Right Wing Nut House

One thing consistent about the Bush haters over the years has been their enthusiasm for being on the losing side of just about everything.

Losing two elections was the easy part. All they had to do is put up two dummies who couldn’t empty pee out of a boot even if they held it upside down to read the directions. It’s much more difficult to be on the losing side of a war like the “quagmire” in Afghanistan or the “failed democracy” in Iraq. To be a loser there you have to ignore human nature and the forces of history, not to mention the lethality and fighting skills of the United States military.

When it comes to scandals though, the left has outdone itself. Just in the last year, three different “scandals” have been manufactured by the left. The common denominator in all three was the almost childlike faith held by the left that “this time” Bush is going down! This time we have him! There’s no escape for the Prince this time!

OOOPS!

First, there was the matter of the President’s National Guard service and the belief that their war-hero candidate could contrast his noble service with that of the draft-dodging, shirker Bush. Of course, within hours of the false memos being broadcast the left was already getting misty eyed, bemoaning the fact that with Bush gone, life just wouldn’t be fun anymore. The DU moonbats were pushing Ramsey Clark for Defense Secretary and Ted Kennedy for…well, anything he wanted in the new Kerry Administration that was surely a foregone conclusion now that Bush was revealed to be a classless jerk 30 years ago

But something weird happened on their way to the White House. First of all, a collective yawn emerged from the yaps of the overwhelming majority of the American people about what anybody was doing 30 years ago. Then there was the matter of the memos, Lucy Ramirez, and all of a sudden the fortunate son was standing tall and before you could say “Bush lied people died” the scandal petered out and disappeared, but only after much foot stomping and table thumping from left wing hacks who insist to this day that a 1970’s era typewriter, with a little hammering and some subtle and deft keystrokes, could have left the impressions on those memos.

Not content with creating one scandal, the left all of a sudden thought it shocking, shocking I say that a partisan reporter could have gotten into the White House press room to lob softball questions at Mark McClellan. I’m speaking of Jeff Gannon/Guckert, the Talon News reporter who by day, led a quiet, unassuming life poking his nose into the White House Press room on a daily basis to see if those correspondents for the big nets were actually taller in real life. By night, however, Mr. Gannon proved himself to be something a little different; a gay model and possible prostitute.

The apoplexy of the left at hearing the news (Gannon was outed by a kind soul who has made it his mission in life to “out” gay Republicans) knew no bounds. If ever there was a forum to display the utter irrationality and cluelessness of the liberals, it was with regards to Mr. Gannon. Did you know that Gannon may have compromised national security? Did you know that it was obvious that Mr. Gannon was sleeping with someone high up in the Administration in order to get his daily White House press pass? Did you know that God don’t make little green apples?

Needless to say, that scandal was great entertainment if only to watch as the left got madder and madder at their buddies in the mainstream press who just couldn’t see where the impeachable offense was in the White House letting a friendly reporter ask some innocuous questions. Eventually, even Oliver Willis got tired of flogging a dead horse and that scandal also fell by the wayside, a classic case of good intentions being outstripped by mundane reality. There just wasn’t any “there” there.

And now we have the yet-to-be-named scandal involving Rove, Plame, and Wilson - three more dissimilar characters could never be found in the same sentence. Rove, stodgy, smart, boring, and depending on your point of view, political genius or Dark Lord of the Sith.

Plame, the glam-spy, Vanity Fair’s favorite spook, and an operative whose closely guarded identity was apparently know by half the press corps, most of the socialites, and every major intelligence service in the world.

Then we have Ambassador Joe Wilson who has been described in the press as “flashy,” “smart,” “urbane” - anything except the low-life scumbag lying SOB that he is. Well, I take that back. The Washington Post said as much in an editorial:

Mr. Wilson’s portrayal of himself as a whistle-blower was unwarranted. It turned out his report to the CIA had not altered, and may even have strengthened, the agency’s conclusion that Iraq had explored uranium purchases from Niger. Moreover, his account had not reached Vice President Cheney or any other senior official. According to the Butler Commission, led by an independent jurist, the assertion about African uranium included in Mr. Bush’s State of the Union speech was “well-founded.”

And the blogswarms and media feeding frenzy continues, despite Mr. Wilson being discredited long ago by his betters. What remains to be seen is not who leaked Mrs. Wilson’s name to the press, but rather how far will the press go in unmasking the CIA-Plame-Wilson connection that was using the Niger uranium story to affect an election and bring down the President. Somehow, I don’t think that story will get a full airing.

We will, however, be treated to another couple of weeks or months of “What did the White House know and when did they know it” as once again, the left is going off the deep end over nothing. In the end, the people doing the “frog marching” may not be who the left thinks. Instead, some of the very people that the left is elevating to hero status - Wilson, Plame, Judith Miller - any or all could be doing the perp walk before this is all over.

I wonder if Kos’s head will explode if that happens?

Mr. Kos has hit the nail on the head with his post this morning that takes Republicans to task for our blind, unswerving, automatonic support for Karl Rove and The Evil One.

Reading his diatribe this morning, I almost wanted to weep. He has captured what I and most Republicans are. He has unmasked our conspiracy. He has described us to a tee:

But to modern-day Republicans and their apologists, they can do no wrong. No Republican’s action is worthy of scorn or censure. They are perfect. Flawless. Immune to error. Godlike.

Yep…that’s me all over. Although, my waistline could use a little work…But other than that, yep I’m immune and flawless. And “Godlike”…I like the sound of that. Come to think of it, I feel a little Godlike this morning. And because I feel Godlike, I proclaim Kos an apostate and a defiler of young boys who should be struck down and laid low by my omnipotent powers! Begone, I say!

How someone could be reduced to that level is beyond me. Republicans have now sent notice that they place allegiance to party and power above their allegiance to the United States of America. To them, the elephant flies above the Stars and Stripes

Well…he’s got the right idea but I sure hope he was speaking figuratively. After all, considering how big an elephant is, I think it would have a helluva time balancing on top of a flagpole above the stars and stripes. Maybe he means a pygmy elephant. And as far as flying, well I saw an elephant flying once but that was down in Tijuana back in the 70’s when my friends and I dropped a little blotter and drank tequila for three days straight.

It is quite instructive and shocking, even with this administration, that the outing of a CIA agent, her front company, and god knows how many other agents and operations, is met with a collective shrug from wingnut circles. While a blow job gave them the vapors, a genuine breach of national security gives them no pause, gives them no reason to abandon “the architect”. Political power trumps everything — even the safety of our nation.

Actually, this sounds pretty serious. Good thing its not true. Especially the part where liberals care one whit about “outing a front company” or other agents and operations from an agency that they’ve spent the last 50 years trying to destroy. Maybe if they hadn’t cheered when Philip Agee outed those agents back in the 1970’s and made him a hero their protestations would have a ring of truth. And I have to say that a blow job has never given me vapors although in my current Godlike state, I’d like to give it a shot.

The Democratic majorities were undone in large part to the endemic corruption that afflicted the long-entrenched Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. It’s the curse of any party that rules for too long, the insidious creep of hubris, corruption, and sense of entitlement which we, as a species, can’t seem to avoid.

The GOP is now facing those very same pressures, and exposing that corruption and hubris in spectacular fashion to the American public. A party that believes it holds a “permanent majority” is under no pressure to behave ethically and work for the common good above all else. Their missteps have been big. Their crimes increasingly brazen.

Just one question…When talking about “insidious creep” is he talking about me? Or himself? Other than that, yes I have a sense of entitlement. We Republicans wish to rule the world and would like nothing better if you liberals just all went away to some re-education camp where you could be indoctrinated with Christianity and love of Bush. The one at Gitmo is almost ready although the camp at Abu Ghraib is gonna need some more work.

And our permanent majority will become a reality when the smoking bodies of our political opponents lie crushed and unrecognizable on the battlements of democracy.

Yes…I feel Godlike this morning. It’s great to wake up and see that once again, you political opponents have made absolute fools of themselves.

Calling all bloggers!

You have until Monday night at 10:00 PM to get your entries in for this week’s Carnival of the Clueless.

Last week’s Carnival was the best yet with 22 entries from both the right and left side of the political spectrum hammering those individuals and groups among us who are truly clueless.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

Each week, I’ll be calling for posts that highlight the total stupidity of a public figure or organization – either left or right – that demonstrates that special kind of cluelessness that only someone’s mother could defend…and maybe not even their mothers!

Everyone knows what I’m talking about. Whether it’s the latest from Bill Maher or the Reverend Dobson, it doesn’t matter. I will post ALL ENTRIES REGARDLESS OF WHETHER I AGREE WITH THE SENTIMENTS EXPRESSED OR NOT..

You can enter by emailing me, leaving a link in the comments section, or by using the handy, easy to use form at Conservative Cat.

It’s going to be a hot one today in Chicagoland with temps hitting the century mark by later this afternoon. Because the heat will rule out any yardwork (YIPEEE!) I get to watch the final round of the British Open from start to finish, a real treat since the tournament is being played on my favorite course, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrews, Scotland where, according to local legend, they’ve been playing golf since the 1400’s.

Before I sit down with my tea and crumpits and become engrossed in Tiger Wood’s quest for another major championship, I thought I’d link to some of the best blog posts from some of the best writers around; my friends and blogbuds from The Wide Awakes.

If you’re not aware of our group blog, you should be. Some of the best writers on the net can be found among our members. Most of The Wide Awakes are small and medium sized blogs who are up and comers in the ecosystem. While all of us are conservatives, the range of opinion on many issues is astonishing. We have experts on terrorism, Islam, economics, the ACLU, science, history, the media, and Christianity to name a few areas of interest. We also have side splitting humorists, ranters, a radio talk show host, and funsters guaranteed to keep you entertained.

Here then are some links I know you’ll find interesting.

Raven at And Rightly So has the Marine of the Year. It’s not someone you might expect.

Cao of Cao’s Blog (pronounced “Key” for all of you not familiar with the Celtic language pronunciations) and TWA blogmama, has the jaw dropping story of a dopey pot smoker who asked the police for assistance…to find her lost stash! While visiting, I urge you to check out Cao’s incredible archive of posts on radical Islam. I haven’t seen any better anywhere.

Romeocat at Cathouse Chat is blogging about her beloveds and how they keep themselves amused. “Cat is on the move following the retirement of her husband from the military and we hope that she and her kitties can get settled soon.

TWA newbie Clarity and Resolve has a post on a Hamas “Capo” being taken down by the IDF. Go Team!

Crystal of Crystal Clear has made her move to Hawaii (lucky she-devil) and is looking for work in her chosen field as a family therapist. Speaking of therapy, she gives the what-for to a moonbat troll who has been showing up on a lot of TWA blogs lately. He calls himself “Corruption Exposer” and not only has made some truly clueless and insensitive comments on blog posts, but has published personal information of a TWA member on his own blog. He hasn’t been by here, probably because he knows I have a notoriously short fuse for off-topic comments. Crystal puts him down expertly.

The Daisy Cutter has an article on the Rove leak entitled “Karl Rove: I confess. I am Joe Wilson.” (Heh)

Dr. Sanity, another TWA newbie (and my compatriot on the Watcher’s Council) has a great post on multi-culturalism.

Kit Jarrell of Euphoric Reality has a funny bit about the nationally renowned nutritionist caught huffing the nitrous oxide found in whipped cream cans in a grocery store.

More Rovian info from Flight Pundit.. Great takedown of some cherished myths of the MSM by Michael.

GM Roper at GM’s Corner has a thoughtful piece on moral relativism and terror. Guess who’s being morally relative.

Another relative TWA newbie, Hans Brick presents “Starring Joe Wilson as Tawana Brawley.” The caption under Hans site name reads “You’re breaking my balls here, Hans”…That just about describes Hans to a tee.

Moonbat slayer and bloggod Van Helsing of Moonbattery piles on my home state Senator Dick Durbin for being…well, a moonbat.

Check out Nickie Goomba’s take on Rehnquist’s insistence that he’s not retiring. Looks like they’ll have to pry that seat from the Chief’s cold, dead fingers.

A TWA original and one of our group’s founders, Ogre of Ogre’s Politics and Views has a link to a legal guide for bloggers. Given the interest shown by the FEC, I’d read the guide very carefully.

Parrott Check has the skinny on the Dallas Morning News surprising and courageous stand against political correctness and terrorism. Don’t miss this one.

Another TWA original (and an original in the truest sense of the word) is the Mad Tech. Don’t miss his WTF Friday Rant for some interesting and provacative stuff.

Mustang of Social Sense takes the British press to task for their wishy washy coverage of terrorists. Mustang is not wishy washy, just in case you wanted to know.

Jay from Stop the ACLU has some more idiocy from that completely clueless organization.

Jack Bauer wannabe and TWA science critic The Maryhunter from TMH’s Bacon Bits has “The View From Iraq.”

For other writers, see the left sidebar for a complete listing.

The Karl Rove resignation watch continues here at the House with more information on the scandal being released like a Chinese water torture. And, just as the purpose of that torture is to drive the poor bastard experiencing it insane, the lefties are frothing at the mouth like rabid dogs with every new revelation.

You’ll recall yesterday that the secret Grand Jury testimony of Mr. Rove was published in several media outlets. It’s pretty much of a forgone conclusion in Washington scandals where there is a Special Prosecutor that testimony given before the Grand Jury is about as secret as the #1 telephone number for oral phone sex (1-900-BLOWME. Ask for Linda).

Today’s revelations involves a State Department memo that discussed Joe Wilson’s heroic campaign to undermine the credibility of the Administration and to carry out the wishes of his wife and the faction she was part of at CIA who were at war with the White House over Iraq policy. Those wishes involved not just Wilson’s bogus trip to Niger to investigate what his wife so objectively put as “crazy” information about the Iraqis and yellow cake, but to also have Mr. Wilson act as a conduit for information from the CIA to the press, most notably WAPO’s Walter Pincus.

Pincus could turn out to be the key player in the entire affair as apparently it was his source or sources who not only knew that Wilson’s wife worked at the CIA but that her maiden name was Plame. It’s pretty certain Rove never spoke to Pincus about Wilson, Plame, or Niger yellow cake so the question of culpability for the Plame leak has narrowed to two people; Former DCIA George Tenet and perhaps Ari Fleisher, the President’s former press secretary.

And one other drop that hit Mr. Rove’s head today was the publication of evidence in the case that should be secret but is evidently as easy to get as the #1 web address for “Terrorist Apologists.” This was an email sent by Rove to Stephen Hadley, National Security Council Advisor for the Administration immediately after Rove’s session with Times reporter Matt Cooper:

After mentioning a CIA operative to a reporter, Bush confidant Karl Rove alerted the president’s No. 2 security adviser about the interview and said he tried to steer the journalist away from allegations the operative’s husband was making about faulty Iraq intelligence.

The July 11, 2003, e-mail between Rove and then-Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley is the first showing an intelligence official knew Rove had talked to Matthew Cooper just days before the Time magazine reporter wrote an article identifying Valerie Plame as a CIA officer.

“I didn’t take the bait,” Rove wrote in an e-mail obtained by The Associated Press, recounting how Cooper tried to question him about whether President Bush had been hurt by the new allegations.

My head is hurting from trying to keep all the players straight and fit them in the timeline so, instead of doing the hard, grinding work necessary for a good blog post, I’m going to be really lazy and instead refer you to Tom Maguire who I guarantee you will be so sick of this scandal’s twists and turns in another week he’ll wish he never started.

Be that as it may, see Tom’s post here on the State Department memo and go here for some great info and deductions on the probable culprit in this scandal-that-has-no-name-yet.

We really have start thinking seriously about one aspect of this scandal that seems to have eluded all blogs and most of the MSM. It is an absolutely essential component to any Washington partisan dust-up and so far, everyone who has taken a stab at resolving the issue has come up miserably short. I’m talking about giving this puppy a moniker - one that fits easily in both newspaper headlines and on-screen promo frames (theme music to be determined later).

What the heck are we going to call this thing?

So far, I’ve seen some pretty lame attempts by the left to give the imbroglio its nom de scandale. They’ve tried to hearken back to their halcyon days of Watergate and in the process, dream wet dreams of bringing down the President himself by attaching the suffix “gate” to the scandal. The problem they have with this approach is the remarkable number of possibilities available. You have “Rovegate,” Plamegate,” Leakgate,” Wilsongate,” and that’s just for starters.

Clearly, we may have finally reached a point in our national life when the attachment of the suffix “gate” to every scandal may have outlived its usefulness. At first, it was clever. Then it became annoying. And now, it’s simply boring. We need something sexier, something more descriptive. Something that will help sell newspapers (God knows they need help!) as well as tear people away from Greta Van Sustern and their Natalee obsession. In short, we need to create an entirely new national narrative for our scandal plagued, celebrity obsessed culture.

I wish there was someway we could incorporate O.J. Simpson’s name into scandal monikering but take a couple of stabs at it yourself and you’ll see what a waste of time that is. There are just too many vowels. Similar results are achieved trying to incorporate J-Lo or any one of the notorious rappers whose hijinks and hoodlum antics just never quite rise to the sublime level necessary to be ensconced in the public consciousness to the point where their notoriety on “E!” or Comedy Central can translate to the political sphere.

Clearly, this is a serious crisis - a crisis in American letters as well as journalism. It’s pretty obvious we just don’t produce enough BA candidates in our top schools anymore.: Too many JD’s and MBA’s. What we need are people with the heart of a poet and the soul of a serial killer to come up with names of our political scandals that will once again rivet people to their TV’s and watch as self-important Congressmen and politicos preen, prance, prattle, and pontificate in order to give us a deeper understanding of the media frenzy.

Since no ideas are forthcoming to change the basic nature of naming our scandals, it looks like we’ll just have to fall back on the time honored tradition of naming the current dust-up after that mother of all scandals, Watergate. It was a glorious moment in the history of journalism we commemorate by naming our scandals thusly. It was when the self congratulations the press gave itself became so overbearing that after a while they got a collective crimped neck from trying to pat themselves on the back. They’ve been trying to recapture those moments ever since.

John Tierney has an idea:

So what exactly is this scandal about? Why are the villagers still screaming to burn the witch? Well, there’s always the chance that the prosecutor will turn up evidence of perjury or obstruction of justice during the investigation, which would just prove once again that the easiest way to uncover corruption in Washington is to create it yourself by investigating nonexistent crimes.

For now, though, it looks as if this scandal is about a spy who was not endangered, a whistle-blower who did not blow the whistle and was not smeared, and a White House official who has not been fired for a felony that he did not commit. And so far the only victim is a reporter who did not write a story about it.

It would be logical to name it the Not-a-gate scandal, but I prefer a bilingual variation. It may someday make a good trivia question:

What do you call a scandal that’s not scandalous?

Nadagate.

That’s a pretty good try. I think, however, I prefer “Cotton Candygate” which is a little more descriptive of the actual impact this scandal will have on far less important issues like avoiding being blown to smithereens by fanatical Islamists, social security reform, naming Justices to the highest court in the land, or other such trivialities.

“Cotton Candygate” - tastes good, gives a nice pleasant rush of euphoria for a short time, but in the end isn’t very filling. Yes…I think that describes what’s going on perfectly.

Not content with using the 1970’s Viet Nam analogy to explain the Iraq war, the left is now resurrecting another one of their glory moments from the 1970’s - the Watergate affair - to draw a parallel with the not-yet-named Rove-Wilson-Plame kerfuffle.

This posting on Daily Kos asks the famous question “What did the President know and when did he know it?”

You’ve got one question on your plate, Scott McClellan.

When did the President first learn of Karl Rove’s involvement in this case?

As of this morning, Day 4 of the saga, this is where the President stands:

Stonewall.

Of course, you can’t resurrect an analogy unless you use the terminology of the time. Hence, the use of Senator Howard Baker’s famous question on the President’s involvement as well as the use of “stonewall” - another Watergate era term.

This got me to thinking. As long as the left wants to get in a time machine and go back to the 1970’s, perhaps while they’re at it, they can bring back a few more cultural touchstones:

TOP TEN 1970′S ICONS THE DEMOCRATS CAN BRING BACK ALONG WITH VIET NAM AND WATERGATE

10. Mood Rings
9. Beanbag chairs
8. Black Light posters
7. Blotter Acid on Mickey Mouse Stamped Paper
6. Decent One Hit Weed
5. Pooka Shell Necklaces
4. Consequence Free Sex
3. Donna Summers
2. Moon Landings

And the number one icon I’d like to see the Democrats bring back from the 1970’s?……

1. Robert Crumb Posters

“STONED AGAIN”

Already diagnosed with PMS (”Persistent Moonbat State), New York Times columnist Paul Krugman’s health problems took a turn for the worse today when, after the publication of his latest column on Karl Rove, it was discovered that the liberal ideologue suffered from an excess of bile production in the liver.

Doctors weren’t sure if the condition was life threatening but have determined that Krugman’s judgment, rationality, and memory have all been affected. One physician familiar with the case failed to see any of those symptoms saying that the columnist’s rantings and ravings were “par for the course” and asked “how can a disease affect qualities in a patient not present in the first place?”

There were several parts of Mr. Krugman’s column that physicians pointed to as evidence of the bile condition. For instance:

What Mr. Rove understood, long before the rest of us, is that we’re not living in the America of the past, where even partisans sometimes changed their views when faced with the facts. Instead, we’re living in a country in which there is no longer such a thing as nonpolitical truth. In particular, there are now few, if any, limits to what conservative politicians can get away with: the faithful will follow the twists and turns of the party line with a loyalty that would have pleased the Comintern.

“Note the use of nonsense language such as the term ‘nonpolitical truth’ which has no meaning in any context save the brain damaged Mr. Krugman’s imagination,” said Dr. Sixpak Chopura, brother of the famed self-help guru. “I mean, let’s get real. Ask yourself is there such a thing as ‘nonpolitical truth? What does that mean?” Dr. Sixpak asked.

The good Doctor also pointed out that the Comintern, which Mr. Krugman uses as a metaphor for monolithic agreement on political positions by Republicans was in fact a strife ridden, factionalized international congress of communist organizations who couldn’t agree on the time of day much less what communism was. He mentioned that any second grader who knew how to use a computer search engine could have figured that out in 30 seconds.

Dr. Sixpak fears that Mr. Krugman’s condition may be much farther along than first feared. He points to this passage in the column that proves Krugman may be hallucinating:

Every time I read a lament for the post-9/11 era of national unity, I wonder what people are talking about. On the issues I was watching, the Republicans’ exploitation of the atrocity began while ground zero was still smoldering.

Dr. Sixpak points out that not only does Krugman fail to offer any evidence for this assertion, but that the facts contradict his charge of Republican politicization of 9/11. A search of liberal websites in the days and weeks following 9/11 fail to turn up any evidence of such politicization and instead, show a respect for the President’s restraint on the subject. This pretty much puts the lie to the statement that “ground zero was still smoldering” when the Republicans politicized the attack.

Further evidence of Mr. Krugman’s flight from reality can be found in this passage, the Doctor said:

A less insightful political strategist might have hesitated right after 9/11 before using it to cast the Democrats as weak on national security. After all, there were no facts to support that accusation.

Again, the Doctor points out the lack of evidence offered by Mr. Krugman to support such a baseless charge. In addition, he notes that there are plenty of “facts” to support the charge that the Democratic party is weak on national security including near monolithic opposition to every major weapons system in use by the Pentagon today, a 50 year campaign to undermine and weaken the CIA, a moral relativism with regards to terrorists and the states that support them, and opposition to strategic missile defense.

And that’s just for starters.

Finally, the Doctor points us to Mr. Krugman’s peroration as an example of the bile in his liver working its way through his bloodstream and affecting his brain:

But what we’re getting, instead, is yet another impressive demonstration that these days, truth is political. One after another, prominent Republicans and conservative pundits have declared their allegiance to the party line. They haven’t just gone along with the diversionary tactics, like the irrelevant questions about whether Mr. Rove used Valerie Wilson’s name in identifying her (Robert Novak later identified her by her maiden name, Valerie Plame), or the false, easily refuted claim that Mr. Wilson lied about who sent him to Niger. They’re now a chorus, praising Mr. Rove as a patriotic whistle-blower.

Ultimately, this isn’t just about Mr. Rove. It’s also about Mr. Bush, who has always known that his trusted political adviser - a disciple of the late Lee Atwater, whose smear tactics helped President Bush’s father win the 1988 election - is a thug, and obviously made no attempt to find out if he was the leaker.

Most of all, it’s about what has happened to America. How did our political system get to this point?

Where is this chorus, the Doctor asks, of conservative pundits praising Mr. Rove for being a whistleblower? Outside of the Wall Street Journal and a few dozen conservative blogs who linked to the article, there are precious few “pundits” saying that Rove is a hero. There are, in fact, many saying that Mr. Rove should go and almost a universal condemnation of the act of “outing” Wilson’s wife. (Note: Wilson himself in an interview yesterday said his wife was not a covert agent at the time her name was mentioned in the press).

“As for Mr. Krugman’s final question “How did our political system get to this point?” Perhaps we should be asking Robert Bork, Clarence Thomas, Raymond Donovan, and the dozen or so conservatives who were mercilessly smeared, tarred and feathered by Democratic Party campaigns in the 1980’s and 90’s before Mr. Rove was anywhere near the White House,” Doctor Sixpak said.

Doctor Sixpak said that Krugman needs a long rest, as far away from writing about politics as possible, in order to achieve a full recovery. “It’s apparent that excess bile production in Mr. Krugman’s liver will continue as long as he writes,” Dr. Dixpak said.

Here’s hoping Krugman takes the Doctor’s advice and perhaps join his colleague Frank Rich in writing restaurant reviews rather than political columns.

UPDATE

Michelle Malkin has a great round-up of links highlighting the latest in this so-far unamed scandal. On that note, the liberals are going to have to hurry. The way this thing is shaking out, the whole thing may blow over in another week or so.

Lorie Byrd has another superb round-up with some interesting thoughts:

If the source in this story is correct, Karl Rove has been done a great injustice. He has been smeared beyond belief. The “journalists” that have been pummelling Scott McClellan might have been better off directing their questions to some of their colleagues. I want to know who all these journalists were that cared so little for national security that they were throwing around the name of Valerie Plame.

Maybe Chuck Schumer should not be worried about Karl Rove’s security clearance, but instead should be working to revoke the press passes of these journalists who were endangering national security. While he is at it, they should also be denounced for trying to ruin Plame’s life and career, as they obviously had the express motive of getting retribution against Joe Wilson. What other motive could there be? Democrats and those in the media (Chris Matthews for one) have told us that was the obvious motive for speaking Plame’s name. (While I am on the subject of security clearances, did it not seem the least bit brazen and hypocritical to anyone else that Schumer and others were calling for Rove’s, rather than Senator Patrick “Leaky” Leahy’s?)

Indeed.

Bill Ardolino:

This critique from a man whose catalogue of contorted economic posits in service of partisan political goals resembles an unexpurgated copy of the Kama Sutra.

I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard economics “resembling” anything sex related. Or maybe economists have some kind of secret life we know nothing about?

In an update to an otherwise excellent post on the scandal, Joe Gandleman jumps the shark by agreeing with much of Krugman’s ridiculous rant:

MOST TROUBLING: Now that we indeed ARE at “this point,” how possible or unlikely is it that we can now UNGET to “this point”? Can we break out of this troubling era where people will change their political standards and values as they articulated them when it came to the opposition to allow their side leeway to do whatever they need to do to gain and stay in power?

And if there are no absolutes (just rip and read the talking points sent out by the RNC on the old talk show or incorporate them into your commentary to defend your side), what does it portend for the future?

Joe is making the same mistake Krugman makes; overgeneralization.

Did it ever occur to Mr. Gandleman that those “talking points” were themselves gleaned from commentary on the scandale from a wide variety of sources? I SAW EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE TALKING POINTS DISCUSSED SOMEWHERE ON THE INTERNET BEFORE KEN MEHLMAN EVEN SAT DOWN TO THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO BE.

To say that there’s a unanimity of thought about how to defend Rove denies the obvious point: THE REASON THEY’RE USED EXTENSIVELY BY THE RIGHT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE GOOD POINTS AND MAKE SENSE. To say that we on the right are a bunch of automatons following some script laid out by the White House or the RNC makes Mr. Gandleman as loony as Krugman and the moonbats who are saying that Rove committed treason or that this cotton candy scandal is somehow comparable to Watergate.

I would strongly urge anyone on the left to lay back on this for a few more days. If not, and it’s shown in a couple of days or weeks that Rove was never the target of this investigation, you are going to look like bigger fools than you already are.

He’s baaaaack! Marvin Moonbat is in the House! (Go here for background on Marvin)

WHY DID ROVE STOP AT PLAME?

Well, I’m back.

The last time I wrote a column for my nutjob whacko neighbor Rick, a few of my friends found out about it and my anarchist cell put me on trial for consorting with the enemy. First, I didn’t know anarchists had trials what with them being against any sort of governmental institutions. Second, the punishment was, I thought, a little radical. Being forced to stand in front of a bunch of my friends and strip myself of all right wing influences by taking off my clothes and reading Noam Chomsky I thought went a little too far.

Anyway, Chloe and I decided that for the time being, I should cool it with the writing gig at the House. Instead, we concentrated on our studies and I’m proud to say, I now have a BA degree to my name. I’m not sure how my Anti-American Studies major is going to help me get a job but I’m not worrying about that right now. Chloe and I are off to the Amazon rain forest in a couple of weeks to study the rape of the environment and exploitation of indigenous peoples so I won’t have to get a job until at least September.

What convinced me to submit this article was my disgust with Karl Rove and the fact that he really blew it in outing that CIA agent. Why the hell did he stop there? Why couldn’t he have kept going and named a whole slew of covert agents? That way, everyone would know who is doing the dirty work for the corporate fascists who are running this country. It was really disappointing.

Oh I know we on the left are claiming it was treasonous to reveal the name of a CIA agent but c’mon! Who believes that? We’ve been against the CIA for decades! I remember one of my early childhood heroes was Philip Agee, the man who revealed the names of those CIA agents in Europe. My parents and their friends used to talk in glowing terms about how courageous he was and they laughed at how he really must have put a crimp in our intelligence gathering operations. Now that’s what I call “direct action.”

Isn’t it cool how were turning this “treason” bit around and tarring the wingnuts with it? I mean, you and I both know we could care less if something is treasonous or not. After all, one man’s treason is another man’s patriotism. Just ask Ward Churchill. But in order to get the sheep here in America mad at the repugnuts, we’re using the treason charge against Rove for revealing Valerie Plame’s name.

It’s f**king brilliant! I mean, if the public knew how much we really despised the CIA and wished that every single agent’s name were plastered all over the news, they might not think kindly of us. But by feigning outrage, we score big against Rove and his boss, President Chimpface.

The press, of course, is playing right into our hands. We knew they’d ignore the facts of the case in favor of going after Rove. We complain about the press a lot but when it comes to doing exactly what we need done in situations like this, they always come through. You’d almost believe that they were following a script written at Democratic party headquarters. Come to think of it…maybe we should get somebody to work on that right away.

At least this way, we’ll probably get rid of Rove. I only wish we could cook up something against Shrub. Maybe we could revive the National Guard stuff. Or the “Bush lied, people died” theme. One thing’s for sure, we’re going to keep pretty quiet about Iraq. Every time we open our mouths calling that effort a failure, it seems those idiot Iraqi’s do something stupid like hold successful elections or make progress toward a multi party democracy. Best to concentrate on other targets.

And of course we can’t talk about the economy anymore since that’s doing pretty well what with the steady growth and low unemployment. And it looks like we’ll have to lay low on the Bush is Hitler theme too since Dick Durbin gave all Hitler analogies a bad name with his Gitmo cracks. We’ll have to come up with something else. I thought his reference to Pol Pot showed some promise but really, who remembers that guy? It looks like we’ll be hard pressed to find some historical figure to replace Hitler when talking about Shrub. I’m not worried. We’ll come up with someone.

Well, I got to go. Chloe is busy meditating and praying to Gaia to keep us safe from the snakes in the rain forest. I don’t mind that so much but did she really need to bring that live rattler in the house to use as a sacrifice?

The recent revelations that one and possibly two of the London bombers visited Pakistan and may have trained at al Qaeda camps underscores the dilemma facing the United States when it comes to our relationship with Pakistani dictator General Pervez Musharraf. On the one hand, he and his military have been extremely cooperative in rounding up al Qaeda terrorists, including some of the group’s top leadership. On the other hand, Musharraf’s promised political and social reforms that would have neutralized Islamic extremists have not been forthcoming and, judging by recent developments, may have been a sham all along.

Since the attacks of 9/11, Pakistan has received $2.64 billion in aid, $113 billion of that in security assistance. What have we gotten to show for that money?

As mentioned, the Pakistani security services have rounded up a dozen or more of top al Qaeda leadership including the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. KSM has since begun to talk and his insights into al Qaeda have been invaluable. The Pakistani’s also claimed to have killed 600 al Qaeda soldiers as well as hundreds of Taliban holdouts.

Pakistan has also operated as a forward base for our assistance to Afghanistan as both a center for international aid and a military staging area for Afghan operations.

The Pakistani’s have lent valuable assistance to Afghanistan in the training of both the army and internal security services.

Musharraf shut down al Qaeda training camps operating in Pakistan as well as promising to crack down on extremist schools - the madrasses - that indoctrinate hundreds of thousands of poor Pakistani children with a philosophy of hatred of the non-Islamic west.

As for the minuses, there are plenty:

1. Despite its extreme poverty, Pakistan continues to spend enormous amounts of money on its nuclear program that threatens an important emerging ally of the United States in India.

2. After an initial burst of reforms when Musharraf came to power in 1999, human rights groups in Pakistan complain that the pace of reform has slackened and, in some cases, regressed under pressure from Islamist elements in the Pakistani parliament and the military.

3. Instead of shutting down the madrasses, Musharraf’s government has allowed them to flourish and has done nothing to cut off the flow of foreign money pouring into the establishment of these schools.

4. Musharraf has deliberately weakened pro-democracy political parties which has allowed a coalition of extremist Islamist parties to gain ascendancy in parliament and in the countryside. The most radical of these parties, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, or MMA, controls two provinces in the mountainous northwest of the country on the border with Afghanistan where it’s believed Bin Laden may be hiding and it’s thought that the Taliban utilizes as a safe haven against coalition attacks. It’s debatable how much real control Musharraf maintains over these provinces as he has forbidden any coalition military operations there.

5. After shutting down al Qaeda training camps following 9/11, there is evidence that many of the camps have reopened with the government’s blessing.

Admittedly, Musharraf is in an extraordinarily dangerous predicament both for his government and his personal safety. The army - especially the intelligence service - is riddled with Taliban sympathizers according to many reports. And he has been forced to forgo important reforms because of the dicey political situation. In short, he is unable to make any headway against the traditional “mullah-military alliance” that has governed Pakistan since his predecessor General Zia turned Pakistan into an Islamic republic during the 1980’s.

This Newsweek article spells out some of the risks to Musharraf’s rule:

Senior government officials told news-week that the president worries that demolishing Zia’s legacy too rashly could spark widespread violence. Musharraf must also contend with elements of the armed forces who are steeped in General Zia’s culture. “Breaking away from deeply held customs will take some time,” argues General Sultan. “We believe in bringing change not through revolutionary but evolutionary means.”

Government critics point as well to other worrisome developments. While secular opposition parties are prohibited from holding public demonstrations, the MMA can call its people to the streets without the threat of a police crackdown. Pakistan will soon issue new machine-readable passports to its citizens. The government had planned to exclude any mention of the passport-holder’s religious affiliation on the document. But Muslim groups objected, and last month the government acquiesced to their demands. The new passports will not only identify the religion of every Pakistani, but also his or her sect. Religious minorities fear the passports will widen the sectarian divides that plague the country.

And this backsliding does not bode well for the United States in the War on Terrorism:

Gen Musharraf promised a policy of enlightened moderation but little has been done. Thousands of religious schools still spew out hate against non-Muslims and leaders of militant groups still wander the country giving sermons.

Gen Musharraf has squandered the lavish aid and support given to him by the US and Britain after September 11. Extremism continues to flourish and democracy is further away than ever.

This month the widely circulated magazine Herald reports that a dozen training camps for militants, which closed down after September 11, were revived in May with official blessing.

Last month several Pakistani-Americans arrested on terrorism charges in California, admitted to training in such camps. The London bombers were probably in touch with a local Pakistani group rather than al-Qa’eda.

President Bush has cut Musharraf an enormous amount of slack. It’s time for the Pakistani president to either put up or shut up with regards to democratic reforms and carry through on his promise to crack down on the madrasses that are poisoning the minds of young Pakistani’s and radicalizing another generation of Islamic militants.

And President Bush should absolutely and without delay tell Musharraf to shut down the al Qaeda training camps… or we will do it for him.

It’s time for Pakistan and its president to decide once and for all: Are they with us or against us in the War on Terror?