Duped and deceived

Denny Hastert explains that Mark Foley “deceived” and “duped” him. The swine! With those words, Hastert admits his own laziness and ineptitude: his entire exhaustive investigation consisted of asking Foley if he’d done anything wrong, and accepting his word.

(Could be worse: Condi Rice falsely denied having been briefed two months before 9/11 by speaking of Condi 2001 as if she were an entirely separate person, saying that it was “incomprehensible” she could have heard that and ignored it; she shouldn’t have to “comprehend” it, she should be able to “remember.” Schizophrenic much?)

The NYT article says that the St Petersburg Times didn’t follow up because the page didn’t wish to go on record. The paper’s initial statement was actually rather more creepy: they said they didn’t publish because he wasn’t willing to tell them how the emails “made him feel.”

Stories on AP and in the NYT today about Rumsfeld and commander of the Southern Command Gen. Bantz Craddock (I swear I do not make up these names) accusing Venezuela of destabilizing the entire hemisphere by acquiring weapons more advanced than a pointy stick. Rummy can hardly figure why Venezuela needs a military at all: “I don’t know of anyone threatening Venezuela, anyone in this hemisphere.”

The NYT article also quotes Craddock welcoming a Nicaraguan offer to help with landmine removal in Iraq and/or Afghanistan, noting the country’s vast experience with landmines. It fails to mention who gave the Contras all those landmines.