Goodbye, Rove: A White Elephant Bites the Dust

Bridgethought of the Day: You can't go forward in reverse. You might just turn to a pillar of salt.

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They say an elephant never forgets. They didn't say you can't forget him. Yet there's a moment of sadness, oddly enough, as if some great sea monster just beached himself. Watching him lifeless on the sand, no more the terror of the waves, no more devouring innocent seal calves, no more children scattering at the sight ... just an old, overweight man with glasses. It's oddly touching. Suddenly, he's a human, tears well up, his voice breaks, and the power wafts out like a deflating mattress.

Is this only a small victory or the culmination of a long campaign to wrest power from the autocrats? Or is it another sign of Cheney-Bush failure, of the Republicans' last gasp, of the self-demise of the neocons? Rove is not alone.

The whole political infrastructure of what has become the conservative movement has crossed its own wires or messed up their sonar receptors. They just don't get what's on the airwaves anymore.

People wanted less government intrusion, more freedom. They got a police/prison/security state, complete with Big Brother watching, and hemorrhaging wars ... and more taxes, less service.

People wanted more free enterprise. They got stifling giant corporate takeovers and mergers.

People wanted fair elections, fair news coverage, more participation. They got rigged elections, a media propaganda machine that avoids real news, and blocked participation.

They wanted to stop crime. They got more prisoners, more criminals, more prisons, and more crime.

They wanted more free speech. They got mindless word wars and endless smear, sneer, & snivel.

They wanted bridges, and they got walls. Walls and wars ad infinitum.

We've been waiting so long for this requiem, to see that elephant finally bite the dust.

Rove-think is dead. Long live the doves.

Stop! In the Name of Rove...

"Before you break my dart..."

Rove v. Plame, a Medieval Soap Opera

Heresy! How dare you say King George doth lie?! Ye are indeed a CIA Witch! You are evil, and we are Goodness Itself! Thou shalt burn at the stake, wench!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

Is Scooter just playing dead? Or could he be really ... the sacrificial scapgoat? ...

RIP Conscience

What's Wrong with a Little Obstruction?

Bridgethought of the Day: Love is ... taking the rap for someone else's crimes ... or is it? This is probably Machiavelli's idea of love. Think Machiavelli-love, think Karl Rove.

You've probably already read this (from Reuters), but think of it in a new way:

"Libby Faces Jail

By JoAnne Allen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - No one is likely to face criminal charges for actually leaking CIA secrets even after a U.S. jury found a former top aide to Vice President Dick Cheney guilty of lying and obstructing a probe into the affair.
Just after the conviction on Tuesday of former White House aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald told reporters the leak investigation was over and would not extend to other administration officials.
"I would not expect to see any further charges filed," he said.
The trial stemmed from a probe into the unmasking of Valerie Plame as a CIA operative in 2003 after her husband, Joseph Wilson, accused the Bush administration of manipulating intelligence on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction to build its case for war.
Libby faces a maximum 25 years in prison for obstructing the Plame leak probe, perjury before a grand jury and making false statements to the FBI.
No charges were brought for actually leaking Plame's name. Federal law makes it a crime to knowingly reveal the identity of a covert agent. Some suggested Libby was merely a scapegoat for higher-ups.
Juror Denis Collins said many jurors felt that other officials who leaked Plame's name to reporters, such as senior White House aide Karl Rove, should have been on trial. "

Crimes committed:

• manipulating intelligence on weapons of mass destruction


• lying to the American people


• revealing the identity of a covert agent (working for the United States government)


• using false evidence to start a war


• taking revenge against a whistleblower by hurting his family


• conspiring to cover up evidence of all of the above


• participating in the cover up by perjury, withholding evidence

Of all of the above crimes, the only one pursued was the latter, for Scooter Libby. And what does he get for his love and sincerity? A 25-year rap? And what do the other perps get? The same perks associated with self-proclaimed Leader of the Planet: nole mi tangere.

Look a little closer on the book Karl Rove swears on, and you'll find it under Dick Cheney's hand and even, yes even old George W's hand...

OK, so they swear on the audio tape ... reading is so HARD ... but love is easy, at least love Machiavelli-style ... when you're on the receiving end. It's the giving that's the hard part. Giving and reading, these are two things the Administration does NOT LIKE AT ALL. Just ask Scoot. Hey, Scoot. It's for the family. It's for the man. It's a loyalty thing, you know? What's 25 years when you know you did the right thing? We'll take care of your wife and kids. You're our number one man, Scoot. So what's the big deal about obstruction? All our best guys get obstruction. Everybody's gotta do a little obstruction. How do you think we got where we are?