Libby Lies about his Lies

Since we're on the subject of the Plame case, Richard Schmitt of the Baltimore Sun has an "amusing" article, Libby's defense points to distraction, regarding indicted VP Chief of Staff, Scooter Libby.

As chief of staff to one of the most powerful figures on Earth, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was immersed in some of the most sensitive and weighty matters affecting the nation.

Now Libby is seeking to use the profundity of his former responsibilities as a mitigating factor as he prepares for a criminal trial in the unmasking of former CIA operative Valerie Plame. Libby contends that any alleged lack of truth-telling was inadvertent, the product of his own preoccupation with life-and-death matters of state.

It's a provocative strategy that some experts say could rub a jury the wrong way by suggesting that he is above the law.

What a novel concept. I guess it's the "Circle of Executive Power" theory. That is, not only does the President have unfettered authority, but it extends to his favored minions as well. Perhaps he puts together a Circle List of those annointed with the Power.

Cartoon of the Day

(Gee, I wonder who that reminds me of)

*Randy Bish, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 

Political Earthquake

Former Prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega has written a Commentary in Mother Jones, When Two Worlds Collide, dissecting the state of the Plame CIA outing investigation. She believes, and I concur, that Karl Rove will be indicted for his role in the scandal. The only question is when, not if. Her comparison of Rove and Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald is perfectly on target. She notes:

In the world of campaign politics that Rove has so long inhabited, smears and personal attacks are designed to seem as if they were spontaneously generated. They can then wander around, undirected, until they finally curl up in America's living rooms like so many mysterious, uninvited guests. These intruders may be rude and destructive, but no one is supposed to be able to get rid of them, in part because no one is supposed to be able to sort out or pinpoint how they got there in the first place. Thus, although Karl Rove has lurked in the background of an unprecedented number of whisper and smear campaigns -- that, for instance, John McCain had an illegitimate child (a rumor spread during the Republican primaries that preceded the 2000 election), or that former Texas Governor Ann Richards was a lesbian (a persistent rumor that was spread during Bush's Texas gubernatorial campaign) -- he has never been held accountable. And that is a state of affairs to which Rove became accustomed.

Rove has escaped responsibility for his sneaky campaign tricks because the candidates for whom he has worked -- most prominently, George Bush -- have had a stunning ability to accept, unquestioningly, the miraculous appearance of information that takes down their opponents. They had no problem about endorsing brazen dishonesty or the least interest in ferreting out bad actors in their camps. At the same time, opposing candidates have had neither the resources, nor the time to fully
investigate the attacks before plummeting in the polls. Afterwards, of course, it was already far too late.

* * * *

[The investigation of Rove] also opened a window into the world of a President's key adviser who never left campaign mode and who had never before been tripped up, no matter what he did. Such a man would be quite unprepared for an investigator like Fitzgerald who operates under a very different timetable and in a world ordered by radically different rules.

Her conclusion is that "it would be most surprising if when his world and Fitzgerald's collide, the result isn't a political earthquake. The moment an earthquake arrives remains impossible to predict, but it would be surprising if, in the CIA leak case, the impact of a Rove indictment did not cause massive aftershocks."

I guess we're talking Big Bang "Theory" Redux.

Science, Intelligent Design Style

The NYT has a follow up article on NASA's public affairs office trying to control the dissemination of scientific intormation from the Agency, in NASA Chief Backs Agency Openness. In one instance:

In October, for example, George Deutsch, a presidential appointee in NASA headquarters, told a Web designer working for the agency to add the word "theory" after every mention of the Big Bang, according to an e-mail message from Mr. Deutsch that another NASA employee forwarded to The Times.

* * * *

The Big Bang memo came from Mr. Deutsch, a 24-year-old presidential appointee in the press office at NASA headquarters whose résumé says he was an intern in the "war room" of the 2004 Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. A 2003 journalism graduate of Texas A&M, he was also the public-affairs officer who sought more control over Dr. Hansen's public statements.

In October 2005, Mr. Deutsch sent an e-mail message to Flint Wild, a NASA contractor working on a set of Web presentations about Einstein for middle-school students. The message said the word "theory" needed to be added after every mention of the Big Bang.

The Big Bang is "not proven fact; it is opinion," Mr. Deutsch wrote, adding, "It is not NASA's place, nor should it be to make a declaration such as this about the existence of the universe that discounts intelligent design by a creator."

It continued: "This is more than a science issue, it is a religious issue. And I would hate to think that young people would only be getting one-half of this debate from NASA. That would mean we had failed to properly educate the very people who rely on us for factual information the most."

This comes out a week after it was reported that James Hansen, a top NASA climate scientist, revealed that "the Bush administration has tried to stop him from speaking out since he gave a lecture last month calling for prompt reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases linked to global warming." See: Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him.

(Via Eschaton)

Additional information on George Deutsch can be found at World O'Crap.

Curious George

This one is priceless. The Philadelphia Daily News' Will Bunch, who blogs via Attytood, captured this picture of an upcoming movie posted on billboards around Philly.

As he aptly observes: Irony, thy name is Curious George.

Life sure does imitate art. I wonder if "I Spy" is next.

Cartoon of the Day

*John Darkow

He Doesn't Like No Laws, Either

Not long after Katrina, Kayne West said that George Bush doesn't like Black people. It's also true that George Bush doesn't like to follow the law.

MoveOn.org's Political Action group has a great new ad out, called Breaking the Law. The real question is, is GWB the son of George Bush or Richard Nixon? Check it out before you answer.

You're Welcome

The Word of the Week on the Colbert Report.

This clip, via Crooks and Liars, is hysterical. It points out the sad, but true fact that Americans are voting against their interests and what that means for them.

Cartoon of the Day

*Signe Wilkinson, Phila Daily News

Cartoon of the Day

*Eric Devericks, Seattle Times

What a State We're In

Democracy Now has a transcript of author Gore Vidal, who delivered his own version of the State of the Union, which he has done since the '70s. His current SOTU address: "Let the Powers That Be Know There is Something Called We the People of the U.S. and all Sovereignty Rests in Us."

Cartoon of the Post

* Tom Toles, Washington Post 

Truth vs. Truthiness

My favorite spot for videos, onegoodmove, explores the Daily Show entering the fray into the world of George Bush and James Fray/Oprah, in: A Million Little Laughs, or A Million Little Lies.

Watergate?

It's that office builidng (now Hotel) in D.C., right?

Parody blogger Spittle & Ink gives us an idea of how things might have turned out If Today's Media Reported Watergate.

It's funny, for sure, but it does make you wonder.

Na-Na a Boo-Boo

"We boxed them in," one lawyer present during the strategy meetings said with pride in an interview over the weekend. This lawyer and others present who described the meeting were granted anonymity because the meetings were confidential and because the team had told its allies not to exult publicly until the confirmation vote was cast.

This quote is from an excellent article in the NYT, titled In Alito, G.O.P. Reaps Harvest Planted in '82. The entire article should be read for the insight it gives into the evolution of the conservative judicial movement.

This quote, however, was especially revealing to me. It's funny, but as the Alito nomination has progressed to its inevitable denouement, I couldn't help but think that the Republicans were sitting back gloating about the whole thing. I could almost picture them chuckling behind closed doors at the helpless spectacle of the Democrats floundering in a futile attempt to stop the "done deal" as the article refers to it.

In fact, I almost blogged about it on several occasions. I could just picture it. It had to be. The same people that believe in a "scorched earth" policy also believe in celebrating victory over the spoils. And now, my imaginary vision (nightmare?) has been confirmed.

Cartoon of the Day

* David Horsey 

Sad, but True

The Houston Chronicle reports the sad news about Molly Ivins: Ivins' breast cancer returns.

As I said recently in Ditto, she's the best thing there is about Texas.

Give 'em hell, Molly. Just like you do to GWB.

Cartoon of the Day

* Mike Luckovich 

Cartoon of the Day

*Bill Schorr 

L'Etat C'est Moi

Discussing Bush's News Conference, Dana Milbank of the Washington Post, in his column Trying to Maintain Control of the State, in a State of Confusion, aptly observed:

In all, Bush uttered nearly 7,000 words in his 45-minute Q&A. But his message could be summed up with a brief phrase in his least-favorite language: L'Etat c'est moi (I am the state).

His approval of a program to eavesdrop without warrants: "As I stand here right now, I can tell the American people the program is legal," he certified.

His refusal to release photos of him with Abramoff: "They're not relevant to the investigation."

His view on congressional anti-torture legislation: "Conducting war is a responsibility in the executive branch, not the legislative branch."

His refusal to provide Congress with testimony about the federal response to Hurricane Katrina: "That's just the way it works."

Midway through this Bourbonic performance, the Los Angeles Times's James Gerstenzang offered an observation on Bush's surveillance policy: "This seems to sound like something President Nixon once said, which was: 'When the president does it, then that means that it's not illegal.' " Whispered "oohs" could be heard in the room.

Our L'Empereur sure knows how to wow 'em. It's the domestic version of "shock and awe," I guess.