mondrian’s neon fantod

Unless, of course, they’re CIA operatives. Then they’re fair game for ratting out in the name of lame-ass partisan politics. And that, my friends, is the level of hypocrisy that we’re dealing with. The good news, though, is that Former agents criticize Bush over CIA leak. In other words, the disgust is continuing to grow despite their attempts to knock this disgrace off the front page.

Hey! Look! A chunk of the actual testimony! (scroll down a bit). And perhaps the best lines:

There is a very serious message here. Before you shine up your American flag lapel pin and affix your patriotism to your sleeve, think about what the impact your actions will have on the security of the American people. Think about whether your partisan obfuscation is creating confidence in the United States in general and the CIA in particular. If not, a true patriot would shut up.

or, more to the point:

When this unprecedented act first occurred, the president could have immediately demanded the resignation of all persons even tangentially involved. Or, at a minimum, he could have suspended the security clearances of these persons and placed them on administrative leave. Such methods are routine with police forces throughout the country. That would have at least sent the right message around the globe, that we take the security of those risking their lives on behalf of the United States seriously. Instead, we have flooded the foreign airwaves with two years of inaction, political rhetoric, ignorance, and partisan bickering. That’s the wrong message. In doing so we have not lessened, but increased the threat to the security and safety of the people of the United States.

Ok. By posting this I’m contributing to the “Pay no attention to the leaker behind the curtain” push. But I mentioned it before (pre-DB eating, so I can’t link back to it) but the bozos in congress are extending Daylight Savings Time “to conserve oil.” Because that’s the smart way to conserve. Effing with our circadian rhythms more rather than, oh, passing legislation to force SUVs to meet certain minimum fuel efficiency requirements or being more active in pursuing alternative energy sources or countless other, smarter moves.

And the key benefits of all this monkeying with time are so cleverly outlined by the bill’s sponsors:

“The beauty of daylight-saving time is that it just makes everyone feel sunnier.” - Rep. Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts

Can I just say “Shut the fuck up, you absolute twit,” here? Less trite, but just as annoying…

[Rep. Fred Upton, R-Michigan] noted that the extension means daylight-saving time will continue through Halloween, adding to safety. “Kids across the nation will soon rejoice,” said Upton, because they’ll have another hour of daylight trick-or-treating.

I personally enjoyed trick-or-treating in the dark. It made it scarier. Like Halloween is supposed to be. I suppose the upside, limited though it may be, is that he actually called it Halloween rather than opting for “Fall Fest” to appease the fundies.

The Washington Post is reporting that Valerie Plame’s identity was marked as secret after all.

A classified State Department memorandum central to a federal leak investigation contained information about CIA officer Valerie Plame in a paragraph marked “(S)” for secret, a clear indication that any Bush administration official who read it should have been aware the information was classified, according to current and former government officials.

and just a couple of paragraphs down:

Anyone reading that paragraph should have been aware that it contained secret information, though that designation was not specifically attached to Plame’s name and did not describe her status as covert, the sources said. It is a federal crime, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a federal official to knowingly disclose the identity of a covert CIA official if the person knows the government is trying to keep it secret.

I guess Kooky Karl can’t read very well. Perhaps he’d be better off with someone reading his rights to him?

Bush lowers the bar. Are you surprised? Of course you’re not.

So when your self-righteous fascists friends start saying “Rove didn’t break the law! Rove didn’t break the law!” just point out that legalistic hair-splitting was a trait they found repugnant in the Clinton administration and ask them not to be hypocrites any longer. At the very least, it’ll be worth it to see their faces turn blue when you make it clear that “the straight shooting” Bush is just as much of a weasel as they believed Clinton to be.

Former Presidential legal counsel John W. Dean spells out an interesting legal case against Karl Rove that doesn’t hinge on some ridiculous “I didn’t say her name!” arguement in this article published today at FindLaw.

This is brilliant. Genuinely, honestly brilliant. I’ve provided an excerpt, but you really should go read the whole thing.

The triumph of the Constitution as an act of political engineering is that it found a balanced sweet spot between these two extremes by designing a system in which power was spread out enough to quell (most of) that generation’s fears of concentration of power, but not so much so as to render government ineffectual. The rather ingenious system they devised is one in which the government can move expeditiously when there is broad consensus to do so (e.g., after Pearl Harbor), but hardly at all when there is not (e.g., Social Security ‘reform’). It thus institutionalizes a split between the two unhappy extremes of George III and the Articles of Confederation. It is worth taking a moment to examine how this works, not just to admire the handicraft of the Founders, but also to fully appreciate the danger signals flashing red today.

Again, go read it already.

but hope springs eternal, no? You can, of course, sign a petition on this matter, if you want to.

More good links:

• The Real Rove Scandal
• White House Stonewalls on Rove Scandal