greater loyalties

* hamsher:

"Joe scurried off quickly after getting irritated about questions from people who wanted to know if he’s got dreadful internal polling that led him to this decision. He bridled at the notion but it’s obvious to anyone with the IQ to fog a mirror that this is the case. His sense of entitlement is most acute."

* lieberman: "I have loyalties that are greater than those to my party."

* bruce fein via reddhedd:

"Bush’s precedents are dangerous, and will lie around like loaded weapons readily unleashed by any incumbent in times of strife or conflict, e.g., a second edition of 9/11. Political science, however, remains in its infancy. To predict with exactness the ramifications of lawless precedents on the rule of law and liberties would be folly. For instance, FDR’s lawlessness in WW II, including the odious internments of Japanese Americans, the lawlessness of McCarthyism, the lawlessness of Jim Crow, the lawlessness of Nixon and Clinton’s lying under oath were all serious but have not shipwrecked our constitutional enterprise, at least not yet. But as Justice Brandeis amplified, all government lawlessness is dangerous because it teaches people by its example. We are more likely to lose democracy on the installment plan like the Roman Republic as chronicled by Gibbon than by a military-industrial coup. In addition, we should never be satisfied by simply avoiding being a police state, but as Washington lectured at the Constitutional Convention, we should strive to set a standard to which the wise and honest may repair…."

* reddhedd on waas:

"There’s a whole lot of throwing under the bus going on in the finger-pointing mess of ass-covering mendacity, isn’t there? George Bush points the finger at Cheney — I told him to get the word out, but I didn’t mean for him to have anyone betray a CIA agent. Irving is protecting Cheney’s flank…all the while Cheney and Addington are protecting Cheney’s flank. Which leaves Irving where, exactly? All the monetary donations to his legal trust fund in the world can’t disguise the fact that Scooter was hung out to be the bait if they got caught…and his loyalty to the boss would be the firewall. How does it feel to be the scapegoat, Scooter? You gonna bet the farm — and your family — on these clowns?

And Rover? When push came to shove, he testified on five separate occasions — that we know about — and his loyalty is to himself and to Bushie. Which begs the question, if the President pointed the finger squarely at Dick Cheney, dumping any responsibility and accountability into his lap, how likely is it that Rover did the same thing? And truly, if Mr. Dirty Tricks himself is working on the backdoor double cross, how much behind the scenes machinations do we not know about at this point — and how comfortable are you right now if you are Dick Cheney?

Oh, what a tangled web we weave…I’m just glad Murray’s still working his sources on this, because I have this nagging feeling that a whole lot more is about to spill out any second."

* terrific effort by italy to get through to the final. 2 goals in the last 2 minutes of extra time against germany.