Digby reminds us that the fetid stench of Turdblossom still freely permeates the halls of the West Wing:
…But let's not forget what we know about our friend Karl Rove. There's no doubt he participated eagerly in the smear against Wilson, he just wasn't as stupid as Libby, nor did he have as much to cover up, what with having a half-wit for a boss who barely knows what day it is. And he got very lucky with the happy coincidence of a little sloppy gossip over drinks between blabbermouth Viveca Novak and Rove's lawyer that gave him a plausible explanation for his miraculous recovered memories. Cheney is even on record as being pissed that Rove was getting the protection of the president while poor little Scooter was hung out to dry….
Libby did this thing out of loyalty. Rove did it out of sheer partisan hatred.
It's a shame that Rove isn't going to bed tonight a convicted felon like Scooter Libby is. The fateful loss of the mid-term elections and the complete collapse of the Bush administration will have to be his legacy. After all, Karl Rove is "Bush's Brain," the king of the Mayberry Machiavellis who thought he could run a nation like a dirty tricks campaign in South Carolina. He was in way over his head and now he reeks of the fetid stench of Bush/Cheney failure, for which he, probably more than any other single person, is responsible. I would be very surprised if any politician in the country will ever hire him again.
It's not what he deserves. But it's better than nothing.
I am still awaiting the answer to my question: why does Karl Rove, a man who has admitted to confirming classified information to a journalist without proper authorization, still have a high level security clearance in violation of his SF-312 agreement? Isn't it about time members of Congress started asking that question — in the nation's best interest?
And what was Karl doing while his super-loyal patsy of a BFF Scooter spent the week awaiting the verdict of a jury of his peers?
President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush had dinner last night at the home of Karl and Darby Rove in the upscale Palisades neighborhood of Washington.
When a pool reporter following the president's intown travel stationed outside dispatched an email to Rove inside, asking if the architect of the president's campaigns could spare a doggy bag for the press van, sure enough — out came an emissary bearing a gift of sausage and quail wings.
The press had already called in a pepperoni-and-mushroom pizza from Domino's, but the host's contribution to the press van feast was the most excitement seen outside this residence in a while.
Why, dining on quail wings with President and Mrs. Bush, of course. And tossing out the scraps to the media outside. I suppose that "quail wings" are a step up from the usual cocktail weenies, although I do note that "sausage" of some sort was also on the press menu. (Nice that they can Blackberry in a personal request for scraps directly from Rove, himself, isn't it?)
One wonders if the "quail wings" were some sort of back-handed homage to Shooter on the eve of his former top aide's guilty verdict. But then, the Vice President and his wife weren't exactly invited to this private little soiree, were they? If I were Shooter, I'd be watching my back. I smell another Turdblossom Special in the works.
Of course, maybe Vice President Cheney has a new BFF to watch his back for him.
Why yes, that it Sen. Joe Lieberman. Good ole CYA Joe, always ready to stick up for his pals in a pinch. Funny how his pals all seem to be cronies of Dick Cheney, isn't it? (Photo by Stephen Crowley for the NYTimes. H/T to egregious, who appears to have spotted this about the same time I did.)
UPDATE: Steve T. makes a great point in the comments:
What struck me when I saw that photo of Cheney in the Times this morning was that he was described as being at the Capitol for the regular weekly Republican strategy luncheon. So what was Joe doing there?
Yes, enquiring minds and all that — what WAS Lieberman doing hanging out around the Republican strategy luncheon? Hmmmm?
Related posts:
- The Taxpayers Paid Dick Cheney’s Personal Defense Attorney to Obstruct Any Inquiries Into His Crimes
- Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby, and the “Unremarkable” Meat Grinder
- Jim Cooper and Karl Rove Talking Health Care in Nashville This Saturday
- Karl Rove May Not Care About Muslims’ Opinion of the US, But We Should
- Karl Rove: That’s Why They Call It a Limited Hang-Out
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Fitz!
Christy!
It was actually Quayle Wings with Roasted Potatoe.
Dan Quayle. From another era.
Yeah: “That’s not how you spell potato, son.” Then proceeded to misspell it. The kid had a 15-minute fame that week.
Literally begging for scraps from the table? Disgusting. Have some pride people!
Not at all. He knows damn well why he’s still in office and who is responsible for pulling those strings.
What kind of bird doesn’t fly?
1) Jailbird
2) Wingless quail
I ran across this yesterday and thought it reflected how wisdom has a very long shelf life.
“I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet imagined, by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution.”
Thomas Jefferson
give us some quail wings and we’ll be your stenos for another two years ……
Rove is having a dinner party with the Preznit and is checking his email at the same time? Bush must be a boring guest, not the goodtime fratboy we have been lead to believe.
And let us not forget,
jailbait aka San Quentin Quail.
I learned that joke from a Marx Brothers movie.
Big Jim @
8
Dodo…better know as an avid reader of The Pet Goat
Just who were these pathetic paupers that were standing hat in hand waiting for gifts from the king and his court.
My stomach is churning.
One can envision Mike Allen saying ‘Thanks Mr. Rove’ as he greedily wipes the quail grease from his face.
Sickening.
-GSD
Badwater @ 11
They were probably IMing with Mark Foley.
-GSD
What struck me when I saw that photo of Cheney in the Times this morning was that he was described as being at the Capitol for the regular weekly Republican strategy luncheon. So what was Joe doing there?
Just like the cute pooch in “Lady and the Tramp” begging for table scraps and coming up with delicacies. Hmmmmm, wish those “reporters” were as fictional as the dogs.
Love the title of this thread. One could also say “Wither, Karl and Dick!”
Rove, Cheney, Lynne Cheney, Rumsfeld, eating and drinking and spittling as they make fun of “liberals” and “unpatriotic Dems”: Disgusting bunch all. They couldn’t pay me to be at a cocktail party with them. (Not that I’d be invited.)
Badwater @ 11
He was probably too high on Laura’s stash to be much of a conversationalist. Ordinarily, I’m sure the fart jokes abound!
What is it with these people and quail?
There ain’t enough meat on a quail to make a decent sandwich.
You mean like OJ Simpson? After the trial he whined a LOT about not getting any endorsement deals. I hope that happens to Rove. It’s not enough, but it is a slower, drawn out form of justice I suppose.
Steve T. at 16 — That is a great question. And I’ve updated the post above to reflect it. Thanks much!
Christy – Can you give us the specifics on what we should pressure our democratic senators and congressmen to be doing in regard to “3g” or whatever it is that congress has to do to get ahold of Fitz’s materials?
It seems like it’s time for a call to arms and get people to start calling and emailing to pressure for an investigation, no?
…why does Karl Rove, a man who has admitted to confirming classified information to a journalist without proper authorization, still have a high level security clearance in violation of his SF-312 agreement? Isn’t it about time members of Congress started asking that question — in the nation’s best interest?
I have the same question. I see zero political cost and significant political benefit for this course of action.
(Not to mention that the whole nation would be more secure. I swear that if these dunces had power during WWII we would have lost the war because Cheney would have outed the D-Day invasion as payback to Ike for some imagined slight!!)
ReddHedd, what do we have to do? After leading the cowering Dems to the well, do we now have to put the water in our own mouths and vomit it into theirs????!!!
skimble @ 3
ROFLMAO!
It’s a shame that Rove isn’t going to bed tonight a convicted felon like Scooter Libby is.
there’s always a war crimes tribunal
I’ve never heard of quail wings before as a food item. I supposed they could do it, but quail are pretty small birds. A whole quail is really just a few bites. Maybe it’s kind of like crab claws, a tiny bit of meat on each one.
Great post, Christy, as usual.
From the BBC profile of Rove:
Can the rose drown out the quail and sausages? Absolutely not.
Indeed that is a good question about the schmuck named Joe. Wasn’t it a couple weeks ago we found out that Harry Reid stopped discussing Iraq at the Democrat’s luncheons becuase Joe was uncomfortable? Was this a strategy Joe discussed at the Republician luncheons?
priller at 28 — I was trying to figure out the point of that myself, frankly. Quail aren’t exactly substantial fare, and it seems to me that a quail wing is an exercise in food futilty — which, perhaps, sneds exactly the message that Rove intended on a platter to the press. (Or maybe he’s just some bastard who gets suckered by the caterer with fancy-sounding food items every time they have the boss over for dinner.)
What would’ve happened if Libby had told the truth from the beginning – that he talked about Valerie Plame with the VP in June and then told everything that ensued from there?
Thanks.
Elizabeth
Re: Quail Wings
Instructions: Attach the wing to dog dummy. Do not let dog chew on wing. If wings get wet, air dry.
http://www.gundogsupply.com/wildquailwings6.html
These are real Quail Wings. Great for scent training…
priller @ 28
I think that’s why you have to shoot an awful lot of them. Then, if you sprinkle in an occasional 170 lb human, you can really stretch the meat quite a ways…just ask Shooter.
I see Millineryman uses Teh Google too…
twolf1 @ 34
Wings are not for human consumption.
Thank god it was only W and Turdblossom! oh, and the presscorps.
What is the name of the pool reporter who requested food from Karl Rover?
What organization does that reporter work for?
Brilliant blogmother Christy, funny smart commenters…….
I love FireDogLake.
Auspicious beginnings, you know what I mean?
johnSwifty @ 37
They must have been training Lieberman.
Whatever happened to Bush’s promise to fire anyone involved with outing Plame. I know Americans have very short memories but now the malefactors are all laid out.
This quail wing story could bring these arrogant as**oles down a few more pegs, if we can get it out to the masses. The mouthbreathers do not want to know about Pasty Doughboy Rove and Chimpy eating quail wings and sausage. I wonder if the sausages were from France. You can bet your hiney the were gourmet items and not Jimmy Dean.
This story is sick – the media hunkered down in their work van (Escalade?) emailing? The Mayberry Doughboy and Chimpy from outside begging for gourmet bits?
Gag me with a pitchfork. Yuck! Can you say bootlicking sychophants?
Christy:
Perhaps, like his ornithological brethren the Lesser Yellowlegs, Holy Joe is migrating to his more natural terrain – which the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center helpfully lists, and includes swamps, bogs, & marshes…all appropriate muck for the lesser yellow-legged Senator from Connecticut.
A lot of commenters have posted frustration with the Democrats’ reactions. Hillary Clinton’s statement (at talkingpointsmemo.com) is a predictably ominous portent:
“While justice has been served in the Libby case, the real lesson to come from it is that we must be vigilant in ensuring that the intelligence on burgeoning threats to our nation is beyond reproach. Clearly, the Bush Administration wasn’t forthcoming about the intelligence failures leading up to the war in Iraq and as a result damaged the country’s credibility. We need to ensure that our intelligence is accurate, reliable and free of political influence”
http://electioncentral.tpmcafe…..conviction
No mention of Cheney. More open-ended exhortations to reform intelligence (read: further punish the CIA dissenters and whistleblowers). Clinton is an unadulterated neoconservative, or at least her money is.
I think it would be just lovely if Reid would start scheduling the Democratic strategy luncheons at the exact same time as the Republican ones. What would Joe do then?
twolf1 @ 36
Indeed twolf1, I love my Google.
priller @ 28
It doesn’t say how many quails were part of their feast. Perhaps there were dozens!
Steve T. @ 16
Reporting on the last Senate Democratic Caucus strategy meeting.
JR @ 42
Bush loves to make tough-guy comments. He never follows through, but his supporters never notice.
twolf1 @
41
Do you think it might be said that Joementum, “begs at the knees of Dick Cheney’s sycophants like just another lap dog hoping for a few, paltry scraps?”
(I just love that line, from Christy’s previous post).
great read christy
this is what we must hammer…that rove is a moron, he is no genous except for fools
he is the man responsible for what looks like the greatest loss of power in American history, he accomplished something that anyone would have thought impossible, the republican repudiation by the masses in America
rove was a moron who destroyed the republicans position of power and the morons that continue giving him any say in their policy decisions in the future are only dooming their chanc es for any kind of headway
I used to HATE it when people referred to this idiot as some kind of genous, he is a moron plain and simple, the people that follow his moronic policy’s are idiots
that is what has been shown by his inept performance and that inept performance must be hammered and hammered at every oportunity
It makes me gag– sausage, quail wings and Domino’s pizza- yuck.
OT from Froomkin today:
Quail wings, hmmmph.
Remember Nouvelle Cuisine (have to be old enough to remember the 80s)? I used to call it miniscule cuisine.
Joe Lieberman is an enigma to me. One would think that he would understand that the Rethugs are going down and would at least want to be on the “winning” side of things, as it is a given that his career is all about Joe and nothing else (constituents, what are those?).
I can think of only 2 plausible reasons for his behavior.
1) He has a political death wish.
2) He is an Israeli agent, and is not *really* working for the american people but rather for some of the most regressive elements of the Israeli people…hence his cozy relationship for the neo-con Darth Cheney cabal….
I know, total tin foil stuff, but there is something very strange about that man that just doesn’t add up. He is not being very pragmatic at all in terms of his own political hide.
Like Darth, here’s Rove, the true patriot, ready to bear arms to defend his country:
that is the question that the democrats have to ask at every waking oportunity, every public appearance, every broadcast, every interview
the president made a pledge, his pledge was not predicated on a finding in court, rove admitted with no douby that he revealed classified information and the president has a pro active responsibility to remove this man from his administration
Just goes to show that draft
dodgersdeferment takers don’t like service people.From over at the DKos:
President Bush fires employee for serving in the Reserves
by skymutt
http://www.dailykos.com/storyo…..5828/22888
Steve T. @ 46
The same Harry Reid who just let Lieberman 4 Lieberman party Holy Joe post a Democratic response?
Bustednuckles @
21
Especially a wing! My gawd, if that is true then reporters cannot recognize an insult as direct as a hard slap in the
drivewayface!I said this from the start…from the very beginning of his new tern in the senate
the democrats had to force his hand, demand a vote on behalf of democrats that they knew would be difficult for him to make, and if he didn’t cast him from the party
he is a judas sheep, he leads our children to follow him thinking he is a democrat
we need to cast him off and declare him the traitor he is so no more children are persuaded by his judas sheep strategy
I have a frozen package of quail in my freezer for about 2 months now. I imagine if I was having a president over for dinner this is not what I’d be serving.
I mean quail? I make some really good quail cacciatorie too….
Did you all catch that the Wilsons are moving out of DC?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..42848.html
Good for them, I say.
perris @ 52
Rove was in high school a master debater. One of his tricks used to intimidate and flummox his opponents was to haul in massive amounts of file boxes containing thousands of blank cards. His opponent assumed that Karl had had a tremendous amount of research on hand to support his positions and refute those of his opponent. Karl has always been about the tricks – not the substance (hence, President C plus Augustus).
Shooter has the wings taken of the quail so that they are an easier target – he sells them wholesale to Rove!
Robert Paehlke @ 49
If that’s the case, I have little sympathy for them. If you’re going to open a Democratic strategy meeting to non-Democrats, you shouldn’t be surprised when non-Democrats find out about your strategy.
Christy, way late to the previous thread, but..have to say, everyone thinks Cheney wanted to punish Wilson, wouldn’t it be more accurate to say he wanted to threaten and intimidate him? Another thing, conventional wisdom is that Scooter is trying to protect Cheney. If his only concern were the conspiracy to smear the Wilsons, he might not have perjured himself. Maybe he lied to protect the original sin of manipulated intelligence, and taking the nation to war under false pretenses. If this occurred, it stands to reason that Libby was involved up to his eyeballs with the VP in making the case for war. Would this not be a much more serious charge for Libby and incentivise him to lie about the smear, thereby deflecting scrutiny of the underlying issue of how the country was lied into war?
Please call your congressmen, and Nancy Pelosi and ask that hearings be conducted over this question:
“I am still awaiting the answer to my question: why does Karl Rove, a man who has admitted to confirming classified information to a journalist without proper authorization, still have a high level security clearance in violation of his SF-312 agreement? “
The switchboard number is: 202-224-3121
ifthethunderdontgetya @ 58
Yes, THAT Harry Reid. The same one you’ll see in the dictionary if you could look up “GutlessRolePlayingDemocraticPantyWaste”
I am still awaiting the answer to my question: why does Karl Rove, a man who has admitted to confirming classified information to a journalist without proper authorization, still have a high level security clearance in violation of his SF-312 agreement?
What makes you think Rove still has his clearance?
Boudica @ 66
Food for think: Many of us have never been completely convinced that Wilson was really his target. It’s possible that he was after Plame, and Wilson was just his excuse to betray her identity.
I’m having a hard time believing that Rove’s subtle menu joke is going over people’s heads.
Quail on the menu is a reminder of Cheney’s quail hunting accident in which he shot a friend in the face. Quite appropos on the day that another friend is getting shot in the face for Cheney. And serving it to the Prez & First Lady. I have to give Rove some credit for that one.
Frank Probst @ 70
Yes, I’ve heard that too. But perhaps that just became an afterthought, sort of like – hey – we get a bonus. Nothing would surprise!
Here’s the draft-dodger on “left-wing peaceniks”:
Makes me wonder what they did to the food before sending it out to the press…
Think about it if any of you in the press pool are reading this. Would you trust Rove not to spit on the leavings before sending them out? Picture a big plate of quail on the table, and Bush and Rove tearing the wings off to send them out. They would totally spit on them first (or worse).
Stick with Dominos, guys.
Congrats Marcy, Christy, Jane et al
In his chat today, Dan Froomkin just called your coverage of the Libby trial — and I quote here – “transformative” for the way journalism is done in America today.
He’s right.
If Libby has to pay a fine (say the $1 million max) and is later pardoned, is the money returned to him?
Huh? Surprised? Washungton Post part covert intell operations connections that go way back:
http://www.petitiononline.com/6725/petition.html
The instigators of MOCKINGBIRD were Frank Wisner, Allan Dulles, Richard Helms and Philip Graham. Graham was the husband of Katherine Graham, today’s publisher of the Washington Post. In fact, it was the Post’s ties to the CIA that allowed it to grow so quickly after the war, both in readership and influence. (8)
MOCKINGBIRD was extraordinarily successful. In no time, the agency had recruited at least 25 media organizations to disseminate CIA propaganda. At least 400 journalists would eventually join the CIA payroll, according to the CIA’s testimony before a stunned Church Committee in 1975. (The committee felt the true number was considerably higher.) The names of those recruited reads like a Who’s Who of journalism:
Philip and Katharine Graham (Publishers, Washington Post)
William Paley (President, CBS)
Henry Luce (Publisher, Time and Life magazine)
Arthur Hays Sulzberger (Publisher, N.Y. Times)
Jerry O’Leary (Washington Star)
Hal Hendrix (Pulitzer Prize winner, Miami News)
Barry Bingham Sr., (Louisville Courier-Journal)
James Copley (Copley News Services)
Joseph Harrison (Editor, Christian Science Monitor)
C.D. Jackson (Fortune)
Walter Pincus (Reporter, Washington Post)
ABC
NBC
Associated Press
United Press International
Reuters
Hearst Newspapers
Scripps-Howard
Newsweek magazine
Mutual Broadcasting System
Miami Herald
Old Saturday Evening Post
New York Herald-Tribune
Perhaps no newspaper is more important to the CIA than the Washington Post, one of the nation’s most right-wing dailies. Its location in the nation’s capitol enables the paper to maintain valuable personal contacts with leading intelligence, political and business figures. Unlike other newspapers, the Post operates its own bureaus around the world, rather than relying on AP wire services. Owner Philip Graham was a military intelligence officer in World War II, and later became close friends with CIA figures like Frank Wisner, Allen Dulles, Desmond FitzGerald and Richard Helms. He inherited the Post by marrying Katherine Graham, whose father owned it.
After Philip’s suicide in 1963, Katharine Graham took over the Post. Seduced by her husband’s world of government and espionage, she expanded her newspaper’s relationship with the CIA. In a 1988 speech before CIA officials at Langley, Virginia, she stated:
We live in a dirty and dangerous world. There are some things that the general public does not need to know and shouldn’t. I believe democracy flourishes when the government can take legitimate steps to keep its secrets and when the press can decide whether to print what it knows.
This quote has since become a classic among CIA critics for its belittlement of democracy and its admission that there is a political agenda behind the Post’s headlines.
AJ @ 75
Yes! That was my question. Dan rules.
Primordial Ooze @ 74
And they would be busting a gut laughing. You know the sense of humor our jolly president has. Looking under the table for WMD! Fart jokes. He’s a hoot – that guy!
“I would be very surprised if any politician in the country will ever hire him (Turdblossom) again.”
For that to happen your administration has to be totally exposed and brought down with attendant consequenses. I can’t see that possibility.
switch parties already you filthy lieberpunk…joey!
#77 edit. Ist line read ‘Washington Post’ and ‘partner in’.
Does anyone else have a funny feeling we might have been had? I started yesterday afternoon on a high from the conviction that slowly descended into vague questioning that something doesn’t feel right.
Fitz spent 4 years interviewing everyone involved, some multiple times. We are led to believe even assume that given Fitz’s superman-like reputation that the evidence to go to trial could only be marshalled against Libby. The complicit media is a footnote. The rest of the culprits exonerated. Congress so far and most likely will not accept the challenge by Fitz to request the evidence and pursue the investigation.
In essence it is all buried. Most likely Libby will be pardoned. Does anyone else have the a gnawing sense that maybe we have been had?
Okay, I admit, sometimes I am a cynic.
SoCal | 03.07.07 – 2:17 pm | #
Enough of feeling bad for Libby, oh so loyal Libby. Even folks on the left are expressing sympathy for him. Please.
He’s an American. As a lawyer, he’s an officer of the court. If he’d been loyal to those higher ideals, instead of those embodied by Dick Cheney, the world might be a much better place, and a lot of people who were killed in the last 4 years might not have been.
Picture: the bunch sitting around on lounges pulling quail wings and hummingbirds out of the stomach of a roasted eagle. The worst images we might imagine of the last days of Rome!
I would NEVER put anything from his table in or near my body!
As pleased as I am about the Libby conviction, stories like this and the ongoing spin about why this trial was stupid and not concerning criminal activities and none of them are criminals and all the rest of the crap literally make me ill.
If quail is on the table, why not imPEACHments?
clb72 @ 84
WORD!
Dana Milbank today included this bit in his article.
My question is, who’s the “them” Libby’s wife wants to get? The prosecution? The jurors? The Wilsons? I’m not foolish enough to hope she meant Cheney and the neocons, even though that’s who she should be angry with.
After they finish gutting this country, Turdblossom will jet off to Paraguay with the rest of the gang. He don’t need no more steenking jobs. The eagle has landed. To our demise, Rove landed his biggest turd ever in the WH. Mission Accomplished!
From White Talk
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01347.html
Ann Arbor, Mich.: Dan, you are the best thing about The Washington Post in my opinion. Can you comment on the role of bloggers in this trial? Were you very impressed with firedoglake and their coverage? (Yes, shameless plug.)
Dan Froomkin: Thanks. I think what firedoglake.com did with this trial was not just impressive, it was transformative. By offering the public live-blogging of this very important trial, you not only put the MSM to shame, but actually became a must-read for journalists who couldn’t attend the trial, but wanted to get a better and faster sense of what was going on than they could from their own colleagues.
I’m not saying that the MSM should emulate everything bloggers do — far from it — but the blogosphere’s enthusiasm for this story was something to behold, and admire.
=====================================
The kudos keep on coming! Go FDL!!
Ack! Here’s a creepy thought: Cheney resigns, Lieberman gets a promotion to VP. After all, he’s an independent now, he could use that disgusting spin about working across the aisle and people will buy it just like they did in CT (remember, most people outside of CT *like* Lieberman). Then Jodi Rell appoints a Republican to Joe’s seat and voile!, the GOP screws up the senate for the next 2 years as if nothing in 2006 ever happened.
There’s a strategy for ya’.
Let me guess – was Fred Hiatt the bootlicker requesting a doggie bag?
Mark at 83. Yes, I’ve had that thought,too. No reason to stop fighting, though.
hackworth @ 88
Thank you hackworth, this actually answers a question I have been pondering. Similar to, “What came first, the chicken or the egg,” I have been struggling with the notion of, “What will be left last, the turd or the blossom?”
I believe you are correct, it is the turd and it has been left at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
OT — Christy, I recall that the Peanut was wearing a dinosaur outfit on the day before the verdict, and I was expecting to hear a huge ROAR yesterday. Was there one?
scarecrow @ 94
Yeah. How ’bout a picture of that? The kid’s outfit was instrumental to the guilty finding, no?
Froomkin is up:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..00879.html
brendan @
45
I know I feel demoralized about the dem response. I envision bush, cheney and rove being really rattled about the investigation and then the Scooter trial, and certainly the verdict.
But I also envision the criminals sitting down last night and all collectively expelling a huge sigh and a big hearty LAUGH and many exclaiming:
“Good lord…the dems really and truly aren’t going to act on this! Yet again. I don’t know what we were all worried about. We can do anything we want. This is Nirvana. It really, really is.”
Yes, I think the neogoons are actually surprised how easy it is to be criminals and traiters.
Folks, the only way to boot these criminals and thugs out of Washington is for the People to literally do it. I feel very strongly that ‘electing dems’ is fecking futile. This, after 25 years of being involved in every election.
Just had to vent…
Looks like the UK’s MI6 or as worldy Bill O’Reilly wrongly refers to it, M One 6, has ripped the lid off of a secret.
The US has been using an old Soviet era secret base in Poland to carry out the CIA dirty works.
How damn fitting.
And the people who claimed that the use of the term “gulags” was beyond the pale.
-GSD
Mark @
83
Someone on Countdown (Dean?) noted last night that the reason that Fitz didn’t pursue other charges for IIPA is because the WH would have said all of the evidence was classified. It would have been nearly impossible for Fitz to get anywhere on the charges. But didn’t Fitz say that Congress could have the information from the investigation if they asked for it? That suggests that Fitz has the goods on Cheney and others but he can’t nail them in court for technical reasons.
Impeachment is a political act. Congress has to summon up the courage to open an investigation into Cheney’s role, ask for the investigation data from Fitz and try to sort out the truth.
I’m optimistic that the American public is getting a clue. Let’s keep up the pressure and see what happens.
source on that secret base in Poland, GSD?
Froomkin takes to task the WaPo Editorial board:
Interested Observer @ 71
Was just going to say something to that effect but got hung up in the overall message. Cheney always comes through?
Maybe Rove gave the press a turd in the doggie-bag instead of sausages.
-GSD
Gulag link.
Ben Sargent Cheney cartoon:
http://www.statesman.com/opini…..30707.html
GSD, are you talking about the secret Polish base that was outed in 2005? that Rumsfeld visited? that secret base?
Quail?
No doubt it in my mind it was a chickenhawk.
-GSD
Crazy Horse @
105
There was never an official confirmation from the USA or Polish officials back then. They were mum. This story today shows admissions of this location by high ranking Polish officials, and that ONLY high ranking Polish officials knew about it and gave the permission. FYI
From Froomkin’s on-line chat:
Crazy Horse @ 105
Are you trying to be a dick about it?
I am just fowarding a breaking story from Rawstory and I was aware that there were bases reported to have been used by the US but they were never confirmed and now it appears they have been confirmed.
-GSD
Poor Joe…
“Mr. Vice President? You promised I could be your new leg propper-upper if Mr. Libby was convicted. I’ll make it worth your while.”
(ref One Percent Doctrine)
portia.vz @ 99
Oh yeah, there’s smart people in the public (dumb ones too, of course). There’s plenty of folks who can call a spade a spade and who know there’s something rotten in Denmark, has been from the beginning…hell, that’s the reason I read here at FDL…this is where a lot of those smart folks congregate!
But the Congress plays on a different level, it seems. In that world smart means going along to get along. I don’t think Harry Reid or Chuck Schumer (anyone hear anything from Raum Emmanuel? Didn’t think so), are going to do anything more than pay empty lip service.
Perhaps John Tester will ride in with enough righteous indignation to get some momentum towards righting past wrongs. Maybe Jim Webb will use the huevos he obviously has to ask the tough questions. Maybe Nancy Pelosi will continue to talk tough and then actually act on it, I don’t know. But it starts with asking the right questions at this level and — thanks to Jane and her crew — FDL is getting noticed NOW.
Ask away and ask LOUD!
BUSH SAID HE’D FIRE ANYONE INVOLVED IN THE LEAK. ROVE ISN’T INVOLVED IN AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION. WHY IS HE STILL EMPLOYED…you know, ask stuff like that.
GSD, no just asked for a cite.
OT, and apologies if someone else has noted it but Froomkin was quite appreciative of FDL today:
Ann Arbor, Mich.: Dan, you are the best thing about The Washington Post in my opinion. Can you comment on the role of bloggers in this trial? Were you very impressed with firedoglake and their coverage? (Yes, shameless plug.)
Dan Froomkin: Thanks. I think what firedoglake.com did with this trial was not just impressive, it was transformative. By offering the public live-blogging of this very important trial, you not only put the MSM to shame, but actually became a must-read for journalists who couldn’t attend the trial, but wanted to get a better and faster sense of what was going on than they could from their own colleagues.
I’m not saying that the MSM should emulate everything bloggers do — far from it — but the blogosphere’s enthusiasm for this story was something to behold, and admire.
_______________________
ps. was that Marcy?
angie @ 53
Thanks for posting this. Way to go, FDL!!!
GSD @ 103
I offered a link here.
Sorry for being putzy.
-GSD
Re Froomkin chat– Of course the question is, which one of you guys from Ann Arbor gets credit for the plug. Couldn’t be Marcy; she must be still sleeping it off.
Ahhh, got it, Raw Story.
Luckovich cartoon:
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/con…..rol_1.html
Oliphant cartoon:
http://news.yahoo.com/comics/u…..po20070306
Telnaes
http://www.uclick.com/client/zzz/tmate/2007/03/07/
annx @ 78
Looks like it was annx. Go Blue!
The gulag story is up at TalkLeft also.
Froomkin: “It’s time for President Bush and Vice President Cheney to come clean about their roles in the White House’s outing of a CIA agent and the ensuing cover-up.”
It bothers me that even Froomkin is using the term “outing” here. It really minimizes the story. “Outing” is something that happens to secretly-gay politicians (and other individuals in the public sphere) who hide their sexuality and then advocate for anti-gay public policies or anti-gay politicians. Regardless of whether or not you agree with the practice, most people agree that the person being “outed” is, at best, a complete hypocrite. The term “asshole” is usually applicable.
Classified CIA agents are not “outed” when their identities are revealed to the world. They are “betrayed”. As in: Scooter Libby “betrayed” Valerie Plame to Judy Miller and Matt Cooper.
I thought I’d make a quick comment about Cheney’s reasons for wanting to shut Wilson up about the Niger docs . What if the Administration actually had something to do with the creation of the forgeries ?
Not a conspiracy theorist , but I do like to look for motive.
Seems to me this kinda thing is right down Cheney’s alley.
Updated: 4:37 p.m. MT Nov 3, 2005
ROME – Italian secret services warned the United States months before it invaded Iraq that a dossier about a purported Saddam Hussein effort to buy uranium in Africa was fake, a lawmaker said Thursday after a briefing by the nation’s intelligence chief.
“At about the same time as the State of the Union address, they (Italy’s SISMI secret services) said that the dossier doesn’t correspond to the truth,” Sen. Massimo Brutti told journalists after the parliamentary commission was briefed.
Brutti said the warning was given in January 2003, but he did not know whether it was made before or after President Bush’s speech. Brutti, a leading opposition senator, said SISMI analyzed the documents between October 2002 and January 2003.
Speaking of funny comics, a very Bad Reporter from SF Comical.
Libby Converts to Islam in Prison
Defiant cheney Operated On at Walter Reed
John Dean and Keith from last night’s Countdown:
Frank Probst @
121
And it is an act of treason to knowingly compromise a secret agent’s identity. I understand it would be hard to prove that intent in a court of law, but there is no reason not to use the term treason given every possibility.
I have some broader questions than Rove’s security clearance (though that’s an important question too):
What rules, customs and laws govern the classification of information? How is that the President is even able to ’selectively declassify’ information?
In this day and age, with the ease of cataloguing information, shouldn’t it be possible to create an immediately updated catalogue of documents that are classified and those that are not? Shouldn’t the president be required to identify documents that are declassified so all have access to them?
Is there any other possible reason for ’selectively declassifying’ than to make political uses of classified information? Either it’s classified because the security of the nation requires it, or it’s classified for bad reasons, right? And if it’s classified for the security of the nation, and then the President declassifies it for the purpose of showing it to a few people, and not others, what can possibly justify this?
Isn’t it time to codify this so that anything that is ’selectively declassified’ is truly declassified, and reporters and the public are notified that the document has now entered the public realm?
I think the selective declassification may be the most vulnerable spot of all for the administration. I’d like to see hearings into this.
I think this is very easy for the public to understand and very damning — Mr. President, if this was a document that needed to be kept secret, why did you declassify it for a few reporters to see? If it didn’t need to be secret, why did you keep all others from looking at it?
Whither “sealed v. sealed”, Rep. John Conyers, Sen. Patrick Leahey?
johnSwifty @
111
Good points. But you have to remember that Democrats have been destroyed by the wingers for the past 15 years. They have only *just* managed to get a majority in Congress by the skin of their teeth and the Wurlitzer is still very powerful. They are scared to death to make a wrong move. Say the wrong thing and the media will make a week-long mockery of it, distracting the public with poisonous shiny objects. I don’t doubt that there are Democrats who want to monkeywrench progress because they are comfortable and prosperous now without taking any stands on controversial issues. We will find out who they are and make sure they have challenging primaries. But I think the overcaution is caused primarily by fear of public backlask instigated by the right wing propaganda machine. The problem with that is that the situaltion will not get better UNLESS they stare it down. They need to face their fear and not back down when the music starts. It’s the ONLY way.
Becca 122
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=7681
i say push bush into a corner about rove and the leaks, and maybe they’ll come out saying that bush declassified plame’s status… then the shit will hit the fan for sure
Primordial Ooze @
74
What…Doesn’t everybody stuff quail wings into their tighty whiteys and hop up on the dinner table for a little cabaret-style ’superiority dance’ before sending out the scraps to the steno team?
We need to broaden our outlook, here
;>)
So, now Bush is saying he respects the jury’s verdict (just heard it on CNN News on Air America). If he respects it so much, let’s see if he actually doesn’t pardon Libby, Libby, Libby.
For what it’s worth, I just did my bit for American justice. I had jury duty this morning. I got axed during voir dire, but at least this time I got to sit in the courtroom and answer questions from the attorneys. It’s probably good I got peremptoried out, though–I couldn’t have been really impartial. The defense attorney apparently went to the same school of public speaking as Dubya–all the lame gestures that drive me crazy watching the preznit.
It was fun, though I was so relieved when the Libby verdict came yesterday. I’d been worried I’d be stuck in my own courtroom while all the cool stuff was happening in that D.C. courtroom.
And Froomkin is the best, but he’s just telling the truth–Firedoglake is changing journalism.
are you talking about the secret Polish base that was outed in 2005? that Rumsfeld visited? that secret base?
That was the very same base that Cheney had visited the morning of the day he appeared in a parka at the 60th anniversary Auschwitz observance in Jan 2005.
No kidding.
Good (afternoon) morning!
I am up late and groggy. Missed all of the great FDL Plame media appearances, so I am cranky.
Someone posted this link last night – did I miss it being atop an FDL post, or what?
Becca @ 122
Well now, the Italian Forgeries have always been called “crude” which would fit in well with Cheney, but more significant are Ledeen’s, Wolfowitz’s and Hadley’s names constantly appearing in the time-line of Who What When over the docs. I have always thought it likely the forgeries were part of a Top to bottom fit-up of the Congress and American people.
Does this woman know anything about the media?
Answer: No.
SharonRB @ 132
We all know Bush is lying here. Still, we’ll try to act suprised when he pardons Scooter.
Jacqrat @ 135
I didn’t see it on top of a post, I think our live bloggers just collapsed in a heap before it was ready. SFAIK, the late-night posting was it’s one and only mention. Glad I saw it, I love these video wrap-ups. So, now that the trial is over, how can we get Jane and Marcy to do videos?
PS, Jacqrat, here’s coffee.
Badwater @ 138
Yeah, he respects the jury’s verdict before he won’t respect the jury’s verdict.
amb wilson on ed schultz west coast right now
LS @ 129
Thank you — I went looking for that Justin posting but could not find it in the white-hot moment. It really does have Cheney’s scent on it, eh!
Joe Wilson says
Congress should investigate further.
TheOtherWA @
6
So is the press auditioning for the new post as food taster to the Prez?
portia.vz @ 128
Yep, it’s a catch 22. The whole deal, including the media lapdoggatude, won’t get any better until the Democrats pull their collective heads out of their arses and take the situation head on, which they are loathe to do for fear of being vilified by those forces they should be trying to change.
Well, you’re absolutely right and as long as they play the game on that plane they’ll never break out of the orbit — they’ll circle the inertial reference system of status quo ad infinitum. They need a quantum leap to bust out of that orbit.
Quantum leap is really such a very small thing — the area between the orbit of one electron shell to another — but the energy required is equal to the mass times the speed of light squared. It’s relatively easy to conceive, almost impossible to achieve without an influx of energy from an outside source.
For my purposes, I wish the outside source of energy necessary for the quantum leap would involve a total reworking of the lobby concept in the hallowed halls of the capital. Now is the time to take a play out of the neocons book and use the misdirection. Whilst everyone focuses on the shiny object of the Libby fallout, enact legislation to totally re-write the way lobbyists and corporate money can be used (or completely NOT used) in the halls of congress.
But Reid would NEVER do that. He benefits as much as any Republican.
Badwater @ 138
Bush is a liar. Does anyone actually still believe anything he says? Is anyone still naive enough to believe him? Maybe his “wife” (Rice) still does.
Says Rove is lucky to have Pres as a protector, says Bush should live up to his word and can Rove.
Amb. Wilson just mentioned FDL and that he logged in everyday to keep up with the trial.
Joe Plugs FDL on Ed Schultz.
HotFlash @ 140
Awww. That’s what I need. And a hug. But watching Jane and Marcy again really helped with that. I agree… FDL needs a TV show!
Ed asks what Joe thinks history will say about Joe W.
Happiness is watching the snow fall outside, having the luxury of time to read the comments, sip a cuppa tea, and watch some anime. Life is good today…
I phoned Conyers office a bit ago,800 828 0498, capitol line, and they transfered me to his justice line. I asked the woman if Conyers would be following up on Fitzgerald’s case and stopping politics from trumping our national security. She said that they had been gathering their own material all along.
But, no there weren’t any plans at this point to follow up , but that could change.
Let’s keep the pressure up.
{{{{{{{{{{{ Jacqrat! }}}}}}}}}
The Rude Pundit makes a point:
http://rudepundit.blogspot.com…..y-not.html
“Brent Budowsky, a former aide to Lloyd Bentsen, agrees with Harry Reid, and then says things like the “integrity of the judicial process” and “integrity” in intelligence information and its use. But using the word “integrity” in relation to the Bush administration is like using the word “witty” in relation to Ann Coulter. We don’t expect integrity from the Bush White House. We only expect craven self-interest, ideology above reality, and unending crazy threats, to individuals, to groups, to nations. And with an unpardoned Libby perhaps ready to make a deal than facing even a couple of years in the federal pen, well, shit, any feints at “integrity” or “honor” would have to be shredded like so many documents before a Congressional subpoena.
So, c’mon, Bush administration, just get it over with. Pardon Libby. Would it really make you look any worse?”
Wasn’t it noted in previous threads though, that a pardon for Libby would end up nullifying his 5th Amendment right to silence if Fitz called Scooter to testify? So is Cheney/Bush potentially screwed whether Bush pardons or not? Libby could be compelled to sing either way.
Unless that recent land purchase in Paraguay wasn’t for Bush after all…
Ed Schultz;
” There is a great American there.”
When this discussion starts to peterr out, come on upstairs.
AZ Matt: Got links to the Froomkin pieces? Thanks!
Meanwhile, for you artist types, here’s what you get when you Google “dogs begging”. Photoshop ahoy!
Christy Hardin Smith @ 153
You deserve a vacation. Big time.
Oooh, my first hat tip :)
Great job on the radio this morning!!!
Christy Hardin Smith @ 153
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{Christy and Peanut}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
Darkblack,
I love to put quail anything in my tighty whiteys and do a superiority dance on the table before re-sacking them and giving them to a friend, but afterwards I have to take a shower. That was a riot, my friend!
Bush can’t pardon Libby until after November of 2008. Otherwise the Republicans themselves will be forced to impeach him, in the hopes of staving off total defeat at the ballot box.
HotFlash @ 155
You are so sweet! right back atcha
Jacqrat @ 135, thanks for that link, i missed it as well last nite. Profi!
new thread upstairs
just me and egregious upstairs…
egregious @ 158
“Peter(r)ing-out” is a verb I would not miss, should it disappear from the English language . . . but thanks for the heads up, egregious!
link is here.
Biodun @ 167
Lucky you!!!
Phoenix Woman @ 159
White House Watch:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..00879.html
Today’s Chat:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01347.html
What do you guys think of this letter? I’m trying to follow TRex’s excellent advice on writing letters, including holding it to no more than twelve sentences.
Dear Representative Conyers,
Your office is responsible for investigating the betrayal of
undercover CIA agent Valerie Wilson.
Fox News, upholding their customary high standards of investigative journalism, leads the charge of Americans demanding answers. In their headline announcing the recent verdict against Lewis Libby, they state “Libby convicted on 4 counts / But was there even a crime?” We will never know for sure until your office investigates the matter fully.
[insert image of Fox News screencap here]
The President, in this time of war, also needs your help to identify the people responsible for the betrayal and “take care of” them. As he said, “I want to know the truth. Leaks of classified information are bad things.” Since those responsible apparently still work in the White House and hold clearances after nearly three years, your help is clearly needed to end this ongoing threat to our national security.
Patrick Fitzgerald did his job in prosecuting the obstruction of justice and perjury committed by Lewis Libby, and the jury did their job in delivering the verdict. Now, please, do your job and make sure the investigation does not die there. The President, the viewers of Fox News, and Americans who believe in democracy and the rule of law are counting on you.
Sincerely,
LS @
129
I really have a sneaking suspicion that the “accidental” shooting of Nicolo Calipari was a part of this whole story – the Italian yellowcake forgeries and all.
And he was shot by a US official’s bodyguards – can’t remember which official right now
Raph Levien @ 171
I didn’t count sentences, but you got the number of paragraphs right! Seriously, this is a great letter. Let us know if you get feedback from his office.
Somewhat EPUd, but on reflection, can we suspect that Fitz knew pursuing Rove and Shooter might run into major graymail, and never make it to trial?
pseud at 174 — Yes.
I would have thought that even the press corps would quail at the thought of Rove’s tighty whiteys.
AZ Matt @
170
Thanks!
Quail wings? Have they no sense of history, or hubris? Can they be so brazenly decadent?
see the tiny turdblossom
john in sacramento @ 172
Yes get rid of anyone who can talk
I know that this thread is in epuland…but speaking of WaPo and its Faux news truthiness editorial pages. Wilson had a response on one of the shows he was on last nite that was perfect.
If the WaPo editorial page authors/writers can’t be bothered to read what the news side of the paper has written in the paper in regards to all things factually correct about Plame and Nigergate (and that clearly dispute the editorial pages) then why should he.(bother reading it either)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..02865.html
Karen Hughs and Hadassah Lieberman reported lunching together at the Four Season in the above link…and Hadassah has her arm in a cast.
Too much arm twisting to be switch parties?
Mark @
83
I’m a bit bugged by this, too. My best sense of this is that Fitz is being very cautious in handing down indictments on major figures. I think he knows a great deal about Cheney– but doesn’t have a lockdown case. He needs Libby to flip. Or he needs some help from a congressional investigating committee that has the power to subpoena Cheney. Please notice that Fitz said his investigation was “inactive,” not finished, and he said that no further indictments were planned(?)– I don’t remember the exact wording, but his words were chosen with care. In other words, I think he feels stymied.
There are still the mysteries of Sealed vs. Sealed, and Fitz’s letter to Rove (the so-called exoneration), which has still not been made public. These are slender reeds on which to lean, but I got the distinct feeling while watching Fitz’s press conference that he needed help from Congress, or from Libby flipping, before he felt able to prosecute anyone further.
Why couldn’t he just start out by indicting Rove and Armitage? They may have fessed up, but what they did was still illegal, and putting them on the dock could shake loose a few more leaves.
Bob in HI
portia.vz @
90
About 6 months ago, I was pondering this scenario, but thought at the time that McCain would be the choice for new VEEP. McCain’s star is sinking, and Joe’s is rising among the Republican leadership– not the rank & file, but I suspect Bush might find it convenient to use him.
Bob in HI
Very funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDaRFf7Cd6M
That juror asked the right question: where’s Karl?
Quail wings. Scooter talks, he knows what happened to Whittington.