Patterico's Pontifications

6/20/2006

Carville Linked to Bat Boy

Filed under: Humor — Patterico @ 11:30 pm



Oh, man. Rick Moran’s post on the Truthout debacle is really quite good, so I hope he doesn’t take it the wrong way when I say that my favorite part of it was the link to the story proving a DNA link between James Carville and Bat Boy. Highlights from the Weekly World News piece:

While outspoken Carville — nicknamed the “Ragin’ Cajun” — is famous for being hyper-aggressive, no one has questioned his place in the human species before.

“This news is bound to rattle Carville,” says a Democratic party source. “If he and his wife Mary Matalin — a staunch Republican — weren’t worried about how their kids would turn out before, they’ve got to be now.”

And swallow any liquid in your mouth before you read this:

HERE, from the expert, are 10 traits Bat Boy appears to share with his human kinfolk:

1. Bald, misshapen head.

2. Frightening, sharp toothed grin.

3. Comes from the South. “Like Bat Boy, who first surfaced in West Virginia, most of his relatives are found in the South,” notes Dr. Hensky. “Mr. Carville was born in Louisiana.”

4. Flails arms wildly when excited.

5. Combative. Like Bat Boy, who’s bitten dozens of people, Carville relishes a good fight.

6. Weird, cackling laugh.

There are four more.

Now that’s real humor.

Murtha Photoshops

Filed under: Humor,War — Patterico @ 10:39 pm



Some great Murtha photoshops at this Hot Air link. There are many good ones, but to me the simplest is the best: the one with Patrick Kennedy in the foreground, and Murtha holding a white flag in the background.

Not Lookin’ Too Good for Aunt Abby and Aunt Martha

Filed under: Crime,General — Patterico @ 10:19 pm



The noose is tightening on the hobo killin’ grannies.

A Cool Way to Find New Music You Might Like

Filed under: Music — Patterico @ 9:11 pm



I have often despaired that I seem to be caught in something of a musical rut. I have dozens and dozens of bands that I like, but I rarely find new bands out there that I really enjoy. I no longer have the same drive to experiment by buying albums I might not like. And I don’t seem to be around as many people with the same taste in music as I was when I was in college.

So, for whatever reason, I’m not finding a lot of new good music.

That may change, beginining today.

Via See Dubya comes a cool link to a site that purportedly helps you find new bands you haven’t heard of before. You tell it the name of a song or band you like, and it provides you with a whole “channel” of songs that you might like, based on your selection. You can listen to each song in its entirety, and bookmark the ones you like. Lots of fun.

So far I have tried giving it Toad the Wet Sprocket, Rush, Jethro Tull, and Uncle Tupelo — each on its own channel. (I also tried one channel that was a mixture of Toad and Rush, but the results were horrible.) The Tupelo channel has yielded by far the greatest number of songs that I have enjoyed.

Go check it out.

Truthout Doubling Down

Filed under: Buffoons,Politics — Patterico @ 8:55 pm



I guess it’s more like quadrupling down, since they doubled down already.

Bottom line: Truthout says Rove was indeed indicted (“The facts appear to have been accurate”), but is giving them Cheney.

According to Truthout, once Rove’s lawyer learned about the indictment, Rove’s lawyer contacted Fitzgerald with “concessions that Fitzgerald considered to be of high value” — whereupon Fitzgerald sent Rove’s lawyer a letter clearing Rove. Further:

Our sources provided us with additional detail, saying that Fitzgerald is apparently examining closely Dick Cheney’s role in the Valerie Plame matter, and apparently sought information and evidence from Karl Rove that would provide documentation of Cheney’s involvement.

I suppose it’s vaguely possible that this is all true. But I believe it’s far, far more likely that someone is leading someone down the garden path. Whether Jason Leopold is a puppet or a puppeteer remains to be seen. All I really know for sure is that this will continue to be interesting to watch.

Why do I think that this latest quadruple down is unlikely to pan out? Well, aside from Truthout’s well-known terrible track record, and the rather bizarre nature of what we know of Jason Leopold’s behavior as a journalist, there’s also something revealing in the way that Fitzgerald supposedly acted. And it’s not the way I think a prosecutor would act.

Let’s say I’m handling a high-profile prosecution, and I obtain an indictment of an extremely high-profile figure. Then that figure’s lawyer calls me on the phone and says: “Hey, I can give you someone even bigger!”

Is that enough for me to fire off a fax to the lawyer saying: “Good enough for me! Indictment’s off!”

Uh, no.

I’d need, as a starting point to any negotiations, a sit-down with the indicted figure, to hear from the horse’s mouth what he had to say. I’d write it up and have him sign it. There’s no way I’d consider giving him any concessions until I’d taken these steps — at a minimum.

That’s not the way Truthout describes the negotiation. Here’s what they say happened:

From all indications, our reports, first on May 13 that Rove had been indicted, and then on June 12 when we published case number “06 cr 128,” forced Rove and Luskin back to the table with Fitzgerald, not once but twice. They apparently sought to avoid public disclosure and were prepared to do what they had to do to avoid it.

The electronic communication from Fitzgerald to Luskin, coming immediately on the heels of our Monday morning, June 12 article “Sealed vs. Sealed” that became the basis for the mainstream media’s de facto exoneration of Karl Rove was, our sources told us, negotiated quickly over the phone later that afternoon. Luskin contacted Fitzgerald, reportedly providing concessions that Fitzgerald considered to be of high value, and Fitzgerald reportedly reciprocated with the political cover Rove wanted in the form of a letter that was faxed to Luskin’s office.

I’d be shocked if it happened that way. Truthout’s explanation makes it sound as if the deal happened via a couple of phone calls and faxes between the lawyers, in a single afternoon. The piece contains no description of Rove’s giving an oral proffer, or signing any document setting forth the substance of his expected testimony. And if he had signed a proffer, why would there have to be a hurried, single-afternoon exchange of phone calls?

I just don’t think so. It smells fishy. But maybe there’s more to it, that they’re not telling us.

I guess we’ll see.

P.S. Today’s Truthout piece ends:

We are well aware of the Lauria article and the series of attacks The Washington Post has launched against Jason Leopold and Truthout. As always, we will carefully consider all information and then publish a thoughtful response. In this case, we will publish our response on Wednesday, June 21, at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time.

What Lauria article? Although Truthout is an Internet site, they don’t give a link, for some odd and inexplicable reason. That’s why you have me. They mean this article. Lauria says that Leopold’s story that Rove was about to be indicted was

but the latest installment in the tale of a troubled young reporter with a history of drug addiction whose aggressive disregard for the rules ended up embroiling me in a bizarre escapade — and raised serious questions about journalistic ethics.

If you haven’t read it already, read it now — certainly before “Wednesday, June 21, at 5:00 p.m. Pacific time.” That’s when the fun will really start.

P.S. Does the new story perhaps have the flavor of sources trying to forestall being outed, by desperately spinning a story to buy time?

Open Thread

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 5:53 pm



Yeah, yeah, another stupid open thread.

Open Thread

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 5:52 pm



Yeah, yeah, another stupid open thread.

Open Thread

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 5:51 pm



Yeah, yeah, another stupid open thread.

Open Thread

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 5:51 pm



Yeah, yeah, another stupid open thread.

Open Thread

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 5:51 pm



Yeah, yeah, another stupid open thread.

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