Today is Donald Rumsfeld's last day at the Pentagon. They will be giving him the full military party circuit to say goodbye, spending a whole lot of taxpayer moolah so that Rummy can save face with a full dance card. But where is the accountability with regard to disastrous decisions, piss poor planning, and the failures that have led the United States to be mired in a mess that has only gotten worse and worse as the months of Rumsfeld's tenure at DoD ticked by — where is the accountability?
"Why do we have to keep going through this?" he declared with exasperation on Oct. 11 when asked if he took responsibility for what had gone wrong in Iraq.
"Of course I bear responsibility. My lord, I'm secretary of defense. Write it down. Quote it. You can bank it."
When history records the lessons from the tenure of George Bush and his malignant pack of cronies in this Administration, hubris, ego, and disdain for the rights of the American public to the answers to every difficult question they might ask will be at the top of the list of failures. I hope Rummy enjoys being the Shrub scapegoat of the day.
Lesson learned from this: you do not own the White House or the Department of Defense or the Congress or any aspect of government. The American people do. You are running them on loaner from us — and if you fail to run them with the proper amount of care and concern for those persons placed under your supervision, or without an eye to the WHOLE of your job, then we will toss you out on your behind.
No one is irreplaceable — but the public's need for real leadership and not just some faux sloganeering and PR hooey? It's growing. And you will be held to account — by history and by the members of your own little cabal of sycophants and party loyalists for them losing their seat at the trough — because no one likes a loser.
I would like my accountability with a side of lessons learned by greedy, egomaniacal idiots who get other people's children killed, please. Because it is well past time for that to happen.
Don't know about you guys, but I am looking forward to the day when Rummy and his pal Dead-Eye Dick, rumble around their adjacent summer home properties in Maryland, whining about how no one ever understood the magnitude of what they were trying to do for the American public. Because I, for one, do not ever expect either man to have the epiphany that they were just plain wrong.
Related posts:
- DPC to Continue Drive for Oversight, Accountability for Iraq and Afghanistan Contractors
- White House Denies Existence of Indefinite Detention Order; ACLU Demands Accountability
- Accountability Now Targets Jim Cooper for Primary Challenge
- “Preventive Detention” Plan Shows Urgent Need for Leadership and Accountability at OLC
- Supporting the Public Option: An Appeal for Accountability
Spotlight
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About Firedoglake
Advanced search
FITZ!
“Today is Donald Rumsfeld’s last day at the Pentagon.”
Good riddance to bad rubbish
I want to thank all who contributed ideas in Late-Nite for my movie soundtrack project. Great ideas, all.
I’ll update as it progresses.
Balrog @
3
Gonna have to go back and read that, unless you want to hit the high points for me…
1968: Tet Offensive: Viet Minh attack South Vietnamese provincial capitals belying American belief that the war is drawing to a close. US launches brutal counterattack. US troops execute over 200 men, women and children in the village of My Lai. The massacre is captured by an army photographer. US troops in Vietnam peak at 536,000.
1969: President Nixon endorses “Vietnamization” of the war, replacing returning US troops with South Vietnamese forces and secretly intensifying bombing of North Vietnam and Viet Minh supply lines inside Cambodia. Marines secretly invade Laos. US troops decline to 475,000.
1970: US troops invade Cambodia on April 30. Congress later bans US combat forces in Cambodia and Laos.
1971: South Vietnamese troops invade Laos.
1972: Hanoi launches Spring Offensive. US mines Haiphong Harbor and intensifies bombing of North Vietnam.
1973: Peace treaty signed between US, South Vietnam, and North Vietnam. Congress bans bombing of Cambodia, bans military expeditures anywhere in Indochina, and passes War Powers Act, requiring the President to consult Congress before committing troops. North Vietnamese force US military out of South Vietnam.
****************************
In our current parallel nightmare, we are at about 1970. Will it take three years for Congress to cut off the money?
the other day, when shrub was on his listening tour and had stopped at the Pentagon for an hour and then had a little presser, he made some comment about how “we are trying to give ‘em everything they need for success”…
something about his use of “them” gave me the impression that shrubya wants to throw the military under the bus for the failures in Iraq…
I’m still giggling about McCain and Holy Joe, when they were speaking after their visit to Iraq, wearing matching outfits…
Twisted Martini @
4
I’ve got about 2 hours worth of underwater video from Palau that I need a soundtrack for. I tried using some of my favorite music but the mood was wrong.
So last night I asked for help, and got many fine suggestions.
It’s pretty darn cool stuff, if I do say so.
Wish you guys could see our house — I finally got the last of our decorations up last night (the travel back and forth to the conference in DC put things on hold…), and it’s just lovely here this year. Thank goodness for coffee this morning — it’s cold, a bit damp, and gray outside.
Speaking of money, I know that Rumsfeld earned millions from his Tamiflu investments, and I know that he was worth almost a billion dollars when he was appointed by Bush. How much more did he manage to enrich himself? And can we hold him accountable financially in any way?
I’m so sick of these crooks. Talk about entitlement.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 8
G’head, take a picture…
What kind of soundtrack riff are you looking for-like a Cirque DuSoleil thing?
Christy – what a beautiful post. Put me in a great frame of mine to tackle Friday morning after the office holiday party.
I’ll take mine black with an espresso bomb, please.
Can you post some holiday pics of your decorated abode? Nothing that would give away your location to the red state vandals, of course.
Balrog at 7 — if I could add a suggestion — no idea if anyone has thrown this one in but…
Saint-Saens’ “Carnival of the Animals” has a fantastic movement — movement 7 (on this album entitled Aquarium, but I think that translation is off…). I have always thought this perfectly captured that magic feel you get in the water.
christy – i’m watching amy goodman (and her brother david) on c-span1 now and she just mentioned being at the conference you spoke at. did you get to meet her? please tell us more….
please excuse the early OT – but in way, not completely OT… ‘cuz it’s people like amy and christy who are holding people like rumy accountable.
The Ghost of Quagmires Past.
Mornin’ Firedogs,
kinda like that whole death and taxes thingy . . .
http://photos1.blogger.com/x/b…../satan.jpg
I’ve been thinking lately that amidst all the talk about being held accountable we seldom if ever hear any discussion of consequences. It’s easy to stand up and declare “I’m accountable” if there are no personal consequences for it. It’s about time we worked the idea that there is a pesonal price to pay into the public discussion if you are, as Rumsfeld, Rice and others have done, going to make a public display of how “accountable” you are.
I don’t know where else to say this, but Rummy’s penchant for privatizing everything reminds me of this:
Conservatives fail to understand that business and government are fundamentally different social institutions. The currency of business is economic utility. The currency of government is social utility. Often these are incompatible.
Relaxing, hypnotic. Piano and/or acoustic guitar. Longer tracks are ideal to limit the splicing I have to do.
I started with ‘Echoes’ from Meddle which was cool but got a little too intense.
christie,
in the real world there would indeed be something called accountability.
but the bushies will never face anyone calling them on their heinous, globally psychopathic behavior, except perhaps for the random individual at the local brooks brothers or tiffany’s outlet who, after murmuring a couple words of disapproval, will then be wrestled to the ground, arms snapped like twigs and detained for questioning. and that individual ought to hope it’s local police doing the detaining, because otherwise s/he’ll wind up on the rendition express to cairo.
there is no comfort either to be drawn by in the false hope that they will one day realize they were wrong. they actually got what they wanted: chaos and disaster were, if not explicitly the plan, allowed for in the plan, the part that fed their military contractor clients.
no, the thing to hope for is that, some time down the road, rummie or cheney or another of the cabal tires of being painted incompetent and becomes so emboldened as to give a speech or write a wsj column trumpeting their true intentions, and their success rate in meeting them.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 8
Not cold here in Ma. Gonna be close to 60 today!! I’m sorely lacking Christmas spirit w/ these temps. A photo of your decorated abode might help though!! :)
Balrog,
howz ’bout this guy ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM6HH6wdgSQ
I join you in looking forward to the day Rummy and Dead-Eye Dick are retired and rumbling around their summer homes in Maryland.
One thing that is curious to me is why Condi gets a pass on all of this. In my opionion, her performance as National Security Advisor and now as Secretary of State is equal to or worse than Rummy’s as Secretary of Defense.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 13
Very cool.. Thanks.
popomo at 17 — I absolutely agree. And that isn’t just my prosecutorial background talking — but consequences are essential.
Balrog, go check out “Children of a Lesser God.” IIRC, it should be exactly what you are looking for.
cbl -
Holy crap. That dude is amazing!
christy,
i apologize for misspelling your name in the post abve. precoffee here.
also, old gold, you are right, condi’s failures are as grotesque in their way as any of the others. if you’ve not yet had the chance, i commend to you the mark danner piece in the new york review of books. it really gives a sense of where the mistakes were made and by whom — if mistakes is what they were.
And following up from my #18, this administration has produced neither economic nor social utility, but instead has brought down both.
I would say accountability hasn’t crossed Bushie’s mind yet:
“I must tell you, I’m sleeping a lot better than people would assume.” — President Bush, in a new interview with People magazine
dmg at 28 — don’t even worry about it. I didn’t even notice. *g* (I’m on my first cuppa coffee here as well…)
Balrog, have you listened to some of the tracks in Powaquatsi? Might be something useful there.
sofistic at 29 — unfortunately, true on all counts. SIGH
If you would like to read another reason Rummy is criminally negligent check out this editorial from yesterday’s LA Times. Sorry I can’t seem to make this a link but try good old copy and paste.http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-engelhardt14dec14,0,2334181.story?coll=la-opinion-center
David Kay hearts old gold
from Frontline/the dark side transcript
And what else – besides Rummy – will go out with the trash today? Guesses, anyone?
Happy “Take Out The Trash” Friday!
Twisted Martini @
26
Is there a soundtrack available? I only see the movie referenced.
BTW, sorry to be hijacking here.
I guess that doesn’t work.. how do you make a link??
Completely OT, but any word on Jane’s well-being? I was watching the weather last night, and became worried about my brother who lives at Rockaway Beach (about 100 miles north of Jane’s QTH), and the winds were clocked at 97mph.
Peterr at 36 — Have been wondering that myself. *g*
old gold @ 23
In addition, I hope all the Democrats who have served in the cheering section for the Iraq debacle are held accountable in 2008. That includes the ones who have recanted.
Balrog, try this.
http://www.amazon.com/Children…..mp;s=music
sofistic,
think you’re right on. remember how the 2000 campaign invoked the mba/business meme, promising to bring all the smarts of the private sector to bear on the ugly messy inefficiencies of government?
people think bushites are just incompetent, but once again, i’m of the belief that really what they did was to follow through and transport the corporate mindset — which also embraces the no-accountability/golden parachute culture — with impressive success. again, the hope is that maybe going forward the “business model” of governance is thoroughly discredited. but i doubt it.
Well, here’s a lovely little snippet from Condi — someone give Atrios the brass ring, because the policy will NOT be changing, says she. (Yeah, I know…shocking…NOT.)
Christy, I sent you the LA Times editorial via your FDL address. If you have the time, check it out
Jay at 45 — thanks much — will take a peek when I get a minute. Appreciate it!
Muck from Josh’s TPM;
“The proposed changes, with a few exceptions, conflict with the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, which warned earlier this month against an open-ended commitment to Iraq and said American combat brigades could be out of Iraq by early 2008….
“While some key decisions haven’t been made yet, the senior officials said the emerging strategy includes:
“-A shift in the primary U.S. military mission in Iraq from combat to training an expanded Iraqi army, generally in line with the Iraq Study Group’s recommendations.
“-A possible short-term surge of as many as 40,000 more American troops to try to secure Baghdad, along with a permanent increase in the size of the U.S. Army and the Marine Corps, which are badly strained by deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan….
“-A revised Iraq political strategy aimed at forging a “moderate center” of Shiite Muslim, Sunni Muslim Arab and Kurdish politicians that would bolster embattled Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki. The goal would be to marginalize radical Shiite militias and Sunni insurgents.
“-More money to combat rampant unemployment among Iraqi youths and to advance reconstruction, much of it funneled to groups, areas and leaders who support Maliki and oppose the radicals.
“-Rejection of the study group’s call for an urgent, broad new diplomatic initiative in the Middle East to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reach out to Iran and Syria.
“Instead, the administration is considering convening a conference of Iraq and neighboring countries – excluding Iran and Syria – as part of an effort to pressure the two countries to stop interfering in Iraq….
“…Bush appears to have been emboldened by criticism of its proposals as defeatist by members of the Republican Party’s conservative wing and their allies on the Internet, the radio and cable TV.” (McClatchy)
——–
ALL seem just WRONG – esp. when one alternative beats them all (EVAQ IRAQ NOW).
I really like that last one. Just what I’ve been following in Unclaimed Territory (Glenn Greenwald)
Similarites to Vietnam abound, with caveats:
oil
neighbors (and/or rogues) have nukes.
——-
Happy Friday!
This story makes me shiver. will we spend the year held hostage in the Senate?
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2….._1215.html
Lieberman is still the problem
snowbird42 at 48 — Lieberman has always been the problem. SIGH
Clip out and save: Charles Krauthammer outlines his plan for “our last chance for success” in Iraq. File it under all of the other last chances that have been proposed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01367.html
OT – C-SPAN presses Pelosi on transparency
In a Dec. 14 letter, C-SPAN CEO and Chairman Brian Lamb asked Pelosi to roll back the three-decade old practice that put the House Speaker in charge of the cameras. C-SPAN and the House reached the current agreement in 1979 when cameras were first introduced to the chamber. He wrote that he sought a similar agreement in 1994 when Republicans captured control of the House, but he did not get it.
I’ve seen Rumsfeld’s house in Maryland. It’s called his “weekend” home. His “summer” home is elsewhere. That’s in addition to his vast New Mexico thousands-of-acres home, and his Chicago-area home. How does he have time to run the Iraq war with all these home responsibilities? Erm, that’s a good point.
lina @ 41
i will be all forgiveness, if congress will now block funding and end the occupation…. will they?
Jay at 45 — that LATimes op-ed is infuriating alright…thanks for the link to it. Arrrrgh.
Rumsfeld was a all time low for the U.S. not doubt about that but I’m not expecting much from Gates. This is a man who sabotaged Jimmy Carter’s reelection in 1980 (original October Surprise, Google it). Sold Arms to Iran and ran cocaine out of Nicaragua for the CIA! He’s the enforcer guy of the crime family. He’s there to up the Iran program and get the Herion flowing out of Afghanistan at peak production. Of course their is the matter of getting Iraq’s oil flowing and running there the Unocal pipeline in Afghanistan.
sofistic and dmg -
in case you haven’t seen it -
Paul Krugman – The Outsourcer In Chief
http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/oped/ci_4830528
Pach had a great post yesterday on the ICE raids of Swift packing plants. The mess continues, with lawyers unable to contact their clients – or even to learn where they are being held and processed. The Denver Post describes the aftermath of the raids on the Greeley plant, and it’s not pretty.
The church is also getting in on the act. The local archbishop weighs in. Again from the DP:
Full text of the Archbishop’s letter is here. [pdf warning]
As Rummy drags his obscenely self-assured, nonchalant ass out the Pentagon door, let there be someone who pulls his coat and says: “Excuse me, Donny, but there are some people who need to talk to you.”
Suggestions:
Seize his house(s), his money, and his future earnings and hold them against the damages he owes to innocents in Iraq and elsewhere.
Try him.
Sue him.
Screw him.
Ask him if he’d like to take any of his friends along.
Balrog @
7
I got a piece of royalty free music from The Music Bakery, paid for the rights to use it in a video production. My piece is here. I thought the rates were reasonable and I can use that piece of music when I want.
cbl, thanks for the krugman link. i had somehow missed this column.
he’s truly indispensable reading.
old gold @ 23
I second that.In fact in many ways I think she is worse tham Rummy. I will NEVER EVER get past or forgive
“you don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud”
NEVER
Twisted, I look forward to seeing the fruits of your labors :)
selise @ 53
they’re not there yet.
it took 50-plus thousand American deaths thirty years ago. it won’t take that many this time, but it’s probably going to take the 08 prez. campaign to be the impetus this time.
LindyH @ 62
???
snowbird42 @ 48
If Bush appoints Holy Joe to be UN ambassador, it is true that a republican govenor gets to appoint the replacement, but thank in large measure to Ned Lamont, Conn is not The Rep bastion is was even 5 years ago. I think a big grass roots push (think Orange Revolution)could make a difference.
The governor has his own popularity to worry about.
The democrats have the Big choice to cut the funds and end this occupation. If they fund the war, it’s the same as supporting it. The people who voted them in, will remember what way they voted. I hoping the democrats don’t think they can play games with the voters who they are to represent.
I watched the DVD version of Fog of War awhile back, and kept thinking that McNamara was a haunted man. He has probably spent the balance of his life with an epithet written by world opinion, hanging over his head.
That is an accountability that no amount of power or privilege can remove.
1,363 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND..
Citizen Hardin Smith and the Firepup Patriots:
“…but I am looking forward to the day when Rummy and his pal, Dead-Eye Dick, rumble around their adjacent summer home properties…”
Is it too much to hope that we will have a complete clensing of our national soul and be blessed with a moment of justice so that these monsters will “rumble around” in jail? Why aren’t we directing the growing national anger over this mess… let’s advance the idea of trials and justice for these cretins!
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION
Another flash from the past:
. . .On April 30 President Richard Nixon announced to a national television audience that US troops were invading Cambodia, the country west of Vietnam through which the North Vietnamese military was supplying their troops in the South. In fact, the US had been conducting bombing raids in Cambodia for over a year.
The image of the President’s hand resting over an abstract map of Cambodia circulated widely. It appeared not only in the New York Times but on the cover of Time. Millions also saw it on live television as Nixon disclosed the invasion. Several journalistic accounts commented on the sense of disbelief and helplessness felt by many viewers. Time’s cover story began,
“At one point during his television address to the nation last week, Richard Nixon lost his place in the typescript. For four or five seconds he shuffled pages, eyes darting through paragraphs to pick up the trail again. For the nation watching, it was an instant of complex psychology. There was the acute embarrassment and sympathy for the speaker who has fluffed his lines. There was also, for some, an eccentric half hope that if he could not continue, an absurdist, McLuhan logic would apply: ‘The U.S. was about to move into Cambodia, but the President lost his place in the script.’ The instant passed. Richard Nixon went on.
For the past year the Nixon had been promoting the ‘Vietnamization’ of the war, promising to replace US troops with newly-trained South Vietnamese soldiers. Citizens had expressed relief at the thought of American fighters coming home.
On the heels of Presidential promises of de-escalation, the April 30, announcement caused many in the United States to respond with shock and anger. Protests erupted across the country, including one at Kent State that ended in the fatal shooting of four students by National Guardsmen.. . .
http://chnm.gmu.edu/hardhats/cambodia.html
***************
I actually George W. Bush is far more dangerous than Richard Nixon.
loosehead at 65, a gentle reminder that ct gov jodi rell is a woman.
more to the point, snowbird at 48, there is really no way lieberman is going to go to the u.n.
the job is a box of ribbons compared to the influence he has as a senator. not only would he miss the ring-kissing that will be going on for the next two years from dems and repubs alike, but the lobbyists who have bought and paid for him would not like losing their anticipated return on investment.
Peterr @ 57
Chertoff tried to use similar tactics when he was investigating and prosecuting banks in NYC’s Chinatown. He exploits people’s ignorance of their rights and uses intimmidation to get them to consent to thinks that they would never be forced to do by a court.
The guy is just walking a bad Karma factory!
Rummy should be remembered for gems like this:
Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war.
~Donald Rumsfeld
Juan Cole is doing some serious venting (I always liked listening to an angry history teacher). He even used an exclamation point.
Bunny @ 58
As wonderful as that idea is, unfortunately there is a doctrine of “qualified Immunity” that protects him from suit for actions, no matter out dumbshit stupid, taken in the course of his official duties.
NaNOO @ 66
amen.
there is no excuse now for the Ds (and for the Rs as well) to approve another $100 billion to fund a continued occupation. the american people don’t want it. the iraqi people don’t want it.
they can claim they were “fooled” into their initial vote for the war. now they have NO excuse.
Rummy will have to stay home and hide from people who will demand answers. His bull shit authority days are over. In Germany they will be waiting for him to be tried for war crimes.
dmg @ 70
1) Thank you for the gentle correction. I was sitting here blanking out on who the Gov was.
2) I think you are right about the power analysis, except, Joe knows he is on thin ice in Conn plus he has always wanted to break out into a policy type position.
I know, UN Ambassador isn’t exactly a policy position, but….
This may be too personally attrative for him.ANd who knows what back room sweetners would be in that deal?
Medals of freedom being awarded by the chimp in chief, wonder if Rummy’ll get one.
Manetta, Buck O’Neil so far.
I have had little to no good things about this military moron from the day he took office
however, this is the first time I’ve seen ANYONE take responsibility for their inept performance and I have to give credit where it’s due, so finally, my hat’s off to you Donald for being the first in the administration to admit you sucked at your job
check this out;from my blog
THE PRESIDENT’S OWN GENERALS; IRAQ IS BREAKING OUR MILITARY
FROM CNN;
everyone knows we are already having trouble meeting the current recruit demands, and now in order to keep our military from breaking under the insane policies of an administration that actually thinks initiating war against countries that pose no threat and house no terrorists is a good idea, we must find a way to remain a military for a commander in chief the country believes has proven himself inept, irresponsible, and incapable.
If there were a play book written by bin laden, it looks like the man in charge of this country is following that play book to the detriment of our national security
Christy, I love this description. If you could manage to fit the terms ‘toady,’ ‘ass-kisser,’ ‘minion,’ ‘boot-licker,’ or ‘parasite,’ in there it could only be made better. But perhaps that is overkill.
My fervent hope for this man is that he does, majikally, grow an empathetic organ somehow and lives a long life to realize the indelible harm he has done to America. I hope he gets to live long enough to witness how history will judge him and his pack of cronies because there is no doubt in my mind that this is the most sniveling, self-serving pack of shitheads, certainly in recent memory and quite probably within the whole scope of American history. They’ve set the bar unimaginably low for complete lack of success. They’ve done nothing positive and several things unbelievable negative to the fabric of our government; and, Rummy was the poster child for this idiocy. He deserves to be…golly, does he deserve to be.
Balrog-As your film is in the Pacific, perhaps you might like Jarre’s soundtrack to “The Year of Living Dangerously’.
NaNOO @ 76
could someone close that tag?…I believe it comes from #66
Latest on Libby…
33 days…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01257.html
Jack
Looseheadprop @ 65
Rell is a ‘her’. Just for accuracy.
Would she possibly, in the name of ‘bipartisanship’ tap the defeated Dem candidate? (Boy, wouldn’t THAT send the whole deck of cards into a tornado?!!)
Naw, she’d go with Alan Schlesinger (SP?).
But, what a hoot if it did end up w/Senator Ned Lamont!
Bay State Librul @ 84
WASHINGTON — Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said Thursday that he does not expect any government officials to refuse to testify in the CIA leak trial, but he did not specifically say whether Vice President Dick Cheney or other top White House officials were on his witness list.
Attorneys for Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, meanwhile, told a judge that two unidentified reporters may resist testifying on Libby’s behalf in the case. The attorneys predicted the issue would be resolved before trial, however.
interesting stuff there
obviously fitz doesn’t plan on calling cheney
that sort of pisses me off
Check out Nomad album
http://www.jessecook.com/home.html
Dennis Kucinich has decide to run for President. I am so glad, he is about the only democrat I know that I feel I could trust. He was agaisnt this war from the beginning, and hasn’t voted to fund it. He also had a resolution last summer for a immediate cease fire.
perris @
79
Like Bush, Rummy “takes responsibility” by using those words occasionally, but whenever pressed for the details about the implications of responsibility, or accountability for that responsibility . . . not so much.
here’s the folks being lauded today:
Natan Sharansky, BB King and
Other honorees this year are: educator Ruth Johnson Colvin; university president Norman C. Francis; British historian Paul Johnson, Nobel prize-winning geneticist Joshua Lederberg; historian David McCullough; former congressman and transportation secretary Norman Mineta; Negroe Leagues baseball legend John ‘Buck’ ONeil; and Pulitzer prize-winning newspaper columnist William Safire.
http://news.sawf.org/Entertainment/29539.aspx
I really like Dennis Kucinich too, NaNOO– he has been on the side of humanity and America from the git- go.
loosehead at 77,
the one true north star in joe lieberman’s world view is that joe is about joe. he just got a free pass from conn(ed) voters for six years. he doesn’t care how thin the ice is back home. heck, in his view, if it breaks, he’ll walk on water.
besides he already lost out on the secdef sweepstakes. have no doubt, u.n is a booby prize for anyone who takes it.
hey how come we’ve gotten all gray and keyboardy in the typeface?
Balrog, if it’s not too late for music suggestions, how about the Mendelssohn Songs without Words? It’s all piano and has a lovely dancelike quality – I’ve seen a ballet using these songs and it was beautiful.
Or in a completely different style, almost anything by Jan Gabarek.
perris @ 86
Oh, I don’t know . . . the phrase “twisting slowly in the wind” comes to mind. If Cheney doesn’t testify, then it leaves Irving out there all alone.
By himself.
Staring at prison.
Not a pretty picture, if you’re Irving. Could it be that Fitz is looking to put a little extra pressure on the VP’s right hand guy? “Nope, no one’s going to bail your tail out of this one, Irving. [pause] So, [pause] would you like to talk a bit more, [pause] perhaps a bit more clearly about the discussions of Joe Wilson’s op-ed and how the White House reacted to it?”
perris @ 79
taking responsibility means nothing in an age of nonaccountability.
it’s like nixon saying (or am i just channeling some old comic routine?) that he’d take responsibility…(wait for it) …but not the blame.
Of course, there is a big difference between “taking responsibility” and admitting one has been wrong, wrong, wrong. And saying what one was wrong about.
peterr at 93
fitz and libby have already had that conversation months ago, i’d wager.
i’m sure libby has been well-subsidized for taking one for the team. jailtime is in his future and he knows it…as long as he gets out in time to see the aspens…
Amy Goodman!
Why is everything after 67 in blocks? Or is just me?
Here’s something I found by way of Raw Story:
http://blog.washingtonpost.com….._song.html
Peterr @ 93
Watching Mr. Fitzgerald operate has been an education in patience. He obviously understands his job very, very well. While I constantly find myself chagrined by the pace or the positioning of his operation, his results continue to be positive. I think we are watching a chess master set up a laborious defense before beginning a direct and determined offensive gambit. I wish he’d hang them all high, but I believe he is going about it in his own way, to the best of his abilities and they appear to be considerable.
Peterr @ 93
Oh, I don’t know . . . the phrase “twisting slowly in the wind” comes to mind. If Cheney doesn’t testify, then it leaves Irving out there all alone.
By himself.
Staring at prison.
Not a pretty picture, if you’re Irving. Could it be that Fitz is looking to put a little extra pressure on the VP’s right hand guy? “Nope, no one’s going to bail your tail out of this one, Irving. [pause] So, [pause] would you like to talk a bit more, [pause] perhaps a bit more clearly about the discussions of Joe Wilson’s op-ed and how the White House reacted to it?”
I agree. And the fact that Cheney’s NOT on Fitz’s witness list suggests that Cheney is, in fact, in the crosshairs here.
dmg @ 96
Perhaps he could use that condo Ken Lay was in, prior to serving his jail time. There’s already a friendly coroner in that county, in the event that libby needs to be declared dead or something.
Need atmospherics for underwater vid soundtrack?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_Roses
preview perhaps:
http://www.artistdirect.com/na…..74,00.html
have no idea about ‘rights’ etc.
Is this personal use? Don’t know if YouTube would allow, etc.
Good luck.
dmg @ 96
But these conversations don’t just happen once.
“Pity about losing those motions to let your ‘memory expert’ testify on your behalf. By the way, did you see how I was able to not just take her testimony apart while she was on the stand, but also do it by using her own words against her? Gosh, that was fun. One question, though: are you looking forward to your turn on the stand, Mr. Libby? Of course, we could always talk a bit more candidly . . .”
“Pity about losing most of those motions to bring in your greymail defense, and not being able to bring in all those ’shiny things’ to distract the jury. Yeah, my staff and I had to work a lot of overtime to respond to those motions, but you know what? It really sharpened up our arguments for the trial, and the judge sure liked what we had to say. One question, though: what are you going to say, if you can’t point to all those shiny things? Of course, we could always talk a bit more candidly . . .”
Just speculating. OK, fantasizing. Still, I would NOT want to be in Irving’s shoes. Fitz can’t be getting any happier with all the nonsense make-work that Team Irving has dumped on him and his staff.
And as for the aspens . . . Maybe Fitz has mentioned that the US government has prison facilities in Colorado. SuperMax is a bit out of Irving’s league, but I’m sure they could find him a low-rent cell out there with a view of the aspens.
Peterr @ 103
It’s not just Fitz that Team Libby has to worry about. It’s also the judge. Walton strikes me as a no-nonsense type, and it seems unwise to try his patience.
Completely OT–but I need to clarify. By private email, a reader told me some people might think I was implicitly dissing Christy by the following comment I posted yesterday:
Biodun @ 21
So let me just say the following comment that I posted on her thread “Hope Floats” before she went to the Eisenhower Foundation conference in DC speaks for itself:
***
99 Biodun says:
December 11th, 2006 at 8:04 am *
Late coming to thread. Congrats, Christy. I admire your intelligence, passion, patience, civility, and convictions. You and Jane and others have made FDL a sanctuary and forum for civil discourse for many of us. Thank you.
***
I rest my case.
Daschle speaking very reassuring words about Tim Johnson’s condition on cspan1.
btw, interesting forum on now– so sorry I missed Amy and David!!!
http://www.c-span.org/
perris @ 86
WASHINGTON — Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said Thursday that he does not expect any government officials to refuse to testify in the CIA leak trial, but he did not specifically say whether Vice President Dick Cheney or other top White House officials were on his witness list.
Attorneys for Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, meanwhile, told a judge that two unidentified reporters may resist testifying on Libby’s behalf in the case. The attorneys predicted the issue would be resolved before trial, however.
interesting stuff there
obviously fitz doesn’t plan on calling cheney
that sort of pisses me off
The Post goes on to mantion
IIRC, and I’m really not sure I do recall correctly, it was North that wanted to call Bush Sr, to testify, saying that Bush had ordered/authorized him to do things he did. this would have forced Bush Sr to invoke his 5th ammendment privledge and the prosecutor opposed calling Bush.
I am sure that arms dealer Adnan Kashogii wanted to call Bush (a friend of mine was prosecuting that case and she was totally frosted by his motion–but that was before anybody had an inkling about Iran-Contra. At the time, she thought he was doing it to greymail her)
Very different different dynamic here with calling Cheney.
“But these conversations don’t just happen once.
“Pity about losing those motions to let your ‘memory expert’ testify on your behalf. By the way, did you see how I was able to not just take her testimony apart while she was on the stand, but also do it by using her own words against her? Gosh, that was fun. One question, though: are you looking forward to your turn on the stand, Mr. Libby? Of course, we could always talk a bit more candidly . . .”
“Pity about losing most of those motions to bring in your greymail defense, and not being able to bring in all those ’shiny things’ to distract the jury. Yeah, my staff and I had to work a lot of overtime to respond to those motions, but you know what? It really sharpened up our arguments for the trial, and the judge sure liked what we had to say. One question, though: what are you going to say, if you can’t point to all those shiny things? Of course, we could always talk a bit more candidly . . .”
Peterr, you must be a fly on the wall. ;-)
nobody can close the tags?
johnswifty at 101:
man, you read my mind!! i was just thinking about how i expect ken lay has been enjoying his new life running a surf shop in the maldives….
peterr @ 103:
i truly hope such conversations have an effect. i just doubt they will.
because the clock is ticking, and the check and mate move remains with the president to whom he has been loyal. even if they drag out this trial, even if he does go into a minimum security prison for a bit, libby knows he’s got a pardon waiting for him no later than jan. 20, 2008.
Why so surprised?
This is exactly what one should expect from a “CEO PRESIDENCY”
How many golden parachutes have been handed to failed CEOs in the last decade? Accountability…not so much.
Must be nice to always fail upward.
mc @ 108
I think it’s going to trial.I checked with some folks and they are now down to the nitty gritty like how many seats will be reserved for the press in the gallery and where the family and friends of the participants will be allowed to sit.
Doesn’t sound like this one is expected to plead out.
(BTW Chirsty or anyone else here planning to live blog the trial—-Get your requests in NOW. Don’t miss the train that’s pulling out of the station)
new thread – Today’s Rationale for those immigration raids.
Biodun at 105 — for the record, I SO did not even for a moment think that was your intent. I took it as a compliment to the whole blog which, frankly, is a lovely one. :)
oops, typo. i meant jan. 20, 2009, NOT ‘08.
I’m getting sick already, even before Bush
speaks at Rumsfeld’s last hours…
Jack
Looseheadprop @ 112
I agree – it’ll go to trial. Still, it’s fun to imagine Fitz getting into Irving’s head as we get closer to the opening gavel.
Yes Peterr,
it is
the tags are killing me, can someone please close the tags…I believe they started on #66
Looseheadprop @ 112
Reminds me of the scene in Peter Jackson’s “Kong” where KK (Fitzgerald) battles the three T. Rexes (Libby, Bush/Rove, and Cheney). Although everyone knew how that story would end, I’m expecting still a few surprises between now and trial date.
I also think Cheney is Fitz’s real target and that Fitz is still going hard on Libby to flip. And as we know, that flip could come as late as trial day.
And am I correct in assuming the two reporters are Woodward and Miller? ( I can’t wait to start typing Judy Kneepads again!)
Oh, and BTW, did any one see the Northern lights last night?
johnSwifty @
101
Hey that coroner is in my hometown, I don’t know anything about him, but will try and find out.
It’s “Dingleberry Don’s” last day. Godspeed, lunatic.
http://www.seriouskidding.com
drhackenbush @ 121
IIRC, he was a she and this wasn’t the first time that she has done ’special’ duty; but I honestly don’t recall the circumstances. I read so many of the conspiracy theory sites it’s hard to keep them all straight. It never lacks for interesting speculation, though, and truth always is stranger than fiction…and that’s the truth.
I truly believe Rumsfeld has been batshit crazy since day one.
I think he and Chaney were always on the edges of power in their careers, and with their appointments by Bush saw a man so weak that they could finally play out their fantasies of what they had been wanting to do all along while working for the other presidents.
Everyone assumes he sleeps in a drunken stupor of a slumber – so he is pretty out of touch
drinksforall @ 30
good riddance, dumbf*ck. don’t let the Gates hit you on the way out.
In an elaborate ceremony carried live on all the cable news networks, President Bush and Vice President Cheney feted the disgraced Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld with glowing words, military pomp and even a 19 gun salute. “This man knows how to lead and he did,” Bush declared, “and the country is better off for it.”
Rumsfeld, it seems, will not be held to the GOP’s “Les Aspin Standard.” That is, decisions that needlessly cost American lives in battle cost defense secretaries their jobs, but apparently only if Bill Clinton is president.
For the details, see:
“Flashback: Rumsfeld Celebrated, Aspin Slandered.”