Quick links

By Avedon from the Sideshow

Maliki did talk about things other than Obama's plan in that interview with Der Spiegel, though not much attention has been paid to it.

As should surprise no one, the insurance criminals have their own spiffy front group to convince you that they're already giving you the best possible health insurance, and you wouldn't want to change a thing.

Glenn Greenwald on "The honorable centrist Joe Lieberman", who isn't centrist enough to appeal to Jews, who tend not to support right-wing nuts.

Eric Alterman alerts us to an exciting story in The Las Vegas Sun about product placement on the news - well, it's Fox, of course, and they have fake coffee from McDonald's.

Rachel Maddow explains why Evan Bayh would be a terrible VP pick for Obama.

If John McCain could travel in time.

Mukasey Issues Himself Contempt Citation?

Rewind:

Bush claims executive privilege on CIA leak
Vice President Cheney's FBI interview on the subject at issue
updated 9:21 p.m. ET, Wed., July. 16, 2008
WASHINGTON - President Bush invoked executive privilege to keep Congress from seeing the FBI report of an interview with Vice President Dick Cheney and other records related to the administration's leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity in 2003.
The president's decision drew a sharp protest Wednesday from Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of House Oversight Committee, which had subpoenaed Attorney General Michael Mukasey to turn over the documents.
"This unfounded assertion of executive privilege does not protect a principle; it protects a person," the California Democrat said.
[...]
http://tinyurl.com/583ywp

Fast-forward to today's House Judiciary Committee hearing wherein Mukasey appears to agree with Waxman in a response to a question from Congressman Wexler (D-FL) (completely rough transcript so as to be a paraphrasing):

WEXLER: Are those discussions between VP Cheney and the FBI covered by executive privilege?

MUKASEY: In the abstract, no.

No?

So, why did Mukasey specifically request the invoking of executive privilege over matters that he believes are not covered by executive privilege?

[...]
"I am greatly concerned about the chilling effect that compliance with the committee's subpoena would have on future White House deliberations and White House cooperation with future Justice Department investigations," Mukasey wrote Bush. "I believe it is legally permissible for you to assert executive privilege with respect to the subpoenaed documents, and I respectfully request that you do so."
[...]

Flip-flop much? Could it be that he, as acting AG, is simply trying to obstruct justice?
Nah.

[...]
Waxman held off an immediate contempt citation of Mukasey, but only as a courtesy to lawmakers not present Wednesday and to give all members a chance to read up on the matter. He made clear that he thinks Mukasey, who requested that Bush invoke executive privilege to shield the records, has earned a contempt citation.
[...]

Not only has he earned it, he might have just issued it to himself.
And it's well-deserved.
____________________
"We can bomb the world to pieces, but we can't bomb it into peace."
"Power to the peaceful..."
--Franti