27 August 2008... On The Garlic
Barry Crimmins Returns ... With An Admission!
Was Tweety Covering Morning Jokes' Back?
For Live Convention Blogging, Check Out Bob Cesca!
Now This Was A Speech!
27 August 2007... On The Garlic
"He aggressively and successfully pursued public corruption ..."
27 August 2006... On The Garlic
Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves
We Don’t Have To Show You No Court Order ... The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll
Thursday, August 27, 2009
This Date ... On The Garlic
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Well ... There's THAT Part of The Legacy, Too ...
If almost right on cue.
In the waning, dull, Dog Days of August, and, somewhat ironically, in the middle of the molten hot Healthcare battle, Senator Ted Kennedy has passed away, ending his fight against brain cancer.
There'll be lots of paychecks and other perks, to interrupt the vacations of the masses of babbling heads, to rush into the nearest cable studio (or, if they are heavy-duty talking heads, they might have the weight to do a remote) and start blathering away, from the headline stories, to insider anecdotes, ending, of course, with whispers during the wall-to-wall coverage of the upcoming funeral.
Local news here in Boston will even surpass all that.
Yes, he was the "Liberal Lion", and did a lot of good things during his time in the Senate (perhaps SCHIPS, and burying Bork among the top)
But one thing won't get mentioned, or, if it does, ever so briefly, a blink, and then, used as a launching point to herald some tale of pulling himself off the floor and rising to great heights.
We speak, of, naturally, Chappaquiddick, and the unfortunate death of Mary Jo Kopechne.
And that brings us to one of the greatest satires in history, run by the National Lampoon, back in 1972.
Riffing off a Volkswagen ad of that time, they put this out there;
From Wikipedia; The case resulted in much satire of Kennedy, including a National Lampoon page showing a floating Volkswagen Beetle with the remark that Kennedy would have been elected president had he been driving a Beetle that night; this satire resulted in legal action by Volkswagen, claiming unauthorized use of its trademark.
(You can go HERE, to see both, the original VW ad, and the satirical one)
In today's corporate-owned media, I don't know if there is a publication out there that would have the balls to do something like that today.
Bonus Links
Senator Kennedy from Cindy Sheehan
Jack Newfield: The Senate's Fighting Liberal
Martin F. Nolan: Kennedy dead at 77 ...Liberal lion of the Senate, symbol of family dynasty succumbs to brain cancer
Joan Walsh: Ted Kennedy's last battle
And, a "Must-Read", from Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes, over on The Moderate Voice;
Ted Kennedy and Mary Jo Kopechne
Go Girl Go!
While, invariably, the Little League World Series almost routinely, each year, generates a heartwarming, or tear-inducing, story, and this year is no different.
Except that history, perhaps a bit dubiously, was made;
Game-Winning Hit by 13-Year-Old Girl Could Be a FirstSOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Katie Reyes hit a two-run single in the top of the sixth to help Vancouver, British Columbia, rally for a wild 14-13 victory Tuesday over Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, in the Little League World Series.
WOW!
The Little League president, Stephen Keener, and other longtime tournament officials said they could not recall a girl having the winning hit before in a World Series game.
“I was excited. I was shaking,” Reyes, 13, said about going to the plate for her big hit. She finished with three hits and three runs batted in.
Playing first, Reyes also caught the last out. She joined her happy teammates jumping on the mound after Canada won its last game of the series. Both teams had already been eliminated entering Tuesday.
All this time, decades, and it's only the first time a girl has gotten a winning hit?
Does that have to do with girls not being into playing Little League, or nitwit coaches across the land, holding on to yesteryear, believing girls don't belong in baseball?
ESPN, which posts a video of it, has more;Fifteen girls have played in the series since 1984, when Victoria Roche of Brussels, Belgium, became the first female to play in South Williamsport.
Well, anyway ...
Reyes wasn't the only girl playing at the series this year -- Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, had 13-year-old Bryn Stonehouse playing first base, too.
The only other time there were two girls in the series in the same year was 2004
Hats Off to Katie Reyes!
Go Girl Go!
Bonus Link
Here's a good background piece, from the Toronto Globe and Mail, on Katie Reyes;
Canadian 'girl that delivers' takes on the World Series
There's Hope For The Honeybees!
There's been a puzzling mystery the past few years, that being, the disappearance, death, of honeybees.Who killed the honeybees?
Suddenly, the Bees Are Simply Vanishing
Why the Honey Bees are Dying
Now, if this trend continues, there could be a profound impact on our ecology, and economy, even to the point of life-and-death, for some.
But, just this week, a ray of hope has cracked through;
New clue found to disappearing honey beesResearchers have a new clue to the collapse of honey bee colonies across the country — damage to the bees' internal "factories" that produce proteins. Theories about the cause of bee colony collapse have included viruses, mites, pesticides and fungi.
Lert's hope this pans out.
The new study of sick bees disclosed fragments of ribosomal RNA in their gut, an indication of damage to the ribosomes, which make proteins necessary for life, according to a study in Tuesday's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
[snip]
The sick bees suffered an unusually high number of infections with viruses that attack the ribosome, the researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported.
[snip]
The researchers said the varroa mite, which was accidentally introduced to the U.S. in 1986, is a carrier of picorna-like viruses that damage the ribosomes.
Then again, the bees, or, a certain bred of them, may be fighting back, which we wrote about recently;
Now It's The Honeybees!
Buck up there, honeybees ... 
About That Goose-Egg Yesterday ...
Good Afternoon Garlic Fans
Yeah, we rung up a goose-egg yesterday, with no posting, unfortunately.
We got snagged yesterday by a Trojan (Windows Protection Suite), that while only a mid-level threat, it was most insidious, as it continually (even while running scans to eliminate it), would pop up with dire warnings that our computer was infected and, to "click here" to activate the protection.
Which of course, was their own product.
A few of the usual tools we employ for such didn't do the job, so we searched it out and found one that worked (we ended up using SuperAntiSpyware).
So, for, roughly, 10-hours, we were consumed with scanning, taking 2-3-hours, per scan
By the time all was well, it was late evening, and we were in no mood to be creative, or just about, anything else.
We're back today with some posts and, hopefully, will remain unencumbered, the rest of the week
As always, many thanks for visiting, and reading, The Garlic
Peace
JTD
This Date ... On The Garlic
26 August 2008... On The Garlic
Cindy McCain - What I Did On My Summer Vacation ...
Mas Que Nada ... McCain Goes Pow Pow Pow - Again! ...Or: Donate To John McCain, and Be Included In The Telling of His Next POW-POW-POW Story
Get A Shovel! ... Olbermann Disses Scarborough, On-Air
26 August 2007... On The Garlic
Defending Martin Lewis ... It's Satire, Stupid!
More Sad News ... The Passing of Lloyd The Dog
26 August 2006... On The Garlic
Weeding The Garlic Patch - New Garlic Weekend Feature
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Anger Gumbo
I'm just angry that New Orleans, which did not bring about its own disaster, is watching a second consecutive president trash his glib promises to "rebuild it better".
Apparently, it isn't only the War Crimes of the Bush Grindhouse that President Obama is putting in the rear view mirror.
[snip]
Obama's remarks about New Orleans during the campaign were anodyne boilerplate, and what he's giving us now is more of the same. He won't even do the obligatory photo-op in the city on 8/29; he told the Times-Picayune he'll come down "before the end of the year". He didn't say which year.
It seems that the City of New Orleans, also, is not in the forward-looking view.
So writes, in a great post, Harry Shearer today, telling his tale of lobbying on behalf of the still-devastated city, how he, reluctantly, used his connections to reach inside the Obama White House, only to get nothing.
Playing the Inside Game -- A Cautionary TaleAny regular reader of my stuff here knows I've been relentless in calling for first the Bush administration and lately the current group to get serious about addressing the problems of what nearly destroyed New Orleans -- namely, the twin challenges of (a) reversing the man-caused destruction of the coastal wetlands which reduce the severity of oncoming hurricanes and (b) rebuilding the tattered federally-built "hurricane protection system" which failed so disastrously four years ago this Saturday. After I started noticing the absence of any public words (let alone actions) on this subject from the new administration, several commenters here criticized me for, in essence, just running my mouth. "You're a celebrity," they mis-advised me, "go talk directly to the White House about it, like Brad Pitt." I thought I should start my Pitt emulation slowly at first, maybe by wooing Angelina Jolie, but after a couple of weeks, I took the challenge to play the inside game. I haven't written about it until now, because I wanted to see how it would play out before drawing conclusions.
I don't want to provide any additional snips, as it is well-worth reading the entire post.
We're coming up on the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina all but wiping out New Orleans, and it looks like we may have to pin to the new President, the not-flattering moniker of "Heck of a job there, Obama ..."
He's leaving the residents of New Orleans to having to cling a little longer to the "Hope" and "Change" thing.
Go read Harry Shearer's "Playing the Inside Game -- A Cautionary Tale"
Bonus Link
More Than A Few Cloves ... The Garlic Special - Hurricane Katrina Redux
Can't Wait To See The Super Bowl Ad On This One!
This one, we'll have to wait awhile, to see how it plays out.
Jeff Taylor, founder of Monster.Com, is looking to make (pun intended) his next killing;
Out of print ... Monster.com made its name by putting help-wanted ads online. And now its founder sees untapped potential in widening the audience for death notices, too
Taylor, the founder of the online career site that became Monster.com, raised $32 million in venture capital funding for Eons. The company filled its Charlestown offices with about 60 staffers, who focused on building an online community for people over the age of 50 with features such as a 40-question quiz that aimed to estimate one’s longevity and supply advice about healthy living.Yes, you too can live for infinity, out on the World Wide Web!
But three years after the glitzy launch party, just 12 people remain on the payroll at Eons, and the site’s traffic has been shrinking. Taylor is now hoping that Tributes.com, a spinoff from Eons, might do better than the original site. It offers news about notable personalities who’ve died, and sells online obituaries (they prefer the term “tributes’’) to grieving families via a network of funeral homes. Just as Monster grew to a $1.3 billion company by putting a section of newspaper classifieds online - the help-wanted ads - Taylor plans to do the same for death notices, though this time, he faces competition from a big rival.
[snip]
The site tries to build traffic by creating online memorials for departed celebrities such as Paul Newman and Michael Jackson. It also has information from the Social Security Administration about more than 80 million deceased Americans. But its revenue comes from individuals who pay for online obits that can include unlimited text about the deceased, along with photos, videos, and music.
(We touched on this, back in April - After Death, No Reason For The Spam To Stop)
Not only that, but if you go out to Tributes.Com, you can set up your very on "Celebrity Alert"
Oh yeah, death is going to be big bucks.
It's definitely not your father's funeral home any longer.
Now, we will have to wait until next January, for the Super Bowl, to see if Taylor copies his success of Monster.Com, for Tributes.Com, with some clever, witty television spot.
Maybe they can come up with a combo - Someone dies while searching Monster.Com for a job, so the segue to the deceased's Tribute.Com page, perhaps offering a deal if you sign up for both services.
Bonus Links
Monster.com Super Bowl Ad
Legendary Ads ... Some ads suck, but these are an art form. Or at least funny
Kellogg Grades 2009 Super Bowl Ads, Monster.com Gets A+
This Date ... On The Garlic
24 August 2008... On The Garlic
The Ultimate McCain POW Song
24 August 2007... On The Garlic
Today's Must Read - Ray McGovern's "Bush League War Drums Beating Louder on Iran"
24 August 2006... On The Garlic
Breaking News! Bush Betting On Science To Bail Him Out; Bush Mobilizing Government, Private Scientists To Rush Development Of Political Plan B Pill; Says Morning After Use Can Still Bring Iraqis To View U.S. As Liberators; Placebos To Be Given To “Al-Qaeda Types”
Top Ten Cloves: Things About New York Times Hiring A Perfume Critic
Sunday, August 23, 2009
This Date ... On The Garlic
23 August 2008... On The Garlic
Thank God! ... It's Ordinary Joe!
23 August 2007... On The Garlic
Is The White House Iraq Group Opening Up Franchises?
"I'm Shocked, Shocked To Find Gambling Going On Here! ... You're Winnings, Mr. Allawi"
23 August 2006... On The Garlic
Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard During the Marine Reservists’ Recall To Duty
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Carnaval De Sao Vicente
Yes, perhaps by the title of this post, you can deduct that we have taken the day (and night) off.
It's been a long, hard week, doubly so, with the heat and oppressive humidity (dew points yesterday, and today, were in the low-to-mid-70's - that's outrageous!), leaving us without the energy to even half-ass something.
So, let's fire up some music!
Since we had a hankering for something that would befit a Saturday evening, we are turning to Cesaria Evora, the Cape Verdean diva, with a voice that will haunt you, with one of her early hits.
For those that aren't hip to her, you will be after this tune.
And, if she happens to come into your area, treat it as a "Must-Attend" happening (and note, that she performs in her bare feet).
Put your dancing shoes on, and know that your hips will be sore in the morning
Cesaria Evora - Carnaval De Sao Vicente
You can visit Cesaria Evora's website HERE
Cesaria Evora on Wikipedia
This Date ... On The Garlic
Friday, August 21, 2009
Today's Ignorant Dolt: Charlie Gibson
It's been decreed.
Charlie Gibson, of ABC News has laid down the law.
Anybody that is thinking about protesting war, getting out there, on the front lines, to advocate ending the mindless death and mutilation, the destruction of people and countries, enough already.
Don't bother, least you annoy Mr. Gibson, maybe cause his lips to purse, a wrinkle, or two, to form near his temples, and, gasp, force him to sigh.
Lord knows, we can't afford to annoy an empty suit like Charlie Gibson.
We tweaked Gibson (and ABC) last year during the debates ("Boy, And We Thought Russert and Williams Sucked", and "Charlie and George Go To A Debate ...") but who knew he was an emptier suit and closet Ignorant Dolt?
Byron York, in the Moonie Gazette, has the scoop;
ABC's Charles Gibson to Cindy Sheehan: Thanks for your sacrifice. Now get lost
In an appearance August 18 on WLS radio in Chicago, ABC News anchor Charles Gibson was asked about anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan's plans to travel to Martha's Vineyard next week, where she will protest the Iraq and Afghanistan wars while President Obama is vacationing there. Gibson, whose newscast and network featured Sheehan when she led anti-war protests outside President Bush's Texas ranch in 2005, answered, "Enough already."
This week, after the Washington Examiner reported that Sheehan will be protesting on Martha's Vineyard (see here and here), WLS radio host Don Wade, noting all the coverage that Sheehan received in 2005, asked Gibson "whether we're going to see some coverage of Cindy Sheehan…do you suppose Cindy is going to make the news again?"
Gibson's answer was sympathetic but clear: No. "I gather she's going back to Martha's Vineyard," Gibson began.It's such a sad story. Martha Raddatz [of ABC News] wrote a terrific book about one battle that took place in Iraq, and it was the battle in which Cindy's son was killed. And you look at somebody like that and you think here's somebody who's just trying to find some meaning in her son's death. And you have to be sympathetic to her. Anybody who has given a son to this country has made an enormous sacrifice, and you have to be sympathetic. But enough already.
(You can go here, to hear Gibson, oh so painfully, piss all over Cindy Sheehan).
Those last three words - "But enough already."
You know, a real pro, likely, wouldn't have added their editorial comment as you did.
They would have something perfunctorily nice to say about Ms. Sheehan, and move on.
However, an empty-suit, Ignorant Dolt hack would stick his head up his own butt, and let loose with the diss.
Ahh, but Cindy Sheehan has handled her share of Ignorant Dolts before, and she responds to Ignorant Dolt Charlie Gibson;“Enough already?” Hmmm…I don’t know Charlie Gibson and I don’t pay any attention to his career, but I seem to agree with him on this one: “Enough already.”
We assume ABC News (and the rest of the media) will do the dog-and-pony thing, having their "star anchors" sitting in beach chairs, broadcasting from Martha's Vineyard, during the Obama's vacation.
Enough with the killing, torturing, wounding and profiting off of the backs of our troops and off of the lives of the people of Iraq-Af-Pak: as our brothers and sisters in Latin America say: “Basta!”
Somehow, I don’t think that this is what Charlie Gibson meant, though. I am sure that he just wants me to go away like most of the rest of the anti-war movement has done under the Obama presidency.
[snip]
I am cutting my writing-staycation short to head to Martha’s Vineyard because I think the new titular head of the empire needs to know that his policies are devastating people as much as the same policies did when Bush was president.
I would rather be able to go away and spend the rest of my life worshipping my grandchildren, writing, reading, resting, and doing humanitarian work where I am needed.
I wish the wars would go away, but they aren’t going away if we the people don’t get more militantly insistent.
So, Charlie, you probably will have some down time, and you can use it to head up Route 3, back into the city and swing by The Garlic, so you can pick up your Ignorant Dolt Award.
Oh yeah, one more thing Charlie.
Until the day (God Forbid) comes, that you lose a child, a grandchild, or such, in an unnecessary war that our Government lied us into, you have no standing on editorializing as you did against Ms. Sheehan.
You have no standing, Charlie, to say to Ms. Sheehan, or any one else in her position, "But enough already."
Shame on you.
And, In The "Fuck You Very Much" Department ...
If Digby had her way, she would call it, simply, hubris.
New Chief at A.I.G. to Be Paid at Least $7 Million a YearHow much will it cost the American International Group to keep its chief executive to help stabilize the troubled insurer? At least $7 million a year.
Oh, "clawbacks" ... That may be too harsh, right?
A.I.G. disclosed Monday in a regulatory filing that it would pay Robert H. Benmosche, 65, the former head of MetLife, $3 million a year in cash and $4 million in stock.
Mr. Benmosche will also be eligible for up to $3.5 million in stock as part of an incentive plan, A.I.G. said in a regulatory filing.
[snip]
A.I.G. said in its letter formally offering Mr. Benmosche the job that his compensation would be subject to “clawbacks” by Mr. Feinberg’s office, meaning that at least some of the money could be recovered if the bonuses were paid based on financially misleading data. Mr. Benmosche will also not receive a severance package if he is dismissed from the company, according to the regulatory filing.
I mean, AIG, and "financially misleading data ...
I'm sure we have absolute no worries there ...
And, there is this gem;This month, A.I.G. reported its first quarterly profit since 2007, though Mr. Liddy warned that the insurance businesses “remain challenged.”
Really?
AIG has paid back all the money, the billions-upon-billions, given to them by the U.S. Government, and still made a profit?
How come that wasn't in screaming headlines?
Yeah, the insurance business may remained "challenged", but with the Obama Financial Team (Ruben and, of course Secretary of the Treasury Tim "What's that, Lassie? (Woof, woof!!) Timmy Geithner's in the well?!!" Geithner), at the helm, there's no worry.
A bailout, simply, is just around the corner.
And, when we want to look into the "Clueless Corner", Yves Smith, over on Naked Capitalism, had this;Tim Duy pointed out this priceless remark from AIG's new CEO, Robert Benmosch:
This ought to be rather interesting to watch.
Benmosche told employees that he “had the luxury to say to the government, I’m not going to rush to do this. I’m appalled at how much pressure has been put on all of you to just sell it no matter what, because the Fed wants out, or the Treasury wants out. If they want out in a hurry, they shouldn’t have come in in the first place.”
That is, how soon into the "Benmosch Dynasty", does AIG come whimpering to Washington again, begging for money.
Bonus AIG Riffs
Dennis Overbye: They Tried to Outsmart Wall Street
Larisa Alexandrovna: AIG = BCCI
Eliot Spitzer: The Real AIG Scandal - It's not the bonuses. It's that AIG's counterparties are getting paid back in full
Paul Krugman: AIG
Michael Lewis: The Man Who Crashed the World
Zachary Roth and Ben Buchwalter: The Rise And Fall Of AIG's Financial Products Unit
Breaking! ... Obama Takes Action, Siezes AIG's March Madness Office Pools and Brackets
He Was Irrelevant, Even When He Was Running
Man, Chris Cillizza, at WaPo, must have had a big, heaping, SuperSizeMe cup of the Beltway Kool Aid today, to describe Stumblin' Bumblin' John McCain being on Clinton's Mini-Me show this Sunday as "Must Watch TV"Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spends the hour (or most of it) with George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" on Sunday. McCain has laid low over the last few months as the debate over health care has raged. He's made clear he would like to play a bigger part in the negotiations but, to date, has been on the outside looking in. How hard a line against the plan does McCain take? Does he leave any wiggle room in hopes of emerging as the broker of a grand compromise?
Quick, somebody check, are they suspending the Healthcare Debate, so Stumblin' Fly Boy can rush to the nearest television studio?
Jesus, I know it's late August, Congress is on siesta, and the Redskins are only in preseason, but, c'mon there Chris, "Must Watch TV"?
McCain wasn't "Must Watch" anything, even when he was running for President.
He may be the first nominee to become completely irrelevant, once they made the Vice President selection.
It was the Mommy Moose Show, from the convention to the election, interrupted, only briefly, by the driver of the Dead Campaign Express clinging to a blowhard, non-plumber plumber, who then catapulted into the limelight himself, further pushing the debunked Maverick to the back of the bus.
Steve Benen reminds Chris Cillizza, "REMEMBER, HE LOST...";McCain is, in other words, just another conservative Republican senator, with no real influence, and nothing new to say, who just happens to be invited onto national television all the time, including another lengthy chat on "This Week" in a few days. (What might he say? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess he'll spend most of the time bashing the president.)
That's likely to be a short limb, on a low branch, there Steve.
Let's see ... Socialism ... Birth Certificate ... Wasteful spending ... Earmarks ...
If he's on for most of the hour, we'll surely see a wide spectrum of the PartyofNoican lying points.
And, check out John Cole, over on Balloon Juice, who adds in, with details, that McCain is still just a miserably old prick.
Yeah, Must Not Watch TV is more like it ... 
This Date ... On The Garlic
21 August 2008... On The Garlic
No Sooner Had I Finished ...
"The insinuation, that John McCain, a former prisoner of war, doesn't know how many houses he has, is outrageous!" ... Or: Looking A Gift House In The Mouth
21 August 2007... On The Garlic
The Tuesday Ticker ... Pithy Randomness ... Part of that "All The Cloves Fit To Peel" Thing
Breaking News! Thompson Responds To FEC Charge, Claiming He's Now Moving Into "Testing Executive Privilege" Phase; Also Invokes "The Cheney Principle", Saying "He's Not Part of The Campaign"
21 August 2006... On The Garlic
Top Ten Cloves: Other Things President Bush Won’t Do “So Long As I Am President”
Thursday, August 20, 2009
"DUH" News of the Day
Clutch Cargo, aka, former Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge is out, teasing his new book, with a "blockbuster" that is about as fresh as reading last weeks box scores.
The Bush Grindhouse exploited the War on Terrorism, with phony Terror Alerts for political purposes.
Ridge admits Bush administration pushed to raise security alert for political reasons on eve of re-electionAmong the headlines promoted by publisher Thomas Dunne Books: Ridge was never invited to sit in on National Security Council meetings; was “blindsided” by the FBI in morning Oval Office meetings because the agency withheld critical information from him; found his urgings to block Michael Brown from being named head of the emergency agency blamed for the Hurricane Katrina disaster ignored; and was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush’s re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over.
What, did Ridge, either while in the Bush Crony Gang, or out of it, not watch television or read newspapers?
Or, how about just staying awake at the office?
Probably more people than needed to bust a filibuster in Congress was out with that news, years ago, it was so obvious.
Among them, Keith Olbermann, who beat this horse to the point it could have triggered an SPCA investigation;October 12, 2005 - The Nexus of Politics and Terror
August 15, 2006 - The nexus of politics and terror revisited
(And, yes, Olbermann was all over it again, this evening)
You come close there, Clutch Cargo, of garnering Ignorant Dolt points, if you are fishing for sympathy, with that "worth resigning over" crap.
It became common knowledge that you didn't get a job in the Bush Grindhouse unless you were a "Loyal Bushie", so it's a little late to come out with the "I'm shocked ... Shocked that gambling is going on here ...", as if you didn't know you were expected to play ball.
Yeah, you eventually did resign - bully for you - but you sat there like having "stupid" taped to your forehead, letting that terror alert fly out there, effectively, influencing the 2004 Presidential Election.
Jeez ... All this time we were pinning the blame on Ohio.
Perhaps there, Clutch, you can offer some help now.
When they release your book, have the publisher put a mirror on the dust cover.
That way, President Obama, maybe, will have to look backwards.
Bonus Tom Ridge "Duh" Riffs
Glenn Greenwald: Fringe leftist losers: wrong even when they're right
John Amato: Tom Ridge admits terror alerts were used for political reasons. What about the Osama video right before the '04 election?
Eric Martin: Just Because I'm Paranoid...
Dave Anderson: Trust the Dirty F*cking Hippies, they're right
emptywheel: Red Alert! Bush Was Going to Lose!
This Date ... On The Garlic
20 August 2008... On The Garlic
In The "Holy Cow" Dept; Denver Homeless Getting The Noonan "Full Detroit"
20 August 2007... On The Garlic
Three For Today ... The Selling of Iraq
Barry Crimmins with 'Down with the King!'
Sad News Today ... The Passing of Vocalist Jon Lucien
20 August 2006... On The Garlic
Weekend Special - Sautéed Cloves
Kilroy Was Here ... The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Paging George Romero
If we knew what scientists (and governments) were working on, their plans for unforeseen things, contingency plans, et all, it would possibly make our heads explode
Hmmm, there's a study searching for a grant ...
Thanks to the BBC, one of those is brought to light today;
Science ponders 'zombie attack' If zombies actually existed, an attack by them would lead to the collapse of civilisation unless dealt with quickly and aggressively.
Sounds like a bunch of, perhaps over-caffeinated, Canadian eggheads were looking for an excuse, or, perhaps justifying budge expenses, to purchase of a bevy of George Romero DVD's.
That is the conclusion of a mathematical exercise carried out by researchers in Canada.
They say only frequent counter-attacks with increasing force would eradicate the fictional creatures.
The scientific paper is published in a book - Infectious Diseases Modelling Research Progress.
In books, films, video games and folklore, zombies are undead creatures, able to turn the living into other zombies with a bite.
But there is a serious side to the work.
[snip]
In their study, the researchers from the University of Ottawa and Carleton University (also in Ottawa) posed a question: If there was to be a battle between zombies and the living, who would win?
Professor Robert Smith? (the question mark is part of his surname and not a typographical mistake) and colleagues wrote: "We model a zombie attack using biological assumptions based on popular zombie movies.
[snip]
Professor Ferguson went on to joke: "The paper considers something that many of us have worried about - particularly in our younger days - of what would be a feasible way of tackling an outbreak of a rapidly spreading zombie infection.
"My understanding of zombie biology is that if you manage to decapitate a zombie then it's dead forever. So perhaps they are being a little over-pessimistic when they conclude that zombies might take over a city in three or four days."
And, a completely (we assume), unrelated item;
Top Sweden newspaper says IDF kills Palestinians for their organs
Cue the gloomy organ music ... 
This Date ... On The Garlic
19 August 2008... On The Garlic
Top Ten Cloves: Things Condoleezza Rice Has Threatened Russia With To Honor Cease Fire
Lieberman's A Prick!
19 August, 2005... On The Garlic
The Garlic: All The Cloves Fit To Peel will be on vacation August 19 - August 28; Take some time to catch up on our stories, or, use the links below to review some of the most popular and most viewed Garlic articles.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Poll Confirms Republicans Stupid, Ignorant Dolts
Jesus, we may go bankrupt if we have to hand out this much Ignorant Dolt hardware.
Greg Sargent has the results of a poll taken, that has the PartyofNoicans believing Faux News is "reliable";The poll finds that among GOPers, 24% think Fox is “extremely reliable,” and 41% think Fox is “reliable.” That’s a total of 65% of Republicans who see Fox as reliable or very much so.
Reliable as in relationship to what?
[snip]
Even more interesting, perhaps, is how many Republicans only get their info from Fox, as compared to the other cable networks. A surprising 74% of GOPers “never” watch CNN, and an even higher amount, 89%, never watch MSNBC.
That the moon is made of cheese, and inhabited by little green men?
Here's the full poll
This Date ... On The Garlic
18 August 2008... On The Garlic
The Night The Russians Rolled Into Georgia - McCain's August Anthem
Does He Get To Keep The Bag Man?
18 August 2007... On The Garlic
Oxymoron of the Day: Ayad Allawi and his 'A Plan for Iraq'
Retro Garlic ... That Madcap McCain Is At It - Again!
18 August 2006... On The Garlic
Breaking News! Cheney Says Vote For Lamont Helps “New Solar System-Types”; Bush To Place New Planets On Terror Watch List; No Liquid Fly Rules In Place; President Calls Them “Intergalactic-Fascists.” Says Iran May Be Continuing To Expand Its Influence
Top Ten Cloves: Things That Will Be Missed With No More Oscar Night Swag Bags
18 August, 2005... On The Garlic
Possible Break In Crawford Impasse: President Mulling Humming To Peace Mom; Can Keep Normal Vacation Schedule; Plans Centered On Tunes, Earphones, iPod or Radio
Top Ten Cloves: Other Things Rush Limbaugh Thinks Mainstream Media Is Glomming
Monday, August 17, 2009
Mork Ahead of His Time?
It was primitive, almost guttural, but we may be able to look back and cite Mork, of the 'Mork and Mindy' show, as being visionary, or, at least, planting the seed.
A staple of the program was Mork's greeting - "Na-Nu Na-Nu" (pronounced "nah-noo nah-noo")
Was he trying to tell us something, something too abstruse for us to understand?
Was he attempting to share elements of his planet (Ork)?
Maybe so.
Everyday nanotechnology ... Nanobots don’t yet scrub clogged arteries, but nano-particles are improving many ordinary productsLong the stuff of hype and occasional hysteria, nanotechnology is quietly merging into modern life, its minuscule particles infused in an array of products, ranging from stink-proof socks to life-saving cancer medications.
Just remember, when all these products are commonplace, it was back in the 1070's we had our first inkling of what was to come;
[snip]
Holman reckons that by the middle of the next decade “nanotech will touch $3.1 trillion worth of products’’ worldwide. By and large, “nano-particles’’ will be used to make existing products tougher, more flexible, or more energy-efficient - faster computer processors, more moldable plastics, sprayable films able to act as solar collectors - rather than to create entirely new entities, at least at the outset.
But analysts and scientists say extraordinary new devices and techniques are not far off, especially in the realms of medical treatment, power sources, and consumer electronics. Picture cellphones so thin and flexible they can be worn as neck scarves. Imagine assembly lines “staffed’’ by viruses. Think of concrete produced with just a fraction of today’s pollutants (concrete production is a major emitter of greenhouse gases), but able to endure for thousands of years.
[snip]
For now, though, most nano-products are almost numbingly prosaic: stickier dental adhesive, mildew-resistant paint, and stain-proof khakis. Plus a handful of pharmaceuticals whose nano-properties make them somewhat more effective than standard treatments, but hardly wonder drugs.
[snip]
That’s a far cry from a few years ago, when nanotechology aroused feverish visions and fantastic fears. Futurists predicted microscopic “nanobots’’ coursing through human systems to root out cancer cells, scrub clogged arteries, and repair tissue. Alarmists raised fear of “gray goo’’ - self-replicating swarms of nano-particles - devouring the planet.
“Instead of nanobots, we got sunscreens,’’ Maynard wryly noted, referring to new lotions containing nanoparticles able to deflect the most damaging wavelengths of sunlight. “Nano’s development is proving more evolutionary than revolutionary. The cool stuff is still in the labs. But some incredible medicines and [micro-engineered] electronics are getting closer to reality.’’
"Na-Nu Na-Nu" 
Dylan Follow-up: Searching For The Mansions of Glory?
We post the other day, the brush with the law Bob Dylan had in New Jersey ("Forget The Irony, He's Lucky He Didn't Get Tasered!"), and there seems to be more to the story.
Was Dylan Searching for the Home Where Springsteen Penned 'Born to Run'?Was Bob Dylan looking for the home where Bruce Springsteen wrote "Born to Run" in 1974 when he was detained by police near the Jersey shore last month?
Hmmm ...
[snip]
But the area where Dylan was picked up was just a couple blocks from the beachside bungalow where Bruce Springsteen wrote the material for his landmark 1975 album "Born to Run."
In the past nine months, Dylan has visited the childhood homes of Neil Young and John Lennon, in both cases appearing without fanfare and barely identifying himself after he was recognized.
Last November, Winnipeg homeowner John Kiernan told Sun Media's Simon Fuller that Dylan and a friend arrived unannounced in a taxi to his Grosvenor Ave. home, where songwriter Neil Young grew up.
Dylan, Kiernan said, was unshaved and had the brim of his hat pulled down over his head. He asked for a look inside and inquired about Young's bedroom and where he would have played his guitar.
[snip]
In May, Dylan joined a public tour of John Lennon's childhood home, according to the BBC. A spokeswoman for the National Trust, which runs the home as London landmark, said Dylan "took one of our general minibus tours.
"People on the minibus did not recognize him apparently," the spokeswoman told the British news agency. "He could have booked a private tour, but he was happy to go on the bus with everyone else."
Wonder if he peeked in the medicine cabinet?
This one's for you, Robert Allen Zimmerman;
Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
No Mad Men Here ...
We haven't been taken in my the Mad Men phenomena, so last evening's long-awaited debut of Season 3 of the much-hyped program was a non-event in The Garlic Household.
Even if we were into, it wouldn't have mattered, as we were completely drained by another homefront situation, that was in cahoots with the return of 90-degree, oppressive-humidity weather.
Like, really oppressive humidity.
So we bailed out of doing any posting yesterday, making today (yes, still hot and humid) a "catch-up" day, for the most part.
As always, many thanks for visiting, and reading, The Garlic.
This Date ... On The Garlic
17 August 2008... On The Garlic
Like Sands Through The Hour Glass, These Are The Cross Stories of My Campaign
Blazing Saddlebacks
17 August 2007... On The Garlic
Top Ten Cloves: Things About Breaking The Speed of Light
17 August 2005... On The Garlic
Iraqi Constitution Delay Due To Writer's Block; Rituals, Special Foods, Beating Saddam All Employed To "Getting The Juices Flowing"
Top Ten Cloves: New Names Rejected By P Diddy
Sunday, August 16, 2009
This Date ... On The Garlic
16 August 2008... On The Garlic
A Horse Is A Horse, Of Course, Of Course ... Or. Blowback's A Bitch
16 August 2007... On The Garlic
Six Degress of Seperation (Bush Grindhouse Edition)
Sorry Elvis, Tests Prove Bat Boy Love Child Of President Bush Is The Winner ... The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll
A Further Embellishment On The Appropriately Named CREEP
16 August 2006... On The Garlic
Top Ten Cloves: Other Ways Senator George Allen May Have Mispronounced The Word “Mohawk”
16 August 2005... On The Garlic
Stymied By Publishers, Google To Digitize Bazooka Joe Comics; If Impasse Prolonged, Google To Continue With Baseball Cards, Shopping Coupons
Male Chefs To Join Crawford Protest; Will Demand Answers Why Female Named To Exec White House Position
Top Ten Cloves: What Iraqi Assembly Will Do Over Next Week To Build Constitution
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