Albanians Love George W. Bush

As you already know, the leader of the free world had to go all the way to Albania last week to find a crowd that didn't want to pelt him with tomatoes.  The only pisser of the trip is that someone over there may have stolen his watch.

Either way, when I read about the reception he got over in the Baltics, my memories immediately went back to our beloved Coach on Cheers, with his foolproof technique to memorizing facts about the world around him.

Funny that POTUS actually makes Coach look like a goddamned geinus!

Kyran Chetry Shows Why She Makes the Big Bucks

What a dummy...

Lazy

I've been lazy with posting the last few days....

While I have not yet rewatched it on On Demand yet (maybe tonight?), the longer I have to let it sink in, the more I love the ending Senor Chase gave us the other night.

Speaking of being lazy, I'll link up Althouse again. She tends to agree with me, that an unsatisfying ending can be satisfying...but that American audiences are being trained to be lazy.

You go, girl.

On the way in this morning, I had on the Sirius 80s station and by chance, Journey's "Don't Stop" came on. The song will forever be attached to that Jersey diner in my head.

Do They All Die of Clogged Arteries?

Nice ending, David Chase.

You win.

By the way, I broke down and scanned for spoilers early today.  This SOB had it pretty much balls on.

I have The Answers ***MAJOR SPOILERS***
by FrancisBegbie Jun 6th, 2007
05:01:52 PM
Well some of them. I saw a promotional copy of the last episode and while it did not include the last minute I saw enough so here we go. No joke. - AJ's car catches on fire while he is hooking up with his new girl. Very symbolic if you remember how they got that car. - Tony gets AJ a job in the entertainment industry because AJ was going to join the army to fight terrorism. - Tony goes to Junior and Junior has no idea who Tony is.This is after Janice goes to him to try and get after his money. - Phil Leotardo gets hit. He is killed by Benny at a gas station and then gets his head run over by the car he was in. - They find Phil because the FBI agent that Tony has been helping tells him where Phil is. - While Phil is away Tony has a sit down with New York and they agree to lay off and also say they would not mind if Phil is gone. The last scene they are sitting in a diner with Dont Stop Believing by Journey playing. REALLY REALLY intense and right when the conclusion is about to play out my copy ended. Come back Sunday night and call me a liar but no one will need to....

"There certainly is no indication there's a mafia war going on."

Those are the words of NYC Police Commish Ray Kelly.

But with two mob-related murders
in three days in New York,  the situation could get interesting.

Some folks are starting to wonder (wish?) if the city could see its first mob 'war' since the early 1990s.

Alla tua salute.

Sopranos Predictions

While we all know that The Sopranos, like the myth of an American Mafia, is a work of fiction, the bloggers are going crazy about tomorrow's series finale episode, Made in America.

Finally found someone over at HBO who agreed with my adopted theory...that Furio will come back in some way, perhaps being made and taking over the New Jersey family?

The best one, though, comes from someone over at The New Republic.  Paulie gets his own show, premiering in March 2009 and entitled "'Nuts."

Either way, I've got the chicken parm ingredients ready to go for a barn burner tomorrow night.  Screw the  Cav's game.  I might even treat myself to a sweet from Presti's.

Here's to Good Friends. Tonight is Kind of Special.

Reports of the Bill's Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

The Bad Examples are a Chicago-area band that had one minor local hit in the 80s, Not Dead Yet.

According to the folks over at National Review, citing a GOP Senate Aide, believe that the bill might have another life after the cloture vote last night in the Senate.

Al Sharpton is Outraged. Seriously!

So Paris was sent home to wear a bracelet.

Big deal.

In other surprising news, Al Sharpton's pi$$ed about it.

Maybe we can get a good riot out of this.

If You Can't Pass Anything Good, Don't Pass Anything At All

Rasmussen has some new polling out that suggests folks across the country prefer no bill to the bad one in the Senate now. Conservatives are not the only ones who dislike this sham...for reasons ranging from de facto amnesty to the practical-impossibility of ever enforcing the bugger.

Viva bipartidismo !!!

Sensible Mom has it covered, too.

Insert Caption Here

It's wrong to applaud someone's personal crises, but I am happy for Larry David tonight and finally removing this tumor from his life.

As usual, Ann Althouse has some goodies on his loud-mouthed ex-.

Interesting Theory on the Final Sopranos Episode

We at Musings lament to note that this Sunday will be the last new episode of the Sopranos.  The name of this installment is "Made in America."

On Howard Stern's Wrap-Up Show on Tuesday, a caller had a reasonable-sounding guess on how the series concludes.

Furio somehow makes it back from Italy and, through whatever chain of events, ends up taking over the family.

Made in America.

Will he also finally get to bed Carmela?

You read it here first, if you hadn't already heard it on Howard.

Happy Birthday, Superjock Larry Lujack!

Yes, little snot-nosed Tommy....it's Your Charming and Delightful Good Old Uncle Lar's BIRTHDAY! (Insert lion-roaring sound effect here).

Chicago radio legend Larry Lujack turns 67 today.

I grew up with Uncle Lar on the morning radio on WLS and he, along with Steve Dahl and Garry Meier, ruined me for life, forever setting the bar for radio personalities too high to be reached by the mere mortals I've encountered ever since.

No one else ever came close to living up.

Every once in a while, I'm tempted to go out and pick up one of the Animal Stories CDs, but probably won't bother...the memories are better.

Happy birthday, Larry.

Are You Crying?

It's a busy day out here in the salt mines, but Politico's top story today is rather amusing.

It's about how it's considered to be somewhat manly to cry in public life.

Crying makes a statement about how deeply you care about certain issues.

In the opinion of this man, it sure does make a statement!

Be not confused. The insertion of 'considered' above was done carefully.

It used to be considered cool to wear parachute pants, too.

That Annoying Greek Makes Me Want to Scream!

So I temporarily switched over from just watching the regular debate to an alternate view offered by CNN.  It was the debate with a running commentary by Michael Murphy and Arianna Huffington.

I can tolerate Murphy (who closed the coverage with, "Okay, that's it for this coverage from Pipeline.  You can now go back to porn.") but I started to understand just how her last husband decided to play for the other team after they split.

Someone fire this woman up like a plate of saganaki.

Funniest Moment of the GOP Debate

I'm watching the debate on CNN Pipeline in the background on my PC now as I tied up some work issues, but unless Bill Clinton streaks across the stage, the most entertaining moment has already happened.

Wolfie asked Rudolph to comment on a story today about a Rhode Island Catholic Bishop blasting his namby-pamby position on abortion.

As America's Mayor started to answer, there were repeated electrical issues creating a lighthing-like sound effect on the television.  The other candidates jokingly stepped away from this live wire.

(paraphrasing) "As someone who spent so many years in parochial school, that was pretty scary!" Rudy said.

CNN.com Trys a New Look

Check out CNN's beta view on the new page. Cramming more stories above the scroll is a nice touch.

I can do without the Anderson Cooper Saves the World ad, though!

Hey! Where are the White Women At?

They're in the Hillary camp for now, it seems!

Politico leads with new polling this morning showing that identity politics, specifically white women, are proving to be an early source of Hillary's polling success.

It's not clear that this will carry past the Democratic primaries into the general. White women generally have tended to vote Republican in recent elections. Further, people's allegiances don't appear to be rock solid. There's a framing effect and the degree to which folks will support Hillary tend to vary based on who the question pits here against.

Nonetheless, this continues to shape up to be an election that could tear down our old assumptions about which groups side with whom and who will be pandered to.

My First Visit from Africa!

Every once in a while, I poke through my Google Analytics reporting and have been anxiously awaiting my first visit from Africa.  I've already covered the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia.  Heck, I've even had some Candadians!  But Africa eluded me until yesterday when we had a visit from Potchefstroom, South Africa.

Welkom!

Faith Bigotry From Rudy Campaign?

People in glass cathedrals shouldn't throw stones.

While I obviously can't vouch for the authenticity of the email referenced in this posting, some folks are alledging a whispering campaign about Romney's Mormon faith from the Giuliani campaign.

Let he whose religion is without counterintuitive dogma send the first email.

Shame, shame, shame.

Good Blogging on "The Blue Comet"

God, I am so ticked this show is going away!

Here's more on NJ.com. Great random commentary on the bottom, including the significance of white shoes and an open question on who the hell would have a life-sized cutout of Sylvio in their house!

Mike Gravel and Where He Gets His Meds

I have a busy Monday in front of me, so perhaps not much time to post, but I couldn't let this one from last night's Democratic debate in New Hampshire pass.

When the candidates were talking about the state of veterans' healthcare in America, former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel noted, "...so make no misunderstandings, I know the system. I get my meds from the VA and I get the rest from the Medicare. So I know the system up front and personal."

This begs the question what kind of meds he's on, of course. He's the loose cannon of the group and we hope that whatever he's taking, he ups the dosage a little bit!

Phil Leotardo and the Pygmies in New Jersey

Once again, Frank Vincent got one of the best lines in last night's Sopranos.

Since I've been reading some of these mafia books lately, one little thing jumped out at me that made me snicker.

When he was putting out the order on Tony's head, he talked about how the Jersey family makes everyone, they don't do the initiation rites correctly and "they have no respect for this thing."

"This thing" was not a lazy use of language, but rather something kind of specific. La Cosa Nostra (LCN) translates to "this thing of ours."

The Mafia is also called the Syndicate, the Mob, and the Cosa Nostra (Our Thing).

Answers.com

I'm not breaking any ground here, uncovering a hidden truth, but it just kind of proved again how carefully David Chase writes this show.

Larry Flynt Is At It Again!

The Chicago Tribune is the first major outlet to start running this story on noted First Amendement Pioneer, Larry Flynt. Look for more folks to catch up with them.


Hustler's Flynt seeks another DC sex scandal

Posted by Frank James at 11:58 am CDT

Larry Flynt, the famous pornographer known for his Hustler magazine, is at it again, taking out a full-page ad in the Sunday Washington Post in which he offers up to $1 million for anyone who can document having had a sexual relationship with "a current member of the U.S. Congress or a high-ranking government official."

"Can you provide documented evidence of illicit sexual or intimate relations with a Congressperson, Senator or other prominent officeholder? Larry Flynt and HUSTLER Magazine will pay you up to $1 million if we choose to publish your verified story and use your material. CALL OUR HOTLINE 1-800-251-2714 OR E-MAIL US AT HUSTLER@LFP.COM"

Flynt has made such offers in the same way at least twice before, in 1999 then back in the 1970s.

Flynt claims credit for the resignation of Robert Livingston from the House in 1999. Near the end of the impeachment proceedings against then-President Bill Clinton, Livingston, who had been just become speaker-elect, revealed that he had marital indiscretions and resigned before Flynt could publish an article that would have disclosed that the former lawmaker had affairs with at least four women.

Flynt is obviously hoping for another high-profile trophy, particularly if it allows him to accuse an especially self-righteous politician or policymaker of hypocrisy.

Democrats to Debate Tonight in New Hampshire on CNN

The Democrats take the stage tonight at 7PM EST on CNN.  Pregame coverage comes on at 5.  While the debate should be over at 9, I'm faced with the dilema of watching the wrap up and then catching Sopranos on On Demand later this week, or skipping the analysis and going over for the 2d-to-last episode right away.

These are the times that try Dan's soul.

While I'd love to hear them press Edwards to stir it up a bit on some of the Shrum accusations recently (family fights are so much more entertaining than ones with the outsiders) I won't be holding my breath.

I don't expect too much jabbing between front-runners Obama and Rodham-Clinton yet (spare getting someone to finally nail her down on what "I take responsibility for my war vote" actually means), but one has to wonder if this will be the last big spotlight for Li'l Denny K. and Mike Gravel if they don't get their collective act together.

This Guy is Nuts About Baseball!

Mississippi Braves Manager Phillip Wellman throws a tantrum almost as good as Billy Martin!

British Humour

One has to love British coloquiolisms.

Did Legal Write This?

I was browsing thru my Friends list on Netflix to see what folks are up to and noticed that you could put in your own avatar (finally) among other personalization thingamajigs.

Look, I get it, and I'm not complaning, but I do love the wiggle room they leave themselves to edit users' choice of pix.

Photos or images that you choose to post must be owned entirely by you and cannot contain the images of or owned by any third party, and cannot be infringing, vulgar, obscene, invasive of privacy or publicity rights, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable. Failure to abide by these standards may result in your membership cancellation and other legal responses. Other community members may "flag" your image or any of your text, nickname or content. Netflix may, but is not obligated to, review the content and may delete or remove it at any time.

Netflix

A Funny Thing Happened at the Q

While I could personally care less about the Cavs making it to the NBA Finals last night after beating the Pistons, I am very happy for the city of Cleveland and my friends who are getting all wrapped up in this.  This is the first time they've made the Finals in the 36 year history of the club.

As a Chicago Cubs fan, of course, I have to snicker at their making a production about this long dry streak.

I have a feeling a lot of people will be sleeping something off today and getting off to a slow start on this muggy Sunday.  I was just outside and can only hear the birds chirping.  It's quite peaceful, but it won't last.

Anyway, I flipped past the game for a moment last evening and saw something I don't know that I have ever seen before...the game was delayed for 15 minutes because the scoreboard actually broke!  They didn't get it completely fixed until halftime, so during the 2d quarter, the PA was reading off the score after every hoop and counting down the shot clock for the players.

Go Cavs.  Series against the Spurs begins Thursday.

It Was *40* Years Ago Today

...that the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in the United States.  (It had been released in the UK a day earlier).

People who don't appreciate the Fab Four should always be approached with caution.  They likely have other perversions, as well.

It's almost not worth blogging on what a mind-bend this album is, so let's just reflect, shall we, on this gift to the world.  

1. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
2. With A Little Help From My Friends
3. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
4. Getting Better
5. Fixing A Hole
6. She's Leaving Home
7. Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite!
8. Within You Without You
9. When I'm Sixty-Four
10. Lovely Rita
11. Good Morning Good Morning
12. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)
13. A Day In The Life

Tell Them "Don Pepe Sent Me (To Put a Cap in Your Ass)"

This story is amusing to me for no other reason than I grew up right by here and drove by, and listened to Pepe's commercials for the first 18 years of my life.  I can probably count on one hand, with some fingers for change, the number of times I ate there.

Superstar local radio jock Miguel "The Freakin' Puerto Rican" Garcia was arrested near a Pepe's Restaurant in Calumet City, IL the other night after allegedly getting violent and pulling out his piece, if you know what I mean.

Vamos!

Rolling Stone on the Rudy Campaign

My friend, Cody checks in tonight from the Land of 10,000 Lakes with a kick-in-the-nuts to the Giuliani campaign out of Rolling Stone magazine's Matt Taibbi.

I've posted many times here, as have others, with bewilderment at how Giuliani gets away with the macho routine surrounding the 9-11 attacks.  The man did nothing to halt the attacks, but there's no coherent argument we can make about what he should have done on that front.

At the very least, there's controversy around the wisdom of his decision to put his disaster command center in the same structure that had already been attacked by terrorists a few years earlier rather than opting for the less-visible Brooklyn.

He looked good in the photo ops and probably did calm down people a hell of a lot more than old Deer-in-the-Headlights was doing from the Oval, but at the end of the day, it's an empty suit.

Tabbai's article is scathing and well-written.  He cuts into Rudy's years as a prosecutor, mayor, presidential candidate and that little in-between period when he was a high paid lobbyist and public speaker.

In his years as mayor -- and his subsequent career as a lobbyist -- Rudy jumped into bed with anyone who could afford a rubber. Saudi Arabia, Rupert Murdoch, tobacco interests, pharmaceutical companies, private prisons, Bechtel, ChevronTexaco -- Giuliani took money from them all.

I recommend it for anyone wondering what Rudy's odds are in the primaries and a potential general election.

In Case You Need a Giggle

Nothing at all new...just funny....

Democratic Establishment Whisperings

Democratic campaign strategist Bob Shrum is out pushing his new book and an excerpt appears in Time this week.

While we don't know yet whose side the man with the scarf is on, we know who he's against.

He's no fan of John Edwards. Shrum relates the "chilling" story from when John Kerry picked him to be his running mate in 2004 and Edwards told him how he crawled up on the slab with his dead child, embraced him, and promised to do everything in his power to make the world a better place.

The scary part of the story was Edwards' preface that he'd 'never told anyone else before.' Problem is that Kerry recalled Edwards telling him the same story, word-for-word a year earlier.

The Washington Times ran this item last week and it was linked up here at that time, too.

Shrum, a Kerry campaign honcho, also drops in a bit of a jab against current New Mexico governor, candidate and former Clintonista Bill Richardson. Offering a reason why Billy was not picked as Kerry's running mate, he mentions, "Richardson's prospects were shadowed by alleged womanizing. Publicly reluctant, he coveted the publicity of being considered, but withdrew before the process was finished."

Stay tuned.

GOP Fires Phone Operators

HuffPo has done a bit more tinkering to her page and now has three top stories. We like the shuffle.

One of her top stories this morning is out of the Washington Times on recent firings of phone bank workers for the Republican National Committee. The firings are openly attributed, in the article, to anger among the GOP about the immigration bill resulting in dramatically lower party contributions.

I love reading between the lines on this one.

Arianna likes it anytime there's bad news in the GOP ranks, so that's a no brainer. The ultra-conservative Washington Times' decision to run this story is not an accident, either. You don't see this getting big play over at CNN the other major outlets. The Times is running it because they hate the immigration bill (they see it as an amnesty program) and they want to stick it to the GeeDub admin and the rest of the Republicans who they believe are betraying their principles to get a bill passed. This is a "see what you're doing?!" article.

With the economic figures that came out the other day, the GOP should be careful about how many jobs it's creating and eliminating.

Addendum (8:23AM EST)-- National Review chimes in on this, as well, linking up a note that Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss is feeling the heat from his support for the bill.