Wider net?

Investigators are looking at Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff. His name was tossed around two years ago when the story first cleared the surface as the potential source. Given the prominence the Vice President's office plays in making major decisions, it isn't exactly a surprise.

Cheney's office raised the questions that spurred the CIA to send former U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Joe Wilson, to Iraq. Cheney did not order Wilson's trip, but the desire to answer some questions about potential deals between Iraq and Niger led the CIA to send Wilson.

Republicans have tried to provide some political cover for Rove by claiming Rove was trying to warn Time Magazine reporter, Matthew Cooper, away from reporting that Cheney ordered the trip. They claim Wilson said Cheney sent him even though neither Wilson's op-ed nor any of his interviews mention it.

- Murphy

Clutter Buster

Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo cuts right through the clutter and nails the central point of the Plame investigation.

There's a point that's probably worth raising with our scofflaw Republican friends. All of their arguments now amount to excuses, like those of a small child caught stealing cookies:
…
The point is that they're irrelevant. It's the mid-life version of 'He hit me first!' or 'He called me a name!' or other such foolery.

No presidential advisor should ever disclose the identity of a covert agent at the CIA. That doesn't require elaboration.

Read the whole piece, its perfect.

- Murphy

Lost Time....

I'm going to try and make up for some lost time tonight and hit on some topics that have been on my mind these past, postless days.

- Murphy

Talking the talk

Many conservatives laud President Bush as following in the footsteps of great conservatives before him, most notably, Ronald Reagan. Yet evidence continues to crop up that sheds light upon Bush's less than pure conservative policies.

The definition of conservatism has found itself in flux in recent years. Bush's adoption of "compassionate conservatism" and former President Clinton's conservative policy decision have muddied the water. However, one tenet of modern conservatism is the belief that business should be deregulated to allow market forces greater influence over the industry.

To that end, a recent study shows that under Bush's watch the economy has seen regulation grow at a greater rate than it has since the 1970's. Post-Dispatch business columnist, Dave Nicklaus, gives the rundown of the recent study.

The Weidenbaum Center has been tracking regulatory spending since the 1970s ... During that decade, regulatory spending grew nearly 9 percent a year in real terms.

That growth shrank to 2.2 percent in the 1980s before rising to 4.2 percent in the 1990s. Interestingly enough, the biggest regulatory ramp-up during that period happened under Bush's father, from 1989 to 1993. Ronald Reagan cut spending during his first term, and Bill Clinton presided over a relatively modest increase of 3.2 percent a year.

Since 2000, regulatory spending has grown at a 6.5 percent annual rate. To be fair to President Bush, the biggest increase has been in the Department of Homeland Security, which had to respond to a new and unanticipated threat after Sept. 11, 2001. Some people also would say that large budget boosts for the Securities and Exchange Commission were a necessary response to a different kind of threat that became apparent after Enron and WorldCom.

Nicklaus is correct that a great deal of the budget increases in the past 5 years have been in the defense arena, but the Department of Homeland Security doesn't qualify as a regulatory agency the way the FEC does.

While the argument that FEC regulation is not hard to make (the fallout from the criminal accounting practices of numerous companies provides millions of pieces of evidence) the conservative belief is that it should be left to the markets to sort out the problems. It is often argued that the stock collapse of the involved companies demonstrates that the market is working, despite the Econ 101 lesson that asymmetrical information (such as deceptive accounting practices) constitutes a market failure.

While the right will continue to tout Bush as a conservative icon, these and countless other examples demonstrate a willingness to ignore the truth to serve an idea.

- Murphy

Plame Game

Plame Game

Weighing in on the Plame matter doesn't seem worthwhile given the excellent coverage provided in countless other spots.

One thing needs to be reiterated over and over, however. A member of the White House staff tossed aside national security concerns (supposedly the moral basis of 21st century Republicanism) in the interest of politics.

Republicans will continue to be put forth the argument that master strategist, the boy genius, Karl Rove, didn't know about the covert status, or that he was trying to tell the truth, or that he didn't really use her name, or that Valerie Plame wasn't an undercover operative. All of these are attempts to spin the basic facts of the matter. Yet, as has been mentioned by others, they can not spin a criminal investigation.

If this were merely a political matter, the Rove machine would have steamrolled this a long time ago, but they can't steamroll a Special Prosecutor of the Department of Justice acting on a request from the CIA.

This administration has turned political calculation from an art into an obsession. Nothing is placed above the need to win.

Check out Josh Marshall for some of the most thorough coverage.

Kevin Drum over at The Washington Monthly hits the nail on the head, "Either you're outraged by such a casual attitude toward national security, or you aren't."

- Murphy

Long time, no post....

Sorry. The computer has been in the shop and I have been caught up with some changes in work.

- Murphy

Father knows best....

Holy Family Catholic Church, in the Tower Grove South neighborhood, celebrated their last Mass today and is off to the auction block.

For an institution that prides itself as a shepherd, the Archdiocese has certainly paid little attention to the interests of its flock. Citing financial difficulties, the St. Louis Archdiocese has closed thirteen churches and consolidated many of the remaining parishes. Countless catholics in the city fought to preserve their parish; some succeeded, like St. Pius V on South Grand Blvd, some didn't, like Holy Family.

Holy Family Church

Numerous groups came together to offer solutions to the fiscal problems, most of them centered on the idea that the Archdiocese and ArchBishop Raymond Burke are thinking too short-term. The population in the city is beginning to stabilize, More and more affluent and younger individuals and some young couples are moving into the city. Many are moving into areas like Tower Grove South. Instead of touting the stabilizing affects the parishes have had on many neighborhoods in the city and the community social aspects a neighborhood church can offer, they have instead turned away many dedicated followers and have shuttered the doors on opportunities for growth.

Many of the catholics I have talked to all recognize that some form of restructuring was necessary, but cited the lack of real community input as well as some short-sighted assumptions as a significant source of anger and resentment directed towards the Archdiocese. Some of those most involved in fighting the closings said they felt the decisions had already been made and that parishioner input was mostly perfunctory. It took them a great deal of effort to even make the changes that were recognized in the final plan.

In the end, the situation was a nearly typical example of bureaucratic inertia combined with a paternal "we know what's best" attitude. The Archdiocese has dashed the faith of many dedicated followers who spent many hours trying to find solutions to the very real problems faced by the Catholic Church in St. Louis. The Archdiocese has also wasted a fantastic opportunity to tap into the new growth occurring in the city. Despite the cries against the "secularization" of modern society, people are still looking for community and faith, something the local parish and parish school offered.

Like the fight over St. Stanislaus in North St. Louis, the parish closings demonstrates a ham-fisted handling of difficult situations, the seeming callousness with which the Archbishop and the Archdiocese seemed to handle the troubles only rubbed salt into the wound.

The only positive outcome from this situation may be that the groups that coalesced to save their parish from the green eyeshades of the Archdiocese will remain connected and develop a stronger community, one that demands the Archdiocese deal with its followers as people, and not as numbers on a page.

- Murphy

Friends of Billy...

Mona Lisa over at Fired Up Missouri makes a great catch.

"I was a little boy and I'll never forget it," Clinton said. "I've loved him ever since." Graham, 86 and frail, referred to Bill and Hillary as "wonderful friends" and offered up some unsolicited personal and political advice, suggesting that the former president should become an evangelist and leave "his wife to run the country."

Hmmm . . . does that sound like an early endorsement to you? I'm sure Bill O'Reilly and the fundies will insist on an apology.

- Murphy

The final night of the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis. It was a perfect evening to finish out this season's run. The Tempest was on stage but unlike the last time we tried to go, the sky did not threaten rain. Once again the performances were excellent and the production itself did a great job by fitting it all into one set. Sometimes it seems companies get distracted by the props and backdrops and forget that, usually, the simpler the better.

The Tempest was a play I was unfamiliar with and despite my rusty Elizabethan English, after the first scene or so my ear adjusted enough that it seemed natural.

They announced at the end of the performance that the festival broke its previous record with 47,000+ people attending the performances over almost a month-long run. They also announced that next year will feature one of the most popular of Shakespeare's plays, Julius Caesar. Although as my girlfriend mentioned, the Shakespeare in the Park series seems more suited to comedies. Lots of families come out for an evening's fun and the comic relief characters in Shakespeare's comedies and romances are perfect for keeping some of the younger kids attention. I doubt Caeser will hold the restless one's attentions as long as one of Shakespeare's jesters can.

- Murphy