Wow. Listen to this.

Background.

LaShawn, what was it you were saying about government schools? ;-)

It looks like Tim McMahon of the DNC continues to ride the wave of “this tape is the smoking gun” nonsense. He just emailed a letter to supporters which included the following text:

The tapes directly contradict Bush’s now infamous claim after Katrina, “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.”

…

This is a story NO American can afford to miss.

Also in that email he said:

Even though the Republicans have consistently stonewalled Democrat’s efforts for a thorough investigation of Hurricane Katrina, to find out what they knew and when they knew it, the facts are getting out. It is vital that everyone read the AP story and see the tapes for themselves.

As he must know, this conference call was open to the press and released to the public last fall. According to Trent Duffy:

The President’s participation in the August 28 videoconference was open to the press, and the full transcript of this videoconference was released to Congress and the public in the fall of 2005.

And Kevin has done some detective work. Turns ou the author of the AP videoconference article was a producer at 60 Minutes II during Rathergate.

What are the odds that there are two people with that name, one an AP writer and one a CBS News producer? I’m guessing they’re minuscule. The odds are that it’s the same person in a new job.

Given the tatters the story has been shredded into by the blogosphere, it’s hardly surprising that it comes from an alum of 60 Minutes II…

Regarding the MSM excitement surrounding the “Bush was briefed before Katrina” video, Newsbusters is pointing out that everyone seems to be confusing “breach” with “overtop.” Captain Ed and Dafydd are in on the act too.

The AP said:

Bush declared four days after the storm, “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees” that gushed deadly floodwaters into New Orleans. But the transcripts and video show there was plenty of talk about that possibility — and Bush was worried too.

Hinderaker does more deconstructing, as does Kevin over at Wizbang.

The LA Times notes the selective AP editing.

“The AP video does not include footage of Chertoff asking Brown whether he needs any other help or of Chertoff asking whether Brown wants him to approach the Department of Defense. Transcripts show that to both questions, Brown indicated that no additional assistance was needed.”

In this hilarious, not so hilarious, story 72 year old former ACLU lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justice, fell asleep during hearings in a case on Texas redistricting.

Will the Democrats call for the aging Ginsburg to step down from the court as they likely would if this were Clarence Thomas or Antonin Scalia?

Don’t hold your breath.

In fact it looks like the liberal media is trying to hide the story in the back recesses of their publications.

Captain’s Quarters is commenting on this too…

Had this happened with Justice Scalia or Justice Thomas, it would have been front page news at the New York Times tomorrow. The AP manages to bury it around paragraph 16.

Bloomberg News is reporting the snooze lasted a quarter of an hour.

So much for informed decision making. I kind of suspected liberals weren’t too interested in the facts.

Will the ravenous liberal Washington press corp be peppering her with questions about retiring soon? Will there be endless speculation about illness or mental impairment or sleeping pill addiction?

It is funny.