For all intents and purpose, Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation into the Plame affair is finished. Why else would Wilson and Plame sue Cheney, Rove, Libby and pretty much everyone else?
MediaBlog: “I too wish for the opportunity to opine on TV, attend black tie events, have my picture appear in major magazines . . . and then sue the government for invasion of privacy. It’s the American dream.”
I can’t believe what I’m seeing on television. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has erupted into complete chaos.
Israel intensified its attacks against Lebanon on Thursday, imposing a naval blockade, twice hitting Beirut’s airport, and blasting two Lebanese army air bases near Syria. Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets into Israel, which said one also struck the port city of Haifa.
I’m amazed at the response from around the world. The backlash against Israel is unbelievable. Russia and France condemned the strikes. Greece says Israel’s actions are excessive and pointless. Meanwhile, Bush backs Israel’s right to defend itself.
So much for the road map for peace.
Bill Roggio has coverage. Pajamas Media has the roundup.
MORE: “The rubicon has been crossed.”
Mmm…Porterhouse.
My blogging has been messed up by the fact that I’ve been in the Mile High City since Sunday night. I’m here for a trade show and that means I head out the door of my hotel at 8 AM and don’t get back until after dinner.
Speaking of dinner.
I went with a couple of colleagues and a few business partners to Morton’s here in downtown Denver. As usual, the beef was superb. The fries were seasoned excellently. The Caesar Salad was incredibly Caesar-y. And in the end, there was upside down apple pie. Ala-mode, of course.
I highly recommend the selections above.
So, being that I’m talking with business partners all day and eating red meat by night, I haven’t had a lot of time to look at what else is going on in the world.
There appears to be a lot stuff happening.
While I was dressing this morning, I heard the first reports of the commuter train bomb attacks in Bombay India. There were eight blasts in all. As of 10:07 PM Mountain Time, the AP has 190 dead and hundreds injured. I immediately thought I was looking at another Madrid. Another London. The Times of India fingers Lashkar-e-Toiba and local Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). I’ve never heard of these groups before. This Wikipedia article helped bring me up to date. While I hate to say it, I have finally resigned myself to the fact that terrorist acts like these have become a part of life in the 21st century. The U.S. will never stop fighting terrorism. 9/11 changed everything for us. Now, other countries in the world are becoming victims of these cowardly acts, and it’s changing everything for them too. While citizens of London might be carrying on as usual now that a year has passed since their attack, their lives have changed. Ditto for Madrid, Spain. Same for Bali. Now with Bombay, the list of ‘changed’ nations continues to grow. Yet, we fight on.
Bob Novak…remember him? He had something to say today. He finally got to tell on the people who leaked classified CIA information to him. Personally, I don’t like Novak. He just annoys me. I guess it’s his mannerisms on television. I mean, he rarely looks at the person he’s talking to. He mostly just looks down at the table, or down by his feet. It’s kinda weird. Take a look at him next time he’s on the tube and you’ll see what I mean. But as it concerns the Plame matter, I feel like Novak really enjoyed the fact that he was in the spotlight. In fact, he still does, as this article shows. Basically, Bob is full of himself. Period. Anyway, the story isn’t over. Novak’s revealed testimony is yet another spark which will keep the fire of this drama lit. Myself? I couldn’t care less.
DING DING DING DING. Bush announced good economic news today. As usual, the MSM spun it as bad. Their analysis was simply ‘Move along citizens…nothing to see here.’ So typical.
There was a lot of other interesting stories today, but right now, in this hotel room, at this hour, I simply don’t care. I’ve got another big day tomorrow, then I fly home, so y’all won’t hear from me til sometime Thursday.
PunditGuy…out.
Right. I can hear you asking yourself, “what the heck is COWM?”
COWM stands for, Carnival of Wal-Mart, and the very first edition is up.
So much for the cloak of protection.
A federal judge on Monday upheld the FBI’s unprecedented raid of a congressional office, saying that barring searches of lawmakers’ offices would turn Capitol Hill into “a taxpayer-subsidized sanctuary for crime.”
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan rejected requests from lawmakers and Rep. William Jefferson to return material seized by the FBI in a May 20-21 search of Jefferson’s office.
Ever so once-in-a-while, you come across a rational judge who believes in the rule of law. How refreshing! So, I wonder when we’ll hear from the CBC on this ruling? I can’t wait to hear what they’ll say about this. Better yet, when will Mr. Billy do the perp walk?
A building blew up in the upper east-side of Manhattan this morning. It’s unclear how many people have been injured or killed. There’s lots of speculation right now regarding the cause. Some say it could be related to natural gas. On FOX someone floated the terrorism angle, although that seems highly unlikely. It is New York City after all, so that kind of worry is expected.
More from WNBC.
AP
UPDATE: UNBELIEVABLE!
At least 15 people were hurt after an apparent gas blast — possibly triggered by a suicidal doctor going through a nasty divorce — brought down a four-story Upper East Side building today, city officials said.
Authorities spent the day probing the possibility that the morning explosion at 34 East 62nd Street, between Madison and Park avenues, was the result of a suicide attempt by Dr. Nicholas Bartha. “We’re still investigating that, talking about the potential for suicide. So that’s a distinct possibility,” Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said.
Paul Brown, chief spokesman for the NYPD, said Monday evening that the NYPD’s arson unit is investigating the collapse as arson. “This incident is being investigated as a crime. But the individual has not been interviewed because he’s been hospitalized.”
Polly Passonneau, a lawyer for Bartha’s wife, reportedly contacted police recently saying she had received an e-mail in which the physician indicated he was contemplating suicide.
A police official with direct knowledge of the case told The Associated Press that the rambling e-mail read: “When you read this … your life will change forever. You deserve it. You will be transformed from gold digger to ash and rubbish digger. You always wanted me to sell the house. I always told you I will leave the house only if I am dead.”
The 66-year-old doctor was being forced to sell the building because of the divorce, and authorities believe that the explosion may be related to a suicide attempt involving gas, officials said. Court records show that he faced a $4 million lien as a result of the case.
A true life “War of the Roses”. This, ladies and gentlemen, is pure, raw, selfishness.
It’s a good thing he lived. Death would have been such an easy way out for this guy. Now, assuming he survives, he can live the rest of his life reliving the moment when 70% of his body burned, all because he wanted to show his wife.
A word to the wise. You don’t want to threaten to kill Jeff Goldstein’s kid (or anyone’s kid for that matter).
Really.
UPDATE: OK, now things have really gotten out of hand.
If you try to click the link above you won’t get anywhere. That’s because Jeff Goldstein’s site has been under a D.O.S. attack, not once but twice over the past 36 hours. It seems that the few Leftists who agree with Deb Frisch, the University of Arizona adjunct professor of psychology who started all this business, decided to put a whammy on Protein Wisdom, effectively knocking it offline. The latest is that Jeff found a new host and should be blogging again soon.
As for Frisch, it appears that her gusto in the rough and tumble was short lived. Earlier today she waved the white flag in an attempt to defuse the situation. She lamented the fact that her abusive comments found their way to her superiors at the U of A, and as a result, she claimed to have voluntarily resigned from her adjunct professorship. She apologized to Goldstein, but the way she did it left me to believe that her sincerity was less than genuine. Her apology easily translated into a claim of victimhood, an instinctive reaction so typical of the Left. Instead of lowering the temperature, the boiling pot overflowed. The blogosphere has erupted. There are gawkers everywhere, and people are making phone calls.
I followed the early part of this “story” and since then I’ve tried to put myself in Goldstein’s shoes. How would I have reacted to Frisch? I would have ignored her. I would have banned her from my site, and that would have been that. Problem solved, for me. But that would not have stopped Deb Frisch from running to another conservative blog to pick up where she left off. Moreover, Frisch’s comments weren’t just in disagreement to Goldstein. She got personal. She went way over the line and as a result, she’s become Exhibit ‘A’ for right-side bloggers who are sick and tired of the Left’s brand of tolerance. And you know what? The Left is worried about the Frisch fallout. They should be. Not only has Frisch given them a black eye, her sympathizers who have perpetrated the D.O.S. attack on Goldstein’s site look just like terrorists. If identified, they should be treated as such.
The blogger on blog reader war concerns me. I’ve seen the blogosphere do wonderful things. Some of the investigative reporting that’s been done has been Grade A. But when blogs attack other blogs, or get attacked by blog readers, I become distressed at how quickly the voyeurs give in to the instinct to engage in school playground behavior. The pile-on, hand wringing and ‘ah-ha’ -ism becomes childish pretty quickly. Personally, I’d like to read less of this.
So let’s close the book on all this Frisch-ing, and get back to the important things – Iraq, Immigration reform, and those crazy North Koreans.
UPDATE II: Protein Wisdom is back up.
UPDATE III: It ain’t over yet. Jeff, on Inside Higher Ed.
By now it’s likely you’ve read about the bust up of an alleged plot to blow up the Holland Tunnel in hopes of causing a massive flood in lower Manhattan. Various reports have quoted experts who claim that even if the tunnel were to crack somehow, the Financial District would not be flooded because it is above the level of the river. This little factoid has become fodder for a few who take delight in spotlighting the stupidity of the terrorists who hatched the scheme.
For instance, a guy named ‘BooMan’ says:
These guys belong in the same category as the man that wanted to destroy the Brooklyn Bridge with a blowtorch and the guy who couldn’t light his own shoelaces on fire. I’m really scared. Are you?
Meanwhile, those clever folks over at Gawker.com berate the Daily News for merely reporting the plot:
The Daily News wants you to know that FEAR is BACK, exclusively reporting that the FBI has uncovered a serious terrorist plot to bomb the Holland Tunnel “in hopes of causing a torrent of water to deluge lower Manhattan.” (And disrupt all that progress down at the WTC? Terrible.) So, how is this news? When doesn’t someone want to blow us up?
And then there is Chuck Keller, who writes:
The fear mongers are at it again. It’s the one-year anniversary of the attacks in London. That puts the needle of fear back into the arms of America’s junkies.
The closer we get to November, the more we will see “NEWS” stories about “potential” terrorist threats. Last week it was the “Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight” in Miami. Now New York is announcing a foiled “terrorist” attack on the Holland Tunnel. “PLOT” FOILED Wow! Homeland Security makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. It is such a relief knowing they are out there working so hard 24/7 “protecting” us.
When and if the bad guys decide to hit us, they will. Hell, “Georgie” isn’t even worried about Bin Laden anymore. The special force assigned to look for him has been reassigned to “more important” matters.
I feel so safe! Don’t you?
Have we become so far removed from that day in September of 2001 that we now criticize the very people who work 24/7 to protect us from being killed? Isn’t this the kind of complacency that the terrorists hope will spread through America, just so they can once more catch us asleep at the wheel?
I for one thank my lucky stars for the brave people who are out there, watching, listening and following up on leads in order to prevent the next 9/11. What good does it do to mock our protectors? What good does it do to mock the terrorists?
Wake up, people.
I’ve mentioned the TruGlo and the Fire Bible before. Now, make way for the Duct Tape Bible.
Experience the latest rage – the complete Everyday Bible wrapped in durable duct tape! Take this Bible anywhere you want to go – camping, hiking, mission trips, school, even church youth group. Available in traditional silver duct tape as well as camouflage, the message of this Bible is even more durable than the package – it’s life-changing message that will last forever!
Heh.