Speaking of Rove, it's quite possible that a more thorough investigation, supported by Dems and Repubs, will reveal the details of his and the White House's dirty hands on many of the politically-motivated firings, especially in getting U.S. Attorney David Iglesias canned in New Mexico. (Rove reportedly leaned on GOP heavies in that state to get Iglesias removed because he wasn't indicting more Democrats. Senator Pete Domenici, ( http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16813951.htm ) who put partisan pressure on Iglesias to indict some Dems before the 2006 election, has lawyered up, and Rep. Heather Wilson, also of New Mexico, may choose to do so shortly.)

"SIGNING STATEMENTS" AID LAW-BREAKING

3. FBI Lawlessness. In yet another violation of provisons of the revised "Patriot" Act, the Justice Department's inspector general revealed that the FBI for years has been breaking the law in surveilling citizens, and in not reporting accurately to the Congress, as required, the number of times this has happened.

The Democrats seem eager to continue digging into this scandal, joined by a number of appalled GOP moderates, to see how high this law-breaking goes, up to and including Bush himself.

Bush signed the revised "Patriot" Act in a public ceremony last year, but after everyone had left the premises, he issued a complementary "signing statement." Glenn Greenwald ( http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/03/07/various_items/index.html ) reminds us that in that signing statement, Bush indicated "that he did not consider himself bound to tell Congress how the Patriot Act powers were being used and that, despite the law's requirements, he could withhold the information if he decided that disclosure would 'impair foreign relations, national security, the deliberative process of the executive, or the performance of the executive's constitutional duties'." These exceptions parallel the violations the FBI is shown to have committed.

Still, though FBI Director Mueller has accepted responsibility for his agency's illegal behavior, he's still in his job, and nobody else has paid any penalty for this rape of the Constitution and violation of laws passed by Congress.

THE LIBBY FALLOUT

4. Fitzmas in March. Cheney's chief-of-staff for five years, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was found guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice in the Plame spy-outing case. Libby is the fall guy, the patsy, the loyal aide who falls on his sword to protect his bosses, Cheney and Bush. But just the fact that Libby may be heading for the federal slammer is satisfaction enough right now and whets one's appetite for seeing his superiors dragged into the investigatory spotlight. ( http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=12537 )

And if and when Bush pardons Libby, that act will be yet another nail in the coffin of the GOP's chances for 2008. (But it's rumored that Rove may have Bush wait until after the 2008 voting, to remove it as an issue in the campaign.)

Bulldog Congressman Henry Waxman has already invited Valerie Plame Wilson and Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald to testify on the Libby case, the verdict, and perhaps the extent of known or reasonably surmised White House involvement in the affair. This should be good, especially if Fitzgerald chooses to reveal even a smidgen of what he has on Cheney.

5. Faux News Boycott. Candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination, led by John Edwards, were able to force a cancellation of the Nevada debate among Dem presidential competitors, which was scheduled to be aired on the worst possible news-source network, Fox. The Democrats finally wised up to the fact that consorting with the ideological neanderthals and unabashed bigots that inhabit the Fox Network sent exactly the wrong message.

Once again, as in all these stories, the liberal blogosphere was partially instrumental in keeping this issue alive and helping to give Democrats some informational ammunition to get the policy changed.

6. Treatment of Wounded Soldiers. The term "Walter Reed Hospital" is this year's "Katrina," further evidence of cold-heartedness, incompetent bureaucracy, meanness of spirit, and botched coverups in the Bush Administration. Yet another nail in the GOP coffin for 2008.

It turns out that the disgraceful treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed is just the tip of the iceberg of how the Bush Administration chants the "support-our-troops" mantra for political-propaganda reasons, but in no way actually supports them when they come back gravely wounded and in great need of TLC and adequate medical care. Instead, they are shunted aside, ignored, forgotten, or buried under bureaucratic paperwork.

The wartime need for warm bodies has gotten so desperate, and the troops are stretched so thin in Afghanistan and Iraq, that the Bush Administration is sending badly damaged soldiers (physically and mentally) back to Iraq before they are adequately healed up. After all, cannon fodder is cannon fodder and must be utilized to the full extent of wartime requirements. But, don't forget, everyone, to "support our troops."

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