Shot Down
I read last night, on Drudge I think, that speculation in Washington has reached a 'fever pitch' over the Flame affair. For once I think the hyperbole is spot on. The Washington Post this morning says, "the legal team of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove has been engaged in a furious effort to convince the prosecutor that Rove did not commit perjury". A furious-fever-pitch-effort all around to say the least. Whew!
I actually can't decide who to root for in this case. On the one hand I'm not looking forward to another government scandal to distract from serious business, not least of which is a bunch of Muslim crazies trying to kill us, and using our own money to do it. On the other hand I worry about the mental health of the Democrats on the left, howling in the big tent for the wrath of the Lord, and the glazed over reporters speaking in tongues trying to divine the vibes emanating from the grand jury room.
Everyone seemed ready last night for the news, whatever it would be, and then nothing. This guy Fitzgerald is a sphinx. As it looks like I'll have one more day to be proven wrong, I'll reiterate that I think nothing will come of the original charges; but it looks more likely that somebody, probably Libby, will get the axe for the cover-up.
I now have to say I was wrong about Harriet Miers. Well, not about her exactly, but about her getting a hearing in the Senate. My email alert system just told me she has withdrawn. This post actually started with the thought in mind to talk about her and some of the insanity surrounding her nomination, not excluding the White House's less than deep thinking here.
For me it seemed to be another case of no good deed goes unpunished. All appearances are that top democrats vetted Miers first in order to avoid another fight. She was summarily approved by Harry Reid (and likely other lefty bigwigs), and nary a thought was given to the right side of the aisle. I'm sure it seemed like a comfy pick for George, old drinking buddy and all that. But virtually everyone I respect that thinks about these matters slapped her around like a redheaded stepchild. It's been embarrassing.
Speaking of getting slapped around, the readers of Michelle Malkin's blog politely tanned my hide for a comment I made to her about the Demon Condi Rice photo flip-flop. Though I'm no expert, I've been playing with Photoshop for quite a few years. For those not familiar with the story, the AP published a picture of Condi that was obviously 'adjusted' to make her eyes appear, well, a bit supernatural.
They eventually replaced it with this one and apologized:
A quick glance told me it was a sharpened photo, and I shot off an email to Michelle suggesting that the editors may have posted a picture meant for print instead of the web. In that case the editor may have used a filter in Photoshop called 'unsharp mask,' which is a quick and easy fix to make pictures meant for newsprint 'pop' by sharpening lines; like those around her eyes. A little later on I got curious and clicked over to Michelle's blog to see what was happening. Lo and behold the text of my email was there, right on the blog. I was thrilled. Then I read the next comment, telling me I was full of it. I sometimes forget the power of the blogosphere.
Rightly so, people read my comment and immediately took the picture into their own Photoshop programs to duplicate the results. It didn’t work. I was crushed. So I did it too. And of course it didn't work. Then I took the 'sharpen' brush out of the toolbox and did a quick run over the eyes which did manage to nominate her for the role of principal of Sunnydale High. Waddya think?
Not as bad as the original photo, but it's obvious to me now that this is what went down. I immediately shipped it off to Michelle pleading that my point (that it could have been a simple mistake of posting the wrong photo) held. Me? Thin skin? Nah.
Anyway, my bad for not doing the work ahead of time. So in the spirit of the now obviously lightweight Harriet Miers, I officially withdraw my nomination and slink back to my own corner of the universe.
And finally, speaking of little corners of the universe, Rob Smith from Gut Rumbles (best blog tag line ever: "If my blog does not meet your standards, then LOWER YOUR STANDARDS. Who the hell do you think you are, anyway") has committed himself to rehab. I've been there and done that, and it's no picnic; so if any of you have been in a similar boat, or have enjoyed Rob's cracker rants over the past couple of years, stop over and drop him a line.
Here's the link for snail mail, as he doesn't have access to a computer at the moment, and here's the link with Rivrdog's email address. He's taken on the task of printing and hand delivering email to Rob for those of us no longer capable of licking stamps. Gut Rumbles is being kept up by collective effort and is still worth a look.
This concludes our weekly broadcast.
