Spies, Lies, & Burning Flags

After banging the drum loudly, I must grudgingly accept that it appears Rove will walk away from the Plame mess unindicted. We have no one's word but his lawyer, Robert "Gold Bars" Luskin, but one presumes Luskin isn't pushing wishful fantasies. I will, however, reiterate that Karl Rove was knee deep in the Plame/Wilson bashing, lied about his role, and made liars out of George Bush and Scott McClellan. Well, maybe Rove didn't make Bush & Scottie liars, but you get my drift.

Dig deeper into the background of this story - further back than the leak, beyond the 16 words in the state of the union, and a truly sensational story emerges. Vanity Fair has the story, and I strongly urge you to give it a look see. I have always love the Sy Hersh theory* for the origin of the phony Niger allegation that crept into the state of the union address. But this article finds that theory lacking.

*the crudely forged documents that show Iraq's intention to procure huge amounts of yellow cake from Niger were a trap laid by the cia to get meddling administration hawks off their back. the idea being that a midlevel hack will overplay his hand with intel that is clearly bunk, and the administration hawks will lose steam and stop politicizing intelligence. only the cia forgers were shocked to hear the allegation & documents cited in a state of the union speech - thinking it would die much lower on the vine. a great tale of too-clever beauracratic angling that appears to be false.

Pay attention to the involvement of Michael Ledeen. I knew of his involvement in Iran contra, but I was completely ignorant of his international Billy Carter & Pope scandal mongering. Sounds juicy? Read the article.

Michael Kinsley has a lovely piece on Kafka and wiretapping.

The Washington Monthly tears into the cannard that Bush is hurting conservativism:
"Conservative dissidents . . . extolled the president's conservative leadership when he was riding high in the polls. But the real flaw in their argument is akin to that of Trotskyites who, when confronted with the failures of communism in Cuba, China and the Soviet Union, would claim that real communism had never been tried.
{snip}
The collapse of the Bush presidency, in other words, is not just due to Bush's incompetence (although his administration has been incompetent beyond belief). Nor is it a response to the president's principled lack of intellectual curiosity and pitbull refusal to admit mistakes (although those character flaws are certainly real enough). And the orgy of bribery and special-interest dispensation in Congress is not the result of Tom DeLay's ruthlessness, as impressive a bully as he was. This conservative presidency and Congress imploded, not despite their conservatism, but because of it.

Contemporary conservatism is first and foremost about shrinking the size and reach of the federal government. This mission, let us be clear, is an ideological one. It does not emerge out of an attempt to solve real-world problems, such as managing increasing deficits or finding revenue to pay for entitlements built into the structure of federal legislation. It stems, rather, from the libertarian conviction, repeated endlessly by George W. Bush, that the money government collects in order to carry out its business properly belongs to the people themselves.
{snip}
Americans have learned something about the consequences of conservative ideas during the Bush years that they never had to confront in the more amiable Reagan period. As a way of governing, conservatism is another name for disaster. And the disasters will continue, year after year, as long as conservatives, whose political tactics are frequently as brilliant as their policy-making is inept, find ways to perpetuate their power."

As a "common good" democrat, I appreciate the jab at liberterians.

I'll close out with a flag burning piece by Vietnam Vet., former governor & senator, & current New School president Bob Kerrey.

"Real patriotism cannot be coerced. Our freedom to speak was attacked -- not our flag. The former, not the latter, needs the protection of our Constitution and our laws."