No stone unturned

I’ve often mentioned Howie Carr, Boston Herald columnist and syndicated talk show host. He’s been a gadfly in Beantown for a good 30 years.

There’s an old saw that the duty of a journalist is to “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Howie tends to pass on the former, but carries out the later with a vengeance. In honor of his junior senator’s eagerness to appear on TV at any excuse, Howie christened him “John ‘Liveshot’ Kerry.” And when Thomas Menino and his passing familiarity with the spoken word rose to mayor of Boston over a decade ago, Howie reached back into the Dick Tracy comic strip and hung the nickname “Mumbles” on him, one that’s stuck.

One of Howie’s favorite targets is, of course, the senior Senator from the Bay State, Edward Moore Kennedy Senior. “Fatboy” is probably the kindest thing Howie has ever called him, and he has an almost-encyclopedic knowledge of Kennedy scandals, shames, and peccadilloes — which he’ll share at the drop of a hat.

Earlier this year, Howie decided to take his shtick into cyberspace. He (well, his staff, most likely) collected a bunch of stuff on Mumbles and set up this web site.

But that was just a practice run. Howie had saved his “A-game” material for his favorite punching bag, Ted Kennedy. He pulls no punches, and it is positively brutal.

For all you’d ever want to know (and far more) about the Lion of the Democratic Party, click over here. Be sure to have your speakers turned up, or you’ll miss the best part of the main page.

Just be sure to have a barf bag handy.