Sunset doesn’t last all evening
A mind can blow those clouds away
After all this my love is up
And must be leaving
It has not always been this gray
All things must pass
All things must pass away.
“All Things Must Pass,” George Harrison
Daylight savings time shifted this morning, and I was up before the dawn, listening to music while […]

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Billmon’s feeling better about Fitzgerald.

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The Republicans are all about protecting freedom of speech for corporations - as long as they’re for profit:
Last week’s partisan power play took the form of an amendment tacked onto a piece of legislation intended to increase regulatory oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage financing companies recently plagued by accounting scandals. The […]

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From WashPo, in the “better late than never” division:
A majority of Americans say the indictment of senior White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby signals broader ethical problems in the Bush administration, and nearly half say the overall level of honesty and ethics in the federal government has fallen since President Bush took office, according […]

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Now baby’s feeling funny in the morning
She says she’s got a lot on her mind
Nature didn’t give her any warning
Now she’s going to have to leave her wild ways behind
She says she doesn’t care if she never spends
Another night running loose on the town
She’s gonna be a mother
Take a look in my eyes and tell […]

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Wonder where this is going to lead:
Mr. Fitzgerald was spotted Friday morning outside the office of James Sharp, Mr. Bush’s personal lawyer. Mr. Bush was interviewed about the case by Mr. Fitzgerald last year. It is not known what discussions, if any, were taking place between the prosecutor and Mr. Sharp. Mr. Sharp did not […]

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These people keep inflicting harm after harm on the nation:
On a party-line vote, a Republican-run U.S. House of Representatives committee voted to cut food stamps by $844 million on Friday, just hours after a new government report showed more Americans are struggling to put food on the table.
About 300,000 Americans would lose benefits due to […]

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Mark Kleiman:
I read Fitzgerald’s caution about predicting future indictments as simply an extension of his general refusal to comment on anything outside the four corners of the indictment.
There was nothing to keep Fitzgerald from saying, had it been true, something like: “The investigative phase of this case is now over. The grand jury has indicted […]

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Joe Wilson says there have been threats:
(CBS) Joe Wilson, whose wife’s unmasking as a CIA agent is at the center of the special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation, said today that that his wife, Valerie Plame, has been threatened. Wilson talks to 60 Minutes correspondent Ed Bradley, in his first interview since Fitzgerald announced the […]

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Billmon:
Yet, looking at the charges actually brought in Scooter’s indictment, we see this is not, in fact, true. Yes, Cooper and Miller helped pin down the fact that Libby lied on the stand when he said he had told them he heard about Plame’s CIA affliation from other reporters and didn’t know if those rumors […]

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Sheldon Drobny:
Besides my co-founding Air America Radio, I have another day job. I have helped prosecute and defend white collar crime offenses for 38 years including experience with Mr. Fitzgerald’s office in my home town Chicago on current political prosecutions. Those of us locally in the know here do not agree that Mr.
Fitzgerald is as […]

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We had a nice little Fitzmas celebration at Duncan’s last night - lots of champagne toasts and Chinese takeout. Somegirl, Richard Cranium, Brendan and Steveeboy were there.
Then we all walked over to Fergie’s and met up with the remnants of the Philly for Change gang. (Brendan made us leave because he didn’t like the band. […]

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Via Archpundit, we get an intriguing little reminder from Fitzgerald’s successful prosecution of Gov. Ryan:
From the AP August 27, 2003, Wednesday, BC cycle:
When asked, Fitzgerald would not comment on whether “Official A” was Ryan.
From the Chicago Daily Herald April 3, 2002, Wednesday:
But despite branding two of Ryan’s former top aides and his campaign committee […]

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Billmon is not all that enthused about Fitzgerald’s reasons for not charging Libby with violating the Espionage Act:
Maybe Fitzgerald held back because he’s worried about being able to get an unauthorized disclosure conviction — although on the evidence presented in Scooter’s indictment, it’s hard to see why he should feel that way. The facts and […]

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Official A, named in today’s indictments, has been identified by three sources as Karl Rove.

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From the press conference.

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Will:
So in a way, Fitzmas — for those on the left so anxiously awaiting it — has been just like every other holiday from Christmas or Hanukkah to your last birthday. In other words…something of a letdown, even though you’re too embarassed to say it out loud. Sure, it was cool to see the new […]

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Josh Marshall points out they knew all along what important work Valerie Plame was doing.
They just didn’t care.
Overlooked in the current discussion.
Go to page 5 of the indictment. Top of the page, item #9.
On or about June 12, 2003, LIBBY was advised by the Vice President of the United States that Wilson’s wife worked […]

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The Democracy for America people are celebrating having an emergency meeting tonight at Fergie’s, 12th & Sansom, 7 p.m. I might see you - it depends on whether I can still walk after Duncan’s celebration.

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In honor of Fitzmas, these go out to Steveeboy. First, this shocking news from the Onion, and a story in the Philadelphia Weekly crowning our city the undisputed center of … well, just read it.
“Philadelphia would be such a great place to live, if it wasn’t for all those zombies.”

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Here he comes to save the day…. Ah, the gift that keeps on giving! This is even better than that Fruit of the Month Club I got last year:
In one of the boldest moves yet in the 22-month investigation into the outing of a covert CIA agent to a handful of top reporters covering the […]

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[Via Akou.]

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Perjury and obstruction of justice. One down, ? to go.

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I love the way Mr. Bad Toup Luntz says it with a tinge of regret, because God knows they have no choice whatsoever when it comes to accepting personal responsibility:
Mr Bush has praised Mr Fitzgerald’s deft handling of the inquiry, which could deflate any later attempts to paint him as a partisan prosecutor over-reaching his […]

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Interesting. I’ve heard many, many tales of the Red Cross using funds wastefully but since I’m in no position to verify that, I haven’t thought much about it until lately:
The American Red Cross said yesterday that its response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita has depleted its Disaster Relief Fund, forcing it to borrow $340 million […]

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