the leak

[ratsprayer]

well good old scotter libby has testified that bush authorized the leak of valerie plame's name.  

the following is from a q&a session in chicago on 30 september 2003:

THE PRESIDENT: Yes. Let me just say something about leaks in Washington. There are too many leaks of classified information in Washington. There's leaks at the executive branch; there's leaks in the legislative branch. There's just too many leaks. And if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of.

is he going to be taken care of?  well im calling Senators Dewine & Voinovich tomorrow to see what they say.  call and talk to your senator's aides.  its always a good time.   ;)

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

What can be said about this....I told you so?  Big surprise, the stink goes all the way to the top.  

I got nothin' else.  This is a high crime and misdemeanor, as far as I'm concerned.  If the average citizen did something like this, we'd never see them again.  So much for the justice system.

[EC]

i seriously get creeped out by the way bush talks.

"the person will be taken care of."

you KNOW that some fuckin' dude realized early on that people like to have a bit of a rush from an authoritarian figure, and the "hunt them down and kill them" thing kind of started it all.  

oh whyowhyowhyowhyowhyowhyowhy can't people just talk normal?  i swear, marketing is the worst thing that ever happened to the world.  using the lowest common denominator instead of trying to reach individuals with merit.

[peanut butter puddin surprise]

instead of trying to reach individuals with merit

That's just it, Meg...at this point, Bush has zero, nada, zilch in the merit department.  The scariest thing, for me, is that I knew this would happen all along.  From the moment he announced his campaign, to both elections, and every minute in between then and now, I just knew what a shitbag of a prez he would be.  He's got to have some interest in repeating the mistakes of the past and amplifying them to the 99th power.
 

[EC]

(dude, i totally had a dream about you last night.  isn't that funny?  i keep dreaming about people i met last year.  anyhow, we had fun going out for drinks and playing songs on the jukebox at outlook inn :)  plus, in my dream, your house had shag carpets in every room and a swimming pool.  and amelia was still her age, but she was a super baby - about 4 feet tall, and was talking to me about sartre.)

aaaaaanyhow, yeah.  it's so hard to argue about stuff like this because it makes one feel so frustrated.  maybe we need a new campaign for the world that doesn't involve focusing on particular individuals (ie bush or saddam, or whoever) but instead focuses on trying to get people to feel like they should know what's going on, and should make choices with integrity, and how to spot bullshit and also to stop tolerating being spoonfed.

but it can't be a spazzy campaign with mass gatherings, because that just feeds the crowd mentality.  the campaigners have to get people to let them into their house for a cup of tea, and just talk about stuff.

that would work.  

[Chills]

but she was a super baby - about 4 feet tall, and was talking to me about sartre.)

Wow! Even Freud himself couldn't analyze this!

[ratsprayer]

What can be said about this....I told you so?  Big surprise, the stink goes all the way to the top.  

I got nothin' else.  This is a high crime and misdemeanor, as far as I'm concerned.  If the average citizen did something like this, we'd never see them again.  So much for the justice system.

high crime and misdemeanor? yeah definitely, but that pales in comparison to lying your country in to a war, and its getting ready to happen again.  fucking iranians, they dont deserve to turn on their lights!

[wellfleet]

There's leaks at the executive branch; there's leaks in the legislative branch. There's just too many leaks. And if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of.

is he going to be taken care of?  well im calling Senators Dewine & Voinovich tomorrow to see what they say.  call and talk to your senator's aides.  its always a good time.   ;)

ratsprayer, don't you find bush's comments oddly worded? wanna know why? because HE authorized the leaks, and therefore committed no crime. WHY? because legally, the executive branch, i.e. the Prez, can legally declassify any and all information as it sees fit. although there is an understanding that any declassification has to involve the cooperation of the government branch affected so that no operations are imperiled (such as undercover agents), it is not legally binding.
so... if the executive branch declassifies sensitive information, they have broken no law. at any time, if authorized, an agent of the exec. branch can leak classified info to the press as this often happens...
scary isn't it?
write your state reps anyway, i know i will...

 :-X :-X :-X :-X

(i wish we had an emoticon for "barf")

[wellfleet]

i wonder who they're going to send to fight iranians... most of which are poor and live much like afghanis... my friend in the national guard did a tour in afghanistan, which i don't think he anticipated.
if your kid is in the boy scouts, watch out, they're next!

[ratsprayer]

ratsprayer, don't you find bush's comments oddly worded? wanna know why? because HE authorized the leaks, and therefore committed no crime. WHY? because legally, the executive branch, i.e. the Prez, can legally declassify any and all information as it sees fit. although there is an understanding that any declassification has to involve the cooperation of the government branch affected so that no operations are imperiled (such as undercover agents), it is not legally binding.
so... if the executive branch declassifies sensitive information, they have broken no law. at any time, if authorized, an agent of the exec. branch can leak classified info to the press as this often happens...
scary isn't it?
write your state reps anyway, i know i will...

:-X :-X :-X :-X

(i wish we had an emoticon for "barf")

thanks for the government lesson, yes i did know that info.  however, its plainly obvious the administration criminally leaked the info as a way to discredit joe wilson.  they knew he was calling their bullshit on the yellow cake documents because they knew full well the documents were full of shit from the beginning, but it was one of the main pieces of info they needed to get the war started.  that makes it a crime because of motive.  

weve proven that most of us are similar on the political spectrum, but this is why the oppostion cant get anything started.  people would rather nitpick others about semantics instead of concentrating on the core issue which in fact much more important.  if you want to make fun of me for my efforts, so be it.  im at least trying.  

[wellfleet]

thanks for the government lesson, yes i did know that info.  however, its plainly obvious the administration criminally leaked the info as a way to discredit joe wilson.  they knew he was calling their bullshit on the yellow cake documents because they knew full well the documents were full of shit from the beginning, but it was one of the main pieces of info they needed to get the war started.  that makes it a crime because of motive.  

weve proven that most of us are similar on the political spectrum, but this is why the oppostion cant get anything started.  people would rather nitpick others about semantics instead of concentrating on the core issue which in fact much more important.  if you want to make fun of me for my efforts, so be it.  im at least trying.  

nah, dude, you're misunderstanding me. i'm completely agreeing with you, except that whether you call it semantics or nitpicking, it's not a *criminal* offense. if it's legal for the exec branch to leak any info, then it just *is*. i'm not saying it's right, moral, ethical, cause obviously it's not. i wasn't trying to make fun of you at all, i was just pointing out the duplicitous nature of bush's comments. it's clear to me he knew where the leaks were coming from (mirror, mirror) so he knew it wasn't a criminal liability. i think tom can help clear this up, is he the law student? but motive is not an element of criminal litigation. you don't have to prove or present motive to make a case.
of course they did it to discredit wilson, and it's rotten and dirty and people could have gotten killed. i'm just saying that legally speaking, it's legit. the ethical ramifications, well, that's up to mothers and god...

... just saying that i wasn't at all trying to make fun of your stance because i feel the same way you do is all...  :)

[ratsprayer]

it may be a case of apple and oranges, but why was there the bush rhetoric in the first place to find out who leaked when they  just could have admitted it?  why the fuck did this need to be de-classified in the first place?  just out of the blue name a CIA agent?  i admit im pretty lacking of knowledge of the actual laws surrounding it all, but we can all see its a bunch of shit.  it was declassification of information that affected national security, and that is a crime.

now there has to be some distraction away from all this, i wonder what will happen...

[wellfleet]

i know! i know! "africanized" bees. or maybe killer bunnies. or anthrax. or barry bonds. or massive peanut butter contamination... we should start a pool and see...

[ratsprayer]

i know! i know! "africanized" bees. or maybe killer bunnies. or anthrax. or barry bonds. or massive peanut butter contamination... we should start a pool and see...

yeah yeah, thats the ticket.  freedom hating killer bunnies that ruin easter.  theyre going to poison the peeps!   :o :o :o