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We read it three times and still can't make sense of it.

"I've had atheists, Jews, Catholics and Muslims play for me, and I've never not started a boy because of his faith. I'm Christian, but all religions have some kind of commandments, and if kids would obey them, the world would be a better place."

What "commandments" are "atheist boys" supposed to obey?

Oh--the Christian ones! Of course.

On this subject--sort of--we found this hilarious juxtaposition of statements on a random religious website:

"But I have problems with agnostics; for you see, I happen to know that God is and I also know that He knows me."

(pause for effect)

"A major problem that I find with agnostics is that they consider themselves to be the center of the universe, and that all things must line up with their beliefs."

Really, you couldn't make this stuff up.

Banner day for citizens of the Commonwealth on the letters page of today's NY Times. And all from within a three-mile radius!

To the Editor:

If high-ranking officials at the White House are ultimately demonstrated to be responsible for organizing the campaign that led to the disclosure of a C.I.A. officer's identity, this is a crime far beyond the scope of Watergate, jeopardizing, as it does, the lives and careers of other agents while undermining our intelligence work.

President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney would have to take responsibility.

Beyond the lives already lost and irrevocably altered by a war imposed on Americans by the dissemination of false information, these additional allegations, if found to be of merit, would surely mandate a serious look at the moral and legal underpinnings of our current administration.

The very values on which we pride ourselves as Americans - and which President Bush touts as those we are aiming to spread throughout the world - would be belied by such behavior.

This may be the tip of the iceberg, to be fully uncovered in the weeks and months to come.

Amy Cohen
Lexington, Mass., Oct. 28, 2005

To the Editor:

The indictment of I. Lewis Libby Jr. is not the great victory for justice that some would have us believe. Nor it is a great defeat for the Bush regime, which is already so discredited by other misbehaviors. Thankfully, it does show that at least due process still can function in our dysfunctional government.

But this indictment is symptomatic of the problem that is endemic throughout the Bush regime: ideologically driven intolerance for differences of opinion, a willingness to make the facts fit the case, and a pattern of justifying the means by the ends, however much they may be at odds with the truth.

The Libby indictment is important because it is emblematic of the falsehood of a political regime that has wrapped itself in the iconic imagery of American virtue and religious values, while practicing neither.

Richard W. Mixter
Arlington, Mass., Oct. 28, 2005

To the Editor:

The complicated set of events just now coming to a climax in an indictment and investigation of White House officials was not about Valerie Plame or the use of unnamed sources in journalism. It was primarily about covering up the use of lies to lead this country into war.

Harry Remer
Medford, Mass., Oct. 28, 2005

Michael Kinsley has conjured a nice little false choice on behalf of Judith Miller of the New York Times. He floated it in yesterday's Washington Post and then again on Charlie Rose's television show last night.

In both cases he's being intentionally obtuse on the press in general and Miller in particular.

"The New York Times has started nervously backing away from Miller, like hikers trying to escape a rattlesnake. The rest of the media are fleeing without restraint. She's not a good poster child for the cause. But the cause itself remains somewhat bewildering. Why should you go to jail to protect the identity of a source who has used anonymity systematically and successfully to deceive you and your readers? Why should Scooter Libby go to jail -- involuntarily -- for having a conversation with you that you think the Constitution should protect and even encourage? Either this whole prosecution is nuts or the mainstream media view of reporters' rights is nuts. Which is it?"

Hooey. Miller was in on the con, and Kinsley knows it. When Libby and Rove needed the press to smear Wilson, they called Miller, Novak and Russert. Miller went to jail not in defense of the Constitutionality of a source's confidentiality, but rather than rat on a co-conspirator--one of her fellow "aspens".

Readers should let Kinsley--and the media at large--know that this dog won't fly.

Given that we now know that Judith Miller of the New York Times was the first "reporter" to whom Scooter Libby outed Valerie Plame Wilson, it's no longer possible to believe that Miller went to jail for any reason other than to protect Libby.

Indeed, it's now clear that charges against Libby were only possible after Miller agreed to turn over her notes to Fitzgerald. She may not herself have ratted Libby out, but her notes sealed the case against him.

Which means, plainly, that she was keeping her silence for one reason--and it wasn't to protect her source's confidentiality; it was to protect her source.

Ok, let's keep an eye out for the first "boldy go where no man has gone before" joke.

Star Trek' Actor George Takei Comes Out

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October 28,2005 | LOS ANGELES -- George Takei, who as helmsman Sulu steered the Starship Enterprise through three television seasons and six movies, has come out as a homosexual in the current issue of Frontiers, a biweekly Los Angeles magazine covering the gay and lesbian community.

Takei told The Associated Press on Thursday that his new onstage role as psychologist Martin Dysart in "Equus," helped inspire him to publicly discuss his sexuality.

Takei described the character as a "very contained but turbulently frustrated man." The play opened Wednesday at the David Henry Hwang Theater in Los Angeles, the same day that Frontiers magazine featured a story on Takei's coming out.

The current social and political climate also motivated Takei's disclosure, he said.

An interesting letter in today's Times:

To the Editor:

Victor Davis Hanson compares the American death toll in Iraq with the much greater tolls from earlier wars, including World War II. The comparison is not appropriate.

In World War II, we fought with highly competent leadership for a constant objective that could be obtained by military action, and the actions in which our soldiers were killed were necessary to the victory.

In Iraq, our soldiers fight under incompetent leaders for a vague and changing objective that their fighting deaths cannot achieve.

Tom Hess
Lafayette, Ind., Oct. 27, 2005

We slightly disagree. We think our incompetent leaders have always had very precise objectives for the war in Iraq; they just haven't, and can't, tell us what they are.

...for Karl Rove to cut a deal. Plenty of time.

He nominates his own lawyer for the Supreme Court, then says he won't release any documentation on her because that would violate his confidentiality.

You just have to stand back and admire the gall of these people.

Speaking of which: how about Karl Rove and Scooter Libby? They decide to attack Joe Wilson by outing his wife as a CIA agent, and call their pals in the press to get the word out.

But when they end up in front of a prosecutor for it, they claim their pals in the press told THEM.

The New York Times is sending signals again.

Do they have a code book, or do they just wing it?

Without a report, it seems likely that questions about the case may remain unanswered and that a complete account of the administration's activities may never be known, including the details of testimony by the scores of administration officials who were interviewed in the inquiry.

The likelihood that crucial details might be kept secret would be increased if Mr. Fitzgerald brought charges that were narrowly focused on perjury, false statement or obstruction of justice counts involving misstatements by officials in their testimony.

You could read the Times' story on Judith Miller, or you could save yourself the time and read our between-the-lines breakdown:

Libby told her about Valerie Plame, though she wrote it as "Valerie Flame" in her notes.

When she realized she'd have to testify or go to jail, she and her lawyers talked to Libby's lawyers, who said he'd give her a waiver of his confidentiality if she agreed to say Libby hadn't told her. She refused.

She went to jail.

Time passed. Jail sucked. She realized that when the grand jury expired the prosecutor would get another one, and she'd have to stay in jail.

Bolton visited her.

Her lawyers and Libby's lawyers traded letters arguing whether Libby had in fact granted a waiver, and whether his lawyers had in fact been suggesting what her testimony should be.

She got a letter from Libby saying that the aspens out west "turn in clusters, because their roots connect them" and that she should "come back to work -- and life."

She suddenly decided Libby had granted her a waiver.

She got to leave jail, and testified that yes, she'd spoken to Libby but--surprise!--he hadn't been the one who told her about Valerie Plame. There was no explanation for how the words "Valerie Flame" got in her notebook, and she said she couldn't recall where she learned them.

Welcome to George Bush's America, where Truth and Freedom ring across the land.

And where 201k has a bridge for sale--in New York.

Our interpretation of the much-discussed bizarre closing paragraph of Lewis "Scooter" Libby's letter to the New York Times' Judith Miller:

You went to jail in the summer. It is fall now. You will have stories to cover -- Iraqi elections and suicide bombers, biological threats and the Iranian nuclear program. Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning. They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them. Come back to work -- and life.

Until then, you will remain in my thoughts and prayers.

With admiration
[signed] Scooter Libby
Lewis Libby

Line by line:

You went to jail in the summer. It is fall now.

This is planting the set up for the "turning leaves" analogy which comes later.

You will have stories to cover -- Iraqi elections and suicide bombers, biological threats and the Iranian nuclear program.

Dual meaning. a) Go along with us and we will keep feeding you stories; b) you will keep writing stories that favor the administration's positions, as you have in the past.

Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning.

This is the set up for the "turning leaves" analogy.

They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them.

We're all in this together.

Come back to work -- and life.

This is a threat, pure and simple. Stay on our side, stick to the story, and you live.

President Bush yesterday referred to his excellent adventure in Iraq as planting the "seeds of freedom", which he said would grow into a "tree".

This new analogy replaces the "march" of freedom he's been telling us about for years. The reason for the change is obvious: marches don't take very long. Seeds, on the other hand, grow slowly.

Got a policy problem? Change the analogy!

We think we've come up with a way to understand the varied reactions the right is having to Harriet Miers.

Starting with the presumption that George W. Bush is an evangelical Christian, we take for granted that he considers Miers a reliable anti-choice vote. There is simply no way Bush would nominate someone who wasn't.

This would explain the support of James Dobson--and those like him. So, what to make of those on the right who don't support her?

Simple: they're the fakers. They're the ones who are totally full of crap when they spout their usual right-wing blather. Deep down, they don't want to see Roe v. Wade overturned.

And they know that's what Miers will help do.

To repeat: the Republicans (and their press lackeys) who are opposed to Miers are the phonies. They're usually happy to say whatever right-wing nonsense is going around to make a paycheck--but they don't actually want to see Roe v. Wade reversed.

Normal, freedom-loving, non-whacko Americans had better catch on: Miers is a stealth anti-choice candidate. The fake conservatives--the cynical ones--know something. We should be paying attention.

Editor of Afghan Women's Magazine Arrested

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By AMIR SHAH Associated Press Writer

October 04,2005 | KABUL, Afghanistan -- The editor of an Afghan women's rights magazine was jailed after a presidential adviser accused him of publishing un-Islamic material -- including an article critical of the practice of punishing adultery with 100 lashes, officials said Friday.

Diane sent this comment:

Got my tinfoil hat on nice and snug. I am totally weirded out by the wingnut reaction to this nomination. Keep feeling like it's some kind of elaborate Rovian head fake...

My other theory is that he's scared of an indictment, and what better remedy for that than having your personal lawyer sitting on the Supreme Court...I know, I know, go take your valium like a good little girl...
--
Posted by Diane to Welcome to 201k.com - A Commonwealth Perspective. at 10/04/2005 08:48:26 PM

Mirrors eerily an email we received from one of our main contributors:

From: j
Subject: Harriet Miers - what I think
Date: October 3, 2005 12:42:18 PM EDT

I think he nominated her knowing that the democrats - including Leahy this time - will oppose her (as they should) because she's completely unqualified. She will withdraw herself before the vote but after the hearings (a date they have already chosen no doubt) and the media coverage on democrats being obstructive. Then he will nominate whoever he really intended to nominate all along (Priscilla Owens or the like) who has better legal credentials thereby forcing democrats to challenge her on other grounds so the white house et al can then argue that "see, democrats are just obstructionists - they oppose Miers because she was not qualified so we nominate a person with significantly greater legal credentials and they oppose her, too" or something like that. It's all a clever ruse and it will work thanks to republicrats like Lieberman, Landrieux, Nelson, etc. Mier's a long-time crony who will go along with anything W asks - even this.

Who knows.

The glee being expressed over right-wing criticism of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers is misplaced. George Bush would never nominate someone he wasn't sure was anti-choice.

Another heart-warming family values story.

Last March, the media devoted days to the tale of a young Atlanta woman who'd negotiated her way out of captivity at the hands of a fugitive murderer. It was a gripping story that was impossible to ignore. And with the moral-values hullabaloo of Election '04 still echoing nationwide, religious conservatives levitated the story to the realm of fable.

Ashley Smith, a 27-year-old widowed mother with a young daughter, had been taken hostage in her own apartment by Brian Nichols, an African-American man who had fled from an Atlanta courthouse where he'd just shot and killed four people, including a judge. Round-the-clock coverage focused on how, during her ordeal, Smith pulled out Rick Warren's mega-selling evangelical book, "The Purpose-Driven Life," and read to Nichols from a chapter called "Using What God Gave Me" to gain his empathy and trust. He eventually let her go, and she alerted the authorities, who arrested Nichols without incident.

"I think God gave this young lady a supernatural empathy and compassion for someone that most anybody else would have tried to kill," the Rev. H.B. London, a vice president for ministry at Focus on the Family, said back on March 16. "Every Christian organization in the country will want to tell her story."

"The power of family and faith was never more apparent in action than in [the] news story of Ashley Smith," Larry Jacobs, vice president of the Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society in Colorado, said in a press release then.

"The only thing that helped Ashley Smith get through an over-seven-hour ordeal where quadruple-murder suspect Brian Nichols held her hostage was her faith in God," announced Fox News.

Her faith wasn't the only thing, as it turns out. This week, with the release of her memoir, "Unlikely Angel," Smith admits that she earned Nichols' confidence by offering him a dip into her stash of crystal methamphetamine. Nichols, Smith says in the book, didn't know what "ice" was, or how to take it. "You don't have to smoke it," she recalls telling him. "You can hot rail it or snort it." She cut it up for him herself, using a plastic supermarket card and a $20 bill. Smith didn't tell police investigators, or the media, about the meth until months later.

Today, Smith says she kept the meth a secret from the cops not so much for fear of prosecution as for fear of her family's reaction -- they didn't know she was back on drugs at the time and had thought she was doing much better.

In March, the media reported that Smith had struggled with addiction for years prior to the hostage ordeal; according to her updated account, she refused to do drugs with Nichols that night. Offering meth to Nichols, she writes, was a gut reaction. He'd asked her for marijuana but she didn't have any. "I was trying to cooperate with him in every possible way and that just came out when he asked for a drug," Smith said in an interview. "I knew the way it had totally just made my mind go crazy, so yes, I was completely scared that's how he could react."

She admits she'd had experiences of psychosis while high on meth herself, causing her to hear voices and crash her car, leaving her body scarred.

Wow...she's hearing voices. Maybe next she'll liberate France.

It's both amusing and painful when a writer reveals more of himself than he does his subject, as Spencer Ackerman does with his Salon "review" of Boston Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo's vanity CD:

"Start with Arroyo. His record is a perfect blend of almost everything I hate: covers albums, the radio hits of the '90s and the Boston Red Sox. To run the table at my casino of horrors, all that remains is for "Covering the Bases" to blare from the jukebox at Jillian's as a belligerent B.U. frat brother drops a Rohypnol into the Sam Light of a B.C. undergrad in a pink Varitek T-shirt."

Spencer Ackerman: another New York dork who couldn't get laid in college in Boston.

What's next? A blistering critique of hot chicks who don't appreciate "intellectuals"?

Here we go...

The Mississippi coast, racked by Hurricane Katrina, is caught up in a real estate rush, as speculators and those looking to replace their own wrecked homes pinpoint broken and battered waterfront neighborhoods. In the weeks since the hurricane, prices of many homes -- even damaged properties -- have jumped 10 to 20 percent.

But what Katrina spared, the real estate rush now imperils. The arrival of speculators threatens what's left of bungalow neighborhoods that are among the Gulf's oldest communities, close-knit places of modest means where casino workers, fishermen and their families could still afford to live near the water.

Many, underinsured and with few alternatives, see no choice but to sell.