Saturday, October 15, 2005
Falling like Bush's poll numbers
Go see. It's fun. The the dummy gets stuck, just drag and drop him further.
Thanks to AMERICAblog for the link.
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Thanks to AMERICAblog for the link.
Frog Walk Preview
Kevin Drum picks up on a WaPo paragraph in which Karl Rove's lawyers say he has not committed a crime, but they still expect that the grand jury will bring charges within the next two weeks.
I just love grand jury indictments, don't you?
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I just love grand jury indictments, don't you?
Friday, October 14, 2005
Right Wing Thought
Well, such as it it, anyway.
Hunter explains the Nobel Prize to the wingers:
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Hunter explains the Nobel Prize to the wingers:
See, I just don't understand this. Rightwingers make it a point to be both anti-science and anti-intellectual, so it hardly takes an, er, rocket scientist to figure out why righties don't typically win the awards. What, did they really think the Discovery Institute was in the running this year, for their condemnation of every major scientific advancement of the last four hundred years in favor of the theory that Adam and Eve milked dinosaurs and sold the resulting DinoCheese in Cain's chain of God*Mart retail outlets?Go read it all. It explains a lot. Brings to mind a few lines from Inherit the Wind: "'And Cain knew his wife.' Any idea where she came from? Somebody have another creation going on over in the next county?"
"My daddy was a very good soldier . . ."
My own daughters were toddlers on 9-11-01 and had no awareness that a tragedy had taken place.
Now they are old enough to insist that we have peace bumper stickers on the family car, and they came with us to the candle light vigil a couple of months ago.
Having figured out that war is bad, one of my daughters made the jump in logic and assumed that meant that soldiers were bad, too.
We had a talk. She knew I had been a soldier before she was born, that I jumped out of airplanes, but not much more.
I asked her not to ever say that soldiers are bad. I told her that soldiers are brave, that the leaders of the government sometimes make mistakes, and that soldiers often get sent to war where horrible things happen. But she must never blame the soldiers for that.
I really hope she understood.
Anyway, I cried a little when I read this at Daily Kos:
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Now they are old enough to insist that we have peace bumper stickers on the family car, and they came with us to the candle light vigil a couple of months ago.
Having figured out that war is bad, one of my daughters made the jump in logic and assumed that meant that soldiers were bad, too.
We had a talk. She knew I had been a soldier before she was born, that I jumped out of airplanes, but not much more.
I asked her not to ever say that soldiers are bad. I told her that soldiers are brave, that the leaders of the government sometimes make mistakes, and that soldiers often get sent to war where horrible things happen. But she must never blame the soldiers for that.
I really hope she understood.
Anyway, I cried a little when I read this at Daily Kos:
He had already served tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq when he was killed on his second tour in Iraq [...]
In an online tribute at www.legacy.com, daughter Kylie wrote that "my daddy was a very good soldier and I will always keep him in my heart."
It's a Crime
Actually, I'm guessing that several crimes will be proved before this is all over.
But in case you were asleep all day yesterday, Richard Cohen wrote a piece in the WaPo in which he asserted that the outing of an undercover CIA agent is really no big deal, at least when it is part of the rough and tumble world of beltway politics.
Over at TPC Cafe, former CIA guy Larry Johnson explains why Cohen is an idiot.
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But in case you were asleep all day yesterday, Richard Cohen wrote a piece in the WaPo in which he asserted that the outing of an undercover CIA agent is really no big deal, at least when it is part of the rough and tumble world of beltway politics.
Over at TPC Cafe, former CIA guy Larry Johnson explains why Cohen is an idiot.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Miller in the Mousetrap
Mark Kleiman, one of the sharper legal minds in the blogosphere (imho), has a good analysis of whether or not Patrick Fitzgerald caught Judith Miller in the mousetrap, thus getting more cooperation from her than she had originally planned to provide.
Mark's piece includes snippets from several other good bloggers who have opinions on the mousetrap theory.
Joe in DC, writing at AMERICAblog, thinks Karl and Scooter never thought they'd get caught. Machiavelli may be great to read if you want to understand how Washington politics work. But Karl and Scooter should have read a little Sun Tsu, too.
Never underestimate your enemy!
I'm guessing they seriously underestimated both the capabilities and tenacity of Patrick Fitzgerald. They're going to be in for a serious life style change once those guilty verdicts come down.
UPDATE Thursday afternoon: Of course, there's always the chance that Judy is now taking the Fifth Amendment instead of claiming the protection of the First.
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Mark's piece includes snippets from several other good bloggers who have opinions on the mousetrap theory.
Joe in DC, writing at AMERICAblog, thinks Karl and Scooter never thought they'd get caught. Machiavelli may be great to read if you want to understand how Washington politics work. But Karl and Scooter should have read a little Sun Tsu, too.
Never underestimate your enemy!
I'm guessing they seriously underestimated both the capabilities and tenacity of Patrick Fitzgerald. They're going to be in for a serious life style change once those guilty verdicts come down.
UPDATE Thursday afternoon: Of course, there's always the chance that Judy is now taking the Fifth Amendment instead of claiming the protection of the First.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
White House of Cards about to tumble
Hunter Thompson once wrote about what fun it was to listen in on DC party conversation that was peppered with phrases like "certain doom" and "a lost generation." Thompson was comfortable with these terms.
I'm sort of enjoying them myself. You can smell the fear dripping like radioactive green slime out of the White House these days, as the investigation into a single leak blossoms into an exposé into a grand conspiracy to lie the United States into war. The implications are stunning. I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere in the next 6 months, the sweet scent of impeachment fills the air.
For the moment, we have the very real possibility of indictments of Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and maybe even Stephen Hadley.
And if, as the Wall Street Journal suggests, the Fitzgerald probe has expanded into the propaganda machine operated by the White House Iraq Group (WHIG), that may well mean that it will include Dick Cheney, too (more here from Rodger Payne).
Speaking of Dick, there's a lot of speculation that he and Flight Suit Boy aren't getting along all that well any more. One rumor making the rounds is that Cheney is tired of having to do damage control every time Bush screws something up (which seems to be pretty much every week). With Dick's boy Scooter and Bush's brain Karl facing indictments and the possibility of pulling some hard time, it will be interesting to see who is willing to spill some more beans to the grand jury in order to save his own ass.
Which only adds to speculation that a power struggle is brewing in the White House between Rove and White House Chief of Staff Andy Card.
All that remains for a replay of Watergate is for Bush to fire Patrick Fitzgerald. Then the Republicans can resurrect the ghosts of Barry Goldwater and Johnny Rhodes to go tell the president to pack his bags.
Keep that champagne on ice.
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I'm sort of enjoying them myself. You can smell the fear dripping like radioactive green slime out of the White House these days, as the investigation into a single leak blossoms into an exposé into a grand conspiracy to lie the United States into war. The implications are stunning. I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere in the next 6 months, the sweet scent of impeachment fills the air.
For the moment, we have the very real possibility of indictments of Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and maybe even Stephen Hadley.
And if, as the Wall Street Journal suggests, the Fitzgerald probe has expanded into the propaganda machine operated by the White House Iraq Group (WHIG), that may well mean that it will include Dick Cheney, too (more here from Rodger Payne).
Speaking of Dick, there's a lot of speculation that he and Flight Suit Boy aren't getting along all that well any more. One rumor making the rounds is that Cheney is tired of having to do damage control every time Bush screws something up (which seems to be pretty much every week). With Dick's boy Scooter and Bush's brain Karl facing indictments and the possibility of pulling some hard time, it will be interesting to see who is willing to spill some more beans to the grand jury in order to save his own ass.
Which only adds to speculation that a power struggle is brewing in the White House between Rove and White House Chief of Staff Andy Card.
All that remains for a replay of Watergate is for Bush to fire Patrick Fitzgerald. Then the Republicans can resurrect the ghosts of Barry Goldwater and Johnny Rhodes to go tell the president to pack his bags.
Keep that champagne on ice.
Top 10 from the Bug Man
I can't resist this. Compliments of Political Humor.
10 Mind-Numbingly Stupid Quotes by Tom DeLay
1) "I AM the federal government." –Tom DeLay, to the owner of Ruth's Chris Steak House, after being told to put out his cigar because of federal government regulations banning smoking in the building, May 14, 2003 (Source)
2) "So many minority youths had volunteered…that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like myself." --Tom DeLay, explaining at the 1988 GOP convention why he and vice presidential nominee Dan Quayle did not fight in the Vietnam War (Source)
3) "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?" –Tom Delay, to three young hurricane evacuees from New Orleans at the Astrodome in Houston, Sept. 9, 2005 (Source)
4) "We're no longer a superpower. We're a super-duper power." –Tom DeLay, explaining why America must topple Saddam Hussein in 2002 interview with Fox News (Source)
5) "Nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting taxes." –Tom DeLay, March 12, 2003 (Source)
6) "Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare, the teaching of evolution in the schools, and working mothers who take birth control pills." –Tom DeLay, on causes of the Columbine High School massacre, 1999 (Source)
7) "A woman can take care of the family. It takes a man to provide structure. To provide stability. Not that a woman can't provide stability, I'm not saying that... It does take a father, though." -Tom DeLay, in a radio interview, Feb. 10, 2004 (Source)
8) "I don't believe there is a separation of church and state. I think the Constitution is very clear. The only separation is that there will not be a government church." –Tom DeLay (Source)
9) "Emotional appeals about working families trying to get by on $4.25 an hour [the minimum wage in 1996] are hard to resist. Fortunately, such families do not exist." –Tom DeLay, during a debate in Congress on increasing the minimum wage, April 23, 1996 (Source)
10) "I am not a federal employee. I am a constitutional officer. My job is the Constitution of the United States, I am not a government employee. I am in the Constitution." –Tom DeLay, in a CNN interview, Dec. 19, 1995 (Source)
And with any luck, he will soon be a federal prisoner. I wonder if he will try to cozy up to the Aryan Brotherhood. My guess is he would try to take over. I can see the headlines now: DeLay shived in prison power struggle. Ah well.
Thanks to DL for the link.
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10 Mind-Numbingly Stupid Quotes by Tom DeLay
1) "I AM the federal government." –Tom DeLay, to the owner of Ruth's Chris Steak House, after being told to put out his cigar because of federal government regulations banning smoking in the building, May 14, 2003 (Source)
2) "So many minority youths had volunteered…that there was literally no room for patriotic folks like myself." --Tom DeLay, explaining at the 1988 GOP convention why he and vice presidential nominee Dan Quayle did not fight in the Vietnam War (Source)
3) "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?" –Tom Delay, to three young hurricane evacuees from New Orleans at the Astrodome in Houston, Sept. 9, 2005 (Source)
4) "We're no longer a superpower. We're a super-duper power." –Tom DeLay, explaining why America must topple Saddam Hussein in 2002 interview with Fox News (Source)
5) "Nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting taxes." –Tom DeLay, March 12, 2003 (Source)
6) "Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare, the teaching of evolution in the schools, and working mothers who take birth control pills." –Tom DeLay, on causes of the Columbine High School massacre, 1999 (Source)
7) "A woman can take care of the family. It takes a man to provide structure. To provide stability. Not that a woman can't provide stability, I'm not saying that... It does take a father, though." -Tom DeLay, in a radio interview, Feb. 10, 2004 (Source)
8) "I don't believe there is a separation of church and state. I think the Constitution is very clear. The only separation is that there will not be a government church." –Tom DeLay (Source)
9) "Emotional appeals about working families trying to get by on $4.25 an hour [the minimum wage in 1996] are hard to resist. Fortunately, such families do not exist." –Tom DeLay, during a debate in Congress on increasing the minimum wage, April 23, 1996 (Source)
10) "I am not a federal employee. I am a constitutional officer. My job is the Constitution of the United States, I am not a government employee. I am in the Constitution." –Tom DeLay, in a CNN interview, Dec. 19, 1995 (Source)
And with any luck, he will soon be a federal prisoner. I wonder if he will try to cozy up to the Aryan Brotherhood. My guess is he would try to take over. I can see the headlines now: DeLay shived in prison power struggle. Ah well.
Thanks to DL for the link.
