The Daily Grill

Found In Translation

In the words of the New York Times, "Fresh from another defense of his war leadership, President Bush is in Beijing to defuse a host of tensions with China." Sounds like something guaranteed to backfire, like when Wily E. Coyote goes out to find out why the Road Runner didn't set off one of his traps.

Off Topic (Commentary)

Pardon this intrusion into the normal flow of nonsense and fun, but I figured I could use my own blog to respond to something said on someone else's blog regarding the accompanying editorial phodoodle I did for the Half Moon Bay Review (www.hmbreview.com; 11/16)

Here's the opinion posted by the lame-tastic host of the blog where it appeared: "The Review’s editorial lumped a bunch of very different things together and suggested an equivalence. It also snidely implied, without proving, that there was something unethical with the way the Voice of the Coast was published. That was irresponsible and divisive. This week’s cartoon exacerbated the damage by suggesting that politically-motivated vandalism was some sort of random event and not a conscious decision." (Emphasis mine.)

First of all, I love the fact the web dude with the blog is trying to make it come off like some kind of legitimate news site. There's not a whiff of journalistic integrity to the bloggery, but that doesn't stop the loons who adhere to the thing like remoras on a shark. Secondly, my cartoon was actually intended as ironic commentary about the pettiness of small town politics. Unfortunately, on the coastside irony and sarcasm is as endangered as the red-legged frog. (That was another ironic statement, incidentally...)

Okay, done with my mini-rant. Back to my regularly scheduled drivel...

No Offense (Not Much, Anyway...)

A Lock On History

Congress adopted legislation yesterday to spend $38 million to preserve and restore 10 internment camps that were used to imprison tens of thousands of Japanese Americans during WW II. They say it's to preserve them so we never forget a past injustice that was done -- not to mention they'll be handy to have if we ever need them again.

Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?

It seems that the CIA has concluded that Cuban President Fidel Castro suffers from Parkinson's disease, an official remarking that Castro may have difficulty coping with the duties of office as his condition worsens. Of course, this is the same intelligence community that said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, so the real information could simply be that Fidel Castro was in the park, feeding the geese.

Killing The Copycat Killers

Sony BMG stands to lose tens of millions of dollars as it recalls about five million music CDs, due to faulty copy protection software on the disks which could damage PCs. All of a sudden Napster and iTunes must be looking like pretty good business models.

Bear It All

Federal officials say that the Yellowstone grizzly bear is fully recovered and should be taken off the Endangered Species Act. No word from Yogi Bear but his life partner, Booboo, is worried the ramifications may reach as far as Jellystone Park.

Chirac Attack

To The Lowest Bidder

So now it's come out that the CIA has a string of prisons in Eastern Europe that they've been secretly operating to house and interrogate suspected terrorists...or pretty much anyone else, I guess. Between Valerie Plame being exposed and this latest secret coming out, and considering how well our automakers and high tech companies keep their products under wraps, maybe the US should think about phasing out the CIA and privatizing our spy efforts.

Not To Be Rude

Under the state of emergency declared by the French government to try to quell rioting and violence, there is now a curfew that calls for anyone younger than 16 to be accompanied by an adult. Also, anyone in public must wear deodorant and they have to stop being so snotty. It's just for 12 days, though, so if you're planning a trip to Paris, I'd go now.