Agitprop: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Propaganda

Remember This?

It's been a big week for the Culture of Life Party:  another allegation of Republican kid touching; a Republican attack on a Parkinson's sufferer; wingnuts freaking out over the New Jersey gay rights decision; a timetable some benchmarks for withdrawal from Iraq; Rummy said Iraq was all complex 'n stuff, and critics should just back off; Republicans hit several new lows in negative campaigning; Drudge confused real Republican kid touchers with fictional kid touchers; and Speaker Hastert said he'd forgotten all about the Republican kid touchers.

But let's not forget another Republican with a bad memory defense:

With withering and methodical dispatch, White House nemesis and prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald yesterday sliced up the first person called to the stand on behalf of the vice president's former chief of staff.

If I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was not afraid of the special counsel before, the former Cheney aide, who will face Fitzgerald in a trial beginning Jan. 11, had ample reason to start quaking after yesterday's Ginsu-like legal performance.

[snip]

But when Fitzgerald got his chance to cross-examine [memory expert] Loftus about her findings, he had her stuttering to explain her own writings and backpedaling from her earlier assertions. Citing several of her publications, footnotes and the work of her peers, Fitzgerald got Loftus to acknowledge that the methodology she had used at times in her long academic career was not that scientific, that her conclusions about memory were conflicting, and that she had exaggerated a figure and a statement from her survey of D.C. jurors that favored the defense.

Sadly, it looks like Scooter the Think Tank Scholar is in hot water - this memory expert Scooter hired to convince the judge to let another memory expert testify at trial didn't so such a good job.  Acquittal?  Fugedaboudit!

So don't lose track of this story dear readers - it's going to be a long cold winter at the White House!

Where's Our Pony?

So what's the story on Reichsminister Rove?  More than a week ago, Truthout's Jason Leopold told us Fitzmas was nigh - that Rove had been indicted and all that remained was the announcement.  Lately though, the story is the reliability of Leopold's reporting and the reluctance of mainstream lefty blogs to jump on the story.  Righty bloggers say we're obsessed with Fitzmas (guilty as charged!), just plain stupid, or both.  Truthout is sticking by Leopold, and points out that Fitzgerald is not required to make an announcment if he thinks it will compromise his case.  Howard Kurtz is on the attack.  FDL talks more about the kerfuffle here.

Yesterday, Truthout made a list of what they knew and what they believed.  Let's hope they checked it twice.  Otherwise, Gonzo might indict them.

read more: bush rove impeach bush patrick fitzgerald plamegate jason leopold
image: fark

On The Second Day of Fitzmas?

CIA Leak Prosecutor Goes To Grand Jury

Could it be?  The second day of Fitzmas?

Mmmm, and this, from ThinkProgress:

CNN is told by three force sources familiar with the investigation that this morning Karl Rove, the president’s deputy chief of staff and top political adviser, is meeting with his attorney and is to meet this morning — if it is not already under way — with the special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald.

More from ThinkProgress:

Rove rumor mill. Lawrence O’Donnell says the “buzz among the Washington press corps right now” is that Karl Rove asked to testify to the grand jury today, signalling that Rove’s lawyer “believes an indictment is imminent and is sending his client back to make a final desperate attempt to avoid indictment.”  2:15 pm

UPDATE: “According to NBC News’ David Shuster, legal sources say Rove volunteered to testify and was no[t] subpoenaed. Rove’s decision followed a recent conversation with Fitzgerald.”

read more: patrick fitzgerald karl rove iraq joe wilson impeach bush plamegate valerie plame

A Fitzmas Carol

Bushie`s Ghost

My colour changed though, when, without a pause, it came on through the heavy door, and passed into the room before my eyes. Upon its coming in, the dying flame leaped up, as though it cried, "I know him; Bushie's Ghost!" and fell again. The same face: the very same. Bushie with his close-set eyes, usual Repug suit, usual license-plate-sized flag pin, and the hair upon his head. The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. It was long, and wound about him like a tail; and it was made (for I observed it closely) of ammo-boxes,rifles, unexploded IEDs, hand grenades, padlocks, desert-camoflage helmets, and too-thin armor wrought in steel. His body was transparent, as it had been in life, so that looking through it, one could see the lack of a spine behind.

I had often heard it said that Bushie had no guts, but he had never believed it until now. "How now!" said I. "What do you want with me?"

"Much!" -- Bushie's fake drawl, no doubt about it.

"Who are you?"

"Ask me who I was."

"Who were you then?" said I, raising my voice. "You're particular, for a shade."I was going to say "to a shade," but substituted this, as more appropriate.

"In life I was your president, George W. Bush."

hat tip for inspiration: Fred

tags: plamegate george bush impeach bush iraq war fitzmas