The wisdom of age.....

Paul Harvey. Geez. 86 years old. Some people obviously shouldn't have a radio show anymore. It's amazing what he's said. Not the first time Harvey has spoken out in ignorance. He called Islam encouraged killing 18 months ago. In Dec. '99, he said Islam was a "fraudulent religion". (Mentioned in the previous link).

But this sort of statement, it's as though he's held back, held back for years and years while he's dispensed his hokey "wisdom" which probably would fit right in with Larry King's take on the news, and finally he's just got all these pent-up feelings out. Like the FAIR website says, these sorts of statements would not be out of place in white supremacist literature. He's celebrating that Europeans gave Native Americans all manner of contagious diseases and that it was force that set up the white presence in America? Shame on him. And yet CBS, NBC, won't air a commercial which highlights a church that will allow gay people in the church. They claimed it was "too controversial". Right, like this whole war thing has just been pre-determined from the get-go. The corporations can't get enough of the war coverage and flag-waving. Typical. If you wish to ask why ABC Radio will carry Paul Harvey but, as the FAIR website says, Disney wouldn't allow a subsidiary, Miramax, to distribute "Fahrenheit 911", please contact the following folks:

1. John.E.McConnell@abc.com, abcradio@abc.com, 212-456-5100.
2. Paul Harvey irma.n.aviles@abc.com, 312-899-4085
3. Disney Corp. 818-560-1000.

It might be Karl

So, it may be Rove. Seems that Rove, in a March 2004 American Prospect article contests the allegation made byLawrence O'Donnell of The McLaughlin Group that Rove was the source who outed Valerie Plame, CIA agent and wife of administration critic and ambassador to Gabon, Joseph Wilson. In the Prospect article, Rove claims that he publicized Wilson's identity and that of his wife, CIA agent Valerie Plame, only six days after Novak's column. Rove supposedly named at least six administration officials also involved in the campaign to discredit Wilson after, according to Rove, Novak's column had been published. Rove also aimed to counter Wilson's alleged bias and hoped to bolster the administration's stance in the wake of Wilson's claims about the administration's use of forged documents. However, Newsweek writes that Rove's lawyer states that "Rove spoke to Cooper several days before Novak's column came out." So now it seems there will be a stand-off of some sort whereby it may be difficult to ascertain whether Rove was indeed Cooper's source or not. Perhaps some other testimony may clear things up, but then again, perhaps the face-off will persist for sometime with liberal claims of lying on the one hand and conservative claims of playing politics on the other.

So for now, that's it on Rove. Nevertheless, Rove is still, as Digby writes a fucking thug. Seems that Rove stated in an interview on "Scarborough Country" that the White House, while perhaps unable to get John Bolton confirmed via the Senate, was considering other means by which Bolton might gain his appointment. Geez. The man never quits. I think the President has spent his capital (as he's spent just about everything else. He has no foot left to stand on. He was barely/allegedly elected in 2004 and yet Rove persists in reading the country as though his man has a mandate to re-write American law. Not that this is much of a surprise, but all the same. To see a guy show his true colors again and agin, particularly of such a virulent color, only serves to re-enforce the impression of Rove as a bare-knuckles brawler. All the more reason to keep the heat on the Senators on the Senate Judiciary Committe. Once again, as big a story as the felonious fingering of a CIA operative's identity, and especially during wartime, is, no sign of it as a top story on Yahoo, at least as of right now. We can see that Yahoo! has its news priorities just right (yup, Venus won Wimbledon and there have been shark attacks).

And last and by no means least, some absolutely not-at-all-hitting-close-to-home-in-the-slightest-not-one-bit-at-all humor from Doonesbury.

It's On.

This is gonna be bloody. This will be Bork + Thomas + Bubba Clinton campaigning to be US Ambassador to Serbia-Montegro bad. Yup, Ruth Bader-Ginsburg has resigned today and there is an open Supreme Court position open for the first time in 11 years. And at what a time. As Digby writes Dems would probably be more accommodating (first time I've ever thought that possible) if this were Rehnquist because Rehnquist is a conservative and the political calculus would simply involve substitution of one right-winger for another. But if Bush (and you think he's gonna settle?) nominates someone along the lines of Janice Brown or AG Gonzalez or Ted Olson or Darth Vader, um, John Ashcroft, Dems will scream bloody murder, quite reasonably. Again, Digsby mentions this but I wanted to re-affirm my agreement with him and also encourage you to lobby your Senators so that they take these confirmation hearings very seriously and so that Darth Vader is NOT nominated, let alone confirmed. One way to get the word out is through MoveOn which offers a form letter which you can adapt if you wish to encourage people to petition or call their Senators and tell them that they don't want a radical, fringe Supreme Court justice. Needless to say, this is going to be very bloody and very messy so please do all you can to remain engaged politically and civilly all summer folks.