I haven’t said much about the Wilson/Plame/Rove imbroglio, mostly because so many other people are doing such a great job of covering it. But I am following the events closely and hoping for some actual charges to be filed.
That said, the PoorMan has a really good and funny post on the defense of Karl Rove today, definitely not to be missed.
On this Independence Day, I give you the words of Nameless Soldier, currently on location somewhere in Iraq:
America doesn’t maintain itself. It’s corny, but Freedom isn’t Free. I’m not talking about the military or anything like that. This isn’t an effort to recruit anyone, it’s just an acknowledgement that if we wan’t to keep democracy fresh and real we have to keep working on it, otherwise we are bound to lose it. Unless we are active in our comunities, those in charge will think that they can treat us like door matts. Our freedoms are “use or lose” items. If you don’t use your right to speak out, you may wake up one day to find out that you’re not allowed to. The same goes for all of our other rights. Already, some of those have felt feet trying to trample on them.
One of the great things about America is that it represents something different to each person. I guarantee that George Bush sees America differently than a new immigrant, but that’s only the beginning of the differences. Each of us uses a differnet mix of our liberties, each of us values certain things more than others. And by taking advantage of the unique experiences and knowledge that each of us has developed, we are a force to be reckoned with. In roughly 250 years our nation has risen to greatnes beyond anything that might have been imagined by the founding fathers, and we have done it because of our freedoms. Without the rule of law and civil liberties we would have nothing.
But some of those liberties are under attack. There are those in America who value corporations above individuals and profits over freedoms. And it is time for us as a nation to rise up and say that we will not except that option. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” It is time to stand up and demand that those rights stop being chipped away at. It is time to remind those in power what America was founded on.
Since 9/11, there has been a lot of talk about what it means to be a “patriot.” Is it someone who is willing to go to war? Maybe a patriot is someone who is willing to make hard decisions. I don’t think so. To me, true patriotism lies in a willingness to remember what your nation is supposed to be about, and then acting on it. Patriotism is not about blind loyalty to your nations leaders or founders, it is about a willingness to always look for the truth. Patriotism is about making your nation better than it’s ever been before, and making it better for everyone, not just the rich. I say that there is no better tribute to the last couple of centuries of progress than to continue to progress.
With the long holiday weekend upon us, those parts of the blogworld that have not taken off to enjoy some time away from their computers have settled in for a nice long spell of speculation about Karl Rove, the Plame leak, and the best question of all: Who told Rove? Digby in particular has been on a roll in the last day or so, but there’s plenty of other good stuff out there as well if you want to spend time in front of your PC instead of out barbecuing this weekend.
As much as I would love to see Rove’s career go down in flames and take the rest of the right wingers with him, I’m sceptical it will happen. The right wing machine has had a long time to study not only Watergate but l’affaire Clinton for “what not to do”, and if nothing else, those guys are good at covering their tracks. I seriously doubt a legal case will be able to be successfully prosecuted, even assuming there’s a DA willing to press charges.
Perhaps I’m too much of a pessamist here. I’d love to be proven wrong.
Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court and a swing vote on abortion as well as other contentious issues, announced her retirement Friday
And we all though it would be Rehnquist to go first.
Now, of course, the shit will truly start to hit the fan. It’s not going to be pretty.
By way of the DNC Blog
Democrats
Believe capturing the person primarily responsible for the attack should be a top priority.Republicans
It’s been four years, and Osama bin Laden is still free, even though Bush’s CIA chief says he knows where he is.Democrats
Investigate the intelligence failures that led to 9/11.Republicans
Do everything in their power to block the 9/11 Commission from doing its work.Democrats
Propose creating the Department of Homeland Security.Republicans
Push tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans.Democrats
Believe we should have stayed the course in Afghanistan, not allowing the Taliban to resurge, the warlords to take power, and the opium trade to skyrocket.Republicans
Ignore Afghanistan as the situation worsens.Democrats
Believe that we should be honest with our troops about the reasons we go to war, give them everything they need to be safe, and make sure we go in with an exit plan.Republicans
Manipulate intelligence to trump up reasons to go to war, don’t give our troops the support they need, constantly mislead the public about the direction the war is going, and fail to make an exit plan.
What the hell were the so-called ‘liberal justices’ on SCOTUS thinking?
A divided Supreme Court ruled Thursday that local governments may seize people’s homes and businesses against their will for private development
I understand the general concept that there are times when a government can seize private land for public projects. I’m not thrilled with it, but I think there are cases when it can be justified. However,
“Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random,” O’Connor wrote. “The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms.”
So Justice O’Connor warns us. She is right. How long will it be until Wal-Mart starts leaning on local governments to condemn choice pieces of real estate for minimal compensation because of the jobs they will bring to a town?