Ok, the whistleblower defense wasn’t really cutting it for Karl…so, what’s next? Well, the new GOP talking point seems to be “Novak outed Plame first.” So, if true, does this get Rove off the hook? Not hardly. As both Salon‘s Tim Grieve and Slate‘s Tim Noah explain more eloquently, confirming Plame’s identity to Novak is still a big-time offense (as is passing it on to TIME‘s Matt Cooper.) But, this does mean that Novak had a second source among Dubya’s “senior administration” officials. Ari Fleischer, perhaps?
Rehnquist Remains.
Soon after returning from a two-day stint at the Virginia Hospital Center, Rehnquist announces he’s staying on the Court (which may well speed up Dubya’s announcement of O’Connor’s replacement.) Well, big of the Chief to finally tell us. What was the holdup, and why so coy a week ago?
The Centers Cannot Hold.
Two centers with unproven upside switch coasts: Washington’s Kwame Brown to the Lakers (for Caron Butler), and Seattle’s Jerome James to the Knicks. And, with Cuttino Mobley heading for the Clips, it seems the NBA offseason is already in full swing. (My thoughts on the James acquistion — Well, we desperately needed a true center after losing Kurt and Nazr (and rookie Channing Frye doesn’t seem like he’ll have an immediate impact), and James had a few big playoff games last year. That being said, he’s no silver bullet.)
The Race Card Shell Game.
“Some Republicans gave up on winning the African American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here today as the Republican chairman to tell you we were wrong.” (And, now that we’ve got all the racist white freakshows definitively in the bag, we’re coming for you…) RNC Chair Ken Mehlman will apparently apologize for the “Southern Strategy” before the NAACP today. Well, I presume there nobody will fall for this ridiculous ruse…Just ask Katharine Harris.
Rove on the Stove.
As Dubya goes mum about Karl Rove’s future, Slate‘s Tim Noah effectively dismantles the GOP’s Hail Mary “whistleblower” defense (floated, naturally, on the WSJ op-ed page), Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal argues Rove’s fate will be decided by the special prosecutor, and Salon‘s Robert Bryce lays out the case for what we all suspect: Dubya won’t give up Rove anytime soon.
Shots heard ’round the world.
Republican Rick Santorum — the Senator of the proud state of Pennsylvania — has rooted out the malevolent cause of the Catholic Church’s recent sex abuse scandals. Celibacy? Harry Potter? Guess again. They were due to Boston itself, “a seat of academic, political and cultural liberalism in America,.” Um, ok. Could we expect any less from a guy who publicly compares Democrats to Hitler and consensual gay sex to bestiality and pedophilia? Pennsylvania, get your act together — You’re embarrassing the republic with this joker.
From Gitmo with shame.
“‘Reasonable people always suspected these techniques weren’t invented in the backwoods of West Virginia,’ said Tom Malinowski, the Washington director of Human Rights Watch. ‘It’s never been more clear than in this investigation.'” A new report by military investigators finds the tactics of Abu Ghraib in full use at Guantanamo. “The report’s findings are the strongest indication yet that the abusive practices seen in photographs at Abu Ghraib were not the invention of a small group of thrill-seeking military police officers…they were used on Qahtani several months before the United States invaded Iraq.”
Fanboys of the world unite.
(You have nothing to lose but your collectible packaging.) Those disgruntled fansters out there looking for more movie coverage around these parts, take heart — Comic-Con 2005 starts today in San Diego, which should mean a wealth of new news about King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, and other upcoming big-ticket projects. (That being said, I refuse to spend my hard-earned fanboy dollar on obviously phoned-in drek like FF, so that review might be a long time coming.)
Moderation in all things.
“‘I’m not sure where people get judgment,’ Professor Powe said in an interview on Wednesday. ‘I’m quite sure it doesn’t come from the law school context. But really good politicians have it. They know how far they can go, and when they have reached a good stopping point.'” As the Senate’s moderate “Gang of 14” looks to navigate the rocky shoals ahead, the NYT‘s Linda Greenhouse makes the case for a return to the longstanding tradition of non-judge justices.