I Infer That Haze Surrounds The Word "Imply"

The always excellent Jim Geraghty believes Richard Blumenthal. 

But I don't believe this:

I believe that when [Blumenthal] said “I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even physical abuse,” he didn’t mean to infer that he himself had experienced that.

I am not sure what Blumenthal's listeners may have inferred.  But as to what Blumenthal meant to imply, well, that's tricky.  Per the version of reality not experienced by the hard left, anyone in uniform was a possible target of Stateside abuse.  Since Blumenthal was in the Marine Corps Reserve, he may have had first hand experience of that (although it would not surprise me if he did not.)   Or he may remember hearing fellow soldiers complain about it.  I would score that passage as ambiguous.

And the Times had some praise for Blumenthal from veterans:

As it turned out, Mr. Blumenthal never served in Vietnam, but over time, his identification with veterans of war became so strong that some of those around him, like Mr. Shays, just assumed he had. He made it a point to attend the funeral of every active soldier from Connecticut killed in the line of duty, and he rearranges his schedule so he can speak at the ceremony for soldiers about to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan.

As attorney general, he created a special division focused on veterans’ affairs and has become a national spokesman for veterans’ rights.

“Oh my God, this guy is relentless; he is nonstop when it comes to veterans,” said Michael Pizzuto, a veteran of the first Iraq war, who has spoken with Mr. Blumenthal at parades and news conferences for veterans in Connecticut.

...

Politicians have always shown deference to veterans, but for Mr. Blumenthal, it seemed to be a calling. Colleagues said he relished marching in Veterans Day parades and visiting veterans halls, where he would chat about their tours of duty.

Far from hiding his military résumé, as some who did not see combat might do, he highlighted it. The biographical page of his Senate campaign Web site prominently displays a photo of a young Mr. Blumenthal, in his crisp blue and white uniform.

In Hartford and in Washington, Mr. Blumenthal’s advocacy for veterans’ rights is unyielding. He has lobbied the General Assembly to grant unemployment benefits to the spouses of military personnel, and advocated for the creation of a Hispanic affairs advocate within the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs.

The father of a Marine, he frequently speaks about the experience of attending the funerals of local service members who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. “The ceremonies are a powerful combination of wrenching grief and soaring pride,” he said in 2006.

In 2007, when he set up the veterans advocacy division of the attorney general’s office, he declared, “My office will fight for those who fought for us.”

In interviews, several veterans from around the state said the office had helped them penetrate the thick bureaucracy of the state’s benefits system, and applied a personal touch.

When Paul Kingman, a Navy veteran who lost feeling in his feet after chemotherapy, called Mr. Blumenthal’s office in 2007, he was trying to get a hearing for disability payments from the Social Security Administration. So it came as a surprise when Mr. Blumenthal himself got on the line.

“He’s a nice guy; he was cordial,” Mr. Kingman, 50, said from his home in Naugatuck. “Busy people like him, with all the rest going on in the state, I was surprised he’d have time for little old me.”

A week after his conversation with Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Kingman learned that his hearing, which he had been trying to get for nearly four years, had been scheduled.

“I don’t know who he talked to, but next thing you know, I had a hearing,” said Mr. Kingman, who at the time was living on $200 a month and food stamps. “He stood up for me.”

Cecelia Louis had a similar story: after five years trying to obtain health care from the Connecticut Veterans Affairs Department for her 78-year-old husband, a Korean War veteran, she reached out to the attorney general’s office, which resolved the issue in a matter of weeks.

“He realizes, especially now with all the veterans coming home with great needs, how important this is,” she said.

This is not John Kerry using his veteran status to denounce the army of Ghengis Khan.

MORE:  The original Times piece had this version of Blumenthal's statement:

At a 2008 ceremony in front of the Veterans War Memorial Building in Shelton, he praised the audience for paying tribute to troops fighting abroad, noting that America had not always done so.

“I served during the Vietnam era,” he said. “I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even physical abuse.”

Still ambiguous at worst.  Now, if he had mentioned coming home from Vietnam, well, that would be troubling.

Comments

[LTC John]

He isn't John Kerry, but he is a liar by commission and ommission.

He should have put aside borrowed glories so as not to become Tom Harkin part 2.

[bgates]

I think "not John Kerry" is enough. Everybody who can reasonably claim to be not John Kerry should be elected Senator from Connecticut. (John Kerry, of course, can continue to be Senator from Massachusetts. So everybody wins!)

[Clarice]

So, he was doing his job by helping constituents..Give him a box of biscuits. He's still a liar and you needn't decide if I'm inferring or implying it..I'm saying it straight out..and t voters seem to agree per Ras.

[Appalled]

To engage in some armchair shrinkology, it looks like this guy may have some guilt about his five deferrments, and his habit of misspeaking, as well as his veterans advocacy, might stem from that.

[bunky]

Nice face pull on the guy

[Appalled]

bgates:

I think the Lord in Heaven above each day that I am not John Kerry. The fact that I can now be Senator from Connecticut because of that is just icing on the cake. Mine is a truly blessed existence!

[NK]

You're right TM, he is not the dastardly John Kerry (who is after all), but Bloomie is still AN EMPTY SUIT-- a polite empty suit, but an empty suit nonetheless who would do whatever the dastardly troika of Schumer, Durbin and Leahy tell him to do. That's why he'd be a disater for the Nutmeg state.

[Danube of Thought]

Can't come up with a single clue as to why he ever stretched things the way he did. He didn't really have to.

[dbp]

"Or he may remember hearing fellow soldiers complain about it".

Off topic minor quibble: "Soldier" is what Army guys call each other, in the USMC we called each other "Marines".

[matt]

I wonder in Mexico's President Calderon read the Arizona law. He began his visit by calling it discriminatory.

In that it targets illegal immigrants all of whom are crossing from Mexico, the vast majority of whom are Mexican, is it discriminatory or is it simply common sense?

[Rick Ballard]

Chris Matthews provides his opinion on Blumenthal. Perhaps Connecticut deserves to be serviced by someone with Kerry's honor and Dodd's honesty?

The voters will never be able to say that they had no warning.

[Janet]

There is a "Someone Should Ask" point Matt.

"President Calderon, can you tell us why your citizens are fleeing your country?"
"What are your plans for reimbursing America for taking care of your citizens?"

[Neo]

This is definitely a case of acting stupidly.
Not unconditionally apologizing yesterday only leaves this wound open.

[LouP]

Some of this hair-splitting is going too far. I was in the Navy. From 1964 through 1972 I spent a good bit of time with the coast of Vietnam in view, and a lot of that time in the Gulf of Tonkin. Yet I was never actually IN Vietnam.

However, when I returned to the States all of us on my military flight were advised to change out of uniform before going off the base. I witnessed first hand the mobs of animals spitting and screaming at the buses that took us from the base to downtown where we could catch other US flights, and my wife and I were nearly mobbed at the San Francisco airport - saved only by the sight of a serviceman who foolishly did not change out of uniform.

The point of this is that all you had to do to witness such scenes was to be perceived by the mob to be in the military in that time period. They didn't care whether you were actually IN Vietnam.

So I'll give Blumenthal a break on that one. Deferrments, now that's another matter altogether.

[narciso]

You were in the theatre of operations, Blumenthal was 6,000 miles away, in the cushiest reserve unit in the Country

[Barbara]

"Can't come up with a single clue as to why he ever stretched things the way he did. He didn't really have to."

DOT

I can't provide an answer other than to say that he must have a personality flaw and perhaps a good deal of guilt about his service during the Vietnam era.

Some people, no matter how talented or successful, feel compelled to lie even when the truth would serve them better. I've never understood that type of personality either. It just is. It may take many years, but eventually, the lies catch up with them; and the sad thing is that it needed have happened at all.

[Jane]

It seems to me the left could care less about Blumenthal's good deeds since they concern our military. But then again, the left really doesn't care much about lies either.

[bunky]

When you lie about being in the meatgrinder you sh*t on all the heroes that served. If he was a 'pub he would have resigned the AG job already let alone continue to run for senate.

[Captain Hate]

Deferrments, now that's another matter altogether.

Why? A lot of people that served did so after their deferments for college expired, for example. The politician in question here served after his deferments ran out; it's where he served versus what he stated that's in question.

[Clarice]

I doubt anyone spit at the marines handing out teddy bears for Toys for Tots.

He's a creep.

[Rocco]

Valor stolen from those that earned it!

[Clarice]

He lied because at least one of his deferments--to serve as an assistant to Graham at the Washington Post was based on the phony notion that this was an essential service he was providing.

[Ignatz]

With apologies to Cap'n Hate this post by Allahpundit covers it pretty well.
Over a period of years he repeatedly and intentionally deceived people about his service. Implications and inferences lose their applicability after years of him planting and then not correcting the same noxious lie.

[Clarice]

"he resourceful Blumenthal was nothing if not connected: When his student deferment clocked out, he got his draft board to give him a 2-A "occupational deferment" for his work as a special aide to Washington Post Publisher Katharine Graham, whom he met through her son Donald, a classmate at Harvard. The 2-A deferment was for jobs essential to the "national health, safety, and interest." (For the record, Donald Graham joined the Army and served in Vietnam, not that you'll ever hear him brag about it.)
RELATED IN SLATE
In 2008, Jack Shafer pondered Joe Biden's told grandiose lies. In 2004, Timothy Noah reported Dick Cheney's last ditch effort to duck the draft.
Blumenthal's next stop was Richard Nixon's White House, where he secured yet another occupational deferment in 1970. But then Nixon began to replace the deferment hodge-podge with a draft lottery that would conscript young men no matter how noble their work or their student status. Blumenthal, who drew a very low number in the first lottery—virtually guaranteeing that he'd be drafted—made a desperate move while the clock was still running on his occupational deferment: He weaseled his way into the Marine Reserves, a branch that he correctly deduced would not be sent to Vietnam."
http://www.slate.com/id/2254221/

[Thomas Collins]

Happy Birthday, glasater.

Jane, whatever database you are using is, in my case at least, accurate. Today is my birthday. If your database includes my disciplinary record in high school, I would appreciate it if you would keep it to yourself. :-))

[Ignatz]

BTW, has RichatUF posted lately?
Haven't seen him around.

[narciso]

happy birthday, TC and glasater

[bolitha]

The thing that amazes me is that Blumenthal is STILL leading by three points! What fools some voters are, and I am afraid that he will prevail--dems don't care if people lie and certainly don't care if someone has not served in the military or rather has lied about serving in Viet Nam.

[bolitha]

OT Just WHO is anduril????

[pops]

Blumenthal is just like all the other stolen valor liars. You find they like to hang out in places where REAL veterans go, the bars, the clubs, the venues so they can brag about their 'service'.

It would be very odd for someone to make up service that didn';t occur and then shy away from any Veteran event or location.

If you don't believe me, just remember, I served during Vietnam, Korea, Grenada, Gulf War I, Apocolypse Now and the Gulf War II...

[pops]

"I doubt anyone spit at the marines handing out teddy bears for Toys for Tots."

Now, to be fair, you do tend to get drooled on during those events. He may have been having flashbacks to a particularly moist teething toddler.

[Porchlight]

He began his visit by calling it discriminatory.

Of course it's discriminatory. Its very purpose is to discriminate between legal citizens and illegal aliens in accordance with Federal law. That is why the public supports it.

[Sue]

For cripe's sake, John Kerry told that same old tired cap story for years before he was finally called on it. I'm sure by the time someone called him a liar, he had begun to believe it actually happened. And he almost made it to the White House. Democrats don't care if someone lies. It is a resume enhancement. We had a sitting president that lied under oath and he left office more popular than when he went in. Lies only matter if they are told by republicans. Or if they can be attributed to a republican. Or be made up about a republican.

[Porchlight]

BTW, has RichatUF posted lately?
Haven't seen him around.

I was wondering that too. Hope all is well.

[pops]

This shouldn't be hard, if he 'misspoke', release the original speech texts and let's see what exactly you were supposed to have said.

If you don't, I'll assume your simply lying now, to cover your old lies.

[Clarice]

Ignatz, good point. I'll try to email him.

[daddy]

If his obvious lie and pattern of lying is going to be excused as simply accidental misspeaking of little or no consequence, then I suggest he just keep up the practice of proudly lying (misspeaking) about his military service in VietNam. Why not? It won't effect him at all, but it'll continue to remind us who loathe him that he's a serial liar, and it'll continue to remind those that support him that he's an accidental serial misspreaker about things that ultimately in their view are of little or no consequence.

[Hayfoot, strawfoot.]

I got a letter just today.
Jodie says hello ho hay.
==========

[Porchlight]

OT - Jay Cost has a good analysis of the PA-12 race:

Is PA-12 a bellwether?

[centralcal]

Thanks, Porchlight, for the Jay Cost link. He is always very informative.

[Captain Hate]

Yeah I agree with CC; Cost is a breath of fresh air at RCP.

[Captain Hate]

The thing that amazes me is that Blumenthal is STILL leading by three points!

Yeah I never get this either until I hear some fellow codger pining for those old voting machines where you could flick one lever and it would vote the complete party line; without fail, it's a commiecrat thats whining about it.

[Cecil Turner]

Can't come up with a single clue as to why he ever stretched things the way he did. He didn't really have to.

None of 'em do, but it's surprisingly common, especially amongst politicians. Harkin and Kerry are great examples. So is that guy on the stage with Blumenthal who claimed to win a Bronze Star (and be a 2nd Lt? WTF?). Cleland rewrote his grenade injury from self-inflicted to a "newbie's" fault. None of those made any real difference, except as a credibility torpedo. It's all very strange.

[peter]

OT, a little history, speaking of birthdays. LUN

[Clarice]

Biden persuaded himself he was Neil Kinnock, Cecil, Remember?

[Jane says obamasucks]

Hey guys, if you want to see something truly incredible - check out Caro's video of portugal here.

[MarkJ]

New Blumenthal campaign slogans:

"I'm not a Vietnam vet, but I do play one on TV."

"Who you gonna believe? Me or your lying eyes and ears?"

"Dick Blumenthal: Not a Vietnam vet but an incredible simulation!"

[Extraneus]

Nice pics, Caro.

[scott]

Just beautiful, Caro. I must say I was nearly moved to tears, but I'm soft as a grape :)

[Rick Ballard]

Combining the NYT coverage with Matthews histrionics leads me to believe that there is something else stinking up Blumenthal's closets. What's the age of consent for sheep in Connecticut?

[Clarice]

Caro, those are most exquisite. I've been to those places and they did't look as beautiful as they do in your photos.

[Danube of Thought]

Beautiful pictures.

[Danube of Thought]

Harkin flew in a "ferry" squadron out of Atsugi, Japan (my former brother-in-law was his squadron mate), transferring planes mainly to Cubi Point, P.I. On one occasion he landed briefly at Da Nang. That morphed, in his telling, into "combat missions."

Kerry's destroyer, USS Gridley, pulled briefly into Da Nang, where a small party went ashore to run some errands. Kerry was not in the shore party. In his telling he was, and while ashore he observed all sorts of life-changing stuff, piles of dead bodies and the like. And then there came the Magic Hat, the secret missions into Cambodia (where he spent that memorable Christmas Eve).

What is it with these people? Why do they do it? And how on earth do they persuade themselves that the truth won't come out? And how can they not understand that in the eyes of the guys who were actually there they are committing the absolute, ultimate cardinal sin?

[narciso]

Beautiful pictures, caro,

[Danube of Thought]

Former Sen. Larry Pressler opines on the Blumenthal fiasco in the NY Times.

[Janet]

Wow Caro, that video is lovely...just lovely.

[Sue]

DoT,

I can't figure out why they lie either. It isn't just men, though. Hillary is famous for stretching the truth beyond recognition.

Caro,

Absolutely beautiful pictures. I had to watch it twice, once wasn't enough.

[Extraneus]

Good link, DoT.

The problem is that for every person who won a deferment or a spot in a special National Guard unit, someone poorer or less educated, and usually African-American, had to serve.

Since these are people who subscribe to the idea that the country is inherently unfair, and that the deck is stacked against minorities, the guilt they must (and should) harbor for having contributed to minority deaths in Vietnam, has to be expiated somehow. Apparently, some - who couldn't take the obvious rabid lefty route for career reasons - are motivated to hide the truth instead. Or lie outright.

[LouP]

Pressler' article is good DOT. Thanks for the link.

Rationalization is something that Libs seem to be especially good at, but whatever the political persuasion, I've noticed that rationalization seems to be a particularly nasty disease infecting a lot of people these days.

[Extraneus]

In football news, apparently Beyonce is Mexican...

WASHINGTON (AP)—New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez(notes) and tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson(notes) are attending a state dinner at the White House.

The players are invited to the dinner in honor of Mexico President Felipe Calderon and his wife. It’s the first state dinner hosted by President Obama and his wife, Michelle, since November.

Entertainment at the dinner will be provided by Beyonce and by the U.S. Marine Band.

I suppose I should have know that.

[caro]

Thanks, all. If I were going to Portugal again I would skip Lisbon and go straight to Porto. The Alfama-like area is probably little changed in hundreds of years except for the addition of utilities.

Scott, I think it is that Fado music that haunts.

It is overwhelming to get back into the stream here at JOM after 10 days away. I loved all your links today. I found the AT piece on vote fraud particularly disturbing. It is your civil rights and mine that are being denied. No one seems to care much.

Happiest of birthdays to TC and glasater! Many more.

[centralcal]

Fabulous pictures, Caro! I especially liked the button on the hat at the beginning and the ending frames - made me think of Bad and how I miss her.

[narciso]

So, this Alter is not turning out to be 'sunshine and lolly pops' after all, the
abusive cursing at everyone involved, now apparently the move to buy off Greg Craig with a bribe, because he took the Gitmo pledge seriously, in the LUN

[Rick Ballard]

The Pressler piece is good but I wonder why something similar wasn't printed about Bubba Blubberbutt's draft dodging adventures. I seem to recall a letter written by Bubba wherein he describes the discovery of deep personal conviction concerning his being wholly unfit to serve.

This gruel is too thin - there's something else rotting close to Blumenthal.

[centralcal]

O/T: MayBee tweeted that Michelle looked really pretty for the state dinner. So, of course, it got me curious.

HuffPo has a big photo of the O's. Michelle's hair is curly - an attractive style, less severe than usual. The dress a fabulous, shimmery blue. However, it looks painful beyond belief and is ill fitting in the bodice.

That is my two-cents. Clarice or Ann will surely post a photo before long.

[Cecil Turner]

. . . the guilt they must (and should) harbor for having contributed to minority deaths in Vietnam . . .

I don't know about the draft, but the claims (e.g., by ML King) that African Americans suffered disproportionate casualties is not supportable. Mack Owens (The Color Of Combat: The Minority-Disproportion Myth):

The claim of disproportionate minority casualties wasn’t true during the Vietnam War, where the record indicates that 86 percent of those who died during the war were white and 12.5 percent were black, from an age group in which blacks comprised 13.1 percent of the population. It is even less true today.

He points out that minorities are actually underrepresented in the combat arms, which matches my personal observations.

[Porchlight]

Dress isn't great - the bodice is stiff and she looks like she was poured into it and is spilling over the top. Too much glitter and earrings are way too big.

[Extraneus]

Thanks, Cecil. At least that should alleviate some guilt.

[Neo]

David Brooks: As for Blumenthal, my guess is he survives his little brush with mendacity. The Connecticut Democrat accidentally said he was a combat veteran, when in fact he never served in Vietnam. Could happen to anyone! The claim is dishonorable, but everybody expects politicians to lie. One of the odd perplexities of an angry moment is that expectations are so low, politicians end up surviving scandals that would kill them in happier times.

The man is braindead .. exactly what metro-partisans think of Republicans.

[Captain Hate]

The Pressler piece is good but I wonder why something similar wasn't printed about Bubba Blubberbutt's draft dodging adventures.

Ya know, it's one thing to protect somebody who is a humanitarian at heart and works selflessly to improve the lot of others; and then there's a serial predator whose goal in life is to get his rocks off no matter what the reciprocal feeling are. How so many of the "smart" set can view Slick with anything other than disgusted loathing really makes me wonder what filtering/denial devices they employ.

[narciso]

This guy, in the LUN, not Brooks he's too far gone, is becoming a joke

[Janet]

mendacity [mɛnˈdæsɪtɪ]
n pl -ties
1. the tendency to be untruthful
2. a falsehood

A brush with mendacity huh? "accidentally"?
These pundits are sickening....all of them.

Blumenthal is a liar. He lied. He is a liar.

[Captain Hate]

feeling == feelings

[Sue]

I think Michelle's dress is pretty. However, Obama's bow tie is crooked and his pants are too long.

[Pagar]

During the state dinner would be a good time to ask Obama about the latest report posted by Doug Ross.

"Hundreds of terrorists may have infiltrated from Mexico recently"

Wonder if this info will cause heartburn at the state dinner?

[narciso]

One is reminded of Bubba's insulting letter to
Col. Holmes, with the 'political vialability'
quote

[MayBee]

Hey Central!
Yeah, I think she looks pretty, but the construction on the strapless side is squishing the fat/skin up and over. That shouldn't happen.

[Captain Hate]

Wow narc, moderate Hezbollah. The comments there say it all.

What a crew of Jew hating dunces we have in charge.

[Janet]

everybody expects politicians to lie.

IMO this is a huge problem. Some of our worst are our leaders. We need some honorable men to step forward. Are there enough left? Our culture mocks all that is good and honorable. We've got to stop settling for liars and thieves.

"We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and then bid the geldings to be fruitful."
C.S.Lewis

[Sue]

Okay, looking at http://newsbird.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/michelle-obama-a-vision-in-blue-tarp-for-mexico-state-dinner/#more-8162>sideviews of Michelle's dress, the top is too tight. Her fat is squishing out of it.

[daddy]

Sorry to go OT what with Caro's great video, Narciso's Hezbo-Kumbaya Link, and the continuing rationalization of Blumenthal's serial lying, but this breaking story confirms that the old rumors of Tinky Winky being deviant and having sex with some of the other TeleTubbies appear to be true.

Here's the ">http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/may/19/london-olympics-2012-mascot"> evidence of their offspring.

(Plenty of good laughs in the comments).

[Pagar]

That dress looks like a torture instrument. How could anyone stand it?

[Captain Hate]

Is that dress from the De Sade collection?

Just so I can't be accused of having nothing but snark, Moochelle's hair looks very nice.

[centralcal]

daddy: I can't stop laughing. One of the very first comments: The one in "blue looks like it soiled itself" - almost brought a tear to my eye! Sounded exactly like something PUK would have said, instantly, on viewing these idiotic mascots.

[Ann]

I think she was going for Wonder Woman!

[centralcal]

Back to Michelle. She can be very glamorous, but always just goes a little too far over the top for a First Lady. She is trying too hard to be the "celebrity" on the "red carpet," instead of the classically elegant wife of the U.S. President.

[Janet]

MO's hair looks nice though.
...and,
the old rumors of Tinky Winky being deviant and having sex with some of the other TeleTubbies appear to be true.

T.W.'s mother should be ashamed. Naming a child Tinky Winky almost guarantees an adulthood of deviancy.

[Ann]

That evil look is back.

What is she thinking? hmmmmmm

[Barbara]

"I think she was going for Wonder Woman!"

Ann, That is priceless!

[Threadkiller]

"However, Obama's bow tie is crooked and his pants are too long."

The tie is straight, he is crooked.

[Ann]

There is lots more here: Wonderama

Thankie Barbara

[Sue]

The dress is really pretty. I am having a hard time getting past that mess flowing out of her right armpit. She needs someone that knows how to fit her to fit her. Her hair is a wig, btw. And her eyelashes are fake.

[centralcal]

No kidding, Bryan (Threadkiller)!

Annie Banannie - you did it again - Wonder Woman, indeed!

[Sue]

If she is going to insist on wearing dresses that require a cleavage, she needs to get a boob job. And stop using the fat underneath her arms for boobs.

[daddy]

Janet,

Having just finished Richard Dawkin's latest Evolution book I now suspect it was a cross fertilization of Tinky Winky and this guy, ">http://s3.hubimg.com/u/250030_f520.jpg"> Nu Nu, their Vacuum Cleaner.

[Threadkiller]

"I am having a hard time getting past that mess flowing out of her right armpit."

They are counting on Photoshop but it looks like they need an auto body shop.

[Jim Rhoads a/k/a vjnjagvet]

ISTM Pressler is coming close to the nub of the issue. If Blumenthal's exaggeration about something as important as his combat service is tolerated he is more likely than not to exaggerate on increasingly important stuff isn't he? And shouldn't the reward for his good deeds be the satisfaction of a job well done instead of a promotion to the Senate?

On the Empress:

That strapless thing just doesn't work. Is it one size too small up top?

I'm far from a fashion expert but I thought the boned bodice went out with Jane Austin. Guess not.

[Captain Hate]

cc, thanks for the comment on daddy's link that piqued my interest enough to go there. The Olympics must be so proud of such distinguished mascots. I guess there are newspapers in Hell (wtf; of *course* there are) because earlier in the day I could hear Avery Brundage's screams get shriller.

[DrJ]

To the birthday boys, have a great one!

Gotta run -- Sonny Rollins tonight.

[David Brooks]

"Obama's bow tie is crooked and his pants are too long."

Yeah, but how about the crease in those pants.
Ummm, Ummm, Yummm!