I can't stand the IRONY any more...

Of all people to be talking about leaks at the CIA, ROBERT NOVAK? The man who leaked Valerie Plume's name? From Creators Syndicate:

Moreover, McCain told me this week, "with CIA leaks intended to harm the re-election campaign of the president of the United States, it is not only dysfunctional but a rogue organization." (Rob's Note: As opposed to leaking the name of the wife of one of YOUR political opponents.)

Following a mandate from the president for what McCain advised, Goss is cleaning house. The reaction from the old boys confirms those harsh adjectives of "dysfunctional" and "rogue."

The nation's capital has become an echo chamber of anti-Goss invective with CIA officials painting a picture for selected reporters of a lightweight House member from Florida, a mere case officer at the CIA long ago, provoking high-level resignations and dismantling a great intelligence service.
...

That cleansing process has been inhibited by the CIA's fear factor as an extraordinary leak machine. Its efficiency was attested to when Goss appointed Michael V. Kostiw, recently staff director of the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Terrorism, as the CIA's executive director.

Before Kostiw could check in at Langley, the old boys leaked information that Kostiw was caught shoplifting in 1981 after 10 years as a CIA case officer.

Kostiw then resigned the Agency's third-ranking post, though Goss retained him as a special assistant. Kostiw's treatment has enraged people who have known him during a long, successful career in Washington -- including John McCain. The senator called Kostiw "one of the finest, most decent men I have ever met."
...
McCain's use of the word "rogue" carries historical implications. A long, debilitating time of troubles began for the CIA in 1975 after Sen. Frank Church called it "a rogue elephant" that is out of control causing trouble around the world.

The current use of the word refers to the intelligence agency playing domestic politics, which is an even more disturbing aberration.

What about leaks of the names of undercover CIA agents? How does that impact national security Novak? What about rogue journalists who out undercover CIA officers at the behest of... oh that's right, you won't tell us who leaked the name. Black is white, white is black...

Update: Crooks and Liars just posted the John Stweart clip Robert Novak: DOUCHEBAG FOR LIBERTY. Check it out, it's hilarious. Read the rest of this post...

The media are vultures

The woman has been dead for years, and still they will milk her for ratings. Disgusting. From Reuters:

NBC television network will broadcast a never-before-seen video tape of Diana, Princess of Wales, next week in which she says she suspects a member of her staff with whom she fell in love was 'bumped off.'

NBC said on Friday the two-part program starting next Monday includes excerpts of interviews Diana recorded with communications consultant Peter Settelen in her living room, discussing her childhood, marriage and struggle with bulimia.

Earlier this year NBC aired audio tapes Diana secretly recorded for a 1992 book that exposed the turmoil of her marriage to Prince Charles, whom she divorced in 1996. The princess was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

Heaven forbid they actually try and do some real journalism. Read the rest of this post...

Rainy day open thread

Well, it's raining in Chicago anyway. Have at it. Off to look for a new computer :) Read the rest of this post...

Oh my god, I'm wearing a dress!

Insert your caption here...

(Photo from Yahoo) Read the rest of this post...

Matthew Shepard Story on 20/20

I didn't watch the 20/20 story last night, but regular reader Pam has coverage at Pam's House Blend. Read the rest of this post...

The Irony is MAKING ME INSANE

Dear Leader continues his Do As I Say, Not As I Do post-election mindf*ck. Here's his commentary on the Ukraine from AP (Photos from Yahoo):

President Bush declared Friday that charges of voter fraud have cast doubt on the Ukrainian election...

The United States and other Western nations contend that massive fraud marred the presidential runoff election Sunday in Ukraine, and the country's highest court has ordered election officials not to publish the results until an appeal is heard next week. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Colin Powell cited reports of fraud in the election in saying the United States cannot accept the results of presidential elections in Ukraine.

"There's just a lot of allegations of vote fraud that placed their election, the validity of their elections, in doubt," Bush said. "The international community is watching very carefully. People are paying very close attention to this, and hopefully it will be resolved in a way that brings credit and confidence to the Ukrainian government."

Bush did not directly answer a question about what consequences Ukraine might face if the dispute is not resolved to his satisfaction. Powell said there would be consequences for U.S.-Ukraine relations if the government there did not act "immediately and responsibly" to find a solution that respected the will of its people.

As Bush spoke, several dozen Ukrainian protesters stood across the street, waving their country's flag and calling on Bush to press for a fair election result. "Will President George W. Bush now stand up to Russia's blatant imperial overreach in Ukraine?" wrote Michael Balahutrak of Houston in literature distributed at the gathering.

Can you imagine what Thanksgiving with Bush must have been like? I mean, talk about a national nightmare. I wonder what Jenna was drinking just to get through the night. I can't wait for her tell all book... Read the rest of this post...

Halliburton: the picture of everything that is wrong about big business

OK, we've had talk of bribes, price gouging and overbilling and now there's a new report out that says a third or more of US government property that Halliburton was paid to manage can not be located by auditors. Maybe the missing equipment is the same place as the WMDs.

Bowen reported that an audit earlier this summer found KBR had lost track of more than $18 million worth of equipment in Iraq. Investigators could not track down 52 of 164 randomly selected items in an inventory of more than 20,000 items overseen by KBR, including two electric generators worth nearly $1 million, 18 trucks or SUVs and six laptop computers.

Pentagon and Halliburton officials have been searching since the summer for the missing items and have tracked down many of them. Some were found in the hands of "unauthorized users" and 111 vehicles had not been returned for required check-in, they said.

Read the rest of this post...

Thwarted terror attacks in England? Never happened.

Incredible. Just when I think that it is not possible to detest Tony Blair and his power hungry partners any more, it comes out that the thwarted attacks on Canary Warf and House of Commons never happened. These people are joined at the hip with Bush & Rove.
Read the rest of this post...

Hey big spender

I'm all for beefing up the CIA, but is there some point where Bush is going to stop spending money like a drunken sailor?

You voted for him, you own him. Read the rest of this post...

Friday evening open thread

As I'd mentioned, I'm out of town all week, and as it is a holiday week/end, the blog may be a bit lite until Monday (or maybe not). Gnite Read the rest of this post...