Think Progress wonders whether Karl Rove has lost his security clearance which could account for his shift in positions.

In November, Newsweek wrote, "Having his security clearance yanked would not require Rove to resign as deputy chief of staff to President Bush. But it would prevent him from taking part in policymaking that relates to national-security issues, which would mean a much-reduced role in the Bush White House."

Rove has now resigned his policy-making post and is focusing primarily on politics. Given Rove's public intentions to make national security the focus of the 2006 elections, the White House should reveal whether Rove will be doing his political job while holding a security clearance.

If you're near Denver, the place to be tonight is Lodo's Tattered Cover where Markos will be discussing his book and signing copies, followed by Drinking Liberally where he will be available for discussion.

5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The Tattered Cover Bookstore
1628 16th Street
Denver, CO

7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Double Daughters (Drinking Liberally)
1632 Market Street
Denver, CO

The TL kid and I took Markos to lunch yesterday at Avenue Grill where we got to catch up on the past year and hear about his plans for the future.

At least it's out in the open. The Washington Times Reports:

The new Open Source Center (OSC) at CIA headquarters recently stepped up data collection and analysis based on bloggers worldwide and is developing new methods to gauge the reliability of the content, said OSC Director Douglas J. Naquin.

"A lot of blogs now have become very big on the Internet, and we're getting a lot of rich information on blogs that are telling us a lot about social perspectives and everything from what the general feeling is to ... people putting information on there that doesn't exist anywhere else," Mr. Naquin told The Washington Times.

]Hat tip Patriot Daily.]

The White House needs a news spokesman now that Scott McClellan has resigned. Will it be Fox News' Tony Snow?

Karl Rove "gave up some of his responsibilities."

Rove is giving up oversight of policy development to focus more on politics with the approach of the fall midterm elections. Just over a year ago, Rove was promoted to deputy chief of staff in charge of most White House policy coordination. That new portfolio came on top of his title as senior adviser and role of chief policy aide to Bush.

But now, the job of deputy chief of staff for policy is being given to Joel Kaplan, the deputy budget director.

Update: Attytood names Scotty's replacement -- Beltway Bob.

by TChris

Phill Kline, the Attorney General of Kansas, has an unhealthy obsession with teenage sex. Apart from his unsuccessful attempt to learn the identity of every minor in Kansas who obtains an abortion (discussed here and here), Kline issued an opinion that purported to require all health care providers to alert the government when they learn that a minor had engaged in sexual activity or wants contraception. Kline's theory was that Kansas law equates sex with abuse when one or both of the participants is under the age of 16 -- an interpretation that would trigger mandatory reporting of "abuse" whenever a health care provider learned that a minor was in a sexual relationship, regardless of the age of the other participant or the child's willingness to participate.

Recognizing the lunacy of that position, federal District Judge J. Thomas Marten told Kline that he doesn't understand Kansas' mandatory reporting law. The law requires reporting of abuse that causes injury, and sex -- despite what Kline thinks -- isn't inherently injurious.

In yesterday's decision, Judge Marten said Mr. Kline's opinion improperly conflated illegal sexual activity -- intercourse, oral sex and lewd touching by anyone under 16 are prohibited in Kansas -- with abuse.

Smoking Gun has the Indictment of the two Duke Lacrosse players. Reading between the lines of this statement from Duke University today, the two indicted players have been suspended.

So, two young men, accused but not convicted, have their faces and names plastered on television screens and in newspapers across the country, are required to post $400,000. secured bonds and get kicked out of school, based on allegations by an accuser who is allowed to retain her anonymity and her privacy.

This is like Alice in Wonderland. Sentence first, verdict afterwards.

Reporters subpoenaed by Lewis "Scooter" Libby filed their motions to quash today. Some of them, including Andrea Mitchell, filed paper documents, and the Court has now ordered them to file electronically, so they should be available tomorrow if not later tonight.

Judith Miller and Time Magazine did file electronically -- lengthy responses, arguing the subpoenas are overbroad, vague and not directed to admissible evidence. Time argues that Libby is on a fishing expedition in seeking documents from Time editors and reporters other than Matthew Cooper, the only Time employee endorsed as a witness in the case.

Both filed the actual subpoenas listing the sought-after documents as exhibits. Here is Libby's subpoena to Time (pdf) and here is Libby's subpoena to Judith Miller.

by TChris

Serena Nunn's sad story has two happy endings. The story will sound familiar to those who haunt the criminal courts. Serena dropped out of school and started dating a drug dealer. Because she drove him around and talked to buyers who owed him money, she was charged with federal drug crimes. Despite being a first offender, Serena was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison.

The leader of the drug ring had a record that included substantial drug dealing, rape and manslaughter. He was sentenced to 7 years.

How could this happen? The leader was a serious criminal, and serious criminals are connected. He could barter information for freedom because his criminal accomplishments made him a valuable snitch. Serena wasn't a serious criminal, so she had little to trade. Does this seem fair? Only if you've ingested a hallucinogen.

Fortunately, Serena's story has two happy endings (so far): President Clinton commuted her sentence, and on May 6, she'll graduate from the University of Michigan Law School. Good for you, Attorney Nunn.

by TChris

The FBI wants to snoop through deceased columnist Jack Anderson's files. Why?

"It has been determined that, among the papers, there are a number of U.S. government documents containing classified information," [FBI Special Agent Richard] Kolko said, declining to say how the FBI knows.

"It has been determined" is FBI-speak for "we think maybe." Rather than getting a warrant (for which "we think maybe" isn't quite good enough), the Bureau has simply demanded access, both from Anderson's family and from Mark Feldstein, a journalism professor at George Washington University.

by Last Night in Little Rock

The Topeka, KS Westboro Baptist Church fundamentalist wackos (previously noted here and here by TChris) disrupted another soldier's funeral in Nashville a week ago with placards celebrating the soldier's death. From their message, one would think they were violent Islamic fundamentalists rather than purported Christian fundamentalists. They are about as unChristian as a group can get.

As result of their activities, several states have adopted laws against disrupting funerals or burials as an inappropriate place for political speech, and some Members of Congress want to get into the act.

by Last Night in Little Rock

CNN reported at 2:01 pm ET today that the defense lawyers for the two Duke lacrosse players arrested this morning (arrest noted by TChris here, which has an update from ABC News with similar information) offered alibis for both men. Both claimed to be elsewhere at the time of the occurrence, with witnesses and time stamped video from an ATM. CNN.com alluded to it in a post at that same time:

Sources close to the investigation told CNN Tuesday that the defense will present evidence -- including ATM receipts and a cab driver -- that neither Seligmann, 20, nor Finnerty, 19, were at the team party at the time the alleged rape took place.

by TChris

Two Duke lacrosse players, both sophmores, have been arrested on the indictments that were reported here. Their names will now appear in newspapers around the world although, as this post lamented, the accuser's equally newsworthy identity will not be similarly publicized. A third student was also accused, but the DA said today that he hasn't been charged because he can't be "identified with certainty."

The players were charged with first degree forcible rape, first degree sexual offense and kidnapping. William J. Cotter, the lawyer representing one of the young men, said:

"The grand jury, as you know, has indicted him. They hear one side of the story. They almost always indict. The next jury will hear the entire story, which includes our evidence. We're confident that these young men will be found to be innocent."