CBS' John Roberts: Scott McClellan is a "truth teller" and a "stand-up guy"

Via Media Matters:

On the November 6 edition of CNN's Reliable Sources, CBS News chief White House correspondent John Roberts vouched for White House press secretary Scott McClellan --after watching a video clip of ABC White House correspondent Terry Moran telling McClellan at an October 31 press briefing that it was not the job of the White House press corps to "vouch" for McClellan to the American people. During the briefing, Moran questioned McClellan about false statements McClellan made to the press about the involvement of White House officials in the alleged leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. Despite McClellan's false statements, during the Reliable Sources segment, Roberts called the press secretary a "truth-teller" and a "stand-up guy" and noted that he and McClellan have "a pretty good working relationship."

Most sane people would take issue with Roberts' characterization of McClellan as a "truth-teller," but the "stand-up guy" reference is not far off the mark. In most contexts, "stand-up guy" refers to someone who is aware of wrong-doing, but who can be counted on not to rat out the wrong-doers. The mob, for example, places a premium on stand-up guys. Some low-level hood gets pinched by the cops. Said hood knows stuff about the family business. If he's a stand-up guy, it means he's going to keep his mouth shut when the cops start sweating him. He won't give up his friends in exchange for a deal that might spare him a couple of years in jail. "We gotta worry about this guy?"

"Ehh, don't worry. He's a stand-up guy."

Crooked cops like stand-up guys. A detective roughs some poor bastard up in the interrogation room. His partner sees it happen. But, when Internal Affairs starts sniffing around, the partner says the poor bastard tripped over a chair. He doesn't give his partner up. He's a stand-up guy.

The capos in the Bush crime family know they can count on Scott McClellan to be a stand-up guy. The best-case scenario for McClellan is that he is kept in the dark about everything and that he goes out with his talking points and does as he is told. In that case, he's just a stooge.

But, anybody who has seen McClellan's jitterings and gyrations in the White House press room has witnessed a stand-up guy in action. He might not get his orders directly from the don ("Yeah, that's right, senator. The family had a lotta buffers."), but he's definitely a made guy. He knows the garbage he's spreading is nothing but lies. He won't break under questioning. He's a stand-up guy.

R.I.P., Grokster

Another free MP3 downloading service goes dark. Grokster has agreed to cease operations as the result of a settlement with federal authorities. The AP reports Grokster, Ltd. will also pay $50 million to settle allegations of intellectual property theft.

The surprise settlement permanently bans Grokster from participating, directly or indirectly, in the theft of copyrighted files and requires the company to stop giving away its software, according to court papers.

Executives indicated plans to launch a legal, fee-based "Grokster 3G" service before year's end under a new parent company, believed to be Mashboxx of Virginia Beach, Va. Mashboxx, headed in part by former Grokster president Wayne Rosso, already has signed a licensing agreement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment.

"It is time for a new beginning," Grokster said in a statement issued from its corporate headquarters in the West Indies.

Grokster's Web site was changed Monday to say its existing file-sharing service was illegal and no longer available. "There are legal services for downloading music and movies," the message said. "This service is not one of them."

The head of the Recording Industry Association of America, Mitch Bainwol, described the settlement as "a chapter that ends on a high note for the recording industry, the tech community and music fans and consumers everywhere."

Certainly, this keeps new users from acquiring Grokster software, but existing users are not affected, apparently. People who already have the software will be able to continue using it to share files, assuming they are not bothered by the illegality of the practice and assuming they don't have to rely on the Grokster site as an interface.

As for Grokster's bluster about introducing a new legal, fee-based service... well, good luck with that. I doubt iTunes is sweating much.

Bush: "We don't torture."

In Panama today, a reporter asked President Bush about allegations that the CIA is operating secret prisons in Europe where it is believed people are being tortured. Bush's rambling, non-responsive answer began with the declaration that we are at war and ended with the flat assertion that the United States does not engage in torture.

One wonders if Bush retains any connection to reality. Even as his vice president fights tooth and claw to keep torture available as an option in the War on Terror, even as Bush himself vows to veto any bill containing John McCain's anti-torture amendment, he still manages to look into the eyes of the people and the press and deny what everybody can see. God help us.