Thursday, April 06, 2006

Oh It's Rich - Just Not What I'd Call Happy

I'm going to momentarily indulge in fantasy that my opinions might cross the radar screen (in this case, what say, twelve degrees of separation?) and actually be given thoughtful attention by the big boys of mainstream corporate media, NYT, WP, LAT, WSJ, that bunch. Nahh.

There's some gradually increasing clamor in the last couple days related to the Plame affair. These stories originate with Fitzgerald, so out of the gate we're talking about a source far more trustworthy than anyone who ever called The Worst President Ever a friend, never mind signed on for the Ship of Fools. Libby reportedly has stated on record that he was authorized by Bush to selectively leak (and, in fact misrepresent) classified information to select already suborned media, in hopes of what Worst subsequently termed as I recall "catapulting the propaganda."

It's pretty terrific to have something so vividly confirm what thinking folks in this country knew from the start. How many different ways and how many times does Worst have to break the law and commit crimes before we get to the Tip?

That's one of the obvious questions.

Another would be: what would it take for the military-industrial-complex (corporate) media (see above) to get over the profound aversion they seem to have acquired to actually being accountable? They put incredible bile and persistence into harrassing the Clintons over the pettiest nonsense that even my limited understanding of psychology would suggest that they have (or should have) a mega-guilt-complex. The NYT performance in particular in this episode was so disgusting that it's a wonder their shamelessness allows them to continue publishing. It seems certain (and the evidence is abundant) that they are sore-afraid of taking the chance of appearing again with their underdrawers soiled anywhere nearly that badly. Pitiful is the word that comes to mind. Conscientiousness insists that WaPo and WSJ at least be named here. You all failed us.

But here they are, pretending to be disseminating "the news." Editor and Publisher, a terrific source you doubtless have bookmarked, has this synopsis:

Leading newspapers in articles for Friday papers portrayed the revelation that President Bush may have authorized Lewis "Scooter" to feed sensitive intelligence information to reporters as another major blow to the White House.

Michael Fletcher in The Washington Post, for example, wrote that this "introduces a new dimension to the long-running CIA leak investigation, while posing troubling new political problems for the administration.

"Until now, the investigation had been about aides to Bush and their alleged efforts to attack the credibility of a vocal administration critic, including by possibly leaking classified information. Bush cast himself as a disinterested observer, eager to resolve the case and hold those responsible accountable."

The New York Times in a news story observed that the latest information "provides an indication that Mr. Bush, who has long criticized leaks of secret information as a threat to national security, may have played a direct role in authorizing disclosure of the intelligence report on Iraq."

On its editorial page, meanwhile, The Times declared that, at the least, "revealing selected bits of intelligence, including information that officials may well have known to be false, seems like a serious abuse of power. It's not even clear that Mr. Bush can legally declassify intelligence at whim. "

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Here's the part I can't quite get my arms around (in the sense of a warm media-hug). What non-comatose beings, particularly those in authority at the MIC media, gave any credence at all to Worst's claims that he wanted to get to the bottom of the Plame leaks? His lying and prevaricating are his most signature characteristics. The words coming out of his mouth smelled foul at the time! Why are you MIC media folks further destroying your reputations by pretending this is a revelation?

It's somewhat of a consolation to know that an actual elected official is actively pursuing these same issues. Congressman John Conyers of Michigan has been doing terrific work in the same vein that leads to the founding folks being familiar today. He deserves your attention and strong support. His blog should also be on your list:

According to documents submitted in his defense, Scooter Libby alleges that President Bush provided the authorization to leak Valerie Plame's identity and destroy her career as an intelligence agent. So why is everyone reporting this story by explaining that the President declassified the National Intelligence Estimate? This is true, but the real story here is not the President leaking, or declassifying, the NIE. If what Libby alleges is true, the story is about the President telling the world that he would fire anyone who leaked the identity of Valerie Plame when he knew it was himself. In fact, the President said:

Q Given -- given recent developments in the CIA leak case, particularly Vice President Cheney's discussions with the investigators, do you still stand by what you said several months ago, a suggestion that it might be difficult to identify anybody who leaked the agent's name?

THE PRESIDENT: That's up to --

Q And, and, do you stand by your pledge to fire anyone found to have done so?

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. And that's up to the U.S. Attorney to find the facts.

Q My final point would be -- or question would be, has Vice President Cheney assured you --

THE PRESIDENT: It's up to the --

Q -- subsequent to his conversations with them, that nobody --

THE PRESIDENT: I haven't talked to the Vice President about this matter, and I suggest -- recently -- and I suggest you talk to the U.S. Attorney about that.
Well, not only had he spoken to the VP about this, according to Libby, but he expressly directed Cheney to use this sensitive information against Plame.

Very clearly, the story here is did the President tell the truth to the American people about the leak and who is going to get fired?

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Ann Coulter: Fantasizing that de Sade Lifestyle?

Aside from providing the answer to "who'd be the worst blind date ever," why is there an Ann Coulter? This thing might walk, talk, and swim (sort of), but maybe that suggests we need to work a little harder at defining "human."

Al Franken is quite a piece of work himself. For reasons I cannot comprehend, he places himself on a podium with this thing. Not just once, I gather. But here and now we are only doing the once, namely a debate held at the University of Judaism. I'm excerpting here from Al's opening statement, but any fan of Al's humor and verbal prowess owes it to themselves to pursue link:

First of all, I know I join Ann in thanking the University of Judaism for hosting this event. We’ve had an opportunity to spend some time with President Wexler and have dinner with many folks from the University community.

And I’d like to answer the question that I actually get asked the most when I do an event for a Jewish organization. Yes, I had enough to eat.


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I think we should talk about the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress and what it has accomplished over the past five years. I’m talking, of course, about well over two trillion dollars added to the national debt, the increase in poverty in our country and the added millions of Americans, including children, without health insurance. I’m talking about the sale of our democracy to corporate interests that pollute our water and our air. I’m talking about the widening gap between the haves and the have nots in this country. And I’m talking about the war in Iraq.

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Last year I had the honor of speaking at West Point. It was an audience not so very different from this one. Except that instead of you, the audience was made up of about twelve hundred cadets. Many of whom will be going to Iraq in the next year or so.

The occasion was the Sol Feinstone Lecture on the Meaning of Freedom endowed by philanthropist Sol Feinstone. It’s an annual event and Sol Feinstone’s granddaughter, who is about my age, attended.

After telling a number jokes and getting the cadets on my side. I told them that we had been lied into the war in Iraq. I had just published a book entitled The Truth (with jokes), and I told the cadets that you can’t have freedom without the truth. You can have freedom without jokes, as has been proven by the Dutch and the Swiss.

I proceeded to prove that we had been lied into war, citing example after example of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, and Condi Rice, who had been National Security Advisor in the lead-up to the war, telling the public information that they knew not to be true.

At the end of the speech I received a standing ovation from the cadets. Sol Feinstone’s granddaughter told me she had gone to every lecture for the last thirty or so years, and that I received only the second standing ovation. The other was for Max Cleland, who lost both legs and an arm in Vietnam.

By the way, Ann has written that Max Cleland was lucky to have lost his legs and his arm in Vietnam. I disagree. More importantly, I know Max, and he disagrees.

I believe I received the standing ovation because the cadets knew that I was speaking from the heart, and that the information I had given them was all true. And as I said, you can’t have freedom without the truth.


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Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Fortuitous Finds and Olfactory Offerings


I guess I'm on a bit of a picture-roll here. One of my recent best days happened not coincidentally on a Friday. Needing a lunchtime walk, I took the precedented but uncommon step of catching a bus out of downtown area, allowing for decently long one-way walk back with allowance for critical cheese-shopping along the way. Partway through that walk, I noticed what appeared to be a trail-sign in a location where I'd never known of any trails existing. This was a great find, a modest-sized sidehill greenbelt just outside of downtown with what seemed to be a user-created informal trail system. Everything seemed to fall into place to the point where I half expected a candid camera to pop up. I had a nearly-finished book with me (exploiting bus escape from city), and all of a sudden here was a bench in scenic forested spot, with birds and squirrels the only potential distractions! Well, aside from fantastic city and distant mountain views.

Book finished, I plodded on, only to encounter what has become for me one of the most incontrovertible proofs of Spring (validating my shirtsleeve garb): skunk cabbage in bloom. This is a terrific native plant (Lysichiton americanus) that loves wet, boggy areas. I suppose the happy hours I spent exploring a regrettably now-filled little swamp/wetland after gradeschool may have implanted it on my gray matter.

Buoyed by that great find, I reluctantly followed trail to its' end and resumed paved walk, headed for the cheese cellar. I selected a couple modest European selections, a nice sheep double-cream and harder basque number, and asked after a washed-rind (these stinkies top my personal list at the moment). Dennis was quick to alert me that they had an almost super-ripe Epoisses. Ahh, my favorite! So I passed on the gorgeous-looking slightly-runny Munster, knowing that my fellow domestic caeseophiles are not nearly as keen on the stinkies as I.

As if the lunch-hour were not enough of a stunning triumph already, Teresa quietly comped me on the Epoisses, with whisper that I might be the only customer enthused enough to appreciate it's over-the-edge ripeness!

Time to buy a lottery ticket! A week's worth of good tidings all rolled into a lunch-hour.

May it happen to you.

Paging SPCA!


It would be fair to say I was the cartoon depiction of nonplused when I first focused on this image. I was never sure whether fellow bus-waiters noticed or not. Finally (this once - I have missed several comparably intriguing urban still lifes) it occurred to me that I had camera in my workcase.

Still working on proper caption.

What do you think of:

Asking only workman's wages I come looking for a job?

Numerous other questions I'd be asking if only I had a tracer on that tow-truck.