Libby Can't Save Himself, But CIA Is Effectively Dead

Being something of an Internet News nut, I was mildly amused to read about indicted former Cheney aide I. Lewis Libby having his request to subpoena ex-NYT "reporter" (if, by reporter, you mean someone who gets down on one's knees and fellates the Bush regime in print daily) Judith Miller denied.

Libby, whose role in outing the wife of former U.S. ambassador Joe Wilson as a CIA NOC could end up ultimately spelling doom for the Bush regime, has but one hope of avoiding any time in prison: sing like a canary. Of course, if he does that, his political (and quite possibly physical) life would be worth two things: Jack and Shit, with Jack having left town eons ago.

Not that it would matter much to what's left of the CIA, now that Mike Hayden--who hasn't encountered a Constitutional Ammendment he couldn't wipe his ass with completely in one quick flick of the wrist--has been confirmed Director of that agency. Hayden, if you'll recall, was in charge of the illegal wiretapping by the NSA on American citizens in direct violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

This leaves what was once our nation's foremost intelligence-gathering agency effectively non-existent. Hayden's job is to finish off the task begun by Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet and Porter Goss: systematically cripple and eliminate the CIA and bring intel under Rumsfeld's complete control.

As good agents are driven out and replaced with incompetent sycophants to tell the Bushies only what they want to hear instead of the truth, America's ability to track terrorists is further destroyed. We are more vulnerable now than ever before.

Somewhere, bin Laden is laughing his ass off.

And It Only Took Two & a Half Weeks!

The Ohio primary was May 2nd. Mike Foley, the Democratic candidate for ste representative District 14, called me up earlier this evening to let me know he won his primary race, by 188 votes.

There was a Board of Elections meeting down in Columbus, Ohio today, where the final results were certified. And Mike came up the winner in the final count.

It took only two and a half weeks from the primary on May 2nd for anyone to know the official result.

Let me repeat that last remark: It took only two and a half weeks from the primary on May 2nd for anyone to know the official result.

If Ken Blackwell's little strategy to disenfranchise Ohio voters works as planned, we'll be looking back on such a span of time with nostalgia; it'll probably take months for future electoral results to filter in.

But enough harping on Blackwell; he'll earn enough scorn on this blog over the coming months.

For now, let me just congratulate Mike Foley on his victory. Lord knows he worked his behind off for it, and it is well deserved.

Cheny's Handwritten Notes May Finally Damn Him, Bush Regime

The investigation into the leaking of Valerie Plame-Wilson's identity as a CIA NOC (Non-Official Cover) has taken yet another twist.

According to Reuters and the Associated Press (via Yahoo News), Patrick Fitzgerald plans to use notes he says were handwritten by none other than Dick Cheney himself.

The U.S. prosecutor in the CIA leak case has told a court he plans to use as evidence a newspaper article with notes that he says were hand-written by Vice President Dick Cheney referring to Valerie Plame shortly before she was exposed as a CIA operative.

The notes show Cheney and his former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, were "acutely focused" on the July 6, 2003, article written by Plame's husband, Bush administration critic and former U.S. ambassador Joseph Wilson, said Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald in the pre-trial filing made on Friday.

Can't you just smell the ink on the indictment papers already? Here's a brief recap:

The article asked whether the administration manipulated intelligence in the run-up to the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.

In the article, Wilson wrote he went to Niger in 2002 at the CIA's request to check out reports that the African nation had sold uranium yellowcake to Iraq in the late 1990s. The processed ore can be used to make a nuclear weapon.

Wilson said he concluded on his tip that it was unlikely such a transaction ever took place. Later, the alleged African uranium connection was cited by the war's backers as evidence that Iraq had developed or had tried to develop weapons of mass destruction.

Shortly after Wilson's article appeared, the identity of Plame, his wife, as a covert CIA operative was leaked to journalists.

If Cheney directly collaborated with Rove, Libby and whoever else was involved in leaking Plame's identity, he's going down. Big time.

Again, more as the situation develops.

Rove Finally Indicted?

Well well well, it looks as if Karl Rove may finally be indicted.

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald spent more than half a day Friday at the offices of Patton Boggs, the law firm representing Karl Rove.

During the course of that meeting, Fitzgerald served attorneys for former Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove with an indictment charging the embattled White House official with perjury and lying to investigators related to his role in the CIA leak case, and instructed one of the attorneys to tell Rove that he has 24 hours to get his affairs in order, high level sources with direct knowledge of the meeting said Saturday morning.

Is anyone really surprised?

More importantly, what does America have to look forward to now that Bush's political brain may no longer be in a position to tell him what to do or plan strategy for him for the all-important midterm elections--elections that, should they result in a Democratic takeover of either chamber of Congress, will likely spell the end of Bush's ability to destroy this nation with impunity?

As the spectre of impeachment and removal from office looms like a perpetual cloud over the Shrub's head, and the rats continue to desert the sinking ship like Bush did the Texas Air National Guard, things are probably becoming very uncomfortable in the White House. People probably dare not speak above a whisper, or mention certain, forbidden subjects.

More as news develops.

Ohio Primary Officially a Disaster

One thing I learned from participating in Ohio's primary election on Tuesday as a booth worker: the new system is fucked.

As Ken Blackwell gloats over his victory in the Republican primary against fellow crook Jim Petro (who, by the way, beat out the bug-eyed insane Blackwell in Cuyahoga County by a sizeable margin), Ohio's electoral process slides further into chaos, confusion and deliberate vote fraud.

Must be nice for Blackwell, to be the state's chief election official with money invested in the same kind of machines he used to help rig the 2004 election. That way, he can commit multiple felonies (not to mention treason) and make money off of it at the same time.

This is what is going on here in Ohio: boards of election are in chaos. Numerous polls in Cuyahoga County failed to open on time, with many still not ready to open by the time 1:30 P.M. rolled around. Polls were supposed to open at 6:30 A.M.

Thousands of poll workers called off, fed up with the lack of proper training on the new procedures and voting machines. Procedures we were supposed to have been taught never were; a large number of them (such as signing off on paperwork before polls opened) we learned as we prepared to close down the polls at 7:30 P.M.

Across Ohio, voters found themselves unable to figure out the new Diebold machines. Many, I'm sure, stayed home or left rather than even bother voting on the unholy contraptions.

To be fair, however, the precinct at which I worked had few real problems. A trio of elections officials from the county showed up to help us with closing procedures, and they remarked ours was the most well-organized in the county they had gone to that day. From what I'm learning as newspaper headlines detail the massive problems experienced elsewhere, it would seem we were the only precinct with any organization whatsoever.

I credit that to a team that was dedicated and--except for one snotty little punk who couldn't be bothered to follow directions at the end of the night and got himself booted from the premises--competent. We all cared enough to do our jobs properly (except for Mr. Smarty-pants, he knows who he is), and everyone cared enough to help voters every step of the way.

But overall, the primary election has been a complete disaster. Absentee ballots are still not counted, and final election results may not be available until Saturday.

None of this should have happened. We had valid, time-tested voting equipment that ensured accuracy and privacy for voters. But no, Ken Blackwell wants to rig his way into the governor's mansion and seize Ohio for the Republican Party for all eternity. So we are fucked.

It is a dark time for America's electoral process. But there is yet hope. As I have been saying, it will take years to accomplish but we can take back our country. We just need the will and the organization to do it.