Anniversaries

Should we be wishing each other a Happy Joe Wilson Day?  It was a mere four years ago that his star shone ever so brightly across the firmament (OK, infirm-ament) with his NY Times op-ed, his Meet The Press engagement with Andrea Mitchell, and his WaPo interview with Walter Pincus.

And in a few days it will be a mere three years since his star was eclipsed somewhat by the release of a Senate Intelligence report; Susan Schmidt of the Wapo had the first resulting Wilson debunking (I took a tasteless victory lap myself), and Matthew Continetti of the Weekly Standard had lots of fun.  Bob Somerby plowed through Joe Wilson's subsequent explanations and prevarications.  And lest we forget, Joe was cut loose from the Kerry campaign.

But keep the candle burning!  Josh Marshall amuses us with this, from earlier this week:

Here on the Times Oped page you'll see David Brooks column claiming that the information Joe Wilson brought before the public four years ago turned out to all be a crock, a bunch of lies...

...

And with that knowledge, I have to say that the claim that Wilson's charges have been discredited, disproved or even meaningfully challenged is simply false. What he said on day one is all true. It's really as simple as that.

Of course, Dr.Marshall is far too sly a fox to actually specify just what it is that Joe Wilson charged, so it is a bit easier for him to defend his position.  And of course, the Wilson story as presented anonymously by Kristof and Pincus in May and June of 2003 was different from the story told by Wilson himself in July. (Kristof May 6; June 13; Pincus June 12)

Both Kristof and Pincus reported that Wilson debunked the forged Niger documents; Wilson did not make that claim publicly and explained that the reporters misquoted him.

Kristof explained that Wilson was sent "at the behest" of he Vice President; Wilson modified that claim, but even after Wilson's own op-ed Chris Matthews and Sen. Rockefeller stuck to the Kristof script.  I can't resist a flavor but you have to picture Matthews gyrating and drooling yourself:

MATTHEWS: At the behest of the vice president's office, the CIA was tasked by the vice president's office to do it. Senator, isn't that right?

ROCKEFELLER: That is correct.

GERGEN: Well, I thought what he said in "The New York Times" was -- in his piece, was that he was asked by the intelligence agencies for whom he had worked, they paid his way. He went pro bono in terms of his...

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: At the request of the vice president's office. Right, Senator?

ROCKEFELLER: Absolutely correct.

Wilson was also adamant that his report settled the Niger question and that his wife played no role in sending him.  It is pretty clear that, his interpretation notwithstanding, his report did not settle the issue.  And after the release of her email seemingly nominating him for the job, is anyone still pretending that Ms. Plame played no role in sending her husband?

On the WMD issue, Joe's pre-war position was that Saddam had some chemical and/or biological capability; he became a lot smarter after the invasion, as did we all.

Well - do I have a point?  Not really; Wilson is not the one who was swept up in the legal process.

Comments

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

And the presence of at least a few people like Josh Marshall and these clowns on the DC jury in Libby's trial pretty much assured he couldn't be acquitted.

[Granddaddy Long Legs]

Tom, It boggles the mind that any reasonable person could be presented with all of Joe Wilson's (and Plame's) retractions and revisions and still echo their initial claims. I guess it just goes to show how so many people hold 'the narrative' to be a more important factor in interpreting current events than verifiable facts.

Obstinacy is certainly not limited to the socio-political left, but they seem to have cornered the market these days. It's funny though, I used to love Chris Matthews' show. Now the BDS is just too much to stomach. Is it possible for people like him to realize that they've created a thuggish, cartoonish caricature of Bush/Cheney/et al, and that they impugn their intellectual integrity every time they scramble to validate their paranoid delusions?

Reality-based indeed.

[Nick Kasoff]

Joe Wilson has almost as much credibility as Michael Moore. But at least Michael Moore is twisting the facts for what he considers a noble purpose. Wilson is just covering his behind.

Nick Kasoff
The Thug Report

[Other Tom]

"Wilson Debunked The Sixteen Words" is now as much a part of the liberal mythology as "Bush Lied, People Died." As we have seen almost from antiquity, there is no reasoning with those folks.

But while we are on the subject of anniversaries, let us not by any means fail to observe the one coming up in four short days. I refer, of course, to the exquisite analysis provided to the nation on July 10, 2001 by the eerily prescient spymaster, one Larry C. Johnson. Unforgettably entitled "The Declining Terrorist Threat," it begins as follows:

"The Declining Terrorist Threat
"By LARRY C. JOHNSON

"WASHINGTON -- Judging from news reports and the portrayal of villains in our popular entertainment, Americans are bedeviled by fantasies about terrorism. They seem to believe that terrorism is the greatest threat to the United States and that it is becoming more widespread and lethal. They are likely to think that the United States is the most popular target of terrorists. And they almost certainly have the impression that extremist Islamic groups cause most terrorism.

"None of these beliefs are based in fact."

If you think I am moved to laugh out loud every time I read his words, you would be right.

[Ernie]

The lengths to which the left and the MSM go to preserve the Wilson/Plame myth are maddening. Unfortunately that myth is the basis for both the "Bush Lied" and the "Bush destroyed critics" memes, and we know they can't be allowed to die. I already posted on a different thread the facts that nobody in the MSM will mention and that no GOP official will ask in public, but they seem worth mentioning here, or at least mentioning one simple fact that shows what a farce this whole buisness is. Valerie Plame was working at CIA headquarters from 1998 to 2003 when her "cover was blown". Yes, she was openly reporting to work at CIA headquarters for 5 years, yet somehow her employment by the CIA was supposed to be a secret as a matter of national security. How on God's green earth can anyone, even the CIA, consider her employment "classified", "covert" or any kind of a secret when she reports to work at CIA headquarters every workday? It boggles the mind.

[clarice]

From Fox--Some good news for those of us who do not think terrorism is a bumpersticker, but a real threat:

"CINCINNATI — A federal appeals court on Friday ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging President Bush's domestic spying program, saying the plaintiffs had no standing to sue.

The 2-1 ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel was not on the legality of the surveillance program. But it vacated an order by a lower court in Detroit last Augist that the post-911 warrantless surveillance aimed at uncovering terrorist activity was unconstitutional, violating rights to privacy and free speech and the separation of powers.

The American Civil Liberties Union led the suit on behalf of other groups including lawyers, journalists and scholars it says have been handicapped in doing their jobs by the government monitoring.

The case will be sent back to the U.S. District judge in Michigan for dismissal"

[Other Tom]

Great news, Clarice--that was the decision by that grandstanding nitwit Carter appointee, and it cried out for reversal from the moment it was published.

Now we await the banner headlines proclaiming this ruling as a "Stunning Rebuke to Critics of the Bush Administration." Right.

[section9]

Joe Wilson is Michael Moore without a camera crew.

Really, I can't understand how Josh, Matt, and the rest of the crowd keep falling for the Sanjay of the Left Blogosphere.

[Gabriel Sutherland]

Josh Marshall you ask?

More on that later.

More to come.

Working on a big story with CBS about this.

I'll be back with more later.

At best, Marshall is paying his hosting bills. At worst, he's an idealogical hack without a shred of credibility to his name. But he does have viewers, or in blogspeak, page loads.

[Extraneus]

Speaking of the dreaded "domestic spying program," I guess we'll never see a DOJ or special counsel investigation of the NYT leaks after all, huh? Not enough linkage to national security, I guess, as compared with the Plame "outing." Too bad.

[clarice]

Does Josh Marshall exist? Frankly, I always thought hs was "grassy kmoll" Blumentha;s' sock puppet.

[RalphL]

"on behalf of other groups including lawyers, journalists and scholars it says have been handicapped in doing their jobs"

I hope someone made a note of their names and numbers.

[BobS]

Here's Ben Stein this morning. Amazing overview and smackdown with nuance. Man he must drive lefties crazy.

http://spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=11675

[BobS]

crap...I meant without nuance

[RichatUF]

And lets not forget:

Today is also Pres. G W Bush's birthday

RichatUF

[BobS]

Great post by Lasky at your blog, Clarice!

[windansea]

"Breaking news -- John Edwards got some expensive haircuts and probably didn't pay enough attention to the bills," said spokeswoman Colleen Murray. "He didn't lie about weapons of mass destruction or spring Scooter Libby; he just got some expensive haircuts."

[royf]

windansea

That's cute coming from the Edwards, but IIRC Senator Edwards was the only politican in Washington to call Saddam's Iraq a "eminent threat".

A statement the democrats incorrectly say President used to push the invasion of Iraq. President Bush said that waiting for threats to become eminent wasn't a option after 9/11.

Was Edwards lying then of is he lying now?

Of course the MSM will point that out I'm sure. /s

[Topsecretk9]

--MATTHEWS: At the behest of the vice president's office, the CIA was tasked by the vice president's office to do it. Senator, isn't that right?--

And yet the CIA tasked themselves before Cheney even asked the CIA their assessment of it.

[Sue]

Hillary 's Former Campaign Finance Director Indicted

[BobS]

With respect to Mathews...Didnt someone in here yesterday say that the Wilson's lawyer was on his show yesterday and that Mathews was taking her to task a bit. Anyone see it. I'm not able to bring myself to watch MSNBC-especially after the did to Imus.

[BobS]

Sue: There's just ONE MORE example of everybody else gets in trouble. I'm wondering if any of those guys will every say. "I guess I'll just roll over."

[royf]

eminent threat = imminent threat

sorry for my misuse of words, I'm not as educated as most here. but I found Edwards quote in a article by Stephen Hayes.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/004/396vvexd.asp

Although Democrats, including Kerry, had long paid lip service to a policy of regime change in Iraq, Edwards was one of the earliest and most outspoken Democratic hawks on Iraq following the September 11 attacks. On February 24, 2002, he described Saddam Hussein's regime as an "imminent threat" in an interview on CNN. "I think Iraq is the most serious and imminent threat to our country."

[boris]

not as educated as most here

When I was young I couldn't even spell injunear, now I are one.

[Sue]

Roy,

No one here, that matters anyway, cares how words are spelled. We read Clarice's typos like they weren't even there. And "as well educated" is relevant, you know. We are posting amongst geniuses here. Trying to hang is a constant chore, especially if H&R is absent. ::grin::

[royf]

boris and sue

Thanks for the kind words they are appreciated. But of course my mistake wasn't simply a misspelled word but the misuse of a word with a entirely different meaning and I just wanted to correct my post.

[kaz]

And while we're marking anniversaries, shall we recall the London bombings of two years ago?

[RichatUF]

tsk9-

And yet the CIA tasked themselves before Cheney even asked the CIA their assessment of it...

And how would Rockefeller know much of anything unless he was told by the parties involved. This is the angle that steams me-the Senate Intelligence Committee, both its staff and members, mainlined Wilson's fable.

Nevermind the question all those mootbats never both asking-if Bush is so "dumb" how was he able to trick so many democrats into voting for AUF-Iraq

Biden (D-DE), Yea
Clinton (D-NY), Yea
Edwards (D-NC), Yea
Dodd (D-CT), Yea

Or all the Clinton Administration public statements.

RichatUF

[maryerose]

Bobs:
I saw Melanie Sloan from Crew who is representing the Wilsons in their civil suit screaming that Val was covert. She tried to insist that Cheney told scooter to uot Val and Matthews asked her for proof which she of course didn't have. The Wilsons and she are totally brainwashed on this topic. They are convinced of this phantom vendetta by Cheney and now see it all as a cover-up. I saw Wison on CNN and he spoke with a messianic fever. he actually thinks he's telling the truth. Sad and ultimately for Libby devastating that these two whackos are believed and listened to. Clearly deranged just like their consort Keith O.

[Topsecretk9]

Tom, It boggles the mind that any reasonable person could be presented with all of Joe Wilson's (and Plame's) retractions and revisions and still echo their initial claims. I guess it just goes to show how so many people hold 'the narrative' to be a more important factor in interpreting current events than verifiable facts.

Ever notice when a reporters does, in fact, press Wilson on his fictions he freaks out, runs to his willing minions for cover, and attacks the motives and loyalties of the reporter?

IIRC Paula Zahn became a GOP attack dog for unfairly sandbagging asking him to explain his unfounded claims.

[Sue]

On this date in history, the year 2005...

New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed after refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the leak of an undercover CIA operative's name. (Miller was jailed for 85 days before agreeing to testify.)

[Sara]

Happy Birthday to President Bush.

I didn't listen to Joe Wilson the other night, but I did see him as I channel surfed on by and he looks terrible and very unkempt with that shaggy hair and beard. I guess he is trying to fit in to one of the last hippie bastions of Santa Fe, NM.

And for the uninterested, I'm blogging from under the patio cover in my backyard, in my bathing suit, and the thermometer just hit 110 degrees. I jump in the pool, cool off, blog for 10 to 15 minutes, jump in the pool, cool off, blog some more. It isn't even noon here yet.

[PeterUK]

"And while we're marking anniversaries, shall we recall the London bombings of two years ago?"

We should indeed! Unfortunately our "leaders" seem intent on wimping tall. To me this has all the nasty odour of the sell out to the European Union,we are being sold down the river.

[Sara]

From PUK's link, the Diane West article has this:

If they read Robert Spencer's jihadwatch.org, the essential daily compendium of jihad and dhimmi news, they might get a clue. But, very ominously, Mr. Spencer's Web site is being blocked by assorted organizations which, according to his readers, continue to provide access to assorted pro-jihad sites. Mr. Spencer reports he's "never received word of so many organizations banning this site all at once." These include the City of Chicago, Bank of America, Fidelity Investments, GE IT, JPMorgan Chase, Defense Finance and Accounting Services and now, a federal employee in Dallas informs him, the federal government.

Defense Finance and Accounting Services is who declared me deceased 2 months ago. And my other income comes from Fidelity Investments. Sheesh! I guess I can get some satisfaction in knowing that I use the money that comes from these sources to pay for blogging the very things they ban.

[windansea]

from Iowahawk

London - British public safety officials today increased the national alert level to "Quite Elevated Indeed" -- the highest category possible -- and appealed to UK citizens to "keep a sharp lookout for diverse people engaged in activities."

"We ask the public to report any behaviors by various people that may or may not be of a suspicious nature," said Lt. Clive Jameson of the Metropolitan Police Service. "We further ask the public to be especially vigilant for activities of broad stratas of people who may be from countries of some sort, especially those within the eastern and/or western hemisphere."

The elevated alert levels come on the heels of a week when London and Glasgow narrowly escaped potential events that intelligence experts say may have been related to diverse groups of people doing things. Initially police had specifically asked the public for information relating to doctors driving automobiles, but that initial warning brought angry denunciations from the British Medical Association and the UK Automobile Association.

[BobS]

Maryerose: Thank you.

What I'm still amazed by is that Val and Joe have be debunked and found to be liers, but Harry Waxman is able to abuse his power and hold hearings as its they are telling the truth. Waxman may have backed off when he realized that Bond was looking into the specific varacity of her testimony regarding her not having nothing to do with Joe's Niger trip while leaving a paper trail that she had.

And its still a surprise to me that Hayden had signed off on some phoney baloney statement for Waxman to use in his show hearing that Val had some sort of "classified" status. No wonder he met no resistance during his confirmation hearings.

Still that whole dog and pony show that Waxman held seems to have been just another propoganda tool and drive a news cycle for public perception.

We have to remember that dems ofen have no regard for truth when they are attempting to make political points. They've been doing just that of late by telling the public something besides they truth regarding the Libby prosecution and trial.

[PeterUK]

"British public safety officials today increased the national alert level to "Quite Elevated Indeed" -- the highest category possible -- and appealed to UK citizens to "keep a sharp lookout for diverse people engaged in activities."

This is somewhat complicated since we are in the midst of "celebrating our diversity".
Only yesterday a man of diversity went into a Glasgow library and asked for a book on suicide bombing.The librarian refused on the grounds that he wouldn't bring it back.
BTW,we can be grateful that the bombers were doctors,the NHS syringes used in the detonators did not work.Technicians worked overnight to repair the syringes and they are now back in service in a Birmingham hospital.

[Rick Ballard]

"This is somewhat complicated since we are in the midst of "celebrating our diversity"."

Are we quite sure that the inidents at the airport (btw - do we really need to use such pejorative terms as 'bombs', 'bombers', 'bombings' in a civilized discussion?) were not just a diverse persons means of celebrating diversity? After all, the world is a big place and diverse peoples have diverse (but wholly equal) customs. We mustn't be narrow minded about this.

[Carol Herman]

$$$ The money came from the "covert" drawer. Funds are put in, and are not accounted, for. Val had the key. I'd bet Tenet took it with him when he left. (The contents of that drawer. And, the keys to it.)

Money makes this world go around.

Oh, how Val accessed this cash remains, to this day, a secret. Nothing was ever reported. No notes kept. And, if you ever went to find it, you'd be sent looking for Brewster. Wherever Jennings "lives." Or how that spoof was created.

Wasn't cheap. Better than "petty cash."

[Jane]

Boy this sure is a nice place to come to today. Thanks TM. It is much appreciated!

[Jane]

So Rick, PUK, how do your names come up in bold when the rest of us just fade away?

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

Talk back to Chris Matthews, and see if they will print it.

[PeterUK]

Exactly Mr Ballard,we should never forget these people came here to do the jobs the British wouldn't do,if the British will not celebrate their diversity by self immolation,then somebody else will have to.

[Sue]

45% support impeachment of Bush. For what?

[Jane]

Hmmmm, maybe this will work

[PeterUK]

"So Rick, PUK, how do your names come up in bold when the rest of us just fade away?"

There is a nominal registration fee.

[Rick Ballard]

Jane,

Anyone can see their name clearly by typing:

http://yargb.blogspot.com/

on the URL: line (and paying the nominal JOMC registration fee).

yrs &c.,

RB

KGB

[Sara]

Jane, I think those whose name is in bold have entered a URL as a link. Rick gave you his and you are welcome to enter mine at http://www.pal2pal.com/BLOGEE for FREE. ::smile::

[Cecil Turner]

Wilson was also adamant that his report settled the Niger question . . .

TM, recommend providing the link to Wilson's report ("NIGERIEN DENIAL OF URANIUM YELLOWCAKE SALES TO ROGUE STATES"), and let people decide for themselves whether it was dispositive. Even Jeff couldn't spin this one as the last word.

[Other Tom]

I just had the honor to post the following at the Chris Matthews site, under the nom de plume Larry C. Johnson. Eagerly waiting to see it in print:

"In a stinging rebuke to critics of the Bush administration, a federal appeals court today reversed a ruling by an affirmative-action political hack judge in Detroit concerning the vital NSA eavesdropping program. Scholars hailed the appellate court's decision as a victory for our constitutional system and the rule of law."