Obscene

From Bloomberg:

American International Group Inc., the insurer whose bonuses and perks are under fire from U.S. lawmakers, offered cash awards to another 38 executives in a retention program with payments of as much as $4 million.

The incentives range from $92,500 to $4 million for employees earning salaries between $160,000 and $1 million, Chief Executive Officer Edward Liddy said in a letter dated Dec. 5 to Representative Elijah Cummings. The New York-based insurer had previously disclosed that 130 managers would get the awards and that one executive would get $3 million.

“I remain concerned, as do many American taxpayers, that these retention payments are simply bonuses by another name,” Cummings said in letter responding to Liddy.

I remain concerned, too. That's our money. When is a bonus not a bonus, but simply a retention payment? In this job market, are the managers threatening to quit?

Blagojevich - Corruption On A Grand Scale

From MSNBC:

CHICAGO - Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich embarked on a "corruption crime spree" and tried to benefit from his ability to appoint President-elect Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate, federal officials said Tuesday.

At a news conference in Chicago on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald called it a sad day for the citizens of Illinois and alleged that the governor tried to "auction off" the Senate seat "to the highest bidder."

He said the alleged behavior "would make (Abe) Lincoln roll over in his grave."

Blagojevich had been arrested hours earlier and was released later in the day after posting a $4,500 bond.

That seems a small bond, but I suppose he's not violent and not likely to flee. He sounds a bit nuts to me. His hairstyle should have been a dead giveaway that all was not well. He was not invited to speak at the Democratic Convention, so it seems that many knew that he was someone to avoid.

Corruption on a scale grand enough to arouse deep disgust.

Revised Baby Boomer Song Titles

Some of the artists of the 60's are revising their hits with new lyrics to accommodate aging baby boomers.They include:

Bobby Darin ---
Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash.

Herman's Hermits ---
Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker

Ringo Starr ---
I Get By With a Little Help From Depends.

The Bee Gees -- -
How Can You Mend a Broken Hip.

Roberta Flack---
The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face.

Johnny Nash ---
I Can't See Clearly Now.

Paul Simon---
Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver

The Commodores ---
Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom.

Marvin Gaye ---
Heard It Through the Grape Nuts.

Procol Harem---
A Whiter Shade of Hair.

Leo Sayer ---
You Make Me Feel Like Napping.

The Temptations ---
Papa's Got a Kidney Stone.

Abba---
Denture Queen.

Tony Orlando ---
Knock 3 Times On The Ceiling If You Hear Me Fall.

Helen Reddy ---
I Am Woman, Hear Me Snore.

Leslie Gore---
It's My Procedure, and I'll Cry If I Want To.

And Last but NOT least:

Willie Nelson --- On the Commode Again

With thanks to Ann.

Baby Jesus Has A Blog!

You must, you simply must go read "Hi! I’m Baby Jesus. Hope you enjoy my blog!" at Macleans.Ca.

I always knew that Jesus had a sense of humor, and here is written proof. Even as an infant! If reading the post doesn't put you into the Christmas spirit, you're hopeless.

H/T to MadPriest.

Obama On Gen. Shinseki: "He Was Right!"

Obama's appointment of General Eric Shinseki to head the Department of Veterans Affairs is great news. He was one of the few in the high ranks of the military who were courageous enough to stand up to Rumsfeld and Bush publicly and say that 300,000 or more troops would be needed to invade Iraq. For his honesty and courage, Rummy pushed him out. I was outraged at the time. I can't think of anyone better suited for the job of serving our veterans. There's a sweet justice at play here with Obama's appointment of Shinseki, indicating a complete break with the Bush maladministration in the government's care and treatment of veterans.

Oh, Noooo!

The new monk is assigned to copy the old texts by hand. Noticing that he'll be copying from copies and not from the original manuscripts, he tells an elderly monk, "If there is an error in the first copy, that error would be continued in all the subsequent copies."

The elderly monk agrees and goes to the cellar with a copy to check it against the original. Hours go by and nobody sees him. Concerned, the new monk searches for him in the cellar. Hearing wailing, he finds the old monk leaning over one of the original books. Looking up, he sobs, "The word is celebrate."

From M. in Texas. (Not Mike)

By Popular Demand...

 

...of one. After all the fun with Lapin's picture, my sweet friend, Dennis, suggested that I post a picture of me as a girl. I do better than that. I give you the girl above, as a flower girl in my aunt's wedding, and the baby below, that I once was. My mother always fretted that the photographer did not puff my two sleeves in the same shape. I believe that ruined the picture for her.

By the way, that wallpaper is in my bedroom, and I hate it. I didn't really like it from the beginning. It was the last that I picked out, and I ran out of energy and picked any old thing. I've never bothered to change it, because the thought of the disruption to my life is more than I want to face. By the time I go to that sweet bye-and-bye, my house will be like Miss Haversham's.

The frames are antique, more antique than I am. My sister found them in her rovings in estate sales and antique shops. I had to take the pictures from an angle, so the flash would not be in the picture.

Check out the curl on top of the head in this one. Yes, it's in real old-timey sepia.

 

I Missed It! How Did That Happen?

From the Times-Picayune:
Louisiana Resisted Prohibition. [Comment: no surprise]

At least the southern parishes did. In 1918, the state senate considered ratifying of the 18th Amendment, which would outlaw the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors."
Advertisement

Senators deadlocked 20-20, but during a special session in the heat of August, the "dries" found an extra vote, and Louisiana approved the ban on booze 21-20, the slimmest margin in any state.

Two years later, on Jan. 16, 1920, America outlawed alcohol. For 13 years, 10 months and 17 days, any bartender who sold a shot of whiskey violated the U.S. Constitution.

Friday, December 5, was the anniversary of the repeal of prohibition. How could I miss posting on that momentous occasion? Seventy-five years ago, on December 5, 1933, the state conventions ratified the 21st Amendment, which repealed 18th Amendment. Yay!

Prohibition was no more than an exercise in stupidity. As though people stopped drinking. They simply went underground to drink. Unfortunately, there were casualties.

But after 1920, the great bars of New Orleans vanished as liquor consumption went underground. The Sazerac House closed. The New York Times reported that Henry Ramos, who "won a suitcase full of World Fair prizes" for his frothy gin fizz, was then mixing paint and varnishes, giving them "names that once belonged to drinks that only gentlemen knew." The Old Absinthe House somehow stayed open but was later padlocked -- for a year.

Delmonico's restaurant was busted in 1921, and 20 gallons of wine, 75 bottles of "good liquor," one case of whiskey and two dozen bottles of beer were found. That same year Commander's Palace was raided.

"Count" Arnaud Cazenave tussled with Prohibition agents for years. The Quarter Club, which he leased, was raided in 1924. Maxime's, a bar he reportedly ran, was caught with bootleg booze in 1927 and the count's home on Esplanade Avenue was also searched. Finally, in 1930, Arnaud's restaurant itself got a visit from agents. A jury of good New Orleanians, however, refused to convict Cazenave.

The authorities in New Orleans cooperated as little as possible with the feds, and the city remained one of the wettest in the country. One hour after FDR signed the repeal of prohibition into law, the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans received its first legal order of whiskey. Days before the official legalization of alcoholic drinks, speakeasies began openly serving cocktails, with little fear of reprisals.

Seventy-five years ago today, according to The Times-Picayune, "for the first time in the past 13 years, the lights were turned out in one of the city's leading French restaurants as cafe brulot was prepared before an admiring group of patrons."

And tonight, waiters at Arnaud's, Antoine's, Galatoire's and Commander's Palace -- all restaurants founded before 1920 -- probably will once again dazzle diners with pots of flaming, brandy-spiked cafe brulot, keeping alive a connection to the years before Prohibition.

What kind of a country would prohibit serving café brûlot?

The Prophet Isaiah

DUCCIO di Buoninsegna - "Isaiah" - 1308-11

Comfort, O comfort my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and cry to her
that she has served her term,
that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’

A voice says, ‘Cry out!’
And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand for ever.
Isaiah 40:1-8

It's readings like the one above that draw me toward hope and expectancy in the season of Advent. Have I said that it's my favorite season of the church year?

Picture from the Web Gallery of Art.

Beware Of The Doghouse!

For your morning pleasure. Thanks to Doug for this one.

I believe I recognize a famous actress.