Roundup: Writings on U. S. Attorney purge scandal

Following are some of the best analyses I've read over the past several days regarding the firing of the U. S. attorneys by the Bush Administration. These are only a tiny sampling of the many great explanations floating around. I selected them because they helped me understand what was really going on, and if I can understand it, anyone can. :-)

Josh Marshall and the Talking Points Memo team was one of the first to see the firings as just a tad unusual, as opposed to "standard procedure" when a new President takes office, then sunk their collective teeth in and didn't let go. Josh explains why the scandal really isn't hard to understand and wonders why the traditional media still can't - or won't - get it:

Like Atrios, I'm a bit mystified by Michael Kinsley's apparently determined obtuseness about the US Attorney Purge

The Carpetbagger Report reluctantly revisits the worn-out, predictable, and utterly full of shit "Clinton did it too" defense that the right wing never fails to trot out when they're busted. For a bunch of people who claim to loathe the Big Dog, they sure don't hesitate to copy every evil thing he (n)ever did and multiply it tenfold:

Again with the 'Clinton Did It' defense? (be sure to click the Media Matters link for the whole article)

Digby addresses both of the above topics with his/her unique perspective, dousing it with an entirely justified rant regarding the "creeping authoritarianism" exhibited by the Republican Party over the last few decades:

All scandals are not created equal

Former White House counsel John Dean explains the unitary executive theory and its relation to executive privilege, why BushCo is - to put it mildly - hesitant to submit to Democratic demands for Karl Rove and Harriet Miers to testify under oath, and doesn't envy new White House Counsel Fred Fielding's job:

New Developments in the U.S. Attorney Controversy

The always spot-on Washington Post columnist, E. J. Dionne Jr., doesn't disappoint with his report on executive privilege. Dionne's operative statement, "So many principles that Republicans held dear when they were trying to take Clinton down are no longer operative," hits it:

Inserting politics into Justice (free registration may be required)

Two of the Attorneys at the center of the scandal tell their stories:

David Iglesias: Why I was fired

Cummins fears corruption investigation led to his firing

Numerous DailyKos diaries address the sneaky non-governmental email address run off the Republican National Committee's server, gwb43.com, used by Rove and others to circumvent the Presidential Records Act, and oh, which just might present a teensy bit of a national security problem, among other things:

DailyKos diaries on "gwb43"

You know, no matter how disgusted we are by the activities of the Bush Administration, it's hard not to have a grudging admiration for the depths they will plumb in order to satisfy their powerlust and demonize anyone who looks at them the wrong way, and seem damn proud of it no less. It's sort of like how one can "admire" the way Ted Bundy managed to spend several years getting away with kidnapping, raping, and murdering dozens of girls and revisiting their decomposing corpses to engage in necrophilia, without making any real attempt to hide his crimes, and then remaining arrogant and defiant throughout his many trials and appeals.

Um, yeah. That's pretty much exactly what BushCo reminds me of. And if I wasn't opposed to the death penalty, I'd wish they'd end up just like Ted.

Climate Change, part 2: Job Opportunity!

Tired of your mundane career? Want to be afforded easy wealth, fabricated prestige, and sycophantic interviews on fair and balanced news networks just by telling trained experts with decades of peer-reviewed research under their belts that they're full of shit? Willing to do anything for money, and don't care about being respected in the morning? Perhaps a career as a climate change denier is for you!

Formal education requirements: nothing that would matter.

Required experience/qualifications: must be able to - digest and regurgitate neocon anti-environment talking points without spewing bilious vomit; accept money to say things you know are flagrant lies; not fear looking like an utter maroon with the mentality of a 2-year-old in front of your colleagues and thousands of TV viewers.

Preferred experience/qualifications: bizarre, unfounded distrust and fear of Democrats, liberals, progressives, environmentalists, and anyone else who wants to make society a better place for all living things, with a particular frothing, seizure-prone contempt for Al Gore (will provide on-the-job training); membership with the Republican or Libertarian Parties (if hired, membership fees and subsequent contributions will be reimbursed).

Benefits: undying respect and fellating from the current occupant of the White House and its supporters; guaranteed job with a successful organization upon "retirement".

Workplace culture: You will work with many respected peers in the field of human-induced climate change denial, such as a pair of has-been magicians who'd previously applied to lick the water torture device of Criss Angel, but were deemed grossly underqualified; a writer of dreary, formulaic science fiction novels with an adorable flair for immortalizing his critics as child molesters; and a host of well-paid, conscience-free organizations and individuals whose research is bought and paid for generously supported by successful multinational corporations. Marsha, please remove that "bought and paid for" bit before posting this on Monster.com – Thanks! the Boss

You will not be expected to waste valuable PR spin time on actual research or present facts or data; doing so is cause for immediate dismissal.

If you meet these qualifications, or hell, just own a Brooks Brothers suit and have good hair, please send your resume, cover letter, and references from three oil company executives to the Natural Resources Stewardship Project.

Actual trained and experienced climate scientists, dirty hippie treehugger libruls, and people capable of thinking for themselves need not apply.