Bush backtracks to protect Rove

Early in the spy leak scandal, Bush said he would fire anyone in the White House who was involved in the leak. Now, Bush has refined his position since Karl Rove--the man who made Bush an electable candidate--is the guilty party. Now Bush says he'll fire anyone who has "committed a crime" in the leak.

So, it's okay that someone in his administration is betraying the country and our spies so long as the perpetrator can get off on a technicality. In this case, the technicality is expected to be that Rove didn't leak Plame's identity "knowingly" and/or that Rove was told of Plame's identity by columnist Robert Novak (a claim that doesn't even pass the laugh test).

So, our president's administration sends soldiers off to fight without armor, and exposes our spies for cheap political paybacks. It's incredible what passes for "patriotism" in this country.

The new "lie loop".

The new defense of Karl Rove's leaking of an American spy's identity is that Rove only "confirmed" a rumor told him by a reporter. And who is the reporter? None other than Robert Novak.

This is a critical new approach in the defense of Rove. Since saying Rove only leaked the info "unknowingly" wasn't playing well in the polls, the White House (which is run by Rove himself, incidentally) is switching gears to dumping all the blame on Novak. Why? Because Novak has already cut a deal with the Bush gov't and won't be going to jail for contempt of court or leaking classified information.

It's a no-lose trick. Novak is already protected and doesn't have to tell the original source of the leak. So why not say Novak told Rove? It puts blame-chasers in a loop. Can't blame Rove, can't punish Novak. Rove gets off scott free.

I don't think it will ultimately work, however. Confirming a rumor is just as bad as stating her identity unprovoked. If the reporters had asked if X945BYL was rumored to be the launch code to a nuclear missile, is it okay for Rove to "simply confirm" that as fact?

And we still should be arguing that it doesn't matter who told Novak, Novak still couldn't legally tell anybody else.

Rove: Lying With The Truth.

If you want to be a politician or a lawyer, you need to learn how to lie by telling the truth. It is guaranteed to fool most people, and anyone not paying particular attention to the precise words being said.

When asked if he had anything to do with the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plame's name, Rove offered this response: "I didn’t know her name and didn’t leak her name."

Notice that he completely rewrote the question. He did not answer if he had any knowledge, he answered only that he didn't know or leak her name. To the casual observer, that looks like a pretty obvious denial of "knowing anything" about the leak. But it is not a denial of the question asked. The question asked if he had any knowledge, not if he specifically knew or stated her name.

According to Matt Cooper, who revealed Rove as the leaker, Rove identified her as Wilson's wife. So see, technically Rove isn't lying when he said he didn't know or leak HER NAME. But he did reveal her identity. And there's no important difference between the two.

I guess...it depends on what your definition of "is" is...

Uh-oh. This is not good for the U.S....

Russia and China are maneuvering against Bush's NeoCon plans for an "American hegemony" around the world. They're insisting on a multi-polar world, meaning they will take a stand against US domination. I guess this is the price for Bush's elective war in Iraq. He knocked off a phoney threat and inspired a very real, very capable bigger threat... Now that Russia and China know the US can't even control piddly little Iraq, they're not afraid to throw their weight around.

Y'know, not long ago the US had the bluff on the rest of the world. We once truly looked like a potential world-dominating nation. That's the kind of political capital that America will need in the years to come. And yet Bush pissed it all away... just so his oil buddies could cash in. Thanks, George. 'Preciate it.

Rove accused of leaking CIA agent's name.

If this MSNBC analyst is telling the truth, the Republican Party's version of Joseph Goebbels--known as Karl Rove--is guilty of a federal crime. Namely, leaking the name of an undercover CIA agent to the press. God I hope this is true. I desperately want to see this sleazy political operative go to prison.

As the story goes, CIA agent Valerie Plame was outed in a column by GOP stooge Robert Novak as revenge for her husband's criticism of the Bush administration. What I fail to understand is why Novak isn't already in jail. I don't care if he doesn't have to publicly reveal his source. He was obviously an accomplice in a federal crime. (The column had nothing to do with Plame, so her "outing" was immaterial to the subject of the column.)

Bizarro-America: touch a girl's arm and you're a sex offender!

Another case of lunacy here in America. This story must be read to be believed. A man grabbed a 14-year old girl's arm when he scolded her for running in front of his car, and therefore must now register as a sex offender. That's just insane.

He'd have been better off to just run the girl over. He'd have done a year or two for manslaughter at worst, and probably would have gotten off with no sentence at all. But he instead chose to reprimand the girl for her stupidity (perhaps teaching her a lesson she won't forget)--and now he's branded a molester, and that sticks with you forever.

What's worse, the man is convicted not for what he DID, but what he might have done later IF he was a sex offender. He was literally convicted because he MIGHT have been a molester. That has to be unconstitutional at some level. Otherwise we should ALL be in jail.

Soul sold on eBay for $10K. Devil gets casino ad for boot.

Since the US Supreme Court ruled eminent domain can be used to take private property and hand it over to private businesses, this idiot woman
may have opened a door that has doomed us all.

She sold her forehead as advertising space to a gambling casino for $10,000 on eBay. She says it’s to send her child to private school. Ten grand is a tad cheap for one’s soul, I think. (This is why satire is dead in America. There’s nothing too stupid, corrupt, or soulless that at least one of us won’t do.)

But how long before eminent domain is invoked by a local business? How can you possibly argue that your blank forehead will generate more business and tax revenue than if it had a big ol’ advertisement on it? You’ll never win that argument. It’s just a matter of time before they think of it...

GOP criticizes independent thought and free speech for their propaganda failures.

Yep, the Republican war machine is faced with falling military recruitment numbers. And they're really pissed off that it might be because people are wise to the truth, and aren't responding to propaganda anymore.

You’d think the reasons for avoiding the military would be obvious: (1) few people want to sign up for certain death and/or dismemberment in a faraway quagmire. (2) Everybody is saying the US will be there for years, even decades. (3) Bush has been forcing soldiers to stay longer than they agreed to. (4) Soldiers’ benefits and services have been slashed. (5) Soldiers are frequently left to buy their own defense armor. And (6) the whole affair is based on a proven pack of lies. So the only surprise here is how the military gets anyone at all to sign up.

To counter the truth, the Republicans are blaming those Americans who had the wisdom to see beyond Bush’s lies and the patriotism to speak out against them. Yep, it’s free speech, freedom of thought, and demands for honest government that has defeated Bush’s propaganda machine--which in turn has led to lower recruitment numbers.

Sorry, Dubya. Looks like we’re too smart for you. Even if it does take a few years for some of us to finally catch on.

(If you’re really desperate, I know two girls in your household that are of perfect age. Send them before you go asking other parents to send theirs, ‘kay?)