Apparently Scott McClellan could no longer stand the taste either.

(This article was written months ago but I never published it. The timing is a little off, but relevant to recent media coverage. This is just one strand, a single noodle pulled from a bowl full of twisted, soggy, limp and tasteless others. One could easily reach into the bowl, pull yet another strand from the pile, and scrutinize it with a reasonable level of quality assurance for flaws or defects; and find that further attention is required. Something just isn't right. Even more amazing is the fact that MOST OF US know it already. We can smell it. It just doesn't pass the smell test. )

Is it just me?

Or does it bother anyone else out there that President Bush and V.P. Cheney completely failed to address the ACTUAL crime when they made their public statement in reaction to the verdict given to Scooter Libby?

An agent in one of our highest intelligence programs (and every contact, informant, under cover agent and/or partner she worked with) was exposed. The intentional 'outing' of an Under-Cover Intelligence Officer is considered a treasonous act.

The act of treason is so serious apparently, that someone convicted for revealing the identity of a spy, can get the death penalty. When it became apparent that the leak of classified information was conspired by persons within the Administration, President Bush vowed to "get to the bottom of this", and promised to fire anyone of his staff associated with this criminal act.

That is why I am astonished. When the scandal began to gain extensive media coverage the President was opposed to calls by members of congress to form an independent or federal committee to investigate the allegations and find the source of this crime. As the President did in initial requests to investigate the events of 9/11, he was somehow not in favor of a full investigation into the details. Why? If this crime was truly as serious as it seems, as unprecedented in our nations' history, as un-ethical and back-ward thinking as it appears; why would anyone sworn to an oath of office, after a lengthy and extensive thought process, conclude that an investigation into activity that potentially damaged our national security was not necessary? The President opposed any requests to find the source of the treasonous act, yet he said he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

Admittedly, I can't smell the entire meal we were served during the whole 'event', somehow it seems to be lacking something and I can't tell what it's missing.

One thing that I am sure of though, is the reaction to the verdict by our top two leaders to one of the most serious crimes that one can commit. Both V.P. Cheney and President Bush expressed regret for Libby!

NO really, don't laugh or just sit there with your mouth open; it's true.

Neither of them spoke one word about the victim, the victims family and their safety. The need to find and convict the true origin of this leak. Nor did they mention if they felt Libby was actually innocent or not.

This is so extraordinary that my mind is still a gasp.

How do these Enron connected, Downing Street Memo related, the August PDB (pre 9/11) revelations, Katrina failures, secret spy programs, secret prison operations, torture promotions, Walter Reed type stories taste to you?

Well there are numerous side dishes as well. Try some of the corruption. Take your choice of contracts to associates or the lack of concern for the over 12 billion dollars unaccounted for in Iraq. Maybe your taste-buds could use a little oil.

When the Iraq war was planned, the cooks didn't listen to staff. The engineers told the cook that the oven wasn't hot enough, if you put your dish in the oven at such a low temperature, it won't cook properly; didn't care. The cooks of the Iraq war plan didn't listen and 4 years later, make a major announcement to adjust the heat. May be too late, the crust is soggy and the filling is almost cooked.

Not only did the cooks arrogantly listen to the experienced engineers, they fired them and retaliated against all whom tried to avoid the gooey mess that is in the oven now.

The wretched taste in my mouth will eventually fade, but the portion that I ingested will always be a part of me. Ya know the 'you are what you eat' deal? I will never forget that our leaders pushed for a war, against all rational advice and warning. They created tension amongst the kitchen staff and purposefully distracted popular attention. And in this one instance, planned to leak Valerie Plames' identity to specific news agencies/reporters.

When you listen to Libbys' own words on tape, he specifically describes how the V.P. told him to meet with certain reporters with the sole intention of leaking the CIA agents identity.

Incredible. The fact that you are still sitting down reading this is just incredible. Because this total disregard to the rule of law and criminal behavior has got me so mad that I can't just sit here while they keep feeding me this crap.

And as long as you let them, they'll keep feeding it to you.

How does that taste?