A couple of weeks ago my broker (and family friend) — we'll call him "Bob" — rang me up and started ranting. Now "Bob" tends to be a conservative sort as most brokers are, and ordinarily thinks of me as slightly more deserving of justice than the Rosenbergs. On this day, however, it was not Oracle or FedEx that had Bob on a tilt.
"I'm radicalized now, Jane," he said. "I'm with you. I'm ready to take to the streets and throw Molotov cocktails." (Note: Bob probably used some form of broker-speak for this conversation, but this is how it went down in my head.)
Now I figured maybe Schering Plough had increased their dividend yield or Maria Bartoromo had hiked her skirt up extra high that morning, but no, it was the firing of the US attorneys that got Bob all jazzed. I kind of scratched my head in wonder that of all things, this would be the issue that finally got under Bob's skin. But as time went on it wasn't just Bob — the firing of the US attorneys looks to be some kind of tipping point. To be celebrated and embraced for sure — as a friend pointed out this morning, how did we get so lucky that it roped Abu Gonzales, Harriet Myers and Karl Rove all in one fell swoop — but it still leaves me wondering. Why this, why now?
Part of it is timing no doubt, as well as the cumulative weight of many of the scandals that seemingly telescoped into this one — the abuse of power, the politicization of the justice system, voter disenfranchisement, election rigging, bold faced lying to Congress and then the bit about getting caught red handed — but I still find myself shaking my head. Wasn't torture enough? What about ginning up phoney intelligence to drag us into a bloody war and bankrupting the country in the process? Was Tim Russert not the only one stupid enough not to realize that powers asserted to fight "terrorism" were being used against ordinary citizens by an administration who thinks anyone who opposes it is guilty of treason?
There seems to be the work of some divine hand in all of this since it seems like Karl Rove will finally have his porcine posterior dragged before Congress and the world will get a look at all the dirt that has been shoveled under that ugly, wretched little rug. And Dubya keeps making things worse by climbing in front of the cameras and saying politically tone deaf and horribly imperious things like "the US attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President."
Thank ye, Jesus. Thank ye.
Related posts:
- Jim Cooper and Karl Rove Talking Health Care in Nashville This Saturday
- Memo to the White House: You Can’t Win an Unpopular War (And Stop Quoting George W. Bush)
- What Kind of Church Accepts George Tiller?
- FDL Book Salon Welcomes George Soros, The Crash of 2008 and What It Means
- Stark on the Hill: Will Pete King Denounce Rush Limbaugh?
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JANE!
Jane—been thinking about you today, hope you are well.
We’re gonna get these bastards.
Count on it.
it’s all about last November.
I love me some Jane posts.
I love Jane and her little dogs, too!
Hell, I love all y’all, too.
Release the HOUNDS!
And irony of ironies, Rove pressured the Illinois Republican who appointed Patrick Fitzgerald. From the Trib:
To quote Nelson Muntz: HAH HAH!
If all those in the Bush administration, including the ‘King’ and his Veep, none irks me as much as does Rove.
The subpoena power is making the repubs nervous, and the investigations are getting a little press, which means the scandal gets a little wind, and…
yeah, it seems to be tipping. I’ve had a few surprising conversations with folks who have voted republican all their lives, and now just want to close the book on this whole sorry chapter. I think the Walter Reed Libby press has got folks finally ready to start believing it really IS that bad.
Why?
BECAUSE YOU DON’T FUCK WITH THE LAWYERS.
That’s why.
Hee-hee, heh-heh, ho-ho!
Um, I had a symbol in there between Walter Reed and Libby, to indicate two separate scandals that happened to hit the fan about the same time… the symbol got eaten.
Yes, preview is our friend.
I want Rove held accountable so badly, I am almost beside myself. I need to calm down. Once more.
seattletimes
GOP chair called McKay about ‘04 election
By David Bowermaster
Seattle Times staff reporter
Former Washington state Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance acknowledged Tuesday that he contacted then-U.S. Attorney John McKay to inquire about the status of federal investigations into the 2004 governor’s race while the outcome was still in dispute.
Vance also spoke regularly with presidential adviser Karl Rove’s aides about the election, which Democrat Christine Gregoire ultimately won by 129 votes over Republican Dino Rossi. But Vance said he doesn’t recall discussing with the White House McKay’s performance or Republicans’ desires for a formal federal investigation.
Vance’s revelations come as Congress continues investigating whether the firings of McKay and seven other U.S. attorneys by the Bush administration were politically motivated.
Vance is one of at least two Republican officials who called McKay to inquire about a possible investigation by his office into the governor’s race.
In testimony before Congress last week, McKay said that he received a call in late 2004 or early 2005 from Ed Cassidy, then chief of staff for Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, inquiring about the status of ongoing investigations into possible voter fraud. McKay said he cut off Cassidy before he could ask inappropriate questions.
McKay has never publicly mentioned being contacted by Vance. “I vaguely remember getting a call from Chris Vance” about the election, he said Tuesday, “but I don’t remember anything significant about the call.”
Vance could not recall when his conversation with McKay took place.
“I said ‘You know, John, we’re getting a lot of complaints from activists about this,’ ” Vance said.
“[McKay] said, ‘Stop right there, I can’t talk about this. If we are doing any kind of investigation or not, I can’t comment,’ ” Vance recalled, “so I dropped it.”
Vance said he felt compelled to approach McKay as a fellow Republican
“Republican activists were furious because they felt that you had a Republican secretary of state [Sam Reed], a Republican county prosecutor in Norm Maleng and a Republican U.S. attorney, but still they saw the governorship slipping away, and they were just angry,” Vance said.
New information came out Tuesday about contacts between the Justice Department and the White House concerning the firing of McKay and six other U.S. attorneys on Dec. 7. An eighth was fired earlier.
Justice Department chief of staff Kyle Sampson in January 2006 began identifying U.S. attorneys for the White House to fire. McKay was not on the original lists.
That changed Sept. 13.
In an e-mail to White House counsel Harriet Miers, Sampson put McKay’s name in a group titled: “[U.S. Attorneys] We Now Should Consider Pushing Out.”
The Sampson e-mail is among 112 pages of messages that the WH provided
Jacqrat @ 4
Jane! It’s about time. “Porcine posterior”—perfect!
When the Roman emperor Tiberius finally turned on his evil advisor Sejanus, the end was ugly. His strangled body was reputedly torn to pieces by an angry mob. I don’t hope to see any physical violence visited upon anybody, even Rove, but it would be very nice to see the lame-duck Emperor and his Republican minions turn on Rove. Only metaphorically, of course. That way we could read every word of their revolt from the power-behind-the-throne.
GOOD POINT. And you don’t fuck with the CIA — or at least not as much as this bunch did.
And you don’t fuck with a guy like Joe Wilson, who stood up to Saddam H, without thinking he’s gonna push back.
Lots coming back to haunt them. Sheesh, they pushed a bunch of GENERALS to the point of threatening to resign. It’s as though plenty of higher-ups are choosing SANITY over LOYALTY.
Or loyalty to country and constitution over loyalty to Bush.
It’s about time.
tubino @
9
Yeah I think Walter Reed had something to do with it. Left a really bad taste in everyone’s mouth, they were finally ready to hear it.
CNN is saying Sununu-R is calling for Abu Gonzales to be fired.
Sen. Sununu is calling on Gonzo to resign. I bet that Gonzo is gone tomorrow..
em>Jacqrat @ 4
Release the Poodles!!
Some Finger slip on that last attempt ;>)
watertiger @ 5
I’d love to see Patrick Fitzgerald working on this one. Maybe we need a special prosecutor to make sure that Jerry Lewis is brought to justice?
What really stinks is, as much as I want these bastards to get punished for their actions, if they go down for this guys like AG, Rove, etc will be disgraced, but just like Iran/Contra, the real seriously underhanded anti-american players will go hide under a rock for another 15 years.
When they finally pop back up again, no one will remember their crimes, they will be welcomed back into the fold of our government, and we’ll have to fight them all over again.
because republicans were the target.
Take to the streets this Saturday! Oh, and Go Ducks!
Jane Hamsher @ 15
Yeah, I heard a commentary last week where the pundit (forget who) was saying that Abu Ghraib was about Iraqis so the scandal never got the traction it deserved. Walter Reed’s about our guys. Big, big difference (in the eyes of the public).
“the US attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President.”
That one got used by the anchor of Morning Edition this morning too during an interview. Seems to be the hot ticket talking point to try to excuse the firings (although that only works if you ignore the fact that they lied about why they did the firing).
Thank you, Jane. I was late for lunch, was STARVING, and was ready to eat. But seeing Karl’s face (with those discolored teeth), made me completely lose my appetite.
My diet thanks you!
I actually hope that Gonzo hangs on. The repubs have been using voter fraud in order to suppress votes and that has been a pet peeve with me for a long time. Since one AG was fired for not investigating fraud, it’s certainly going to become an issue. I was thrilled to hear Edwards bring it up yesterday on CNN.
Rove was behind the firing of those Fed prosecutors. But Gonzales is going to take the rap.
That’s some fine writing there, Jane.
That’s one very ugly man in that picture– hope he keeps laughing all the way to prison after numerous stops in front of Congress under oath.
I was betting that Gonzales would slip out the back door on Friday, during the Plame hearings.
Rove knew all about the Libby thing too.
We must impeach them one at a time. Begin with Gonzalez, and then move to Cheney to “encourage the others”. Remember Voltaire’s wisdom: “It pays to shoot an admiral from time to time to encourage the others.”
LOL, Jane! I hope that “Bob” doesn’t read your blog….
Uglier and uglier.
“Although he earned two purple hearts for fighting in Iraq, Marine Jonathan Schulze was rejected by a Minnesota VA hospital when he needed urgent treatment.”
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Program……360/blog/
and to think – friday’s coming and rep waxman owns it! we’ll be glued to c-span come friday ;o}!
selise @ 21
Because honest republicans were the target. The criminals running the country couldn’t tolerate their honesty.
Get Lam back to finish the investigation of Cunningham and Foggo and Lewis and whoever else was involved.
Jane is not alone. I work on Wall Street and the US Attorneys scandal is definitely resonating with my conservative colleagues, in a major way. I showed one of them the Sampson e-mail where he says “Of course, we’ll do all this in ‘good faith’” and the guy literally did a spit-take.
I just think I’ve heard about all I can stand about “the pleasure of the President”. It’s starting to really squick me out.
First this administration.
Second the republicans who allowed themselves to be used as puppets by this administration.
Third the blue dogs.
Here’s the Sununu article:
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Sununu (news, bio, voting record) of New Hampshire on Wednesday became the first Republican in Congress to call for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ dismissal, hours after President Bush expressed confidence in his embattled Cabinet officer.
“I think the president should replace him,” Sununu said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Gonzales has been fending off Democratic calls for his firing in the wake of disclosures surrounding the ousters of eight U.S. attorneys.
watertiger @
29
See? Should have put money on it!! Now the contract isn’t worth as much.
More ‘POTs and PANs’ yesireee!
There is no one on this planet I loath as much as Rove.
Sununu said the firings, together with a report last Friday by the Justice Department’s inspector general criticizing the administration’s use of secret national security letters to obtain personal records in terrorism probes, shattered his confidence in Gonzales.
“We need to have a strong, credible attorney general that has the confidence of Congress and the American people,” said Sununu, who faces a tough re-election campaign next year. “Alberto Gonzales can’t fill that role.”
“I think the attorney general should be fired,” Sununu said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..ecutors_17
*xyz @ 39
May I be the first to point out the (perhaps not accidental) irony: Sununu owes his job to a USA who refused to crack down on NH Republicans.
Perhaps he wants the sunshine to stop now.
Beware the Ides of March! Please repost the great graphic from yesterday showing pressure building to vent point. I’ve had that picture in my mind all day. I mean truly, are we to a point where we can finally get rid of Abu? And who should take his place to remove all taint: Fitzmas.
Dick Cheney Controls Tim Russert
John Nichols at The Nation on why the House should begin impeachment of Gonzales. Interesting history on impeachment of previous attorneys general.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 10
“R-r-ringgg.” Phone rings at Oklahoma kiddo’s house.
“Hullo” O-K-K here.”
“Why don’t you pass the time by doing some quadratic equations?”
Actually Jane I think it is because of the Libby verdict.
This verdict is not one pundit disagreeing with another pundit. regular Americans see a jury verdict as a verifiable FACT. Legally it is a fact.
Proof of malfeasance by a member, a very high ranking member, of the admin. was put to the test and found to be absolutley solid.
This counts for alot with the public. This is not a suspicion, it is not an accusation, this is now a PROVEN FACT.
Which lends credence and support to all the other things.
Nope, PROVING Libby’s guilt was the tipping point. From that momnet forward every new revalation has gotten traction. Before that no revelation, except Katrina which the public witnessed with their own eyes and knew to be a fact, was able to get traction.
BTW, that tipping point might not have happend if the Firepups had not had Team Fitz’s back. The WH might have had an earlier massacre if it thought it would go unnoticed.
finally – maybe some “democracy” will return to this democracy! abu’s in the crosshairs but he’s not the ONLY one – can turdblossom and cheeney be far behind?
looseheadprop @ 49
Amen.
OMG! Ides of March. I hadn’t thought of that in ages. But it IS that time, isn’t it?
Creepy!
Steve: Great minds, etc…
The brazen cynicism of the quote marks around “good faith” in that Sampson e-mail lingers with me long after reading it.
Have a Banana!
Chiquita charged in terrorism case
Banana company did business with banned Colombian groups, U.S. says
BREAKING NEWS from the AP
Updated: 30 minutes ago
Banana company Chiquita Brands International was charged Wednesday with doing business with a terrorist organization.
Federal prosecutors said the company and several unnamed high-ranking corporate officers did business with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. The group is described in court documents as a violent right-wing organization that the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization.
Bananas!
Stephen Colbert said last night: “US Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President. Appoint me, sir, and I will pleasure you non-stop!!”
emptywheel @ 40
I suck at gambling. Always putting my money on the long shots. ;-)
Oklahoma kiddo @ 10
{{fanning OK kiddo}}
I think the ‘folks’ of the little town we call ‘D.C.’ are scared. Scared shitless. Why now? Why scared?
It’s ’cause the finally, finally realized they are being threatened by…….
‘Chimp with a Gun!’
That’d scare anybody much less the cowards that live in D.C.
priller @ 55
I am not sure that Bush wants that pleasure again!
When I saw the title of this post, I thought it was about a link I followed at DailyKos earlier today. All Kos said was, “This is all creepy to me.”
Turned out to be Glenn Grenwald’s The president receives “lessons” from his neoconservative tutors about George Bush hosting “a literary luncheon” to honor “historian” Andrew Roberts.
It’s not just creepy … it’s very scary!
Like Jane, I am amazed at how big this is getting, but it is now getting my interest.
Over at one of the right wing blogs that was defending the attorney purge, a RW lawyer basically said if Gonzales had any brains at all he would have quietly asked them to resign over a period of a few months and hooked them up with well paying corporate jobs. This may have happened with Lam, but now that the fired prosecutors reputations are being attacked, some of them are fighting back.
My bet is Gonzales is gone by Friday to try an avoid hearings on this topic…it may be too late for that.
look out! it’s Osama Banana!
gbear @ 24
I see this defense as very limited. If the President can fire someone at will, then the question becomes, “why did he” and that’s the issue that’s killing them, cause it goes to the integrity of the rule of the law — as Christy posted earlier. Why now? Because folks can clearly see [what we thought was obvious] that the whole legal foundation of justice is up for grabs.
one thread late, but Howie’s got the ultimate Bush picture up at the top of his blog.
Wasn’t the main reason people voted for the Dems and against the GOP in the last election “corruption in Washington”. I seem to remember exit polls showing this.
As a “foreigner” I can tell you that all over Europe we heaved a collective sigh of relief after the Nov. 7th elections. I don’t know how many other non-USA Firepups contribute here but we know that the USA is a world power and to see it in the hands of the current Administration makes everyone nervous.
“Cry havoc and let loose the dogs (poodles) of war”
Feuerhundsee (sounds good in German)
Jane, I am sooo with you on this one. I’ve been ranting to my daughter since day one about this administration and its sins, but it wasn’t till the prosecutor firings that she joined in.
She actually called me to let off some steam about it, and she has NEVER called me about anything political before.
But I don’t get it. With that huge buffet of items to pick up and toss at the impeachment target, why this one?
Ed*ard Teller @ 48
I love quadratics! Doesn’t everybody? ;0)
I’ve been praying for years for God to deliver us from these ghouls… it’s really starting to feel like He/She may have been listening…
I thought this might be a time to repeat my incomplete list of Bush era scandals and ask for any suggested additions.
1. Walter Reed outpatient treatment
2. Fired US attorneys
3. Scooter Libby/Plamegate
4. Iraq: lack of preparation for occupation, looting, including the National Museum, too few troops, lack of training, lack of equipment, lack of securing loose Iraqi munitions, disbanding the Iraqi army, banning the Baathists, the CPA, Paul Bremer, losing tons of money literally, lack of international inclusion in reconstruction and security, weak Constitution, formation of sectarian parties, weak government
5. Afghanistan and the resurgent Taliban and opium production
6. Iran and saber rattling
7. North Korea, ditching the 1994 agreement because of dubious uranium program, the plutonium program which led to a fizzled first nuclear test, and something like a return to the 1994 agreement
8. Osama bin Laden, where are you? Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and terrorism
9. Civilian contractors
10. The Military Commissions Act: torture, indefinite detention, the end of habeas corpus, and kangaroo courts
11. Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, the destruction of New Orleans, and the aftermath
12. NSA wiretapping
13. SWIFT surveillance of financial transactions
14. Black prisons and extraordinary rendition
15. Homeland Security: white elephant (organization), black hole (money)
16. K Street Lobbyists, Jack Abramoff, North Marianas
17. Kyle “Dusty” Foggo and the CIA follies
18. Duke Cunningham
19. Tom Delay
20. Mark Foley
21. Cheney and Energy Policy
22. Tax cuts for the wealthiest
23. Global warming: refusal to join Kyoto, denial of manmade origin, continued reliance on fossil and carbon based fuels, little movement on CAFE standards and conservation, political interference in scientific reports (Good guys: Hansen, Peltz; bad guys: Cooney, Deutsch), listening to Michael Crichton
24. Terri Schiavo
25. Big budget deficits and vastly increased national debt
26. The stacking of the federal judiciary
27. Medicare
28. Medicare Part D
29. Healthcare (in general)
30. Cooked intelligence and the Office of Strategic Plans/ Doug Feith
31. 2000 Presidential election
32. 2004 Presidential election
33. Attempts to torpedo the 911 Commission
34. Failure to implement 911 recommendations
35. Marginalization of the UN; John Bolton
36. Preventive war doctrine
37. Loss of US reputation internationally
38. No serious attempt to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians
39. Underfunding of basic research
40. Alberto Gonzales
41. FDA: drug testing
42. EPA: mercury levels for coal plants
43. Porter Goss and the gutting of the CIA
44. Militarization of intelligence
45. Rampant cronyism
46. Signing statements
47. Unilateral Executive doctrine
48. Overuse and abuse of the National Guard and Reserves; posse comitatus
49. Increasing unpreparedness of US ground forces (Army and Marines)
50. US balance of trade deficit
51. 2005 Grassley Bankruptcy bill
52. Mexican cross border trucking and safety concerns
53. Karl Rove’s security clearance and no firing of Libby co-conspirators
54. Detention of families for immigration violations; ICE raids
55. Dubai Ports deal
56. The Patriot Act; the Patriot Act extension
57. Attempts to privatize Social Security
58. The War on Science
59. David Safavian, former head of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy
60. Presidential adviser Claude Allen stealing from Target
61. Bush casually admits about lying about decision to fire Rumsfeld
62. Armstrong Williams and paid propagandists
63. Decimation of the Labor Department
64. Net neutrality and media policies
65. Backing Israel while it destroyed Lebanon
66. Presidential Daily Brief 8/01: Bin Laden determined to attack in US
67. EPA chief Christie Todd Whitman declares Ground Zero safe for cleanup
68. Sago mining disaster hearings and MHSA’s David Dye who walked out of the hearings
69. Harriet Miers nomination to the Supreme Court
70. Vetoing stem cell research
71. Attack on Plan B contraception, staffing Women’s Health positions with religious conservatives: Dr. Eric Keroack at Health and Human Services who thought birth control demeaning to women and Dr. David Hager at FDA who tried to keep Plan B prescription only. His wife contended in divorce proceedings that he had repeatedly sodomized her without her consent.
72. Clear Skies Act and Healthy Forest Restoration Act
73. Missile defense shield that doesn’t work; withdrawal from ABM Treaty
74. Leandro Aragoncillo naturalized Filipino-American in Cheney’s office (previously Gore’s) accused of spying for the Philippines and possibly France, pled guilty to unlawfully possessing secret US government documents
75. Defunding overseas AIDS programs that promoted condom use for prevention.
76. Call for a constitutional amendment declaring marriage to be between one man and one woman.
77. Opening up Bristol Bay, the last pristine large-scale salmon fishery in the world, to oil drilling
78. Accusation that Clintons trashed the White House before leaving, including stealing the Ws from keyboards
79. Gannon/Guckert a working male prostitute in the White House press corps
80. Native American trust funds and the Trust Responsibility to Indian Country
81. Selling creationist materials at the Grand Canyon gift shop claiming it was 6000 years old
82. Banning photographing return of coffins of slain American soldiers
83. False military reporting: Pat Tillman, Jessica Lynch
84. AIPAC espionage scandal; former DOD employee Lawrence Franklin pled guilty to passing information on Iran to Israel through two AIPAC employees
85. Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Bagram
86. Asserted right to open US mail
TRex @
36
I blame Clinton.
Jane, I agree with you about why this, why now. OTOH, this is a gift; never look a gift horse in the mouth! Let’s just take it as it comes. Sure feels right and good to me!
Mandrake @ 57
That’s funny. ;0)
TeddySanFran @ 69
Which one? ;0)
lhp@49 i agree whole-heartedly with what u said!
Why now?
Brokers hate uncertainty.
More than that, brokers loath with a passion any messing with the marketplace, that would give one participant an illegal edge over the others.
Most of all, though, brokers depend on the government to insure an honest market. If the govt is doling out its prosecutorial spots as political favors, then everything the broker depends on to choose between investment vehicles is potentially up for grabs.
Invest in company X? Their financials look good, but they are competing against a company owned by a big Bush donor. Maybe X will be getting a visit from the new USA, “Nice company you’ve got here. It’d be a shame if anything happened to it, like a lawsuit or investigation. You know, even the hint of a possible investigation could really hurt your stock price . . .”
Brokers hate messing with the system. Beating it fair and square is the name of their game.
AnnieW #61 – and one has to wonder what would have happened had they done it that way. The fired US Attorneys were willing to go quietly, until their reputations started to be attacked by the claims that they were fired for performance reasons.
It’s a sad thought, too. They were willing to stay quiet about this assault on our justice system until their personal reputations were at stake. Why weren’t they willing to speak up about attempts to politicize the judicial system until then?
Should Gonzales stay or go?
Pat Leahy last night on the PBS NewsHour:
“Of course, ultimately the president makes the decision whether he does or not. If the president feels that this kind of performance reflects the best of what his administration can offer, well, then that’s going to have to be his choice.
What I want to find out is what happened, why we’ve been given different stories. And I want those answers, not in an informal briefing; I want those answers in public, in sworn testimony, under oath before my committee. As chairman, that’s what I insist.”
Hardball today interviewed a Repub Rep from Nevada that spoke out in favor of the USA from his state. I also finally heard a reference to the injured soldiers that are being sent back to Iraq. Yay! Finally!
Must do dishes, must do dishes, must do dishes…
But before I do, Hardball will be doing a whole segment on the question “Is the Army sending injured soldiers back to Iraq before they’re ready to return?” momentarily. Thank God I can listen while I do dishes!
Sure, it had to take the realization that the Bushies do, in fact, eat their own to wake up those few real Republicans left.
But, still, it has happened.
And you’re right, indeed. There’s divine intervention at work here.
Proof positive that there is justice in the universe – sometime it just takes a little time to play out.
“… serves at the pleasure of the president.” King George just LOVES saying that.
Unlike the stolen election, lying us into war, or Plame, the news media is in no way complicit with the purge of the US Attorneys, so they have no vested interest in defending it.
Hugh @ 69
I like your list. And I assume it will evolve. ;0)
Ol’ 60grit on Hairball(firefighters). More Poodles and Paws, yes!
Spoiler @ 66
Because everyone either has been before a court or knows someone who’s had to go to court, and the idea that the prosecutor or judge may be loyal to a political party they don’t belong to gives them the willies?
Tampering with any court, city, state or Federal really bothers people.
tubino @
9
There’ll be more scandals next month, and the month after that, and the month after that. Etc. They’ll keep coming even after Bush has left office. The heads of people like Bob, who’d given Bush (et al) the benefit of the doubt all this time, will at first begin to explode like overworked jack-in-the-boxes; later, as they adjust, they’ll simply feel humiliated and a little sick every time they check the news. This sensation will last for years–maybe forever, depending on whether we’ll be able to recover from this administration.
Ed*ard Teller @ 64
That is a good one, but…
I believe mine is deserving of consideration…
’specially since the referenced post is so heartfelt.
AG overboard.
AP – Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire on Wednesday became the first Republican in Congress to call for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ dismissal, hours after President Bush expressed confidence in his embattled Cabinet officer.
Howard Finema has a piece about the Old Austin Gang at MSNBC. There is the story about these
bastardsbuzzardsThere is more good reading just click the link above!
twolf1 @ 61
!! That’s it; I’m switching to pears.
My 82 is in mod. Oh dear. ;0)
Brisingamen @ 82
Oh, I get the importance of the issue. It’s just that I don’t know what has taken people so long to see what the admin is up to. Example: my daughter is completely against the war; always has been. But she didn’t bat an eye about the lies that took us there.
Hi from Iguazu Falls Brazil. I`v greatly appreciated being able to keep up with the Great Political Implosion of the US Government from afar. I even managed to join the FDL Gabbly from Santiago Chile on Libby Verdict day!
Thank you entire FDL team!!
Hs the Pulitzer Prize been awarded to FDL yet???
(((Jane)))
PULITZER FOR FDL!! Long overdue!! (((JANE)))
could i be more happier – yes when this bunch of thugs are gone – but for now i’ll settle for a little justice being served ;o) oh yesssssssss
JiB at 65
I’m one. (non-USA reader, that is)
ThatSinger @ 68
My perception of Bush, even before September 11, 2001, was that he’s essentially an unlucky person. He never would have gone anywhere had he been on his own all along. I can’t help but think that Sophocles would have a lot to say about W.
Jean Cocteau’s short version of Oedipus (for Oedipus rex, an oratorio by Stravinsky) makes it obvious that some around Oedipus know he killed his father, but until it serves their purposes, this isn’t revealed. Then things unravel rapidly.
Same thing here. Bush has been propped up all along as a useful
fool, uh, tool. That ended with a dysfunctional war policy and the election of a Dem congress. I’m beginning to think that unless he can get his Iran war kick-started, the whole impeachment idea will be seen in a different light by May.God or no God…
11/7 changed everything
Oklahoma kiddo #82
Yes, in fact, I just added
87. The housing bubble, its collapse, subprime mortgage crisis
comment was eaten??? wha hoppen?
Hugh,
#88 – bounced check to Jeff Gannon.
Alice @
81
ding!
The growing scandals and blowback, hopping aboard the Fitz-driven Libby verdict, are indeed a wonder. We have a right to celebrate amidst our amazement. But don’t think for a minute that we’ve won anything substantial yet.
Yes, we have them on the defensive. But the two ton elephant pissing and shitting in the room ain’t going quietly. This is the second civil war in amurka. And they WILL use their power.
Stay focused, Firepups. (Und vielen Dank.)
Hugh:
CA energy “crisis”, when Bush was given the opprortunity to stop it (via a built in stop-gap)and chose instead to let it continue.
Enron and Kenny Boy “80 WH visits” Lay
scarecrow @ 88
Osama Banana and the Talibananas
Republican Talking Point Alert:
Kate O’Beirne commenting on Hardball about USAgate
How will we ever make this up to all the people these ghouls have killed, maimed, destroyed?
Lives ruined, infrastructure ruined, no medicine, no clean water, no food, no hope, no nothing…refugees in their own countries and beyond.
(and that includes the victims of Katrina & and the stranded children of immigrants, too)
We have much to do and answer for as a nation.
The world can’t wait– come on Congress!
(Leahy rocks my world, Marie @ 77)
All ‘it’ll’ take is for China, Japan or say Great Britain to dump some of our (U.S.) debt.
jane;
i completely believe that things are coming back around to a new day. have felt that way since jan ‘04……
my dad is a retired corporate acct-fdr dem, even people he knows are jumping the republican ship…..and they are way invested in the bush warship…..jumping ship, one by one….
and i am being annoying to get the positive word out—–
i promise this is a one time thing, and i keep promises…..
but am reposting this for an entire day and then i will stop…and am sending funds as soon as i get my reimbursement check…paypal will be hit soon……
((((fdl))))
me back
i’ve seen people repost things off-topic and rant here and there, mostly angry moments–well, i’m in an ecstatic moment and really need to shout from the rooftops…..and have been all day to all my friends and family!!!!!!!!
FINALLY, A GOOD THING IN OHIO!!!!!!!!!! man, oh man, did we need it.
i wish i could explain what a big deal it is—we have had a governor, bob taft, yeah, you’ve maybe heard of him……he is worse than what you heard, he has dismantled our state over 8 years, in horrific ways, with the help of a republican legislature….it has been dark here…..
BUT NOT ANYMOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRE!!!!!!!!!!!!
SO, EXCUSE MY RANT, but i really need to let people know, that yes, it can happen in your state……a good thing….can happen.
and this is only a highlight of the speech, also is freezing college tuition, and a long list of other things…..and he’s wantin’ to make it worth the republican’s ‘while’ to do it…..
here’s a letter i sent to my mom–part of which i posted earlier today—i am so excited with what’s FINALLY goin’ on in our state………wow
hi mom;
today’s subject is politics=======
did you hear the governor’s state of the state speech????????
oh mom, it was wonderful………see if you can find it on the web and listen to it……..when he was done, i was overwhelmed, really, had tears in my eyes………
i wish everyone could have heard OUR new OHIO GOVERNOR ted strickland’s state of the state speech!!!!!
every child in ohio gets health coverage up to age 21
family of 4 making 62,000 gets medicaid–that’s those at 300% of poverty level, those earning above that but with no health coverage can buy into medicaid coverage…
pregnant women at 150% get coverage
anyone age 65 and older and disabled don’t pay property taxes on first 25,000—that’s 1 in 4 people
adding to program that allows elderly to stay in their homes instead of going into nursing homes….
significantly adding to preschool programs—which were almost nonexistant thanks to taft in office…..said where you start out in life and where yuo go to school shouldn’t determine where you end up in life….. said that a few times in his speech.
ending vouchers, freezing charter and for profit charter schools….
tobacco settlement money going into schools…infrastructure and general funds== that’s 5 billion there.
almost a billion into alternative energy projects… 250 mil a year…..
break for businesses that provide training for untrained young workers..
expanding training for older workers and offering training to make it more accessible, i.e. location and time of day offered…
too many things to list…
is offering carrots to republican majority legislature to get policies changed…..
basically is already undoing what taft did…has been dismantling many many things since he took office..i know that cuz i’ve been following it, that part wasn’t in today’s speech, unless you read between the lines..
and adding on more changes for working poor…..and middle class that don’t want to say they’re poor-but they are and struggling. mostly because of health care, took care of that one listed above…
i can’t articulate what a pleasure it was to hear him coming over the airwaves, i have tears in my eyes…..really….
i knew he was for real, but was waiting to hear what his plans are..and if he really had any………boy does he, has surrounded himself with some really smart people….
please take a moment one day and listen to his speech, it was incredible.
forgot one of the best things in the speech=
people who are officially on medicaid-disabled/mentally/wheelchairs, etc., can now work without losing their medicare….this is one main reason keeping people down and limited financially, who are disabled but can work, if they work, they lose their benefits===now can work and keep coverage….
wow
now, when this stuff hits the state legislature, people are gonna need to be writing letters in support of all of these things…..many people need these programs…..so, get ready to write……..
wow, still can’t believe what i heard on the radio, live, it wasn’t taft and it wasn’t some democrat blowhard with good things to say but who doesn’t have a plan……..he’s definitely an organized, smart man……..finally………
love,
dayna
I’m not surprised that the purge is outraging a lot of Republicans. After all, most of the prosecutors that were fired are Republicans, and all of them were Bush appointees.
There are a lot of decent (though misinformed) Republicans out there. A Bush approval rating below 25% is possible. After all, the man is a uniter, not a divider; he is succeeding in uniting the country against him.
Ed*ard Teller @
64
More Pots and Pans, thankyou Molly! More Poodles and Paws, thankyou Jane! More Public places to Piss, thanks e.t..
neurophius @ 105
What were the talking points? Anything new?
Bananagate. What next?
kemo @ 103
I added
88. Bush connections to Enron and Ken Lay
89. Refusing to intervene in the California electricity crisis in early 2001
Gray Davis declared an emergency on Jan. 17, 2001. Bush was inaugurated on the 20th and then did nothing for the next several months, letting the market (i.e. Enron) have its way.
Bananas? I love them. I dry the peelings and smoke ‘em. I’ll never give them up! Never.
I’m not holding my breath thinking that the White House is going to let Rove be called to testify, especially under oath. Leahy is making a lot of assertive noises right now, but come time to actually do it, I’ll bet he rolls over to the polictical pressure the way they always seem to do.
angie @ 106
That’s what I have been thinking. War crimes trials. Hold Cheney, Bush, Murdoch, and the whole PNAC crowd personally responsible for reperations, that would be a beginning.
I also want to know how Kate defended the purge on Harball….
kemo @ 102
Oh, hell yes, add that one to the list.
Was down in La Jolla when those blackouts were happening. Even being on a hospital/nursing home grid didn’t help us…those poor old folks sitting in vans because of a possible evac situation during the so-called “crisis.”
Thanks Hugh. As a CA resident, that still burns me…
Alice– I think it’s the only way to redeem our standing in the world and you’re right, it would be the beginning.
;(
Michael @ 115– I can’t remember Chairman Leahy caving to political pressure.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 112
Note that this indictment followed (by two days) W’s visit to Colombia. Who is the USAttorney in Cincinnati, where Chiquita is based and the indictment issued?
and want to add my new mantra-ok kiddo style
only thing that could make me happier is to hear that gore has finally decided to kick some asses colored red…….and finally use that brain that he has to take no prisoners…..
Oklahoma kiddo @
73
Doesn’t matter. :-)
USAttys serve at the LEGAL pleasure of the President.
Who knows for sure what will break the camels back?
For Al Capone it was federal income tax!
Hugh @ 69: just for fun, don’t forget his idiotic tax reform and tax refund of 2001, before 9/11. All those lies about the tax cuts, which will expire in 2011 (IIRC). That $600 refund was so stupid. Mr. Dido & I divided ours up into $100 donations to the ACLU, People of Faith against the Death Penalty, Hillary Clinton’s Senate campaign (okay, I don’t think I would do that one again), Planned Parenthood, and a couple others I don’t even remember anymore.
This tax nonsense was to be his masterwork, before 9/11 came along and turned him into a global megalomaniac. Now I positively long for the days when all he cared about was giving tax refunds.
Hugh,
I added Gale Norton to your list.
Here is a link to refresh the memories.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..00612.html
Don’t forget also, Now the Forest Service has to show the Fundie age of the Grand Canyon.
Google is our friend [edited slightly]:
GREGORY G. LOCKHART
Mr. Lockhart was sworn in as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio on October 17, 2001. He was nominated by President Bush on September 4, 2001 and confirmed by the Senate on October 11, 2001.
Prior to his appointment as United States Attorney, Mr. Lockhart was an Assistant United States Attorney since 1987, prosecuting all violations of federal law, including contract fraud, murder, firearms, drugs, money laundering, mail and wire fraud, organized crime, gambling, bank robbery, grand jury investigations and wire intercepts.
Between 1976 and 1987, Mr. Lockhart was in private practice with these law firms: DeWine, Schenck and Rose; Schenck, Schmidt and Lockhart, and Reid and Lockhart. Mr. Lockhart was an Assistant County Prosecutor for Greene County, Ohio between July 1978 and March 1987, Police Legal Advisor for the Police Departments of Xenia and Fairborn, Ohio from January 1977 to March 1978, and a Special Prosecutor for Montgomery County, Ohio from 1985-1986.
Mr. Lockhart has co-authored two publications: “Federal Grand Jury, A Guide To Law And Practice”, West Publishing, November 1996, and “Pinkerton Liability Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines”, 6 Criminal Law Advocacy Reporter, No. 1, 1992.
Mr. Lockhart is a United States Air Force Veteran, having served in Vietnam.
Mr. Lockhart is a a graduate of Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio (B.S. l973), and The Ohio State University School of Law (J.D. l976).
Ann in AZ @ 77
My niece’s step-son donated a kidney to his 16-year old cousin who would have died without it. He subsequently joined the army, and they promised that they would keep him away from fighting. He is a certified mechanic, and they have trained him as a tank mechanic. What do you think the chances are that he will not see combat? To make matters worse, he recently married a woman with a young child. He’s a pretty nice young man; I wouldn’t bet he’ll be the same guy once he gets back.
Ah, the turning of the screw….
Not completely on topic, but indicative of the “Father Knows Best” way the populace has been treated by those who spoonfeed us what we need to hear and know—I got this e-mail today. As a school librarian who abhors censorship this is the memo from Sports Illustrated:
Librarians on Publib and other discussion lists discovered in the first week of March that none of them had received the February 14 “swimsuit issue” of Sports Illustrated.
Sports Illustrated Decides Libraries Don’t Need Swimsuit Issue eventually resulted in a statement from spokesman Rick McCabe that the company had withheld shipment of that issue to libraries and schools because for years the magazine had received complaints that the issue was too risqu��.
“In the past, we have gotten lots of feedback from parents, teachers, and librarians about the content possibly not being appropriate for librarians,” McCabe said in the March 9 Los Angeles Times.
Lynne Weaver, serials coordinator at Randolph Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia, told the Times that “everybody’s furious” that the school had no say on whether it could receive the issue. “If for any reason we would choose not to get an issue, that’s up to us,” she said.
American Library Association President Leslie Burger called Time Warner’s decision “patronizing and paternalistic in the extreme.” In a March 9 statement she said, “Limiting access to the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in response to alleged, anonymous, and amorphous expressions of concern is an infringement of the First Amendment rights of library users and an unwarranted attempt to censor the materials available in our nation’s libraries.”
The Sports Illustrated Customer Service department said in a March 8 posting on the Serialst discussion list that subscriptions to libraries and schools were automatically extended by one issue, but that the swimsuit issue could be requested by calling 800-528-5000 or visiting the magazine’s website
.
Marie Roget @
118
Gosh.. I hope somebody is still going after those energy committee minutes with Cheney.
Some good news… http://www.iht.com/articles/20…..s/poll.php
rethugs feeling alienated.. aww. I feel so bad for them.
Cafferty was on air predicting things will unravel fast from this point on.
bdu @
20
Not if the blogs have anything to do with it. It’s a new playing field.
Los Angeles Times: Senator Sununu of New Hampshire the first Repulican to call for immediate retirement of Alberto Gonzalez
Mary4 @ 124
Yup, and the firings aren’t the issue.
The lying to Congress about the reasons for the firings and the White House involvement in the firings: that’s the issue.
I have done a bit of traveling in the so called Banana Republics. And let me say, in those areas, the banana is king. Kick backs, bribery and death and ‘disappearing’ are a big part of this underworld.
egregious @
2
Dearest Jane, Hope all is well with you.
Love all the new blog posters on FireDogLake! Wow!!!
I’m almost going crazy!!
Be well.g
Peterr @ 75
Yeah, I was thinking much the same thing. The Bushies pretend to worship at the altar of the marketplace, while actually being crony capitalism all the way. While undermining the rule of law in matters like torture and elections is bad in a more indirect way, this stuff is much closer to interfering with how people make money.
Millineryman @ 131
This time, we have to make sure that resignation, a change in admin, nor passage of time (news cycle time, not Statute of Limitations time) is not enough to give an evil doer a “pass” from prosecution.
WHoever is the next President must not say or do anything to discourage proscution on hte hteory it will make Dems look vindicitve.
It will make Dems look like the Law and Order party we are.
New Thread
looseheadprop @ 111
I didn’t catch all of it, but what I got does not bode well for Gonzo and perhaps others; her point seemed to be that this scandal has not only angered Democrats, but many Republicans as well…did anyone else hear that?
Millineryman @
132
But we Dems have to step up as well.. and adopt a no mercy policy toward the miscreants. No crime unindicted, no corrupt deed uninvestigated, no criminal’s reputation unsullied. If, when our president is elected in ‘08, we’re still not prepared to politically destroy the oreganized crime syndicate that is today’s Republican Party, then we deserve to face Rove again in 2012. No prisoners.
So it’s the librarians they are protecting from the evil swimsuit issue????
gbear @ 24
This is the reason that firing the USAttys for political reasons isn’t illegal, it’s just wrong.
Lying to Congress about it is illegal (and reveals that they knew it was wrong.)
Pressuring them to indict Democrats and open and leak investigations about “election fraud” probably is illegal, too.
I extended the following
16. K Street Lobbyists, Jack Abramoff, North Marianas, Gale Norton at Interior, tribal casinos
22. Tax cuts for the wealthiest, corporations and on capital gains; retention of the AMT
I added the Grand Canyon at your suggestion from before I think
81. Selling creationist materials at the Grand Canyon gift shop claiming it was 6000 years old
Blub @ 141
We must not allow our Democratic President to repeat the Great Clinton Error of 1993: Let Bygones Be Bygones.
From a recent ThinkProgress post:
Leahy Says He’ll Subpoena Rove, Discusses Potential Crimes Involved In Attorney Purge
(snip)
(my emphasis)
dmac – do you have a link to the text of your Govs state of state?
TeddySanFran @ 144
This exchange should be permanently enshrined on the homepage of every progressive blog in America.
I agree 100%. As we move forward and take our power back as citizens, and consolidate it, we can make sure this happens.
lhp @ 148
At the risk of invoking wingnut wrath, i can only say, ditto (loose)head props.
Digby connects more dots.
lhp @ 49 – I’ve been reflecting today, just about one week after the verdict, about how significant that Libby conviction really is in the broader scheme of things, and more to the point, how much more important it is going to seem as time goes by, as people look back on it.
This was such a significant prosecution, in so many ways – you can’t get much higher in the Executive Branch without prosecuting the Vice President or the President. The media basically ignored this prosecution until the trial, then covered it perfunctorily, until it covered the conviction – which it mostly discussed in terms of whether or not a pardon should/will be issued. A week later, and other scandals are wiping it out of the news, but it’s a done deal, and unlikely to be overturned on appeal. Fitzgerald has escaped the D.C. hothouse of absurdity and gone back to his Chicago salt mine. His work speaks for itself, and as time passes, wonder will increase at what he managed to achieve.
A big part of Fitzgerald’s achievement in the Libby prosecution is the fact that the trial took place at all… It was a very close thing whether or not the classified document demands of Libby for his ‘faulty memory defense’ would shut the prosecution down, via CIPA [the Classified Information Procedures Act] and a graymail-forced dismissal of the charges. The battle was in large part won pre-trial, when almost no media was covering the matter. But then to use current OVP/EOP personnel and friendly-to-Libby media to convict him, in a very hostile environment for the prosecution, was the icing on the cake. And we have the very thorough and thoughtful comments and firsthand written accounts of juror Denis Collins on the record to confirm the jury’s methodical, fair and unbiased deliberations for all to see. They fulfilled their sworn duty as jurors with integrity and commitment.
The import of the Libby conviction is only going to grow over time. The high standards the five-member government prosecution team, the Intelligence Community classifying/declassifying-authority team(s), and the FBI investigators all set in so many aspects of the Libby prosecution are not likely to be matched anytime soon in such a high-pressure case (and live-blogged trial) against eleven high-powered and high-paid opposing attorneys from three different firms representing a single defendant. Judge Walton’s smart and careful judging played a very important role in this as well, despite his rookie adventures in CIPA-land.
The corporate media has a vested interest in dismissing and ignoring all of this, of course, but, as you point out, the Libby conviction needs no interpretation by the pundits for the American people to get the point. They ‘get it’ – as even CNN’s corporate media poll demonstrated. That may be one reason why the media’s pardon-talk has suddenly subsided. What’s left behind, untarnished, is a solid gold conviction of the former Chief of Staff & National Security Advisor to the Vice President of the United States, for lying to the American people.
I have to admit that I hope this is will be a Spring-Summer of discontent, where everday Americans take to the streets and to the airwaves and, of course, the blogs, to stress over and over again how sick they are of the status quo and how we want change. Our candidates have to hear that message from the grassroots, and this is the time to make them hear it.. the target will be the president and his men, of course, but the audience is our candidates. I know this is cliched, but I think (perhaps wishfully) that Americans are ready this time to make it happen.
Lies, torture, and the cost of war aren’t enough for most to get off the couch. Anyone notice how a million Iraqi’s dead, several million displaced, who knows hoh many have been injured does not seem to get much attention either.
Why… because most Americans believe we’re better. They prefer to stay in the bubble with their pedals to the metal.
Such a moral and sensitive nation.
pow wow at 152 has a very perceptive take on the adventure in lying verdict, which strikes a chord here.
jane et al:
thanks for all the groundbreaking work. your next assignment is the rove testimony showdown, we need precedents, arguments and counter intel and we need it yesterday. keep up the good work
pow wow @ 152
The Libby verdict was quickly swept under the rug on the MSM. Let’s hope Fitzgerald testifies in front of congress. let’s hope we witness some congressional oversight.
Thank you pow wow!
Shrug. It’s going to be hard not to report on the sentencing.
The longer Gonzales hangs on, more effective will be the killing of the broader issue with resignation. Just look at Rumsfeld. This administration will keep sacrificing pieces hoping for a draw. Still it would be nice to see the Queen (vp) sacrificed.
I found this in the comments over at TPM and wanted to share it here since I haven’t seen it mentioned. I apologize it it has. It’s about Timothy Griffin who was Karl Rove’s designated replacement as USAttorney in Arkansas.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 27
Down with Rove! Something has to give! Someone give him a blow job (tough to think about) so congress begins impeachment proceedings.
[Mod Note; FWIW, two words will avoid the filters.]
Sorry I forgot about blow j-bs putting one in the filter
Frank Probst @ 159
Um, the remark Frank is replying to is KATHLEEN@157, the pow wow quote was part of what she was responding to.
I don’t give a sh*t what any of you think of me.
I love my husband. I adore my son. I just fell in love with Joe Biden.
The root of the awakening is that people are seeing the politicization of justice. They are imagining some Rove-appointed Boss Hog corruptly running their town and having Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane spend his time chasing the Duke Boys.
Having objective law enforcement is the only thing keeping this country from becoming a banana republic.
Following is from http://www.waynemadsenreport.com. Comments?
“March 13, 2007 –Our White House Press Corps sources report further disturbing news about President George W. Bush. Our sources have witnessed a clearly inebriated Bush approaching members of the press corps and making rude comments, including one particularly crude remark about First Lady Laura Bush. In that case, Bush, nodding toward Laura, called her a “c**t.” While Bush’s drinking is no secret to the White House press contingent, that particular comment was reportedly the worst they have heard uttered by Bush. Our sources also report that Laura Bush’s stays at the White House are less frequent and that her overnight trips to the Mayflower Hotel often coincide with the president’s drunken binges.
“Note: Some of our female readers were shocked to see the “C” word in the above news item. This editor wants to make it clear that word was used by George W. Bush to denigrate his wife. It was his word, not mine. It is important that the public knows what kind of person Mr. Bush is by the offensive words he uses. The editor also wants to make clear that the President chose a public press gaggle to use this word — that is not a private moment between him and his wife. If Mrs. Bush feels her privacy has been violated, she must understand that it is her responsibility to herself, her children, and the nation to end this abusive relationship by legally separating from the President and becoming a role model for other women around the country and the world who find themselves locked into similar abusive marriages.
“Nevertheless, we have “asterisked” the word in question. However, Mr. Bush cannot asterisk his own vile words.”
Stephen Parrish, CPA @
146
I saw that post. I have only this to say:
Show me the subpoena.
Poboy @ 125
Blo jobs will break the camels back. Congress will certainly impeach for this type of National Security risk.
neurophius @
140
Kate O’Bierne said that? Wow!! A dead-ender no longer drinking the Kool-Aid? Did they run out or something? Did she temporarily find religion?
Jane;
The thing you have to realize is that, going back to at least Thomas Dewey, Republican AGs were what made moderate Republicans most happy, usually because they were both straight as an arrow and very good at hounding Democratic city boss structures. I can think of quite a few state AGs who became Republican governors, for example.
To know that that institution, at the Federal level, is being corrupted, is bound to get a lot of male Republicans over 55, especially over 60, upset.
My two bits…
Because the victims were Republicans.
It finally sunk into the broker’s head that Bush isn’t just going after dirty effing hippies. He’s going after anyone who isn’t willing to put party over country, and BushCo over party.
emptywheel @
40
Speaking of the Plame hearings…I’ll repeat a question I asked last night. Do we have any idea who will be testifying other than Plame herself?
Anybody else think doing it on NCAA Tourney Friday was not the brightest scheduling?
God DAMN, that man is fuckin’ ugly. What a ghastly pic.
The part about there being a divine hand involved–I told my husband the other day I thought Molly Ivins had gone straight to heaven and pulled a chair up at the right hand of God and preceded to get to work. Since she died everything has sort-of fallen into place. I guess we can obviously conclude God has a great sense of humor.
Call me old fashioned, but I miss the ’90s when we had a elected President who could enunciate the word President and the phrase “…the pleasure of the President…” had a more direct and sensate meaning.
Bit by bit, person by person the ruse is being broken.
Off subject but related:
Was Patrick J. Fitzgerald Special Prosecutor on Harriet Myers’s loyalty ranking of Federal Prosecutors?
Did Karl Rove pressure Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) 2001 to choose someone (not named) around the Chicago area to be a US State Attorney? That choice ended up being Patrick J. Fitzgerald apparently. (Not a relation to the Senator).
Why didn’t Karl Rove get indicted for this Valerie Plame leak affair?
Great writing. You go, Jane. We love you.
Off-subject but if anyone can answer most appreciated—–
Another question…
How did all those people get on Harriet Myer’s loyalty ranking anyway?
What kind of criteria or interview process occurred to acquire such a list?
Thank you for your writing. This had a Molly tone. Love it.
I thought that was Gannon’s job.