Posted on 07/17/2005 12:41:48 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Back later. I need to start breakfast.
Paging Norm Coleman...Paging Norm Coleman...
Wilson (evidently) retired from 22 years with State in 1998, around the time they bought the house.
Unless they had family money, it's unclear how a married federal-employee couple could afford an $800K/$900K house.
And/or explain the expensive cars in the driveway.
And I can honestly say that I've never seen another white man sweat as much as he does except, of course, for Al Gore. Disgusting!
This seems like a good summary of the facts.
That sweating was something new. When this first broke, I don't recall him being so sweaty.
Just about admits that there is no there there. The chronic just can't admit that the msm is being caught in another manaufactured story.
The evil genius, Karl Rove, strikes again with another ROVIAN plot to get the msm.
But Joe Wilson gets a pass. No questions about the expensive life-style, no looking into his consulting firm and clients, no questions about the propriety of the husband of a WMD analyst dealing with a uranium-producing country, no questions about why HE was sent on the trip instead of someone competent...NOTHING!
| even if Rove is not prosecuted under that law, it is not clear whether Fitzgerald is looking at other charges such as perjury or obstruction of justice. Questions remain as to who the other senior administration official was who spoke to Novak or who Miller's sources were.
What if it's not? What if other classified material was leaked? For example:
And then there's this:
Not exactly. According the puff piece in Vanity Fair, Wilson started working for the Kerry campaign in May 2003. In other words, at the time he wrote his damning op-ed in the New York Times and appeared on Meet the Press, Wilson was a Kerry campaign operative. Do you remember the media telling us that? Did they know? Did Timmy Russert know that he was passing off a Kerry campaign operative as some sort of career civil servant "whistleblower"? This is more and more starting to sound like Rathergate, with the media conspiring with Democrats to foist fake material (later shown to be all lies) on an unsuspecting public for the purpose of throwing spears at Bush. |
Collected a huge bounty from the DNC.
Tom
I'd like to know which incompetent, partisan spook at the CIA raised these objections considering Plane had not been a covert agent for six years. This stinks to high heaven.
Excellent analysis. Excellent!
Maybe he was waiting for all those reporters to do the story for him and when it didn't work out that way, he came forward and praised himself.
It would be interesting to hear what his former wives have to say about him.
Unless they had family money, it's unclear how a married federal-employee couple could afford an $800K/$900K house.
It is possible for a number of reasons. First, they were a two earner family. Assuming that Wilson was a member of the Senior Foreign Service prior to his retirement, he would have been earning around $125K a year. If his wife was either an SES or GS15 or 16 she would be earning over 100K as well. This works out to $225K a year minimum.
Second, one or both of them could have owned property in the DC area. It is common for foreign service employees to own houses in the area and then rent them out while overseas. The USG provides housing abroad or an allowance to rent/own it. There are also other overseas allowances to compensate employess for increased living costs, etc. You can save money from reduced living costs and make money from your rental property. Property appreciation in the DC area has been significant, even in the 90s. The Wilsons could have sold appreciated property to buy up. They also may have invested in stocks, bonds, etc., which increased dramatically during the 90s.
Third, when you retire from the Foreign Service you receive a lump sum payment for unused leave, which could amount to $80 to $90K.
Finally, they could have inherited or borrowed money from a relative.
What I find curious is why Wilson retired with only 22 years service, especially at a time when he was in his peak earning years and his career should have been in its ascendency. I suspect that his career was at a dead end either due to the role he played in the April Glaspie affair or his subsequent performance on the NSC. There must have been a cloud over his head, which "forced" him to get out. With his collossal ego, I doubt if finishing his career out as a bureaucrat stuffed into some cubicle was not acceptable.
I estimate that Wilson's initial retirement salary was around $50K using a high three of $125K times 44% (22 years times 2%) minus 5K for a survivor benefit for his wife. Each year this is increased by the CPI-W, the same as SS. Odd.
Sounds like the typical "we got this moron on the payroll what the hell we gonna do with him". I know, lets send him to Gabon or Sao Tome, wherever the heck those places are..........
Good catch. I also read that somewhere else. Wilson was already in discussions with the Kerry campaign as an unpaid advisor. It would be instructive to look at Kerry's Iraq statements prior to Wilson's July 6th Op-Ed. I bet you would find similar verbiage.
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There is an amazing hidden assumption in all this media coverage which no one seems to question. The assumption is that Fitzgerald is investigating who "outed" Valerie Plame.