Here: replace “smokers” with “AIDS patients.” Break out the red ribbons.

Q: What do you get when you cross Jim Bunning and a giant squid? A: A lying, unfunny, politically retarded giant squid who may or may not be racist. Or Corrine Brown without a fastball.

So, Garofalo’s new web mascot decided he’d better comment on the whole Kos dustup after all — not directly, mind you (there’s advertising revenue to consider here), but rather in that glancing, elliptical way favored by smug wannabe-hipsters drunk on their own preening irony. Unfortunately for Atrios, the dainty slap he takes barely leaves a mark — and even his most rabid readers practically ignored it, skipping past in a

Ahem — “You put the boom boom into my heart.” That’s it. G’night, Madrid! Thank you!

More “contrition” from the Prince of Pud: So I said something pretty stupid last week. I served up the wingnuts a big, juicy softball. They went into a tizzy, led by Instapundit. And for a while, I was actually pretty worried. But the final tally was — about 30 hate-filled emails, about 15,000 hate-filled visitors, and the pulling of three advertising spots that are going to be replaced in less

From the cutting room floor, ABC News, continued: 20/20’s Barbara Walters: “In a recent MTV ‘Choose or Lose’ appearance, your husband said, quote, ‘I’m fascinated by rap and hip-hop. I think there’s a lot of poetry in it. There’s a lot of anger. A lot of social energy in it –‘” Teresa Heinz Kerry: “Fo’ shizzle, my nizzle. Eb’body know JFK all Opie on the blunt.” Barbara Walters: “– indeed.