“If you’ve never been listed in Wikipedia, you can always argue that your omission is an oversight. Not me. I’ve been placed under a microscope and, on the basis of careful and dispassionate analysis, excluded from the most comprehensive encyclopedia ever devised. Ouch!” Slate‘s Tim Noah discovers he’s not famous enough for Wikipedia (at first.)
Tag: Timothy Noah
Robbing for Roberts?
Did White House officials steal a file on John Roberts’ affirmative action record from the National Archives last year? “This investigation is unresolved and the file is still missing,” says a new report by the Archives Inspector General, which Tim Noah dissects over at Slate. (Hmmm…was it reclassified, perhaps?) Still, according to the report, a White House staffer was the last person known to have the file, and “[t]he report’s findings contradicted the assertions of Archives officials, who said last August that an attendant had been in the room at all times and that the lawyers had been separated from their bags.” The mystery deepens…
A Rush of Blood to the Head.
“Limbaugh likens the agreement to a verdict of ‘not guilty.’ That isn’t remotely true. Newsweek came closer to the mark when it labeled the outcome ‘a slap on the wrist.’” Slate‘s Tim Noah breaks down the pertinent documents in the Limbaugh case.
Portrait of a Smear.
“When asked at one point why he was pursuing the diplomat so aggressively, Rove reportedly responded: ‘He’s a Democrat.'” From a few days ago, the LA Times looks into Karl Rove and Scooter Libby’s aggressive campaign to discredit Joseph Wilson (as seen on Tim Noah’s latest Rove Death Watch.)
A Second Spitter?
Ok, the whistleblower defense wasn’t really cutting it for Karl…so, what’s next? Well, the new GOP talking point seems to be “Novak outed Plame first.” So, if true, does this get Rove off the hook? Not hardly. As both Salon‘s Tim Grieve and Slate‘s Tim Noah explain more eloquently, confirming Plame’s identity to Novak is still a big-time offense (as is passing it on to TIME‘s Matt Cooper.) But, this does mean that Novak had a second source among Dubya’s “senior administration” officials. Ari Fleischer, perhaps?
Rove on the Stove.
As Dubya goes mum about Karl Rove’s future, Slate‘s Tim Noah effectively dismantles the GOP’s Hail Mary “whistleblower” defense (floated, naturally, on the WSJ op-ed page), Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal argues Rove’s fate will be decided by the special prosecutor, and Salon‘s Robert Bryce lays out the case for what we all suspect: Dubya won’t give up Rove anytime soon.
A Traitor in the White House.
“Inside the Bush administration, lying to reporters doesn’t even come close to being a firing offense…But Rove blew the cover of an undercover CIA official. If Dubya doesn’t fire the man he nicknamed ‘Turd Blossom’ for this offense, he’s an even bigger hack than I think.” Slate‘s Tim Noah explains why Karl Rove really has to go, now that his central role in Plamegate has come to light. Update: The White House clams up.
Feeding at the Trough.
“The number of registered lobbyists in Washington has more than doubled since 2000 to more than 34,750 while the amount that lobbyists charge their new clients has increased by as much as 100 percent.” One thing you can say about Dubya’s tenure in the White House — It’s been gold rush days for corporate lobbyists. Among the cats getting fat in the GOP influence-peddling industry of late are Casino Jack Abramoff and DeLay flunky Michael Scanlon, who, as it turns out, had a special “gimme five” relationship they used to scam their clients and fraudulently line their pockets. Give ’em five-to-ten. Update: Tim Noah has more.
Throat Cleared.
As suspected by several journalists and at the ripe young age of 91, Deep Throat reveals himself to Vanity Fair as W. Mark Felt, the FBI’s #2 man during Watergate. “‘I don’t think (being Deep Throat) was anything to be proud of,’ Felt indicated to his son, Mark Jr., at one point, according to the article. ‘You (should) not leak information to anyone.’” Update: With great hullabaloo, the Post confirms. Update 2: Nixon weighs in, as do Slate‘s Tim Noah (multiple times) and David Greenberg.
Fox Out-of-Balance.
“Sound the klaxons! Corporate Message breakdown at Fox News! This is not a drill. Repeat: This is not a drill.” Slate‘s Tim Noah catches a Fox News exec admitting conservative bias. You don’t say.