Jumping the Gun

Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but I've been thinking about Karl Rove and, if he is punished for leaking Valerie Plame's name, what should happen to him. I think this is one of those situations where simply removing him from the administration would actually be doing him a favor. He'll still have access to the president. He'll still be just as valuable a political advisor. Simply put, taking away his job will do nothing but put Rove in a situation where he could make many millions of dollars in the private sector while continuing to do what he's been doing (minus a security clearance, of course). However, an indictment would certainly get Rove's attention. If he were actually faced with jail time, that would counter the notion of Rove being rewarded for his behavior. Of course, I doubt he'd serve any serious jail time, as Bush would likely pardon him. But a felony conviction would disqualify Rove with respect to many opportunities he would have open to him if he were dismissed from the administration and relegated to the private sector.

Fitzgerald is certainly in a tough position. Politically, he doesn't have much to gain from this situation. Prosecuting Rove would end his days as a Republican. Doing any less would earn him condemnation from the left and from many moderates as well. Hopefully, he'll wrap up his investigation soon so we can start learning about any critical facts that haven't yet been released (or leaked) to the public.

Yes, I know I'm jumping the gun here. Rove hasn't been tried and convicted. But unless something comes out in the investigation that resolves him of responsibility, I think he put national security (and a woman's life and career) at risk to achieve a political objective of the administration. I guess we'll see.

Your Tax Dollars at Work to Fight Terrorism

Greenpeace? Under surveillance. The ACLU? Under surveillance.

Republican National Convention Protesters? Under surveillance.

PETA? Apparently still okay.

Hey, it's frustrating when your tax dollars go to things you'd never expect. It's doubly frustrating when they're going toward doing things that are the exact opposite of what I would do if I were in charge. Okay, so the PETA thing was a joke (well, partially anyway...) But how about those domestic resources being used to monitor, say, the next Timothy McVeigh or the assholes who bomb abortion clinics?

Backsliding Again

So now, the criteria for anyone involved in the Plame case to be fired is: 1) They must have leaked Plame's name, and 2) They must have committed a crime

Previously, it was #1, but not necessarily #2. Now it's both.

Betcha this drags out until the winner of the next election takes office. After all, this administration has to at least maintain the appearance of being infallible.

Podcasting Update #2

Well, we recorded a podcast last night - about 40 minutes of pure delight. I was worried about running out of recording room, but Audacity said I could have talked for another 78 hours if I had wanted to. Great stuff. Unfortunately, we had some difficulty with the signal level of one of the microphones, and it resulted in one person's levels coming out much lower than everybody else's. Selectively amplifying her voice has resulted in a lot of noise.

I've emphasized that last night's recording was simply a trial run, to give us an understanding of how long it takes to put a podcast together, get me familiar with the editing software, and basically find out how much time and effort it would take to put together a regular weekly offering. Had we not had the level problem, editing this thing down and adding effects, music, etc. would have taken less than a half hour. So I think it's worth it.

If I can turn last night's recording into something that doesn't sound horrible, I'll post a link here. Stay tuned.