http://fallbackbelmont.blogspo…..-tomb.html

Ugh. The Dukester. He is so gay.

Brownie … oh please oh please … Brownie.

(slow whistle)

Prosecuting Evil Doers is HARD WORK. To relieve the tension of the daily grind around the office funny spoofs like these keep us smiling.

Click to play this FUNNY Kartoon!
http://www.arnoldsneighborhood.com/

IT WORKED ! (New thread)

ROFL you guys crack me up.

Maybe you could have a magnum opus post EPU one that never actually gets finished or is even meant to be finished but whenever you feel a new thread is necessary you could start updating it?

Dub – I was not referring to my vital bodily essence, a la Deadwood, I leave that to him.

I think the problem is that I wasn’t working on a long post – the capricious and whimsical blog fates know when you aren’t really trying.

So we have faux Sam Alito. Fitzgerald, Miers,
a link to Rapture and the coming of Jesus,
now the Iranian President is saying he was
bathed in God’s light at the U.N, Bush saying
God speaks to him, Ralph Reed swimming in
greenbacks and latest posts about mojo’s
and disposable dresses. Time I guess to take
my dog Jake for a walk so he can relieve
himself. Will catch up later when all this
settles to the bottom like a fishbowl with a
jacuzzi swirling right now.

Talk about errors…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01446.html

Sam, you are very wise. This was predicted last night, and I polished my mouse for just such events.

I think there muct be Toddler Trauma, or we will have something very special coming soon from or Wonder Women for them to be silent this late in the day. Nice try EPU, maybe you could give it another shot, just for good measure. Either way, naptime sometimes brings happy dreams that appear when you click Refresh.

Out the door, remember the Code of FDL. We are not here to provide nourishment to Scandinavian garden toys, we are here for the Truth. ;-)

Did somebody say BLUE DRESS?

off thread:
i thought wsj was subscription only. but i clicked on a post (media – howard stern’s manager) on huff-po and was able to navigate wsj. do u want 2?

http://online.wsj.com/public/a…..?mod=blogs

sorry EPU I just couldn’t resist :-)

Is my mojo gone?
Evil Parallel Universe | 11.29.05 – 10:59 am | #

It depends on what “is” is.

and then there’s this:

http://www.thegodmovie.com/clip-TheRapture.php

My blog is the best blog ever!

…I do have a blue dress, needs to get drycleaned though.

(slow whistle)

Just like Hyde Park in London there are all
kinds of barkers on their soap box. Don’t
have to stop and listen. Scroll past and fast.
The mimes on the bridges over the Seine in
Paris are just wonderful.

Digby’s post on Cunningham is a must read.
What a sleazeball and detestable bully this
guy is. He’s sure going to quake in pin
stripes once the iron doors slam shut. What
goes around comes around.

Ahoy matey! http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01446.html”>Thar she blows!

Is there error correction in the noosphere?

If our effort to discern the machinations and malfeasance of our chosen leaders runs afoul of reality does it bring us to poster’s remorse as intrepid blog commenters?

Wading barefoot into the uncharted muck of uninformed speculation seems likely to expose onesself to at least one or two startled crawdads wrigggling up between the toes. Worse, we may inadvertently wake a lurking stingray or sandshark with shocking surprise.

The creatures we seek are more akin to Moby Dick and our tools are harpoons of illumination. Perhaps we admire the Ahabs in action but our missiles are missives that mostly miss. Darned if the hearts of darkness conceal themselves as seers of light.

In this case, the seers really are the illusion and we, not knowing, are in our natural state.

Carrie,

You know, something washable, maybe disposable.

Sam Alito: I too, respect SunTzu. Who would not, since he is so renouned in war, and had that great chicken dish named after him.

I’m afraid General Tso would be disappointed to learn that his famous and delectable dish, “General Tso’s Chicken,” dish has been attributed to that false and renegade General Tzu, who never fought a real war, only wrote books. (Did you know that the phrase “chickenhawk” was also invented by the Chinese? You could look it up.)

Ah, but what’s in a name? A Fitz by anyname is still a Fitz, a Sam is still a Sam, a sigh, is still as sigh as time goes by. And as Georgie said, “In the long run we’ll all be dead.”

To me it also seems akin to “Harriet Miers’s Blog” or the site where “Bush” confides in his diary.

Actually, the very idea of uber-prosecutor Fitz blogging cracks me up all by itself.

Is my mojo gone?

Ohhh what shall I wear?

Carrie,

Will you be my date for the DOJ Christmas party?

Anyone who would take the time to go and visit the faux Fitz blog would real realize that it is purely satirical and is pretty entertaining.
I also enjoy catching the faux Fitz commenting on various blogs.
I really don’t see the harm in it…..it’s just silly fun.

Yo arbogast, any relation to the jitterbug or hula popper?

I too, respect SunTzu. Who would not, since he is so renouned in war, and had that great chicken dish named after him.

There is no question, when you read Fitz’s blog, or mine, or Harriet Miers’,, that we are not “impersonating” people, we are satirizing them. There is a legal and moral difference.

Ten years ago I started a website titled “Thomas Pynchon is the Unibomber,” which articulated a great conspiracy theory, and only called itself a parody in the source code. Even when contacted by the FBI, I didn’t get in any trouble.

ciao

Yo arbogast, any relation to the jitterbug or hula popper?

Anyone for a good laugh, go over to the General’s blog. My sides hurt.

http://patriotboy.blogspot.com…..4158914598

I’m just posting so that we get a new thread. ;-)

Suntzu,

Since day one, my sitemeter always reflects daily visits from the DOJ IP, so I think all is kosher in the blog world, but I respect your opinion and input.

Cheers,
:D

I 3rd the motion for a Fitzclaimer.

Where did that Raw Story on Ralston go?
Did they find it to be BS?

Need a new thread.
Tired of PJ.

Live long and prosper

If you have not read digby’s take on the duke-stir, then run, not walk, over to Hullabaloo and take a look. http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/

Faux Fitz;

Therefore, according to Stare Decisis, I find that Fitz is totally legal in making his extremely entertaining blog. And so am I

Legality may come into play if Mr. Fitzgerald takes exception to your blog. Otherwise, you are free to blog under any name you choose, as I have chosen ’suntzu’ who died over 1,500 years ago. It is a question of fairness to Mr. Fitzgerald. If you do not see that, then there is nothing more to say.

Have a nice day.

Gee, I wonder how many other mental munchkins riding the coat-tails of other’s names and reputations are going to be commenting?

C’mon, y’all small people, speak up!

–

Thanks Sam! BTW, you did an awesome job beating Condi at Klingon Scrabble the other night!

Best,
PJ

This commentator under the name of
Fitzgerald certainly has the right of
caricature though I do think it is an attempt
to portray their commens with “authority” that
the blogger would not normally have otherwise. It just another bit of sand in all of
our eyes here. Do the House Rules apply here?

Dear Sirs and Madmen:

As any first-year law student knows, the Supreme Court settled the issue of parody in the case Campbell v Acuff Rose Music in 1994 (by a 9-0 decision, natch).

They found that 2 Live Crew did not violate Roy Orbison’s rights when they made a mockery of his song “Pretty Woman” and offered him no credit or money.

Therefore, according to Stare Decisis, I find that Fitz is totally legal in making his extremely entertaining blog. And so am I.

So Ruled

The Right Honorable Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
(the A stands for Awesome)

My DU profile now reads Faux Faux Faux, Merry Fitzmas! Maybe I will do the same on my blog, under consideration, but it is like professional wrestling, I still insist it is real.

a faux Fitz? say it aint so!

Ersatz Fitz,

I second suntzu’s request that you include a disclaimer that you’re not the real Fitz McCoy somewhere on your blog.

Will I get smart-ass response from you as well?

–

Let’s agree to let my good friend Sam Alito arbitrate?

http://samuelalito.blogspot.com/

Suntzu,

Switches and coal for you this year? Everyone else gets this:

It’s a free country, so far. Blog on. Just know that you are still hiding behind somebody else’s name.

more from blairwatch.

“Peter Kilfoyle has just put down two Early Day Motions in Parliament. As usual it will be interesting to see who signs up for them:

EDM 1084
That this House notes recent reports that President Bush discussed with the Prime Minister the bombing of the al-Jazeera television station in Qatar; and calls on the Government to publish the record of this discussion.

EDM1117
That this House is appalled by the reported comments of President Bush to Prime Minister Blair that he wished to bomb Al-Jazeera headquarters in Qatar; is further concerned by the failure of the United Kingdom to restrain the American assault on Fallujah; and calls on the Government to publish the record of the conversation of President Bush and Prime Minister Blair held in April 2004, where these matters were discussed.”

Suntzu,

Switches and coal for you this year? Everyone else gets this:

http://patrickjfitzgerald.blog…..88645.html

blairwatch is listing blogs willing to post the memo.sign up!

“We’re Prepared To Pay The Price Of Freedom, Are You?”

linked from al-jazeera’s don’t bomb us website

Sparrow- teresaheinzkerry2006? What is she planning in 2006? She hasn’t registered that domain…

Howard, I taught it to Karl. Who did you learn it from?

Oops:

Here is the Fitzgerald ringer blog:

http://patrickjfitzgerald.blogspot.com

Patrick J. Fitzgerald:

This is an entertaining and somewhat informative blog, but nowhere do I find a disclaimer saying that you are not the real Patrick J. Fitzgerald.

To the degree that some gullible folks don’t realize your blog is a hoax, even if well-intended, you are doing a disservice to the real Patrick Fitzgerald.

I suggest you add a clearly displayed note to the effect that your blog is not intended to represent the views of the real Special Prosecutor.

And guess what? Mr. Fitzgerald has every right to ask you to cease and desist in masquerading under his name.

I guess it’s safe to say that’s not the “real” Patrick Fitzgerald, but he’s got a pretty good blog.

Luskin is playing “hide the peanut” to buy time for the Roverturd.

T- | 11.29.05 – 7:26 am | #

You mean “hide the salami?”

zennurse — thanks for pointing that out, re: Monk. I don’t give my blogroll the attention I used to, it shocked me too when I realized Inflatable Dartboard wasn’t on it.

Compost happens – Rotten apples don’t fall too far from the tree here in DC.

I have to ask Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) and Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) what is worse than finding a worm in your apple? Answer: Half a worm.

MZM cash now leads us to Rep. Katherine Harris and Rep. Virgil Goode too!

http://patrickjfitzgerald.blogspot.com

zennurse: ty.

The crux of my analysis of the DC political media is that they are ambitious careerists enamored of power, and not that they are right wing ideologues.

Their corporate masters have another agenda, but the masters mostly hire ambitious careerists who function as lapdogs with minimal supervision or interference.

My article comes from that perspective. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

Wifey Cunningham in the pic: her face tells all, ‘eh?

Days of livin’ large are rapidly coming to an end.

—

GSD: The “three night stands” joke was priceless!

Redd-

Inflatable Dartboard is not on your blogroll? Can this marriage be saved?

Thanks
z

A three night stand sounds almost meaningful.

DukestirGate Bombshell

Do we finally have the sex scandal angle here that the religious right will sit-up and take notice?

“$12,000 paid to an antique store for three night stands…”

I have heard of paying for one-night stands, but three?

-GSD

Evil Parallel Universe | 11.29.05 – 8:12 am | #

I’m with EPU here:

To Hell with Paul Weyrich and the feculent nag he rode in on. He Richard Viguerie and Howard Phillips are three of the pigs who stabbed everyone in the back when helped the fundies claw their way into the Republican party. Weyrich has tried to distance himself a little from his creation but TS Weyrich you lieing asshole you got the so called Moral Majority their political headstart and don’t think that won’t be remembered and held against you.

I wonder if the Dukester got free meals at Abramoff’s restaurant?

Does he get to keep his Congressional pension?

Time Reporter Called a Key to Rove’s Defense In Leak Probe

“It could not be learned what Luskin and Novak, who are friends, discussed that could help prove Rove did nothing illegal in the leaking of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity to reporters and the subsequent investigation of it.”

Do friends ask friends to testify in front of Grand Juries? And why is Luskin so anxious to let us all know that he and V. Novak are “friends”? What if her testimony doesn’t end up being as “friendly” to Rove as he would like?

“Three yards and a cloud of dust gets it done.”

I agree, JT, that we are only hearing Luskin on this and the prosecution perspective is still in Fitz’ underwear, if you will. Does anyone know if Luskin plays a sport? I’d be interested to compare it to rugby.

I’m glad there’s a line Fitz won’t cross in terms of the media sharks. It demonstrates the seriousness of the investigation and has shone a light on media manipulation in a way that might just dry up the fungus growing there somewhat. Of course, it’s frustrating to have only part of the story, but that’s what will make the charges stick in the long run, IMHO.

Is Frank Fernandez a Republican?
(Ya think?)

By The Associated Press

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..ibery_list

Some of the payments accepted by Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham as detailed in his plea agreement:

• $200,000 toward the purchase of his Arlington, Va., condominium.

• $140,000 to a third party for the “Duke-Stir” yacht, which was moved to his boat slip for his use.

• $16,867.13 to a marine services company for repairs to his own yacht, the “Kelly C.”

• $12,000 paid to an antique store for three night stands, a leaded glass cabinet, a washstand, a buffet and four armoires.

• $6,632 paid to a furniture store for a leather sofa and a sleigh-style bed.

• $7,200 paid to an antique store for a circa 1850 Louis Phillipe period commode and a circa 1830 Restoration period commode.

• $13,500 toward the purchase of a Rolls-Royce.

• $17,889.96 for repairs to the Rolls-Royce.

• $11,393.56 paid to a moving company to ship his belongings from his Arlington condominium to his San Diego-area home.

• $2,081.30 paid to a Washington, D.C., hotel for his daughter’s graduation party.

• $9,200 paid to a manufacturer for two Laser Shot shooting simulators.

• $10,000 paid to various hotels, resorts and restaurants for his meals and entertainment expenses.

• Hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to him and a company he controlled.

• Source: Plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court.

Can you imagine the L.A Times picking up Jonah Goldberg? After his repellant rant during the New Orleans tragedy. He is such an intellectual lightweight with poor sourcing and vacuous smears…But that is the new world order.

Check out the “Decadant American” op-ed piece in todays Financial Times, very good. It is covered over at KOS.

Also, what has lit the fire in the belly of Larry Wilkerson, Powell’s old right hand man? He has been merciless, not that Republican Bush/Rove deserve anything less.

FROM THE BBC:

(BEGIN)

“Col Lawrence Wilkerson accused Mr Cheney of ignoring a decision by President Bush on the treatment of prisoners in the war on terror.

Asked by the BBC’s Today if Mr Cheney could be accused of war crimes, he said: “It’s an interesting question.”

“Certainly it is a domestic crime to advocate terror,” he added.

“And I would suspect, for whatever it’s worth, it’s an international crime as well.”

(END)

So there is a former Colonel who is a confidante of Colin Powell dropping the war-crimes bomb….He joins the Iranian President, Ahmadinejad, on the record.

There is also more brewing with the Al Jazeera bombing memo story. It is looking more and more like Blair has a lot to hide and is acting like a criminal who is waiting for charges to come. The Aegis-Mercenary story seems to be brewing too….Looks more and more like Rpublican Bush/Rove world will be on the defensive for the next three years.

As for the Traitorgate stories….It sure seems like Fitzgerald is suffering the fools of Luskin and Rove and then he will hit them like a cobra out of the blue. It seems every story that comes out has a familiar “THIS is where Karl Rove is finally off the hook” meme. Just tiresome spin…spin…spin…-

-GSD

This all goes hand in hand with the Dukestir story. What a better way to keep the bribes from the defense industry flowing like wine than to embark on a long and costly overseas war…as well as the domestic war on terror….Check out this bit headlined at closeted DrudgeReport:

From AP
(BEGIN)

“Miami police announced Monday they will stage random shows of force at hotels, banks and other public places to keep terrorists guessing and remind people to be vigilant.

Deputy Police Chief Frank Fernandez said officers might, for example, surround a bank building, check the IDs of everyone going in and out and hand out leaflets about terror threats.

“This is an in-your-face type of strategy. It’s letting the terrorists know we are out there,” Fernandez said.

The operations will keep terrorists off guard, Fernandez said. He said al-Qaida and other terrorist groups plot attacks by putting places under surveillance and watching for flaws and patterns in security.”

(END)

In your face of democracy..keeping terrorists off guard and American citizens under fear.

As Gore Vidal called it: Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace.

There is great, long and colorful tradition of hypocrycy here in America, almost equal to that of moral righteousness.

Maybe both the hucksters and the righteous need be sent to the corner to wear the dunce hat for awhile. Perhaps then the tradition of enterprise will rise to the challenge of finding new frontiers: wind powered space crafts, diesel fuel made from peanut oil, niches of the wild in the deep urban wastelands, etc.

OT: By the way for anyone intersted I made a late post on Fitz’s strategy just now in the last thread.

Seems to me that a member of the defense appropriations committe taking bribes for personal gain from an alleged “defense contractor” (can they really do the job?) during a “time of war” comes pretty damn close to treason.

suntzu and EPU, excellent back-to-back posts! You both kick ass!

Great article, Pachacutec, and so very on target. Beautifully laid out. I had not been to the host site before and found a lot to admire there.

Emily Messner’s blog in the WaPo is debating issues on the lead up to the war. In 70 comments I read this am, only 2 were defending the admin in any way and one of those was a guy actually in Iraq. Even he was (gently) brought on the carpet by the evidence. Cohen also hits hard:

Rummy: “Imagine a defense secretary who thought he was propaganda minister.”

Condi: “To be charitable, she didn’t know what she was talking about.”

htpeters writes: “Usually, when a congressman makes news, his party affiliation is right there next to his name. Just checked the AP story in the paper; not there either.”

I had the same experience. Did not know him, so I checked his affiliation. It has been my experience that the party affiliation is placed in parentheses next to the name mentioned in the article. Why has this not been done here? Is it to reduce the bad PR for the repubs? It’s hard to avoid feelings of paranoia about the press when garbage like this keeps floating to the surface.

(Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you!)

Halleluiah brother,

The evangelists down at the justice department must really be preaching up a storm of fire and brimstone on these dirt balls. ItÂ’s almost like our prosecutors have a revival tent set up on the Washington mall with the chorus of singing and fellowship thatÂ’s going on. Ole Duke has seen the light and with all the tears in his eyes it must have been a very moving experience.

Hopefully the religious right will be happy with the converts. There is nothing more sinful than a bunch of heathen politicians. I can hardly wait for the laying of hands and the cripples to walk and the blind to see and to witness all who drop to their knees as true believers. Dear Lord have mercy on the republican party for they have sinned.

Amen brothers and sisters, sounds like their doing pretty good with the collection plate too.

http://fusioner.proboards60.co…..1131129004

I am telling you… One of the best ways to deal with the press is to hound them, and stay on them.

The WaPo article by Jeffrey Birnbaum for example (referenced in the Talk Left link)… I fired off an email to:
letters@washpost.com,ombudsman@washpost.com,Birnbaumj@washpost.com… I referenced the text and link to TalkLeft, and finished with:
I will certainly find time to comment. The Washington Post frequently looks like the propaganda arm of the RNC. Ask Bob “junkyard dog” Woodward.

You just gotta let em have it until they start acting right!!!

EPU: Write-On!!!!

Frankly, Republicans are held to a higher standard, mainly because they are the ones who always preach morality,” Weyrich said.

That is BS. Republican’s aren’t held to a “higher” standard. The law is the law – know any Dem’s who are pro-crime other than in Repug campaign smears? For philandering? Pro drug addiction?

The standard is honesty, and that is true for all politicians – you don’t sell your office for personal gain; your job is to represent your constitutuents.

Weyrich is confusing morality with hypocrisy, and trying to get the media to buy into it -it is a classic a Wingnut meme – “our policies are based on our HIGHER morality.” Their policies are based on their greater hypocrisies – their is nothign “moral” about repug politics.

Repugs will get hurt b/c they aren’t moral, not b/c they have higher standards of morality.

There is no way in hell I am going to give some Wingnut like Weyrich a pass on someone assinine, self-serving statement about morality. Bribary, tax evasion, etc. are not moral relatives to anyone in this country – perhaps other than repugs.

Pacha: The big picture, once again, is this: Rove is not the main target. I don’t care if he gets off if the whole Republican party leadership structure is effectively decapitated and disgraced.

Right, Rove is not the main target, never was. Rove after all is a surrogate for Bush, and if you want to make the case, then Bush is the main target. But why stop there? Bush is a surrogate for an oligarchical network of power brokers who put him in the Oval Office in the first place.

So who are these power brokers? What I see, through a glass darkly, is several power centers that though they not be working lock-step and in concert, are working synergistically to advance their own agendas: the military/industrial/corporate/oil complex, the religious fundies, the neocons, the right-leaning MSM, and of course the Republican party structure itself. And if you really want a dark view, you can throw in the Supreme Court under Rhenquist/Scalia/Thomas. Sorry to bring the bad news, but the combined effect of all these influences is not going to be cancelled by putting a few leakers in jail. At best it can be a straw in the wind.

Bush is done, no doubt about it. But being done does not mean he is harmless. Not with 3 more years to wreak havoc. Like a cornered rat, he is going to be meaner and cleverer as things get tougher. He co-opted the Dems into getting into the war, and he will do it on the way out. If things go well, he will take the credit, if not the Dems take the blame. When he announced a withdrawal plan “very much like the one advanced by the other party” he is setting the Dems up for blame.

But I digress. The main point is that if we see the start of a new Golden Age for American democracy being throwing Bush and the Pubs out of office, that is sadly delusive. For the simple reason that the power centers I referred to will still be in place and secure. In some ways they are getting stronger, the SCOTUS being a ready example. With the single exception of the neocons, who are losing clout, the rest of the oligarcy is likely to grow in strength at the expense of the rest of us.

What to do? I don’t have the answers, obviously. But in the sense the “all politics is local” saving the future of the country is also “local” and begins in the two square feet you occupy as you go about your business of living. We need to play the same game as the big power brokers and establish power centers of our own to influence whomever we encounter towards a continuing vision of peace, harmony, and true democracy.

Will that work? Don’t bet on it, but that is your best shot, and you better take it.

The US is living the Masque of the Red Death. Irreality reigns.

Consumer confidence? What is it based on? MSM? Puhleeese.

Norske,

There are surely exceptions, but this is a deadly serious game that’s being played with our democracy.

I’ll read whatever I can get my hands on without having to pay for access or supply my SSN and mother’s maiden name :o I read the Globe almost daily (not online) and there are at least a 1/2 dozen op-ed columnists that bring the hard truths to light each and every week. With the exception of Tom Oliphant though, I don’t think any of them are inside the beltway. I’m thankful that the Globe continues to employ James Carroll, Derrick Jackson, Robert Kuttner, Joan Vennocchi et al. (all can be read frequently at commondreams.org). Oliphant was a bit weaselly about the war and Bush until recently (after suffering a brain aneurism I believe) he’s had something of an awakening and he’s now calling it as it is.

I’m still shocked that the L.A. Times was foolish enough to drop Robert Scheer. Let’s hope he hasn’t lost the necessary credentials to get his phone calls returned.

Not to worry.
I’m sure that W’s AG Gonzales is on top of this and that more investigations and charges will be forthcoming.

Frankly, Republicans are held to a higher standard, mainly because they are the ones who always preach morality,” Weyrich said.

bingo!

I’m sorry to be off topic, but I just found this and wanted to share it with you.

Teresa Heinz Kerry has a terrific op ed on the Republican strategy. You may also contact her here to discuss this matter: teresaheinzkerry2006@yahoo.com

Published: November 28, 2005 03:33 pm

Teresa Heinz Kerry | Assault on Murtha should alarm us all
The Tribune-Democrat

“Because we in Congress are charged with sending our sons and daughters into battle, it is our responsibility, our obligation, to speak out for them. That’s why I am speaking out.”

– U.S. Rep. John Murtha, Nov. 17, “War In Iraq.”

U.S. Rep. John Murtha completely changed the public debate in our country by calling for an immediate redeployment of our troops in Iraq. Whether you agree or disagree with his specific proposal is not the point – but his critics’ words demand a response.

Murtha speaks with special authority.

His national security credentials are impeccable. His patriotism is unwavering. His influence on national defense is unsurpassed. None in Congress spends as much time as Murtha with the wounded from the Iraq war. His voice on matters of national defense deserves – indeed, commands – great respect.

This is why his political opponents think him so dangerous. The orchestrated assault on Murtha should alarm us all. Just when you thought the debate could sink no lower, the politicians committed to staying the course in Iraq turned the fire hoses of smear and intimidation on this icon of national security. Listen to what they said:

They said he had given aid and comfort to the enemy. They accused him of abandoning the troops. And one rookie representative, the most junior member in the House, so lost any decency or sense of decorum that she called Murtha a coward.

(She later said she should have rephrased her sharp comments.)

I think they smeared the wrong representative.

MurthaÂ’s history is one of heroism and leadership. He served in the Marine Corps from 1952 to 1955. He served as a Marine Corps drill instructor and a reservist. He re-upped so he could serve in Vietnam. He was wounded twice while serving as a Marine intelligence officer, and then went back into the reserves from 1967 to 1990. He was the first Vietnam veteran elected to the Congress, where he has served with honor and distinction as a bipartisan advocate of national defense ever since.

How bipartisan? When President Reagan wanted to build the MX missile, Murtha broke with his party to fight for what Reagan called the “peacekeeper.” Reagan sent him to El Salvador and the Philippines as an election observer and, as an official representative of the United States, to Pakistan to attend President Zia’s funeral. When President George H.W. Bush said of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, “this will not stand,” Murtha stood with him and voted to use military force to drive Iraq out.

His credentials on national defense are unimpeachable.

He has been named Minuteman of the Year by the Reserve Officers Association of the United States. He has been honored by the Blinded American Veterans Foundation. He is a winner of the Henry M. Jackson Distinguished Service Award, and an honoree of the Association of the United States Army.

When Murtha received the distinguished public service award from the American Legion, he was praised by the national commander as a veteran, supporter of a strong national defense and holder of an outstanding track record on veteransÂ’ issues.

That is Jack MurthaÂ’s history, and the summer soldiers and the sunshine patriots who attack him cannot rewrite it.

ThatÂ’s why they resort instead to the most reprehensible type of personal attacks.

We’ve seen this before. I know and love another Vietnam veteran who served our country with distinction and honor – who suffered the slings and arrows of distortions, half–truths and falsehoods.

Scoundrels who would stifle debate and smear dissenters weaken our democracy and diminish our nationÂ’s ability to make decisions and change course when circumstances demand.

This war is hard – hard to win, hard to support, and for most, hard to figure out. We all want the best for our troops, our country, the Iraqi people and what is best for the Middle East. Much is at stake.

But if we want the best outcome, the best minds we have must be free to express their strongest beliefs and best advice.

Murtha has earned our respect. His right to speak out is an intrinsic component of our democracy. It should be honored – we should hold that right sacred – even if his words deviate from the party line, the president’s talking points, or public opinion.

I think Murtha did our country an enormous public service for speaking out as he did, and I support for him for exercising his right.

A courageous person is always to be admired.

Teresa Heinz Kerry is the wife of U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.

•

http://www.latimes.com/busines…..e-business

From the LA Times link out front:

Conservative activist Paul Weyrich, head of the Free Congress Foundation, said he thinks the Democratic charge may stick. “Frankly, Republicans are held to a higher standard, mainly because they are the ones who always preach morality,” Weyrich said. “I think voters are going to punish them over this.”

Pardon my french, but your damned right ;)

Personally, I like the erms and ahems. Makes it more, you know, like, conversational.

With all the projecting this lot does, it should be easy to read the spin. Whatever they are saying about us, look for in them. Whatever they say about themselves, look for them to do the opposite.

I agree with Mack that the scapegoating has begun. This do-nothing preznit waits until it’s almost too late to do any actual policy and then it’s only a “get Out of Jail Free” card for him when he’s in a tight spot. He has no follow through. Also I agree with Jay about the DC journalists. My dad was one of them for a while. You gotta keep you mouth shut in public lest they shun you, but privately…he had the same reaction to the Repug crowd that John Kerry did, without the open mike. Biggest bunch of f***ing crooks you ever saw. I deeply suspect that his friend, the Dean of DC journos, feels the same but is too much of a gentleman to say so.

The “ahems” MAKE the posts. More “ahems”!

Stick to your style. And damn the torpedos.

Do I espy a Republican 10 beside the Duke? That old goat (chortle, chortle). I bet he can’t wait to get out of prison.

On the other hand, maybe he’ll decide he prefers the action in prison. Those wacky Republicans…

I would like to amplify one point I made above, because I think it is salient.

We do a lot of tea leaf reading in this investigation. We’re addicts, or as Duncan calls us, “advanced plameologists.”

But we should all keep our heads about us, and realize that, when we get into some pretty detailed hypothetical speculations, we tread on soggy ground.

Why?

Because the leaking in this case is coming from the munchkins in Luskinland, and most of everything else, we just don’t see.

What we get as a result is a highly distorted and incomplete picture, and one with an agenda.

Now, I know most everyone here knows this, especially and including our hosts. I’m not saying we should not speculate.

Still, given our distance from the scene and our limited view, it’s helpful to keep an eye on the macrotrends in the investigation.

I say this because some people have voiced dismay over the Vandehei article, fearing Rove may wiggle off the hook again.

The big picture, once again, is this: Rove is not the main target. I don’t care if he gets off if the whole Republican party leadership structure is effectively decapitated and disgraced. The other element here is that Rove is more than likely to go down in all this, one way or another.

My guess is that the munchkins in Luskinland gave Vendehei their aggressive spin in part to defelct from the power of the Rawstory report. They needed to push back.

http://fusioner.proboards60.co…..1131129004

^^ Don’t forget to express to the press ;)

___Letter___

Who is terrorizing whom?

As I look deeper into the national issue of “terrorism” I have been able to identify some issues and trends that I find rather disturbing. “Terrorists” and “terrorism” are being used by the US government in a coordinated program of jingoism and propaganda. This jingoism and propaganda is being used to scare American citizens, erode their rights to privacy, and intimidate people into accepting losses to their civil rights. This comes in addition to practices such as labeling citizens “enemy combatants” for the purpose of stripping their habeas corpus rights, and the use of torture, secret prisons, and military attacks on foreign soil.

In particular I noted comments made by Sec. of State (mushroom cloud) Rice in a recent press appearance where she said:

“You can’t allow somebody to commit the crime before you detain them, because if they commit the crime, thousands of innocent people die,” she told the USA Today daily.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20…..1129083651

This is a gross exaggeration. Yes the US was attacked on 9/11, however the success of that attack was largely due to intelligence and security failures by the same administration that never seems to be able to accurately or effectively manage intelligence or security. The solution is not to fear monger American citizens, it’s to get a new administration which can accurately and effectively deal with important intelligence and security issues; the current adminstration has a proven track record of completely failing on both.

“How to deal with groups of people, individuals, that respect no law, that wear no uniform, that follow no regulations.”

This is easy. These “terrorists” are much more accurately described and dealt with by specialized police units and special prosecutors as an organized crime issue. They are criminals plain and simple. They have only become “terrorists” due to a lack of effective government, a government which has consistently failed in its job of handling foreign relations and organized crime issues. It’s not a military problem, use of the military will just make this worse. It is a foreign relations problem, it is an organized crime problem; it should not be used to fear monger American citizens or strip them of their privacy and civil rights.

Thank you,

Usually, when a congressman makes news, his party affiliation is right there next to his name. Just checked the AP story in the paper; not there either. I assumed it was a repub, because mostly the folks in power are offered bribes. One TV report included his party ID. The press owners are really watching the details.

Jay,

You are SOOOO right about the DC media…and the major print media of the LA Times, Chicago Trib, Sun Times, NYT and Boston Globe. (The small market exceptions are Demoins Register, Mpls Tribune, Cleveland Plain Dealer and Atlanta Constitution). The point is that we are findin’ out jest how corrupt the “mature” political economy is…elected officials and mass media all plugged inta the corporate money pump. There is not an honest major market journal (read newspaper) or network TV station left in the country and very few “honest” journalists with any self respect left.

Ah well…the new world of the internet and locally based media and politics is ready ta replace the old but not soon enuff.

Pacha and T, thanks….

Re: the corruption of DC media. . .

I wrote an essay about this a while back that I’ve never linked to here at FDL.

It was part of some coverage/analysis I did for ePluribus Media.

Anyone interested can find it here:

http://scoop.epluribusmedia.or…..02454/9736

Zeppo,
Luskin is playing “hide the peanut” to buy time for the Roverturd.
The dust Luskin kicks up gets in Fitz’s eyes, but once it settles,
that turd will still be in the middle of the floor in the west wing.

Maxwell Smart: There are no holidays in the fight against evil.

zeppo: Of course, since none of us know the inner workings of the investigation, no on can answer your questions. But we can hypothesize.

We know, on the one hand, that Fitzy’s office in Chicago is handling more than one investigation. Here are some plausible hypotheses:

1. Fitzy’s team fucked up (not likely, in my view).

2. Fitzy’s team has been overwhelmed and is only now getting to it. This is marginally more likely, especially since we have other tea leaves to read that suggest there has been a good deal more going on under the covers than we can snoop out. He’s not bringing information to a new grand jury just because he’s in the mood. It’s likely that, since Fitzmas, more people have been talking to him. It is fairly likely that the Woodward related material has captured their attention of late, with interviews and so on.

3. It has not been a high priority item. This is also plausible. If the item is one of those little details to mop up before moving forward, but not very material to the investigation, delaying it may fall into thos category. The theory that this is another smokescreen from Luskinland fits this scenario, as does our Fitzy’s report that most of the investigation has been in the can for a while. This also fits with the idea above, that his attention has been focused on other, higher priority meetings in the investigation. We only seem to see what the munchkins in Luskinland want us to see, so there’s no reason to think Fitzy has not been busy and on the ball elsewhere.

4. It has not been the right time to talk to her until he had obtained other information from other people, so now is the right time. Each interview builds on the other, and you don;t try to do them all at once. One interesting idea, as hinted at by Jeralyn, is that this V. Novak bit has really been prompted by some bits and pieces coming from the Woodward story. For example, could Woodward’s source, who has also probably met with Fitzy, be linked somehow with also having spoken to V. Novak?

Gee, it’s not like they bought Duke an island or a country or anything. And the man only had a Rolls, a few servants, and a small private army! Sheesh! Will the liberal conspiracy stop at nothing?

Wonder how much the plea deal had to do with protecting Ms. Duke. I know that if my spouse came up with an extra $2.5 million I would know that something was afoot if not amiss…and if I remember correctly…she had a job via Mitchel Wade…and another in the Bush admin.

The GOP. Best representation that money can buy.

I respectfully disagree that the Washington D.C. media is lazy or clueless. Complicit seems more fitting in most cases. These folks are generally smart and ambitious, they just play the power/access game for their corporatist masters and in their world, everbody wins……oh yeah, except the American people…c’est la vie.

OK – I wont try to bold a single word again
^_^

The WaPo article is (as I posted in the previous thread) the context the RNC would like to establish.
“Everybody does it, so we are not so bad – at least we protect the rights of the unborn”

What needs to be clearly communicated is scale
Size *does* matter.

When Rosty wen downs, it was for Postage Stamps
(ok, so it was $45k posdtage stamps, but you get the drift)
I am still rankled about the S&L bailout, where a bunch of rich guys made poor gambles, which directly benefited their golf buddies, and Joe Taxpayer footed the bill.
All the while being told that teenage pregnancy and welfare fraud was the reason our taxes had to go up.
Watch carefully, the Republicans are not talking about Immigration this week because they are worried about American jobs.
It is the first step to scapegoating illegal aliens for the dollars wasted by the WHIG and FEMA.
Fiscal conservatives are going to need someone to blame, and it won’t be a bunch of rich white guys, nosiree.

I don’t know whether to post this in this thread or the one below. I still don’t have a feel for how fast the conversation moves from one to another…

Anyway, with a danger of being OT, about the timing of Fitz interviewing Vvak. Why did it take so long for Fitz to get around to her? What happened? If she was indeed the reason that Fitz didn’t indict Rove the first time around, what has been going on since the time of Libby’s indictment? That seems really odd to me.

I like ‘erm’
An expat Brit friend uses it a lot

Josh Marshall’s reader has the same reaction to that feat of gymnastic RNC spin in the WaPo (about corruption) that I did.

Just when you think the media in this town can’t be more clueless, they prove you wrong.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…..007126.php

what amused me about ultra-patriot Duke was accepting a bribe of a FOREIGN car: a Rolls-Royce! aren’t our own American cars swell enough for a crooked warhawk? surely a tricked-out Hummer should have been more his style. it was bad enough also accepting FRENCH antiques…
It’s all a sign of the moral degeneracy of our country…

I love your work… but please ease up on the “Ahem”s – you use it too much, and it undermines your otherwise excellent prose.
A fan,
MD

Jeez, Redd, you really should do something for that nasty cough in your throat.

Honey and lemon, perhaps?