between $1.5 million and $2.9 million. The figure includes a flat payment of $750,000 to the firm's "senior leadership group," individual legal and consulting services billed at up to $895 an hour, and as much as $250,000 a month for expenses including private airfare, lodging and meals."

Today: Ashcroft Claims 'No Conflict' in $50M No-Bid Contract

"There is not a conflict," Ashcroft said. "There is not an appearance of conflict."

And, he did it, we assume, with a straight face.

"Ashcroft said that outside monitors, which have been used increasingly in corporate fraud cases in recent years, save taxpayers money by avoiding costly prosecutions and forcing companies to follow the law.

"This hearing cost far more in tax dollars than my monitorship will cost, because it did not cost taxpayers one thin dime," Ashcroft testified. Under the arrangements, the cost of the monitoring is borne by the company, which agrees to pay to avoid criminal prosecution."

Boy, how does someone, not in the Bush Grindhouse, get a gig like this?

Bonus Ashcroft

BBC: Ashcroft rallies troops with song

YouTube - Let the Eagle Soar - Music and Lyrics by John Ashcroft

(And wait until you get to the refrain!)

Before the drapes ... And the wink-and-nod payout

Larisa Alexandrovna: Alabama Democrats are Under Attack

This is getting beyond ridiculous!

The Injustice Department has already bagged one Democrat Governor, and may be setting their sights on a second, and now this screaming news from Larisa Alexandrovna;

Alabama Democrats are Under Attack

"Now for the latest nightmare - the brown-shirts arrive. Honestly, this is so unreal, I have no words (emphasis mine):

"Montgomery, AL - Alabama Democratic Party Executive Director Jim Spearman today called into question the method by which U.S. Marshals attempted to serve legislators subpoenas to appear to testify in a grand jury proceeding. Reporters were apparently tipped off by calls stating U.S. Marshals were coming to the Alabama Statehouse to serve some legislators. "The drama surrounding these actions and the U.S.

Department of Justice's disruption of a legislative session for the routine serving of a summons to appear in court sends a poor signal to Alabama citizens who are already complaining about partisan political interference into the federal prosecution of former Democratic Governor Don Siegelman," says Spearman.

These ladies and gentlemen have not been charged with a crime and could have been served by other means in their local communities, not in Montgomery during a legislative session in front of TV cameras and reporters." Spearman stated. State law actually prohibits serving members of the legislature while they are in session. Section 29-1-7 of the Alabama Code protects members from this kind of action by U.S. Marshals yesterday. In fact, the Marshals could have violated this law by their disruption of the session and have been charged with a misdemeanor."

Larisa has been all over what's going on in Alabama and you can catch up on the Siegelman Case here

So has Scott Horton, over at Harpers

And for the primer ...

The Permanent Republican Majority Part I

The Permanent Republican Majority Part II

The Permanent Republican Majority Part III

He-Man Heaved!

He wore bow ties and heroically battled predatory homosexuals.

He danced with the stars.

In the end, perhaps, he was just the ying, to Rita Cosby's yang.

Word came out the MSNBC is tossing Tucker Carlson, host of the black-holed time-slotted "Tucker" of 6PM (or, perhaps, it is Tucker himself that made it a black-hole time-slot).

Now, this is a story that, perhaps, would have been hot and big yesterday, and it was building to that until about 1PM, when the first of the avalanche of news burst out on Client No. 9, the New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, and his romp in prostitution land.

Boy, considering Spitzer's career and background, think of the cross-pollination of media, if it came out that Spitzer beat up a pimp in a public restroom?

Tucker could have had him on for the hour, and compare He-Man notes with the Governor.

Perhaps Tweety would have jumped on the bandwagon, and gushed about the Governor's manly scent, his Aqua Velva.

No, no such luck.

More words indicate the Tucker is being replaced with a show, hosted by the dancing, Bush-loving, intrepid reporter, David Gregory.

Oh boy!

I either need to put cable in the kitchen, or bring my dinner into the den, so I don't miss a minute of this riveting drivel.

Somebody start the counter, on how many time "Stretch" (Bush's pet name of him) pushes back against guests that diss The Commander Guy, and/or the Bush Grindhouse.

At least, for the moment, they held the line of giving Rachel Maddow the keys to the building, though, no doubt, as has been the case, they'll have her name stenciled on chair, on the set of Gregory's new gig (Just wondering, does Maddow have the same deal as Pat Buchanan, in that, she has to appear on nearly every MSNBC broadcast?)

Stay tuned, Batfans ...

It's A TuckerPalooza!

Trex: Don’t Everybody Cry at Once

Washington Whispers: Oh, No! It's Out With the Bow

Wonkette: Tucker Carlson Still Not Gay!

Think Progress: Save Tucker?

Drum Roll Please ... For Tucker Carlson - He's Jumping The Shark!

More On Client No. 9 ... Brought To You By "On Cue"

I found it especially refreshing today, that there stood the Mississippi Primary, if only so we didn't hear the words "Eliot Spitzer" pass through the lips of every news anchor, every talking head, about every 30-seconds.

And a late day bonus of the Bush Grindhouse firing Admiral Fallon (more on that coming soon) certainly went to tamping down, though not completely clearing it off the radar

After the bucket of water dumped over heads yesterday, on the New York Governor' lascivious behavior, everyone unbunched their panties today, and hit their floor marks.

The late night television comics all took their shots.

Delivering, on cue, with stern editorials, alternately slamming and tisk-tisking Client 9, were The New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

The states' GOP hacks were huffing and puffing with threats and deadlines, to either get out of town, or we'll throw you out of town.

And the Governor's old enemy, Wall Street, was hooping and hollering in joy.

Last, but not lest, all of the above was the reason (or the excuse) to drag the old dirt bag, Heidi Fleiss, back to center stage and she pontificated her worldly wisdom on the whole mess.

Sigh ...

In the event anyone was nervous as this scandal unfolded, fear not, Barry Crimmins, heroically, took the reigns of the Empire State and guided her through the night (and with some excellent Executive decision-making).

Oh yeah, more and more, questions are being raised about just what the hell is going on.

Today's Spitzerpalooza, some of the better posts found

Larisa Alexandrovna: Remember the days when being linked to a straight, female, adult hooker was political suicide?

Larisa Alexandrovna: Spitzer's selective prosecution?

Digby: Parting Shot?

Richard Kim: The Spitzer Scandal

John Cole: A Comparison

And here is The Best - Must Read post, from the pen (or keyboard) of Attytood

Their ding-a-lings: Chuck Berry, Eliot Spitzer and the bizarre history of the Mann Act

This Date ... On The Garlic

Garlic History - On This Day

11 March 2006... On The Garlic

Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves

11 March 2005... On The Garlic

Groundhog Lied; Investigation Launched

Jackson Family In Deal To Launch New Wine

Top Ten Cloves: Why You Don't Want To Become A Fat Actress

Monday, March 10, 2008

Retro Garlic: Color Me Client 9, From Out of Office

WOW!

Boy, and today was only the first news conference.

We'll have to wait and see if there's cheesy video, with cheap props, ala our title inspiration, Plan 9 from Outer Space.

And to stay with the outer space theme a few more minutes, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer being caught up with a prostitute, well, that big bang this afternoon was Spitzer's career getting blown up, much like that wayward spy satellite a few weeks ago.

And boy, what a bang.

Wiretaps.

Text messages.

They have a action-packed transcript.

Mr. Crimefighter ... Mr. Authority, getting down, not just once, randomly, but with a standing account!

As Barry Crimmins put it, in his "Meet John Dough", "So this is the equivalent of Elliot Ness getting caught knee-walking drunk at a speakeasy."

Or bmaz, from Firedoglake, with "Jane reminds us that Spitzer's campaign theme was to "Bring The Passion Back To Albany".

No Mens Room toe-tapping for Spitzer, it was top shelf, DC hotels, having the prostitute taking the train down there from NYC.

Hmmm ... Was on on the stereo - Love Potion No.9?

And for the tinfoil hats, the hotel room number Spitzer's assignation took place was 871.

Move the "1" to the front and you have "187", which is a code "used by law enforcement officials, particularly in the U.S. state of California. The number is used for this purpose because Section 187 of the California Penal Code defines the crime of murder."

Hmmm ... The killing of a career, perhaps?

And all the speculation is not if, but when Spitzer bows out of office.

But there are some question, most notably, Jane Hamsher brings up good ones.

Oh yeah, the Retro Part?

Spitzer Now Sets Sights On Crayola Scandal; Says Could Be Bigger Than Sony Case; Charges Company With Predatory Practices

Oh, if only it was so innocent ...

It's A Spitzerpalooza!

You can visit Memeorandum, which is chock full of Spitzer's romp on the wild side

ABC News Blotter: It Wasn't the Sex; Suspicious $$ Transfers Led to Spitzer; Officials Say Spitzer Is 'Client 9' in a Federal Complaint Against the Prostitution Ring

TPMmuckraker: How The "Emperor's Club" Probe Started

Glenn Greenwald: Who cares if Eliot Spitzer hires prostitutes?

Radar On-Line: Clinton Yanks Spitzer Endorsement Faster Than A Hooker Yanks... Well, You Get It

Marc Ambinder: Client 9's Options

"Can we have our $40,000 back?"

Our Etch-A-Sketch Boy was out on the circuit yesterday, at University of Iowa and, well, it didn't go so smoothly.

From KCRG-TV;

"It quickly became a hostile evening for Rove.

Protesters rallied together against Rove hours before he even took the stage.

"He's a traitor for outing a CIA agent and he's the one who really crafted the rhetoric for the invasion of Iraq," UI student Keri George said.

When Rove tried to start speaking, jeers from the crowd immediately interrupted him."

And this, from Think Progress;

During the lecture, Rove lashed out at hostile questioners, telling one man his comment showed “a simple, stupid mind” and chastised what he said were “stupid statements” from the audience. Rove also said that former Amb. Joseph Wilson “lied” about his 2002 trip to Niger and accused an audience member of “perpetuating libel” on the U.S. military for asking about the real number of deaths in the Iraq war:

Responding to a question about CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson’s outing, Rove, seemingly joking, added:

"I haven’t been indicted yet, but I fully expect to be by the end of the year."

At the end of the talk, an audience member shouted at Rove: “Can we have our $40,000 back?” Rove replied: “No, you can’t.”

Seems to be shaping up for a Twilight Zone type of life of Herr Karl ... You remember, the episode where the degenerate criminal (Larry Blyden) dies and thinks he's gone to heaven, but he's really in hell (with the devil portrayed by the rotund Sebastian Cabot).

Well, we can only hope ...

Bonus Rovian Riffs

Oxymoron of the Day: Karl Rove at an Idea Festival

Top Ten Cloves: Things Markos Moulitsas Will Have To Look Out For When Working With Karl Rove At Newsweek

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

This Date ... On The Garlic

Garlic History - On This Day

10 March 2006... On The Garlic

Breaking News! Beta-Mode Settlement By Google Draws Disappointment

Top Ten Cloves: Other Things That NASA's Cassini May Find On Saturn's Moon Enceladus

10 March 2005... On The Garlic

Bush Team Prepares Call For New Axis of Evil Member

Apple Takes Blog Ruling As New Club On Criticism and Dissent

Top Ten Cloves: Signs That Congress Is On Steroids

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Retro Garlic - What Waters?

"And what in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?" Rains asks Bogart.

"My health," Bogart answers. "I came to Casablanca for the waters."

"What waters?" asks Rains. "We're in the desert."

"I was misinformed."

The movie, Casablanca (1942)

Well, flash forward over 60+ years and a lot of soldiers, and the U.S. Military were "misinformed" about the water they were provided with in Iraq - thanks to our Vice President's former company, Halliburton, via their offshoot, KBR.

This, today from the International Herald Tribune;

AP Exclusive: US troops may have become sick in Iraq from contaminated water

Some choice gems;

"Dozens of U.S. troops in Iraq fell sick at bases using "unmonitored and potentially unsafe" water supplied by the military and a contractor once owned by Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, the Pentagon's internal watchdog says.

The Defense Department's inspector general's report, which could be released as early as Monday, found water quality problems between March 2004 and February 2006 at three sites run by contractor KBR Inc., and between January 2004 and December 2006 at two military-operated locations."

Apparently, it wasn't enough for the Bush Grindhouse to hand out no-bid contracts, they had to release these greedheads from basic quality standards as well.

The Retro Part, from The Garlic Tuesday, 15 August, 2006

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

God, we can't be done with these thugs soon enough

Bonus Riffs

FILM; You Must Remember This . . .

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

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”

Top Ten Cloves: Difficulties DC Comics' Batman May Have Fighting Osama bin Laden

Developing Story - Polar Bears Added To Iraq Options; Bush Administration Wavering On Polar Bears; Considering Employing In Iraq, War Against Terror; Rove Claims He Also Has “The Science”, Says Bears “Will Do Fine In Desert Heat”

This Just In! White House Applying Katrina Strategy To Med Center Neglect; To Gauge Neglect, Problems, President Set To Fly Over Walter Reed, Bldg. 18 Today; Bush Promising Action, "To Press Face Against Window"; Recommends DOD Follow Katrina Strategy

Flutie Sends "Cease-and-Desist" Letter To Media Over 'Hail Mary' References Regarding Surge; Diminutive QB Longtime Copyright Holder; "It Still Feeds My Family"; Says Open To Negotiate On Usage

Ain't That The Cat's Ass ... Hillary Hits Snooze Alarm On 3AM Ad

Talk about amateur hour...

Monster Hillary's great fearmongering ad, the 3AM "Vote For Me or You'll Die" call, as it turns out, used eight-year-old stock footage.

And the little girl sleeping, unaware that Hillary is pointing a terrorist attack at her house, is now a 17-going-18-year-old Barack Obama supporter, Casey Knowles.

"It's really sort of ironic that my image would be used to advocate for Hillary when I myself do not," said Casey.

She's not just going to vote for him, but also has been working on his campaign;

"I've been campaigning for Barack Obama for a few months now," she said. "I was actually a precinct captain at the caucuses a few months ago. I attended his rally a few months ago and I'm a very, very avid supporter."

"I think it would be really wonderful if me and Barack Obama could get together and make a nice counter ad," she laughed."

What, were Michelle Obama, and her daughters, unavailable for the commercial shoot?

Ain't that the cat's ass ...

Considering her LoveFest with Here's Johnny Boy McCain this past week, I suppose we can expect to see ads with Hillary, all all dolled up like June Cleaver, in a snazzy business suit at 3AM, checking in on a sleeping McCain.

Bonus Riffs

YouTube: 3am Phone Ad Girl is Obama Supporter

Libby/Newshoggers: 3:00am girl answers the question

The New Hillary Soundtrack

A little late reading?

In The "Admit It, It Crossed Your Mind" Department

Boy, how many times has this crossed through your mind, when it came to John Denver?

John Denver karaoke sparks Thai killing spree

"A gunman in Thailand shot-dead eight neighbours, including his brother-in-law, after tiring of their karaoke versions of popular songs, including John Denver’s Country Roads.

A neighbour said that the karaoke group normally sang Thai pop and southern Thai ballads, but one particular western tune could be heard often - John Denver’s ‘Country Roads’.

Country Roads is a hugely popular song in south east Asia and the neighbour said the revellers had been singing it over and over again."

And how is this for irony;

In 2007, ten years after his death, John Denver's "Rocky Mountain High" was named Colorado's co-official song. It shares the honor with that old ode to the state, "Where the Columbines Grow".

Yikes!

The Ignornant Congressman from Iowa

This is nothing but pure, unadulterated hateful ignorance.

Rep. Steve King smears Obama’s name says: the al-Qaida, and the radical Islamists and their supporters, will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11

"I don't want to disparage anyone because of their, their race, their ethnicity, their name - whatever their religion their father, father might have been," King said just before doing just that.

"I'll just say this that when you think about the optics of a Barack Obama potentially getting elected President of the United States -- and I mean, what does this look like to the rest of the world? What does it look like to the world of Islam?

"And I will tell you that, if he is elected president, then the, the radical Islamists, the, the al-Qaida, and the radical Islamists and their supporters, will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11….

"It does matter, his middle name does matter. It matters because they read a meaning into that in the rest of the world, it has a special meaning to them. They will be dancing in the streets because of his middle name. They will be dancing in the streets because of who his father was and because of his posture that says: Pull out of the Middle East and pull out of this conflict.

So there are implications that have to do with who he is and the position that he's taken. If he were strong on national defense and said 'I'm going to go over there and we're going to fight and we're going to win, we'll come home with a victory,' that's different. But that's not what he said. They will be dancing in the streets if he's elected president. That has a chilling aspect on how difficult it will be to ever win this Global War on Terror."

And the guy is standing by his hateful ignorance!

Unfortunately, both the Podcast offered, and the YouTube of the interview, doesn't carry forward, to see what the reaction was of the interviewer, and if they challenged this cretin on his remarks

And this is not new.

Think Progress has The Hateful And Divisive Record Of Bigot Steve King

Two thing need to happen here;

1. Nancy Pelosi, and the entire U.S. Congress should drag him to the floor and give him an unbridled censure, for his ignorance and how that reflects on the body of Congress.

2. The good people of Iowa need to reject this moron, and send him dancing out of office and into the unemployment line.

Actually, we can add a third item.

The RNC/GOP should call for a calvacade of there Rightwing Freak Show stars, and include, perhaps led by John McCain, to go on Fox News with the statement that Barack Obama is not a Muslim or terrorist, but an American citizen, and U.S. Senator, and anyone spewing such ignorance will be shunned, blackballed, their employers should fire them, their supporters should disavow them, and they be, otherwise, persona non grata, in the discussion.

Criticize Obama, if you like, but on his policies, his record, his statements, not simply based on hateful ignorance.

Bonus Links

ABC News: King announced bid for fourth term

Radio Iowa: King suggests terrorists will celebrate Obama victory

Today's Must Read: Al Giordano's "Damn you, Barack Obama" ... It Lays Out What We Are Seeing Now

Editor's Note ... Slow Boat To Posting II ... Stuck In Dry Dock

Well, we had our big day yesterday, hopefully, providing the ticket to exit out of Computer Hell...

The technician showed up, wasn't convinced my problem was a modem problem (though it did show signs of giving a weak signal), hooked up a new modem, and, drumroll, please ...

The problem still exists!

The time it takes for an email to drop in, in some cases, the sender could print it out on their end and walk it over to me ... And, understand, while the computer cycles (and cycles, and cycles) to deliver this email, it slows down just about every other operation I may undertake.

(And, surfacing this week also, a secondary problem with Blogger, the host of The Garlic; It's back office stuff, not effecting what's on-line, yet, nonetheless, absolutely frustrating, perhaps more-so, the lack of Customer Service regarding this issue)

I performed a bunch of scans, defrags, etc, in the thought, with the new modem, perhaps something with take, but, alas, as, earlier in the week, after doing the same, no difference.

So, between this, as well as some other things on the homefront, left me pretty drained and, for a brief period, in a most foul mood, and to the point, not wanting to sit in front of the computer.

And, we were losing an hour (set your clocks ahead if you haven't already done it).

So, filed away the half-written posts and notes and chilled out.

The plan is to plod through it today, awaiting talking to a super-duper technician tomorrow ...

Thanks for hanging in and, as always, we are appreciative of your visits to The Garlic.

Peace
JTD