The thing is, that for me anyway, its not (just) the schadenfreude that keeps me coming back. This case, the Abramoff case, the Jack Safavian caase, the Dusty Foggo case, Duke Cunningham, what have you... these cases are our legal system fighting back from the grave. Whether its been declared one or not, I think its pretty clear that we are in fact in the middle of a constitutional crisis, in that the basic tenets of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are being challenged and discarded every day, not only by the big names in this administration, but probably even worse, by the ant-army of bureaucratic and judicial appointments that will plague every courthouse and agency for the next generation.

The Plame case is not just symbolically important, either. A real crime was committed, with real results. Unless you think blowing a major anti-WMD operation that took twenty years to build is meaningless. Not to mention, informing by our actions all of our allies that we can't be trusted with sensitive information, right at the moment when we need it most.

We're being suckered into a potentially civilisation-threatening war with Iran. What about? Ostensibly , WMDs.

And Pat, if you tell me she wasnt covert, I swear I will drive to Dripping Springs myself and tear your misinformed head off its over-saturated trunk, and then tell your kids it was just a symbolic act and doesnt mean anything. Pat, she was covert. There would not be a trial if she wasn't. She was a NOC. That's sort of like super-covert, in that it means that she operated overseas with no magic State Dept get out of jail free card.