Even on a regular Friday, this story may well have been missed, but particularly on Fitzmas Day, when there seemed to be no other news at all, it had no chance of being acknowledged, despite its importance as well as the irony that bad news for the White House is undoubtedly what prompted it. The story? The Federal Marriage Amendment has been resurrected.
And why wouldn’t it be? A new strategy memo issued by Carville and Greenberg notes that public confidence in the Republicans has collapsed, and with many of their most prominent members currently under investigation and/or indictment, it’s time for the GOP machine to kick the old hate-mongering mechanism into high gear. Sure, we may be criminals, but at least we’re not gay!
And what coincidental timing. The Senate Sub-Committee on the Judiciary will meet about the FMA on Nov. 2 to hold a vote, and then send it on to the full committee, with the hope of its supporters that it will come to a full vote in both Houses of Congress just before the 2006 mid-terms. So once again, we face an election cycle where the GOP tries to hide its heinous agenda and resolute incompetence behind the exploitation of homobigotry. And they say the Democrats have no new ideas?
With the possibility that they may be successful in making this an issue yet again, the Dems need to stop punting; semantic contortions about civil unions versus marriage are both unnecessary and unproductive. It’s time for a firm, simply stated position on the right of equality for all Americans, which should be about the least controversial position one could imagine.
Two days ago, the actor George Takei, most famously known for his role in Star Trek, came out. A Japenese-American, who lived in a U.S. internment camp from age 4 to 8, likened discrimination against the LGBT community to racial segregation, and noted, “It's against basic decency and what American values stand for.” There’s something deeply touching to me about a man who spent four years of his childhood exposed to the ugliness of an internment camp and experienced a lifetime of bias because of his sexuality being more in touch with the notions of basic decency and genuine American values than many Americans , including those at the highest levels of government. Prejudice against gays is against basic decency and what American values stand for. Such a simple truth. Are the Democrats finally ready to say the same?
(Crossposted at Ezra's place.)
From the Friday News Hole Files
The Nerve
Via The Heretik, who offers a lovely picture of Humpty Dumbty you should check out, here’s Cheney’s statement on the indictments (interspersed with my italicized translations):
Mr. Libby has informed me that he is resigning to fight the charges brought against him. I have accepted his decision with deep regret.
I put on my shit-kickers and busted that fucking idiot’s skinny ass out the door, because peckerheads who get caught are of no use to me.
Scooter Libby is one of the most capable and talented individuals I have ever known. He has given many years of his life to public service and has served our nation tirelessly and with great distinction.
That kid was a pretty good little minion, though, while he lasted. He woulda dropped down on his knees and sucked my wrinkled old fatty if I’d asked him to. Damn if that Prettyboy Fitzgerald don’t even know the half of the scummy shit that dickhead pulled for me.
In our system of government an accused person is presumed innocent until a contrary finding is made by a jury after an opportunity to answer the charges and a full airing of the facts. Mr. Libby is entitled to that opportunity.
Thank Christ it ain’t me headed for the bighouse. Seeya, Scooter. Don’t drop the soap, kiddo.
Because this is a pending legal proceeding, in fairness to all those involved, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the charges or on any facts relating to the proceeding.
Screw the resta yas. I’m not saying anything, and I’m not going anywhere. And no matter how much you hate it, whether you run me outta here or I retire with my fat white butt having escaped the jail cell it so richly deserves, I’ll be flush with Halliburton options and I’ll be laughing all the way to the bank. Suckers.
Bush’s Statement
(As liveblogged to me by my friend Joe.)
Scooter, Scooter … extraordinary times, new phase … innocent, trial … got a job to do … protecting people … naming somebody … working with congress.
Wev.
Press Conference
Okay, I just watched most of Fitzy’s press conference (couldn’t liveblog it, because my TV’s upstairs and my computer’s downstairs). Here are my two big impressions:
1. Anyone who thinks they have the inside track on whether this thing is over or just getting started is nuts. Fitzy says mostly over, but at the same time, Official A remains unnamed. We may not know for awhile whether these are the only indictments or not. “Mostly over” in the context of 24 solid months of investigations may or may not be very different than “mostly over” in the context of “We want answers yesterday!”
2. Fitzy fucking rules. He made it perfectly clear that these charges are extremely serious. When some clever reporter asked him about the GOP talking points about these being “technical” charges, he came out swinging: “I’ll be blunt—that talking point won’t fly… The truth is the engine of our justice system… It is a very, very serious matter that no one should take lightly… These charges vindicate a serious breach of the public trust.”
Suck it, spinners.
Read the indictments...
...here.
2 Perjury
2 Making false statements
1 Obstruction of Justice
UPDATE: Read the prosecutor's statement here. It's really good.
Also, great juxtaposition of sub-heads at MSNBC:
And Raw Story says: "Bolton eyed as indictment reveals State Dept aided Libby; Sources confirm State Dept., NSC officials made deal with Fitzgerald... Soon..."
And there was much joy in Shakesville...
After so many years of lying through their crooked little teeth to the American people, seeing the dominos start to fall on charges of being BIG, STINKING LIARS is just too poetic. Do your worst, Shakers: caption this photo.
Lying Libby
Fitzmas Update
Ho Ho HoWell spotted. Looking forward to that press conference.
U.S. Department of Justice Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald will hold a press conference at 2:00 P.M. EDT today, Friday October 28, 2005, regarding the status of the Special Counsel's criminal investigations. (emphasis added)
I realize this is the ultimate picayune exercise in tea leaf reading, but I've looked through a bunch of the older documents on Bulldog's website, and as far as I can tell this is the first time he's ever referred to this investigation as a criminal one, AND the first time he's ever used the plural noun instead of the singular.
Make of it what you will.
Movie Times
There’s a big debate going on in “Hollywood” about reducing the wait time between big screen releases and DVD releases of movies. The distance between the two keeps getting shorter and shorter, and some moviemakers are advocating doing away with it altogether. Steven Soderbergh, for example, is a supporter of eliminating the window during which movies can be seen only in theaters.
M. Night Shyamalan, on the other hand, has a big problem with the possibility and is warning that it could mean the end of theaters.
Speaking at the annual ShowEast convention in Orlando, Fla., M. Night Shyamalan… [warned it] will not only destroy the exhibition industry… but it will also diminish the artistic integrity of moviemaking.I understand and sympathize with what Shyamalan is saying, and I do think there are certain films that are better on the big screen (although, ironically, I don’t count Shyamalan’s films among them). Films like Lord of the Rings or The Bourne Identity or Star Wars are more fun when you see them the first time in the theater. Or, at least they used to be.
"Art is the ability to convey that we are not alone," Shyamalan told the gathering of more than 800 theater operators and suppliers at the convention's closing night dinner. "When I sit down next to you in a movie theater, we get to share each other's point of view. We become part of a collective soul. That's the magic in the movies."
Then he added: "If this thing happens, you know the majority of your theaters are closing. It's going to crush you guys."
…Shyamalan said his speech at ShowEast was intended to address what he believes has been sadly missing from the debate: what he called "the human factor" of the moviegoing experience. Simply put, he said, part of what makes movies an art form is that they are viewed on a big screen with a big audience.
Now, movie-going is routinely an unenjoyable experience, and it’s specifically because of “the human factor” that Shyamalan references, which rarely entails becoming part of a collective soul but instead becoming part of a hideous, throbbing organism that seeks to destroy its own parts through unmitigated rudeness. I’ve had the kind of movie-going experience that Shyamalan describes, but they are too few and far between these days.
Years ago, we started choosing which films we would see based on what was playing at the theaters that seemed to have the lowest irritation factor. It wasn’t as much a problem for smaller art films, but if you want to see something even remotely mainstream, or, god forbid, a blockbuster, even waiting until the midnight shows isn’t a guarantee of peace and quiet, since apparently babysitters don’t exist anymore.
And while I feel for filmmakers like Shyamalan, I have no sympathy whatsoever for movie theaters, because it’s their fault. They used to have a thing called ushers, who would make sure people kept quiet, and escort people in and out as needed. Now, ushers no longer exist, so audience members are left to risk getting into it with other patrons by shooshing them themselves, or grind their teeth and try to ignore it, all while sitting in a theater that’s no longer completely dark—because ushers have been replaced by little lights all over the blasted place.
Money concerns, they say. I say, then keep the theater closed during the day. Many of them have done away with matinee pricing except for the very first showing of the day, so unless you want to go to a show at noon, you’ve got to pay full price, anyway. I’d happily switch to having fewer movie times from which to choose if I were guaranteed a pleasant experience when I went. As it is, I hardly ever go to the movies anymore, and when even this movie fiend has been driven home, willing to wait for the DVD, that’s really saying something.
If you want me back in the theater, then bring back ushers. Make the theaters dark again. Quit letting kids into R-rated movies. Prevent theater hopping so I don’t end up with six chattering teens behind me halfway through the film. And stop making me pay to watch ten commercials at a volume that makes me cringe. Otherwise, I’m with Soderbergh.
Friday Blogrollin'
The Defeatists, where you'll find the un-retired Agi T. Prop causing all kinds of trouble.
Margaret Cho, who just should have been on the old roll ages ago.
Center of Gravitas, for all your Wonder Woman needs.
The Fat Lady Sings, and I can assure you, she has a lovely voice.
Once Upon a Time…, Arthur Silber's new blog.
The Washington Note, for all kinds of good insider stuff.
Swoopes Out, Too
Make sure you also read Nancy Goldstein’s great column about WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes coming out, too.
George Takei Comes Out
Apparently this is news. I thought the guy came out years ago. Guess not. So, congratulations to George Takei for bravely going where few actors have gone before and publicly announcing that he’s gay. Like half of the queers I knew in college, starring in Equus prompted him to come out of the closet.
Takei, a Japanese-American who lived in a U.S. internment camp from age 4 to 8, said he grew up feeling ashamed of his ethnicity and sexuality. He likened prejudice against gays to racial segregation.There’s something deeply touching to me about a man who spent four years of his childhood in an internment camp being more in touch with the notions of basic decency and genuine American values than many Americans who never had to face anything as difficult as one the ugliest expressions of racism sanctioned by the government or a lifetime of homobigotry. Prejudice against gays is against basic decency and what American values stand for. Such a simple truth. Thank you, Mr. Takei.
"It's against basic decency and what American values stand for," he said.
Fitzmas
Shaker Deborah reports: “CBS just did a televised special report that Scooter Libby will be indicted today. I believe it's on perjury & obstruction at this point. No word on all the others just yet.”
From the AP wire just now: “Karl Rove won't be indicted Friday as prosecutors and his lawyers try to resolve questions in the CIA leak investigation, two people close to Rove told The Associated Press. The White House, however, still braced for an indictment against another top aide. In discussions Thursday, Rove's lawyer was told by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald's office that investigators have not resolved all their questions about his conduct in the case and they will continue investigating, the people said, speaking only on condition of anonymity because of grand jury secrecy.”
Reuters also confirms it appears likely Libby will be indicted today but Rove will not.
Question of the Day II
(Since clearly, my first one's a dud, lol.)
We sort of just touched on it a bit as we discussed funny women the other day, but we've never done this as an official QotD: Who's your favorite stand-up comedian?
My favorites that I've seen live are Seinfeld, Margaret Cho, Eddie Izzard, George Carlin, and Dave Chappelle. Best ever is almost impossible for me to choose, especially since occasionally a great comedian (Eddie Murphy) is side-achingly funny sometimes (Raw; Delirious) and other times decidedly unfunny (everything else). If I were forced to choose, I'd probably pick George Carlin (which will make KQ very happy!), because he's been around for so long, and he's always hilarious.
Burt Bacharach, Nicest Man on Earth, Gets Cranky…
…and I’ll give you one guess who made him feel that way:
Pop composer Burt Bacharach has written his first lyrics in a career spanning nearly 50 years, expressing his disillusionment over the war in Iraq.This is a man who wrote love songs while Nixon was in office.
The 77-year-old, who wrote songs such as Walk On By with lyricist Hal David, has written a number of political songs on his latest album At This Time.
"I had to do it. This is very personal to me," he said.
[…]
He also expresses frustration with US political leaders.
"You could say 'how does a guy who has written love songs his entire life suddenly decide to rock the boat?'" he said.
"I thought that was very important because I couldn't have somebody else write these lyrics."
(Weird aside: My godfather is a doppelganger for Burt Bacharach. One time, the car driving in front of him skidded off the road and into a ditch where it flipped over. He pulled over quickly and ran down the embankment, where he found a woman trapped inside the car and pulled her out. “Are you okay?” he asked her. She blinked, dazed, and said, “Did anyone ever tell you that you look just like Burt Bacharach?”)
Hat tip to Shaker Deborah for the story link.
Question of the Day
Get your creative juices flowing, Shakers…this is a good one!
Remember that old Billy Joel song, We Didn’t Start the Fire? Okay, I loved that song—not because it was a particularly great musical piece, but because it was so interesting for history buffs. I remember when it came out, my mom asked me whether I knew what all the references in the song were. We sat down together and went through the lyrics sheet (from my cassette tape!) line by line, with my telling her all the things I knew, and her explaining to me the things I didn’t know. To this day, I can still sing the entire thing from memory.
The thing is, it ends in the ‘80s, and I was thinking that the Bush administration needed its own verse. With apologies to Mr. Joel for stepping on his toes, I realized it needed two verses—one for the first four years (ascension), and one for the second (crash and burn).
My attempt is below, and the Question of the Day is: What’s your We Didn’t Start the Fire verse for the Bush administration? And for those of you who don’t know the song, or don’t like it, a verse (or two) from another song, or a krazy karaoke submission, are also welcome.
9/11, war abroad,
Condoleezza, Donald Rumsfeld, neocon cabal.
Mushroom cloud, “Dead or alive,”
More tax cuts, “Now watch this drive,”
Rightwing pundits, propaganda, marches on The Mall.
Swift Boat Vets, Rove takes aim,
Novak outs a covert name,
Terror warnings, Abu Ghraib, Ashcroft takes a hike.
Powell out, Gonzales in,
Kerry takes it on the chin,
Moral values, faux mandate, Georgie rides his bike.
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it
Hurricane in New Orleans,
Papers filled with ghastly scenes,
Cronyism, “No blame game,” Miers to the court.
2K dead now in Iraq,
Miers out—she’s just a hack,
Bush in trouble, Scotty spins, dwindling support.
Crooked, lying GOP,
Bill Frist and the SEC,
Abramoff, Robert Nye, indicted Tom DeLay.
Fitzy grills, Rove denies,
Libby didn’t out no spies,
Come one day, Bush will pay, what else do I have to say?!
We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it…
Tom Noe Indicted
In what has to be the most boring (and nerdy) political scandal of all time, Toledo-area coin dealer Tom Noe has been indicted on three counts of money laundering which allowed him to contribute egregious sums of money to President Bush’s re-election campaign.
Please sit down, Shakers. What this means is that the Ohio Republican Party is crooked and that the Bush administration does business with criminals. I'm sorry to have to be the bearer of this devastating news.
This is so going to be on Law & Order in a few weeks...
Hanging Mistaken for Halloween Decoration
FREDERICA, Del. - The apparent suicide of a woman found hanging from a tree went unreported for hours because passers-by thought the body was a Halloween decoration, authorities said.
The 42-year-old woman used rope to hang herself across the street from some homes on a moderately busy road late Tuesday or early Wednesday, state police said.
The body, suspended about 15 feet above the ground, could be easily seen from passing vehicles.
Blech. When I was a kid, I used to see the "hanging" decorations in front of people's homes, and think "Gee, that could be a real person, and no one would know." This premise was actually used in the film Clownhouse, and probably several others that I can't think of offhand.
It's just a little surprising to me that no one clued in earlier. I mean, isn't it rather easy to tell the difference between a human body and a scarecrow? I realize it's Halloween-time, but still....
(Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to cross-post...)
Question
Not a Question of the Day - just a question...
I'm updating the blogroll to include more publication blogs and more media links, mainly just because I'm lazy and want to have them at my fingertips at all times. But I figured before I go ahead, I'd see if anyone had any requests to be added. I'm adding links to Tapped, Broadsheet, War Room, the BBC, NPR, Independent, The Scotsman, Der Spiegel, The American Prospect, Page One Q, 365Gay, MSNBC, CNN, Yahoo News, and Google News. Anything else I've forgotten or that anyone would like to see added? No promises that I'll add every suggestion, but I'm certainly open to them.
