Well, I'll be hornswoggled

Just quit the job and threw all the old furniture out on the lawn -- I'm rich! Business plan for tomorrow: set up identical blog, cash in all over again.

Via The Poor Man Institute. I'd send a token "thank you" donation, but I see they're even richer than I am so they don't need it. posted by Thomas Nephew at 10:36:00 PM -- |    

 
Department of Imaginative Interviews
The New Yorker interviews Harriet Miers Blog!!!:

TOTT: This appeared in a Times editorial: “Ms. Miers’s record is so thin that no one seems to have any idea of what she believes, and she was clearly chosen because of her close ties to the President, not her legal qualifications.” Care to comment?

Dallasharriet44: Well, did the New York Times pick me? Or did the President of the Entire Country, who DOES know all my qualifications?

Emptywheel interviews Libby/Miller/New York Times "chorus of silence" about Judith Miller's sudden discovery of additional notes about her meetings with Libby, as reported in the New York Observer:

"Robert Bennett, a lawyer for Miller, declined to comment." [Observer -- ed.]

Bennett probably convinced his client that she was going to avoid jail time with her testimony last week. Now he realizes she's got perjury hanging over her head. "Declined to comment."

"Joseph Tate, the lawyer representing Libby, did not return calls seeking comment." [Observer]

Tate probably has already realized Libby wasn't getting off scot-free. But he was probably figuring on a little conspiracy. Just Libby and Rove and, well, not the whole rest of the Administration. Besides, he's been worried all week that Libby's little love letter to Judy would get him an osbtruction charge tacked on. But this--this opens a whole can of worms. Worms he's going to have to think about. "Did not return calls seeking comment."

"Times lawyer George Freeman would not comment." [Observer]

George is wondering whether Art's big steak dinner he bought Judy last Thursday was really worth the investment. Because, well, the NYT's hopes to avoid losing all credibility--or worse? They seem to be disappearing rapidly."Would not comment."

Fafblog interviews God:

FB: So when you told him to Invade Iraq you also told him it was gonna cost thousands of lives, hundreds of billions of dollars, and leave the country ripped apart by sectarian violence, right?
GOD: The thing is, I told him to invade, but I ALSO told him to send in more troops. See, that's the thing of it. We just need more boots on the ground there, Fafnir. [...]

FB: Are you worried about the Draft Superman movement?
GOD: The what? There's no Draft Superman movement.
FB: Sure there is. They got like a blog an everything.
GOD: Huh.

posted by Thomas Nephew at 10:08:00 PM -- |    

 
Amen, Brother Wolcott
James Wolcott preaches Beltway cocktail crowd tribulation times a-comin', and high time, too:

If it looks as if Cheney has to resign and Bush himself enters the Nixon danger zone, we'll hear the same frets and cries from the pundit shows about the country being torn apart and Americans losing faith in their government. But it isn't the country that will be torn apart by Plamegate any more than the country was torn apart during Watergate (which provided daily thrilling news entertainment value that bound citizens together); it's the Washington establishment that will be torn apart. And it should be torn apart. It's failed the country, and it's played by its own rules for too long, and 'criminalizing politics' is exactly what should be done when political criminals deceive a nation into a war with Judith Miller serving as the Angie Dickinson to their Rat Pack and Richard Cohen auditioning for the part of Joey Bishop.

Reliable Washington Post handwringer Richard Cohen -- recently relapsed with a particularly bad case of the galloping stupids -- needn't fret for too long if law professor Jack Balkin is right, though:

If important persons in the Bush Administration are indicted, and there is a significant danger that revelations damaging to the President will surface, don't be surprised if the President uses his ace in the hole-- the pardon power. Some might argue that the President simply wouldn't dare; others will insist that he would be impeached if he tries it. But what the President is likely to do depends on the alternatives if he doesn't act, and remember, the Congress is controlled by members of his own party, not by the opposition as was the case during the Clinton Presidency. This president has a knack for self-preservation; and if the pardon power is the best alternative he has, you can be sure that he will use it.

=====
UPDATE, 10/21: Digby mentions the "criminalizing politics" talking point, too, adding: "Which, by the way, should be met with 'I know. It's terrible. We really need to get the criminals out of politics. Make them sputter and explain what they mean.'" posted by Thomas Nephew at 11:01:00 PM -- |    

 
US homicides of prisoners inadequately investigated
Human Rights First:

More than 100 detainees have died in U.S. custody since 2002, Human Rights First research in a soon to be released report indicates, including 27 cases the Army has to date identified as suspected or confirmed homicides, and at least seven cases in which detainees were tortured to death.
(emphasis added)

An excellent Frontline piece on Tuesday ("The Torture Question") documented once again the high level, systemic roles that people like Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzalez, John Yoo, General Jack Keane and Lt. General Geoffrey Miller played in bringing torture into the U.S. military.*

The Human Rights First report details the flip side of the same problem: the (probably) equally systemic failure to root it out, via inadequate investigations of prisoner abuse and deaths -- sometimes due to interference and foot-dragging by commanders:

• Criminal investigators have failed to interview key witnesses, collect useable evidence, or maintain evidence that could be used for any subsequent prosecution;
• Record keeping has been grossly inadequate, further undermining chances for prosecution;
• Overlapping criminal and administrative investigations instigated by the military have interfered with each other, and compromised chances for accountability;
• Commanders have repeatedly failed to report deaths of detainees in the custody of their command, reported the deaths only after a period of days and sometimes weeks, launched serious investigations only after a case became publicly known, or actively interfered in efforts to pursue investigations.

The full report isn't available yet, but the press release backs up the claims with a few case histories. Here's one:

Obeed Hethere Radad was shot to death on September 11, 2003 in his detention cell in an American forward operating base in Tikrit, Iraq. Radad’s death was not reported for four days. An internal Army review (again, prompted by renewed scrutiny following the revelations of Abu Ghraib) of the resulting criminal and administrative investigations found that the delay prevented the recovery of evidence that would have been needed in any subsequent prosecution: neither the bullet nor the gun was recovered, and no autopsy was conducted. Army Regulations contain scores of pages of detailed procedures on the proper handling and storage of physical evidence.

Prior to the conclusion of the criminal investigation, the soldier accused in the shooting of Radad, Specialist Juba Martino-Poole, sought a military discharge in lieu of a court-martial for manslaughter. Without waiting for criminal investigative agents to conclude their investigation and forward their findings, the suspected soldier’s commander approved the request for discharge. A little more than a week later, criminal investigators found probable cause to charge the soldier who shot Radad with murder. Post-Abu Ghraib reviewers were led to decide against reopening the investigation; Martino-Poole had already been discharged. Martino-Poole later accused his commanders of wanting to avoid disclosure of the lax security practices at the base – practices that would likely have come to light in a court-martial proceeding.

Episodes like this one (or the similar stories out of Afghanistan -- see "Foot dragging and stonewalling in Afghanistan," 5/25/05 -- suggest that the McCain amendment by itself won't be enough to prevent more blots like this one on my country. There will need to be a thorough review of the military, by an independent commission with subpoena power, to do the job hacks like James Schlesinger wouldn't do. And, ultimately, it should include the resignations, trials, and convictions of many of the top brass (and civilians) involved.

Remember, people who can do this once will sooner or later realize they can do it again, and do much more.


=====
* The web site is well worth a visit, with interview transcripts and a roundtable of legal experts on the subject in addition to broadband broadcast of the program itself.
UPDATE, 10/21: Human Rights First has made Army investigation source documents available here.
UPDATE, 10/25: Excerpts from the report -- Broken Chains: Deaths in U.S. Custody in the Global "War on Terrorism" -- here (Acrobat file).
posted by Thomas Nephew at 9:41:00 PM -- |    

 
That's one way of putting it
The Washington Post's main page intro to Top Aides Talked Before Plame's Cover Revealed (Jim VandeHei, Carol Leonnig):

Rove told grand jury Libby may have been source in CIA leak case, further undermining White House's contention that neither man was involved.

"Titanic passengers reported the ship had sunk, further undermining prospects of finding it afloat." posted by Thomas Nephew at 12:15:00 PM -- |    

 
Great documents of American history
The Declaration of Independence... the Bill of Rights... the Gettysburg Address... Brown v. Board of Education... Tom DeLay's arrest warrant:

THE STATE OF TEXAS

TO ANY SHERIFF OR PEACE OFFICER OF THE STATE OF TEXAS; GREETINGS:
YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED TO ARREST:
THOMAS DALE DELAY [...]

...upon an indictment pending in said court charging him with the offense of

CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY
MONEY LAUNDERING>=$100K /

HEREIN FAIL NOT, but due return make hereof to this court as the law directs.

Provided by the Daily DeLay.



=====
BONUS BLAST FROM THE PAST, 10/21: The June 2, 2005 New Republic "NOTES" section joined Tim Russert and scores of other windbags tut-tutting about Howard Dean, who had said "I think Tom DeLay ought to go back to Houston, where he can serve his jail sentence down there courtesy of the Texas taxpayers," and "Now, the question is,where is this going to end up? I think there's a reasonable chance that this may end up in jail." Gotta say, Dean's looking golden there. But TNR wagged its editorial finger, droning: Maybe. But it's hardly the DNC chair's place to be making predictions about what a judge and a jury might decide--especially since DeLay hasn't actually been indicted!

My goodness gracious, that very nasty man Dean -- daring to venture a reasonable guess or two about a sworn enemy of nearly everything he ought to stand for! At any rate, Tim, Martin: is it completely OK with you to make some tentative predictions now? Bearing in mind, of course, that all suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law -- which many of them will be. Via me. posted by Thomas Nephew at 11:07:00 PM -- |    

 
Specialty blogwatch
This is just a quick survey of recent posts from some of the interesting, specialized blogs I read now and then from my "specialty" blogroll -- maybe you'll start reading one or the other of them, too.

Schneier on Security -- Those tiny little yellow dots you never noticed? They're Secret Forensic Codes in Color Laser Printers: Many color laser printers embed secret information in every page they print, basically to identify you by. Here, the EFF has cracked the code of the Xerox DocuColor series of printers.

Mystery Pollster -- Getting Past the Noise: Bush Slide Continues (10/19/2005): The bottom line: the President's approval has fallen all year, declining about 1% every month since January. But since August we've seen a sharper drop. Call it the "Katrina effect."

Lunar Development -- Shall McArthur return?: "Russia has met all the engagements on transferring NASA employees to the ISS. Formally, we even do not have to return McArthur to the Earth," Russia’s space agency Roskosmos senior official Alexey Krasnov said. [Moscownews.com] Karen Cramer writes that the story is connected to the Iran Non-proliferation Agreement as well.

Savage Minds -- No more "Bushmen of the Kalahari." Bushmen expelled from Homeland: All but a few of the Bushmen living in Botswana’s Central Kalahari Game Reserve have been forcibly removed from their homes in recent days in what spokesmen for the affected communities said is a final push by the government to end human habitation there after tens of thousands of years. [Washington Post, 10/10/2005] ... Before forced removals started in the late 90s, there were over 2,000 Bushmen living there.

The Panda's Thumb -- Covering the "intelligent design" case in Pennsylvania with Waterloo in Dover: The Kitzmiller v. DASD case: The defense needs to defeat the plaintiffs’ arguments concerning both the purpose and the effect of the “intelligent design” policy. For the second, they are most likely to try to convince Judge Jones that “intelligent design”, and specifically the policy adopted by the DASD, are scientific in character, and thus have a place in the science curriculum regardless of any secondary effect they might have in the way of having implications for religious belief.

DASD is the Dover Area School District, which is trying to enforce 'intelligent design' teaching in biology classes. The post is now updated with new developments every couple of days or so as the case proceeds.

RealClimate -- Global Warming On Earth discusses the latest NASA Goddard Institute surface temperature data analysis: The 2005 Jan-Sep land data (which is adjusted for urban biases) is higher than the previously warmest year (0.76°C compared to the 1998 anomaly of 0.75°C for the same months, and a 0.71°C anomaly for the whole year) , while the land-ocean temperature index (which includes sea surface temperature data) is trailing slightly behind (0.58°C compared to 0.60°C Jan-Sep, 0.56°C for the whole of 1998).

Chris Mooney -- Henry Waxman (D-CA-30) is Busy, busy on a number of Bush vs. science fronts, including avian flu, misinformation about sexual health on a government web site, and the ongoing Plan B "morning after pill" fiasco at the FDA. On the latter: The chronology ends with yet another resignation: that of Frank Davidoff, a former FDA advisory committee member who voted for the approval of Plan B and who wrote, "I can no longer associate myself with an organization that is capable of making such an important decision so flagrantly on the basis of political influence, rather than the scientific and clinical evidence.” (link added)

Blogrel -- Return to Gyumri: What lessons could Pakistan learn from Armenia’s sputtering reconstruction process, which, 17 years later, has 3,500 families in the city still living in “temporary accommodation” - a euphemism for shacks, metal containers and disused railway wagons? [Guardian]

Effect Measure -- You can't stop a wrecking ball in mid-swing: As state and local health departments gear up to battle a possible avian flu outbreak, they face a sharp cut in funding from the Department of Health and Human Services. However, the loss could be fixed through funds intended to cover the costs of controlling a pandemic, added as an amendment to the 2006 Defense Department Appropriations bill. posted by Thomas Nephew at 10:01:00 PM -- |    

 
And run like a thief
This is just a "bookmark" post, one that mainly serves to save a link to a particularly good insight, rather than adding much of anything of my own.

Mark Schmitt ("The Decembrist") has a way of taking a story you think you "get" and showing you how much more there is to it -- and how you "got" that, too, without realizing it. In a post from a couple of weeks ago, "Pump and Dump Politics," it's about Frist's "blind trust" stock dump. Schmitt points out that Frist was aware of the decaying financial situation of his father's company; uninsured hospital vists were rising faster than insured ones -- a fact with a certain political background::

But when the uninsured ratio goes up, and Frist actually knows that this will affect his own portfolio, paradoxically his reaction isn't what the normal conflict-of-interest analysis would assume. Rather than use his official power to reduce the number of uninsured, he takes a private action, and just dumps the stock. And not just any stock, this is his patrimony he's selling out. It's the stock of his own family's company. But he washes his hands of it. Leaves it to some bigger sucker.

Schmitt defines "pump and dump" as "the practice of talking up a stock or making earnings appear high, then selling just before the inherent weaknesses in the company become apparent," and continues:

Investors as well as executives don't look at a company as something to build for the long term; they need to beat their numbers in the current quarter. And for the most part they assume that by the time things get tough, they'll be out. The insiders will bail out before the suckers; the CEO will move on to some other company. Or, if worst comes to worst, he'll retire with a nice package guaranteeing health care, use of the company plane for life, and a nice package of stock to sell when someone else turns the company around. [...]

And what is our political culture except another version of pump and dump? Everything from war to tax policy to energy policy to the Medicare bill is a short-term effort to boost the president's political stock, with the long-term costs left to some bigger sucker.

Emphasis added. posted by Thomas Nephew at 7:50:00 PM -- |    

 
Then why deny it?
Writing about the staged soldier teleconference with the President last week, Stryker ("digitalwarfighter") argues "Of course it was staged":

The press has played along with these charades for just as long without ever showing the general public the Man Behind the Curtain, so I’m trying to figure out what the big deal is supposed to be. [...]

It’s a fairly symbiotic relationship whose inner-workings are rarely revealed to the general public, but those who’ve had the opportunity to take a peak behind the curtain get to see just how cozy the relationship between the allegedly free press and our government really is, which is why the shock expressed by the press with this latest bit of PR seems a bit feigned.

And of course he's right, as far as the press goes. But while it may not be news to bloggers or daily news readers -- let alone the press corps -- that the Bush administration stages its little events with the president, the illusion of "spontaneity" and "reality" is clearly important to the stagers. Otherwise why would Allison Barber (the PR flack from the Pentagon who coached the soldiers) and Scott McClellan deny the event was staged?

In one sense, yes, it's old news; White House creates fake photo op or an illusory meeting with carefully selected voters. Even the president calls it "catapulting the propaganda." What's different this time isn't just the feigned press shock, but the response it got from the fakers. The illusion of reality really matters to the White House -- more than the reality of reality does, and even when the illusion is proven for all to see. posted by Thomas Nephew at 12:01:00 PM -- |