Saturday, October 22, 2005
Tucker Carlson - Low Life
Cannonfire
Right wingers lie all the time. So why does each new barrage of bunk carry the shock of the new?
Tucker Carlson, far from the worst of his bad lot, spewed an impressive amount fertilizer on Bill Maher's program tonight:
1. He said that viagra saved the rhino, which was supposedly being hunted to extinction by Asians who consider rhino horns an aphrodisiac. But Asians don't really hold to that belief. Some Chinese traditionalists consider rhino horn a cure for fever.
2. Carlson emphatically said that there is no evidence that the levees were deliberately blown in New Orleans. In fact (as Spike Lee, also on the panel, should have pointed out) we have several named witnesses who claim that explosions did occur. Others counter that these witnesses were mistaken. We should recognize the difference between disputed evidence and no evidence.
3. He averred that Congress bears much of the blame for the Iraq war, since they voted for it. In fact, Congress authorized war only if Saddam Hussein refused inspections. But weapons inspectors did enter the country, and they did their work unhindered. From the start, this war was unauthorized, unconstitutional, and illegal.
Right wingers lie all the time. So why does each new barrage of bunk carry the shock of the new?
Tucker Carlson, far from the worst of his bad lot, spewed an impressive amount fertilizer on Bill Maher's program tonight:
1. He said that viagra saved the rhino, which was supposedly being hunted to extinction by Asians who consider rhino horns an aphrodisiac. But Asians don't really hold to that belief. Some Chinese traditionalists consider rhino horn a cure for fever.
2. Carlson emphatically said that there is no evidence that the levees were deliberately blown in New Orleans. In fact (as Spike Lee, also on the panel, should have pointed out) we have several named witnesses who claim that explosions did occur. Others counter that these witnesses were mistaken. We should recognize the difference between disputed evidence and no evidence.
3. He averred that Congress bears much of the blame for the Iraq war, since they voted for it. In fact, Congress authorized war only if Saddam Hussein refused inspections. But weapons inspectors did enter the country, and they did their work unhindered. From the start, this war was unauthorized, unconstitutional, and illegal.
Making Everything out to be "They are out to hurt our beloved Pres. Bush"
Blogger Thoughts: Wow. This blog post from Anchoress is worthy of Newsmax. I thoroughly agree that there is a fair amount of intrigue going on.
Rather than address the fairly detailed player list of Plamegate, some of which are singled out in the post copied below and labeled black hats, let's go back to discuss the ruse that is at play day in and day out:
The press, the pudits, and most patisans all discuss the Presidency as being "Imperial", the man Bush as having strong leadership ideas and capabilities. Showing the Pres. "in charge" is a very important tool of the various and sundry propagandists.
As an alternative I think we could all agree that the role of this Pres. and the role of any President in world and national affairs could be characterized is various ways: from cheerleader in residence, to lying frontman, to useful idiot, to decisive, principled leader and Commander in Chief. In Bush's case, I think we can let go of the last option. And I think we have to fit any kind of thoughts of intrigue into our understanding of Bush "the soft-headed crusader."
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October 21, 2005
Varifrank makes Plame connections
Filed under: Why can't weeee be friends, The Fourth Estate, America
Because I’ve been a tad under the weather, I missed this excellent exposition by Varifrank, concerning the Plame affair and what exactly might be the real situation behind all the spin. You’ll want to read this whole post, but just to whet your appetite, Frank reads Judith Miller’s book Germs, Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War and comes away thoughtful:
Author Judy Miller: She was one of the people who received one of the “anthrax letters”. If I knew it, I forgot it.
Lewis “Scooter” Libby: Worked in the White House and worked in biological warfare issues with various officials in the preparation for the Kuwait war.
Richard Clarke: Yeah, that Richard Clarke. A major referenced source for this book. This makes my antenna twitch…A Reporter with an Ex-CIA guy who was a source on another book and a reporter who just happens to be looking into a guy who just happens to have a CIA agent as a wife. Mighty cozy those quaint little georgetown neighborhoods are, arent they? Maybe this is what Libby was talking about in the famous “aspens” letter. An illusion to the idea that everyone knows everyone else? maybe…
Saddam Hussein: Oh yeah, tons of stuff. You get a much clearer impression of all of the major players of the last 5 years in how and why they were reacting to Saddam the way they did after 9/11.
General Anthony “I Hate Bush” Zinni: In 1998, sees an eminent biological threat from Iraq that could not wait to be dealt with any longer, and had all his troops take the anthrax shots( remember that controversy? I do!). Well, how times have changed, haven’t they, General Zinni?
Project BACUS: A project to determine if using off the shelf and commonly found materials it was possible to create a biological weapons lab on short notice that could also produce weaponized biological materials that would be effective if they were deployed. Guess what? It worked. That should keep you up at night.
…how is it possible that with all the people she knew in Washington, in the White House, in the CIA in the military, that she didn’t know that Ambassador Wilson’s wife was in the CIA as well? It would not take very long to play a game of “six degrees of separation” with the people she has outlined in the book to come up with a direct link to Valerie Plame and Joseph Wilson.
Could Richard Clarke be the source she is really protecting and the whole Libby/Rove connection simply a smokescreen to cover another trail that would lead to a far more damaging connection? That is, a rogue CIA organization that wishes to protect its power and cover up its large scale mistakes in regards to Iraq and the middle east?
Read the whole thing, the end is pretty juicy. And then go read the transcripts of this interview between Jed Babbin and Victoria Tensing and ask yourself if you believe anything you’re being handed about the Plame case, or if this isn’t the most obscene mountain of contrivance and connivance you have ever witnessed.
Dr. Sanity has a song for the occasion.
Tom McQuire wonders, Just how COVERT was Valerie Plame?
By: TheAnchoress @ 7:25 pm
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2 Comments ?
1.
The story has legs- I’d wager on it.
Comment by Sigmund, Carl and Alfred ? October 21, 2005 @ 9:37 pm
2.
Remember how this whole thing started—the CIA contacted the Justice Department with a “concern” about articles in the press that included the “disclosure” of “the identity of an employee operating under cover.” The CIA informed the Justice Department that the disclosure was “a possible violation of criminal law.” They followed that up with a four-page memo to Rep. John Conyers, ranking Democratic Member of the House Judiciary Committee. Now if anybody was in position to know the operating status(covert or overt) of Valerie Wilson(as she chose to be known after being outed by Aldrich Ames and a second time by the Swiss when they accidentally handed over the formal credentials they had asked for to the Cubans), you would think it would be the CIA. So why the ambiguity? She either was or wasn’t a covert agent. Since she was listed in the employee directory at Langley, one would assume she was overt. A cover for an covert operative as an overt operative working at Langley is absurd–and unheard of. The CIA instructs its overt employees working mundane jobs in the US to keep their employer to themselves especially when overseas. You are told to say “US government” when asked. Bagging any CIA employee provides instant street creds in a big part of the world. Now this issue(and the resulting investigation) should have been put to rest when the CIA said later she was not a covert agent for at least the last five years. Why wasn’t it? Remember that a covert agent’s name would never appear on documents such as those given to the 9/11 Commission, additional confirmation that she was not a covert agent.You do know the same sort of divisions occur in government that occur in regular life. Left versus Right. That’s why it is so important not to give the Left an opportunity to hold power to staff government to their heart’s content. I think we have an attempt by a certain group of employees in the CIA to try to bring down a government–ours. Just like we had State Dept. people working against the Administration before the final UN vote. This is a problem we are going to have to address sooner or later. Thew last survey I saw was that some 80% of career US Government employees classify themselves as Democrats. We can’t have people working crosspurposes with an elected Administration. As for this whole investigation, the law in question has three elements–First, the agent has to have official covert status within the last five years. Second, the person’s name must be disclosed with the information provided that they are a covert CIA operative. And third, the person disclosing that information had to learn it by having access to classifeied information. In the case of Rove and Libby, none of those elements is met. Rove said “wife” according to the Newsweek chap(who said he contacted Rove, by the way, not the other way around). Libby said that she worked in an overt department in Langley. The wrong one, as it turned out. That was when Wilson was saying that “he was Cheney’s man”–sent by Cheney to Niger. It’s no wonder a reporter would contact someone at Cheney’s office to confirm that.
If Fitzgerald indicts Rove or Libby, I will be absolutely amazed. The world, once again, will be turned on its head.
Comment by Darrell ? October 22, 2005 @ 1:00 am
ANKARA - Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc has said, ``we have always felt contArinc: We Have Always Felt US Contribution To Turkey's EU Process
Arinc: We Have Always Felt US Contribution To Turkey's EU Process
ANKARA - Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc has said, ``we have always felt contributions of the United States to Turkey`s EU process.``
Arinc hosted dinner in honor of Brent Scowcroft, chairman of the Board of the American-Turkish Council (ATC), and accompanying delegation in Ankara on Thursday.
Arinc said, ``Turkey has always believed the importance of Turkey-United States relations which have roots deep in history. We want these relations to continue similarly.``
``We have acted jointly with the United Stated regarding important issues which concern world peace. We never forget U.S. contribution to Turkey`s development and economic improvement. We have always felt the contribution of the United States to Turkey`s EU process as well. We believe this support will continue during negotiation process,`` he added.
ANKARA - Turkish Parliament Speaker Bulent Arinc has said, ``we have always felt contributions of the United States to Turkey`s EU process.``
Arinc hosted dinner in honor of Brent Scowcroft, chairman of the Board of the American-Turkish Council (ATC), and accompanying delegation in Ankara on Thursday.
Arinc said, ``Turkey has always believed the importance of Turkey-United States relations which have roots deep in history. We want these relations to continue similarly.``
``We have acted jointly with the United Stated regarding important issues which concern world peace. We never forget U.S. contribution to Turkey`s development and economic improvement. We have always felt the contribution of the United States to Turkey`s EU process as well. We believe this support will continue during negotiation process,`` he added.
The Daily News, Jacksonville NC
The Daily News, Jacksonville NC
Blogger Thoghts: Never been to Jacksonville, NC. From the looks of this, don't think I want to.
Blogger Thoghts: Never been to Jacksonville, NC. From the looks of this, don't think I want to.
Skye Puppy: Undecided No More On Harriet Miers
Skye Puppy: Undecided No More On Harriet Miers: "Constitutional law is not rocket science..."
Blogger thoughts: Oh now I see, Miers wil do just fine. And let's see, FEMA isn't rocket science either.... and really if you think about, nothing in Washington is rocket science..... anyone on the planet with a conservative heart (and a tolerance for corruption) should be able to fill any of these positions.
Blogger thoughts: Oh now I see, Miers wil do just fine. And let's see, FEMA isn't rocket science either.... and really if you think about, nothing in Washington is rocket science..... anyone on the planet with a conservative heart (and a tolerance for corruption) should be able to fill any of these positions.
The Anchoress � Sick White Chick Sittin� Around, Thinkin�
The Anchoress � Sick White Chick Sittin� Around, Thinkin�
Blogger Thought: Wow, McCain deserves the slap he gets here.... Who would have thought?
Blogger Thought: Wow, McCain deserves the slap he gets here.... Who would have thought?
(Miers) lots of personal assurances, with not much behind them
The Anchoress � Blogger/RNC call w/ Judge Enoch: "lots of personal assurances, with not much behind them"
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