Alito

I wake up and turn on the computer to get some news, only to find out that the President has nominated a hard right, radical extremist to the Supreme Court of the United States.

I have to get to work, but a couple of things: 1. In 1991 he was the only dissenting voice in a 3rd Circuit ruling striking down a Pennsylvania law that required women to notify their husbands if they planned to get an abortion; and 2. Legal experts consider the 55-year-old Alito so ideologically similar to Justice Antonin Scalia that he has earned the nickname "Scalito."

A more in-depth essay later, but even at first glance this seems easy. This nomination should be filibustered.

The Weekend Starts Here

It's fall. Throw on a sweater and take a nice walk over the movie theatre. On my list of "must sees"-

"The Night of the Hunter" -This little-known classic from 1955 stars Robert Mitchum and Shelley Winters and has been re-released in select markets.

"Good Night and Good Luck"

"Paradise Now" -What drives people to commit terrorism? This movie is supposed to offer some timely answers.

Happy Friday.

Cheney Knew

From page 5 of the Libby indictment:

On or about June 12, 2003, LIBBY was advised by the Vice President of the United States that Wilson's wife worked at the Central Intelligence Agency in the Counterproliferation Divison. LIBBY understood that the Vice President had learned this information from the CIA.

Josh Marshall takes it from there:

This is a crucial piece of information. The Counterproliferation Division (CPD) is part of the CIA's Directorate of Operations, i.e., not the Directorate of Intelligence, the branch of the CIA where 'analysts' come from, but the DO, where the spies, the 'operatives', come from.

Libby's a long time national security hand. He knows exactly what CPD is and where it is. So does Cheney. They both knew. It's right there in the indictment.

Dare I say it?

IMPEACHMENT.

Libby, Libby, Libby

CNN reports that a source close to the CIA-leak investigation had disclosed that Scotter Libby will be indicted today. Karl Rove will not be, but is still under investigation.

This is probably the last thing the White House wanted to hear.

Full details during a 2p ET news conference.

Meanwhile, Michael Kinsley puts the whole mess in perspective.

Quote of the Day

"In his moment of need, the President will move far rightward with his new nominee. We now know that the indictments are coming and he needs the conservative posse on his side. At the end of the day, W. is as dependent on George F. Will as he once was on Jack Daniels. This is a profoundly weak President. It is a moment of desperation and the President needs his base energized and not demoralized. He will now throw the base red meat and hope they stick with them in the stormy days ahead."

-The Bull Moose, on Harriet Miers decision to remove her name from consideration to SCOTUS.

Miers withdraws

From CNN: Harriet Miers asked President Bush Thursday to withdraw her nomination to the Supreme Court.

Boo's brother

Oliver is taking suggestions for the name of his new, adoreable puppy.

Chicago White Sox: World Champions!

No indictments today

CNN is reporting that a knowledgeable source says that Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald is not expected to make a public announcement today about the CIA leak investigation. Experts say it's possible the grand jury still may consider indictments and, if it votes to return one or more, the indictments could remain under seal and be made public later.

More later.

Quote of the Day

"The real crime, the one Fitzgerald is not charged with investigating, is that this administration took American men and women into war to be killed or maimed along with thousands of Iraqis for no good reason at all."

-Chicago Sun-Times colunmnist Carol Marin, reminding us of the bigger picture in the CIA-leak case.

Indictments expected today

Indictments in the CIA-leak case are expected today. Let's see how high up Fiztgerald takes this. Libby? Rove?

Dick Cheney?

UPDATE:

According to the Washington Note, an "uber-source" says:

1. Between 1 and 5 indictments are being issued. The source feels that it will be towards the higher end.

2. The targets of indictment have already received their letters.

3. The indictments will be sealed indictments and "filed" today.

4. A press conference is being scheduled for tomorrow.

UPDATE 2:

Could treason come into play?

On the wings of a lie

Since March 2003 over 2,000 American soldiers have died in the Iraq War. 2,000 of our nation's finest sent to their graves on the wings of a lie.

Shame on you, Mr. President.

Cheney outed Plame

Scooter Libby "first learned about the C.I.A. officer at the heart of the leak investigation in a conversation" with Vice President Dick Cheney "weeks before her identity became public in 2003," the New York Times reports.

The Vice-President's roll in this scandal seems to be larger than many expected.

And we're supposed to believe Bush never knew about this?

Come on!

Quote of the Day

"The clerks were tremendously alienated. A lot of them thought that the Court was a fraud, that the place had sacrificed its legitimacy, and that there really wasn’t much point in taking the whole institution seriously anymore."

-Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, as quoted by Jeffrey Toobin in the New Yorker, on the court's ruling in the 2000 presidential election.

Shake, shake, shake

Robbie Williams' narcissism shows in spades on his website. Click here and watch Robbie shake his third leg!

Really.

Rosa Parks, 1913 - 2005

Quote of the Day

"I probably shouldn't have dropped by the Cell to watch White Sox batting practice before sitting down to write this column on the Republican Party in Illinois...The White Sox, after all, are a big-league team. The Illinois GOP is not even Class AA. And as I stood on the third base line...it occurred to me that Republicans in this state may have to wait the way the Sox had to wait to clinch another pennant race.

Scratch that. The GOP may have to learn to live like the Cubs."

-Chicago Sun-Times columnist Carol Marin (LOVE her!), on the moribound state of the Illinois GOP.

It seems to me the national Republicans are headed in a similar direction.

When the walls come crumblin' down...

From Political Wire:

If you've been expecting charges against White House officials in the CIA leak case, you might be wondering what's taking so long. News this morning suggests the scope of special prosecutor's inquiry is much wider than previously thought.

According to the Wall Street Journal, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald "may be exploring whether to charge White House officials with revealing ordinary classified information... Lawyers and others close to the case say he may be piecing together a case that White House officials conspired to leak various types of classified material in conversations with reporters," including Valerie Plame's identity "but also other secrets related to national security."

The New York Times says Fitzgerald is also considering "perjury, obstruction of justice and false statement" charges -- "counts that suggest the prosecutor may believe the evidence presented in a 22-month grand jury inquiry shows that" Karl Rove and Scooter Libby "sought to cover up their actions."

A cover up? By Republicans? I don't believe it.

Kearns on Lincoln

Doris Kearns Goodwin, the Pulitzer Prize winning author of "No Ordinary Time," has finished her much anticpated biography of President Lincoln. After a decade of work "Team of Rivals" will arrive in bookstores on Tuesday. And I can't wait to get my fingers on it.

Pure Heaven

The U.K. Sun is the first to review Madonna's forthcoming album, "Confessions On a Dance Floor"...

"Confessions On a Dance Floor" wipes the, er, floor with her critically acclaimed CDs such as Ray Of Light. It is an hour of pure electronic dance/pop heaven...I can’t find a weak track, and I’m confident the album will be hailed a masterpiece on its November 14 release.

Another new release I can't wait to get my fingers on.

Miers answers "insulting"

Sen. Arlen Specter (Republican-PA) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (Democrat-VT), the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee have asked Harriet Miers to resubmit parts of her judicial questionnaire, calling her responses "inadequate," "insufficient," and "insulting."

This is a woman who is supposed to sit on the highest court in the land, where she will be expected to write opinions on matters relating to the Constitution, and she can't even answer a questionnaire?

This just reinforces my argument of 5 October: Miers is not qualified to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Shelley Winters suffers heart attack

Two-time Academy Award winner Shelley Winters is listed in "fair condition" in a Los Angeles hospital after suffering a heart attack. The 85-year-old actress is expcted to return home early next week.

Winters won Oscars for "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "A Patch of Blue," but is best known for playing the fiesty grandmother in the TV series "Rosanne" and for her role as Belle Rosen in the 1972 disaster classic "The Poseidon Adventure."

Could the President be a Fitzgerald target?

According to the New York Daily News:

"President Bush rebuked chief political guru Karl Rove two years ago for his role in the Valerie Plame affair...'He made his displeasure known to Karl,' a presidential counselor told the News. 'He made his life miserable about this.'"

It's speculation at this point, BUT...IF Rove told Bush that he leaked Plame's name to the press, then Bush lied in his testimony to the Special Counsel. And while Mr. Bush was not under oath (and therefore can't be charged with perjury), his lies can easily be called obstruction of justice.

Bush AND Cheney?

President Hastert, anyone?

Justice DeLayed

From CNN:

"A Texas court issued a warrant Wednesday for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to appear for booking, where he is likely to face the fingerprinting and photo mug shot he had hoped to avoid."

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Fitzgerald: No special report; Plus, will Cheney resign?

Peter Fitzgerald, the special counsel investigating the CIA leak case, has said he will not issue a special report at the conclusion of the case.

This means likely indictments will be issued soon.

Let them flow forth.

RELATED NEWS:
From U.S. News and World Report:

Sparked by today's Washington Post story that suggests Vice-President Cheney's office is involved in the Plame-CIA spy link investigation, government officials and advisers passed around rumors that the Vice-President might step aside.

This is an administration that never admits mistakes, no matter how big, no matter how many. The resignation of a powerful vice-president would be the ultimate confession of wrong doing.

Even if President Bush were to nominate Condoleeza Rice to the position (a move that would make his base explode in exasperation), a Cheney resignation would move this administration closer to the Nixonian side of the presidential spectrum.

"An epic, genius film"

Andy Towle's review of "Brokeback Mountain" is now posted on his blog. The movie opens in theatres on 9 December.

See the trailer here.

Buyer's Remorse?

Survey USA has posted another state-by-state poll showing President Bush's approval is below 50% in 44 states. The six that give him majority approval were the reddist of red states last November (Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Alaska, Nebraksa, and Oklahoma. In twenty-four states, the President's approval rating is below 40%.

Other poll tid-bits:
-In his home state of Texas, Mr. Bush's approval rating is 42%, his DISapproval rating is 54% (Al Gore must be laughing his head off);
-In Florida, the state that decided the 2000 election, disapproval of the President's job performance is 58%;
-In Ohio, the state the decided the outcome of the Electoral College last year, Mr. Bush's disapproval number is 61%.

Buyer's remorse, anyone?

Thunder & Lightening

One of the few things I miss about the midwest are the summertime thunder and lightening shows. We rarely see such a magnificent display of Mother Nature's awesome power here on California's South coast.

But today, in Santa Barbara, it's a boomin' and a bangin'.

And I'm lovin' it.

Losing Faith in the Times

It was bad enough when the New York Times decided to charge astronomical subscription fees to read the likes of Tom Friedman and Maureen Dowd, but now the paper is down-and-out dropping the ball. The Times' two-story, 5,800-word account of Judy Miller's role in the Valerie Plame affair (including Miller's own tale of her conversations with Scotter Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff) missed the deadline to be included in 100,000 copies of the paper's Sunday national edition.

Who is making such dreadful decisions at the once glorious New York Times?

Blinks, Taps, and Jiggles

Quote of the Day:

"The President was a blur of blinks, taps, jiggles, pivots and shifts. Bush has always been an active man, but standing with [NBC's Matt] Lauer and the serene, steady first lady, he had the body language of a man wishing urgently to be elsewhere."
-Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, describing President Bush's body language during an interview on Tuesday's Today Show.

Is it possible that Cowboy Crawford is buckling under the pressure of the presidency?

Leak probe casts wider net

According to the Wall Street Journal, the investigation into the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's name seems to have taken a larger turn. The WSJ is reporting that Peter Fitzgerald's investigation now targets Vice-President Cheney and the White House Iraq war planners.

[Those familiar with the case] now suggest [Fitzgerald] might be investigating not a narrow case on the leaking of the agent's name, but perhaps a broader conspiracy.

Lawyers familiar with the investigation believe that at least part of the outcome likely hangs on the inner workings of what has been dubbed the "White House Iraq Group" which worked on setting strategy for selling the war in Iraq to the public in the months leading up to the March 2003 invasion.

Josh Marshall sums up the implications of this broader inquiry:

If Fitzgerald has lassoed this operation into a criminal conspiracy, the veil of protective secrecy in which the whole operation is still shrouded will be pulled back. Depositions and sworn statements in on-going investigations have a way of doing that. Ask Bill Clinton. Every key person in the White House will be touched by it. And all sorts of ugly tales could spill out.

And frankly, it's about time. The President LIED in order TO GO TO WAR. Based on the "Bill Clinton standard," how is this not an impeachable offense?

Poop-a-Doops

Scatology: n. , pl. -gies . The study of fecal excrement,
as in medicine, paleontology, or biology.

Among more than 2,000 pages of Harriet Miers' official correspondence and personal notes made public by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission on Monday was this little diddy from then-Governor George W. Bush:

"I appreciate your friendship and candor. Never hold back your sage advice. P.S. No more public scatology."

I've always said he was full of shit, but damn.

Kerry Thinking of Another Run?

Apparently Sen. John Kerry (Democrat-MA) was back in Iowa over the weekend, attempting to rally the troops for another run at the presidency in 2008. Des Moines Register columnist David Yespen would love to see the party re-nominate the 2004 loser.

He came close, oh so close, in 2004. Bush got 51 percent. Kerry got 48 percent. Only 120,000 more votes in Ohio, and you wouldn't be reading this column.

Big deal. The closeness of that race, against a sitting President, only shows that Kerry didn't really step up to the plate. He needed to play Ronald Reagan to Bush's Jimmy Carter by focusing on the incompetence of the Bush administration. Granted, those incompetencies were just under the surface last year, as opposed to today where they shine as bright as day. But as the nominee of the Democratic Party, it was Kerry's job to bring them into focus for voters; to make them understand that Mr. Bush was not up to the job, that America needed a course change, and that the Senator was up to the task. But instead, Sen. Kerry played it safe. And Democrats don't win elections by playing it safe.

Prior to the 1980 election President Carter polled within a point or two of Mr. Reagan. American voters, fustrated by the malaise of the Democratic incumbent, weren't sure they could place their trust in a conservative firebrand like Reagan. On Election Day, they set those fears aside and sent Carter back to Plains, Georgia, licking his wounds and wondering what the hell happened. Voters did so in large part because Reagan ran a strong offense.

In 2004 Kerry should have borrowed a few pages from the Reagan playbook. American voters were weary of another Bush term, yet the Senator played defense through most of the campaign. In such a close election I can't help but wonder if, by playing hardball, Kerry's Reagan would have sent Bush's Carter back to Crawford, Texas, licking his wounds and wondering what the hell happened.

Sen. Kerry, your time has passed. You lost a totally winnable election. Sit this one out, campaign for the Party in 2006, and for the ticket in 2008, and perhaps - just perhaps - you'll be offered a plum assingment in the next Democratic administration. U.N. Ambassador Kerry, anyone?

Quote of the Day

"The Senate Judiciary Committee is entitled to know whatever the White House knew. If Dr. Dobson knows something that he shouldn't know or something that I ought to know, I'm going to find out."
-Sen. Arlen Specter (Republican-PA), yesterday on This Week, regarding a phone conversation Dobson had with Karl Rove, in which Rove told Dobson (head of the Fascist policy group Focus on the Family) something about Harriet Mier that he "probably shouldn't know."

Is it just me or do the Nixonian ways of this White House become increasingly evident by the day?

Gore in 08?

Washington Whispers is reporting that friends and allies of former Vice-President Al Gore are pressing him to run again in 2008. "It's Gore Time," says a political strategist and fundraiser who is opening a bid to get Gore into the race.

Count me in. A primary contest between Gore and Hillary Clinton? That is a campaign I would love to see. That is an election that would energize both the party base and independent voters. That is a contest in which the debates would highlight the strengths of the Democratic Party.

And after eight years of the Bush boy, I have a feeling many Americans would be willing to give Gore the job he was robbed of in 2000. Should that happen, the world would breathe a sigh of relief.

Hillary, meet Jane

Rep. Jane Harman (Democrat-CA) has launched a new political actino committee called SecureUS PAC. The purpose of the committee is to draft Democratic congressional candidates who have strong national security credentials.

For my money, Rep. Harman should be on the 2008 Democratic ticket (perhaps a western ticket of Richardson/Harman?). John Kerry would probably be sitting in the White House today had he picked her as his running mate.

Quote of the Day

"...critics say [Miers] is not a good pick because she hasn't been a judge before. Uhh, had Paula Abdul been a judge before? Nobody had a problem when they picked her."
-Jimmy Kimmel, last night on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live.'

Thoughts on Harriet

When asked yesterday if he thought Harriet Miers was the best qualified person for the open seat on the Supreme Court of the United States, President Bush, smirking from ear to ear, said "Yes, otherwise I would not have put her on." Really? Well, let's see...Miers is little known in the legal community, has never been seated as a judge, has provided no legal writings to speak of, and is a Bush family friend.

Ah-ha. There you go. Apparently all one needs to be "qualified" is that "sucking-up-to-the-prez'dint" schtick that got people like Michael Brown appointed to the director's seat at FEMA. And we all know how well that went.

No. This nomination doesn't sit well with me. But it's not just Miers' lack of judicial experience that bothers me. It's her lack of legal credentials overall.

There is precedent, of course, for the nomination of non-judges to the high court. I don't necessarily approve it, but with the right nominee I could be convinced. Had President Bush kept John Roberts as the nominee to the Associate Justice seat that Miers is now nominated for, I would have backed his nomination despite his having only had two years as a seated judge. His legal resume prior to his appointment to the bench was stellar, although a bit conservative. (I didn't support his nomination to Chief Justice due to his lack of bench time. But that was a whole different ball game.)

Miers is nowhere near ready for the high court. Not by a long shot.

She has no constitutional law background. Her basic experience has been as legal counsel to major corporations and as the Bush family lawyer - a job which now extends to her role as White House counsel.

Liberals and conservatives are trying their best to find out where she stands on the issues. It seems she has been on the pro-life side of the abortion debate, and on the pro-gay side of the human rights arguments.

But, you see, none of this matters. She is not the "best qualifed" person for the job. There are probably 100 conservative-leaning constitutional jurists out there who should have been asked to fill this seat (and appease both the left and the right) before Miers was even thought about.

The fact that she is a Bush family loyalist is clearly the only reason the President has sent her nomination to the U.S. Senate. That too is a reason for concern. With such strong loyalties, can Miers be counted on to interpret the law independently of the President's far-right politics? To find out that she can't, only after she is on the bench...well, that is too scary a scenario to even consider.

This President, whom Ms. Miers calls the "smartest man she knows" (come on!), has tinkered with the Constitution a bit much since taking office. First, he attempted to defile it with graffiti by writing discrimination into the document; and now, with this nomination, he is trying to place someone onto the Court who has no business interpreting it. Surely that is not what "the founding fathers had intended."

In my eyes, SCOTUS still has the black eye they sustained for interfering in the 2000 presidential contest. I am afraid that confirming Harriet Miers to be Associate Justice would blacken the other eye of jurisprudence in this country. And America doesn't need that. Not right now.

Before the Senate Judiciary Committee entertains this nomination, the President should pull Ms. Miers' name from contention. He should quit insulting the nation by placing novices in high places and then telling us, with his world famous smirk, that they are the best qualified.

Because, after all, he is hardly the best qualified for his job.

Josh Lucas' Sausage

Chapter six of the Poseidon Journals is now posted over at Coming Soon. This week Sandra Kraisirideja talks with lead-hottie Josh Lucas.

How does he prepare for the scenes in which he has to swim under the firey waters of the "Poseidon" sets?

"[With] a bottle of scotch and some good chicken sausage soup."

Poland or Tennessee?

Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, a radical right-wing extremist who is running for Prime Minister of Poland, told the Polish edition of Newsweek that any lesbian or gay man found "infecting" others with homosexuality will face state "intervention."

Yes, Virginia, there are red-states in Europe.

Quote of the Day

"I started having issues [with Fox News] when others in the organization would take my carefully scripted and nuanced reporting and pull out bits and pieces to support their agenda on their shows. Editorially, I had issues with story selection. But the bigger issue was that there wasn't a tradition or track record of honoring journalistic integrity. I found some reporters at Fox would cut corners or steal information from other sources or in some cases, just make things up. Management would either look the other way or just wouldn't care to take a closer look. I had serious issues with that."
-MSNBC correspondent David Shuster, recounting his six-years at Fox News, in an interview with the Bloomington Herald-Times.

The Dumbing Down of America Continues...

A year after making "bootylicious" an official part of the English language, the latest edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary will include the terms "chick flick" and "bikini wax."

It will also include "brain freeze."

Perhaps next year they'll add "ironical."

Harriet Miers??

I have been traveling this morning and just sat down to see the news that President Bush has nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to the U.S. Supreme Court. She's never been a judge. Her record as an attorney is less than stellar. Yet Bush nominated her.

Her qualification?

She is apparently an old Bush family lap dog.

I have to get to the office so more later. But, at this early stage, I lean toward suggesting the Senate reject her nomination.