For 20+ years, I was a Republican. Back then, I didn't like the "share-the-wealth" thinking the Democrats seemed to embrace. I voted for Ronald Reagan twice.
Then I saw an interesting graph regarding the National Debt. It showed how well Bill Clinton had done, and how poorly the Republican presidents on both sides of him had done. Bush had done MUCH worse. Considering I voted AGAINST Bill Clinton, this gave me pause. I began researching economic statistics, and economic principles.Read on...
How the Plame Affair Started Bill's big diamond blog
I’ve just re-read Joe Wilson’s July 2003 Times Op-Ed piece, the column that set off the Plame affair. It’s striking to read again, as it reminds me that the entire trip was set off in response to Vice President Cheney’s attempt to change a CIA assessment.
Think for a moment about the scene: the CIA has developed a scenario about Saddam Hussein’s weapons programs, one which doesn’t sound threatening enough to the Vice President. So Cheney (and his assistant, Libby) shows up at the CIA offices in Langley to challenge them. It was only in response to this Vice-Presidential challenge that Wilson was asked to go to Niger. “Joe please see if we missed something about a deal to sell uranium to the Iraqis,” the CIA asks the former Ambassador. Read on...
