July 31, 2005

• I wrote to the Washington Post about this very matter as I was puzzled as to why this legal aspect of this case has been to ignored in favour of reportage of the GOP talking points. No response (not that I expected any), they didn't print it and no perceptible change in coverage ocurred. (sigh) One can only hope that Fitzgerald is not ignoring it.
• American politics sure is interesting, I'll give you that.
• I'm sure the Republicans will do everything in their power to blunt or negate the charges of treason. The guys in Washington have forgotten that doing the right thing is sometimes messy and painful. The Democrats are stuck on this issue because they don't have the power to push things forward. Meanwhile, the public at large believes this to be a political issue, when, according to the article, it's largely a straightforward criminal issue. I don't hold much hope for a clean resolution on this.
• The guys in Washington have forgotten that doing the right thing is sometimes messy and painful. Woodstein were on the Daily Show not too long ago and made a similar point about both sides of the political aisle. They essentially argued that Nixon left the White House in large part because of pressure from other Republicans. They wanted to do the right thing. But that'd never happen today. Neither party would do it, unless they felt their jobs were at stake if they didn't.
• Senators start wanting to "do the right thing" when public opinion puts the pressure on them to do so. And "Woodstein?" Have they merged into one hybrid creature now?
• Related request to the "Woodstein" creature. Could we please not make this another -gate? By now, this appellation categorizes this as a trivial matter that can be laughed at and disregarded.
• I've heard them called "Woodstein" for years. I agree that this shouldn't be called a -gate, but I'd say that appellation is usually used by lesser journalists looking to make a name.
• I thought it was called the Plame Affair. Or the Rove Frog-March.
• And "Woodstein?" Have they merged into one hybrid creature now? Ever seen or read All The Presidents' Men? WaPo senior editor Ben Bradlee is reported to have referred to them as that since the very early days of the Watergate investigation.
• For those of you following this case closely, here is something you might have missed: the special prosecutor's term expires in October. Obviously he won't get a renewal and his replacement will quickly bury this case. Any indictments to come out of this investigation must come soon (i.e., in September), or this case is over. (It's over.)
• fuyu!!
• gare!
• at 04:08AM UTC on August 01, 2005!!
• at 04:08AM UTC on August 01, 2005!!
• Good discussion in the Kos link Fuyu. I don't think it's clear that it's over though. They may find a way to fire him but no matter how they do that, big time alarm bells are going to go off. If the adminsitration somehow survives, they will enter the history books as the most corrupt administration in modern times. If Bush is wondering about his legacy I imagine that the best he might be hoping for is avoided impeachment. Their historical shame won't be as good as getting the treacherous scumbags out of office early, but it does have a satisfyingly long lasting appeal that I'll savour over the years.
• what the? I just noticed the double comment. Is it me, or is there some sort of double comment bug on Mofi? (sigh) it's probably me...sorry
• Deeply troubling.
• When you say "big time alarm bells are going to go off", whom do you have in mind sounding those bells? The media? Blogs? Do you think anyone (besides Chyren) would notice? And if they do notice, do you think they have any power to stop Bush and his puppetmasters? I'm sorry to say it, but this leak investigation is living on borrowed time. (The same for American democracy. I was once opposed to it, but now I seriously recommend all thinking Americans to just leave the country. Your beloved countrymen are zombies, your cherished ideals are dead, your dear land is poisoned. Get out if you can.)
• I AM THE ONLY SANE MAN ALIVE!!! /weeps ;)
• Well I agree that they could weasel out of this somehow but I do think if that's the case, it will get a lot of notice. No matter what is said at that time it will likely remain unconvincing to Dubya's base. But history will judge harshly and I draw a tiny solace from that. Re: your point on escaping: I'm working on it.
• No matter what is said at that time it will likely remain unconvincing to Dubya's base. Are you kidding? Dubya's base loves him because he is a "god-fearing man" who only wants to "fight terrah" and turn women into right-wing fetus factories.
• I'm still looking into this, but I cannot tell whether Fitzgerald's role as special prosecutor would be affected vis-à-vis his U.S. Attorney status. Although the cynical among us think that the Bush administration care not a jot for public opinion, that's not true, they have maintained strong attempts to shore-in criticism and react quite quickly to polls, for instance. Also, they have gone on record praising Fitzgerald highly, and removing him would be as good as an admission of guilt. I would first look for some kind of smear campaign against him before they do that. Also, they would rather prevent leaks from the jury. True, it is difficult to predict what Chimpy McBrainless would do.
• Another interesting tactic: Rove and Libby could simply be offered immunity in exchange for attending a Congressional hearing. The primary benefit is that it would negate any indictments the prosecutor hands out. Why is this tactic great? Because C. McB. doesn't need to dirty his hands with pardoning Rove or firing Fitzgerald. The country already so hates and distrusts Congress that this tactic wouldn't raise anyone's hackles. It also has the benefit of having worked once before. Firing the prosecutor, in comparison, was a disaster for Nixon.
• Hearing fuyu talk like that is a little depressing. Luckily, these days it's not that hard to cheer me back up. Apparently at least some people are watching. I'll reserve the celebrating for when he hits the 30s though.
• How the vice-president fits into the Plame case.
• "Firing the prosecutor, in comparison, was a disaster for Nixon." Yeah, but most of these fuckheads are ex-Nixon polls, and they've learned their lessons well. Congress is pwned by the Rethuglicans right now, unlike during Nixon's shenanigans. Really, somebody should just stand up with a machine gun and strafe the whole lot of these cunts. /spittle
• Novak loses his cool live on CNN, utters a profanity, takes a walk. Funny.
• With video. Sweet.
• Yep. Novakula stalks back to his underground lair.
• Update on original thread and flag to fuyugare: Bush apparently has no legal authority to fire Fitzgerald as Special Counsel on the Treasongate investigation, and even the replacement for Comey cannot do anything but try to intimidate him, if Spook is correct. His status as US Attorney for Illinois has no bearing on his role in the investigation.