The Plame blame game

Here's an interesting take on the leak: Arianna Huffington (of all people) speculates that much of the culpability lies with Judith Miller, and pretty much savages Miller's poor reporting on the lead-up to the war.

Chicago Trying To Get City Council To Pass Out Now Resolution

Anyone heard of any of the groups trying to get something like this proposed in Philly?

text: "Chicago Wants A New 'Out Now!' Resolution!
Do It Now!
Click Here to Sign Online
Proposed Text for A Resolution
Urging a Cessation of Combat Operations in Iraq
and the Return of U.S. Troops"

Why do some Liberal Malcontents hate the French?

Because they're jealous that the French have more time on their hands for blogging? Yet another good editorial by Paul Krugman -- this time examining some of the realities behind the glib comparisons Americans make to attack the "failed welfare states" of Europe. Also, he makes a nice tie-in to the "values" issues.

Liberal Malcontents

Basra's 'Sidewalk' Paper a Forum for the People

Take a look or a listen to this story from NPR.
In Iraq, voicing thoughts about politics is dangerous. But a popular newspaper found on the sidewalks of Basra is flourishing. In its pages, anyone can give an opinion, protected by anonymity.

FAIR on Friedman and O'Reilly

A New Blacklist for "Excuse Makers": "Friedman's suggestion that those who seek to understand or explain political violence are not part of 'legitimate dissent' comes at a time when calls for censorship are becoming more and more blatant. Bill O'Reilly (Radio Factor, 6/20/05, cited by Media Matters, 6/22/05) made a chilling call for the criminalization of war opponents:

You must know the difference between dissent from the Iraq War and the war on terror and undermining it. And any American that undermines that war, with our soldiers in the field, or undermines the war on terror, with 3,000 dead on 9/11, is a traitor. Everybody got it? Dissent, fine; undermining, you're a traitor. Got it? So, all those clowns over at the liberal radio network, we could incarcerate them immediately. Will you have that done, please? Send over the FBI and just put them in chains, because they, you know, they're undermining everything and they don't care, couldn't care less.


The call for the arrests of Air America Radio hosts was said as though it were a joke, though O'Reilly is deadly serious when he says that the commentators on that network are 'undermining' the war--and that such 'undermining' is treason."

Wal-Mart Watch: Taking Liberties with Freedom of the Press

Wal-Mart rethought this and later had to apologize.

LISNews.com | Florida Wal-Mart Pulls Newspaper, Wants Journalist Fired: "Some managers at Wal-Mart didn't appreciate a column Mark O'Brien wrote in June 2005 for the Pensacola News Journal about the downside of the cheap prices that Sam Walton's empire has brought to America... The Wal-Mart manager said he and his stores couldn't tolerate a newspaper that would print the opinions of someone who was as mean and negative as Mark O'Brien... and he wanted the newspaper to get its racks off Wal-Mart lots. But he also said that if I fired Mark, we could talk about continuing to sell the newspaper at his stores."

Reinventing the Union

Today's free content from WSJ.
WSJ.com - Reinventing the Union: "For many workers today, unions seem unable to offer protection against the powerful forces of globalization and technology, which have sent many factory and even white-collar jobs overseas. At the same time, corporate managements with their sophisticated human-resources departments, employee-assistance programs and 'cafeteria' benefit choices have successfully countered union claims that workers could do better if they were organized under a bargaining unit."

Delegates Praise Historic AFL-CIO Vote Calling for Rapid Withdrawal from Iraq

Well, at least one good thing is coming out of this conference.

Delegates Praise Historic AFL-CIO Vote Calling for Rapid Withdrawal from Iraq: "In a historic vote, delegates to the AFL-CIO's 25th Constitutional Convention in Chicago adopted Resolution 53, which “applauds the bravery and courage of our soldiers in Iraq and calls for their rapid return. The resolution addresses the needs of returning veterans and union members and emphasizes the commitment of the AFL-CIO to support Iraqi trade unionists."

Rumsfeld Admits Bush Administration Made Mistakes!!

Today, Rumsfeld said, "...They're simply going to have to make the compromises... He added, "That's what politics is about."

Thank God he's in Iraq to help those poor idiot Iraqi's learn about how to make a Democracy work.!! And thank God (my results on the religion poll notwithstanding) that he has learned from his mistakes!! Now he knows that the Bush administration will need to compromise to make Democracy work.

Oh, ....wait a minute. He was saying that the Iraqi's need to compromise. My bad. Nevermind!

Prosecutor In CIA Leak Case Casting A Wide Net

Prosecutor In CIA Leak Case Casting A Wide Net: "The special prosecutor in the CIA leak probe has interviewed a wider range of administration officials than was previously known"

Armstrong: Cure cancer or pacify Iraq?

American cycling hero Lance Armstrong, a Texan and (former?) friend of President Bush, is speaking out against the Iraq war.

Armstrong: Cure cancer or pacify Iraq?: "“The biggest downside to a war in Iraq is what you could do with that money,” Armstrong said through gritted teeth. “What does a war in Iraq cost a week? A billion? Maybe a billion a day? The budget for the National Cancer Institute is four billion. That has to change. Polls say people are much more afraid of cancer than of a plane flying into their house or a bomb or any other form of terrorism.”"

The Long Cut: Losing My Religion Denomination

As I've said, liberal and catholic don't mix. Also, check out the belief-o-matic! See my results below.

The Long Cut: Losing My Religion Denomination: "What we did was take a huge step towards leaving the Roman Catholic Church.

This is not an easy decision for us, but our dissatisfaction with Roman Catholicism has been growing for some time now. We both were raised going to church and we both went to the same Catholic high school (which for me followed 9 years of Catholic grade school), but more and more we have found that our beliefs aren't the churches beliefs."

Mormon is in my top 5! I was hoping for Neo-Pagan:
1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Secular Humanism (97%)
3. Nontheist (93%)
4. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (89%)
5. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (80%)
6. Liberal Quakers (79%)
7. Bah�'� Faith (71%)
8. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (63%)
9. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (62%)
10. Theravada Buddhism (62%)

Action - Call Your House Rep Vote No on CAFTA

CAFTA fails to ensure that workers in the participating countries have the rights to organize and bargain collectively, earn a living wage or even prevent child labor.

Political Affairs Magazine - CAFTA Will Cost Jobs, Wages, and Lives, say Experts

From the Wall St Journal
Cafta is No Cure-All for Central America

But Cafta's immediate economic benefits are so "nebulous" says the economist Carl Ross, a Bear Stearns analyst, that he says he can't incorporate them into his forecasts for the region.

When it comes to promoting regional security through economic growth, the Europeans, looking for deeper economic integration, have adopted another model. The European Union offers its poorest entrants free trade coupled with development assistance, free movement of labor and other measures designed to lift nations out of poverty.

When such poor nations as Ireland and Spain were admitted to the EU, they received funding aimed at boosting competitiveness and their workers were able to work elsewhere in wealthy Europe. Today, Ireland has one of the world's fastest growing economies and is competing on solid footing in high technology. The disposable income of Spanish families has risen by nearly 40% since 1998, estimates by Spain's La Caixa bank show.

Cafta's limited trade openings are unlikely to produce such dramatic gains.

Update: The pro-CAFTA forces hit a snag yesterday when House Democrats blocked a bill that would strengthen monitoring of China's trade practices and allow U.S. companies to seek duties on goods found to be receiving subsidies from the Chinese government. The bill was brought up under special rules that require a two-thirds vote, in accord with a promise by House leaders to Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.) and a few industrial-state allies in exchange for CAFTA support.

House leaders vowed to bring the bill up again today under normal rules.

Uniform Sacrifice - New York Times

Fairly strong stuff for the NYT, from a former Marine.

Uniform Sacrifice - New York Times: "Only 135,000 men and women in American uniform are fighting - volunteers, members of the National Guard, reservists. There is no draft. No threat of a uniform hangs over the citizens of a nation of nearly 300 million who, in polls, support the invasion of a remote country upon whom our government would pin guilt of 9/11 ... and then attack. An invasion that was ordered by an expertly trained but combat-innocent fighter pilot and a draft-deferred character with 'other priorities' during the Vietnam War."

Watching America

Watching America: "Discover What the World Thinks About U.S."

Friedman Advocates "Excuse Makers" List

The right already equates dissent with being unpatriotic, why not equate dissent with "one notch below terrorists?"

Giving the Hatemongers No Place to Hide - New York Times: "We also need to spotlight the 'excuse makers,' the former State Department spokesman James Rubin said. After every major terrorist incident, the excuse makers come out to tell us why imperialism, Zionism, colonialism or Iraq explains why the terrorists acted. These excuse makers are just one notch less despicable than the terrorists and also deserve to be exposed. "

More on labor

Too bad the NY Times still publishes the self-serving garbage that Thomas Freidman passes off as economic analysis when they have Paul Krugman around. The next time I hear the tired old song about how "the union demands for health care and high labor rates ruined GM" from some free-marketeer, I'm going to spit some of the information in this article right back at them.

Just mild about labor

This lame excuse for journalism made the front page of the business section in the Inquirer. Can't fault the Inky for this though: Harry gets fired, his union finds him another job and his first reaction is he doesn't think unions matter? Oh yeah there are little things like wages, benefits and sick days, too, Harry says. Sheesh.

For more on AFL-CIO convention see here:
http://www.aflcio.org/aboutus/thisistheaflcio/convention/2005/

Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/23/2005 | Just mild about labor: "At the ballfield, the question was much more personal. Do unions matter?

'I don't think any kind of union matters,' said Mount Ephraim's Harry Smith, 34, who attended the game with his son Zachary, 5.

'If your company wants to get rid of you, they are going to find a way to get rid of you - union or not,' he said. That's what happened to Smith, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, at his last job.

Now he has another union job, as a maintenance worker in Mount Ephraim's streets department. 'The union does fight for you on wages and benefits, like sick days,' Smith said. 'That's one good thing about the union.'"

WSJ.com - Roberts Stands Chance To Split Democrats

I'm still sort of stunned at how smart this pick was. (Can you see the hand of the master at work?) It has taken attention away from the leak scandal (at least for the moment), divided the dems and united the repubs. Did anyone notice how the left's attempt at framing didn't work? The left's epithets--corporate, partisan hack, far-right--didn't stick, but the rights' did--brilliant, rock-solid, mainstream. If they call him brilliant one more time I'm going to puke. Brilliant at what? Bending the law for the corporate interest?

Here's a nice inside baseball kind of article, unfortunately subscriber's only.
WSJ.com - Roberts Stands Chance To Split Democrats: "Roberts Stands Chance
To Split Democrats
Moderates Could Be Hard-Pressed to Oppose
Bush's Affable Supreme Court Nominee

By BRODY MULLINS and JOHN D. MCKINNON
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
July 21, 2005; Page A4

WASHINGTON -- Any political tactician's goal is to unite his side while dividing the opposition. In nominating Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to the U.S. Supreme Court, President Bush stands a strong chance of doing just that.

The affable conservative nominee has received near-universal acclaim from Mr. Bush's fellow Republicans, who hold a 55-seat majority in the Senate. That means Democrats have no chance of blocking his confirmation without maintaining unity in their own ranks."

A Few Toys for Bloggers

I've been using Blog This (see below) in Mozilla Firefox and it really makes posting to the blog a lot easier. Anyone else using this?

Firefox has a nice feature in that it lets you open up a bookmarks folder in tabs. So you can create a folder called, say, Liberal Blogs, and then open them all up in tabs on your browser.

Bloglines is an easy-to-use aggregator that lets you subscribe to RSS feeds.


Blogger Help : What is BlogThis! ?: "BlogThis! is an easy way to make a blog post without visiting blogger.com. Once you add the BlogThis! link to your browser's toolbar, blogging will be a snap. Or rather, a click. Clicking BlogThis! creates a mini-interface to Blogger prepopulated with a link to the web page you are visiting, as well as any text you have highlighted on that page. Add additional text if you wish and then publish or post from within BlogThis!"

WSJ.com - Bush Taps Roberts For Supreme Court

Seems to be a perfect pick from a Bush point of view: makes business happy, makes social conservatives happy, and not enough of a record for liberals to attack. He's made anti-abortion statements in the past but now says he accepts it as the law of the land. Specter said they would look at abortion, but he also said he wanted an "anti-activist" judge. I hate that whole "anti-activist" line of thinking.

WSJ.com - Bush Taps Roberts For Supreme Court: "Nan Aron, head of Alliance for Justice, a civil-rights organization, said Judge Roberts's 'limited record raises a whole host of concerns.' During his two years on the District of Columbia Circuit Court, Ms. Aron said, Judge Roberts joined rulings weakening federal environmental protections that could signal an inclination to undermine 'a wide swath of civil rights, public safety and workplace protections.' With no paper trail, Ms. Aron said, opponents of Judge Roberts will have to rely on Democratic senators to 'conduct thorough hearings that require him to be forthcoming.'"

Framing framing

A thorough article from the Times Magazine -- gives good insight into the new way the Dems are trying to out-Republican the Republican Party. Is it a good thing if it is effective?

On the other hand

Rove breathes easier: The New York Times reports that Karl Rove learned the name of outed CIA operative Valerie Plame from columnist Robert Novak.

"So, as far as I can tell, the possibility of a criminal indictment for Karl Rove for 'leaking' Valerie Plame's identity is completely off the table," submits Jon Henke at libertarian group-blog QandO.

Conservative techie TallDave, who predicted yesterday that Rove was the recipient of a leak, doubles down on his second bet—that New York Times reporter Judith Miller was the original source. "Will Atrios and Daily Kos and the rest of the lefty 'sphere lay off anytime soon?" he asks at Semi-Random Ramblings. "I doubt it. This has become their Quest for the Holy Grail. Or at least they thought so; it now looks more like they're pointing their lances toward a windmill." Others agree the scandal was mostly hype. "This surely qualifies as one of the 'hey, big whoop' stories of all time," swears John Podhoretz at National Review's right-wing roundtable The Corner.

DNC letter with quotes from Republicans

This is a letter from the DNC.

So far, thousands upon thousands of you have told the White House that our national security has no place in partisan politics. Perhaps most impressive, the response has come from all walks of life.

It's not just Democrats who are outraged at Karl Rove revealing classified information as part of a partisan smear campaign -- and President Bush's failure to take action. Independents and Republicans have joined the chorus expressing outrage at this administration.

They join Republicans like former President Bush, who called those who leak classified information the "most insidious of traitors" and former Republican Party chairman Ed Gillespie, who agreed that this leak was "worse than Watergate."

I'd like to share some of the responses we've received from a few of these folks. Please read them below. And if you haven't yet added your name to the bipartisan call for the White House to come clean, do it now:

http://www.democrats.org/comeclean

And please reach out to everyone you know -- regardless of their political affiliation -- by forwarding this email. This issue is much bigger than politics, and the cover-up needs to stop. President Bush's credibility and our national security are on the line.

Sincerely,

Tom McMahon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

"I switched to Republican over 30 years ago, but now feel increasingly betrayed by and ashamed of the power-crazy dishonesty and the distorted values of the current leadership of the GOP. Tom DeLay does not speak or stand for most American Republicans. Neither does Karl Rove, who should be fired and severely punished if indications are correct. Can we trust you, Mr. President? Please give us the real, open truth." Jeb E., Palo Alto, CA

"I am a registered and disappointed Republican. Don't make this situation worse - 'fess up and fix the problem." Karen H., Fort Collins, CO

"I am a registered Republican and want this current administration to admit the fault and fire Rove now! Decent Americans lose their jobs over less." Alice C., Wilmington, DE

"I vote for whoever I think will do the best job -- Democrat, Republican, Independent -- and this is the time for elected officials to do their best job: honor their word, honor their country, and honor those they govern by upholding not only the law but what is moral and right. In this case, it is to remove whoever is responsible for leaking the CIA agent's identity." Nancy O., Van Buren, AR

"As a registered Republican, I join with those that say enough is enough! Time to clean house!" Tim M., Milan, OH

"I am registered Republican. However, the behavior of this administration isn't part of my Republican Party. Start by taking responsibility for both the good and the bad decisions of the administration. ... Mr. Rove has now stepped over the line. President Bush, like his father, needs to request Mr. Rove's resignation." Ed S., Newport Beach, CA

"As a registered Republican, the recent revelations regarding Karl Rove's role in the leak of a CIA operative's identity has me greatly concerned. I am sure that a great majority of Americans would agree that now is not the time for silence and evasive actions on the part of the administration. Please address this issue immediately so that our country can move forward, united in the truth, and so that we can move on to focusing on the many challenges and opportunities of our times. Thank you." Diane W., Ephrata, CA

"I was a good Republican for all my life, but can no longer stomach the people that excuse the behavior of those who squelch any and all who question and think for themselves. Please stand up and do what is right." Lana H., Fort Worth. TX

"Truth is an awesome thing. As an American whose husband and son have served in our military I wonder if you could possibly condone a leak of information which jeopardizes our national security. I would like to see the Republican Party speak honestly as they used to speak when I was a registered Republican. We seem to be emulating the Nixon era ... I can no longer support the Republican party." MaryKay D., Columbus, OH

"As a registered Republican I am concerned about the failure of the Bush administration to follow through with its promise with anyone who comprises the security of a CIA agent and our country. Karl Rove has gone too far and must resign or be dismissed." Jan O., Yorba Linda, CA

"As a Republican ... I have to insist that the president and my party affiliates in Washington tend to the accountability of Karl Rove or face yourselves the possibility of being called part of a cover-up conspiracy. You are ELECTED officials entrusted to the security of all Americans. For God's sake get responsible." Marilynne R., Glendale, AZ

"As a lifelong Republican, who has been voting and supporting this great country for close to 50 years, I am outraged that a member of your administration would damage this nation's interests for petty, partisan, political reasons. Mr. Rove and anyone else involved in this despicable act should be fired ..." Donald E., Pittsfield, MA

"As a registered Republican, I'm shocked that Karl Rove would sink so low as to reveal our CIA agents. It is really time to ask Karl Rove to resign to spare this president further embarrassment." Charles B., Sarasota, FL

"I have been a Republican almost from birth. No more, no more!!! This latest group of Republicans have disgraced the memory of all noble Republicans that preceded them. I am a city trustee in Illinois and speak loudly and regularly at counsel meetings regarding the Bush ethics and to date have thoroughly convinced several other members to take a closer and more focused look at the way the Bush administration has controlled the rhetoric regarding most issues." Dave B., Mount Olive, IL

WSJ.com - Rove's Troubles Put Bush in Tight Spot

Overview from WSJ with minimal minutia
WSJ.com - Rove's Troubles Put Bush in Tight Spot: "If Mr. Fitzgerald concludes the leak wasn't a crime, 'technically this may get him off the hook,' says George Edwards, a political scientist at Texas A&M's Bush School of Government and Public Service, named for the current president's father. 'But everyone will know that W is playing with the truth if he keeps Rove on the staff.'"

Help Rescue Dumplingeater from Mind Lock and Get Him Back on Message

You may disagree with what the CIA does, but using classified information for political purposes is wrong. (Did Rove know it was classified? Come on.)

Law schmaw, don't get hung up on whether he broke the law or not. He told Novak about it. He leaked it. Bush said he would fire anyone responsible for the leak. Bush should be held to his word; the leaker should be fired.

Still not outraged? The administration was trying to smear Wilson, who disputed that Iraq tried to buy uranium from Niger, by going after his wife, who Rove called "fair game." Live by the smear, die by the smear. Rove is now fair game himself. Except it's not a smear, it's the truth.



Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: "No presidential advisor should ever disclose the identity of a covert agent at the CIA. That doesn't require elaboration.

If it's done knowingly, it's a felony. Joe Wilson could be the biggest hack in the world. Plame could have cooked the whole trip idea up to damage the president -- as some GOP loopsters are now claiming -- and it wouldn't matter.

Rove (and, though we're not supposed to say it yet, several of his colleagues) did something obviously wrong and reckless. And they probably broke several laws by the time it was all done.

Pretty much every Republican in Washington today works for Karl Rove. So they can't deal with that fact. But fact it is.

And nothing was done amiss? If Rove et al. didn't do anything wrong, why have they spent two years lying about what they did? No law was broken? Then what is Fitzgerald looking at? Why is a grand jury investigating Rove? A prosecutor like Fitzgerald, a Republican appointee, wouldn't be throwing journalists in jail unless he thought he was investigating a serious crime.

What's their answer to that? They have none. Rove runs the Washington Republican party, owns it. So it's anything but hold him accountable."

Newsweek: Explosive Rove Reaction

It's not surprising that the media is so ferociously pursuing the truth about Karl Rove's role in the outing of a CIA operative.

WEB-EXCLUSIVE COMMENTARY
By Howard Fineman
Newsweek
Updated: 12:28 p.m. ET July 14, 2005


July 13 - The White House press room is a dump of a place, with rickety lecture hall seats, photographers’ ladders piled high in the corners, frayed carpeting and a floor that feels hollow, which it is, since the old presidential swimming pool is under it somewhere. In recent days the room also seems like a battleground—the way it used to be in the old Clinton days.

The ferocity with which the presidential press corps went after the Karl Rove story is startling, but it shouldn’t be surprising.

Several media, political and Washington vectors intersected to create an explosive Rove Reaction.

Third thoughts on pre-Iraq reporting
Take my word, there has been a lot of soul searching in the so-called Main Stream Media (MSM) over its performance, or lack of performance, in the months leading up to the American-led ouster of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq. Specifically, did we replace what should have been professional skepticism with a certain mindless credulousness in assessing the reality of the Bush administration’s claims of imminent danger to the country and the world from Saddam’s supposedly vast stash of weapons of mass destruction, including—only months away, it was said—the nuclear kind?

If we failed, was it out of a misplaced sense of patriotic duty, or political cowardice or sheer incompetence—or all three? The press corps was spring-loaded with self-doubt over the WMD issue, and ready to snap over any story that would allow it to revisit what now looks to have been a massive—and embarrassingly successful, from the press’s point of view—propaganda campaign.

So Rove was a spinner on the WMD front? After him!

Tight lips sink ships
George Bush’s theory of press relations is pretty straightforward: control the message with military precision, and never waver. Authorized leaks are OK under certain circumstances, although this crowd doesn’t like them very much under any circumstances. Unauthorized leaks are punishable by instant excommunication. The Bush White House is the tightest-run ship in modern times, which means probably ever.

The deliberately colorless Ari Fleischer raised the content-free “briefing” to a dismal high art; Scott McClellan, who studied at the brogans of the Master is, if anything, even less communicative and, unlike Fleischer, who once worked on the more media-friendly Hill, never betrays the slightest sense of guilt about saying nothing. So, in human terms, and, yes, reporters are humans, you can imagine the reaction when McClellan was caught in what looks pretty clearly to be a series of lies about Rove’s role in dishing dirt on Mr. and Mrs. Wilson.

Karl “not involved”? PULEASE—scenes of McClellan as piñata at 11.


The physics of unaccountable power
As in physics, every action in Washington eventually has an equal and opposite reaction. A subset of that rule: Anyone with an excess of unaccountable power eventually has to pay. Karl Rove has gathered within his hands a whole LOT of unaccountable power—by which I mean that he has several jobs and the direct ear of the president, but has never faced a confirmation hearing or, for that matter, much by way of an internal rivalry in the White House.

He is The Architect, at least according to George Bush. He talks to reporters only if and when he pleases, and under the conditions he demands. How to call him on a carpet, ANY carpet?

This is how.

What did he know and when did he know it?
In a metropolis of bureaucracy, in which everything runs on documented communication—lunches, phone calls, memos and now e-mails and even text messaging—the operative question is the one Sen. Howard Baker made famous during Watergate. The Rove disclosures are the first to begin filling in the timeline in the Plame Game—a threat that could unravel others.

It's not campaign season
It’s a paradox that key issues often aren’t fully explored by the Main Stream Media in the midst of a presidential campaign season, which, if you think about it, is when there is the most urgency to do so. Why? Because the MSM doesn’t want to be accused of taking sides, especially when the story they are looking into involves a sitting administration.

I know that this sounds ridiculous to Bushies on the inside of the White House gates—they see enemies out here everywhere on Pennsylvania Avenue—but it’s true. The situation is different now. It’s the second term. Think Clinton and Monica.

Rivalries within the MSM
There is a civil war brewing within the MSM, and the Rove story is exposing it—and is fueled by it. Until now, the rivalry between the Fox and non-Fox worlds has been confined to cable, where Rupert Murdoch’s forces have all but overwhelmed the competition.

But now the broadcast networks are in the game, with some non-Fox reporters openly complaining about the White House’s effort to defend Rove by offering its legal spin to certain preferred reporters and news organizations. By dividing the press corps into Red versus Blue—and talking only to the Red—administration strategists are inviting attacks from one side.

But that might be precisely what they want. After all, they won two national elections that way.

There's a lot we don't know yet about the CIA flap

Grist for Dumpling's mill.
There's a lot we don't know yet about the CIA flap: "The bottom line is, some of the most critical facts in the whole Wilson/Plame/CIA matter are just not known, at least not known by anyone outside of the Fitzgerald investigation."

Poll suggests drop in Bush's personal credibility

Here's the poll cited by Impenetrable One.

Excite News: "President Bush's personal credibility appears to be eroding at a time when Iraq has become the top public priority and the White House is engulfed in controversy over senior Bush adviser Karl Rove, a poll released on Wednesday suggested.

The NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll showed the percentage of Americans who believe Bush is 'honest and straightforward' fell to 41 percent from 50 percent in January, while those who say they doubt his veracity climbed to 45 percent from 36 percent."

More from WSJ (free content)

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows how much Mr. Bush's political standing has been weakened as he confronts controversy over a top aide's discussion of a Central Intelligence Agency operative's employment, a Supreme Court vacancy, his Social Security plan and Iraq. Majorities of Americans disapprove of the president's handling of the economy, foreign policy and Iraq. And a plurality rates Mr. Bush negatively on "being honest and straightforward" for the first time in his presidency.

View complete results of the Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. (Adobe Acrobat required.)

Nevertheless, the president continues to benefit from resilient support for the U.S. presence in Iraq even after two years of insurgent attacks.

Think Progress � Was Ari the Other Leaker?

Holy Crap! Now Ari Fleischer's in the picture?

Think Progress � Was Ari the Other Leaker?: "People familiar with the inquiry say Fitzgerald also is reviewing testimony by former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, though it is not clear whether the prosecutor is focusing on him or seeking information about higher-ups. Fleischer last night refused to comment."

Corn on McClellan on Rove

David Corn: "That was for sure. Other reporters took similar swings at McClellan. He just stood there, counting the minutes, perhaps silently trying to convince himself that he was in his happy place and that he was not being beaten into a pulp."

For more and great vid from c-span, see Crooks and Liars.

Why London, Why Now?

Patrick Doherty contends that progressives should focus on climate change and eliminating poverty as the way to fight terrorism. As he points out though, "most people only understand traditional military operations that are designed to destroy or control a given objective."

Why London, Why Now?: "That said, now is the time for progressives to lead and not just wait for Bush. It is imperative that the narrative that emerges from the devastation in London is not one that plays into the hands of Al Qaeda or into the hands of the neocons, as happened after 9/11."

London Under Attack - New York Times: "why the wealthy nations have not done enough about the root causes of terrorism and why Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden continue to function after almost four years of the so-called war on terrorism. Many will wonder why the United States is mired in Iraq while Al Qaeda's leader still roams free."

Blasts will harden all positions even more: "The slaughter in London demonstrates once again that you were right - whatever you thought.

House urges end to liberal bias on Pennsylvania campuses

The right's view of "bias" is anything that criticizes America. Their idea of fair and balanced is inflicting their partisan view on everyone. The idea of making college classrooms "patriotic" is scary. I don't quite understand Rep Cohen's comment. Perhaps it was taken out of context?

House urges end to liberal bias on Pennsylvania campuses: "The group plans to distribute a book called 'Unpatriotic University,' which tells readers that colleges are full of 'anti-American rhetoric, and [shut out] conservative points of view both in classrooms and on speakers' platforms.'

Much of the Pennsylvania bill was borrowed from the Horowitz group's 'academic bill of rights.'

Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Philadelphia, referred to the Horowitz group and said the resolution is just 'an attempt to respond to a national movement. ... We're just trying to fall in line.'"

Attention Wal-Mart shoppers

Some details here about the union fight against Wal-Mart.

When a friend gets attacked, I don't like it

Obviously, everything the President says is calculated. So the President is basically saying to the religious right, "hey, simmer down." But how will Rove keep the religious right from exploding in fury if Bush doesn't appease them? Or, is it all just a smoke screen so they can smuggle in someone who will in fact be extreme but just not appear to be so at first?


G.O.P. Asks Conservative Allies to Cool Rhetoric Over the Court - New York Times: "'Al Gonzales is a great friend of mine. I'm the kind of person, when a friend gets attacked, I don't like it.'"

Bush said he would have no "litmus test" that disqualifies candidates because of their opinions on abortion and gay marriage.

"I'll pick people who, one, can do the job, and people who are honest, people who are bright and people who will strictly interpret the Constitution and not use the bench to legislate from," Bush said.

Lawmakers in Pa. could be 2d in pay

Yet the minimum wage in PA has not risen since...

Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/06/2005 | Lawmakers in Pa. could be 2d in pay: "Lawmakers in Pa. could be 2d in pay

They may approve a 16% raise. For 10 years their salary rose with inflation."

Judicial activism

Unleash the Judges

The libertarian case for judicial activism

Judicial activism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "The phrases 'judicial activism' and 'activist judges' in the United States, Australia, Canada and other countries with common law systems, are political epithets that refer to judges who are alleged to exceed their jurisdiction. A judge is considered activist when he or she uses the power of judicial review to overturn laws or articulate new legal principles without sufficient precedent, especially for purposes of shaping government policy."

British leaving us behind in nurturing of their cities

HoustonChronicle.com - Peirce: British leaving us behind in nurturing of their cities: "'I can't think of one U.S. national politician who mentions cities or urban environment in any meaningful way,' "

Independent World Television |

Wouldn't it be great to have an alternative to FoxNews?

Independent World Television |

The ONE Campaign

Hey whatever works.
The ONE Campaign

Daily Kos: Supreme Court: What You Can Do RIGHT NOW

From Daily Kos. Rumor is Bush may act as soon as Tuesday.

Daily Kos: Supreme Court: What You Can Do RIGHT NOW: "

* Write to the President, telling him he should choose a consensus candidate to replace O'Connor.

* Contact your Senators to tell them the same thing.

If you have any other action items, please post them in the comments below, with links.

Update [2005-7-1 11:33:32 by DavidNYC]: If you have a blog, please post these action items on your site. If you don't, e-mail them to your like-minded buddies and relatives.

Update [2005-7-1 14:57:41 by DavidNYC]: Some more stuff you can do:

* Sign MoveOn's 'Protect Our Rights' petition.

* Contact members of the media and tell them you think Bush should nominate a consensus candidate. PLEASE be polite, be brief (200 words or less), and don't do copy-and-paste jobs - put things in your own words."

to the mattresses

O'connor has resigned, we're going to the mattresses. See Dailykos or MyDD for marching orders and await further instruction.