I've been listening to a lot of NPR these days. I haven't always liked Mark Steiner, but I'm liking him a lot right now. In the past, I thought he came across as a know-it-all, but a good friend of mine bid to have lunch with him - and won. It cost her something like $180. I was flabbergasted and asked her why she would pay that much money to take minor celebrity out to lunch, and she told me that he's the one who first made her feel like she was part of Baltimore. Plus, she reminded me how pro-education he is. I've since listened to him in a new light, and like him a great deal. He really seems to listen to his guests, much like Terri Gross on "Fresh Air."
So today I was listening, and Laura Lippman was the guest. All I can say is that she impressed me so much that I went to Barnes and Noble while I was listening and bought one of her books - this one. All of her books take place in Baltimore and she also seems the type who would come in and speak with my students if I asked her. So I'm going to read a few of her books this summer. After Don Quixote, of course.
Later, I heard as many different versions of the Karl Rove leak story as I cared to hear. What a fascinating thing this is. The administration gets pissed at a diplomat for criticizing the war, so they leak to a reporter that the diplomat's wife is a CIA agent. I'm sure that this is going to be completely ignored by most of the press, like most anything else that goes against Bush. I'm sure our "liberal media" will report this story with as much gusto as the gay male prostitute sent in to lob softball questions at the WH spokesperson during press briefings, or Rove's heinous comments about liberals wanting to "understand" the enemy after 9-11 instead of retaliate. But, it is fascinating nonetheless. The White House has been denying for two years that it had anything to do with the leak, and now it appears they'll have egg on their face.
That being said, all signs point to Rove having some ethical strength by not allowing that reporter to go to jail, and coming forward and allowing his name to be put forth as a source. I'm not sure if this is how it will go down, but it seems to be the case that Rove didn't want the reporter to go to jail for his secrecy, so he came forward - something that was the right thing to do and may very well cost him his job (in the doubtful possibility that the press holds the White House accountable, that is).
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10 comments:
"all signs point to Rove having some ethical strength by not allowing that reporter to go to jail, and coming forward and allowing his name to be put forth as a source"
I'm not sure about that. From what I understand, his lawyer mistakenly said something in public that made Cooper believe that confidentiality had been made. It's not clear that it was Rove's decision, or the lawyer's slip-up.
I highly doubt it had anything to do with ethical strength. It has become obvious in the past couple of weeks that he is the central figure of the case. He is painted in a corner. acknowledgment or no acknowledgment, the truth was coming out regardless. If another journalist went to jail over this, this time connected to a journalist with whom rove spoke to directly, the egg would have been far worse for both him and the administration. I am sure this decision was made by the "circle" as well as from advise from his legal counsel.
I will acknowledge that you and I look at the whole human character thing differently. I come from the perspective that it isn't there. You come from the perspective that people have character. I will admit that I may at times err in judgment by being overly critical of human character, but I think in the case of Karl Rove it is justified. Ethics and character are obviously non-issues for him or anyone else with is sort of expertise, liberal or conservative. If he had ethics or character, he wouldn’t be any good at his job, and his is obviously VERY GOOD at what he does, evil talented macheavellian shit that he is.
There's nothing more "Baltimore" than going to a Barnes & Noble to buy a Laura Lippman book.
I don't think I ever thought I would see the words ethical strength and Karl Rove in the same sentence...that just can't be it. I'm sure it must be along the lines of what ianqui said.
Also, NPR is the only thing I listen to anymore.
I also think you are giving Rove too much credit.
He's not only fighting for his job and to stay out of jail, but since the White House said over a year ago they know what Rove said and who he said it to, he's probably fighting to avoid taking down a presidency.
If Rove leaked the name of an undercover CIA agent during a time of war, he's a traitor.
Can someone refresh my memory as to what, traditionally, is the appropriate punishment for treason during wartime is again, I forget.
Maybe you all are right about about Rove. I think Eebmore's comment about my view of human nature may be spot on. We shall see as we learn more and more about what happened.
If Rove is also Judith Miller's source, then we have more evidence that Rove is a bastard.
Benn: Were you being sarcastic with the first comment? I couldn't tell, but I'm guessing yes since you're with Atomic Books. Sorry. I'm not even sure where your store is, but I'll gladly visit it. Do you have a teacher discount?
Heh. After all this commenting, I realized I made an important typo. I meant to say: "From what I understand, his lawyer mistakenly said something in public that made Cooper believe that confidentiality had been waived."
Hope that makes it clearer.
Yeah, I was being a little sarcastic. I get the sense you live in Fells Point, no? If so, Mystery Loves Company would be a great independent bookstore to buy Laura Lippman books from. It's over on Fleet St.
And yeah, we offer a sort of discount. Everytime you spend $15, we mark a box on a card. When you fill the card up, you get $15 off. There are 10 boxes on the card. So it's like a 10% discount.
If you're buying Laura Lippman mass market paperbacks, and you get a discount from Barnes & Nobles, you're saving what, $1.40 tops? That's at a 20% discount.
I don't live in Fell's Point, but I work there for my second job. I'm familiar with Mystery Loves Company, but it's NEVER OPEN. Seriously, I've worked there for two years now, right across the street, and every single time I want to go there and browse, it's closed. There's usually a sign on the door explaining why, but it's made me not want to try anymore.
I go to Barnes and Noble everyday because it's attached to my gym. I usually read for free, but on occasion I buy something and use my discount and tax-free card. I'm thinking about making a Lippman book the all-school book. Yeah, the discount wasn't much, but I bought a few others for my classroom and it adds up.
If you all offered a real teacher discount, I'd do all of my large book orders through you and tell all my colleagues to do the same. Especially now that Greetings & Readings is gone from Baltimore, I'm looking for a place to do that. They offered 20% and tax-free. We have kids buy all of our paperbacks and we want to be able to give them the best deal. It would be Fagles' "The Odyssey," "Romeo and Juliet," "To Kill a Mockingbird," Martinez's "Drift," "Life of Pi," and a few more - over a hundred copies each. If you're at all interested in this, let me know.
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