Whoever dares to say that Allen Ginsberg isn't relevant today will get SUCH A PINCH! ;D
Mr. Ginsberg would've had A FIELD DAY with the trunk & the cartoon as a whole! Too...damn...funny...
There's no underlying theme to today's "this day in history" items, so let's just dive in. On this date in 1932, Al Capone entered the Atlanta Penitentiary federal prison for income-tax evasion. He spent the majority of his sentence on "the Rock"; yep, I saw & sat in his cell!
On this date in 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on students during an anti-Vietnam war protest at Kent State University. Four students were killed and nine others were wounded.
OK, after this one, let's end on more upbeat notes! Wil Arnet is 40 today; yes, I finally got through all 3 seasons of Arrested Development on Hulu!
Finally, a group that I would LOVE TO SEE live got together on this date in 1964 - ladies & gentlemen...THE MOODY BLUES!
Let's Countdown; sadly, Timothy Leary's still dead.
#5 "‘Justice Will Be Done’" AKA "Under Arrest" AKA "Politicizing Terror" - It took only 53 hours & 30 minutes to catch Faisal Shahzad, the man currently charged with the SUV bomb scare in Times Square over the weekend. But, boy, he just about got away; the plane to Pakistan he was in had to TURN AROUND AT THE GATE. Mr. Shahzad admitted to training at a terrorist camp in Pakistan; arrests have been made there, too. He paid for his ticket with cash. Wow...how ‘bout that tower recording?! Wow again...OK...this guy was placed on the no – fly list Monday morning; only an alert agent recognizing his name after the flight’s final passenger list was the reason we were able to get him. Ya’ know, is there a reason the no – fly list isn’t given to all the airlines every day or every 12 hours or something?! THAT, my friends, would’ve ensured Mr. Shahzad didn’t even make the plane.
He left a whole lot of clues behind – including registrations, email addresses, and his Facebook profile. OK, this guy is/was REALLY stupid, or he wanted to get caught; otherwise, he wouldn’t have left so much evidence behind! Mr. Shahzad is talking – both before & after getting his Miranda Rights read to him – against the wishes of Rep. Peter King & Senator McCentury, I guess. HELLO?! THIS GUY IS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN! Geez, if anything, the case for Mirandizing this guy is way more clear cut than the Underoo Bomber. President Obama assured those who would seek to harm us that we would not live in fear – OH YEA! Let’s see now, it took this administration only a matter of days to catch Faisal Shahzad. And, it took the previous administration how long to get OBL? Oh wait...uh...
Michael Sheehan is talking the developments in the case as of tonight. Mr. Shahzad has a Master’s degree; wow, someone somewhere REALLY got into his head. Apparently, little since the attempted attack on Christmas Day has been learned. Who’s in charge of figuring all this out?! Even if, heaven forbid, he did make the flight, the possibility of Mr. Shahzad being sent back here were pretty decent. Whatever...he shouldn’t even been on the damn plane. Senator Cornhole Cornyn wasn’t happy with Faisal Shahzad getting his Miranda Rights read to him, either. It sounds like a whole lotta "people" need to take their required senior year in high school American National Government class! *&^%$#@! Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton sounds like he’s volunteering to teach these "people." DON’T FALL ASLEEP IN HIS CLASS! And, I LOVE IT that he came right out & said these comments are RISKING our national security. So much for the GOP being "the law & order" types! Gen. Eaton said President Obama is demonstrating strength & honor. The previous administration? Well, I’d say weakness & dishonor, to be charitable about it. Mr. Shahzad will get a trial in civilian court – for now. Who knows what’ll happen in a few weeks or so. Remember, KSM & the other surviving 9/11 conspirators were supposed to get civilian trials, too; now, that’s not a sure thing. So, I’ll believe Mr. Shahzad’s civilian trail when I see it. Gen. Eaton paraphrased a retired JAG’s explanation of the GOP & other neocons creaming in their jeans at the possibility of the use of force & torture:
The use of torture & these techniques are the tools of the stupid, lazy, and the pseudo – tough.
Can he PLEASE go to DICK’s house & say that to his face???!!! You can add all these other "people" on the schedule, too.
"Special Comment Quickie" Senator McCentury is really really REALLY afraid of losing his primary, isn’t he. And, Keith, of course, NAILED IT! Senator McCentury wants to be able, apparently, to pick and choose which American citizens get Miranda Rights. HELLO??!! BRAVO! {insert standing ‘o’ here}
#4 "‘Act of God GOP’" AKA "Acts of GOP" - Gov. Rick "Get Texas Outta the Union!" Perry called the oil spill in the Gulf an act of God. Well, honey, pretty soon, God, in the form of nice black glopy oil, might be visiting your beaches! Guess that’ll show how God feels about you! IDIOT!!
Small Price to Pay Goldilocks is still ready to drill, baby, drill; apparently, Senator Mary Landrieu is, too. Senator Landrieu, too? REALLY? Huh...maybe, she thinks oil won’t seep into "her part" of Louisiana? O...M...G...How has Jon Stewart not gotten a Pulitzer?! LOVE IT! Gov. Perry, I guess, needed to have a little confab with Grandma ExGov TurkeyLover about BP’s safe environmental record – or not; hell, she’d probably deny that happened & blame the Russians she could see from her house or the "lame stream media" or bloggers or Senator McCentury’s staff or... BP hasn’t had the most stellar record in the Lone Star State, either. Well, that must’ve been the Texas that DID secede from the union; maybe, that’s why Gov. Perry wants to go there so badly! And, the BP safety violation list goes on and on and on and on. Halliburton & DICK rear their ugly rears AGAIN in this mess, too. What a damn shock. Is there any horrible nasty deed over the past years that DICK HASN’T HAD a miserable paw in?! Don’t answer that...
** A teenaged Phillies fan got tasered after running out on the field. A few Senators got together today to honor Braves manager, Bobby Cox. A couple deer broke into a beer joint; no, it’s not an intro to "an animal walks into a bar" joke. A couple deer REALLY DID break into a beer joint up in Wisconsin! **
#3 "Tennessee Flooding" - 19 people have been killed in flooding in Tennessee. FEMA is there now. The Cumberland River has crested, but the sorrow won’t end any time soon. Other lakes & rivers have contributed to flooding, too. Brad Schrade is a reporter for The Tennessean; efforts there have gone more to recovery rather than rescue. A lot of areas still don’t have power. Residents of that state may have been more afraid of tornadoes than any impending floods. Again, contact the Red Cross to see how you can help. A whole lot of homeowners didn’t have home and/or flood insurance. Flood insurance, I can sort of understand because it usually doesn’t rain like that down there. But, don’t most home mortgages REQUIRE home insurance? Hubby & I had to get it when we bought our humble abode.
WPITW – Charles Krauthammer is pushing the "no successful terrorist attacks under GWB" memo. James Glassman is an accountant honcho at JP Morgan that thinks the little people are just itch itch *itching about the economy way too much. George Will thinks wind farms kill birds, and that fewer birds will be killed in the Gulf oil spill. And, of course, kitties are the champion birdie killers!
#1 "$hit My Dad Says" - Justin Halperin is a Twitter sensation with quotes from his dear old Dad! I’d like to hang out with Justin’s Dad! ;D Now, he’s published a book of his Dad’s wit & wisdom. William Shatner is on the docket for a pilot based on the book?! HA! How’s this for a pilot/show title – "Shat My Dad Says"? I LIKE IT!