Goodbye USA...HELLOOOO Sinclair Lewis-ville. It CAN happen here........
Zedd |
03.07.06 - 2:47 pm | #
but but but ... didnt Abu say that already there is a 45-day cycle of reauthorization? I have always wondered where they ever came up with that odd figure: 45 days. What law or executive order were they following? An Ashcroft post-911 special? supposedly the Senate will set up a special subcommittee to oversee the NSA domestic wiretapping. Also this legislation will sunset after 5 years...
Wilson46201 |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 2:47 pm | #
So wait. If the committee's composition is 50/50 Dem/Thug by design, does that mean someone caved on the Dem side?
ralphbon |
03.07.06 - 2:47 pm | #
There must be some pretty powerful blackmail going on. That's what we need to find out about—what does Frist and Cheney have to dangle like the sword of damocles over the heads of these cowards?
RevDeb |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 2:50 pm | #
Ralphbon:
Committee is 8/7 R/D
Dr. Bong |
03.07.06 - 2:50 pm | #
Outrageous, but what else could I expect from Pat "We'd be done with Phase II if Harry Reid didn't shut down the Senate for two hours one day" Roberts.
Nice to see CNN take a break from warnings about radon gas and exclusive video of a man-made indoor ski park in Dubai so Ed Henry could let us know the Fourth Amendment's shredding has been approved by a Republican "breakthrough compromise" with themselves.
WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!
Urban Pirate |
03.07.06 - 2:55 pm | #
We need more "courageous" people in Congress to oppose the NSA's Al Qaeda/international terrorist surveillance program. The smart ones know that opposing the NSA's Al Qaeda/international terrorist surveillance program would mean immediate electoral defeat for them.
Tom |
03.07.06 - 2:56 pm | #
Time for Operation CleanSlate.Throw the fuckers to the curb.
Bustednuckles |
03.07.06 - 2:56 pm | #
I feel as though I've been kicked in the stomack
this country is in so much trouble
I don't know what else to say
me to me |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 2:57 pm | #
OT:
Does anyone out there know what type of machines(Diebold?, ES&S?, None?) the Ciro/Cuellar election in Texas are utilizing?
NeoJoe |
03.07.06 - 2:57 pm | #
House Republican to Move on Port Bill
WASHINGTON - A leading House Republican plans to push legislation Wednesday against a Dubai company's effort to take over some U.S. port operations, probably defying President Bush with an effort to block the deal.
Rep. Jerry Lewis (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, plans to attach a provision to a spending bill for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and aid for Gulf States recovering from Hurricane Katrina.
The move reflects election-year unease among the GOP rank-and-file about a foreign-owned company managing American ports. The government of Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, controls the company
If ever there was a call to fight ever harder for a Dem majority after this November, this was the call.
don't talk about it, *DO IT*!!...mover the mountain so we can start to go after the crooks more aggressively....
justadood |
03.07.06 - 2:58 pm | #
Ton: wait til President Hillary uses that law to listen in to you doing something "nasty" ...
[dammit Wilson! How many times do we have to tell you: SHUT THE FUCK UP!!! DON'T FEED THE GODDAM TROLLS]
Wilson46201 |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 2:58 pm | #
I'm so disgusted, I'm speechless.
This is not a good week, is it?
If anyone can offer words of general encouragement, I'm all ears.
Mrs. K8 |
03.07.06 - 2:58 pm | #
Hagel and Snowe disappoint me more and more:
They must've drunk from Doc Roberts' special cup...
geoff |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 3:00 pm | #
scum - bottom feeders - perfect representatives of the country our military and DOJ have left us.
Let's just burn the Constitution and be done with it. If its king george, wtf do we need to be paying all of them inaddtion to Halliburton?
*********
lhp - I agree with you below on the pdbs etc. I doubt we'll even get the indictments, though, bc of all the "classified" info.
Hell- EVERYTHING is classified now - bc there is nothing that isn't illegal or laughably incompetent.
**********
Jane - re: threatening to sue and not sueing. You *can* do it. The reason you usually do not (business-oriented lawyers at least) is that there is a doctrine called waiver that can come into play. If I say I have a right to do something (like sue under a contract for a breach) then I don't sue --- and say the same thing happens again later - I may be in a waiver and estoppel situation - where the other side can say that since I threatened to sue before and didn't do it - I have waived my right to sue for that kind of breach. Well drafted contracts deal with that kind of thing, but it can be an issue.
Not that I can see why we worry about law anymore. I think you just buy off someone in DOJ or go get your own tame soldier.
Remind again, when it is, in the course of human events....?
ralphbon |
03.07.06 - 3:02 pm | #
The constitution is in jeopardy and the most important thing CNN can talk about today is the death of Dana Reeve.
Look, I'm sorry she died. Cancer sucks and life's unfair. But the fact is, our democracy is hanging by a thread.
Her death was unexpected (by the public and the media.) The NSA vote has been known about for some time. Yet they hardly mention the *cough* compromise and what it means to all of our lives.
TheOtherWA |
03.07.06 - 3:04 pm | #
Wilson- Tweety's a lifelong catholic- no surprises there.
rwcole |
03.07.06 - 3:05 pm | #
Traitors? Let's face the hard fact that that's what this entire administration is all about... treachery, everyday and in every-way. They knew that their reasons for going to war were lies, yet they sent 2300 (by the curious way the military counts) Americans to their deaths. They knew that they hadn't won the elections in 2000 and 2004, but they stole them anyway, gleefully, celebrating their crime, rubbing their hands together at the thought of what they would do. Were they traitors to call for a "new Pearl Harbor" that would allow them to play their murderous games? Were they traitors to aid and abet criminals whose plans for oil development and transfer matched the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq perfectly? Were they traitors to illegally spy on their own countrymen in order to keep a political upper hand? To track down and secretly jail those who knew secrets about them? Are they traitors to plan yet another war that will kill tens of thousands of Americans, so that they can reap financial payoffs and consolidate their dictatorship? Is there any question?
BigIslandGuy |
03.07.06 - 3:07 pm | #
I recently had a friend die a long slow death from liver cancer. she wasted away to almost nothing. What is really unfortunate is that it is a perfect metaphor for what is happening to our country. Malignant cancer.
Bustednuckles |
03.07.06 - 3:07 pm | #
So this is how democracy dies...
Actually, I don't think democracy will die in America—it's ingrained in us. We just need to kick the anti-American GOP to the curb and rebuild our system of government. Every time the elected officials refuse to heed the people brings them one step closer to being considered enemies of this country.
I think Mike Malloy's right when he says eventually all of us will get off our asses and do something. It's coming, but not yet. Maybe we're all too comfortable to risk shutting down the economy to stop the Bush government. Or maybe we're still in the stage where places like this blog are communicating the seriousness of the situation. But poll numbers show how much the people hate the Bush government, and eventually it will topple.
puppethead |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 3:08 pm | #
The constitution is in jeopardy and the most important thing CNN can talk about today is the death of Dana Reeve.
It looks like Barry Bonds and steroids is more important than Dana Reeve. So is the question of whether women can be homecoming kings.
Snowe, DeWine, and Hagel. Profiles in pusillanimity. I guess the wiretaps picked up each of them in some compromising position. Would it be libelous to speculate? I know it would be "irresponsible *not* to," thanks to Peggy Noonan's logic.
I know the term "Vichy Democrats" is a little controversial (I like it, but I realize it's not widely accepted for a couple reasons), but can we have a Republican equivalent? I want something to call these gutless wonders. I suppose if it's catchy enough (fine (grumble), it doesn't *have* to be profane), it could get into letters to editors (e.g., "Olympia Snowe says she's a moderate Republican, but she rolls over whenever Karl Rove says."). Roll-over Republicans? Lock-step Republicans? Fucking un-American punks?
Chris |
03.07.06 - 3:11 pm | #
Jane wrt your Josh update, this AP article supports it , but leaves out any details about the vote, that as you said, was supposed to happen today, according to the WaPo.
"Republicans Propose Bill on Spy Program" http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/sto...-03-07-17-22-
12
John Casper |
03.07.06 - 3:12 pm | #
this is an outrage.
punaise |
03.07.06 - 3:16 pm | #
Vichy Dems - I'll say it over and over.
I really do hope that the next lesson in law Feingold gives on the floor is reading the war crimes act - followed by a description of Dilawar - followed by the DOJ arguments that "it's like that, you know, tree in the woods, if there's no court with jurisdiction it's not really torture - see?"
Mary |
03.07.06 - 3:17 pm | #
I ask again, what on earth does Karl have on these guys?! Purely as a calculated political move (i.e. setting aside those pesky scruple-thingies), why would anyone carry water for this WH?
Professor Foland |
03.07.06 - 3:19 pm | #
Chris,
I'm fairly certain the term is already out there: Eunuchs
emptywheel |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 3:20 pm | #
Hope Snowe gets her ass kicked in November- fuckin ass kissin unamerican hunk a manure. She KNOWS better.
rwcole |
03.07.06 - 3:20 pm | #
Tom | 03.07.06 - 2:56 pm | #
Snort - uh, yeah. That's the remarkable international al-Qaeda program that has resulted in the capture of OBL (not so much) capture of Zawahiri (not so much) interception of videos by OBL (not so much) and Zawahiri (not so much) and
oh yeah
FBI agents who can recite Pizza hut 5/5and5 deals by heart.
But you're right - it is so efficient, why have a Fourth Amendment?
ANd why not just a King - especially one so good at his job.
Hell, next Bill Gross won't be telling his investors to diversify their bonds internationally - he'll be telling them to first relocate, then reallocate.
Mary |
03.07.06 - 3:22 pm | #
Billmon's name for the GOP equivalent to Vichy Democrats is to refer to them as the Congress of People's Deputies, playing off the rubber-stamp function of the Soviet legislative chamber under Stalin.
puppethead |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 3:22 pm | #
what is the holdup on any newswire report?? maybe it the committee has started a big ole fistfight, or cheney got hold of his hunting tool again, or maybe ......
angie |
03.07.06 - 3:24 pm | #
Well, this shifts the pressure further to the Judiciary Committee.
I need to see what Greenwald has to say.
Pachacutec |
03.07.06 - 3:24 pm | #
I'm speechless.
Promised myself not say fuck for a while.
colleen military mom |
03.07.06 - 3:24 pm | #
Larry Diamond , the Stanford University scholar who briefly advised U.S. authorities in Iraq, writes in the New Republic: "Iraq is in the midst of a civil war. Indeed, by one common social science definition -- at least 1,000 dead (with at least 100 on each side) from internal hostilities in which one side tries violently to change the state or its policies -- Iraq's civil war began in the first year of the 'postwar' era and has been particularly bloody."
rwcole |
03.07.06 - 3:27 pm | #
Spectre has always been and remains the key to the stability of the nation, and all decisions of the magnitude that the prosecution of the NSA taps would calll for. It is no accident that he represents the key stone state and was central to the JFK report.
All the First decision does is throw the ball back to Spectre. It means Spectre wield more power effectively than the intel "oversight" committee.
More important immediately is to deny the line item veto. This will effectively permit the president unlimited power. He can deny any legislation that curbs his power grab, or that implicates anything he has been involved in. Line item veto must be removed at all cost.
The NSA will continue to snowball. These guys just aren't that competent. More disasters await them particularlly the closer they push themselves to the Iranian noose. The world will not let the US pull another fast one. If it looks like Bush has decided to pull the trigger, watch all hell break loose against him.
The administration is treading water, and the load it is carrtying is getting heavier and heavier.
patience |
03.07.06 - 3:28 pm | #
OT but not - words of encouragement for Mrs. K8... Mrs. K8, you lived in Germany for a while - a Germany that was still rebuilding itself and learning how to live with itself after WWII. It's entirely possible that the US will have to go through a very similar, generations-long experience. The other day I was re-reading Hannah Arendt, that brilliant political philosopher who escaped from Nazi Germany, and thinking about what she wrote concerning keeping thought/thinking itself alive during "dark times." For her it was a vital task that the capacity to think be kept alive, especially in the midst of mass societal irrationality and thoughtlessness. Here at FDL we are keeping thought alive, and we will teach the next generation the value of thought, of critical and imaginative wrestling with 'the given' from numerous perspectives. We cannot wave a magic wand and ensure that everyone will wake up and start thinking, start questioning, start imagining 'what's it like in someone else's shoes?', but we can do our best to keep thought alive so that it can flourish again in a more hospitable future. Hope this helps, Mrs. K8...I too wish there were something more tangible I could do, something that would bring instant gratification, but then I distrust instant gratification, and so, I suspect, do you!
Wonderer |
03.07.06 - 3:29 pm | #
Called Glenn, wasn't able to get through. I'll let you know if I hear from him.
jane hamsher |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 3:29 pm | #
I like the term Quislings.
Anybody think Specter is going to do anything is dreaming.
The Alito hearings, remember?
Personally, I think Specter is a stalking horse, designed to make us 'think' he is moderate, when in fact, he's out for himself like the rest of his fellow- Republicans.
Rove has got some serious Vaderesque mojo to make a guy like McCain jump thru hoops - Specter is child's play.
diogenes |
03.07.06 - 3:32 pm | #
emptywheel - thanks for the reminder; I'd forgotten about the phrase Eunuch Caucus (Digby's term, right?).
Chris |
03.07.06 - 3:32 pm | #
why is there no democrat screaming at the top of his/her goddam lungs?
They think they're just gonna slink away...
jayt |
03.07.06 - 3:33 pm | #
Hmm. Remember that Peter Daou post about how this would fizzle too. I was so depressed when I first read his writing.
I feel the same way now. Day by day, drip by drip, it gets worse.
I'm sure they're amazed at what they're able to get away with.
Urban Pirate |
03.07.06 - 3:37 pm | #
The Congress of the USA are no longer collaborators. They are now The Enemy.
Sonoma |
03.07.06 - 3:38 pm | #
It's time for Fitzgerald to alter the chess game. Just sweep the board clean, pull out a big-ass gun, indict 'em all, then say "Check, motherfucker".
jayt |
03.07.06 - 3:38 pm | #
At times like this it's hard to believe that there actually are members of Congress who are not shameless, oppurtunistic assholes.
Cujo359 |
03.07.06 - 3:41 pm | #
I'm so surprised these bastards have sold out yet again.
Hey, forget all this shit, President Birdshot has another war extravaganza coming within two weeks! History's Actors got a new show! CNN, salivating, awaits orders...
But the stonewalling wrt the warrantless surveillance really puts the lie to Tom's trollery. If the GOP really wanted the Dems to "bring it on", they wouldn't be twisting arms so hard to stop the investigation.
So this action has a sliver of silver lining: contrary to their posturing, the GOP is terrified of this issue.
kth |
03.07.06 - 3:42 pm | #
I am surprised at how bummed I am.
There is so much shit buried in this NSA.
They broke the law and a LOT of people know it.
Go Ciro!
colleen military mom |
03.07.06 - 3:43 pm | #
A National Disgrace - this happens to be about Guantanamo
Sadly, the title could refer to so much.
Mary |
03.07.06 - 3:44 pm | #
Glenn has a brief post up, saying he's not surprised. His earlier post voced expectation on Intelligence Committee action without counting on it as necessary.
My thougts:
This is very, very bad, though not surprising.
We did not get here overnight, and so, it will take a long time to dig ourselves out.
But we cannot ignore the Constituional violations at play here.
I think impeachment talk is bad politics. But not to hold these crimes accountable is even worse precedent.
The GOP is like some mad driver who so wrecklessly goes out of control, killing and doing damage, that police have no choice but to shoot the driver. Shooting the tores just won't do it anymore.
Again, politcal movement building to right these wrongs, whch have been building for a generation, will not happene quickly. And just so there's no misunderstanding, my employment of metaphor implies no recommendation of violence.
But we're in Tom Paine territory.
Pachacutec |
03.07.06 - 3:44 pm | #
when the bird flu strikes and millions die and the whole fucking country looks like Katrina because nothing will function, then, the shit will hit the fan.
brkily |
03.07.06 - 3:45 pm | #
We really are going to need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission after all this - either that, or Nuremburg.
punaise |
03.07.06 - 3:45 pm | #
Tom Delay is expected to win tonight in the season's first primary- DESPITE having been indicted.
The fuckin president of the United States admits in public to multiple felonies- and the fuckin congress decides to change the law to legalize his fuckin crimes..
Sorry people- Walter Cronkite was right- the american people are too fuckin stupid to elect their own leaders!
rwcole |
03.07.06 - 3:47 pm | #
Chris
Don't know if he or I came up with it first, but we both started using it at the same time. There's no other word for what the Senate has done to itself to stay in Bush's good graces.
Interesting note: Roberts has announced the 4 members of SSCI that will be part of this "oversight" committee (and I use scarequotes advisedly). Roberts, Bond, Hatch, and DeWine.
So the three people who invented anti-Wilson conclusions for the SSCI, plus DeWine, who seems like he's going for double wingnuttery or nothing in OH.
I await seeing who else, besides Rockefeller, is chosen from our side. I assume Levin (he's good at keeping those Old Bulls in line). And perhaps DiFi? I'd REALLY REALLY REALLY like it if they chose Russ, who really has some balls on this stuff.
And I also note that Trent Lott, who was on the "Phase II Whitewash" subcommittee, has been replaced. Trent not so reliable?
emptywheel |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 3:48 pm | #
So this is how democracy dies, not with a bang, but with a whimper.
I do not effing believe that the Intelligence Committee knuckled under to Frist's threats. What is the point of giving the ranking member subpoena power if you don't allow her to use it?
From Mark Kleiman at the Reality Based community we have the following Gooper Dictionary Entries.
nonpartisan (n.) Favoring Republicans.
bipartisan (n.) Involving Democrats but favoring Republicans.
partisan (n.) Potentially damaging to Republicans.
I do not believe it. I really, really don't believe it. I thought when push came to shove that the Senate would push back. They are naught but a bunch of useless whiners. Throw the whole den of thieves out -- every last one of them, regardless of party!
They don't investigate illegal wire tapping, but they can investigate crime on cruise lines. What is it? Did they run out of brain dead people save?
=
Dan Robinson |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 3:50 pm | #
It seems to me that all the Dems and Republican are listening to same polling experts, you don't get re-elected by "following" on domestic security. The onslaught of Rove-scare-mongering has rendered the 4th Amendment an "acceptable loss" for politicians.
Our only friend on this issue is the fucking corporate media (apologies to the gerund "fucking"). If we can help the corporate media punish the "Eunuch Caucas," I mean, Intelligence Committee, we might get a little relief. As emptywheel has already documented, the WH wants to make war on the media with respect to leaks. We can help the corporate media realize that this issue is a chance for them to "attack" the WH on the WH's homefield. This fight will be a lot easier for the corporate media than answering all those subpoenas that Gonzales is writing for them. All those subpoenas are going to be accompanied by motions requiring that the Press NOT publish how the WH is railroading their best and most courageous reporters into jail.
John Casper |
03.07.06 - 3:52 pm | #
This guy is no longer a journalist, he's just one more conservative pundit out there.
Stacyb |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 3:54 pm | #
"...he's going for double wingnuttery or nothing in OH." LMAO.
John Casper |
03.07.06 - 3:54 pm | #
Tom DeLay winning may just be better for the Dems. He stinks so bad.
His Russia/Abrahmof bribery isn't out yet.
And Mr A asked for more time to sing his heart out.
colleen military mom |
03.07.06 - 3:54 pm | #
People, please remember: the GOP is an organized crime racket.
We all knew that, right?
And yet, some of us still hold out thought and expectations as if they included public servants.
They don't. They've all ben compromised.
However, this organized crime racket is on the ropes.
Today's omerta demomstration does not reflect genuine strength. It's a stopgap.
Keep working. Don't depair. We have an electoral wind at our back going in to the midterms.
This is the same world tonight as it was this morning. If your hopes have been dashed, then it's because your expectations were unfortunatley too high.
Pachacutec |
03.07.06 - 3:56 pm | #
Could this be a Dem talking point for 2006 elections? Surely this can be made into privacy/small-gvm't terms that appeals to the same conservatives who attacked Clinton/Reno for the Waco deal.
And our AG has been in Europe explaining that there's not really any torture anywhere under US control - it's only the things like commissary privilege questions that make us reluctant to follow the Geneva Conventions.
I've never disliked other Americans, in groups and in general, so strongly in my life - including during Vietnam.
While Gonzales argues as to how our "wonderful care" of "detainees" is unprecedented - can someone find me a precedent for a government - any government - arguing that torture is OK bc it's "legal" if they can get the PResident to ok it?
Mary |
03.07.06 - 3:58 pm | #
Delay's going to win in the primary because he ain't got no competition to speak of. The thing to watch is how large DeLay's winning margin is. He wouldn't be in a primary but for being in the cesspool up to his lower lip. If he wins by less than double digits he's going to be in big trouble in November.
The GOOPers were out of their minds when they didn't field a real primary opponent to DeLay.
Has anyone heard about Cuellar? Please tell me he's lost ...
"It seems to me that all the Dems and Republican are listening to same polling experts.."
It's tempting to wonder whether their respective political consultants are acting collusively.
Stephen Parrish, CPA |
03.07.06 - 3:59 pm | #
They are:
Pro-Bush Republicans
By November, that's really all we'll need to call them.
I personally like Vichy Dems and the Quisling Caucus, too, but unfortunately those are both too sophisticated for most and too Nazi-referent for the rest.
So, let's just call them:
Pro-Bush Republicans.
I really think this is a handle they simply will not want by 11/06.
-
TeddySanFran |
03.07.06 - 4:00 pm | #
The importance of SSCI is that minority party members have supeana power.
Along with some other powers-per Glenn.
colleen military mom |
03.07.06 - 4:00 pm | #
A little OfT, but the WaPo is fronting in a pic of a little Iraqi girl wounded in the Civil War. Warning, it is more graphic than what I am accustomed to from the WaPo. http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Looks like the WaPo is giving a big go "Dick Cheney yourself" to Rummy and his comments that the media had inflated Iraqi civilian casualites.
John Casper |
03.07.06 - 4:01 pm | #
OK, enough bitching. Time to make lemonade. Here's a list of eight progressive candidates who Howie Klein, AKA "DownWithTyranny" has identified as solidly progressive and viable candidates, and the dates of their primary elections. In many cases, they are running against the candidates favored by their local Democratic party machines.
All of these people are candidates for the Congress or the U.S. Senate, so even if they aren't representing you directly, their votes affect you.
Candidate | Race | Date |
======== | ======= | =========
Christine Cegelis | IL 6th | March 21, 2006
Francine Busby | CA 50th | April 11, 2006 (*)
Chuck Pennacchio | PA | May 16, 2006
Lois Murphy | PA 6th | May 16, 2006
Ned Lamont | CT | Aug. 8, 2006
David Lutrin | FL 16th | Sept. 5, 2006
Ben Cardin | MD | Sept. 12, 2006
Colleen Rowley | MN 2nd | Sept. 12, 2006
(*) CA 50th Special Primary
Sorry for the lack of formatting, but Haloscan doesn't accept tables.
So, go to DownWithTyrrany's ActBlue list and support your favorites, or volunteer if you're in one of these districts. Chuck Pennachio in particular needs help. He's a pro-choice Democratic candidate for Senator who's running against his own party machine. He estimates he'll need $3 million to run a good primary race, and his ActBlue total is now $0.024 million at this moment. So, carry the one .. well, that's a lot less than $3 million.
If you're angry, there's no better feeling than making the people responsible pay.
(Our election night returns are updated every ten minutes.
This page refreshes every five minutes, or you may click on the "Refresh" or "Reload" button in order to get the current results.)
Cozumel |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 4:06 pm | #
Busby is in my district. I vote for her every year- she always loses.
rwcole |
03.07.06 - 4:06 pm | #
There have got to be more Russ Tices out there. Whistleblowers who were hoping against hope for an investigation so they could tell what they know. Some of them will come forward anyway -- from NSA and from Justice. And some of them will tell us about the programs Gonzalez only hinted at ... and it will come out in dribs and drabs and it will be like a death by pinpricks to the administration ... until one of these committees takes up the investigation and that'll stick the fork in them.
All the intelligence committee did today was delay the inevitable. And today's vote will be the one they look back on in shame.
If Specter believes he's all that stands between us and constitutional crisis, he may actually push the Judiciary Committee to look into this. He's already pissed with Gonzalez and his "clarifications" and his committee would be much more likely than Roberts' committee to do a substantive investigation. And it never hurts to end your career a hero.
AJ |
03.07.06 - 4:07 pm | #
We have an electoral wind at our back going in to the midterms.
you'd better hope the voting machines and old-school voter suppression techniques of the GOP aren't in full swing. 'cause if they are, this belief is beyond Pollyanna.
Jim in LA |
03.07.06 - 4:07 pm | #
Patsy Roberts, we won't forget this.
pseudonymous in nc |
03.07.06 - 4:08 pm | #
What happened to the tip of the iceberg? What happened to the "rats jumping the sinking ship?" No republicans care about the constitution? I'm over thinking there are moderate republicans. They'll just support the WH no matter what. They're ALL bad.
And John Casper, "fucking" in your quote above, is not a gerund. It's a gerundive, an adjective. A gerund would be "Fucking is a danger in South Dakota."
dana |
03.07.06 - 4:08 pm | #
Stephen Parrish, CPA
Thanks Stephen, you may be correct. IMO after the next terrorist attack, everyone is going to ask, "who knew, and when did they know." No politician wants to be "fingered" by, "we could have prevented this attack, except the Senate wouldn't let us do that in their 2006 vote, and oh by the way, here's who voted...."
To me this is a sign Congress is going to hand Bush is ass on the Dubai ports for the same reason.
John Casper |
03.07.06 - 4:08 pm | #
Hope Snowe gets her ass kicked in November- fuckin ass kissin unamerican hunk a manure. She KNOWS better.
rwcole | 03.07.06 - 3:20 pm | #
--------------------------------------------------
---------
Yes, she does. This sort of vote will not play well in Maine. Does she have a credible challenger?
Frank Probst |
03.07.06 - 4:09 pm | #
But we're in Tom Paine territory.
Pachacutec | 03.07.06 - 3:44 pm | #
We're in Guy Fawkes territory . . .
cbl |
03.07.06 - 4:09 pm | #
rwcole - It's a tough district for dems. Got to keep trying.
california_reality_check |
03.07.06 - 4:11 pm | #
dana | 03.07.06 - 4:08 pm
Thankyou. Also really appreciated your very fine example of a gerund used properly in a sentence.
John Casper |
03.07.06 - 4:11 pm | #
i can't see domestic spying being a big issue in November without:
1) A huge, expensive campaign---one which might backfire.
2) Some actual cases to run with.
The example of the people who were investigated by HSD for paying off their credit cards are a good case, though not directly about domestic spying.
marky |
03.07.06 - 4:12 pm | #
"Democratic voters in a congressional district stretching from San Antonio to Laredo had to decide a rematch between freshman Rep. Henry Cuellar and Ciro Rodriguez, an eight-term congressman who lost Cuellar in 2004 after two recounts and a court challenge. With no Republican running in the district, the winner will take the seat."
They're toy republicans. No matter what the issue, whether it's government power, deficit spending, illegal immigration, fair trade, or national security, the administration only has to wind them up and they walk away from their republican values.
BullGoose |
03.07.06 - 4:12 pm | #
Wonderer --
Thanks so much for the reminder, especially about Hannah Arendt. That's just what I needed today. I'm reluctant to post here when my morale is very low, as I don't want to "infect" others -- we all know that fear is contagious. That's why I haven't been posting lately.
However, I think you gave me just the right thought to ponder to help me through this. [But, oh, the suffering so many people will go through before America is properly chastened and self-reflective! Breaks my heart.]
TeddySanFran --
Let's make your apt slogan even briefer, let's make it simply:
"Bush Republicans"
He's a big enough albatross for everyone to know what THAT means. Make them all wear him 'round their necks.
Mrs. K8 |
03.07.06 - 4:12 pm | #
Mrs. K8, all I can say is "Remember Watergate."
Things looked very dark then too.
Although we did have quite a free press...
Sorry, that didn't help, did it?
I am very worried. American exceptionalism ("It can't happen here") doesn't work. I think our government is being ripped up from within, sabotaged, by those in high places.
Margot |
03.07.06 - 4:16 pm | #
dana - I love the English language. Hope you can forgive my disuse of it. :)
california_reality_check |
03.07.06 - 4:16 pm | #
They are the scum of the earth.
Bonnie |
03.07.06 - 4:21 pm | #
I really think this is a handle they simply will not want by 11/06.
-
TeddySanFran
I like it, maybe a littel stronger - "Lockstep Republican"?
"Lockstep Bush Republican"?
Urban Pirate |
03.07.06 - 4:23 pm | #
Pach, I wish I could be as upbeat as you are. The SD thing really got to me on a personal level, maybe sent me over the edge. One more example of the utter disregard for individual rights, promulgated by BushCo. and the right-wing extremists- so maybe that is why I am so despairing at this moment. About everything that's BushCo. And BushCo. has become the US, or, vice versa. And now this news. I've been thinking over the past few days that it might be wise for me to check out (quit reading the news, quit reading FDL, etc.) and spend my time doing personal stuff that I should have done a long time ago-- unpack the boxes from the last three times I've moved, clean out the refrigerator, ordinary things. My one voice isn't going to make a difference in the grander scheme of things, that's what I'm feeling. I came of age during the Vietnam era. I never imagined that things could be worse than that. But they are. Much much worse. And, frankly I don't see much reason to believe that things will improve. The BushCo. brand has totally permeated the very air we breathe. Hard not to weep. (Rant, sorry)
-
Valley Girl |
03.07.06 - 4:24 pm | #
Margot --
I'm worried too. Anyone who loves this country should be.
All I have going for me now (in addition to the reflection Wonderer added above) is the recognition of how deeply despised Bush and his henchmen are, all across the country.
Historical inevitability is something I believe in, too -- unless they actually blow up the whole world with their monstrous weapons first, these thugs ARE going to go down. It's just a question of how much MORE damage they get to do in the meantime. And how many more brave, genuine patriots have to suffer and live in fear because of the spiteful revenge of the totalitarians on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Dark times indeed.
Mrs. K8 |
03.07.06 - 4:24 pm | #
They are all Judas sheep.
Anonymous |
03.07.06 - 4:24 pm | #
Some of them will come forward anyway -- from NSA and from Justice.
The ground is shaking under our feet. People that know what they are talking about in the mideast are afraid.
“This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous...Having said that, all options are on the table.”
– President George W. Bush, February 2005
......article in The American Conservative by intelligence analyst Philip Giraldi. His article, “In Case of Emergency, Nuke Iran,” suggested the resurrection of active U.S. military planning against Iran – but with the shocking disclosure that in the event of another 9/11-type terrorist attack on U.S. soil, Vice President Dick Cheney’s office wants the Pentagon to be prepared to launch a potential tactical nuclear attack on Iran – even if the Iranian government was not involved with any such terrorist attack against the U.S.
March 20: Iran oil bourse to open, euros instead of dollars
March 28: Israeli elections
Israeli attack on Osirak Iraq was a few days before their elections.
Get ready and PRAY. GOD HELP US.
egregious |
03.07.06 - 4:25 pm | #
DeLay - is facing 3 challengers in a district where turnout is a projected 7% (not a typo)
anecdotal reports this am, showed lots of folks out to vote against him.
Hou Chron. projected he would face runoff next month.
But hey, at least he's consistent - Delay has proudly and unabashedly reported he will be watching election returns with 2 lobbyists - Susan Molinari and her husband - and all that talk upthread about 'neuticals'.
cbl |
03.07.06 - 4:25 pm | #
Teddy San Fran said:
I personally like Vichy Dems and the Quisling Caucus, too, but unfortunately those are both too sophisticated for most and too Nazi-referent for the rest.
***************
Teddy ol'e bean, I think the Nazi reference is turnig out to be apt.
looseheadprop |
03.07.06 - 4:26 pm | #
``This committee is basically under control of the White House,'' Rockefeller told reporters after the two-hour meeting today in Washington. ``It's an unprecedented bout of political pressure from the White House.''
Let's start calling the Bush Whitehouse an authoritarian leadership.
That is what they are and that is what they should be called.
Read for analysis of the upcoming pre-emptive war against Iran.
egregious |
03.07.06 - 4:28 pm | #
Let's start calling the Bush Whitehouse an authoritarian leadership.
GSD --
I would skip over "authoritarian" and go straight to "TOTALITARIAN."
Mrs. K8 |
03.07.06 - 4:28 pm | #
I am concerned that potential whistleblowers are being successfully intimidated. Have you seen the reports about how CIA employees are being polographed and internally investigated.
Porter Goss wrote that horrible NYTimes piece about prosecuting whistleblowers and how they do not have a right to substitute their judgement of what is legal or illegal for that of their masters.
How can we expect these people to risk their careers and their liberty? What can we do to protect them?
Lord knows the axis of evil knows how to protect Scooter.
looseheadprop |
03.07.06 - 4:30 pm | #
And, frankly I don't see much reason to believe that things will improve. .... Hard not to weep.
Valley Girl
true, but at the same time, gotta keep fighting. take a break for a day or 2. you'll feel better. i do all the time on this stuff or my head would explode, no doubt.
the people i marvel at are the citizen journalists who do this day in/day out. fucking incredible, they are. they suffer so that we may take a break now and then.
contrast that with the pussypublicans who tremor at the thought of an untoward glance from their Retard Father Figure.
then tell me who the real americans are.
hang in there. we will prevail. but we have a shitload of work ahead of us.
Jim in LA |
03.07.06 - 4:32 pm | #
OT,
DOJ has just sued NYS and today moved for a preliminary injunction to force NYS to rush into getting DRE voting machines.
NYS has a state implementing statute that requires machines with a voter verifiable paper trail. No machines currently exist that can meet that standard. If DOJ wins, NYS will have to violate it's own law and will have our govenor's race thrown into total chaos.
looseheadprop |
03.07.06 - 4:33 pm | #
Valley Girl | 03.07.06 - 4:24 pm
IMHO, taking care of yourself always comes first. Your one voice makes a huge difference to me and I know a lot of others at FDL. Jane and ReddHedd routinely use your stuff.
There is an "approriate" level of "detachment." I don't know what it is for you, but a lot of people have looked for it within "God (Higher Power), grant me the serenity, to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."
John Casper |
03.07.06 - 4:34 pm | #
No pee-pees involved, no punishment. Simple as that.
Here's to the Rape-publicans. Hat's off to ya, fellas and ladies. Better get it while the gettin's good.
Mr Blifil |
03.07.06 - 4:34 pm | #
looseheadprop - With these thugs a person needs to have conviction like the Vietnam era protestors. Have to be willing to lose ALL and go to jail for principle. I know it's tough to do. Some will choose honor. Yes, they will.
california_reality_check |
03.07.06 - 4:36 pm | #
I sure would like to know what was said in that meeting that got them to change their minds.
Anonymous |
03.07.06 - 4:36 pm | #
Jim in LA | 03.07.06 - 4:32 pm
Thanks for the kind words and sound advice. I do need a "time out" I think. I didn't say it, but I was thinking to add something about our Citizen Journalists- Jane and Redd here. I, too, really don't know how they do it, day in and day out, to keep hope and faith alive. Incredible.
-
Valley Girl |
03.07.06 - 4:39 pm | #
God, grant me the power to explode heads with a thought. Thank you. Amen.
BullGoose |
03.07.06 - 4:41 pm | #
Repugs, determined to cover for Osama's incompetence by doing his job for him.
tryggth |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 4:41 pm | #
How can we expect these people to risk their careers and their liberty? What can we do to protect them?
Nothing.
That's the problem. Not to take names much-loved in vain, but that was the whole premise of Fitzgerald's response to questions on NSLs in the Patriot Act debate, "do you think some brave FBI agent wouldn't ..."
Sorry - but I thought he was being at best Pollyanna and at worst deliberately disingenuous then and I still do. WHY would you set up a system that "relies" on people breaking the law themselves vis a vis classified information protection--- all with no whistleblower protection AND a lopsided unresponsive legislature COMBINED with a pro-torture, anti-Constitution DOJ --- and call that an AOK fine system.
BC, after all, "so many people dislike the AG they would tell on him" or whatever nonsense that was he said.
This must be why I test out as "contrarian" on investment profiles.
I don't see much good news in conventional wisdom.
Mary |
03.07.06 - 4:42 pm | #
Valley Girl --
I'm in the same place you're in today, emotionally (and with just as many cardboard boxes to unpack from our last move 2 years ago, and a refrigerator that would get this house condemned by the Board of Health).
Don't know if it helps at all, but you are most definitely NOT alone in this.
We will miss you if you take time off, but do what you need to do to regenerate your energies. We all need to do that for the long haul -- and it WILL be a long haul.
House votes in favor of renewing the controversial USA Patriot Act and it will now be sent to President Bush for his signature.
punaise |
03.07.06 - 4:44 pm | #
Wait, let me understand this ....
You are going to 'exchange' emails to discuss illegal NSA domestic spying? Am I alone in seeing the irony here?
Pay attention. It is an election year and they are threatening military action against Iran and publicly covering up crimes (fascist crimes) from the whitehouse - and more. It should concern people that they arent worried. Why? The only explanation I can think of is the fix is already in for the next election. Otherwise, these whores would already be on their knees - open mouthed.
What would it mean for these thugs to carry 06? What indications can anyone point to that they are even passingly worried about 06. You do understand what a loss in 06 would mean for the thugs? Prison, impeachment and possibly (in the extreme) deportation to the hague. That would worry me were I them. They dont seem concerned.
I think I am concerned. :(
Jim B. |
03.07.06 - 4:44 pm | #
John Casper | 03.07.06 - 4:34 pm
Thank you, too, JC. I was and continue to be spitting mad about the abortion issue. But somehow this news about the IC vote has really done me in. Never before typed a comment at FDL while crying, but now I am. I am so thankful for the energy and kindness and knowledge at FDL. And, thank you for the reminder of that great quote, which is so centering.
-
Valley Girl |
03.07.06 - 4:45 pm | #
I don't know how these repugs in Congress can live with themselves. Gutless, useless bastards.
Eileen Left |
03.07.06 - 4:48 pm | #
looseheadprop:
emptywheel had a great post at the beginning of January: "12 Angry Men (and Women)" about whistleblowers testifying before Congress. I just commented your comment under emptywheel's latest thread. You are right on target.
Speaking of "right on target," Mary as far as I am concerned, you are always "intelligent and coherent."
John Casper |
03.07.06 - 4:48 pm | #
egregious -
Giraldi has been like the Oracle of Delphi to date.
He is no mere analyst, but was straight up spook. Believe I actually may have met him eons ago in Istanbul (USAID, yeah, whatever) he didn't come across with that swagger so many of them had.
but I digress, he was talking about civil war, insurgency, the ascendancy of Iran and explaining why Iraq would never have an army, 2+ years ago
cbl |
03.07.06 - 4:48 pm | #
One small step for Frist/Rove,
one giant leap toward fascism.
afterthought |
03.07.06 - 4:49 pm | #
VG, misty eyes here too, upon reading your response.
John Casper |
03.07.06 - 4:50 pm | #
Valley Girl - you are not alone, and your voice is needed here...in due time, if you need to disengage for a while.
valley girl will be missed. come back soon.
squirrel hiller |
03.07.06 - 4:52 pm | #
Hi Valley Girl,
We can't win them all. Jane posted once..."One brick at a time". She's absolutely right.
None of the experts think the SCOTUS will agree to hear the "SD thing". And then there's Libby, Abramoff, the ports, Bush with a 38% JAR...
Cozumel |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 4:53 pm | #
Mrs. K8 | 03.07.06 - 4:44 pm
Thank you my dear. It helps to know I have company, not only in the emotional distress, but in the mess. Much love.
-
Valley Girl |
03.07.06 - 4:53 pm | #
VG Yeah. Me too.
colleen military mom |
03.07.06 - 4:53 pm | #
I would skip over "authoritarian" and go straight to "TOTALITARIAN."
Mrs. K8 | 03.07.06 - 4:28 pm | #
Another word or two come to mind: autocratic, or perhaps despotic. What an idiosyncratic confederation - an autocracy operated without armed forces numbering in the millions, cobbled together with the aid of at least two or three factions with disparate objectives.
Stephen Parrish, CPA |
03.07.06 - 4:53 pm | #
don't ya just hate it when republicans use the Constitution for toilet paper? Burns my "A"
.
pluege |
03.07.06 - 4:54 pm | #
Mrs.K8,
You are, as usual, right on the mark. Might I make a suggestion, "totalitarian" is long, multisylabic and takes a lotta breath,"fascist" might be easier to say and straighter to the point. I really think we hafta start usin the "f" word and make it part of the Republican brand . In addition we need to push to make impeachment and corruption investigations and prosecutions part of the national campaign strategy.
KEEP THE FAITH, THERE ARE MORE OF US THAN THERE ARE OF THEM!!!
NorskeFlamethrower |
03.07.06 - 4:55 pm | #
"—what does Frist and Cheney have to dangle like the sword of damocles over the heads of these cowards?"
RevDeb | Homepage | 03.07.06 - 2:50 pm |
I see it more of a question of what Karl Rove has over these two guys. What I see is Karl Rove cashing in his chips with a lot of people who him, in some cases, their very job. Or if not that, threatening to whithold certain goodies, and worst case, getting fucked over big time.
orangejumpsuit |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 4:56 pm | #
Ooops: "a lot of people who owe him.."
orangejumpsuit |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 4:58 pm | #
valley girl if you are still there1
fridge cleaning tip:
throw out the big bins. they just collect brown liquid goo from old vegetables.
throw out half the shelves. you don't need that many mustard and old salsa jars sitting there for months.
I'm mostly notable for typos and and indiscriminate punctuation JC, but thanks for being nice on a day I'm feeling fragile at the same time I feel like picking a fight.
My grandmother used to refer to that quote and sent it to me a long, long time ago (when I was still a kid) after we had spent a weekend the month before that staying up way too late for me and playing cut-throat cards and having her undo all my father's stories (you know the ones - about walking miles in the snow to go to school - she'd pat my hand and say, "he rode the bus like everyone else" etc.)
I always equate that saying with my Grandmother AND with getting the inside scoop ;)
Mary |
03.07.06 - 4:59 pm | #
Mary @ 03.07.06 - 4:42 pm -- I think the bottom line is that government secrecy only works to the best interests of the country when most everyone involved is honest. Unfortunately, that's just not the case anymore.
I remember one of Bush's CIA enablers (can't remember which one) was saying on Charlie Rose' show not too long ago that this system works fine - that if you have a problem with how things are classified, just go to the Inspector General. Unfortunately, the only guys the CIA's IG can't tell to go take a hike are the DCI and the President, and it's pretty clear that in the NSA case, they're the problem.
Only the absolute minimum of information should be classified. Otherwise, it's just an invitation to its use for corruption, political gain, and pursuit of power.
Cujo359 |
03.07.06 - 5:00 pm | #
OT, but the Colleen Rowley mention upthread reminded me. Earlier this week I sent off some money for a fundraiser in NYC for Colleen and John Hall (formerly in the band Orleans) who is running in NY-19 against incumbent Sue Kelly (R).
An interesting political alliance.
Coyoteville |
03.07.06 - 5:02 pm | #
I can't believe how Congress just turns belly up for these bastards...
This country is turning into such a pile of fucking shit....
fwacbar |
03.07.06 - 5:02 pm | #
Read for analysis of the upcoming pre-emptive war against Iran.
egregious | 03.07.06 - 4:28 pm | #
Great post, egregious.
rwcole, John Casper, Valley Girl and many others:
I am thankful for your posts often.
Valley Girl, I hope you are not reading, but involved in self-care.
Others: I would appreciate your reading an old post from dailykos I will post below. After reading this and many related links and doing my own search, I suspect that our economy and way of life is the primary motivator for the Iraq war and the Iran pre-emptive strike scheduled for later this month coinciding Iran's New Year.
There are so many distractions from this Administration that it is easy to lose perspective entirely. While in typical times, I could become absorbed by Plamegate, abortion, the spying, the loss of civil liberties, voting irregularities, etc. However, these are NOT typical times.
I think we are in for a cyclical historical period, a winter --- and times are going to be trying and hard. Congress cannot do anything with the Bush Administration because they sold their souls to Abramhoff and the almighty dollar --- and protecting that dollar against total devaluation is the primary focus)
If you follow the links in these two posts, and maybe do a little searching on your own, I think you'll discover the plan is to use NO BOOTS ON THE GROUND from our troops. This makes it even more likely ---
Yeah, Fitzgerald knew exactly what he was up against when he took this on, which is why he was savvy enough to craft his indictment the way he did and to continue to leave them guessing about how much else he's got.
looseheadprop |
03.07.06 - 5:06 pm | #
Norske --
Thanks, and I see your point. Nonetheless, I think there is a whole huge swathe of the public for whom the word "totalitarian" will ring more alarm bells: those who grew up fearing the great boogie man monster of the Soviet Union.
For anyone who ever had to do a civil defense drill in the sixties, for example, the word "totalitarian" is already emblazoned across their subconscious, in SPITE of the many syllables.
There are many parallels to the behavior of Stalinists and similar ilk in the Soviet Union, and the accompanying vocabulary is already hardwired into the brains of those who remember the Cold War.
I personally like the term "fascist" because that particular shoe fits this case most perfectly, but I also know there are certain folks who will turn off everything else you say once they hear it. Stupidly, of course.
I guess it comes down to this: know your audience! Or make like the Goopers in this one regard: throw everything (in terms of vocabulary) against the wall and see what sticks best.
Don't we on the Dem side have our own "focus groups"? Seems that somebody should be able to test words for which gets the most traction.
Mrs. K8 |
03.07.06 - 5:07 pm | #
Cujo359:
Amen. Absolute Minimum should be classified/secret.
That's why we have open meeting laws at the state level.
Secrecy breeds corruption.
We need everyone to think this way automatically.
MsAnnaNOLA |
03.07.06 - 5:08 pm | #
I would skip over "authoritarian" and go straight to "TOTALITARIAN."
Mrs. K8 | 03.07.06 - 4:28 pm | #
American exceptionalism ("It can't happen here") doesn't work. I think our government is being ripped up from within, sabotaged, by those in high places.
Margot | 03.07.06 - 4:16 pm | #
Both posts hit the nail on the head. If you haven't already, see Fellini's masterpiece Amarcord about the rise of Facisim in Italy. Striking parallels.
BCC |
03.07.06 - 5:09 pm | #
somene made a very astute comment upthread about how odd it is that the republicans don't seem that worried about the '06 elections. here in NY a poll was released today showing that Elliot SPitzer walk away with the election against all comers.
Today, coincidently, DOJ made a motion for a preliminary injuction to force NYS to buy the new untested machines that do not meet state standards before spetember '06.
Maybe that's why they are not worried. They don't even (really) have a candidate and don't seem too upset about it at all. Odd, very odd.
looseheadprop |
03.07.06 - 5:09 pm | #
Cujo - agreed.
Plus, the IG system is a joke except ofr investigations at the lowest of levels. When you have Rumsfeld, the AG, Cheny, Cheney's counsel, the President, members of the WHIG, etc. calling the shots and circulating the memos and setting the course - the IG has pretty much said to Congress flat out 'we can't investigate' with respect to the requests received on NSA for example.
With respect to whistleblowers - they've said "we wont'" investigate or do anything about the retaliation.
Mary |
03.07.06 - 5:10 pm | #
Valley Girl,
I don't know what's up with you...haven't read all the previous. Sounds like yer close ta burnout...do whatever you have to in order to get back in the fight or in order to leave the fight behind (whatever) but remember, you are important for your own sake. You have a whole community here to feed on and take strength from...there is nuthin' we have here that isn't offered to you. Take care of yourself and...
KEEP THE FAITH AND TAKE IT FROM US IF YOU NEED IT!!!
NorskeFlamethrower |
03.07.06 - 5:13 pm | #
Actually - I guess more recently they have gone from "we won't" on protecting whistleblowers to "we will" on prosecuting them.
Mary |
03.07.06 - 5:14 pm | #
Thank you all for your kind words, and good advice. Just having a hard time right now.
And, SH, re: "you don't need that many mustard and old salsa jars sitting there for months." Thank you, thank you, truly for a good laugh. You are obviously "in touch" with refrigerator issues. I'd hate to admit how many mustard salsa jars I have lurking.
-
Valley Girl |
03.07.06 - 5:14 pm | #
I'm afraid the "Roots Project" which I participated in as a Kansas resident was a complete failure. Perhaps the roots project is founded on a lie, that the members of Congress can be influenced by letters from their constituency and letters to the editor in local newspapers. Perhaps they are only influenced by those who can help finance their campaigns, powerful lobbyists and major donors and those, read the Bush and Rove, who can dictate to and control those major donors and lobbyists
Are we just kidding ourselves to think otherwise?
Another complicating factor is that Roberts and Hagel are not up for reelection until 2008.
Snowe is up for reelection this year, I believe?
I think moderates are helpful on domestic matters, like Social Security, but are worthless on issues of "national security" which can be demagogued by Bush and republicans.
Oleary25 |
Homepage |
03.07.06 - 5:16 pm | #
Cujo359,
"I think the bottom line is that government secrecy only works to the best interests of the country when most everyone involved is honest."
And this is why I think there is hope for the downfall of those who so want to keep secrets. They aren't honest, and they'll fu@k up just like every other crook.
Margot |
03.07.06 - 5:22 pm | #
WTF?? This is an outrage!!! Each and every day, a new outrage!! What can we do? How dare they presume to be the arbiters of our freedoms!! They have transgressed far too many times. How many steamrolls does it take?? This is madness!!
Now every day we're being primed for another war. And they can say whatever they want, the plain truth is that the entire Iraq debacle IS and always has been civil war.
Time to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
meta |
03.07.06 - 5:23 pm | #
well the above is the scariest thing i've read. and just in time to distract the country from the 06 elections and every other issue out there.
i feel so very small right now.
squirrel hiller |
03.07.06 - 5:25 pm | #
Mrs. K8 and Valley Girl---
Hey you guys, you are the big enchiladas. Together, you're the full course meal. You are one of the prime reasons this little taco eater dines at the Cafe FDL Bueno. Watching you folks devour Bush's burritos is one of life's supremo pleasures.
sunflower |
03.07.06 - 5:27 pm | #
cujo359--
thanks for the anti-bitching alternative... helping Dem candidates running against machine candidates in their primaries. one name to add to your list from illinois whose race doesn't get the publicity Cegelis does.
John Sullivan IL-3, march 21.
he's an assistant district attorney for Cook county running against the ultimate machine candidate. IL-3 is the south side of Chicago and suburbs, Cong. Dan Lipinski.
Lipinski was appointed to the seat when his father, Cong. Bill Lipinski, a heavy duty lifelong machine Dem, retired his seat just before the 2004 election. his son was appointed to his seat and won the election.
Lipinski, the son, had been living in Tennessee for years before he came home to his new office. apparently, he's been voting in Illinois elections for years. not by absentee ballot either. a dedicated guy... flying in to vote.
Sullivan is pro-choice, opposes the Patriot Act, wants the US out of Iraq. all positions completely opposite to Lipinski's votes.
isis2 |
03.07.06 - 5:28 pm | #
I would skip over "authoritarian" and go straight to "TOTALITARIAN."
Mrs. K8 | 03.07.06 - 4:28 pm | #
If what we're witnessing here is authoritarian or totalitarian rule, it might be unlike any other such rule in modern history. Unlike Hitler or Stalin, who ruled without opposition, the Bush/Cheney administration has opposition that appears to be a shadow of its former self. If this administration isn't governing, what is it doing? Does it seem to be in perpetual campaign mode? If so, might that explain why the administration's decisions are made primarily because of political considerations? And if it is in perpetual campaign mode, is it the rush from the thrill of that particular chase (running for office) - and the constant need for money to finance the chase, perhaps? - that hampers the administration's ability to govern? What happens when the chase is over?
Is it fear of confronting the void that will arrive when their political careers come to their inevitable conclusion that inspires them to instill fear in those whom they're supposed to govern? What's the best way to dispel fear instilled by someone who is operating from a weak position?
Stephen Parrish, CPA |
03.07.06 - 5:31 pm | #
New thread
Profile in courage: Olympia Snowe
MsAnnaNOLA |
03.07.06 - 5:36 pm | #
You think this is OT, but totally not:
OT,
DOJ has just sued NYS and today moved for a preliminary injunction to force NYS to rush into getting DRE voting machines.
NYS has a state implementing statute that requires machines with a voter verifiable paper trail. No machines currently exist that can meet that standard. If DOJ wins, NYS will have to violate it's own law and will have our govenor's race thrown into total chaos.
looseheadprop | 03.07.06 - 4:33 pm
See they are taking one state at a time into the electoral abyss. Florida in 2000, Ohio in 2004, New York in 2006. Slowly, slowly, so that people don't understand THEIR VOTE IS BEING STOLEN.
We really are going to need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission after all this - either that, or Nuremburg.
No. No "reconciliation". I don't even like a Nuremburg. I like a 7.62mm for each traitor.
Palildoris |
03.07.06 - 6:10 pm | #
Valley Girl--
So much sympathy for you as you retreat for healing. Many of us have been there. Please take the time that you need, refresh and recreate, and come back to us. Your voice is important.
This is not an overnight struggle. We are in it for the long haul.
Proposal: please be clear that we are not physically threatening the president or vice president. That will bring the goons in to arrest us all by proxy.
We need to speak the truth. I think that's still barely allowed. We need to encourage others to see what is happening, and be gentle with them as they go into shock about what is happening with their beloved nation.
We need to be mindful of our minders. A big howdy to y'all! And for those of you at NSA or DoD CIFA, we love our country, we love our Constitution, and we would sincerely like our President and our Congress to follow the Constitution. That's what we're talking about.
I believe in God and believe that He has a purpose for our lives and even for our suffering. I hope to cling to my faith through the coming troubled times.
KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS ALONG THE ENCOURAGEMENT!!!
egregious |
03.07.06 - 6:17 pm | #
From my letter tonight to the Lincoln NE Journal Star:
"Nebraskans – and Americans – expect members of the House and Senate to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Sen. Hagel failed that test today, and revealed his true role as just another collaborator in the Bush administration’s continued assault on the Constitution and on American civil liberties."
Chuck Hagel has been working on his "McCain Lite" impression for a while now but it's clear that he's just another GOP hack who will toe the line when pressured.
Nebraska - home of the erudite combat 'Nam vet senator (remember Bob Kerrey?) - can now join South Dakota, Kansas and Missouri in an unbroken span of batsh** crazy Red States. Fortunately we are too small, too broke and too dry to make much of a difference anyway. Besides, between Hagel and Sen. Ben "Right of Joe Lieberman" Nelson we've done enough damage.
Mike Mc, Lincoln
Lancaster Co. Democrat since 1984
Mike |
03.07.06 - 8:29 pm | #
Frist lost his rectal thermometer -- can you help him?
There's a tiny problem for the RNC in the Senate: The current regulations give the Minority Members power to order the NSA IG to review a matter.
We look forward to the excuse by the Congress to shut down the NSA IG into the President's unlawful domestic harassment program and targeting of private citizens discussing impeachment, and the President's war crimes in Iraq.
. . . .
Overhead, Frist to Capt Kirk: "Gosh darn My Captain, I'm not a lawyer, I'm a doctor. You have nice skin."
From: BrokenManMountain
. . . .
Let's go through Frist's argument and show why he defeats himself.
Frist has issued a statement saying he supports civil liberties:
--------------
Frist: "safeguard the civil liberties of the American people. "
Given that Mr. Frist is "not happy" with how the Committee is doing things -- his sentiments -- is there something stopping him from directing the NSA IG to do what the Senate Intelligence Committee refuses to do?
What is stopping the Senate Intelligence Committee directing the NSA IG to review the matter?
Here's the case law and regulation showing the NSA IG has to respond to the DNC Minority Direction from the Senate intelligence Committee to review the reports:
Look forward to a lovely letter; please tell the JTTF goons to stop bothering Doug Thompson at Capitol Hill Blue. You should really check your OSIS connections; GCHQ knows how to break through your firewall.
Continuing to make on the Constitutional Convention. It will to modernize the defective system of Congressional Committees; also create a Congressional Code of Conduct Administered by the States, changing Article 1 Section 5 -- stripping the House of its power to make rules, and transferring that power back to the States under Article X.
Ask Frist what his views are on the proposed code.
Best wishes to Laura Bush in her new threats against the President to leave him.
Valley Girl - I thought I wanted to curl up and die after the election. I stopped reading, writing, talking politics. It helped. When I did come back I was a little stronger. Come back soon, strong.
Are we to have standards for the President different from standards applied to other citizens? Americans long ago rejected the imperial presidency. The President is not above the law. He is not a king.
In arriving at the conclusion this President should be removed from office I weighed whether his actions damaged the national security of the United States. Again, I concluded that the President, by his actions, has severely damaged his ability to act as a leader in the community of world nations at a time when solid leadership is needed.
This President has lost respect of our allies. His actions have emboldened our potential enemies, creating opportunities for them to act adversely to U.S. interests. Our foreign policy is adrift. The consequences to this generation and future generations are severe.
I am convinced that this President has used foreign policy and the power of his office for his own purposes in an effort to divert attention from the legal and personal problems he created.
Each time the President has acted, charges of "wag the dog" have reverberated around the globe. Whether those charges are true or false is no longer material. What is material is that the President of the United States is not credible. He is not trusted. He cannot act in the best interest of America.
He has lost the moral mantle of leadership.
He has selfishly placed this nation in jeopardy.
It is precisely this kind of situation, I am convinced, that worried America's founding fathers as they devised the impeachment mechanism to remove a sitting president whose actions endangered the republic.
Senator Richard Lugar said this:
"We have been fortunate that this damaged presidency has occurred during a time of relative peace and prosperity. In times of war or national emergency it is often necessary for the President to call upon the nation to make great economic and personal sacrifices. In these occasions, our President had best be trustworthy a truth teller whose life of principled leadership and integrity we can count upon."
Senator Pat Roberts (Republican - Kansas)
Voting Record -- Impeachment Trial of William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton
