1 Boring Old Man

When we look back on it and wonder where Cheney’s fall began, it’s probably going to go back to a time about four years ago right before we invaded Iraq. That’s when he had a chance to abort the mission. He was the only one around who’d been involved with a war before, albeit short – the only one mature enough to know what would happen. But that’s just a fantasy. He’s also the one that had brought the cry of war along with him, from the halls of the oil companies and the think tanks where he and his friends had spent eight years being sick together.

Four years ago, he was a believed person – pontificating in a voice several decibels lower than most. In early 2003, he could have stopped them short – instead he fanned the flames. Within a few months of his war’s inception, he was having war council meetings with his Chief of Staff, not about Iraq, but about covering his tracks as the fabled WMD’s failed to materialize. It wasn’t going well, and some hot dog Ambassador was throwing tacks in the road. He had another chance to do the right thing, but it was too late. He couldn’t take the criticism, so he spit back with dirty tricks and talking points.

He’s still talking with his deep voice like someone on high, but the sound of a crash is beginning to break through and slowly building in volume. Next week, he might get lucky and dodge a bullet, or maybe not. But that sound of cracking stone is getting louder and louder, and becoming more and more inevitable. We’re definitely beyond the end of the beginning. We have probably passed the beginning of the end. And we may be even closer to hearing the crashing finale than we yet know…

Little Rock Schools Freed From Court

Little Rock’s school district has been freed from federal supervision, a half-century after a defiant governor’s refusal to allow nine black students into an all-white Central High sparked one of the biggest crises of the civil rights era.

U.S. District Judge William R. Wilson Jr. issued a ruling Friday that found that the district was substantially complying with a 1998 desegregation plan worked out in the 27,000-student district.

Little Rock, which now has a black-majority school board, was satisfactorily evaluating its academic programs in the effort to improve achievement on blacks, the ruling found.

In 1957, President Eisenhower dispatched the 101st Airborne to enforce a U.S. Supreme Court order striking down segregation after Gov. Orval Faubus tried to prevent black students from enrolling at Central High.

Fifty years is a long time – most of my conscious life. Fifty years before that, Henry Ford introduced the Model-T Ford, and people put aside their horse drawn buggies. But I remember this fifty-years-ago. It wasn’t a dull page in a history book, or a period piece in Wikipedia, it was part of my actual life growing up in the segregated South. And not much later, there were riots in my own little downtown about who could eat at the five and dime lunch counters.

The President was a General Eisenhower, "Ike," a real hero who had saved America and the world from evil. His Vice President was Dick Nixon [hero? not so much]. Eisenhower had appointed Earl Warren to the Supreme Court. Conservative Earl Warren had a change of heart, and sherherded Brown versus the Board of Education and the Miranda rulings, among others. Eisenhower rued the day that he had appointed Warren, but he enforced the Supreme Court’s rulings, and he went to war with the Governors who tried to stop the integration of the southern schools. When he left office, he made a speech, warning us of the dangers of the Military-Industrial Complex, something he’d helped to create during the Cold War.

So, here we sit, some of us agonizing over the sorry state of our country. We’re off fighting a failed war of conquest in Mesopotamia for our big Model-Ts’ fuel. There’s a resurgence of ancient Middle Eastern religions. Gated Communities surround us like Feudal Walled Cities and a lot of kids either go to "academies" or stay home for school.. And, by the way, it’s getting pretty hot. Reckon it’s the Model-Ts?

It’s not much worse now than it was back in 1957 [or even in 1907]. But it’s not a hell of a lot better either…

CIA leak jury recesses for weekend

Jurors deliberated a third day Friday without reaching a verdict on whether former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby obstructed the investigation into who leaked the identity of a CIA operative married to a prominent Iraq war critic.

After 2 1/2 days of deliberations over the fate of Vice President Dick Cheney ‘s former chief of staff, the eight women and four men went home until Monday.

In addition to obstruction of the leak investigation, Libby is charged with lying to the FBI and a grand jury about how he learned about and whom he told about CIA operative Valerie Plame.

US rejects ban on cluster bombs

The United States on Friday rejected an international call to abandon the use of cluster bombs, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

"We … take the position that these munitions do have a place and a use in military inventories, given the right technology as well as the proper rules of engagement," McCormack said.

Forty-six countries meeting in Oslo on Friday pledged to seek a treaty banning cluster bombs by next year, with major user and stockpiler Britain and manufacturer France signing on, Norway said.

"We, ourselves, have already taken a couple of other steps with regard to technical upgrades to cluster munitions, as well as looking very closely at the rules of engagement, how they are used," said McCormack.

"So it is something that over the course of the years we have looked at very closely. We have taken very seriously the international discussion with respect to the threat posed by unexploded ordnance to innocent civilians," he said.

Japan, Poland and Romania refused to sign the accord, while key nations such as Israel and the United States did not take part in the conference.

Cheney Reiterates Criticism of House Speaker Pelosi

Vice President Cheney today repeated his charge that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s approach toward the Iraq war would benefit al-Qaeda, saying that he was not trying to impugn the speaker’s patriotism but instead hold her accountable for the consequences of her policies.

Continuing a feud that broke out earlier in the week, Cheney said that Democratic proposals to restrict some Iraq war funding — what he dubbed the "Pelosi policy" — would amount to a broad validation of al-Qaeda efforts to undermine America’s will to fight.

Cheney initially raised that criticism on Wednesday, prompting Pelosi (D-Calif.) to ask the White House to repudiate remarks she felt were "beneath the dignity of the debate" over how to proceed in Iraq.

But in a new interview with ABC television on Friday, Cheney said that patriotism had nothing to do with his comments. Instead, he charged Democrats were trying to win public support by criticizing the war without taking responsibility for the repercussions.

"She accused me of questioning her patriotism. I didn’t question her patriotism. I questioned her judgment," Cheney said during a trip to Australia.

"If you are going to advocate a course of action that basically is withdrawal of our forces from Iraq, then you don’t get to just do the fun part of that, that says, well we’re going to get out and appeal to your constituents on that basis. You have to be accountable for the results…

"The point I made and I’ll make it again is that al-Qaeda functions on the basis that they think they can break our will. . . . That if they can kill enough Americans or cause enough havoc, create enough chaos in Iraq, then we’ll quit and go home… If we adopt the Pelosi policy, that then we will validate the strategy of al-Qaeda. I said it and I meant it."

Isn’t Vice President Cheney just a peach of a fellow? When he said, "I think in fact if we were to do what Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are suggesting, all we’ll do is validate the al Qaeda strategy, the al Qaeda strategy is to break the will of the American people," he wasn’t saying that she was unpatriotic. He was saying that she was a fool person with bad judgement. And today, he clarifed things even further. "…he was not trying to impugn the speaker’s patriotism but instead hold her accountable for the consequences of her policies."

Frankly, listening the Vice President Cheney talk about accountability for policies just makes my blood boil. I could spend the rest of my day ranting about Cheney hiding from accountability for his own @&$*$%^#%$!-ing policies. But, alas, I don’t have time. I’m too busy sitting quietly, waiting for the Jury to come in on the Libby Trial [with my fingers crossed, throwing salt over my left shoulder] in hopes they will convict Mr. Cheney’s Chief of Staff and open the door to some heavy-duty accountability for the Office of the Vice President and the consequences of his @&$*$%^#%$!-ing  policies…

 

Dear Friend,

Dick Cheney is still linking Democrats with terrorist priorities.

During a press interview in Tokyo, the vice president said, "’I think if we were to do what Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are suggesting, all we will do is validate the al-Qaida strategy… The al-Qaida strategy is to break the will of the American people … try to persuade us to throw in the towel and come home, and then they win because we quit."

What is it that Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are really suggesting? Stopping the escalation. Changing the course. Bringing our brave young men and women home.

That’s not breaking the will of the American people — it’s representing it.

I’ve never been more committed to building a Democratic Party that will put an end to this sort of nonsense once and for all. In all 50 states, we’re building an infrastructure to combat smears just like this. If you’re as fired up as I am, channel it into something constructive.

Donate to the Democratic Party and show Dick Cheney that his insults only make us stronger…

Sitting here twidling my thumbs with web sites spread all over my new 22" Wide Screen Monitor waiting for the Libby Trial Jury to come in, and I hear the "you’ve got mail" ding. It’s one of the send money messages that gets interspersed between the entreaties to enhance my maleness with mis-spelled medications.

But, with nothing else to do, I read it. I like the message. The Democrats are finally beginning to pick up on the Talking Points quickly, reacting to the spin. Good job, Mr. John Dean’s copywriter…

A Nonpartisan Reputation at Stake
For Prosecutor, Libby Verdict May Mean Vindication or Political Taint

By Carol D. Leonnig

Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 23, 2007

When the jury in I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby’s perjury trial returns with its verdict, its decision also will intensify the debate over whether Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald should have brought the case in the first place.

For Fitzgerald, who has led the CIA leak investigation for more than three years, an acquittal for Vice President Cheney’s former chief of staff would be a blow to a reputation as a nonpartisan prosecutor with a record of high-profile successes. Some say it would vindicate critics who think Fitzgerald went too far by charging Libby with perjury when no one was indicted for the original offense investigated, the leak of an undercover CIA officer’s name.

"The stakes are enormously high," said Robert Mintz, a former federal prosecutor and now a defense lawyer. If Fitzgerald loses this case, Mintz said, "some will say he lost his way in his search for truth, just another case of a prosecutor who sets off and thinks they can’t come back unless they have a prosecution, no matter how trivial."

But several lawyers monitoring the trial as spectators say Fitzgerald has presented a compelling case that the government had a duty to bring.

A federal court jury began deliberating Wednesday about whether Libby intentionally lied about his conversations with reporters and his role in disclosing the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame in the summer of 2003.

Fitzgerald’s investigation shined a spotlight on Cheney’s strong interest in rebutting a war critic, the White House’s case for war with Iraq, the conduct of top officials and the Washington press corps.

There’s a general rumble that Patrick Fitzgerald with a reputation for being non-partisan, has turned partisan by bringing this case to trial – particularly the limited case of lying to the Grand Jury. They interpret his passion in his closing argument as partisan as well.

What the hell is partisan about the truth? He was very clear in announcing the indictment and in his closing argument. His investigation could not get to the truth because the people, at least one of the people, Scooter Libby, wouldn’t tell the truth. In his investigation, he ran up against roadblock after roadblock with reporters who didn’t want to talk. He hacked away at them, sending one of them to prison, to get their testimony. When an Administration Official that was key to the case lied repeatedly. Fitzgerald charged him with lying. What’s partisan about that? The guy’s just doing his job.

I’m partisan. Jane Hamsher is partisan. Nancy Pelosi is partisan. We partisan types would’ve been glad if he’d charged the entire Executive Branch of the government with high treason, but he’s not that kind of guy. Patrick Fitzgerald is a Federal Prosecutor with an investigation handed to him by the Justice Department. And sure, my partisan self hopes he wins with Scooter Libby like he did with Judith Miller, Matt Cooper, Tim Russert, etc. There’s a truth that needs finding. He’s still got a job to do…

are just not worth thinking about. Take Anna Nicole Smith’s death and related matters. I didn’t know her personally. I didn’t know her as a celebrity in anything that’s in my world. If I’m going to follow deaths, I’ll stick to the kids dying in Iraq.

But, among those things not worth thinking about, what Joe Lieberman does or does not do is moving top of the list. I live in the reddest of states. We have two Senators, Johnny Isaakson and Saxby Chambliss who are brain dead Republicans. When I get appeals, "Write your Senator!", I don’t. Because what I get back is a position statement that gives me a headache. So, formerly, what my own Senators do has been on the top of my don’t think about it list. But now, I’m elevating Joe Lieberman and his party hopping teasers to the top. Hop. don’t hop.

What Joe does is his business. Not mine.