This week The Duc Pond is hosting the 22nd Carnival of NJ Bloggers. Check it out! Way back when, Sluggo Needs a Nap hosted a Carnival that had The New Wisdom in it. Welcome, other NJ bloggers!

From Wonkette:

We hear Cheney, too. We hear “Watergate-esque.” We hear “perjury.”

Info can be found at The Raw Story. It’s mostly nothing, really. A prosecutor reknowned for his thoroughness making sure his i’s are dotted and t’s crossed. Nonetheless, it’s interesting stuff:

The investigation into who leaked the officer’s name to reporters has now turned toward a little known cabal of administration hawks known as the White House Iraq Group (WHIG), which came together in August 2002 to publicize the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. WHIG was founded by Bush chief of staff Andrew Card and operated out of the Vice President’s office.

Fitzgerald’s examination centers on a group of players charged with not only selling the war, but according to sources familiar with the case, to discredit anyone who openly “disagreed with the official Iraq war” story.

…

Sources close to the investigation have also confirmed that special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald is trying to determine Vice President Cheney’s role in the outing of Mrs. Wilson, more specifically, if Cheney ordered the leak.

Those close to Fitzgerald say they have yet to uncover any evidence that suggests Cheney ordered the leak or played a role in the outing of Mrs. Wilson. Still, the sources said they are investigating claims that Cheney may have been involved based on his attendance at meetings of the Iraq group. Previous reports indicate Cheney was intimately involved with the framing of the Iraq war.

While we’re talking about GOP wrong-doing, I should have thought of this myself, as I’m a huge fan of Wag the Dog. Mithras writes about the NYC bomb scare (now apparently revealed to be a “hoax” by the informant) and victories against Al Qaeda that are just too conveniently timed with investigations into Karl Rove.

I don’t know a damn thing about Harriet Miers aside from the obvious stuff noted by NPR and other major news outlets, but I know this: when conservatives threaten to filibuster their president’s Supreme Court pick, you can’t help but think maybe things aren’t so bad. Obviously they won’t, as it would instantly make them look like hypocrites to even those paying the least amount of attention, not to mention obliterate any shreds of cohesion the GOP has left. Keeping with the hypocrisy theme, won’t it be hilarious to see Republican members of the Judiciary Committee blast Miers for not answering their questions on how she intends to rule when they recently praised John Roberts for doing the same thing?

And that’s the problem I guess for both sides. Conservatives wanted someone obviously and openly Scalia- or Thomas-like in their conservative, strict constructionist views. They got an unknown instead. I’m not sure what liberals want or expect in an America where the GOP rules the White House and Congress, but I’d imagine it’d be a moderate and capable judge. They got an unknown and potentially unqualified person instead. The conservatives could have nothing to worry about if she ends up being ultra-right. The uncertainty is killing them, though.

So while many leftist blogs are calling victory, I’m not celebrating yet (I will, however, celebrate President Bush’s new lack of appetite for battling Democrats in Congress). That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the squirming on the right.
Instapundit’s list of unhappy bloggers
Captain’s Quarter’s disappointed assessment
Opportunity cost of this nomination