Unless you're one of the fortunate bloggers currently sitting in the courtroom in our nations capital, gleefully tapping away for all you're worth during the Libby trial (which I think is disgusting: my blogging friends, we have our way with words but we do NOT belong in the courtroom), you're probably having a difficult and rather impatient time following the whole thing. Just a quick reminder: Libby is NOT on trial for having revealed the identity of a security-protected CIA agent (Valerie Plame) to the media as retribution for Plame's diplomat-husband Joe Wilson's op-ed (OP-ED, PEOPLE -- AS IN, OPINION EDITORIAL) which questioned, back in 2004 I think?, the legitimacy of the Bush Administration's claim that Hussein was buying yellowcake uranium from Nigeria. No, no. Libby is on trial for supposedly LYING about having revealed her identity.
Now, I have a number of different rants to go on here but I'll try to keep them all short and sweet.
1) I'm a fulltime administrative assistant AND a graduate student. If there's anyone who knows anything about forgetting things, that someone would be me. I have perfected it to an art, right down to the concerned-and-slightly-panicked look to wear when your boss reminds you that you've forgotten to do X, Y and Z. The thing is, once you've recognized that a) you have a bad memory and b) you are in a position where this could be a potentially disasterous character flaw, you start to develop tactics which will ensure your continued health and happiness in a disaster-free (or at least disaster-minimized) way. I do this by writing things down on every free surface I can find. This seems to work. Now, in Libby's case I do understand that there are security-sensetive topics that would render a paper-trail to be that very disaster, but even mentally one comes up with a checklist of things to do and how to carry out those tasks. And if Libby has spoken to as many people as he apparently did, considering how many people have been called to the stand, then he is either surely lying, or else he is TOO DUMB TO BE IN HIS POSITION.
2) this segues nicely to my second point: Libby was found out. He spoke to the wrong people, or to too many people, or both. You can argue the moral side of things (i.e., he shouldn't have been talking about this at all) but this is politcs and morals are invalid here. When you are the Vice President's assistant, and you are privy to all sorts of sensetive information, you had better be smart as a whip in order to carry out your solemnly sworn duty to the best of your ability and in the country's/VP'tial office's best interests. Ipso facto: Libby is dumb as a box of rocks. Now, if Libby is that dumb and has that high-ranking a position let's argue that he is a pretty decent representation of the level of expectation in that particular office. Hey, I'm not even arguing that it's the whole administration (er, "My husband -- I mean, the president"...oh wait, sorry), but maybe just Cheney's office. On the other hand, considering everyone knows that Dick Cheney is smarter than George Bush, who IS the president, and if we argue that said fact skews the intelligence quotient percentage in the Oval Office...
...I shudder to think. Well, actually, I don't. This administration killed my shuddering muscles ages ago.
3) Rant numer three deviates from the politcal vein, and brings us back to one of my fave. topics: the MEDIA, that juggernaut of brainwashing spin. And one of my even more favorite subtopics within that grouping is: The Boston Globe, and How Much It Sucks. Please note: The Boston Globe's chipper take on the Scooter Libby trial. I was raised on NPR, the Washington Post and the New York Times (I read the Wall Street Journal for a littel while before its viewpoints gave me hives). I am accustomed to NEWS, not the posturings of some hack journalist who's only just graduated from BU and wants to make a name for himself as the next Tony Kornheiser-turned-Bob Woodward. I don't want to read that shit. And yet the Globe wants to be taken seriously as a news source? They need to start with the news, and then develop their distinct voice. This has all the voice styling and finesse of a T-driver buying scratch tickets. And I like those guys WAY better.
In case you wanted some REAL news about the trial, go here.
PS: ♥Happy Valentine's Day!!!!♥
No comments:
Post a Comment