September 4, 2004 by s.z.

Guess Who's Being Questioned by the FBI? From the Wash Post: FBI counterintelligence investigators have in recent weeks questioned current and former U.S. officials about whether a small group of Iran specialists at the Pentagon and in Vice President Cheney's office may have been involved in passing classified information to an Iraqi politician [Ahmed Chalabi] or a U.S. lobbying group allied with Israel, according to sources familiar with or involved in the case. Wow, it hasn't been that long since officials in Vice President Cheney's office were questioned about their involvement in the Valerie Plame leak.  It's a good thing that the Republicans are the ones who are serious about national defense, because otherwise we'd have to consider them the party of espionage. Investigators have specifically asked about a group of neoconservatives involved in defense issues, including Feith, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, Iraq and Iran specialist Harold Rhode and others at the Pentagon. FBI agents also have asked current and former officials about Richard Perle of the defense board and David Wurmser, an Iran specialist and principal deputy assistant for national security affairs in Cheney's office, according to sources familiar with or involved in the case. Hey, I'm sure that anything they told Chalabi was part of a cunning plan to trick Iran into believing that the Bush administration is incompetent. 6:49:52 AM

"Sex You Up" Saturday And we want to thank Ted for giving this week a name, although I don't know if it's right to bring Dolly into it. 1. [This first segment is for Frederick (the mastermind behind BeatBushBlog) who gave us the tips, leads and links to naked photos that made it possible.] So, let's start Sex You Up Saturday by checking on what the Naughty Blogger, Washingtonienne (AKA Jessica Cutler) has been up to lately.  The big news is that Playboy did their part to futher Bush's family values by releasing nude photos of Jessica this week.  Playboy magazine marked the GOP convention by releasing nude pictures with an interview of a former employee of Ohio Republican Sen. Mike DeWine (she was the one fired for using Senate computers to post an Internet sex diary). Playboy figured that publishing photos of Jessica Cutler during the convention "would create more buzz" for the paid part of the Playboy Web site (which features "The Women of Home Depot"), said spokeswoman Jay Jay Nesheim. Well, if the results from the Dark Window are typical, then Playboy was smart to choose "The Women of Home Depot" over "The Women of the Wingnut Fringes." But while Jessica is a Republican, she insists that she isn't CONSERVATIVE or anything.  Here's a quote from the PR Wire release about her Playboy interview: On her political party affiliation:  "I'm registered as a Republican. That doesn't mean much, though. I'm from New York. New York's different. I'm more the Giuliani/Pataki style Republican, which basically means you're against crime. I'm not, you know, 'conservative'." Um, okay.  New York Democrats are for crime, while New York Republicans are against crime and in favor of having sex for money. Jessica also said: The thing about D.C. is it's not Miami or New York where there are all these hot people everywhere. I'm cute by New York standards, but when I came here, my stock just shot up fast. Personally, I think she only rates a "cute" by D.C. standards too, and wish to suggest that it was her willingness to have sex on the Mall that caused her stock to shoot up. If you want to judge her hotness for yourself, Frederick found where you can see the Playboy photos for free (Say Anything Blog) -- but I need to warn you that you probably shouldn't view them while your boss, Brent Bozell, is looking over your shoulder (because after seeing them he would undoubtedly collapse on the floor from apoplexy, obligating you to give him mouth-to-mouth, and that would be most unpleasant -- for you, at least).  The photos start with Jessica flashing a nipple in front of the Capitol, and end with her in the shower, revealing everything, including, as Frederick put it, that she has "shaved her, um, president." Last month, Jessica was the subject of another Wash Post feature.  And once again, it wasn't exactly flattering (mostly because the reporter let Jessica talk about herself, and she's a rather screwed-up young woman).  But since, as Wonkette revealed, Jessica has a $400,00 book contract, we don't have to feel sorry for her.  Or sorry about making fun of her -- and anyway, she's sorry for us.  So, here are some bits from the Wash Post piece, which teaches us way more than we needed to know about Jessica, plus some facts about that strange, new phenomenon the kids calls blogging.  JESSICA CUTLER, THE MOUSE-CLICKER THAT ROARED, is a smart, subversive waif with a certain South Park charm. She's 5 feet 2, weighs about 100 pounds, wears hoop earrings as big as her fist and has a higher IQ -- she says she's been twice tested at more than 140 -- than the average medical student. Has it ever been considered cool, smart, or impressive to gratuitiously mention one's IQ (or Mensa membership)? Jessica was officially fired for misusing an office computer, but the men she wrote about kept their jobs. What they lost was their privacy. Jessica's blog identified them only by their initials. But amateur Internet sleuths who read the blog searched electronic databases looking for likely suspects, then posted names and photographs on the Internet. Jessica still refuses to name the men publicly. "I feel really bad for the guys," Jessica says. As for herself, she tries to look on the bright side. "I was only blogging for, what, less than two weeks?" she says. "Some people with blogs are never going to get famous, and they've been doing it for, like, over a year. I feel bad for them." Thanks, Jessica.  We people who have been blogging for, like, over a year, and still aren't famous, appreciate your pity. UNTIL RECENTLY, MANY AMERICANS HAD NEVER HEARD THE TERM BLOG. Web logs were the almost exclusive purview of techies. Now an estimated 3 million Americans maintain blogs, which range from tame online diaries to comic fantasies, from workplace chronicles to political screeds. Many are posted anonymously, and there is no way to judge their veracity. Unlike newspapers, whose veracity doesn't have to be judged, since they have editors and ethics and stuff, and have been proven to always be factual and reliable. Bloggers circumvent traditional information gatekeepers, such as newspapers, magazines and book publishers, by telling their story their way. [...] The gatekeepers are scrambling to respond. Advertisers now pay for space on popular blogs. Book agents and publishers routinely scan blogs looking for new talent like the blogger-turned-author who posted a fictional account of life as Paris Hilton's pet Chihuahua.  If there are any book agents or publishers reading this, please be advised that I too have many scandalous tales of D.C. I could tell, and can also write about my life as a vapid celebrity's pet.  (How about "Hammy: The Life and Times of the Bush Twins' Hamster Who Didn't Make It"?)  My IQ and Relative Cuteness available by request. 2.   And speaking of sluts, Ann Coulter has been busy this week too. As the LA Times reported, she helped Republican degegates lose their lunches by speaking to them. The anti-abortion luncheon was not for the faint of heart. The conservative pundit Ann Coulter stood up in a purple miniskirt and graphically described the details of the medical procedure involved in a late-term abortion. Yeah, Ann Coulter in a purple miniskirt is NOT for the faint of heart (although the weak of mind might have enjoyed her speech). But the Times article also tells about a woman who sounds like she would be just Pete's type, if she would only start writing for The Rant. The prayer resonated with Cyndi Saunders, a "former California liberal" from Mammoth who moved to Alaska and became a Republican anti-abortion activist. Saunders, 49, said she registered people to vote at her Christian church in Anchorage and regularly prayed that Bush would win in November. "Jesus is not here, but I picked the next closest thing," she said, Vote Bush: The Next Best Thing To Jesus. "and it's the family values in the Republican platform." Which is not the same thing as the family values in the Republican politicans, of course. [Insert long list of scandals here.] "My family, we try to filter everything through the Bible," she said. Which doesn't work all that well for their coffee or aquarium. "Truth is absolute, and if you don't have moral absolutes, you don't have anything at all." She said she was worried about same-sex marriage. "If marriage can be torn apart, so can the society and the world," she said. If marriage can be torn apart by letting loving same-sex couples be part of it, then society and the world can also be torn apart by letting homosexuals be part of them.  I guess we need to set up gay internment camps on Mars, to keep the rest of us safe. But back to Ann -- News Max has more about her convention activities. Ann Coulter was in attendance at Eagle Forum's "Life of the Party" party as well, and she dazzled attendees with her wit and biting sense of humor."The Republican Party is the party of life. The Democratic Party is the party of violating the Ten Commandments one by one," she proclaimed to laughter and applause. Wow, I can see why the attendees were dazzled! She claimed, "The Democratic Party is about abortion, gay marriage and banning the Boy Scouts." Then she told partygoers what she really thinks. Mocking the liberal position on abortion, she complained, "Listening to liberals talk about abortion is like listening to Clinton talking about his relationship with Monica." "They will never show a picture of this so-called constitutional right [to abortion] being exercised. No other constitutional right is hidden like this. A right that hard to locate in the Constitution is a hoax." I'd say that Dick Cheney will never show a picture of his so-called constitutional right to have sex with his wife being exercised, so such a right must not exist -- except that he might actually show such pictures, and I know that none of us want to see them.  Hey, Ann, for somebody with such a prominent Adam's apple, are you sure you want to claim that there is no constitutional right to medical privacy? On the lighter side, Ms. Coulter eagerly introduced our intrepid NewsMax correspondents to her mother because NewsMax is her mom's favorite magazine.  Clear proof that there is a strong genetic component to IQ. 3.  And speaking of Republican sex -- sweaty, furtive, and powered by Viagra -- Rush Limbaugh's people have officially announced that he has a girlfriend. Conservative radio kingpin Rush Limbaugh, 53, who announced his separation from his third wife, Marta, in early June, is dating CNN anchor Daryn Kagan, 41, a spokesman for Limbaugh has confirmed to us. The two were spotted at a party Limbaugh co-hosted at a New York restaurant, where guests included Vice President Cheney, New York Gov. George Pataki and Sen. Bill Frist. The coupling came as a surprise to some friends who consider the Atlanta-based Kagan part of the liberal media axis and a feminist -- but, then again, opposites attract.  Of course, Rush is still married, so he wouldn't dream of sleeping with Daryn, even if he weren't gay. As for Daryn, this is what she had to say about their romantic life: His "idea of a good time is to lie on his couch and watch football endlessly." (Okay, she was quoting that NewsWeek article from last year about how druggie Rush was a lonely loser, but still, I bet she now has a personal testimony of its accuracy.) Anyway, more sex later, after I cool off. 4:54:07 AM