Year: 2005

According to the NYT, Scooter Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff, expects to be indicted Friday on charges involving false statements to a grand jury in the CIA leak inquiry. But the big news is that Karl Rove, the president’s deputy chief of staff and a senior advisor will not be indicted, but will remain under investigation. This can only mean that prosecutors have not yet been able to link any criminal act to Rove, like they were able to do in the case of Mr. Libby. The fact that he will ‘remain under investigation’ strikes me as humorous. Why can’t they simply say that they haven’t yet found any wrong doing regarding his involvement in the matter? I suppose that one sounds like he’s off the hook while the other sounds like they could be minutes away from nailing him. Oh well, I suppose the Left has to have some hope to hold on to.

More tomorrow, as the ‘official’ word starts to spread.

Others: ABC News

h/t Dan Riehl

Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert is blogging, and when you have a blog, it’s cool to be informal and use the short version of your name. Such is the case with Speaker’s Journal, written by the newly hip ‘Denny’ Hastert. His first entry is up:

This is Denny Hastert and welcome to my blog. This is new to me. I can’t say I’m much of a techie. I guess you could say my office is teaching the old guy new tricks. But I’m excited. This is the future. And it is a new way for us to get our message out.

Most of you know me as a coach by nature so I hope this gives you some inside access to the Republican playbook.

The internet is changing the way we share information. My office has been talking a lot about some of the conversations going on in blogosphere. So I thought, hey, I should start one and give you unfiltered updates on Capitol Hill.

Hopefully, this is the real deal and not some staffer who’s ghost writing. On the surface, it looks legit, so I’ll assume Denny is really typing. And while I think having “inside access to the Republican playbook” would be a great thing, I seriously doubt we’ll receive that from ‘Coach’ Hastert. But I’ll give him points for dangling the carrot in his first post. Hey, he wants us to come back and be regular readers right? The real test will be to see if Denny blogs every day, or just once in a while. If it’s the latter, this won’t be a real blog, but a place to archive talking points, speeches and press statements. But far be it from me to prejudge the speaker. Oh, and I should note that he doesn’t provide a comments section. That’s a pity. He’d be way out front in my book if he received feedback from readers. That’d be the kind of access I’d come back for.

So, here’s your first link from me Denny. I hope I have reason to link a lot more often.

Harriet Miers met with President Bush last night around 8:30 PM, and together, they both decided it was time for Harriet to bow out. She sent a letter this morning to the president asking him to withdraw her nomination to the Supreme Court. He accepted her request, and gave this statement.

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If only you could see the look on my face when I read this.

A few dozen of us held vigil at the White House yesterday. At 6 PM about 15 or 20 of us “died” to symbolize the unnecessary deaths in Iraq. We all represented one soldier and 50 Iraqis. We are hoping that 2000 Americans come out in support of us during the next 3 days and “die” with us to show our misleaders and media what 2000 dead Americans looks like.

So, of those who ‘died’ with Cindy yesterday, did some just like, fall on the ground and close their eyes, or did others act their death out? Did they announce what kind of death they were representing? Did someone stand at attention and state matter-of-factly, “I’m now going to be blown up by artillery from an AC130 Gunship”, then proceed to walk and whistle like they were enjoying the day before the bullets rained down on them? I mean, really – if your demonstration includes a mock ‘death’, wouldn’t you want to be convincing?

Now, before you rain bullets down on me, please understand that I’m being facetious. Untimely death is not a joking matter, but when Cindy Sheehan is involved, seriousness isn’t something that comes to mind. Her efforts to remain relevant since her antics in Crawford, Texas are just absurd. Meanwhile, the MSM continues to shine a light on Sheehan not because of her bravery, or the cause she represents, but because she’s such a lunatic. Like an ill-trained circus monkey, they can’t be sure what she’s going to do next. She’s become surreal entertainment. 

I’m sure there are a few in the media who have had enough of Cindy. Maybe it’s the camera crew…they probably draw straws to determine which of them is assigned the ‘Sheehan beat’ this week. Poor guys, I don’t envy any one of them.

No matter her experience, every action by Cindy Sheehan today amplifies a lack of credibility which ultimately renders her intentions moot. She’s a cartoon character, and her demonstrations look like nothing more than selfish motives to remain in the spotlight. All the while, the memory of her son fades further with her every utterance.

That’s the real tragedy.

This is one of the craziest stories I’ve seen in awhile.

Attending religious services may enrich the soul, but it also fattens the wallet, according to research released on Tuesday.

“Doubling the frequency of attendance leads to a 9.1 percent increase in household income, or a rise of 5.5 percent as a fraction of the poverty scale,” Jonathan Gruber of the economics department at Massachusetts Institute of Technology wrote in his study.

“Those with more faith may be less ‘stressed out’ about daily problems that impede success in the labor market and the marriage market, and therefore are more successful,” Gruber wrote in the study, which was released by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

I can assure you that your income will not magically increase by attending church twice as often, although there are a ton of popular ministries that subscribe to a false gospel claiming this is all it takes. This type of skewed information creates an irrational hope in the minds of those seeking out the truth found in the genuine Gospel. Messages like this ensure that Christianity in America remains a 100 mile wide expanse that’s only a half an inch deep.

Unfortunately, now that this study has become public, you can bet that its findings will become illustrative fodder for sermons delivered throughout the country this Sunday.

Clearing the Memogate cobwebs takes as long as it takes. Mary Mapes, Dan Rather, Betsy West, Josh Howard, and Mary Murphy are gone. Some were fired, some forcibly resigned, one retired. Nonetheless, their involvement in the controversy sealed their fate. Today, one more Memogater joins the rank:

CBS News President Andrew Heyward announced Wednesday he would be leaving his post when his contract expires at the end of the year. Heyward will be replaced by CBS Sports President Sean McManus.

The story about Heyward is heavy in accolades, and barely mentions the storm that enveloped CBS News during the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign. The future of CBS News is still up in the air, as rumors about new presentation formats and a multiple news anchor approach continue to circulate. One thing is for sure, the top brass realize that major changes have to happen if CBS is to make a come back. A cosmetic transformation won’t cut it.

Word went out yesterday that ABC News had intelligence about imminent indictments that were to be handed down today in the ‘Plamegate’ affair. Sources warned the White House to be prepared. Since then, Washington has been on pins and needles waiting for the news, yet nothing has transpired. Now, we hear that there is no imminent news coming today.

Via Drudge Report:

Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald said he was done today after meeting with the grand jury in the CIA leak investigation. Grand jurors left the courthouse earlier. Fitzgerald later left the building following the session with no comment. The grand jurors also were seen leaving the building, with no announcement of any indictments…

CNN also has similar information about today being a ‘no news’ day.

Why the hype by ABC yesterday? Was it a bluff and if so, for what purpose? What does this mean for the case? Is this really just smoke without fire?

UPDATE: The Raw Story reports that the prosecutor will seek indictments against Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.

Congratulations Arianna, you’ve made it. You are now certified 100% Grade A Moonbat. And what was it that pushed you over the line into Moonbatsville? This statement:

I’m not saying that Plamegate is the same as Watergate. I’m saying it’s worse. Much, much worse. No one died as a result of Watergate, but 2,000 American soldiers have now been killed and thousands more wounded to rid the world of an imminent threat that wasn’t.

Yep, you read that correctly. As a result of Plamegate, 2,000 American soldiers have died.

Moonbats have an uncanny talent. They seem to be able to take any current event, be it a tragedy like Hurricane Katrina, or this, a case about a wannabe celebrity (Joe Wilson) who decided to use the status of his wife (Valerie Plame) to gain access to fortune and fame, and link it to the war in Iraq.

For the Moonbat – Everything is about Iraq, and vis-a-vis
IRAQ IS EVERYTHING.

Complaining about Iraq will not get you elected in 2006. Pointing at someone and calling them a liar without having any plans for how you would lead is not going to get a Democrat elected president in 2008. But the Moonbat believes differently, and this is why Liberalism hasn’t swept America. The truth is, the Moonbat doesn’t understand America. The Moonbat doesn’t understand who Americans are. They don’t know how Americans feel. They don’t know how Americans think. Normal Americans might not like the way the Iraq war progresses one day to the next, but they know what War is, and they know that a free Iraq is far better than Saddam’s Iraq. They know that the Iraqi people are willing, when given the freedom and opportunity, to vote in a new government that will build democracy to a new Iraq. No one expects this to be accomplished in a couple of years. In fact, it’s likely that the Iraqis who are voting today and working to regenerate their country are doing it more for their children and grandchildren than for themselves. For them, the Iraq of tomorrow is worth fighting for today.

But the Moonbat doesn’t understand this. Liberals see the evidence of a germinating freedom seed, but they deny its potential to grow into a tall Redwood tree.

So again, high-fives all around for Arianna Huffington, a newly minted Moonbat. You wear it well, dear.

Who’s your daddy? Or, should I say, Blog daddy? If you’re a blogger and you became hopelessly addicted to this method of mass communication through the influence of another, you might want to let the Commissar know. He’s building a family tree of the blogosphere and so far, over 300 bloggers have contributed. Check it out.

While the Left rushes to judgement in the Valerie Plame matter revolving around Vice President Dick Cheney, his chief of staff Scooter Libbey, and Karl Rove, the credibility of Joe Wilson, Valerie’s husband and the so called case ‘whistle blower’, has come under question. The WaPo has a great article highlighting the ‘spotlight addicted’ Wilson, and how his thirst for fame might end up throwing a wrench in the prosecutors plans.

Meanwhile, Drudge has this tidbit.

ABCNEWS TELLS WHITE HOUSE OF ‘INDICTMENT’
Tue Oct 25 2005 19:08:02 ET

“We have double sourced that the vice president’s chief of staff has been indicted,” a reporter for ABCNEWS claimed to a White House press spokesman this afternoon.

The White House refused to comment on the claim. The network said they didn’t need comment, they were preparing to run with the development on this evening’s network news broadcast, sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.

ABCNEWS claimed to the White House that it had double sourced how an indictment against vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis Libby was set.

A senior White House source quickly determined ABC was bluffing; the report did not run on the East coast feed of the program.

Developing…

Indeed.

MORE: A wrap up of the whodunnit and whodintdoit and whostalkingaboutit over at Ace’s place.