Immunity

Dear Journalists,
One thing you should be on guard about is the desire for Ashcroft's Justice Department to grant immunity in exchange for testimony from prominent White House officials.

Love,


Atrios

Drudge Steals From Me

Thanks, eggman.

(note, I just think this is funny. He just took from what I bothered to transcribe, before the official transcript was out. typos included)

Dear John King

You just mentioned on CNN that Amb. Wilson donated money to John Kerry.

You didn't mention that he also donated to George Bush.

Please tell the complete story.

Love, Atrios

Clinton Rules

If Clinton rules were in operation, someone would have to be out on their ass already. Wyeth explains.

RNC Chair Says This is Worse than Watergate

(if true). Fascinating.

New Tactic

Given Bush's comments today, and the latest letter from Gonzalez, it's pretty clear that the White House tactic now is to try and turn this into an issue of "leaking classified material," in a general sense, and try to go after everyone involved in anyone involved with leaking classified information. Presumably, including reporters.

Watch your back all, but don't let them win.

On the Newshour

Audio here.

This not an alleged abuse. This is a confirmed abuse. I worked with this woman. She started training with me. She has been under cover for three decades. She is not as Bob Novak suggested a "CIA analyst." Given that, i was a CIA analyst for 4 years. I was under cover. I could not divulge to my family outside of my wife that I worked for the CIA unti I left the Intelligence Agency on Sept. 30, 1989. At that point I could admit it. The fact that she was under cover for three decades and that has been divulged is outrageous. She was put undercover for certain reasons. One, she works in an area where people she works with overseas could be compromised...

For these journalists to argue that this is no big deal... and if I hear another Republican operative suggesting that, well, this was just an analyst. Fine. Let them go undercover. Let's put them go overseas. Let's out them and see how they like it...

I say this as a registered Republican. I am on record giving contributions to the George Bush campaign. This is not about partisan politics. This is about a betrayal, a political smear, of an individual who had no relevance to the story. Publishing her name in that story added nothing to it because the entire intent was, correctly as Amb. Wilson noted, to intimidate, to suggest taht there was some impropriety that somehow his wife was in a decision-making position to influence his ability to go over and savage a stupid policy, an erroneous policy, and frankly what was a false policy of suggesting that there was nuclear material in Iraq that required this war. This was about a political attack. To pretend it was something else, to get into this parsing of words.


I tell you, it sickens me to be a Republican to see this.

-Larry Johnson, a former counter-terrorism official at the CIA and the State Department.

Listen to the whole thing.
They've even lost Newsmax.

UPDATE: Full official transcript here now.

Congratulations Billmon!

He's managed to distract Gollum Luskin from his precious, the Krenis.

Bush Now and Then

Bush Now:

Leaks of classified information are bad things, and we've had too many lately in Washington. We've had leaks from the executive branch and leaks from the legislative branch. I want to know who the leakers are.

Bush Then

Later, after the terrorist attacks, Woodward and another reporter interviewed Mr. Bush in the Oval Office.

The reporters had an hour to ask their questions. But Woodward said the president gave them 90 minutes, often speaking candidly about classified information and explaining the reasons behind some of his actions.

Indeed. Heh.

From Juan Cole:

And that is the greatest irony of all. Ms. Plame, who really was working to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction, has been ruined by persons who only pretended to do so for political gain, and whose invasion of Iraq did nothing to make the US one whit safer.

Go read the whole post.

(via Jim Henley)

Strib on Plame

Should be in tomorrow's paper:

On Sunday, the Washington Post reported that an “administration official” told its reporters “two White House officials leaked the information (on Plame) to selected journalists to discredit Wilson.” The Post also said that, according to “White House aides,” Bush had no intention of asking his senior staff about the leak.

So now you’ve got both Novak and the Washington Post saying that two senior administration officials were the leakers and Bush refusing to take it seriously.

The Justice Department has responded affirmatively to Tenet’s request for an investigation. But get this: When Justice informed the White House of the investigation Monday evening, it said it would be alright if the staff was notified Tuesday morning to safeguard all material that related to the case. The staff had all night to get rid of anything incriminating.

That incredible tidbit supports calls by Democrats and a slew of others for Attorney General John Ashcroft to appoint a special counsel to investigate this case. They’re right: Ashcroft has no credibility in this, and neither does the White House, given its habitual effort to spin information, mislead the American people and smear anyone who disagrees with it

The rest is good too.

Idiocy Watch

Hackery hackery everywhere...Arthur Silber is on it.

As is Tim Dunlop.

and Tbogg.

apolitical=agree with instapundit. political=disagree with instapundit.

Julian Borger Names Karl Rove

"Several of the journalists are saying privately 'yes it was Karl Rove who I talked to.'"


Guardian audio report here. (about 1:20 in) (oh, and here's the web page where it can be found)
(thanks to the tip from sl)


Today:

The focus on Rove brought an odd twist to Bush's travels. When the president boarded Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base outside of Washington, he walked up the steps and waved — and not a single camera followed. He looked momentarily perplexed. All lenses were trained on Rove at the bottom of the steps.

Permalinkless G. has some comments.

and Brad DeLong says no matter who it is we shouldn't lose sight of the accessories before/after the fact.

A Clear Reason for a Truly Independent Investigation

From the AP:

The [Justice] department notified Gonzales about 8:30 p.m. Monday that it was launching an investigation but said he could wait until the next morning to notify staff and direct them to preserve relevant material, McClellan said.

Head start!

(from Kicking Ass)

Sign the Petition

For an independent investigation.

Left Coaster provides us with all the reasons this is necessary, courtesy of all our favorite conservatives.

Corn on McClellan

David Corn gives us a rundown of yesterday's press briefing.

Holy Crap

I obviously hope Tom McClintock gets quite a few votes, but the fact that his top legislative analyst and campaign manager is involved with the Chalcedon Foundation is goddamn scary.
(cue wingnuts accusing me of religious bigotry)

Conservative Traitors Throughout History

David Neiwert begins a new series.

(Well, post-1920 history anyway)

Smarter Jack Shafer

Ah, screw it, why even bother trying to help a man who writes this:

Leaving aside for a moment the questionable wisdom of keeping all covert agent identities secret...

Covert:

cov·ert
adj.
Not openly practiced, avowed, engaged in, accumulated, or shown

UPDATE: Brad DeLong has a must read for Shafer and others.

excerpt:

There were at least six people--prominent people--in the elite press corps who have known the whole story since before July 14. The fact that they thought that keeping their Karl Rove brownie points was more important than informing the citizens of the Republic that among Bush's closest White House aides are those who give aid and comfort to our enemies, et cetera--the fact that they thought keeping their Karl Rove brownie points was more important sheds a very interesting light on the flaws in our current press corps. But Shafer is completely wrong in implying that the press corps was flat-footed, or that it had to learn anything from weblogs.

...

Think about this. The entire White House staff has known for eleven weeks that in their midst are people whom George H.W. Bush would call traitors, and there has been no attempt to evict them. Karl Rove has been telling reporters that it is all Valerie Plame Wilson's fault for having Joe Wilson as her husband and that "Joe Wilson's wife is fair game." This is an administration that fires Larry Lindsey exceedingly gracelessly for giving an accurate estimate of the cost of the war of Iraq. And yet it hugs to its bosom those who really do give aid and comfort to our enemies, et cetera.

Indeed.

Rush on ESPN

Cute, Rusty:

Limbaugh's idea of commentary Sunday involved an absurd attack on Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb and on "the media" that have overrated him because "the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There's interest in black quarterbacks and coaches doing well." McNabb, Limbaugh said, isn't "as good as everyone says he has been."

Here's your mistake, Rush. You stepped out of your radio comfort zone, where "Dittoheads" either echo your twisted view of America or you can cut them off. You stepped into a place where your bluff - and that's all it ever has been - is easily called.

The only thing tough about this is deciding where to begin. How about with "the media"?

Conservative sleight-of-hand artists like Limbaugh love to use the label "the media" (alternately "the liberal media") as a kind of blanket insult. Well, guess what, Rush? You've got a nationally syndicated radio show. You have your own Web site. You had a national TV show. Now you're on ESPN every Sunday morning.

You.

Are.

The.

Media.

Was that slow enough for you to grasp? You are the media. You're a part of them, anyway. Just like this paper and the others that have covered McNabb since he came to the Eagles in 1999. Just like the radio stations that thrive on Eagles coverage and just like ESPN, which has set the bar for overpromoting athletes so high that no other outlet will ever come close to hitting it.

Second, let's take on the idea that the phantom "media" have hyped McNabb because of some agenda. A little history might be in order.

In 1985, Randall Cunningham was drafted by the Eagles. At his first news conference in Philadelphia, an older white reporter asked him, "What makes you think you'll ever be able to read NFL defenses?"

Brainses Feel All Swirly and Bad!

The Poor Man covers the right wing of the blogosphere as only the Poor man can.

Who's Giving?

DRUDGE, MATT
MIAMI BEACH,FL 33141
1/31/2001
$2,358
RNC/Repub National State Elections Cmte

(thanks to tc)

New WaPo

Beating the increasingly irrelevant NYT.

An article that appeared on the Time magazine Web site the same week Novak's column was published said that "some government officials have noted to Time in interviews . . . that Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, is a CIA official who monitors the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." The same article quoted from an interview with I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, saying that Cheney did not know about Wilson's mission "until this year when it became public in the last month or so."

Neither the Novak nor the Time account mentioned that Plame had worked as an undercover operative, which indicates those who leaked the information may not have known she was. Novak, co-host of CNN's "Crossfire," said on the program yesterday that he was not called with the leak but got the information during interviews.

[Jeebus..."operative" and "undercover operative" are equivalent.]

The CIA "asked me not to use her name, but never indicated it would endanger her or anybody else," he said. "According to a confidential source at the CIA, Mrs. Wilson was an analyst, not a spy, not a covert operative, and not in charge of undercover operatives." Sources said Wilson's wife is a clandestine operations officer for the CIA, now out of the field and working on weapons of mass destruction.

At a forum held last month by Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), Wilson said: "I don't think we're going to let this drop. At the end of the day it's of keen interest to me to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched out of the White House in handcuffs. And trust me when I use that name. I measure my words."

Wilson said yesterday that he believes Rove "at a minimum condoned the leak," but said he has no evidence Rove was the original leaker. Wilson said that based on reporters' statements, he believes Rove participated in calls that drew attention to his wife's occupation after Novak's column was published. "My knowledge is based on a reporter who called me right after he had spoken to Rove and said that Rove had said my wife was fair game," Wilson said. He said that conversation occurred on July 21.

Wilson said a producer from another network told him about the same time, "The White House is saying things about you and your wife that are so off the wall that we won't use them." Wilson said the series of similar calls he received, which included four journalists from three networks, stopped on July 22, after he appeared on NBC's "Today" show and said the disclosure of his wife's maiden name could jeopardize the "entire network that she may have established."

NBC anchor Tom Brokaw reported last night that correspondent Andrea Mitchell had such a discussion after the Novak column appeared.

Fun With Drudge

There's nothing like aborting (yes, ABORTING egg-man), an attempted drudge 'smear.'

New Revelations

Andrea Mitchell claims she wasn't contacted about this issue until after Novak's column.

NBC News said Monday evening that reports that Mitchell was one of the reporters who was called were not completely accurate. Mitchell was contacted in connection with the story, it said, but only after Novak revealed the woman’s name in his column in July.

It's not entirely clear what this changes, if anything.

Kleiman on Kurtz

Mark Kleiman rips Howie a well-deserved new one.

Back to July

Today Mike Signorile asked me which news outlets covered the Novak issue back in July. I couldn't remember which ones had. But, this Newsday article from 7-22-03 is a pretty good read:

WASHINGTON - The identity of an undercover CIA officer whose husband started the Iraq uranium intelligence controversy has been publicly revealed by a conservative Washington columnist citing "two senior administration officials."

Intelligence officials confirmed to Newsday yesterday that Valerie Plame, wife of retired Ambassador Joseph Wilson, works at the agency on weapons of mass destruction issues in an undercover capacity - at least she was undercover until last week when she was named by columnist Robert Novak.

...


Novak, in an interview, said his sources had come to him with the information. "I didn't dig it out, it was given to me," he said. "They thought it was significant, they gave me the name and I used it."

(Via Politus)

Attention Journalists

One of the continued attempts to slur Ambassador Joseph Wilson is to paint him as a partisan Democrat. He may be, I have no idea, but there are repeated references to him as a "Clinton Appointee." He was a Clinton appointee, but he also worked for Reagan and Bush I.

From 1988 to 1991, Ambassador Wilson served in Baghdad, Iraq as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy. During “Desert Shield” he was the acting Ambassador and was responsible for the negotiations that resulted in the release of several hundred American hostages. He was the last official American to meet with Saddam Hussein before the launching of “Desert Storm.”

So, cut the crap. Besides, what any of this has to do with the fact that a SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICAL accused TWO SENIOR WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS of breaching our national security I have no idea.

Administration Going After Reporters

Wanting notes in hacker case.
Another fascinating precedent.

Step Up to the Plate, Pundits

Bob Somerby reminds us:

Final question: Should President Bush’s Justice Department be investigating President Bush’s “senior officials?” We’re waiting to hear the press corps’ calls for an independent investigation. And of course, pundits will know that this special counsel should be a lifelong insider Democrat. Scribes made this a point of principle at the time of Ken Starr’s appointment. We’re sure that they’ll yell loudly now.

The joys of Nexis will provide endless hours of "then and now" fun...Would want to look foolish now, would you? (via Hesiod).

Flashback

From Medianews:

From TERRY CARTER: The Robert Novak sourcing flap might get very interesting. Remember back when Oliver North testified before Congress in the Iran-Contra scandal. He told them, under oath, that the Reagan Administration he worked for was concerned about information being leaked out of that august legislative
body. Ollie gave the members some examples, including the leaked information about the 1985 interception of a plane carrying the the Achille Lauro hijackers. And a Newsweek magazine reporter had a problem with Ollie saying that because it had been the stand-up Oliver North himself who leaked it to Newsweek. After some navel gazing, the errant colonel was outed by Newsweek. Let the games begin.

Sounds about right to me.

And, AN Extra Bonus Novak Flashback:

From ADRIAN HAVILL: Robert Novak is, if anything, subjective when it comes to revealing sources. I recall that just two years ago Novak wrote a column boasting that FBI spy Robert Hanssen was a confidential source for at least one of his stories. This was after Hanssen was arrested but before any guilty plea that he made.

Today, on CNN's Crossfire Novak says that "as a professional journalist of 46 years, I never reveal my sources." Does this then make The Prince of Darkness the Prince of Hypocrisy as well?

'NOBODY IN THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION CALLED ME TO LEAK THIS'

Well, they wouldn't have to if you were already talking to them, Bob.

Don't fall for this deflection, oh moron media.

Was it Mr. Bartlett with the Candlestick...

Max is taking bets on who takes the fall.

More From Marshall

Josh has an update which hits on the key developments of the afternoon.


...and Calpundit offers this response to the nonsense coming from the conservatarian idiots:

What a disgrace. Between the two of them there's not even a whisper, not even the barest nod, that perhaps the White House shouldn't have done what it did. And we're supposed to believe that these überhawks actually care a fig about national security?

Heh. Indeed.

The same bunch of people wasn't too concerned about all of the illegal (And often dishonest) leaks coming from Starr's office either.

RULE OF LAW! RULE OF LAW!

Bringing the Reporters Down

Is McClellan making an implied threat to reporters about their legal responsibilities here?

McCLELLAN: Do you have something to bring to our attention? I mean, let me make clear, if anyone has information about this leak of classified information, they need to report it to the Department of Justice -- anyone.

..

McCLELLAN: Well, do you have any information to bring to our attention, Paula? Do you have any information to bring to our attention? If you have any information, that should be reported to the Department of Justice, and they need to pursue this to the fullest.

Bush Flashback

Tim Dunlop brings us some strong comments by Bush on classfied leaks and the potentially fatal consequences of revealing of intelligence sources. Go take a look, but here's one bit:

But I want Congress to hear loud and clear, it is unacceptable behavior to leak classified information when we have troops at risk. I'm looking forward to reiterating that message.

Right Wing Theories

The Poor and Stupid Stalker blames the CIA for the leak, because they asked Novak not print the name, without confirming any details, but in Luskin's mind that's the same as a confirmation.

Cliff May says everyone knew she was CIA anyway, and besides Wilson fucking deserved it that prick.

Most of the rest of the trolls are desperately screaming CLENIS! CLENIS! which, frankly, is better line of argument than the preceeding two.

Of course, there are some non-insane people on the right like Dan Drezner who recognize the seriousness of this situation.

Karen better put together some talking points soon...these ones ain't cutting it.

Atrios Live!

If all goes well I'll be on the Michelangelo Signorile show today during the 3 o'clock hour (ET) discussing blogging, frog marching, etc... Don't get too excited - much like Mickey Kaus I probably have a voice made for blogging. You can listen online.

p.s. if anyone of you techies can figure out how to capture the stream and send me a file I'd appreciate it.

TV Reports

I'm not in front of a TV at the moment so please give your reports of TV (or radio) news coverage of in this thread. Have we hit not-gonna-die feeding frenzy yet?

Howie Wowie

Fresh off making the shocking discovery that MSNBC might be leaning ever so slightly to the right (That's why they pay Howie the big bucks! He's sharp!), Wonderboy Kurtz brings this to our attention in the tale of the felony leakers:

NBC's Washington bureau chief, Tim Russert, and ABC's bureau chief, Robin Sproul, said yesterday they could not discuss any matter involving confidential sources. But John Roberts, a CBS White House correspondent, said that to his knowledge, no administration official had contacted anyone at the network about Wilson.

If anyone had called him, Roberts said, "I'd immediately have to wonder what the ulterior motive was. We'd probably end up doing a story about somebody breaching national security by leaking the name of a CIA operative."

If that was a valid thing to do then it's a valid thing to do now. While journalists are supposed to protect their sources, John Roberts apparently thinks that particular ethical dictate wouldn't apply here. That is, as I said previously, if someone tries to do a smear like that the story isn't "Wilson's wife is CIA." The story is "White House operatives breach national security." Roberts agrees, but claims he doesn't have the information. There are at least 5 other journalists, aside from Novak but including Andrea Mitchell, who apparently do have that information and I see no reason why any ethical or professional considerations would prevent them from running with the story.

This letter writer to Medianews agrees.

Is the idea of protecting one's sources so mindlessly adhered to that we cannot distinguish between the beneficial and the malevolent? Is it not time for a reassessment of the anonymous source when the media is being used as a tool of intimidation? A crime has been committed here, that is clear. There are at least six people who know who did it. It is, I thought, the job of the media to inform the public, not to protect lawbreakers in our government.

Rover Red Rover

Josh Marshall brings us this flashback.

Sources close to the former president [George H.W. Bush] say Rove was fired from the 1992 Bush presidential campaign after he planted a negative story with columnist Robert Novak about dissatisfaction with campaign fundraising chief and Bush loyalist Robert Mosbacher Jr. It was smoked out, and he was summarily ousted.

And, brings up the question of the phone logs again. The White House has already established a practice for opening the phone logs for journalists. I see no reason for them to not continue this practice.

Some Tidbits

A couple of you have written in to make the following points: that by making on the record denials - Condi, Rove, Bush - the White House has made this a completely valid line of questioning. Every White House official who gets up in front of a camera should be asked about a list of people, including themselves. They've already broken through the 'no comment' wall.

The Revision Thing

Harper's has strung together a delightful combination of administration quotes.

White House Says Not Rove

So McClellan is on record as saying it wasn't Rove and has put Bush on the record for thinking it wasn't Rove. So, if it was Rove and either of them know that...

Smarter LA Times

Hey, guys, it's "McClintock," not "McClinton."

(it's an AP article, but presumably the Times supplied the headline)

Sexism and Valerie Plame

One of the memes being floated out there on the wingnut side of the blogosphere is that, well, so what if Valerie Plame was outed as a CIA covert op. You know, she probably wasn't doing anything particularly important anyway.

It's an interesting hypothesis, presumably coming from people who have in-depth knowledge of the inner workings of the CIA. Not. Actually, it's just "she's a chick so she can't have been very important."

Who knows, maybe they're right, but they have no reason to believe it.

Parsing the Post

Below I was thinking they were being sloppy. Perhaps they were trying to be revealing. Consider the intersection of the set which contains "senior administration official" and the one which contains "administration aide." Get those Venn diagrams cooking...


G'night.

Bush Lies

David Corn has a new book. Go buy it:

Post vs. Post

The Post on Saturday:

Yesterday, a senior administration official said that before Novak's column ran, two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and disclosed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife.

Post Now

An administration aide told The Post on Saturday that the two White House officials had cold-called at least six Washington journalists and identified Wilson's wife.

Look, words mean things. While "administration aide" might be technically true, it doesn't mean the same thing as "senior administration official."

UPDATE: Oops, had linked to wrong Post story. Fixed now.

UPDATE 2: 'aide' has now been changed to 'official' in the story, which is still not quite the same thing as 'senior administration official,' but...

UPDATE 3: I lied. 'aide' is still there in the paragraph I c&p'd. So complicated...

White House Phone Records

Both CalPundit and Josh Marshall have made the only slightly joking suggestion that the White House should just go through the phone records and see who called Bob Novak. This shouldn't be a joke at all, because as Josh points out they happily opened their phone records to a Weekly Standard "journalist." They seem to have set a precedent here, and they should follow it.

Hear No Evil

Oy.

White House officials said they would turn over phone logs if the Justice Department asked them to. But the aides said Bush has no plans to ask his staff members whether they played a role in revealing the name of an undercover officer who is married to former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, one of the most visible critics of Bush's handling of intelligence about Iraq.

...O. Dub has more.

Brock and Gorenfeld Discuss Moon

On the Mark Levine show. Listen here.

Liberation Theology

Via Calpundit, we get the full article in Newsweek which was referenced in the AP excerpt posted below.

Still Not Getting It

Reynolds now says:

And I guess if it weren't for the palpable desperation on the part of people looking for a scandal with which to tar Bush -- reminiscent of numerous right-wing Clinton critics from about five or six years ago -- I might be more inclined to say "more" instead of "less."

Let me spell it out for you Glenn. This isn't about now-Solicitor General Ted Olson making shit up under the name "Poor, Nasty, Brutish, and Short" writing for a Scaife-funded right wing attack mag, or Gary Aldrich claiming the White House Christmas tree was decorated with crack pipes and dildos, or Dan Burton blowing up watermelons.

This is one SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL accusing TWO TOP WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS of committing rather serious felonies. If the allegations are true, it's also about a president who, at least knowing about this after the fact, kept these people around for months during a time of war. As Brad DeLong says:

Whether or not he knew about it beforehand, for two and a half months--ever since two senior White House officials called six reporters and got Robert Novak to take the bait in his July 14 column--George W. Bush has "condoned this type of White House activity." No heads have rolled. No sanctions have been applied. The White House's posture has one of hunkering down: that this is no big deal, that this will pass, that nothing internal has to change, and that this is a tempest in a teapot.

Whether or not George W. Bush knew beforehand, his reactions since July 14 put him well over the line of "condoning." We don't need to write, "If George Bush knew about or condoned..." We need instead to write, "Since George Bush condoned..."

UPDATE: Just wanted to add that not acting isn't simply condoning, it's also a crime.

Three Leaks

Reader dc and one or two others have noted that during the time period from July 14-21 there were 3 leaks designed to demolish the credibility of critics. The first leak was an attempt to kick Dick Durbin off of the Senate Intelligence committee:

According to Durbin, an unnamed staffer in the White House press office told reporters that some senators were disturbed by his public statement blaming White House staffers for not removing the claim despite warnings from the CIA. He said that the “White House press operation started floating the story that there were senators … who were asking for my removal from the Senate Intelligence Committee because [of] the statements that I made.”

The second was a silly Druge-smear, outing an ABCNEWS journalist as a "gay Canadian." The guy was, of course, already out about both his gayness and Canadianess.

The third, of course, brings us Frog Marching down the Yellowcake Road...

Top Story on ABCNEWS (TV)

Finally.

Holy Crap

What a weekend. Rumsfeld really really needs to resign:

Franks and most of the Pentagon (news - web sites) were focused on winning the war, which they did. But, the newsweekly said, the occupation was a second thought.

One example is the Coalition Provisional Authority.

"CPA stands for the Condescending and Patronizing Americans," a Baghdad diplomat told Newsweek.

"So there they are, sitting in their palace: 800 people, 17 of whom speak Arabic. One is an expert on Iraq."

What happened to the Iraq experts? According to Newsweek, Rumsfeld ordered 16 of the 20 Pentagon staffers picked to go to Baghdad be cut because they were "Arab apologists," had positive opinions of the United Nations (news - web sites) or other opinions not acceptable to the neo-conservatives running the US government.

Rumsfeld's interference "got so bad that even doctors sent to restore medical services had to be anti-abortion," a member of the original team said.

The Way Things Work

Reader yd who knows a little bit about this stuff writes in:

What would have happened if Valerie Plame’s name and affiliation had turned up in a Beijing newspaper column written by the Chinese Communist equivalent of Robert Novak? Well, there would be an immediate internal CIA investigation. The Director of Central Intelligence is required to notify FBI counterintelligence when certain national security information is compromised, and I believe this is one of those instances. Those investigations and notifications are mandatory, not optional, and the scope of investigation is criminal in nature.


Intelligence sources and methods are protected as Special Compartmented Information (that’s what it’s called, SCI) and specific sources are assigned random code words. Access to SCI is very tightly controlled. In addition to having the appropriate security clearance and investigation level, you must be nominated by name for further vetting, for a specific SCI/codeword program. Then you get indoctrinated into the program, briefed, and you sign shitloads of non-disclosure agreements. When you leave the program, you get debriefed and sign another shitload of non-disclosure agreements.

Every SCI/SI/code word program has a huge paper trail for the precise purpose of identifying a leak. Probably lots intelligence consumers in the government had access to Plame’s work product on WMD, although they didn’t know where the data came from. A few analysts who produced those reports knew her code word, so they could assess source reliability. Very few people knew her name, code word and associated work product, maybe one or two in the White House, and George Tenet knows exactly who they are because there is a paper trail.

Just as if Plame’s name and affiliation had appeared in that Beijing newspaper, Novak’s column should have triggered both FBI notification and investigation, and probably did. I’m guessing that the White House is stonewalling that investigation. Some people call that obstruction of justice.

Rummy Deceives Congress, Destroys Army

Story 1:

TAMPA - The U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base inflated budget proposals at the Pentagon's request last year to hide $20-million from Congress, according to documents obtained by the St. Petersburg Times.

Special Operations officials divided the money among six projects so the money would not attract attention. They also instructed their own budget analysts not to mention it during briefings with congressional aides, the documents show.

The Pentagon's inspector general has launched an investigation. House Appropriations Chairman C.W. Bill Young, R-Largo, said he will ask Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during a hearing Tuesday whether the Pentagon intentionally deceived Congress.

"That doesn't set well with me," Young said. "We don't operate like that."

...

It is unclear what the Pentagon intended to do with the $20-million, or what became of the money. Young surmised that the money could have been used as a contingency fund, available to Rumsfeld to use at his discretion. While $20-million is relatively modest in a Pentagon budget of almost $400-billion, Young said, if all the armed services are doing it the amount could grow significantly.

Part 2, from the author of We Were Soldiers Once...:

WASHINGTON - Armies are fragile institutions, and for all their might, easily broken.

It took the better part of 20 years to rebuild the Army from the wreckage of Vietnam. With the hard work of a generation of young officers, blooded in Vietnam and determined that the mistake would never be repeated, a new Army rose Phoenix-like from the ashes of the old, now perhaps the finest Army in history.

In just over three years, Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and his civilian aides have done just about everything they could to destroy that Army.

Accessories After the Fact

Dwight Meredith reminds me of this little law:

18 United States Code §3 states as follows:

Whoever, knowing that an offense against the United States has been committed, receives, relieves, comforts or assists the offender in order to hinder or prevent his apprehension, trial or punishment, is an accessory after the fact.

Except as otherwise expressly provided by any Act of Congress, an accessory after the fact shall be imprisoned not more than one-half the maximum term of imprisonment or fined not more than one-half the maximum fine prescribed for the punishment of the principal, or both; or if the principal is punishable by death, the accessory shall be imprisoned not more than ten years.

...and

Misprision of felony

Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

All together now... RULE OF LAW! RULE OF LAW!

They Know

Josh Marshall points out that of course the administration knows who the leakers were, has known for months, and could and should take action on their own, but for some reason didn't feel that committing felonies disqualified you from serving in top sensitive positions in the US government.

Another issue, of course, is that as 56k pointed out, the media all know. 6 reporters and likely their editors know. Their two friends and their two friends all know. We will likely be treated to the spectacle, should they choose to cover this issue, of the media discussing this issue while pretending not to know.

Now, if anyone out there wants to leak it to me... ;)

...also, Marshall picks up on other point which quite a few of you suggested - who the hell told these two White House officials, who may or may not have proper clearance, about Wilson's wife in the first place? This likely goes deeper than two people.

Let's remember some words of wisdom from Poppy:

Even though I'm a tranquil guy now at this stage of my life, I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious, of traitors.

Poppy doesn't think it's so complicated.


...and David E. has some comments on the whole anonymous sources issue.


...Another important question. Let's accept for now the perfectly plausible assertion that Bush didn't know anything about this. Even if he did, I don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell we're going to find that out. As Tim Dunlop says, "[I]t sounds to me like they suspect this story has legs and they are duct-taping and plastic-sheeting the President against any fallout."

However...that still leaves Big Time Dick Cheney. Shouldn't someone ask him what he knows about this? (He could, of course, be one of the "two," but even if he isn't he may have been behind it.)

Who Burned Valerie Plame?

Dwight Meredith writes in:

Who burned Valerie Plame. Let's assume that both the Novak column and the Post story are accurate.

In that case we know from the Novak column that the leaker(s) was a Senior Administration official.

Tapped tells us what that means:

“The vice-president, the cabinet secretaries, those with cabinet-rank, the chief of staff, maybe the deputy chief of staff, and a couple of other really senior advisors.”

The Post article narrows that further in two ways. First, it specifies that the leak came from White House personnel. That eliminates all of the agency employees. Secondly, it specifies "top White House officials."

I understand that to eliminate all deputies and assistants other than assistants to the President.

Here is a list of top White House personnel.

From that list, we can create a list of people who are both "senior" and "top."

That list would include:

George W. Bush -- President
Dick Cheney – Vice President
Karl Rove Senior -- Advisor to the President
Condi Rice -- Assistant to the President for National Security
Andy Card – White House Chief of Staff
Ari Fleischer -- Press Secretary
John Walters -- Drug Czar
Josh Bolten – Director of OMB
Michael Gerson – Assistant to the President for Speech Writing and Policy Advisor
Albert Gonzales – White House Counsel
Dan Bartlett – Assistant to the President for Communications
Greg Mankiw -- CEA
Stephen Friedman -- Director NEC
John Gordon -- Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor
Scooter Libby – Vice President’s Chief of Staff and Assistant to the President


Ari Fleischer is on the list as press secretary even though he has now departed the White House. The Novak column at Town Hall is dated July 14, 2003. In a strange coincidence, July 14 was also Fleischer's last day at the White House. If the Press Secretary was involved, it was Ari.

Let's see if the list can be further narrowed.

The Post source implies that President Bush did not know so he comes off the list. Walters, Bolten, Mankiw, and Friedman probably do not have the security clearances needed to know the identity of covert CIA operatives so they get eliminated from the list.

I can not believe that the White House Counsel would be stupid enough to commit six felonies so eliminate Gonzales.

I also can not see the leak coming from the Speech Writing office (maybe I am naive). It is not at all clear to me that Gerson would have security clearance needed to know the identity of covert CIA operatives. Let's eliminate Gerson.

That leaves eight candidates:


1) Dick Cheney – Vice President
2) Karl Rove Senior -- Advisor to the President
3) Condi Rice -- Assistant to the President for National Security
4) Andy Card – White House Chief of Staff
5) Ari Fleisher -- Press Secretary
6) Dan Bartlett – Assistant to the President for Communication
7) John Gordon -- Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor
8) Scooter Libby – Vice President’s Chief of Staff

I am not sure I would consider Libby and/or Gordon to be top and senior but maybe they are.

If any of the first 5 (Cheney, Rove, Rice, Card or Fleischer) is involved, it is a major scandal.

The identity of the six journalists may soon be known. We know from the efforts to smear Wes Clark that phone records are kept at least for incoming calls to the White House. It does not seem hard to match those calls up with the small circle of suspects.


Pass the popcorn and get out the handcuffs. This is going to be fun.

Kudos to David Corn

As Body and Soul reminds us, David Corn was the one who really started this whole thing off.

That Liberal Media

Let's make something clear. According to the Washington Post one "senior administration official" has accused two "top White House officials" of each committing a felony. Even if we allow for the possibility that the accuser is full of it (basically impossible here, but just for sake of argument), we still have a SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICAL accusing TWO TOP WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS of each committing a serious felony.

This is a story of mammoth proportions. This is a front page GIANT SCREAMING FONT story. This is a 24/7 wall to wall coverage story. They can even drag out the gaggle of blonds from the Barbizon School of Former Prosecutors to tell us what it all means. Where the hell is the coverage?

The Idiot Defense Spreads

Instapundit says it's all too hard for his little head to comprehend, and then says:

My big question on all of this is "why?" I'm not sure I find Brian Linse's [link here] "pure revenge play" theory plausible.

But, that isn't Brian Linse's theory. That's the allegation by the senior administration official.

"Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge," the senior official said of the alleged leak.

Rice Knows Nothing

Well, we knew that:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday she knew ``nothing of any'' White House effort to leak the identity of an undercover CIA officer in July, a charge now under review at the Justice Department.

On the ``Fox News Sunday'' program, the top aide to President Bush said, ``This has been referred to the Justice Department. I think that is the appropriate place for it.''

My Dog Ate It

What the hell kind of media do we have when the president's top security advisor can get away with claiming she "forgot" that a key bit of intelligence about a country we were going to go to war with was bogus?

DR. RICE: It’s not a matter of getting back in. It’s a matter, Tim, that three-plus months later, people didn’t remember that George Tenet had asked that it be taken out of the Cincinnati speech and then it was cleared by the agency. I didn’t remember. Steve Hadley didn’t remember. We are trying to put now in place methods so you don’t have to be dependent on people’s memories for something like that.

41 vs. 43

Even though I'm a tranquil guy now at this stage of my life, I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious, of traitors.

George H.W. Bush, at the dedication of the George Bush Center for Intelligence.


(thanks to POS)

More: Brad DeLong writes "Some Dare Call it Treason," and comments:

This is not a single rogue White House official, after all--this is two of his closest advisors, plus whoever they planned it with, plus all the other White House and other administration officials who have been sitting on evidence of a crime rather than phoning the Justice Department for the past several months.

while Josh Marshall thinks that at the moment it appears that the senior administration official is likely Tenet.


...Big Media Matt wonders out loud who the White House officials could be.

the Bad Dude is willing to put a Franklin on Rove going down over this.

...NZ Bear chimes in from the more conservative side of the blogosphere, which as Hesiod notes is largely quiet today.

...in comments, selise asks an important question:

How did senior white house officials find out plame was a cia undercover operative to begin with????!!!!

Indeed.


..Daniel Drezner has some strong words.

Weintraub vs. Weintraub

When can hacks like this get the frog march treatment?

Good Morning

Calpundit has some nice coverage of the fun.

But, just to recap here. We have a senior administration official who has pointed the finger at two top White House officials. This person has named names to the WaPo, but not on record. These White House officials had tried to shop the story to a half dozen journalists before Novak bit. Top administration officials means cabinet rank or higher, plus a few assorted other people and perhaps some important deputy secretaries. Top White House officials is a really really small list of people.

Billmon has more. As does Steve "Dude, Where's my Permalinks?" Gilliard and Kos. And corrente. And Mark Kleiman.
UPDATE: 56K makes the following point:

Just want to say that this whole incident illustrates why the practice of anonymous sources is evil.

This story was shopped around, which means there are 6 journalists along with their editors who know who leaked the original story. They already know who broke the law.

And now the WPost knows who within the administration has turned.
Given the level of gossip I am guessing the whole celebrity press corps the names of the prinicpals, but they will now go on the air and make a big deal of talking about who could be involved.

Knives Out

It's the weekend. We'll see if they'll stay out during the week, or if it's all been "noted in the building."

A Vengeful White House?

Joseph Wilson claims White House officials leaked information that his wife worked for the CIA. (Photo: CBS)

"This kind of a low blow, even in a bare knuckles town like Washington, was neither honorable or dignified."
Joseph Wilson

(CBS) It was an embarrassing mistake when White House officials admitted that there was an inaccuracy in President Bush’s State of the Union address, but now, the fallout from that mistake could lead to criminal charges, CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston reports.

In his speech, Mr. Bush claimed that Iraq had attempted to purchase uranium, used to make weapons of mass destruction, from an African nation.

Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who was dispatched to investigate the charge before the State of the Union, revealed that he had warned the Bush administration that there was no evidence to support the claim.

That’s when Robert Novak, a syndicated newspaper columnist, reported that Wilson’s wife was a CIA operative...

UPDATE (!!): HOLY CRAP. Check this out.

A senior administration official said two top White House officials called at least six Washington journalists and revealed the identity and occupation of Wilson's wife. That was shortly after Wilson revealed in July that the CIA had sent him to Niger last year to look into the uranium claim and that he had found no evidence to back up the charge. Wilson's account eventually touched off a controversy over Bush's use of intelligence as he made the case for attacking Iraq.

"Clearly, it was meant purely and simply for revenge," the senior official said of the alleged leak.

Pass the effing popcorn.

UPDATE II: Just so people understand, a "senior administration official" is like the president, the vice president, the cabinet, or a few people of similar rank. Someone is copping to what happened. The question now is who are they ratting out? How senior are the perps? And, when will the lovely frog-march take place?

JD Opens Inquiry in Plame Affair

We'll see if it's a real one or a fake one.

Hacks

I frequently read the letters section over at Media News and something which I find fascinating is how the journalists rarely stick up for each other. I'm talking about when one of them is somehow marginalized unfairly, or getting screwed by the system, and its met with largely polite silence.

David Appell has a fascinating post about how one journalist got a little angry that the WHO was violating its own embargo arrangements (press releases given in advance with the promise of not writing about them for a few days). It's a somewhat questionable practice anyway, but it's completely wrong if they don't stand by their own agreements.

But, anyway, the punchline from my perspective is how this journalist doesn't seem to have gotten much support from other journalists.

A Great Success!

Apparently, Putin and Bush have agreed that North Korea and Iran shouldn't have nuclear weapons, but Russia may continue selling stuff for nuke plants, and Putin won't do a thing for Iraq.

And this differs from the state of affairs yesterday how?

Should Rumsfeld Resign?

Newsweek wants to know.

Caption Time

For this picture of a Freeper Luncheon.

a.herbst provides "And just think girls, it comes with batteries and attachments!"

Uh, Flight Suit George, you're supposed to salute with your RIGHT hand...

Bump the Story

Go read this MSNBC story, scroll down to the bottom, and give it a top vote.

More Edison

Josh Marshall puts it all nicely in context.

Fourteen Ways of Looking at a Blackshirt

From Umberto Eco.

More Bill O'Reilly

Political Strikes gives its contribution, in comic form.

Quote of the Day

From mondo dentro in comments:

Rational Wonkism is not an effective counternarrative to Apocalyptic Rightist Populism.

Indeed.

Time for Some Jawboning

here kitty brings us this blast from the past:

In January 2000, with oil prices at nearly $28 a barrel, Bush called on President Clinton to ``jawbone OPEC'' to get prices to retreat.

``What I think the president ought to do,'' he said while campaigning in New Hampshire where heating oil prices were soaring, ``is he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say, `We expect you to open your spigots!'''

Two months later Bush was in Florida and suggested as president he would use his ``political capital'' with Mideast producers. ``These are countries where it wasn't all that long ago that a President Bush helped Kuwait,'' he reminded voters, alluding to his father and the Gulf War.

``I think Americans ought to be asking where's all the capital we earned overseas after defending some of our OPEC nation friends?'' Bush said in October during a campaign speech in Knoxville, Tenn.

A Modest Proposal

Michael Froomkin has an Iraq reconstruction plan:

I’ve now cooked up a modest proposal for a US exit strategy from Iraq. Bring all the troops home. Give each Iraqi $3000 a year for the next year or two, and count on the free market to conduct the reconstruction for us at much greater efficiency than we would otherwise achieve.

Ok, I’m kidding. I think I’m kidding. Yes, I’m kidding. Definitely kidding. We can’t do that until shortly before the election…

OPEC

Kleiman wonders if the Bushies were behind the fact that the first OPEC meeting with an Iraqi respresentative voted to cut production. It's hard to imagine they weren't -- keeping the oil price high is one of the goals of domestic oil producers. Otherwise, many domestic drilling projects just aren't profitable. Now, there are arguments that can be made for the joys of oil price stability (oddly never applied to other industries) and arguments for the joys of reducing our foreign oil dependence (but, there are ways to do it without making customers poor and oil companies rich), but basically this is a bad and costly thing.

Just what the economy needs right now.

Holy Crap

The Florida pension fund has bought out Edison Schools.

Unbelievable.

I don't even know where to begin on this one.

Krugman at Berkeley

You can watch here.

Nexus of Evil

Ah, here we go. Haley Barbour is apparently eyebrow deep in Iraq cronyism.

Josh also comments on the Wilson/Plame issue.

41 vs. 43?

CIA seeks probe of White House regarding the Wilson/Plame affair.

The White House has denied being Novak’s source, whom he has refused to identify. But Wilson has said other reporters have told him White House officials leaked Plame’s identity.

If true, this implies (though not definitively) that the WH had been shopping this story around before Novak bit. Now, I'm not generally against journalists revealing government secrets - quite often the possibility of a ''leak" is what keeps this country going. But, this wasn't a Pentagon Papers-type "the country needs to know" leak, it was a pure piece of vindictive politics. Novak was within his legal rights in running with it, but he shouldn't have. Or, frankly, the story (from him and anyone who passed on it) should have been "White House Attempts Illegal Smear."

Daily Show Flashback

Bush v. Bush.

Mission Accomplished

Hey, Bush said it after all.

"America sent you on a mission to remove a grave threat and to liberate an oppressed people, and that mission has been accomplished."

Freepers Terrorize Mother, Children

With an assist by Fox.

Steve G. has more.

Fascinating

Tbogg brings us this paragraph at the end of a Times op-ed:

This is clearly an uncomfortable question for the Bush administration. Yesterday, Secretary of State Colin Powell met with Times editors. Asked whether Americans would have supported this war if weapons of mass destruction had not been at issue, Mr. Powell said the question was too hypothetical to answer. Asked if he, personally, would have supported it, he smiled, thrust his hand out and said, "It was good to meet you."

More Cronyism

God, this stuff alone should be enought to bring this adminstration down. They're not even hiding it and our media doesn't give a damn.

Okay, I'm Done

The strain of being O'Reilly was melting my brain. But, here's an article by a reporter who obviously hates America:

"They planned to pull the troops out quickly," said Anthony Cordesman, a defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. That plan was based on what Cordesman called an illogical assumption that U.S. forces would be greeted almost universally as liberators, that political control could be handed over to Iraqis quickly and that there would be no insurgency.


"We never really had a nation-building plan," Cordesman said.


Pentagon planners did foresee some postwar difficulties. They were prepared, for example, to deal with a refugee problem, with acute hunger, with a torching of oil fields or with an explosion of ethnic violence — none of which happened.


What they did not fully foresee was the violence aimed at U.S. occupation troops and the other security problems that have hampered the reconstruction efforts and angered many Iraqis.


An early indication that the administration did not foresee a long and violent postwar period was a statement made by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Feb. 27, shortly before the war began.

They really did think they'd just install King Chalabi I, and he'd be showered with rose petals as he sold off the oil fields.

Dissent Harms Our Troops

Now, I'm not going tell you what to think, but you can't possibly disagree that the man who wrote this letter really, really, wants more of our troops to die. This anti-American diatribe was probably lifted verbatim from Mao's little Red Book. Go to communist China if you hate it so much here Mr. Schwartz. Now is not the time to be questioning our leaders, unless I disagree with them. Just shut your pie hole. Shut it right now.

My Lawyers are Gonna Be Busy

Yet another 4th rate writer has trained his guns on me. This is war, America. Are we going to let people just say whatever they want about anyone? That's not what our country's all about. You're on notice Mr. Hart, along with Mr. Franken. You can run, but you can't hide. We're going to fight that duel, just like in the old days.

Now This is Sick

Some third-rate hollywood hack has gone and put me in a play. You don't have the right to steal my identity, pal. This is nothing short of terrorism. Aren't we taking this whole first amendment business just a little bit too far? First it was that damn internet where, would you believe it, anyone can just say anything they want to? And now these playwrights are following right along. I remember when plays were good family entertainment , and not this political sex-filled hogwash. What's wrong with nice, simple, entertaining stories that the whole family can love? If they were good enough for Shakespeare, they should be good enough for this, whats-his-name, Flemming degenerate.

These people are menace, and if I had my way they'd all be locked up.

Some people don't understand that we can only have the freedoms we cherish so much if no one bothers to use them.

Fair and Balanced

Excuse me, Mr. Nugent, now I'm as much against taxes as the next guy, but if you're going to pass on stupid emails from your moronic readers, I suggest you do a bit of fact-checking. I'm not sure which country you're talking about that had "absolutely no national debt" 100 years ago, but it sure wasn't the country I call home.

Here at the factor we're all about the facts and you, sir, just don't have yours straight.

Call the Lawyers

Some jerk is copying my act. I'm going to sue.

It Isn't Nation Building

When the Secretary of Defense says he's not building a nation, who are we to question him? It's un-American I say, so take your goddamned treasonous thoughts elsewere. The proof? We're spending MORE on helping the Iraqis to rebuild their schools, homes, oil wells, places of worships, etc. than we did in Europe after World War II. You tell me how that's the same Arthur Silber, and if you can't just shut the hell up. It's this kind of talk that's getting our troops killed. I may have to make an exception to my unwavering opposition to the death penalty just for you.

An Honest Mistake

I like Andrew Sullivan. What he does in private is nobody's business but his, as long as he doesn't talk about it or do it in front of my kids. If he wants to go to a gay bath house, I say let him go to a gay bath house. In fact, hey, Andrew, I, Bill O'Atrios, want to go to a gay bath house too! I just don't want him talking about it. Especially in front of the kids, or on prime time television.

Some un-American homophobic bigot has caught Andrew Sullivan making an honest mistake. Rather than forgiving and forgetting, he's making a big deal about. That's just wrong. Shut up!

Get Back To Work You Lazy Bums

Those government bureaucrats, paid for by Joe and Jane American, have determined what we knew -- a lot of Americans are lazy. The percentage of irresponsible Americans who just won't work hard has gone up from 11.7 to 12.1%. It turns out, the laziest Americans are black. Now, back off you PC police, it's just the facts here at the factor and that's just another fact.

The poverty rates for children, those age 65 and over, non-Hispanic whites, Asians, Hispanics, female-householder families, those in central cities or outside metropolitan areas and people in the Northeast, South and West did not change between 2001 and 2002.

They're spending too much time listening to the filth of Ludacris and stealing hubcaps in the parking lot, and not enough time working. Get a job people!

UPDATE: Here at the Factor, we welcome all opinions, unless I find them un-American, in which case I'll shut off your microphone. A "Joe" from New York City sends us an email:

..."Hey, Bill, isn'it true that the poverty report shows that it's only the Midwest that has had an increase in poverty."

Shut up Joe. Just shut your trap right now. This country is at war, and here you are trying to divide us into regions. The heartland of America is filled with good, hardworking white folks, much like my father the janitor back in Levittown. It's wrong to insult your fellow Americans with this divisive rhetoric. Just shut the hell up.

Hang'em

Long time viewers of the factor know that I, Bill O'Atrios, am a tireless crusader against the death penalty. I'm a Catholic, and the it's against my religion, and it's just wrong, you see. Absolutely and totally utterly wrong. In fact, anyone who supports the death penalty is human filth, lower than anything except maybe Al Franken.

But, aren't we taking this no "cruel and unusual punishment" thing too far? I gotta tell you, and my pals back in Levittown would agree, that people who falsely claim to be American citizens when they aren't deserve a hideous painful death. Sure, sure, it turns out the guy is actually a citizen, but it isn't John Ashcroft's fault he didn't make that clear enough. A lotta strange looking people walking around, and some of them aren't citizens. How are we to tell? I mean, if the military is giving people highly sensitive jobs and can't even tell, how can you expect Bill O'Reilly to tell?

Traitors in Our Midst

Now, I'm not quite sure who let Arizona in, but obviously it was a big mistake. Only one third of the residents of that pinko state think our president should be re-elected. I'd like to think that's fine, but we're at war. You can't change pitchers in the middle of the game. Well, okay, wait, you can, but you only do it when the pitcher sucks. It isn't the way the Levittown Little League did business, back in my humble days during my humble upbringing. Mom, apple pie, and the flag. That's all we knew. Where'd all this talk about Negroes come from? It's wrong I say, wrong. Why can't they just be white like us? Come on, people, they're just milking this race thing. We didn't have these problems in Levittown. If only they'd just shut the hell up, everything would be fine.

But as for Arizona, they haven't had the balls to come on my show. Scared of Mr.O'Reillly they are. But it isn't about me - they're scared of real Americans, the people who watch my show.

Words of Wisdom

From my cousin, Bill O'Thersites:

If you want to be gay, then fine. That is your choice. And America is the land of the free. In America, you are also free to be Australian. That is what our American ancestors fought for--for the right to be gay Australians. But not in front of my daughter. 9/11 taught us a lesson. Let us never be complacent. Let us fight to have the right to let my daughter have the right to not see you being a gay Australian. Then I slipped her panties down her legs and, within seconds, my tongue was inside her, moving rapidly. Not my daughter, of course. Shut up! You sicko pervert gay Australian!

Al Franken is a deranged drunk. But I respect his father.

I don't think anyone can deny the truth of this stuff. Surely not my old pals from Levittown, or my new pals from Long Island. Respect the father and the gay, as long as they keep the paternity and gayity to themselves. And, oh yes, put the tongue inside her and move it rapidly. Anything else would be un-American. Shut up!

Yours Now, Mr. Lieberman

Senator Lieberman thinks everything is hunky-dory in Iraq. I say, fine Mr. Lieberman. I say, how about you take control of the place? If you think running it is so easy, why don't YOU do it?

Step up to the plate, Senator.

Sheilas

Apparently the homosexual agenda is winning down in Oz. Listen up America, there's nothing wrong with being gay. I say, this is the land of freedom, and whatever you want to do is okay by me. But where I do draw the line is when you do it in front of my children. I can't walk down the street without seeing Adam and Steve holding hands, or without my daughter watching them kiss. Now, this kind of public dispay of gay affection is un-American and you should be arrested for subjecting my daughter to it. This is the land of freedom alright, but aren't we taking this freedom thing just a bit too far?

Talking Points

What an outrage! The president's own party admits he's probably lying about how much it's going to cost! Now, I may not be as sophisticated as some of those other media elites, but I know when we're being lied to. Let me tell you, that time is now.


Wake up America.

Shameless

Since the selection and unauguration of Bush, there's been a steady stream of "can you imagine the reaction if Clinton had been president??" moments. This one may top them all.


Dear American Media,

Remember how you reacted when you were shocked, no SHOCKED, that Tyson foods got some special tax breaks in Arkansas which were neither unique to Tyson, nor unique to the state of Arkansas?

Well, this kind of thing is the crony capitalism you tried to pretend Clinton was involved in.

Not too late for redemption.

Love,

Atrios

Remember....

Tomorrow (Friday) is Talk Like Bill O'Reilly Day! We'll do our best here to honor it.

Call Tucker Carlson

Fox News is handing out his home phone number.

Actually, don't call him. Bow-Tie plays a lying fascist on TV, but he's probably a relatively decent, if ignorant, chap. In print he has moments of suprising candor. But, it's interesting to see how Fox is willing to start a food fight with The Other News Network.

(tip thanks to the Hamster)

Congratulations!

You are the 5 millionth visitor since 4-18-02!

Celebrate by giving some money to the DNC.

The Kay Report

The Strib is continuing its strong coverage. Good for them.

The American people did not agree to sacrifice American lives and many tens of billions of taxpayer dollars for regime change. They believed Bush that Iraq posed a serious threat to the security of the United States and the world. That is proving not true. Don’t let the Bush administration weasel out of this one.

Heh. Indeed.

On Sale at the College Republicans Convention

They're a bunch of sweeties.

But, you shouldn't trust anything *I* say. We must wait until the guardians of our national discourse over at Slate.com put this in its proper context.

Moonies Play Games with the CBC

The proud neo-confederates over the Washington Times promised to run a rebuttal by the Congressional Black Caucus to a hateful smear piece done by Deborah Simmons. According to the CBC, the Moonie Editors twice promised to run it verbatim, and then hacked it to bits without telling them. Here's how the rebuttal actually ran, and here's how it was originally written (modified bits underlined):

As Chairman of the 39-member Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), I understand that criticism from the press is part of serving in the Congress.

More difficult to understand, however, is how a major newspaper like the Washington Times could be reduced to printing the inaccurate and misleading assertions that dominated its September 19^th op-ed, "Partying With No Purpose," under Deborah Simmons' byline.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 33rd Annual Legislative Conference (ALC) being held in Washington this week will serve some very important purposes, and I am confident that the non-profit Foundation's very able Chairman, Congressman William J. Jefferson of Louisiana, would agree.

Fair is fair, however.  Let's allow the Times' readers to make up their own minds.

Yes, as noted in the Times editorial, there will be receptions, a fashion show and an awards dinner during the ALC.  Although the Times chose to label these events a "shakedown," I believe that the thousands of deserving young people who have benefited from the $6 million in scholarship assistance raised by these events over the years would disagree.  They might well call the ALC's fund-raising efforts a "hand up".

The Times also failed to inform its readers that more than 50 citizen-legislator forums will be held during the ALC this week.  Thousands of Americans will come together in Washington to examine and debate what the federal government is (and should be) doing to create more jobs, support small businesses, improve our schools, expand access to high quality healthcare, protect our lives and preserve our freedom.

Are these issue forums, the policy "brain trusts," and the national "town hall" that will cap off the conference political?  No, unless one uses the word, "political," in the sense that the late Senator Paul Wellstone used it when he called upon those of us who serve in Washington to return to what he termed the "politics of the center."

During the ALC, thousands of Americans will learn from - and TEACH - their elected Representatives about solutions to the public policy issues that are central to our lives.  This, in my view, is a very important purpose.

So, to the Times and those reading these words, I ask: isn't this how our representative democracy is supposed to work?  How could a government that is truly "of, by and for the people" possibly work otherwise?

I submit that politicians communicating with the people who elected them is at the heart of the American government system.

 

The fact that the Members of the CBC are currently all Democrats seems to be at the crux of the Times op-ed's complaint.

The example of former CBC member, Congressman Gary Franks, illustrates that the CBC is not immune to Republican influence.  I am not angered, however, by the inference that the Times prefers Republicans over Democrats.

I must respectfully suggest, however, that editorial criticisms are far more convincing if they are grounded in fact.

For example, contrary to the Times assertion, almost all of the Members of the CBC were in the Capitol voting against the Republican "voucher" bill, H.R. 2765, on Tuesday evening, September 9^th - NOT attending the Congressional Black Caucus Institute's Democratic Presidential Debate in Baltimore.  The Times and its readers can check the recorded roll call vote (number 491) on the House web site - but allow me to tell you "the rest of the story."

The CBC Institute and Fox News Channel announced in early August that we were going to hold a presidential debate on the evening of September 9^th.  We knew that the public interest would be high, as the television ratings ultimately confirmed.

Several days before the debate, however, and knowing that the vote on the D.C. voucher experiment would be a very close one, the House Republicans scheduled the voucher vote for the same night.   As the Majority Party, Republicans set the agenda and schedule the votes.

I spent several hours urging members of the CBC to stay in Washington (they all did, with the exception of myself), and I called House Majority Leader Tom Delay seeking the courtesy of a vote postponement.  He declined.

We, Democrats, have come to expect this lack of cooperation from the Republican leadership in Washington. 

The Members of the Congressional Black Caucus believe that there is a better way for this nation to be governed - an approach that stresses an informed and engaged citizenry as well as a more civil, more cooperative discourse on Capitol Hill.

And on Election Day next year, the American people will decide if we are right.

You may call the Washington Times editorial department at 202-636-3305 and ask them if their policy of not accurately airing the views of African-Americans is a direct result of their being under the stewardship of neo-confederate Wesley Pruden and staffed by such people as their Assistant National Editor Robert Stacy McCain. (see here, and here too)

It's Lou Time

Make sure your voice is heard!

Here's what Lou said yesterday:

DOBBS: The results of tonight's poll. Do you think Secretary Rumsfeld should resign? 88 percent of you voting yes, 12 percent no.

David Limbaugh Full of Shite?

What is the world coming to... What WILL we tell the children? How WILL we explain to them that the very Christian Limbaugh is bearing false witness?

The Party of Personal Responsibility

Ah, a lovely tale from Arizona...

Jim Irvin, the embattled Arizona Corporation Commissioner who faces an impeachment probe, resigned Tuesday afternoon. He is also suing the state to cover for his legal fees in a civil trial in which he was slapped with a $60 million judgment for trying to influence a takeover bid of Southwest Gas.

Irvin’s lawyer, Jeff Walsh, said Tuesday afternoon the resignation takes effect immediately. Walsh said Irvin "has found it increasingly difficult to pursue his legal remedies in the courts and, at the same time, defend himself in an impeachment process.”

The announcement came as Irvin’s attorneys prepared to file a claim against the state to recover legal fees and to shield him from being financially liable for actions while in office.

...

The House's impeachment investigation has centered on Irvin's role in the 1999 takeover bid of Southwest Gas by Southern Union. Officials say Irvin and Rose worked behind the scenes to scuttle Southern Union's bid in favor of a smaller bid by a company called Oneok. Rose stood to make millions as a consultant if Oneok's bid succeeded.

Southern Union sued, and late last year a federal jury hit Irvin with a $60 million punitive-damages award, one of the largest civil penalties in history.

Even Fox has him at 50

Timber...

Holy Crapetan

So, I'd previously read Digby's post having a bit of fun at William Saletan's expense I thought it was a joke though -- you know, a kind of "shorter William Saletan" post. Then I discovered Saletan actually wrote this paragraph:

If you want to see the tricks of the right exposed, read Somerby. If you want to hear the tricks of the left exposed, listen to Limbaugh. But if you don't want to get trapped inside either wing's echo chamber, read Slate.

And, if you want to find out the tricks of William Saletan, read the Slate corrections page...

Time to Profile Whitey

Evidence that not only does racial profiling of minorities happen, but that it isn't, as our friendly neighborhood bigot Dinesh D'Souza would call it "rational," but an ineffective law enforcement tool. Minorities are stopped and searched more often, even though stopping and searching whites has a much higher payoff.

Get Up Get Up Get Get Down

9 1 1 is a joke in yo town!
Today:

Q Sir, in February of 2001, your Secretary of State said that the sanctions against Iraq had prevented Saddam from developing any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. A year-and-a-half later, before the U.N., you called Saddam a grave and gathering danger. And I'm wondering, what changed in that time? Was it the nature of the threat? Did you get new intelligence? Or did 9/11 put a new -- set a new playing field for those --

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, the Secretary of State said the same thing, as well, that Saddam was a threat. Nine-eleven changed my calculation. It made it really clear we have to deal with threats before they come on our shore. You know, for a long period of time we thought oceans could protect us from danger, and we learned a tough lesson on September the 11th. It's really important for this nation to continue to chase down and deal with threats before they materialize, and we learned that on September the 11th.

You better wake up and smell the real flavor
Cause 911 is a fake life saver

A Letter from a Dixie Chick

Here. She's good.

More Moon

The author of the recent Salon article about Moon has some more things to say.

Maybe it's time to bring back Moonie Mondays.

Arnold Yesterday

Link.

We should model ourselves after Texas.

If I were a candidate, I might use that in an ad...

(thanks to reader sl)

Marshall Plan

For a little perspective, in current dollars the Marshall Plan cost about $80 billion over four years. (other sources put it anywhere between 75-100 billion)


Compare that to what we're spending in Iraq.

Compare them both to what we're spending in Afghanistan.

Moon Bush in England

This sounds fun.

New Jobless Claims Sort of Down

Wampum has the details.

UN (mostly) Pulling Out

Sandbox is all yours, George.

Busy Day...

You can get much bloggy goodness from the links to the left.

Bush 3/17/03

Link.

In the case of Iraq, the Security Council did act in the early 1990s. Under Resolutions 678 and 687, both still in effect, the United States and our allies are authorized to use force in ridding Iraq of weapons of mass destruction. This is not a question of authority, it is a question of will.

Last September, I went to the U.N. General Assembly and urged the nations of the world to unite and bring an end to this danger. On November 8th, the Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1441, finding Iraq in material breach of its obligations and vowing serious consequences if Iraq did not fully and immediately disarm.

Today, no nation can possibly claim that Iraq has disarmed. And it will not disarm so long as Saddam Hussein holds power.

No Guns, No Cash

Oops.

Oops 2.

California Debate

Arnold, Arianna, and Camejo really are just a goddamn freak show. As much as McClintock is repellent, he's at least behaving himself. Bustamante's playing the honest statesman game, which probably won't win him any points, but won't lose him any.

The moderator is, uh "fair and balanced," and I don't mean that in a good way.

Bugger

Panic setting in:

We are slowly becoming frantic. I hear people saying they are going to begin hurting themselves or others if they can't go home. The helplessness our soldiers are feeling is indescribable, it is past the point of "suck it up and drive on." We just want somewhere to drive on to.

The UN Speech Through the Fabulizer

David E. of Fablog translates Bush's speech for us.

The Arnis Unveils a Cunning Plan

Here we go:

Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a plan yesterday that aims to clean up government by banning fund raising during budget deliberations and taking redistricting away from the Legislature.

Nor do we find him forward to be sounded,
But, with a crafty madness, keeps aloof,
When we would bring him on to some confession
Of his true state.