One must wonder if Republicans will be standing up for British Petroleum and their profits after this latest headline: “BP lobbied U.K. ahead of Lockerbie bomber release.”

LONDON — BP confirmed Thursday that it had lobbied the British government over a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya in late 2007 before the release of Lockerbie bomber Abdel Baset al-Megrahi.

Who the Fug? Yeah, that's the guy.

Some of you (probably most of you) are too young to recognize the name, but The Fugs were a seminal influence on music in the mid to late '60s. Sort of a Mothers of Invention without the musicality; a Velvet Underground without the polish. Protopunk, maybe ur-punk. The name derives from Norman Mailer's corruption of the word fuck in The Naked and the Dead.

Call me Israel. I am not a large man; I survive by wit and grit. I am a good man, and I fear no one.

Do not judge me. My childhood was a nightmare grimmer than you, who grew up in comfort and security, could ever imagine.

Happy Bastille Day, mes amis. And Lafayette, thanks for the solid.

In honor of the quatorze juillet, here's Serge Gainsbourg:


And for those who prefer La Marseillaise old-school, Casablanca still does it best.

While the “liberal media” was sleeping, Conservatives were busy carpet-bombing the U.S. media. Here’s a partial look at how two prominent Conservative think tanks got their messages out over the past day:

Heritage Foundation

Stories

The arrival of heavily armed monsters barely caused a stir with most Americans (HT Dvorak).

News/Politics

Small Banks Can Bite It: Seems the bailout of mega-banks has hurt smaller banks. But they can deal with it themselves.

WASHINGTON — Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Monday he’s seriously considering seeking the Republican presidential nomination or cheating on his wife in 2012 and will announce his decision early next year.

Gingrich, 67, said he would focus on helping Republican candidates through the midterm elections in November, then decide in February or March whether to seek the GOP nomination or to commit adultery.

Yes, they survived. See Boing Boing for more on a Holocaust Survivor, his daughter & Grand children dancing at concentration camps and memorials throughout Europe.

Friday morning I was in Cleveland, where all the news was about LeBron James. That afternoon, I got on a plane and flew to Not Cleveland in order to attend a wedding. Now I'm back.

The wedding was delightful, except for one thing. Several people I spoke with were firmly convinced that the city of Cleveland was basically on fire. They were grateful that I had gotten out of town "before they burn it down." I blame ESPN for this.

My friends, it has come to my notice that I'm a fantastic blogger. Seriously, borderline brilliant. My blog posts have brought joy and comfort to hundreds and hundreds of people over the years. For many, I am the only joy they will have all day.

Now, being this good is a burden. Namely because it gives me so many chances to commit crimes. And here's the thing - I should be able to commit these crimes. The only thing holding me back is the law. This must change.

For nine months, it appeared that director Roman Polanski could face charges for raping a 13-year-old girl. Luckily, with the support of the Hollywood community, that won’t be the case.

From The Guardian:

Spain celebrates it’s first World Cup triumph (AFP)

World Cup

Spain Takes First World Cup: In a game that featured two beautiful teams playing rough-and-tumble soccer, Andre Iniesta hit an overtime goal to give Spain it’s first World Cup title as it beat Netherlands 1-0, and concluded a successful World Cup in South Africa.

While millions will be rooting on Holland or Spain in today’s World Cup Final, let us not forget the pain felt by those eliminated. In Brazil, where soccer is King, Queen and the rest of the royal court, the disappointment of seeing their side knocked out was too much for many. Especially young Salomão:

LeBron James may be new to town, but he better learn that Miami belongs to Dexter Morgan.

Headlines

Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter – the least possible sentence – after shooting an immobilized and unarmed Oscar Grant on the Oakland Subway system. Here’s how some media organizations described the aftermath:

ALASKA - Moments after releasing a meandering video that seemed to point out that she wanted white women on the streets, Sarah Palin dropped another bombshell - She will be LeBron James' pick for Vice-President.

In her effort to make white moms her base, Sarah Palin’s PAC put out a video that showed just how much she loves (white) women.

(Or, Lessons the British Army Taught Us)

Part II: Let the War Drag On and On

CLEVELAND – Basketball star LeBron James will reportedly be taking a shower at around 8:30 p.m. EST tonight. James – who averaged nearly 30 points and nine assists per game in 2009-2010 – will very likely use soap, shampoo and possibly conditioner, said an anonymous ESPN source.

And we have reached a new low.

So my last post was a collection of media cuts that made Republicans look like idiot arse-nuggets.  In the post I stated that I was sure that there were plenty of dummy Democrats but they were not as vocal as the stupid Republicans.  Basically saying that both parties have a structural defects because they keep nominating complete dolts to run this country.