Madness! Madness! Madness!

[BlogBox]

Who's the biggest Dick in America? Whatever happened to the Axis of Evil? Why does it feel like 1999 again? Why does Toensing keep tonguing the bad guys? Who's that short bald guy Al Gore's been seen with? Plus, which DUers deserve thanks for doing it best this week? Enjoy!

The Biggest Dick In America

Of course, everyone knows who it is. And what he's done. Swiftboating is his forte, but verifiable timelines are difficult to freep, aren't they? Margie Burns (at the Brad Blog) has put together a nifty timeline of Wilson/Plame smear attempts that began more than a month before Ambassador Joseph Wilson's op-ed was published.

• May 29, 2003 – Libby calls Marc Grossman, then an Under Secretary in the State Department, asking how and why Joe Wilson was sent to Niger about uranium.


• "late May and early June, 2003" according to Grossman's testimony --- Grossman gives oral interim reports to Libby that Wilson was the ambassador who went to Niger (mentioned but not named in a May 6 NYTimes piece by Nicholas Kristof, "Missing in Action: Truth").


• June 9, 2003, according to Grossman's testimony – Grossman had a conversation with Wilson, who was "upset" about Condoleezza Rice's claim the day before on Meet the Press that the White House was unaware of doubts about the Niger uranium story. (In his book, Wilson says this conversation "elicited the suggestion that I might have to write the story myself"; he got in touch with the NYTimes the same day. p.332.)


• June 9, 2003 – classified documents from CIA are faxed to the Office of the Vice President to Libby and colleague John Hannah, mentioning the Wilson trip but not naming Wilson.


• June 10, 2003 – a classified State Department memo written by State's Bureau of Intelligence & Research (INR) gives Grossman the background on Wilson's Niger trip, refers explicitly to Valerie Wilson as Wilson's wife and "a CIA WMD manager." The memo also strongly debunks the Niger uranium story.

Be sure to read the rest. It's eye-opening (and that eye is focused on Iran), to say the least.

Iran? EEEviiiiL. Just like Iraq. And North Korea. Bush called them the axis thereof, didn't he? This week, we learn that those three countries are actually...

The Axis Of Not So Evil After All

We all know now how that eeeviiil Iraq intelligence was bogus, and now Josh Marshall has the "not so evil" 411 on North Korea. Add that to Tom Paine's excellent info on the bogus Iran intelligence, and what do you get? A whole lot of BushCo nada.

Wake Me When 1999 Is Over. Again.

Clinton/Obama v Obama/Clinton via Dowd & Arianna + Bradley, Edwards and Geffen, anyone? Confused? Let The Daily Howler explain why this whole Dems eating Dems is ridiculous.

It's a nightmare, isn't it? Speaking of nightmares, Eli (at firedoglake) has posted the definitive expose on our sorry-assed American media machine.

Why am I so positive that propping up Republicans is more important than ratings? Two words: Jeff Gannon. The Bush administration allowed a right-wing male prostitute with no journalistic credentials into the White House press corps. Said male prostitute posted explicit pictures and, ah, "client" testimonials on his website, made numerous solo visits to the White House, some of them possibly overnight, and no-one cared. And more recently, the #3 guy at the CIA was indicted in a prostitution scandal, and no-one cared. When was the last time the media voluntarily passed up a good sex scandal when Republicans weren't involved? No, ratings are simply an excuse to flood the zone with frivolous distractions, blotting out stories that are inconvenient, and pumping up any Democratic missteps like the Clinton-Obama fracas. Here's Howie Kurtz in last week's WaPo chat session, doing a really unconvincing job of selling the ratings excuse:

In a Pew survey, 61 percent say the Anna Nicole saga is being overcovered, but 11 percent say they are following it very closely. Cable is catering to that 11 percent…. In cable, you only need an extra half-million or million viewers to produce a serious spike in the ratings, and that's why Anna Nicole, nearly two weeks after her death, is still sucking up plenty of cable oxygen.

Got that? Only 11% of America still gives a shit about the Anna Nicole saga and 61% want it to just go away, but somehow catering to that 11% is supposed to be a savvy ratings strategy. Riiiiight. It's. A. Smokescreen.

Oh, by the way... Dowd has jumped head first into the cesspool again. According to Media Matters, Maureen Dowd instigated (or invented?) the David Geffen- rooted Hollywood rift between Clinton and Obama.

Before The Oscars, There Was... The Gore The Media Ignored

Now, this is inspiration. From Daily Kos:

Oscar preview, Al Gore rescued Katrina victims Sep 2005 - AP
by joan reports

See this, before the Oscar hoopla.


Award nominee Vice-President Al Gore chartered a rescue plane in early Sept. 2005 and flew to New Orleans to medEvac 100s of patients from Charity Hospital and bring them to Tennessee. Gore declined interviews while he was shuttling the evacuees that Saturday and for a 2nd return flight he made on Sunday, but the doctors who flew with him talked about the experience.

Gore had to work around a sequential blockade by FEMA, which naturally denied his team permissions, repeatedly.

Bush looked out of his Air Force One window. Gore took action. Any questions?

As for that "Oscar Hoopla and Gore's utility bill" crapfest... Skull/Bones thoroughly debunks "The Tennessee Center for Releasing a Press Release about Al Gore's Utility Bill." You're correct, Skull/Bones. The operative word here is "Ugh." Gee, that word also serves as a great response to...

Dick Cheney & Honor

You're kidding, right? The words Cheney and honor in the same breath? Scarecrow (at firedoglake) explains why Cheney's Nixonian "complete the Iraq mission with honor" crap is... well, crap, especially when you consider Scarecrow begins the post with this:


Read the rest. It's a keeper.

Cue That Law & Order Pizzicato!

Savannah Guthrie, blogging at Court TV, posted this little bit of fluff while the jury deliberated:

Top five things you won't hear at the Scooter Libby trial

"I'm going to get you some juice."
"Shoot leather now."
"Relax, Texas."
"That baby is in a cold, cold storage room."
"The tree stays strong."

Okay, okay. Taking shots at Judge Larry Seidlin, currently "presiding" over the Anna Nicole Smith hearing, is like taking candy from a baby. But watching the Anna Nicole hearing sure makes me appreciate the decorum of Judge Reggie B. Walton, who is handling the Libby trial.

Meanwhile, Junkiness (satire at its finest) showed us the crying Florida guy under the robes:

Judge Larry Had a Bad Day

As you've no doubt heard by now, while awarding the remains of Anna Nicole Smith to her lawyer yesterday, Judge Larry Seidlin broke down and cried.

"She had to live all of her years under this kind of exposure. I just get a week and a half of it and it's ready to flatten me down," said Seidlin.

Things only got worse for Seidlin. Upon hearing that his favorite basketball team, the New Jersey Nets, failed to trade star Vince Carter, the judge weeped, "The team is going nowhere and we could have gotten something of value for Vince who we all know will file for free agency at the end of the year. My heart is shattered!"

Then, later last night, when Judge Seidlin seemed to have recovered, word broke of Rudy Cardenas' elimination from American Idol. Seidlin took the news hard: "God fucking damn it!" he cried. "Rudy doesn't deserve this treatment! He belongs up there with Chris and Sanjaya and Brandon. Not Sundance, though! Sundance is a talentless clown and I hate him!"

All Seidlin aside, the Libby trial tensions finally trumped the Anna Nicole courtroom circus this week when Judge Walton dismissed a juror and the defense waived its right to demand a replacement. Hm. Either the fix is already in, or that lone remaining alternate wouldn't be to Wells' liking. Of course, online speculation zeroed in on Victoria Toensing's hit piece (see last week's Blog Box) as the likely "media influence" which could've caused a mistrial. Media Matters has debunked Toensing's long-time BushCo lap dance 17 ways to Sunday...

Results: Tagged with Victoria Toensing

Sort by: Latest Items Video Clips Audio Clips

· Toensing offered false defense of Bush's warrantless surveillance program
Friday, January 20, 2006 2:37PM

· Toensing "called in" to CNN, falsely equated Clinton's searches in Ames case with Bush wiretapping
Thursday, December 22, 2005 5:49PM

· In WSJ op-ed, Toensing revisited familiar Plame falsehoods
Thursday, November 3, 2005 6:54PM

· Conservative media figures repeated false claim that Libby indictment proved no "underlying crime" was committed
Monday, October 31, 2005 6:52PM

· On imbalanced Hardball panel, Toensing repeated Plame investigation falsehoods and distortions
Thursday, October 13, 2005 6:11PM

· Victoria Toensing used falsehoods, half-truths to defend GOP obstruction of Clinton's judicial nominees
Friday, May 20, 2005 8:01PM

· Victoria Toensing failed to disclose friendship with "No Disclosure" Novak in Wash. Post op-ed
Friday, January 14, 2005 4:29PM

...Of course, all the debunking in the world doesn't seem to stop Victoria Toensing's wingnut tonsil tonguing.

Thank A DUer!

While waiting for the Libby Verdict, we learned that the jury had requested a flip chart, post-it notes, and some masking tape. Botany posted:

Either Libby is cooked or they are going to make some...

And after the judge in the Libby "leak"/perjury/obstruction trial sent a juror home, jollyreaper2112 posted:

was this an intentional strategy of the defense?

Would be appropriate, in a trial for leaking they would leak info to a juror to taint the jury.

Thanks to IanDB1 for posting that GOPNewsBlog.com has left the blogospheric building due to lack of interest (trans. lack of financial support).

And a Big Time thanks to SoCalDem for linking to Dudehisattva, one of the funniest blogs in ages! Here's a snippet from 02/23/07:

Meanwhile, in Washington, the White House appeared to be breathlessly anticipating the outcome of the Scooter Libby perjury trial. In a surprise move early this morning the jury sent a note to Judge Reggie Walton requesting to speak with Vice President Dick Cheney, who had been expected to testify. They also requested that Libby be placed in temporary custody over fears that he might become a flight risk prior to the conclusion of their deliberations. Walton admonished the jury over the request for the audience with the vice president stating that it was legally inappropriate, but granted the request for the detention of Libby.

Many in Washington feel that the outcome of the Libby trial represents a symbolic judgment over the Bush administration's making of the case for war in Iraq. The trial itself has subjected the administration's machinations in the lead up to the war in Iraq to embarrassing public exposure. President Bush famously, at the time, insisted that anyone in the administration leaking the identity of Valerie Plame would be dismissed. The president has since refused to comment, stating that the trial is ongoing, but has repeatedly assured the public that he has taken a personal hand into the issue of leaking at the White House.

As of this writing, we're still waiting for the Libby verdict. We're also still waiting for some freakin' justice to whack the entire BushCo regime. Sigh.

Finally, thanks to Tyler Durden for this sigline graphic:


Thanks, DUers!

So many questions, so little time. Got any questions you want answered by smart, snarky bloggers? Be sure to send them in, along with those great blog links. Even if you already know the answer to all of the questions about the motives of Republican'ts, this week's questions could all be answered by quoting Libby prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald: "Madness! Madness! Madness!" Of course, it takes a sane person to recognize BushCo madness, doesn't it?

[kimmerspixelated]

1. Wow Just Wow!

Welcome to DU!:hi:

[SlowDownFast]

2. Excellent! K&R!

Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[tech3149]

3. There's tons of good people out there

and I'd say you qualify. Thanks for a great weekly news roundup and welcome to DU!

[mzmolly]

4. A pleasure to recommend and welcome you to DU.

:hi:

[Elidor]

5. Good stuff

Thanks for the roundup.