Hopelessly Conflicted

Just when I was experiencing critical frustration-mass at the plethora of official paid leave this time of year - school employees and Congress in particular (but not consultants) - here's some refreshing evidence that not all run home to pick brush or extort money from bankers and the like.

Senators Leahy and Whitehouse (latter mellifluous name has only registered with me in last week or so) have crafted a highly stimulating and inspiring letter to our beloved Attorney General circa today from what I can tell, when the other kids are running wild (h/t Marcie at Next Hurrah). Good on you, Senators! I strongly encourage you to read the original letter but will defer to our hostess for primary coverage, as she is as always so down on this stuff:

Did you see the language those former prosecutors, Senators Leahy and Whitehouse, used in their latest letter to Alberto Gonzales? Here's the bit I found most interesting:

We would appreciate hearing from you whether a special counsel is necessary for us to speak with,

Hmmm. Maybe I meant Fitzgerald after all. It's a brilliant move, though. So long as Goodling pleads the Fifth, the Democrats will have cause--excellent cause, I'd say, to demand the appointment of a Special Counsel. If Fitzgerald doesn't want to do it, I hear Carol Lam is available.

Really, though, the whole letter is worth a gander.

The Senators start by placing responsibility for Goodling's centrality to the case squarely on Gonzales' shoulders:

As you are aware, Monica Goodling has indicated that she will assert her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination before the Senate Judiciary Committee rather than testify. You must know that her testimony would be important to the Judiciary Committee, since you offered her as a Department witness and agreed in your meeting with Judiciary Committee Senators on March 8 that the Department would cooperate with the Committee in providing her testimony along with that of others.

But the best is where Leahy and Whitehouse play their best imitation of confusion:

In the ordinary course, the Committee would discuss this with your Department to determine the best course of action with respect to a witness who has asserted Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, so as not to unwittingly hinder a prosecution by the Department. While it is premature to presume that any criminal prosecution will result from this inquiry now, it is also premature
to presume one will not. It therefore seems advisable to have discussions between the Committee and the Department regarding how to proceed with regard to Ms. Goodling. Our question to you is: Who do we talk to at the Department of Justice? The office of the Attorney General appears to be hopelessly conflicted.

"Hopelessly conflicted." I'm not sure whether it's a romance novel or a comedy sketch. In any case, I'm not sure whether Leahy and Whitehouse agree with me about Goodling's intention (or lack thereof) of making an immunity deal. But if it is, in fact, her attention to act as a firewall protecting Gonzales, they sure intend to make sure he gets burned in the deal.

Earthworks

We barely got out of the yard this weekend. Well yes, there was a trip to the grocery (arggh - $250!), and one seedling potato delivery. I recently plunked down for some semi-exotic spuds based on an article in the paper a couple wks back. Couldn't resist, actually, as the potato is named "Ozette," a name that resonates with me and perhaps others in highschool who did a now-comical "survival hike" with me out there in '66 or so. That is small potatoes though (pun intended), compared to the fascinating history of this fingerling spud.

In brief, as I understand it, this potato was carried to the PNW in the early 1700's by Spaniards who'd collected it in South America. So this Ozette potato likely predates most if not all other North American potatoes, which were disadvantaged in having to travel from South America to Europe and thence to North America. How indeed could I resist??! I've now scattered the spawn to Oregon, Kitsap County and elsewhere.

Aside from potatoes, we planted pole sugar snap peas, bush Oregon pod peas, bush Little Giant peas, mesclun, and some onion sets this weekend. Urban farming. Lots of weeding and ongoing fruit-tree pruning. The spring flowers and associated bird and bug activity are a terrific inspiration.

How does your garden grow?