Send Robert Novak's Ass to Prison!

Freedom of the press should be worth fighting for. Instead, Time Magazine is folding like a paper boat in a wading pool. Rather than protect its source, Time will hand over notes on a story (WHICH WASN'T EVEN PUBLISHED!) that revealed the identity of a CIA agent.

I appreciate the fact that they want to keep their reporter out of jail, but to say they want to avoid a fine? Time Inc.? Come on... Another Time exec said they are cooperating because the U.S. "is a nation of laws" and they don't want to become like the many subjects they cover who break them.

Tell that to Patrick Henry, Rosa Parks, or Daniel Ellsberg. Sometimes the best way to do the right thing is to challenge the status quo. Why should the rest of us care about a free press if the press itself won't stand up for its own rights?

Granted, this whole situation is what my sister-in-law calls a "goat fuck." See if you can make sense out of this:

1. The CIA operative whose identity was revealed is the wife of former U.S. diplomat Joseph Wilson, critic of President Bush's lies (how dare he!). The leak obviously served the purpose of White House "payback" for Wilson, so the charade of tracking down the leak ("We'll take this all the way to the Supreme Court!") is nonsensical. Wilson's wife is the only one who was harmed. She's the only possible litigant or plaintiff and as far as I know, she's not seeking any legal recourse. This is a Bush-led witch hunt to make reporters pay...but for what? For NOT reporting information?

2. The Cheese that now Stands Alone for protecting her sources is Judith Miller, a New York Times reporter who has served as the best unpaid PR flack the White House could want. For months, she was the mouthpiece for an Iraqi lackey (hey, that rhymes!) for the Bush administration who made the U.S. invasion sound like the coolest thing to happen to all mankind since The Passion of the Christ. You'd think the Bushies would show some loyalty for her toadying and leave her alone, but Miller is now as screwed as the rest of the country. By the way, Miller's notes never made it into print either.

It's bad enough that the government can go after sources quoted in material actually published, but to pursue POSSIBLY published materials? I guess this means that if any potential source sees a reporter's phone number come up on their caller ID, they better delete it ASAP in case they even THINK about answering! Talk about a "chilling effect."

3. The evil fucking idiot who did the most harm by actually OUTING the CIA operative (that's a federal offense) is conservative commentator Robert Novak, who has not missed a moment of spewing his filth on television, in print, or anywhere else. This asshole actually DID print a story based on the leaked information, but he's as free as a bird. He hasn't revealed the source NOR was he named in the Supreme Court case. He plans to write a book and "tell all that he knows" (along with his complete lack of common sense and decency?).

Here's what I think is the answer to this story problem:

Judith Miller only serviced the Republicans for a few months, but Novak has been blowing them (on his knees) for decades. Since hypocritical, overstuffed white males have never been known to turn down a good blow job (literally or figuratively), Novak remains free and Judy's going to jail. However, Novak will no doubt prove to be much more popular with the prison population, so I say, in the name of decency and prison morale -- send Robert Novak's pathetic white ass to prison! That would truly be a victory for the American press.