Fitzgerald can opine all he likes, but he didn't prosecute anyone for leaking her identity. Nobody. Zip, zero, nada, nobody. There was no crime.

Fitzgerald has stated time and time again, so perhaps you might want to take the concrete blocks out of your ears so you could finally hear something besides your own humming, that he could not get to the crime because of Libby's obstruction. That is what obstruction does -- it obstructs the wheels of justice. Or, as Fitzgerald put it, it throws sand in the umpire's face so he can't see the pitch. Fitzgerald believed there to be an underlying crime, he has so stated, but was unable to proceed because of Mr. Libby's obstruction.

You obviously don't want to believe this, so you'll keep humming. But maybe some honest reader out there will hear something besides the sound of bees in an empty meadow.

My experience is purely anecdotal, but for what it's worth, I grew up near the Canadian border and spent a great deal of time every year visiting our neighbors to the north. While there was often a background of irritation at Americans for being a bit overbearing, in general, the relationship was good humored. However, in the last few years, I've had a couple of instances of outright hostility -- blocking my American license plated car from making a turn, turning away at a shop, that kind of thing. That shocked me, coming from the usual polite Canadians.

In France, I haven't experienced any hostility, but have noticed a definite cooling. People will ask where you're from, but as soon as you say "U.S." they change the subject. A few years ago, if you said you were American, they'd tell you about their cousin who went to Chicago, ask all kinds of questions, be generally curious and interested. Now, just polite silence.

Gosh, remind me not to go traveling with RealName. Not to be gross, but I wonder how many phlegm balls he's eaten in his food without knowing it....

What Scientician said. Obviously.

cowered by the fanatics of that country,

that would be "cowed by" or "cowering in front of (or behind or under, or next to, whatever)" the fanatics.

Your friendly neighborhood grammar police.

As for the rest of the piffle, I'll let Glenn deal with it if he will.

Bucky, did you just call me a dick? Or was that just a pun on grammar police? Or both? Any dicknitude I might have would have to be transgendered. (I can be a pretty good be-yotch, tho...)

Ben Sen said, you aren't an "Israel" right or wrong advocate cowered by the fanatics of that country

and I was pointing out that in this situation, he meant to say "cowed by", i.e., made to be afraid by. If he wanted to use "cower" in the sentence, it would have had to be some construction such as "you aren't cowering in front of the fantatics".

Capice da Grammar Police?

from Cynthia Tucker in the Atlanta Journal Constitution yesterday or the day before. I might be paraphrasing slightly -

"When the President said he wanted to export Democracy, I didn't think he meant he wanted to export all of it. I want him to leave some here!"

-- certifiedprepwn3

I tried to find the reference and couldn't -- do you have a link to this?

Thanks!

for the clear analysis of this decision. Your ability to write and think with such clarity is one of the main reasons why I -- and I imagine many people -- come here.

Vitter has been pointing out specks for a long time and is now being called to account as his plank has become obvious to everyone.

Ha ha. Snort. Schadenfreude is sweet, isn't it? Even if it isn't a Quaker virtue. Oh well.

Even when I was voting for Republicans, they mostly seemed to me to be either repressed deviants or twerps (like Tucker).

Any murdering Muslim (as opposed to a non-murdering Muslim) who kills people as a matter of theology fits the description of Al Qaeda as far as I'm concerned. They are all the "same folks".

Well, that's one big reason we're in the fix we're in. They all look alike, don't they?

Maybe some Iraqis should go bomb Iceland in revenge for the killing of their family members by Americans. Iceland's a "Christian nation" too, isn't it?

If they had the capacity, what makes you think they wouldn't? Theologically, the only good Christian is a dead Christian.

-- shooter242

Your projections betray you.

(BTW, you apparently think "They" don't have the capacity to bomb Iceland. So why are we spending all this money to combat such a weak enemy?)

Don't diss the Major, Be, he's one of us in disguise. He always makes me laugh. Wish he would post more often.