FISA Battle moves to the House

.=.=.=.=.=
Jamesbennett

Bam!

3rd!

!

MSNBC’s David Shuster: Defender of Clinton Family Honor?

It was a little before midnight on Tuesday, Jan. 27 that MSNBC correspondent David Shuster hit the “Send” button on a curt e-mail to Republican rabble-rouser Roger Stone.

Days earlier, Mr. Stone and others had filed papers with the I.R.S. to form a “527” organization dedicated to educating “the American Public about what Hillary Clinton really is.” The organization was called “Citizens United Not Timid,” i.e., C.U.N.T.

“Hey Roger Stone,” wrote Mr. Shuster in an e-mail to Mr. Stone’s personal Web site, the Stone Zone. “Why not put your own name on this?”

The bastard. Maybe they can find a room for him at Walter Reed, with rat droppings and cockroaches....

Oh wait, that kind of abuse is only for the soldiers who were injured bravely fighting a war.

Rep. Lofgren Statement on Impeachment

January 29, 2008

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) issued the following statement in response to recent questions about impeachment of the President and Vice-President. Also included below are several links to valuable resources on impeachment that you may find useful.

http://lofgren.house.gov/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=1878

Dear Pro-Choice Activist,
Tell your senators: "Vote NO on Honaker!"
Richard Honaker had his hearing. Now it's time for him to go.
Click here to tell your senators to reject his nomination.

http://action.prochoiceamerica.org/site/R?i=XSWM86X932G9GsCSdvFctA..

Not many people know the real Richard Honaker like I do. He's been hard at work implementing his extreme anti-choice agenda, and I've got boxes of files from past legislative sessions, elections, and legal battles to prove it.
As you know, his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing was yesterday, and he tried yet again to downplay his hostility toward a woman's right to choose.
But I can tell you from personal experience: Honaker's anti-choice bias is both undeniable and horrifying. We must keep him off the federal bench.
Please click here to urge your U.S. senators to oppose the Honaker nomination and send him back to Wyoming without a lifetime judgeship.
You already know about some of Honaker's greatest - er, worst - hits. He twice pushed legislation to outlaw nearly all abortion care in Wyoming while serving in the state House of Representatives. Then he teamed with an anti-choice advocacy group to put the issue before voters in a statewide ballot initiative.
People in Wyoming stopped his anti-choice schemes once. Now it's up to pro-choice Americans in all 50 states to work together to defeat him.

I've phoned and written my senators here in FL and also my Democratic congressman Allen Boyd, to tell them "DO NOT give retroactive immunity to the telecoms". I phone almost daily. Today I'll phone Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders in the House. We need to stay on these elected representives to get them to do the will of the people and not allow them to cave into this corrupt administration.

Read this?
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2008-02-06/news/only-one-defendant-in-uw-s-...
*Lesbo-Chic*

'fit 2 cut da shit'

... I am perusing it and scanning and then either curl up in a fetal position or cry or Get Busy...I guess all the above. ;) thx

condolences to you regarding Patrick.

The red ones are really special.

[aw, shit...they ALL are]

Briana Waters has been indicted in the arson at the University of Washington Center for Urban Horticulture, specifically for the alleged role as a lookout. Ms. Waters maintains her innocence and pleads not guilty. Briana Waters is facing a mandatory minimum of 35 years.

The case is built on the word of two informants, Jen Kolar and Lacey Phillabaum. Although, Ms. Waters attorneys, Robert Bloom and Neil Fox, filed a motion that the government concealed important information and created a fraudulent FBI report. The Judge Burgess has denied the motion in January. The Judge Burgess closed the pretrial, which is our fundamental right to an open and clear process in public court.

"Les-Chic*

Wexler questions AG Mukasey on Impeachment and Contempt

[email Feb 8 2008 repost]
Dear James,

Our Constitution is under threat and the most basic principle of checks and balances is being undermined. Not since Watergate has a president so openly disregarded the will of Congress.

During hearings in the Judiciary Committee yesterday, I told Attorney General Michael Mukasey that I called for impeachment hearings because of the stonewalling and blatant abuses of the Bush Administration. He responded by stating that he will NOT enforce a contempt of Congress citation against Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten for refusing to testify before Congress. The video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7M9sjRLCtQ

Alberto Gonzales may be long gone, but the Bush Administration continues its executive overreach with the new Attorney General.

We can debate the need for Impeachment hearings. We can argue its effects on the election or our agenda. But one thing is abundantly clear:

If Congress' right to require testimony is undermined, then our country's leaders - Democrat, Republican, or Independent - will be immune from accountability.

The power of the subpoena - to call officials before us - is one of the most fundamental safeguards in our system of government. To have it effectively discarded - by virtue of the President instructing Administration officials to ignore a congressional subpoenas and not even appear before Congress - is unprecedented. The idea that the Attorney General would willingly defend this position - despite Congress' constitutional right to call such witnesses, is outrageous.

Impeachment hearings could render this moot: The President, Vice President, and all officials under them would no longer invoke executive privilege. There would be no more smokescreens.

In one week, I will be delivering my letter calling for impeachment hearings to Chairman John Conyers. Already, 16 Members of Congress have joined my call, including 3 Judiciary Committee members. I am hopeful for more in the coming days, but it is important for you to reach out to your representative in Congress to express how you feel. You can view the current list of signers, here: http://www.wexlerforcongress.com/news.asp?ItemID=230

I do not know how Congress will react, but I do know this: I will pursue this course aggressively. I will not compromise away the constitutional role of Congress. Your support is invaluable. Please know that I am working everyday to ensure that the Bush Administration is held accountable.

Please continue to support this movement at http://www.wexlerwantshearings.com .

Yours truly,

Congressman Robert Wexler

.=.=.=.=.=
Jamesbennett

Defense Chief Gates Breaks Shoulder
Submitted by red on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 12:43pm.

I gave a big ol' Nelson Muntz 'HA-HA!' when I heard this.

i still don't think people understand how bad bush and the neocons have fucked up the economy...

consider the following from the san jose mercury news:

- some of the nation's biggest lenders are freezing existing loans.

- Countrywide Home Loans, for example, has sent letters to at least 122,000 homeowners nationwide informing them that they can no longer draw on their home equity lines of credit.

A Downside to Torture.

New Net neutrality bill frowns on ISP 'favoritism'

http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9871127-7.html?tag=newsmap

Posted by Anne Broache

Comcast, AT&T, and other network operators would be expected to refrain from "unreasonable discriminatory favoritism" of content on their pipes under a recrafted Net neutrality proposal introduced Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives.

But this time around, the new bill (PDF) sponsored by Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of a House Internet and telecommunications panel, isn't directly forcing Internet service providers to follow specific rules. The new bill is an apparent effort to be less prescriptive than his previous efforts, which failed in a Republican-dominated Congress two years ago.

"The bill contains no requirements for regulations on the Internet whatsoever," Markey said in a statement upon introducing the bill. "It does, however, suggest that the principles which have guided the Internet's development and expansion are highly worthy of retention, and it seeks to enshrine such principles in the law as guide stars for U.S. broadband policy."

Rep. Charles "Chip" Pickering (R-Miss.), who has argued against Net neutrality regulations in the past, is now co-sponsoring the rewritten measure, which is being called the Internet Freedom Preservation Act.

The modified approach is an apparent attempt to address the howls of protest from network operators, who have argued that previous Net neutrality bills in Congress amount to unnecessary Internet regulations.

The old bill decreed that broadband operators have certain duties: not blocking or degrading content, not prioritizing some applications over others, and not imposing "surcharges" for premium placement, to name a few. Violators would have been subject to penalties. A pending Senate bill, which hasn't yet seen any action in this session of Congress, takes a similar approach.

The new Markey-Pickering bill, by contrast, proposes adding four broadband policy statements to existing federal communications law. Those statements build upon a set of broadband policy principles that the Federal Communications Commission adopted years ago, including recommendations that the government allow consumers to reach the lawful content and applications of their choice and hook up whatever devices they please, provided that they don't harm the network.

Violation of those principles would not carry any penalties under the new bill, according to a Markey aide. The bill does, however, leave open the possibility of tougher rules later. One principle dictates that the government should adopt and enforce "baseline protections to guard against unreasonable discriminatory favoritism for, or degradation of, content by network operators based upon its source, ownership, or destination on the Internet."

The bill would direct the FCC to study broadband providers' current practices and whether "enforceable" rules governing Internet openness are necessary. The FCC would also be required to stage at least eight public "broadband summits" at "geographically diverse locations" around the United States to discuss the state of competition, consumer protection, and consumer choice in broadband.

The bill's introduction arrives amid a recent stepped-up focus in Washington on network management practices. The FCC is weighing whether it's "reasonable" for companies to slow down peer-to-peer traffic on their networks, as Comcast has admitted to doing in what it argues is an attempt to keep all its subscribers surfing smoothly.

The same consumer advocacy groups that support Net neutrality legislation have asked the FCC to declare that such practices aren't, in fact, "reasonable," and should be forcibly stopped.

The FCC also announced on Tuesday that it's holding a February 26 public hearing at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass., to hear from experts on network management issues.

Fans of Net neutrality laws--including Amazon.com, Google, and a number of consumer advocacy groups--support Markey's latest proposal, heaping praise on the new language before the congressman had even formally introduced it. They have long argued that without strong Net neutrality principles enshrined in law, there will be nothing to stop network operators from, say, charging YouTube additional fees to be delivered to consumers faster than a rival video-sharing Web site.

The Markey bill is "an important step in ensuring the Internet remains open for consumers and innovators," said Markham Erickson, executive director of the Open Internet Coalition, whose members include major search engines, electronic retailers, librarians, and public-interest groups.

Network operators, by contrast, have long opposed Net neutrality regulations because they argue that they need the freedom to manage their networks as they see fit and that new obligations could discourage investments in building out their pipes.

Scott Cleland, the chairman of NetCompetition.org, a group whose members include all the major cable, telephone, and wireless companies, said Markey's new approach doesn't blunt those concerns. While the "letter" of the new Markey bill may not include those new regulations, he said, the "spirit" of it does, creating the same heartburn for opponents as the earlier version.

Updated at 9:53 a.m. PST: Comcast declined to comment on the measure, and cable industry representatives were not immediately prepared to comment.

The U.S. Telecom Association, which represents large Internet service providers like AT&T and Verizon Communications, blasted the new bill. Group president Walter McCormick said it would "blindly legislate a new national broadband policy, without regard to its implications, and then require the FCC to spend the next year determining whether the Internet is being constructed, managed, and operated in conformance with this new government mandate."

am looking for to that show down....

SHARPTON CALLS ON THE DNC TO NOT SEAT MICHIGAN AND FLORIDA DELEGATES

We DON"T count all the votes because Howard Dean says so!

Well to Hell with Howard Dean!

RESPONSE SEEM MORE IMPORTANT AND MEANINGFUL.

all sharpton is saying is that obama played by the rules and did not campaign in those states and that shouldn't be held against him. the only real way to break the horns of this dilemma is to have a new caucus where each of the players can pitch why they should be supported. afterwards, we should dump the dem rules committee for behaving like a bunch of bushtards.

97% of ambassadors polled say Bolton undermined UN reform.

At Princeton yesterday, New York Times U.N. correspondent Warren Hoge revealed that “of the 33 ambassadors Hoge interviewed for a story” on former U.N. ambassador John Bolton’s performance, “all but one felt he had undermined U.N. reform efforts.” When Bush appointed Bolton in 2005, U.N. members viewed the move as a “stick in the eye.”

Would you rather die of Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

Please "DO NOT give retroactive immunity to the telecoms".

Stand Up to The Bush Administrations Law Breaking !

Don't Let Them Scare You Into Letting Them Off ! They Broke The Law ! Period !

And Remember,They Started The Illegal Wiretapping (Before 9/11)! !

So,Their Excuse Is Not Valid ! !

The Senate Has Already Let The American People Down..Please Don't Let The House Do The Same !

Uphold The Rule Of Law !

Uphold The Constitution !

Thank you,M.

(Please,Email,Call,Or Fax your Congress Member !)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

We indicted him before we blew him up!

=========================================

Hezbollah Says Top Militant Is Killed

Email this Story

Feb 13, 8:07 AM (ET)

By SAM F. GHATTAS

(AP) A Shiite Moslem hijacker points his pistol toward an ABC news media crew from the window of the...
Full Image

Coffee Exposed - A shocking secret coffee co's don't want you to know.
www.coffeefool.com

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Imad Mughniyeh, the militant accused of attacks that left hundreds of Americans and Israelis dead, including a U.S. Navy diver during the infamous 1985 hijacking of a TWA jetliner, has been killed, Hezbollah said Wednesday.

The militant group blamed Israel for the assassination - a charge the Jewish state denied - but it did not say how he died. However, Middle East media reported he was killed in a recent car bomb in Syria.

His killing is a major blow to Hezbollah, which fought Israel in the summer 2006 war in Lebanon, and its Iranian and Syrian backers.

Mughniyeh, who had been in hiding for years, was among the fugitives indicted in the United States for the 1985 hijacking of a TWA airliner in which a U.S. Navy diver was killed. He was also suspected of masterminding attacks on the U.S. Embassy and the Marine base in Lebanon that killed more than 260 Americans in the 1980s when he was then the Iranian-backed Hezbollah's security chief.

Senators want to know if waterboard authorizers are criminals

Two Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats are requesting that the Justice Department's internal watchdog investigate whether Bush Administration officials who authorized waterboarding are guilty of any crimes themselves.

Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sheldon Whitehouse's (D-RI) request comes as the CIA and White House finally admitted the use of waterboarding, and as Attorney General Michael Mukasey is standing with the Bush administration in refusing to open an investigation. The senators say that Mukasey's refusal on grounds that the Justice Department had authorized the simulated drowning technique did not answer whether the authorizations themselves were legal.

In a letter sent Tuesday to the Justice Department's Inpsector General and Counsel for Professional Responsibility the two wrote:

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Senators_want_to_know_if_waterboard_0213.h...

We agree with Attorney General Mukasey that our intelligence professionals should be able to rely in good faith on the Justice Department's legal advice. However, if CIA agents or contractors have been put in jeopardy by misguided counsel from the Justice Department, including legal opinions that the Administration has been forced to repudiate, and as a result they risk war crimes prosecution overseas, this is a serious matter. - Sen. Durbin, Sen. Whitehouse

not so soon!! wait till they eventually subpoena harriet myers and josh bolton, which will be neveruary!!

That shaking is a bitch.

With the oldtimer's yer not remembering a lot of anything.

when Bush's political genius will be realized.

Uno the beagle makes history with Westminster win

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/7787722?MSNHPHMA

NEW YORK (AP) - Good ol' Snoopy, a champion at last.

Barking and baying up a storm, Uno lived up to his name Tuesday night by becoming the first beagle to win best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club.

The nation's new top dog was clearly the fan favorite, and drew a roaring, standing ovation from the sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden when he was picked.

Uno got right into the act, jumping up on handler Aaron Wilkerson and confirming his other title: noisiest in show. Years from now, he'll be known for the "ah-roo" heard 'round the ring.

"He's a people's dog, a merry little hound," Wilkerson said.

The only dog consistently listed among America's most popular breeds for nearly 100 years, a beagle had never won in the 100 times Westminster picked a winner. That changed when judge J. Donald Jones pointed to this nearly 3-year-old package of personality.

Uno was numero uno, beating out two perfect poodles, a top Sealyham terrier, a sleek Weimaraner, a lively Australian shepherd and a sprightly Akita.

"We knew he was going to be No. 1. I didn't know he'd do it this fast," Wilkerson said.

Uno celebrated by chewing on the microphones of reporters who tried to interview his winning crew. Those had to suffice for the yellow, soft duck that's his favorite toy.

"He's perfect, he was a 10," Jones said. "He does cuteness well."

More than 169 breeds and varieties were represented at the 132nd Westminster Kennel Club event, and the competition brought 2,627 entries.

Barks echoed around Madison Square Garden as the crowd cheered its favorites, among them a Neapolitan mastiff that lumbered around the ring, a Chihuahua that spun in circles and a miniature pinscher that plucked a piece of food off the green carpet without missing a beat.

Formally known as K-Run's Park Me in First, Uno came into this competition wagging his white-tipped tail with 32 best in show ribbons overall. Yet he was surely an underdog - make that an Underdog - because no beagle had even won the hound group since 1939.

But Uno fixed that, breezing in the 15-inch breed judging on Monday morning and taking his group several hours later. So while other dogs tried to reach the final ring Tuesday, Uno spent the day going on a brisk walk around Manhattan and taking a nap underneath his warm, fuzzy blanket.

But when it came time to show, Uno was as precocious and precious as ever.

With fans calling out his name and clapping, he soaked in the cheers as he paraded around the ring, the cheers becoming more thunderous with every step. And when he made his final stop in front of Jones, Uno went to town, baying over and over.

Even when he returned to sidelines as other dogs were judged, Uno kept going. Quite a win it was for Eddie Dziuk of Columbia, Mo., and the other three co-owners.

"My sister called me today and said she's always turned off the dog show on TV because she's tired of all those poodles winning," Jon Woodring, one of the other co-owners, said earlier in the day. "But she watched last night. I think Uno winning would show that an everyday dog can do it."

Longtime dog expert David Frei, the paw-by-paw announcer for USA Network's coverage of the Westminster Kennel Club show, went even further.

"If he wins best in show, I'll rent him an apartment in New York City because I'll be traveling with him all year, so many people will want to see him," he said. "If he won, it would be the greatest thing for our show."

Better get that first rent check ready - Uno is here to stay.

and got all twisted

who could tell?

the man has major scoliosis of the spine and scruples.

trust me. just confirm me.

Eff U!

Hopenotized

Submitted by dada on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 2:55am.

ROBERTSON: He's also calling for the destruction of George Bush. He calls him a war criminal.

COLMES: Do you want him taken out?

ROBERTSON: Not now, but one day, one day, one day. My premise is, and I think as -- you know, until that comment came out, everybody thought Chavez [added link] was a fellow having to do with table grapes in California. Now --

HANNITY: I think one thing we could say is, the world would be better off without him where he is, because he is a danger to the United States.

ROBERTSON: Extreme danger.

Media Matters - Robertson again calls for Chavez's assassination ...

Venezuela suspends Exxon oil sales

Venezuela's state oil company has suspended oil exports to ExxonMobil, the US oil giant, in retaliation for it obtaining court orders freezing of billions of dollars of Venezuelan assets.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/4869D613-25A4-48E6-94F5-E9E191DD4...

that is around the corner now Bi...(funny)

does he have a speech problem? coz when he gets asked a question and i am not looking i think that my computer got shut down....um-um-um coz he takes for ever to answer

FISA Fight: House Blue Dogs enabling the GOP
by mcjoan
Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 10:48:11 AM PST

CQ is reporting (no link yet link here) that the House Republicans will try to derail the effort to pass a 21 day extension of the existing surveillance law and force a vote on the Senate bill:

House Republicans engineered a series of procedural votes Wednesday in a bid to derail the Democrats’ prooposed extension, which President Bush said Wednesday he would veto. They argued that the House should simply take up and send to the White House a surveillance overhaul bill (HR 3773) that the Senate passed by 68-29 Tuesday.

Because 21 conservative Blue Dog Democrats have endorsed the Senate-passed bill, Republicans might be able to win approval of the Senate bill through a motion to recommit the extension with instructions to amend it with the text of the Senate bill.

The Blue Dogs that have endorsed the Senate passed bill wrote to Pelosi last week.

http://mcjoan.dailykos.com/

Website Tracking U.S. Economic Indicators

The U.S. economy is faltering. Family debt is on the rise, benefits are disappearing, the deficit is skyrocketing, and the mortgage crisis has worsened. Conservatives have attempted to deflect attention from the crisis, by blaming the media’s negative coverage and insisting the United States is not headed toward a recession, despite what economists are predicting.

The Bush administration’s latest move is to simply hide the data. Forbes has awarded EconomicIndicators.gov one of its “Best of the Web” awards. As Forbes explains, the government site provides an invaluable service to the public for accessing U.S. economic data:

This site is maintained by the Economics and Statistics Administration and combines data collected by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, like GDP and net imports and exports, and the Census Bureau, like retail sales and durable goods shipments. The site simply links to the relevant department’s Web site. This might not seem like a big deal, but doing it yourself–say, trying to find retail sales data on the Census Bureau’s site–is such an exercise in futility that it will convince you why this portal is necessary.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/13/economic-indicators/

PROOF:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/us/politics/03exelon.html?pagewanted=1...

http://www.thedailypage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40577

OBAMA = YOU ARE VOTING FOR NUCLEAR POWER & WEAPONS

UNLESS HE MAKES A NEW OATH TO WE THE PEOPLE! THEN INTENSE VIGILANCE Follows!

Submitted by Druid on February 13, 2008 - 2:45pm.

US: No permanent bases anywhere in the world

Amid a bitter dispute over US bases in Iraq, the White House signaled Wednesday it does not view any US military installations overseas -- except perhaps Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- as permanent.

"The United States, where we are, where we have bases, we are there at the invitation of those countries. I'm not aware of any place in the world -- where we have a base -- that they are asking us to leave. And if they did, we would probably leave," said spokeswoman Dana Perino.

Asked about Guantanamo Bay, Perino replied: "I'm going to say that one doesn't count." The United States and Cuba disagree about the validity and the terms of the 1903 treaty that originally carved out the area for the base.

The spokeswoman's comments came amid a difficult election-year debate about the duration of the US military presence in Iraq, with some war critics accusing Washington of seeking a permanent military foothold there.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080213/pl_afp/usiraqwhousebases_0802131712...

But the United States welcomed Moghaniyah's killing, saying that he was responsible for many deaths.
"The world is a better place without this man in it. He was a cold-blooded killer, a mass murderer and a terrorist responsible for countless innocent lives lost," Sean McCormack, state department spokesman, said.
"One way or another he was brought to justice."

An Israeli cabinet minister hailed the killing, but said he did not know who was behind the attack.
Gideon Ezra, the Israeli environment minister, said: "I, of course, do not know who carried out the assassination of Imad, but he should be blessed." http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/553C019C-9D22-424D-89C1-8AA4F39C9...

Another liver spot lovin necrophiliac power hungry gold diggin stepford wifey smile and wave zombie !!?!

C'mon!

wtf?

Hillary Losing Women, Latino Voters

Wednesday, February 13, 2008 10:21 AM

By: Newsmax Staff Article Font Size

Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton’s support from women and Latino voters is dwindling, according to exit polls of voters in Tuesday’s Virginia and Maryland primaries.

Her rival Barack Obama won a surprising 60 percent of the vote among women in both states. Among Hispanic voters, once considered solid for Clinton, Obama outpaced Hillary by six percent points in Virginia and Maryland.

Obama scored his highest percentage of African-American voters to date, wining nearly 90 percent of that voting bloc in each state, according to CNN.

The only demographic Hillary won was white women, who chose her by 10 points over Obama in Virginia and 13 points in Maryland. But exit polls revealed that her edge among white women on Super Tuesday had been 25 points overall.

OBAMA = NUCLEAR POWER & NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Submitted by WiccanDruid on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 2:59pm.

Nuke power is clean, and good for the environment ( sans chernobyl of course - but that was russian stupidity, in design and management of that reactor. Theyre much safer now. )

Any president = nuke weapons - so no worries there

Maybe the USA should build 200 or 300 new nuclear powerplants.

We wouldnt need the oil.

France and germany and UK are building more ..... why not us?

McCain cautioned: "To encourage a country with only rhetoric rather than sound and proven ideas that trust in the strength and courage of free people is not a promise of hope. It's a platitude."

The last time we elected a President based on emotion we got 4 years of that bonehead Jimmy Carter!

(LETTER TO HOUSE MEMBERS)
Congressman Wexler's Letter To House Members
Robert Wexler

Please, Back Congressman Wexler's call for Impeachment hearings of VP Dick Cheney !

Or,is breaking The Law Ok with You ??

It is Time for Congress to Show They Have a Spine !

And,that Breaking The Law Will NOT Go Unpunished !

Stop Hiding Your Head In The Sand and,Show Some Backbone !

And,Stop Letting The Bush Administration Bully and,Scare You Into Doing Nothing !

The Rule Of Law Must Be Sustained !

Uphold The Constitution !

Upholding the Constitution Is A Huge Part Of Your Job..

So Far You and Others Are Doing A Non-Existent Job Of Upholding The Constitution !

Thank you,M..A Democrat..

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Australia says sorry for racist past
Australia's parliament is to apologise for the 'indignation and degradation' inflicted upon generations of Aborigines by successive governments.

But financial compensation is not on offer.

Some of those against no doubt agree with the former prime minister John Howard that contemporary Australians are not responsible for past policies.

But there is also a strongly held view that after more than 200 years of "whitefellas'" misguided and racist policies, a simple sorry is not enough and financial compensation must be offered.
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/2008/02/it_has_been_a_long.html

February 13th (Tonight) 7:30 PM

Reading: "Howl" and Other Poems
Reed English professor Pancho Savery reads from the works of Allen Ginsberg. This event marks the anniversary of Ginsberg's live reading of "Howl," which took place at Reed on February 13, 1956. The ’56 reading occurred during a road trip that Ginsberg took through the Pacific Northwest with poet Gary Snyder (Reed Class of 1951), and was significant to the development of Ginsberg's poetry and the work of the Beats. Sponsored by the Eric V. Hauser Memorial Library.

Reed College, Eliot Hall chapel.
3203 SE Woodstock Blvd
Portland, OR 97202

*Les-Chic*

He graduated high in his class at the U.S. Naval Acadamy

and became the president of the United States.

If HE is a bonehead....where does that place YOU on the

food chain?

FISA bill and retroactive immunity

Submitted by roseanne on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 1:08pm.

I've phoned and written my senators here in FL and also my Democratic congressman Allen Boyd, to tell them "DO NOT give retroactive immunity to the telecoms". I phone almost daily. Today I'll phone Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders in the House. We need to stay on these elected representives to get them to do the will of the people and not allow them to cave into this corrupt administration.
*******
Good For You !

Thank you,Roseanne ! :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

did i hear right the other day that mccains wife comes from the family that has a major interest in anheuser busch?

was in 2004 when we got skeered of everything from our shadows to gay marriage. the rest is as they say, history.

:)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Felt like I got punched in the gut yesterday morning watching cspan, as the feckless, gutless dems joined the GOP fascists in trashing our 4th Amendment. I literally lost my breath. Spent the remainder of the day fighting my "fight or flight" reflex...something I've had to learn to control since way back when.

Having read over the email drafts I composed yesterday after the votes, I'm pleased I didn't send them out -- that doesn't make their content any less true, if one could get past the adjectives & adverbs.

*smiles...broadly*

My penance was 50 phone calls to congresscritters, which I just completed.

These are the times when I thoroughly despise those that we've elected to govern this great country.

---------------------

Ode to "Fight Or Flight"

wait a minute, 97% can't have it both ways. mccain was at the bottom of his class at the academy and that's supposed to make him a good commander in chief. i am so neoconfused.

because, with us, a deal, is never a deal:

The newly formed American protectorate incorporated the Platt Amendment in the Cuban Constitution. The Cuban-American Treaty held, among other things, that the United States, for the purposes of operating coaling and naval stations, has "complete jurisdiction and control" of the Guantánamo Bay, while the Republic of Cuba is recognized to retain ultimate sovereignty. [3].

After the Cuban Revolution of 1959 which brought Fidel Castro to power, then-President Dwight Eisenhower insisted the status of the base remained unchanged, despite Cuban objections.

A 1934 treaty reaffirming the lease granted Cuba and her trading partners free access through the bay, modified the lease payment from $2,000 in U.S. gold coins per year, to the 1934 equivalent value of $4,085 in U.S. dollars, and made the lease permanent unless both governments agreed to break it or the U.S. abandoned the base property.[4] Since the Cuban Revolution the government under Fidel Castro has cashed only one of the rent checks from the US government, and only because of "confusion" in 1959 in the heady early days of the leftist revolution. The remaining uncashed checks made out to "Treasurer General of the Republic" (A position that has ceased to exist after the revolution) are kept in Castro's office stuffed into a desk drawer.[5] The United States argues that the cashing of the single check signifies Havana's ratification of the lease — and that ratification by the new government renders moot any questions about violations of sovereignty and illegal military occupation.[citation needed]. It is countered, however, that the 1903 and 1934 lease agreements were imposed on Cuba under duress and are unequal treaties, no longer compatible with modern international law, and voidable ex nunc pursuant to articles 60, 62 and 64 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties [6]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantánamo_Bay,_Cuba - 39k -

And another permanent base Dana negelected to mention: The entire upper-midwest--

The American West No More, Lakota Nation Releases National Map
Lakota Natural Land-Base Divides 5 U.S. State Boundaries
Published on Jan 4, 2008
Lakota Oyate, a continuing effort of the Lakota Freedom Delegation, released a map of national boundaries which will force state and Federal government in five states to begin the process of planning their governmental initiatives without tens of thousands of acres of land.

www.republicoflakotah.com/about.html - 10k

Bush. Bad shit. The dry drunk "you want to get drunk with" in 2000 and then that "guy who told you to be terribly afraid in 2004 because he's the only guy who could protect you." Phhhtttt!

What was that word that maggiesboy was learning me...?
Sputter... no....
spurn... uh-uh...
spam... um...
spackle...
splotch...
sputnik...
run, spot, run...
out damned spot...

Oh, ptui.

The Federation of American Scientists, along with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and independent analysts, have issued a report, Toward True Security, that calls for immediately declaring that the sole mission for U.S. nuclear weapons is to deter nuclear attack, for taking all nuclear weapons off launch-ready alert, and for reducing the U.S. nuclear arsenal to a total of 1000 warheads, including reserves, as an immediately achievable, secure step toward a nuclear-free world.

According to the report, the greatest nuclear dangers to the United States are an accidental, unauthorized or mistaken Russian nuclear attack, the spread of nuclear weapons to more nations, and the acquisition of nuclear materials by terrorists. U.S. nuclear weapons policy, the report concludes, fails to adequately address these risks and too often exacerbates them.

The report outlines 10 specific, unilateral steps the next president should take to transform U.S. nuclear policy, which would put the world on a path to eventually ban nuclear weapons, and demonstrate global leadership:

1. Declare that the sole purpose of U.S. nuclear weapons is to deter and, if necessary, respond to the use of nuclear weapons by another country.

2. Take nuclear weapons off alert, so they can be launched within days instead of minutes.

3. Eliminate preset targeting plans. Replace them with the capability to promptly develop a response tailored to a specific situation if nuclear weapons are used against the United States or its allies.

4. Promptly reduce the U.S. nuclear arsenal to no more than 1,000 warheads.

5. Halt all programs to develop and deploy new nuclear weapons.

6. Retire all U.S. nonstrategic (tactical) nuclear weapons.

7. Commit to making further cuts in the U.S. nuclear arsenal on a bilateral or multilateral basis.

8. Declare that the United States will not resume nuclear testing, and work with the Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

9. Halt further deployment of the ground-based missile defense system and drop any plans for a space-based missile defense system.

10. Reaffirm the U.S. commitment to pursue nuclear disarmament and present a plan to meet that goal.

Submitted by Peter Dragon on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 3:19pm.
He graduated high in his class at the U.S. Naval Acadamy
and became the president of the United States...
--------
...and was handpicked by Captain (later Admiral) Rickover to help usher-in the Navy's nuclear submarine program.

is heir to the third largest Anheiseur Bush Distributorship.

State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has announced that he intends to sue UnitedHealth Group and a group of subsidiaries following a six-month investigation into a scheme by health insurers to defraud consumers by manipulating reimbursement rates.

At the center of the scheme is Ingenix Inc., a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary and the nation's largest provider of healthcare billing information. It served as a conduit for rigged data to the largest insurers in the country, according to Cuomo.

The six-month investigation found that Ingenix operates a defective and manipulated database that most major health insurance companies use to get reimbursement rates for out-of-network medical expenses. Further, the investigation found that two subsidiaries of United dramatically under-reimbursed members for out-of-network medical expenses by using data provided by Ingenix, according to Cuomo. The scheme allowed United insurers were able to keep reimbursements artificially low and force patients to absorb a higher share of the costs.

He said he intends to file suit against Ingenix Inc., UnitedHealth Group and three additional subsidiaries. In addition to the suit, 16 others companies -- including Aetna Inc. (NYSE AET), and Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI), and Empire BlueCross BlueShield (NYSE: WLP) -- will receive supoenaes in the case.

"The investigation launched today by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo calls into question the validity of a system that health insurers have used for years to reimburse physicians and their enrolled members, said American Medical Association's President-elect Dr. Nancy Nielsen. "Patients have a right to expect fair and accurate payment for services promised by health insurers."

UnitedHealth defended its practices, saying the reference data is rigorously developed, geographically specific, comprehensive and organized using a transparent methodology that is very common in the health care industry.

That's it.
I used to be a third party member for a long time, but when i see 100% of Republicans voting fascist and I see 60 percent of Democrats going the other way, well... I'm not crazy about the Democratic party but I am on board for more and better Dems now. Woot for the great orange satan way!

Cindy McCain
new
Submitted by Fernando on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 3:41pm.
is heir to the third largest Anheiseur Bush Distributorship.

===

wha?

double fucked christ

Makes me want to open a Duvel

or a Chimay

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

congrats on your reasoning. I'm on the same boat.

red - no one EVER needs a reason to open a Duvel. There is only one reason NOT to open 1.

One must not open a Duvel lid on if you don't have the right glass. I'm 100% sure you get that.

hells yeah

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/Business/Microsoft_Yahoo

After Yahoo turns down Microsoft's bid; they entertain a bigger one from NewsCorp?!

Are corporations ALWAYS looking to sell out? I know it works that way for smaller companies; but Yahoo?

A Guide for Europeans
http://www.counterpunch.org/navarro02132008.html

*Les-Chic*

Holt blasts Bush’s surveillance fearmongering. Earlier this morning, President Bush used his bully pulpit to pressure the House, saying they should “immediately” adopt the overreaching Senate surveillance bill that passed yesterday or “jeopardize the security of our citizens.” On the House floor today, Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) responded, saying the President wants legislation that “regards the ordinary American with suspicion” and that the House already passed legislation that balances security and civil liberties. Watch it:

Both the ACLU and Firedoglake are urging people to contact House members to tell them to keep retroactive immunity for telecoms out of the final bill.

ACLU
https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr004=jfx1cjiyr4.app2...

Firedoglake
http://firedoglake.com/2008/02/13/fisa-getting-priorities-straight/

Bush Administration Hides More Data, Shuts Down Website Tracking U.S. Economic Indicators
The U.S. economy is faltering. Family debt is on the rise, benefits are disappearing, the deficit is skyrocketing, and the mortgage crisis has worsened. Conservatives have attempted to deflect attention from the crisis, by blaming the media’s negative coverage and insisting the United States is not headed toward a recession, despite what economists are predicting.

The Bush administration’s latest move is to simply hide the data. Forbes has awarded EconomicIndicators.gov one of its “Best of the Web” awards. As Forbes explains, the government site provides an invaluable service to the public for accessing U.S. economic data:

This site is maintained by the Economics and Statistics Administration and combines data collected by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, like GDP and net imports and exports, and the Census Bureau, like retail sales and durable goods shipments. The site simply links to the relevant department’s Web site. This might not seem like a big deal, but doing it yourself–say, trying to find retail sales data on the Census Bureau’s site–is such an exercise in futility that it will convince you why this portal is necessary.

Yet the Bush administration has decided to shut down this site because of “budgetary constraints,” effective March 1:

Economic Indicators is particularly useful because people can sign up to receive e-mails as soon as new economic data across government agencies becomes available. While the data will still be available online at various federal websites, it will be less readily accessible to members of the public.

In its e-mail announcement on the closing of Economic Indicators, the Department of Commerce acknowledged the “inconvenience” and offered “a free quarterly subscription to STAT-USA®/Internet™” instead. Once this temporary subscription runs out, however, the public will be forced to pay a fee. So not only will economic data be more hidden, it will also cost money.

It’s ironic that the Economic and Statistics Administration is facing “budgetary contraints,” considering Bush recently submitted a record $3.1 trillion budget to Congress for FY ‘09.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/13/economic-indicators/

Hillary isn't doing better:

This was paid for and approved by Hillary Clinton.
She should have just stayed with Celine.......

Thanks, but I'm not certain I've ever made a good move in my life. ;) Heh!

MMRules, love you and I need the Supreme Court to stop being asshats who think that a guy with a million bucks is better than a million people with a buck a piece. I'm not sure that is really a third party problem.

Conyers Introduces Contempt And Calls for Lawsuit Against WH
The Rep. wants not only a criminal contempt resolution against White House aides who refuse to testify, but a civil suit in case Mukasey doesn't follow through.

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/02/conyers_introduces_con...

(if not she needs to be firing a lot more than her 1st line management)

There is a Real possibility that the Next President will be picking 2 Supreme Court Justices !

Who would You Rather Do The Picking ?

A Rethug or A Democrat ?

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

www.grist.org/feature/2007/07/30/obama_factsheet/ - 67k -

Barrack: "nuclear not optimal."
Hillary: "nuclear agnostic."

The reason My Post is so succinct was SOLELY BECAUSE others would say negative Hillary in LIL One Liners as that one.
We've said much before, that is why I AM PROVING by PUTTING UP ..... Links

I understand your reasons ........ thus a debate can follow.

I might put down copies of your side, then mine onto Open Mic, so that others can debate, if they wish.
But the debate seems to be on going on this page (or stream or whatever eye-roll), periodically.

THE DEBATE:
IMy First Offer Of Good Faith...
First off: beginning KEEP Nuclear WEAPONS....

But as CARTER (I have always voted for him) WHERE HAS Obama put up anything, as Solar Panels, on his homes and/or offices?

Shuster Update
With Hillary agreeing not to back out of NBC's debate later this month, we wondered what that meant for David Shuster.

An MSNBC spokesperson tell us that Shuster remains on indefinite suspension but will not be fired and will return to the network.

--David Kurtz

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/horsesmouth/2008/02/msnbc_shuster_w.php

no wonder she looks like she is in a permanent state of mind---drunkard!!

Is that Up With People ?
Or,Up With Hillary ?

Jeebuss !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

It's Time !
Submitted by MMRules on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 8:26am.

Where did you get the Bush sticker? Somewhere online?
Thanks!

FISA Fight: Leadership
by mcjoan
Wed Feb 13, 2008 at 01:08:22 PM PST

(Bumped and updated. mcjoan)

As noted below, 21 Blue Dog Democrats in the Huuse are helping Republicans try to force through the bad Senate FISA bill. If every one of them votes with the Republicans then, they are likely to succeed.

If, however, at least 7 of those Dems reconsider (the departures due to death and retirement in the House leave the exact numbers a bit murky and there are some renegade Republicans, Ron Paul for instance), and vote with the Democrats, the House has a chance to fix this terrible bill. Not coincidentally, 7 of these members have endorsed either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.

Senator Clinton's endorsers from the list are: Boswell, Berry, Ross, and Baca. Senator Obama's endorsers from the list are: Pomeroy, Cooper, and Bean. Both Senators have released strong statements in opposition to telco amnesty. Now is another opportunity for them to lead on this issue.

Senators, call your House supporters and tell them to vote with their Party and their caucus to extend the 21 day extension of the PAA and to support the House version of the bill, the RESTORE Act.

Update: The House Dems just prevailed, 222-196 in beating back the Rs effort to substitute the Senate version of the FISA bill for the bill currently on the floor, a 21 day extension of the Protect America Act. This was a procedural vote, but a good win. Now the vote is on extending the PAA.

Update 2: The 21 day extension fails, 191-229.

There is a better environmental site with stats and each others environmental stance. I believe up above on this date. If MMRules (or whomever) wrote post w/ links then do you know about where?

Hillary's Watch: Clinton campaign may get boost from 'independent' spending

As Senator Hillary Clinton fights to keep her head in the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination, she may get a little help from her friends. Just as some conservative groups like Freedom's Watch hope to spend money that tacitly supports Republican efforts to keep the White House, Clinton supporters are contemplating spending money independent of their candidate to help her defeat Sen. Barack Obama.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Hillarys_Watch_Clinton_campaign_may_get_02...

Cat Chew
new
Submitted by MMRules on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 4:11pm.

There is a Real possibility that the Next President will be picking 2 Supreme Court Justices !

Who would You Rather Do The Picking ?

A Rethug or A Democrat?

I gave you this weird idea? I'm sorry.

By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The man who served as national manager of former President Clinton's 1992 campaign plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama, an aide to Obama said Wednesday.

Obama's campaign planned a 1 p.m. conference call Wednesday to announce the endorsement by David Wilhelm, who later became chairman of the Democratic National Committee, according to an aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement would be made public later in the day.

Wilhelm planned to tell reporters that Obama can build a coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans needed to win the general election.

Con't

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I like carter. who doesnt like carter.

i think nuclear power will soon be the only power left, so we need it. until fusion / hydrogen comes along.

i dont think we can get rid of nuclear weapons. we should be thinking up any super-evil new ones, but everybody will keep what they have. since russia china wot get rid of, we wont either.

Senate Set to Pass Bill Banning Waterboarding
By Paul Kiel - February 13, 2008, 3:06PM

This is what the administration's recent pro-waterboarding PR offensive had been leading up to. But the Republican side backed down.

Later this afternoon, the Senate will be voting on a bill authorizing the government's intelligence activities. Included in that bill is a measure sponsored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) that would restrict the interrogation methods the CIA could use to the Army Field Manual, which bans waterboarding and other harsh techniques currently used by the CIA. The Republicans had been expected to challenge that provision, forcing a vote. But they didn't. After a vote on the bill in 90 minutes or so, it will be on its way to the President, who has already announced that he will veto it.

So why the sudden retreat? It's not clear how the votes would have come down, exactly. But Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who has frequently spoken out against waterboarding, was considered a key vote, creating the potentially awkward situation of him taking a stand against the president. 60 votes would have been needed to retain the measure. Now that situation has been avoided -- for now. If the president follows through with his veto threat, the Senate would hold a vote to override the veto, and McCain's vote would become an issue again, though perhaps this time, not such a crucial one.

Stop it!
Plaease!

MMRules
Submitted by CeeCee on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 4:20pm.
It's Time !
Submitted by MMRules on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 8:26am.

Where did you get the Bush sticker? Somewhere online?
Thanks!
*******

Yea..Got it someplace on line.
I have it on my blog..

If you right click it and copy the Properties
you can have it too.. :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

what did I do now ? :/

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Bush signs economic stimulus package 1 hour, 23 minutes ago

President Bush signed legislation on Wednesday to send $300 to $1,200 rebate checks to millions of Americans as a "booster shot" for the economy.

Rebates are to go out beginning in May to taxpayers and low-income people, including seniors living off of Social Security and veterans who depend on disability checks. Businesses would get tax breaks for investing in new plants and equipment.

"I know a lot of Americans are concerned about our economic future," Bush said. "Our overall economy has grown for six straight years, but that growth has clearly slowed."

Several dozen members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, stood on the stage behind Bush as he signed a bill to fend off a possible recession. He said the stimulus package was achieved after he talked with leaders of Congress in January about "whether or not we could come together to provide a booster shot for our economy — a package that is robust, temporary, and puts money back into the hands of American workers and businesses."

Most taxpayers will receive a check of up to $600 for individuals and $1,200 for couples from the Internal Revenue Service, with an additional $300 per child. People earning at least $3,000 and those who owe little or no taxes would get $300 for singles, $600 for couples. Those making more than $75,000 and couples with income exceeding $150,000 are to get smaller rebates — $50 less per $1,000 they make over those thresholds.

"Americans struggling with the high cost of energy, groceries and health care will soon receive relief, and our economy will get a timely, targeted, and temporary boost — thanks to our bipartisan stimulus package," Pelosi said. "This package gets money into the hands of Americans struggling to make ends meet, helps families with children, cuts taxes for small businesses that will create new jobs and stimulates our slowing economy."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080213/ap_on_go_pr_wh/economy_stimulus_22&p...

Submitted by Liberal-at-large on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 3:35pm.
...the feckless, gutless dems...
-------------
Have you noticed that no one is ever described as being full of feck? Feckful? Feck filled? Abundantly fecky? A motherfecker?
------
http://www.answers.com/topic/feck

Feck (or fek) is a form of effeck, which is in turn the Scots form of effect. However, this Scots noun has additional significance:

1.) Efficacy; force; value; return
2.) Amount; quantity (or a large amount/quantity)
3.) The greater or larger part (when used with a definite article)

From the first sense we derive feckless, meaning witless, weak or ineffective; worthless; irresponsible; indifferent; lazy. Feckless remains a part of the Modern English and Scottish English lexicons...

Whose ball is this?

That Hillary video is not a spoof. If is from a recent campaign. She's out of touch. Bless her heart.

Who works here?
new
Submitted by Mel on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 4:40pm.
Whose ball is this?
*******
:)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

This is much nicer than the old site.

And registration must keep the trolls at bay... a little.

I like it.

was thinking about you the other day!

how ya doing? good to see you again!

(assuming this is our original Mel)

lets see what conyers can REALLY do!!

and I KNOW it's a thrill for you.

JK ;-)

I missed you guys.

But you, Scarecrow, I missed most of all.

What's the good word Sunny J?

and,drive us batty !

But,thanks to maggiesboy
we SPIT at them !

S croll P ass I diot T rolls.... :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

See ya tomorrow :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Cat Chew :)
Submitted by MMRules on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 4:38pm.
what did I do now? :/
I loves you!

Loves you too!
I was on about something previous....
Hey, I'm just a moody and old thing,
don't worry! Um, Be happy!

But at least there can be repercussions for threats of violence... I suppose. Since you have to register an e-mail address. No more breaking the law. And nic stealing must be eliminated. Maybe I'm just being Naive.

Fuck, man, it's so good to see you!

Submitted by Cat Chew on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 3:45pm.

That's it.

[...] I am on board for more and better Dems now. Woot for the great orange satan way!

*

As fishie might say: "Hail, satan!" *snark*

Try here, kids, for what IMHO consider to be a vetted list of mo' better dems.

Major kudos to Donna Edwards for taking out the bush blue dog, Al Wynn, in MD-04 yesterday.

Like I've said, we'll drag these centrist, triangulating, blue-dog & conservative dems to the left, kicking & screaming, if necessary. Or they can expect well-funded & -organized primaries to be ran against them by true, progressive dems.

*sharpens grappling hooks...Predator-like* ; )

good word as always is freedom.

just banging away and trying for finesse at the finish.

some of the old crew here, still trying to affect the results too.

new crew superb, still a bit of denial but that's fading fast.

Good to read your name again.

Freedom is a road seldom traveled by the multitude, Sunny.

I voted for Hillary in NYC and I love Obama to pieces I just strongly believe that she has the best chance of beating McCain. I can't live here anymore if John "the walking puppet for the Military Industrial Complex" McCain ascends to power. I'm out of here... by train, plane or bullet. I kid you not.

If HE is a bonehead....where does that place YOU on the
food chain?

In the first 5 minutes of his administration Ronald Reagan demonstrated how to end the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Do you think Iran would try that with President Bush?

I have the MANDATORY LINKS!

**

Most run from Truths.

NOW THE IMPORTANT STUFF...

I have to copy my Open Mic can you copy what you Made, pleezzzz (batting of eyes) ?
I'll tell you where my tat is if you tell where yours is (no place nasty teehee) or better yet...LOL? ...LOL I had to buy me a bit of chocolate. ;)

Are you our real Mel?
Damn good to see you!

It matters little, you will be getting a good 97%er in any event. 3%ers need not apply!

But otherwise you are a light!

Especially when it's Hillary's...

I don't know who to trust. Do we hang all our hopes on a man who just arrived on the political scene not even 2 years ago?

Like my father (may he rest in peace) used to say,

"There's only one person on this earth I can trust, and that's the man in my mirror. But, there's lots of times I don't trust him, either."

As an aside, I *did* like this bumper sticker I saw in the back of Rolling Stone mag:

The Peace car magnet - http://www.bushslastday.com/

I am Mel.

Whatever happened to Nobody? Is he still stirring up trouble around here? Or the woman from Minnesota and the girl with the cats from Frisco? I can't believe that I can't remember their nics right now. Or ToniD? or Fishgrease?

Man, it's been a while. I think it was midterm elections when I last posted something here.

I kind of lost interest in the show after Janeane left.

Peaches.

(Told you it was me)

Darling!!!
I hope that is you!

you want to make a copy of your Open Mic? Just go to edit and copy the code. How can I help you?

In the mean time.... I'm thinking about selling my old wedding ring so I can pick up this doozie - The Velvet Condi...

I'd link you but some jealous bidder will buy it from under me....

A Heapin' Helpin' O' Feck

Submitted by Crank Bait on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 4:40pm.
Submitted by Liberal-at-large on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 3:35pm.
...the feckless, gutless dems...
-------------
Have you noticed that no one is ever described as being full of feck? Feckful? Feck filled? Abundantly fecky? A motherfecker?

*

ub1fmf!

And neither one of the "f"'s mean feckless.

But I reserve the right to use "motherfecker." *snark*

I am so frustrated by the way the powers that be throw away lives for money and oil and influence. I am tired of being the joke of the world. I am so pissed at the things that are happening in my name and with my money. I have to get out of here. Or I may do something rash. And the barrel might not be pointed at me. Of course I am just talking shit. I am a spineless sheep waiting for my tax rebate just like everybody else.

Iran Puts Uranium Gas in Centrifuges

Feb 13 03:11 PM US/Eastern
By GEORGE JAHN
Associated Press Writer 30 Comments

Iran Successfully Launches ‘Explorer’ Rocket

Iran Defiant at Israeli Missle Test

Related Stories

Rice hopes U.N. resolution on Iran will pass soon

Iran has capacity to produce nuclear arms: US intelligence

Russia's Lavrov denounces Iranian nuclear 'intentions': agencies

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran's new generation of advanced centrifuges have begun processing small quantities of the gas that can be used to make the fissile core of nuclear warheads, diplomats told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The diplomats emphasized that the centrifuges were working with minute amounts of the uranium gas. One diplomat said Tehran has set up only 10 of the machines—far too few to make enriched uranium in the quantities needed for an industrial-scale energy or weapons program.

The statements shed light on the Islamic Republic's experiments with its domestically developed IR-2 centrifuges, which can churn out enriched uranium at more than double the rate of the older machines that now form the backbone of Tehran's nuclear project.

The existence of the IR-2 centrifuges was made known last week by diplomats accredited to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency probing Iran's nuclear program for suspicions it may have been designed to make weapons.

Diplomats told the AP last week that the machines appeared to be running empty and said they could not say how many centrifuges had been set up at the facility linked to Iran's underground enrichment plant at Natanz.

One diplomat said Wednesday that the centrifuges were set up Jan. 20 and began processing minute amounts of the uranium gas soon afterward to test the machines.

Iran Puts Uranium Gas in Centrifuges

Feb 13 03:11 PM US/Eastern
By GEORGE JAHN
Associated Press Writer 30 Comments

Iran Successfully Launches ‘Explorer’ Rocket

Iran Defiant at Israeli Missle Test

Related Stories

Rice hopes U.N. resolution on Iran will pass soon

Iran has capacity to produce nuclear arms: US intelligence

Russia's Lavrov denounces Iranian nuclear 'intentions': agencies

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran's new generation of advanced centrifuges have begun processing small quantities of the gas that can be used to make the fissile core of nuclear warheads, diplomats told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The diplomats emphasized that the centrifuges were working with minute amounts of the uranium gas. One diplomat said Tehran has set up only 10 of the machines—far too few to make enriched uranium in the quantities needed for an industrial-scale energy or weapons program.

The statements shed light on the Islamic Republic's experiments with its domestically developed IR-2 centrifuges, which can churn out enriched uranium at more than double the rate of the older machines that now form the backbone of Tehran's nuclear project.

The existence of the IR-2 centrifuges was made known last week by diplomats accredited to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency probing Iran's nuclear program for suspicions it may have been designed to make weapons.

Diplomats told the AP last week that the machines appeared to be running empty and said they could not say how many centrifuges had been set up at the facility linked to Iran's underground enrichment plant at Natanz.

One diplomat said Wednesday that the centrifuges were set up Jan. 20 and began processing minute amounts of the uranium gas soon afterward to test the machines.

I remember.

I have been pharmaceutical free for more than a year now and my mind is coming back slowly.

he's busy, still in touch though,

shells around, the lady from Minnesota... ?

after you left we had bloggie crashes lasting for days.

lost a few then and with subsuquent crashes.

under another name usually.

lots of name changes too.

Life does suck and then we die. I don't really want to be that glib but...
Just want to mention it's good to see you again.

I remember when mister wendell died. I still have his picture on my hard drive.

Sunny. I completely changed to Ubuntu. I haven't used Windows in years. All my boxes are running Linux and I am happy as a pig in shit.

How u be? Good to see you back.

No Meg, I am not Kidding
Submitted by Bob26003 on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 10:25am.
I have been looking for the video ever since.

I can't find it. One of those things that got conveniently swept under the rug :/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020121-1.v.html

I found it for you; since I'm not computer savvy I don't know how to post it.

This is beyond words and I don't like to wish my life away but...is it January 20, 2009 and is swearing in the Democratic President underway?

the post, which was here a few days ago. ;)

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley will slash 1,000 jobs, scale back its U.S. home-lending business and shut down a British mortgage unit as new management takes a hard look at the continued deterioration in mortgage markets.

The cuts announced on Wednesday affect Morgan Stanley employees who generate home loans through brokers and other third parties, as well as bankers who packaged these loans into bonds. The bank declined to detail cuts for specific areas.

Including the latest moves, Morgan Stanley has laid off 2,900 people in mortgages, wealth management, investment banking and capital markets since October. That's 6 percent of Morgan Stanley's 48,256 employees at the end of November.

Mountain-Mississippi Queen

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I remember your nic but not the details. Not that it matters. I remember you being nice and always making me smile. I don't remember a bad word from you. While I would constantly blog drunk and piss people off. I had to stop e-mailing and blogging and social networking all together because drunk dialing was getting embarrassing.

I stopped drinking and started working out and I've lost over a hundred pounds this past year and a half. I feel so much better it's not funny.

Nice to see you.

After stealing the last 2 elections and killing hundreds of thousands of people for Billions and Billions of dollars. I will not put up with that shit again. If they steal this election then we are at war. Civil war. Plain and simple.

Ubuntu eh?

is'nt it nice to have onboard?

no lost files, excellent file system too.

i love linux and opensource programming as well.

been running SUSE 10.3 lately.

very reliable.

..for you to copy and redo your Open Mic, silly. (Open Mic was Charming...Yum giggle ;) )

Pissing Me OFF Big Time !!

A Whole Post With About 14 Songs Just Gone,Poof !

3rd Time This Has Happened Too ! !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Submitted by Mel on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 5:40pm.
...I feel so much better it's not funny.
----
That's odd. When I feel much better it's hilarious.
But that's just me...

catch ya later Mel!

Mountain-Mississippi Queen

*

The perfect complement...

Always making me laugh. THAT I remember.

Gravity was not my friend. We have a truce, now. I don't eat so much pie and it lets me walk a flight of stairs without feeling like I'm about to have a heart attack.

Where's John Mayer when you need him?

Hope to see you soon.

You were the one who turned me on to Linux. Microsoft is dead.

Ubuntu is awesome.

Damn nice bike your workin' on, btw..a 750cc crotch-rocket!

which one of them? I've got like 200 of them just here at the Seder blog.

Mel,

The universe, as always, is in balance. You're lighter, I'm heavier.

Uploaded 10 Window's updates today..
And,1 just keep ed failing..
Just wouldn't download..
I have Vista..

So,my computer spent about 1 hr trying to Configure this
damn Window's update file..
But,It never did..Just a Huge pain in the ass !

So,now I have 1 update that won't download..
What the hell am I suppose to do ??
Help !
I hate Windows,too !

I just got Firefox but there is no spell check,which I need desperately..
And,Nothing works with my yahoo mail..Life sucks !

Cool Tune,L@L :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Einstein tells us that fat can neither be created or destroyed. It is only shifted around the cosmos through tiny little worm holes. Mouths. I don't know if that's true but I know that I miss bacon something awful.

Sheesh, guy, thanks but I have often been a bummer and had bad words with you. Thank you for not remembering my crap! I had a bad set or three but I loved you because you seemed not to hold it against me, and I loved your choice in music and art and photography, and I have missed you when you are not here. Man, it's so good to see you back! Details don't matter. I also remember enjoying your company, although I occasionally kicked your butt. Fuck that, so very good to see you again! I'd prefer to see you stay around, but if you don't, I'll just be pissed at you again. >:(
Eh! That's life. Boy oh boy, though, it's so very good to see you!

In 1963, Dr. King said, "Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction...The chain of evil-hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars-must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the abyss of annihilation."

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963

"...man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love."

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1967

did you catch where rove talked about the marriage only being 5000 years old (i guess it wasn't needed for the first 1000 years) when he was challenged by a student at choate.

i prefer schrodingers approach. you can't measure it without changing it.

correct that. it was heisenberg. schrodinger was a cat abuser.

And I don't use the new Yahoo beta because it doesn't play right with the fox. However if Microsoft buys Yahoo that is over. Because Microsoft doesn't play well with others.

Speaking of domestic surveillance... Vista has a back door that has the government spying initiative written all over it. And that forcing you to update shit. I had enough of that. They will be attacking Linux hard over the next few years as they lose more and more of their market share. Bill Gates is leaving for a reason. He sees the writing on the wall. Microsoft is dead.

I clicked on MSNBC's story about gorillas doing it face to face. This is a link inside that article that was fascinating.

The Bonobo Chimps - our closest relative in the animal world are a peace loving creature.

I love seeing so many old chronics, and new and medium regulars and also the return of the delinquent chronics! I really don't want to sound as sappy as Vonnegut and Sunshine Jim, but, If this isn't nice, I don't know what is! :)

I guess I do love you all!
Take care and blog bless.

My boss has made me come in before 9, 2 days in a row.

I don't think I shall be able to stay awake to drive home.

This TRULY sucks..

You make me smile and that's what I remember. And if you kicked my ass then I probably deserved it.

How are you doing? I hope you're having a better day than Roger Clemens. (lying cheating SOB)

Hey you get to edit your posts. That's cool. I think I'll come here more often.

I was just telling a friend how much I enjoyed coming here and how much it hurt watching Liberty and Democracy slowly killed and abused by our government with you guys.

I'll be visiting more regular.

...'cept it don't even cost ya a nickel. ; )

*

mdm chew said: "I guess I do love you all!
Take care and blog bless."

And peace be with YOU & yours, mdm chew!

*

Annette: Copious amounts of CAFFEINE, darling. Tis the only way.

Sounds like you've gotten your shit together.

Good on you!

"...I was just telling a friend how much I enjoyed coming here and how much it hurt watching Liberty and Democracy slowly killed and abused by our government with you guys."

That's us...happy shiny people! *snark*

Too much of a good thing can be detrimental to your acceptance of later disappointments.

Or something to that effect.

See you people later.

but,couldn't find one,Mel..

Where is it hiding ? Thanks :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

i don't use firefox so can't vouch for it but it might be a start:

http://spellbound.sourceforge.net/

I'll check it out :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

It would be unwise to fall into some of the Obama worship we see or to prematurely proclaim that progressives have a majority until after the cold hard realities of the November election but the latest voting has some interesting trends. Lets hope those trends last because as we all know, the american electorate is fickle and as has frequently happened it can change its voting trends quickly, frequently changing the political trends of the moment:

Obama Voters Impact McCain, Too By MICHAEL DUFFY
Wed Feb 13, 2:35 PM ET

Backed by a more diverse coalition of voters than he has previously attracted, Barack Obama swept to impressive victories in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia Tuesday night, jumping to a lead in the overall delegate tally for the first time since Iowa and making the odds of a comeback by Hillary Clinton, while hardly impossible, decidedly longer.

While Obama rung up 30-point margins over Clinton, Republican John McCain swept the Potomac primaries with narrower wins over Mike Huckabee, a reminder that the Republican base remains unsettled over the prospect of the party's presumptive nominee.

What made the night historic was not so much the margins of Obama's wins - though those were impressive - but the scope and depth of his winning coalition. According to exit poll data, Obama prevailed in Virginia among while males, independents and young voters. In Maryland, he bested Clinton among rural voters, union households and catholic voters. Everywhere, as expected, he won huge margins of African American voters who turned out to vote in numbers far in excess of their proportion of the population. In Maryland, African Americans are 29 of the population but formed 37 of the electorate, while in Virginia the numbers are 20 and 29.

The results also show the ways in which Obama is exerting a huge gravitational pull on both races. Obama is drawing so many moderates and independents to the Democratic race from what would normally be the ranks of the Republican electorate that 1) he's rolling up large margins and stitching together a broader coalition, and 2) he's making the Republican electorate comparatively smaller, and more conservative. Exit polls noted that one half of Virginia's voters were evangelicals; one third were self-described as "very conservative" while only a quarter were independents. As a result, Mike Huckabee was able to take 41% of the state's Republican vote.

Turnout, meanwhile, was up everywhere, just as it has been all along in the 2008 sweepstakes. More than 850,000 Virginians voted in that state's Democratic primary - more than twice the number that voted in the state's 2004 contest...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/obamavotersimpactmccaintoo

spell checking is built into Firefox. Go to tools/options/advanced check the box next to the spell checker.

(and send a check for $10 to fernando c/o crankr tech support services)

Good evening my liberal bloggie friends!

It's a wonder of Obama sweeping the Potomac primaries here on the east coast. "snark" :)

Indeed, Obama has been an excellent canditate so far but he does have his flaws and lack of substance/experience so I do agree that people should be cautious about idolizing him.

Can Hillary hold her own enough in the next couple of weeks and charge back after that to win 2 out of the 3 big primaries?(Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania).

Now for a good home cooked meal! :P

very interesting....

AFTER Feb.12 primaries...

PLEDGED DELEGATES ONLY

REALCLEARPOL.........(OB)1116......(CL)989 = +127 OBAMA
GOOBERGUNCH.........(OB)1132......(CL)1010 = +122 OBAMA
CNN..............................(OB)1096.......(CL)977 = +119 OBAMA
MSNBC..........................(OB)1078.......(CL)969 = +109 OBAMA
RELIABLEPOL..............(OB)1059.......(CL)956 = +103 OBAMA
NYTIMES.......................(OB)916........(CL)885 = +31 OBAMA

INCLUDING UN-PLEDGED DELEGATES

ABCNEWS....................(OB)1273......(CL)1222 = +51 OBAMA
CNN..............................(OB)1253......(CL)1211 = +42 OBAMA
REALCLEARPOL.........(OB)1272......(CL)1231 = +41 OBAMA
GOOBERGUNCH.........(OB)1271......(CL)1242 = +29 OBAMA
AP..................................(OB)1223......(CL)1198 = +25 OBAMA
RELIABLEPOL..............(OB)1215......(CL)1190 = +25 OBAMA
USA TODAY.................(OB)1275......(CL)1220 = +23 OBAMA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BEFORE Feb.12 primaries...

PLEDGED DELEGATES ONLY

GOOBERGUNCH..........(OB)1025......(CL)951 = +74 OBAMA
REALCLEARPOL...........(OB)1004......(CL)925 = +79 OBAMA
CNN..............................(OB)989.......(CL)923 = +66 OBAMA
RELIABLEPOL..............(OB)986.......(CL)924 = +62 OBAMA
MSNBC.........................(OB)958.......(CL)904 = +54 OBAMA

INCLUDING UN-PLEDGED DELEGATES

RELIABLEPOL...............(CL)1148......(OB)1121 = +27 CLINTON
USA TODAY..................(CL)1147......(OB)1124 = +23 CLINTON
AP.................................(CL)1147......(OB)1124 = +23 CLINTON
GOOBERGUNCH...........(CL)1183......(OB)1164 = +19 CLINTON
ABCNEWS.....................(CL)1152......(OB)1134 = +18 CLINTON
CNN..............................(CL)1157......(OB)1145 = +12 CLINTON
REALCLEARPOL...........(OB)1144......(CL)1138 = +6 OBAMA

I don't think I've seen Mel on the new blog. Wow, the last

time I remember him here he was being a SERIOUS bastard.

Sounds as tho he's turned things around.

tweety just swallowed a lugie coming back from commercial. What a slobbering hound.

http://fas.org/blog/secrecy/

Public access to the Reimer Digital Library, which is the largest online collection of U.S. Army doctrinal publications, has been blocked by the Army, which last week moved the collection behind a password-protected firewall.

But today the Federation of American Scientists filed a Freedom of Information Act request (pdf) asking the Army to provide a copy of the entire unclassified Library so that it could be posted on the FAS web site.

The Army move on February 6 marks the latest step in an ongoing withdrawal of government records from the public domain.

!!

and,again Dan !

You guys are the Best ! :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Hi Mel!

Bye Mel!

Congrats on the self-discipline...!! :)

I'm all weepy that you remembered Wendell..I miss that lil bugger!!

I need spell checkers

Yahoo exploring alliance with News Corp.

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer

SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo Inc. is discussing a possible Internet partnership with media conglomerate News Corp., its latest effort to repel Microsoft Corp.'s takeover bid or pry a better offer from the unsolicited suitor, a person familiar with the situation said Wednesday.

The specifics of the proposed joint venture haven't been worked out, according to the person, who didn't want to be identified because the talks are considered confidential.

Both The Wall Street Journal and a prominent blog, TechCrunch, reported that News Corp. is interested in folding its popular online social network, MySpace.com, and other Internet assets into Yahoo — an idea that first came up last year. News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal.

News Corp. and a private equity firm reportedly would buy significant stakes in Yahoo as part of a complex deal designed to boost the Sunnyvale-based company's market value above Microsoft's initial bid of $44.6 billion, or $31 per share.

More:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/microsoft_yahoo

I'm mad...And that's a fact
I found out...Animals don't help
Animal think...They're pretty smart
Shit on the ground...See in the dark.

They wander around like a crazy dog
Make a mistake in the parking lot
Always bumping into things
Always let you down down down down.

Animals think....
they understand Trust in them...
A big mistake Animals want...
to change my life I will ignore...
animals advice....

They're never there when you need them
They never come when you call them
They're never there when you need them
The nevere come when you call them down down down down.

I know the animals...Are laughing at us
They don't even know...What a joke is
I won't follow...Animal's advice
I don't care...If they're laughing at us.

They're never there when you need them
They never come when you call them
They're never there when you need them
The nevere come when you call them down down down down.

They say they don't need money
They're lvinign on nuts and berries
They say animals don't worry
You know animals are hairy?
They think they know what's best
They're making a fool of us
They ought to be more careful
They're setting a bad example
They have untroubled lives
They think everything's nice
They like to laugh at people
They're setting a bad example
(Go ahead) Laugh at me.

What da fuck!

How many fuckin nics do that large at large liberal have. They all be fuckin sap heads.

Just found a new online pharmacy, thinkin bout usin dem for my anti-depressant meds.

outta this blog protoplasm,
WfC

I already had it checked off..

I'm going to misspell something and see what happens..

Oh,I see how it works..You have to right click on misspelled word..
It underlines it too so ya know ya screwed up..Cool !

Thanks again :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I know the animals...Are laughing at us
I don't care...If they're laughing at us.
They don't even know...What a joke is

Yes they do. My doberman Zoe Princess Justice knows what a joke is. There are things she notices that are funny to her. I can't perceive what it is though.

for COWARDS!

It should be checked.

Bush Jr. or Cheney help?

Submitted by Cat Chew on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 6:27pm.
I love seeing so many old chronics, and new and medium regulars and also the return of the delinquent chronics! I really don't want to sound as sappy as Vonnegut and Sunshine Jim, but, If this isn't nice, I don't know what is! :)
-----------
It looks like Cat Chew owes money to everyone but me.

spelcheck is...
Submitted by Chubby Bubba on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 7:39pm.
for COWARDS!
----------
The Rajah is still fiting the gud fite.

Just home from Grocery shopping and I missed Mel. Darn!

Hello Mel!!! Come back soon!!!!!!

This one CeeCee ?
Submitted by MMRules on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 4:35pm.

Borrow More money from China

Buy more shit from China

Thanks for f'n introducing Cat Chew. This happens every time one of the old blog members return. aholes.

Look up thread..

I already had it checked..But,didn't know I had spell check already..
Thanks again :)

Yes I'm a Chicken when it comes to spell check,Chubbs.

But,if it's there why not use it.. :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

did you figure it out MMR
Submitted by Fernando on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 7:40pm.
It should be checked.
------
MMR: "I want my spelling checked."
Fernando: "You have to make a check first."
MMR: "If I have to check it first, I don't need spell check."
Fernando: "The box. You have to check the box."
MMR: "For what? Is this another captcha thingy?"
Fernando: "Tell me: What's in the box?"
MMR: "That's what I'm trying to find out!"

thinking of casting you in a new detective series...It'd be loosely based on `night stalker'. but, instead of being named Kolshak, you'd be`Spelchek'...you'd encounter a lot of bad spellings, malapropisms...sentence fragments and the like...

Too funny,Fernando ! :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

While doing my Blog Mother duties here I haven't noticed anyone "stealing" any nicks. That is why we have registration of nicknames.

Quit whining, no one stole your nick stupid.

:/

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

What's the addy :)

Submitted by BlogMother on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 7:56pm.

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

or devolve CeeCee
Submitted by Fernando on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 6:24pm.
...The Bonobo Chimps - our closest relative in the animal world are a "peace loving creature."

...how'd they get so lucky.

:)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I'm trying to watch Oberman!!!

New online Pharma?
Submitted by Bob26003 on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 7:58pm.
What's the addy :)

Just search for pharmacies that are online.

Far too many sadly, which is part of the reason prescription drugs are so widely abused.

Rajah,

Sign me up if I get to arrest War Dog..

And frog-march him to justice..

In Sr. Mary Helen's court..

Because it will put him out of a job ! ;)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Maverick Fails The Test: McCain Votes Against Waterboarding Ban
Today, the Senate brought the Intelligence Authorization Bill to the floor, containing a provision from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) that establishes one interrogation standard, requiring the intelligence community to abide by the same standards as articulated in the Army Field Manual and banning waterboarding.

Just hours ago, the Senate voted in favor of the bill, 51-45.

Earlier today, ThinkProgress noted that Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a former prisoner of war, has spoken strongly in favor of implementing the Army Field Manual standard. When confronted today with the decision of whether to stick with his conscience or cave to the right wing, McCain chose to ditch his principles and instead vote to preserve waterboarding:

Mr. McCain, a former prisoner of war, has consistently voiced opposition to waterboarding and other methods that critics say is a form torture. But the Republicans, confident of a White House veto, did not mount the challenge. Mr. McCain voted “no” on Wednesday afternoon.

The New York Times Times notes that “the White House has long said Mr. Bush will veto the bill, saying it ‘would prevent the president from taking the lawful actions necessary to protect Americans from attack in wartime.’”

After Bush vetoes the bill, McCain will again be confronted with a vote to either stand with President Bush or stand against torture. He indicated with his vote today where he will come down on that issue.

John McCain: He was against waterboarding before he was for it.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/13/mccain-waterboarding-fail/

you got it!

this is one of those `sky's the limit' situations...write your own ticket, as it were

UN Weighs a Ban on Weapons in Space, but US Still Objects
By Nick Cumming-Bruce
The New York Times

Wednesday 13 February 2008

Geneva - The Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, on Tuesday presented a Russian-Chinese draft treaty banning weapons in space to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament, an idea that was quickly rejected by the United States.

Russia and China have pushed for years for a treaty to prevent an arms race in space, a threat underlined by China last year after it shot down one of its own aging satellites.

Responding to previous American assertions that there is no arms race in space and therefore no need for a treaty, Mr. Lavrov instead submitted a draft on "prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space, the threat or use of force against outer space objects."

"Weapons deployment in space by one state will inevitably result in a chain reaction," Mr. Lavrov warned. "And this in turn is fraught with a new spiral in the arms race, both in space and on the earth."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/021308P.shtml

loud moaning and screeching while we pound our partner in public?

They have good memories too. But their speech is somewhat limited. Those two items amount to the bulk of what separates us from them I think.

Senate votes to ban waterboarding. The AP reports that the “Senate has joined the House in voting to prohibit the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods,” approving legislation that would bring the CIA’s interrogation methods in line with the Army Field Manual.

http://www.heraldonline.com/115/story/363258.html

Senate votes to ban
new
Submitted by toniD on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 8:08pm.

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Speaking of Assholes !
Submitted by MMRules on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 7:58pm.

No one died and made you king sniveling whiner boy.

Now corral your foul mouthed nonsense little boy self and behave on here.

flying by the seat of your pants...but putting those pants on one leg at a time. you'll be lifting yourself up by the bootstraps as the rising tide lifts all boats.

flying by the seat of your pants...but putting those pants on one leg at a time. you'll be lifting yourself up by the bootstraps as the rising tide lifts all boats.

So, hitch your wagon to a star ...and carry moon beams home in a jar.

if you catch my drift?

How Original ! Not !

Looks Like A Future Banned Troll..Keep it up Loser !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Perino On Permanent Bases: It Depends On How You Define ‘Permanent’

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/02/13/permanent-redefined/

But, somebody did steal War Dog's nic and put it out to

pasture. I wonder who it was that had the wits to do that?

Rep. Nadler: Savage ‘has no shame and no decency.’ Yesterday, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) responded to conservative radio host Michael Savage’s recent claim that Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA), who passed away last Monday, used the Holocaust “as a weapon”:

“Yet again, Mr. Savage has shown why he has no shame and no decency, and his remarks are an affront to all decent people. Tom Lantos was a great public servant, humanitarian and educator. As the only survivor of the Shoah to ever serve in Congress, Tom’s passing is a great loss to our country and the world. He fought hatred and anti-Semitism — like the despicable remarks of Mr. Savage — everywhere.

“The ignorance of Mr. Savage’s remarks makes it clear that Tom’s work is still not done. Every American should commit themselves to the example of Congressman Lantos. I can think of no finer tribute to that great man.”

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ny08_nadler/Nadler_Denounces_Savage...

Iraqi security adviser wants withdrawals to continue. On Monday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said a “pause” in withdrawals in Iraq “makes sense” to him. Disagreeing with Gates, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, Iraq’s national security adviser, said, “I believe phasing out and making it a continuous but slow withdrawal is better than pausing, as it gives continuity to the process.” Rubaie hopes the U.S. force would be “less than 100,000 by the end of this year” but adds that Iraq would still need “some sort of help.”

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/B631514.htm

sounds like rocket powered flatulence.

You know, sometimes I wonder if some people can only whine about things they know nothing about.

I agree. Quit whining MMR, No one stole your nick

Jeez, you sound like kids in junior high.

Conyers introduces Miers/Bolten contempt resolutions. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced a criminal contempt resolution today against White House chief of staff Josh Bolten and former White House counsel Harriet Miers, who were subpoenaed in the U.S. attorney scandal, but refused to comply. Conyers also filed a resolution for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to file a civil suit against the White House. Read the resolutions here.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/contempt-resolution/

Good, reasonably priced online pharmas are hard to find

Submitted by MMRules on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 8:13pm.
Don't threaten people with BS that is not possible on here MMR. You are more a troll than anyone on here.

I'm a not a person that you want to do that to boy.

Maybe I should ban you from here but I'm content to just let you lonely whine and snivel from your parents dark basement.

you know how to ban someone? FANTASTIC!

Can you teach Sam?

Huckabee's name in this way yet? Change the H to an F?

http://www.1800petmeds.com/index.asp ?

I changed the `hu' th `pho'...but it sounds the same

It looks like the Senate Ethics Committee doesn't buy the "wide stance" story.

we can say we've been `Fuckabee'd'.

WFC nic..Ya Morons !

And,if you had been around more than 1 day,you would know that !

Like Fernando said:Can ya teach Sam..Hee !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Marla Spivak

Slam dunks Rove at school.

was refering to himself as the one having his nic stolen. I think he was refering to the WFC personna.
Because that was not Waitin-for-Cicero!

It's too bad the trolls have to disrupt the blog.

Ya freaking tightwad. >:(

Mel! You gotta come back now, ya hear?

MMRules, I love you.

All you fellas, Will you stop being so freaking insecure!?

Sheesh!!!

I've heard it.

New Yorkers Encouraged to Get Busy with Free Condoms
Health Department Unveils Ad Campaign, New Condom Design

Wednesday, 13 Feb 2008, 5:13 PM EST

NEW YORK (MyFoxNY.com/NYC.gov) -- The city wants New Yorkers to "get some" this Valentine's Day. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene unveiled its 2008 safer sex awareness campaign with new posters, banners, and TV ads featuring a colorful and sexy message. The city also unveiled a new look for the wrapper of its free condom.

The slogan is -- wait for it -- "Get Some."

Continued:

http://www.myfoxny.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail;jsessionid=616E55C42A929F...

Did you all know about the Rx program at Target?

They have a list of drugs they sell for $4.00. The list is four pages long, lots of common drugs. No insurance needed. Just pay 4 bucks.

The Target where I shop gave me a list but it may be online, also.

BREAKING: Senate Admonishes Larry Craig
The Senate Ethics Committee issued a public letter of admonishment today to Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) for his conduct in connection with his arrest in the airport bathroom and his subsequent conduct.

We have the letter here and details a href="http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/02/senate_ethics_committee_wags_f.php">here.

From a quick read through the letter, the Ethics Committee hits him harder than I might have expected. It's not just the arrest they tag him for but his efforts to withdraw his guilty plea. Oh, and there was the matter of him slipping the officer his Senate business card. They didn't like the appearance of that either.

--David Kurtz

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/178445.php

I wanted to blog with you but you only had time for Mel...

You mean about THIS story toniD?

Yep,that's who I was referring to..

Love ya too,Cat Chew ! :)

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

has had a thing about Lantos since the very beginnings of his program. He used to love to play a clip from a show on which Lantos angrily 'terminated' an interview after a typical weiner attack.

On the other hand, Lantos was one Dem (AIPAC tool) I would never vote for and always supported his opponent in the primaries and did not vote in the general. He finally looked slated for defeat this year even before he had to withdraw. Still I mourn his passing.

Submitted by Cat Chew on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 8:31pm.
Ya freaking tightwad. >:(
--------
When you become all kissy-gooey, I become suspicious.

Strange Bedfellows Block Dem Effort to Extend Surveillance Bill
By Paul Kiel - February 13, 2008, 6:18PM
Well, that wasn't expected. An odd collection of Republicans, liberal Dems, and Blue Dogs banded together this afternoon to shoot down the House leadership's attempt to extend for 21 days the administration's surveillance bill, the Protect America Act, which is set to expire Friday.

I suppose everyone had their reasons. The Republicans because they want to help the administration put the squeeze on the Dems and pass the Senate's version of the intelligence bill. The liberal Dems (e.g. Rush Holt (D-NJ) and Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)) because they opposed the Protect America Act in the first place -- see Holt speaking on that here. And the few Blue Dogs (e.g. Leonard Boswell (D-IA) and Collin Peterson (D-FL)? I suppose they don't want any more delay on the issue. The full catalog of Dems, 34 in all, is below.

In any case, now it's time to see whether the administration's squeeze play will pay off. Either the House Dems will fold and the administration will get its prized retroactive immunity for the telecoms, or the dreaded time lapse will occur. And what happens then? From CQ:

As difficult negotiations begin over electronic surveillance overhaul legislation, Republicans are raising the specter of a hobbled intelligence community if a temporary surveillance law expires and a Senate-passed measure does not become law.
But legal experts say the implications of any expiration are mixed. They note that any spying orders already in place would stay in place long after a temporary law (PL 110-55) dies on Feb. 16. At the same time, most experts agree that the administration would have to go back to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA, PL 95-511) for new warrants in cases where foreign-to-foreign communications are routed through the United States’ telecommunications infrastructure. That poses little immediate threat, they say, but if a backlog of warrant applications were to build, as happened last summer, it could begin to cause problems.

Stay tuned.

The list here:

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/02/strange_bedfellows_blo...

"All you fellas, Will you stop being so freaking insecure!?

Sheesh!!!"

LOL!

I wonder if it is the super insecurity, the drugs, paranoia or all three. ;)

Some kids aren't happy unless they are whining and accusing people of things that are ridiculous.

Super insecure fella's no one stole your nick or anyone elses. The fact is that blog registration was well known about(& in advance too) so everyone had plenty of time to register their nicks.

just covered how the Senate (Reid) is helping Bush's illegal corroboration with industry to spy. Bwahahahahaha the curse is on.

Damn you Rococo!

And right! So how do we change it?

Michelle Obama Takes to the Trail

By SUSAN SAULNY -February 14, 2008

CHICAGO — There is no confusing Michelle Obama for her husband on the campaign trail.

Asked at the Democratic debate in Los Angeles whether he would pick Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as a vice-presidential running mate, Senator Barack Obama said she “would be on anybody’s short list.”

But when a television interviewer asked Mrs. Obama last week whether she would support Mrs. Clinton, if she won the nomination, Mrs. Obama was far less generous.

“I’d have to think about that,” Mrs. Obama said on “Good Morning America” on ABC. “I’d have to think about — policies, her approach, her tone.”

However, in an unaired portion of the interview provided by the campaign, Mrs. Obama said that as a good Democrat she would support Mrs. Clinton if indeed she became the nominee.

Outspoken, strong-willed, funny, gutsy and sometimes sarcastic, Michelle Obama is playing a pivotal role in her husband’s campaign as it builds on a series of successes, including a sweep on Tuesday of contests in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Her personal style — forthright, comfortable in the trenches, and often more blunt than Mr. Obama — plays well with a broad swath of the electorate and has given the campaign a steelier edge while allowing Mr. Obama to stay largely above it all...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/us/politics/14michelle.html?ei=5065&en...

Um, not now, I'm too tired.
Can I get a raincheck sweetie?
:D

Feingold: My Hope Is with The House
By Paul Kiel - February 12, 2008, 6:11PM
Some sharp words from Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI):

“The Senate passage of this FISA bill, while not surprising, is extremely disappointing. The Senate missed a golden opportunity to pass a bill that would give our intelligence officials the tools they need to go after suspected terrorists while also safeguarding the privacy of law-abiding Americans. Instead the Senate, with the help of too many Democrats, is yet again giving the administration sweeping new powers – and letting it off the hook for its illegal wiretapping program. I hope that our House colleagues will hold a stronger line, and refuse to accept the deeply flawed Senate bill. The calls from Americans tired of having their rights and their Constitution trampled on by this administration are only growing louder. Congress should stand up for the American people, and the Constitution, by opposing such a badly flawed bill.”

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/02/feingold_my_hope_is_wi...

I'm using a curse toniD. Did you see it in open mic? It will work I think.

Cat Chew.
You have an open invitation.

Love you nearly as much as Sunshine Jim does.
I even adore air-ono!
And I almost even like POTdog,
but thats a story for another day.
Later, sweethearts!
:)
I'm pooped, and I say G'night.

I like the Michelle Obama.

And won't it be sweet to have little feet in the White House again?

It's always good to have a president who has one or more Reminder of What's Important right under his nose in the White House.

"I know, I know mmr, someone stole my nick too, now don't bogart that crack pipe!"

- Anonymous

"I would like to report the stealing of 127 nicknames on the samsedershow.com blog. I have in my hand the absolute proof of that.

- Joe McCarthy

Sorry we didn't get to visit a little. Was away most of the day.

Sleep well and pleasant dreams!!:)

I'm just glad he found a job keeping us entertained.

please!

Ethics Panel Says Craig Acted Improperly In The Bathroom

Feb 13 07:32 PM US/Eastern
By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate Ethics Committee said Wednesday that Idaho Sen. Larry Craig acted improperly in connection with a men's room sex sting last year and had brought discredit on the Senate.

In a letter to the Republican senator, the ethics panel said Craig's attempt to withdraw his guilty plea after his arrest at a Minneapolis airport was an effort to evade legal consequences of his own actions.

The six members of the committee—three Democrats and three Republicans—told Craig they believed he "committed the offense to which you pled guilty" and that "you entered your plea knowingly, voluntarily and intelligently."

The panel also admonished Craig for showing the arresting officer a business card that identified him as a U.S. senator. Craig has been reported to have told the officer at the time, "What do you think about that?"

The committee wrote, "You knew or should have known that a reasonable person in the position of the arresting officer could view your action and statement as an improper attempt by you to use your position and status ... to receive special and favorable treatment."...

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8UPOPCG2&show_article=1

is working hard to post here. You either have to change your nic through registration all the time or have a zillion email accounts.

I'll go to the airport and meet the arrivals with a sign that says "Vaughn Furst," saying, "who's Vaughn Furst?...who's Vaughn Furst?"

Watson Thurd??

___
brr

ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: A top adviser to John McCain said Wednesday that he will step down from the Arizona senator's presidential campaign if the presumed GOP nominee faces Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in the general election.

"I would simply be uncomfortable being in a campaign that would be inevitably attacking Barack Obama," said McCain adviser Mark McKinnon in an interview with NPR's "All Things Considered." "I think it would be uncomfortable for me, and I think it would be bad for the McCain campaign."

McKinnon, who was a Democrat before serving as President Bush's ad maker in 2000 and 2004, said that he plans to be behind McCain "100 percent" no matter who the Democratic nominee is. He explained, however, that if the Democrats nominate Obama, he will be supporting McCain "from the sidelines."

While saying that he does not agree with Obama on every issue, McKinnon gushed about the Illinois Democrat.

"I met Barack Obama, I read his book, I like him a great deal," said McKinnon. "I disagree with him on very fundamental issues. But I think, as I said, I think it would a great race for the country."

Audio of McKinnon's NPR interview will be available here at 7:00 pm ET.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/02/mccain-adviser.html

They should have included me in their market test group.

I would have said that a name pronounced like moron-o is a bad idea.

you can come with me!

Plame: Edmonds story 'stunning'
Ex-CIA figure comments on reports of black market US nuke secrets sales.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5685

I thought the same thing when they came out with a truck model called TRD...

Sheesh!

I would like to make a request that people post on the important issues before us and Not whine on about anyone's nickname. There is no adult reason to be pointing fingers at anyone. That is so grade school childish.

It is extremely unimportant and no one cares.

Please post on the issues.

can you find someplace more private you damn Bonobos.

Boston man receives postcard from 1929

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120ap_odd_lost_postcard.html?sou...

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOSTON -- The message on the postcard to a "Miss Margaret McDonald" was short. Its path to the intended address was much longer. Nearly 79 years after it was sent, a postcard of Yellowstone National Park's Tower Falls arrived in a Boston mailbox recently with the one-word message, "Greetings."

Its intended recipient had long since left the Victorian on Sparhawk Street, and the sender was not identified by name.

Michael Cioffi was shocked to find the card dated June 1929 in his mail. He says the McDonald family did own his house for generations, but he doesn't think there is anyone left in the family to pass the postcard to.

A U.S. Postal Service spokesman says it's impossible to know what happened with the card. It somehow got into the mail and was sent with a one cent stamp from Seattle earlier this year

on Furst and Thurd.

See ya there!

___
brr

Meth deposited in ATM, woman jailed

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120ap_odd_meth_deposit.html?sour...

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BREMERTON, Wash. -- Credit unions accept deposits - just not of methamphetamine. A woman who allegedly dropped an envelope containing money and a bag of meth at a Kitsap Credit Union was arrested and charged with drug possession, according to court documents.

A bank employee reported the deposit to police, who contacted the 18-year-old customer. Officers said she might have mistakenly included the bag when she got money out of her pocket for the deposit.

I think I've got a plan...

Submitted by Chubby Bubba on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 9:06pm.

--------------------------------

Now that's funny Chubby Bubba!

As Dr. Carl Sagan once said:

"There are billions & billions of nicknames in the solar system."

You got McCrazy,deal with it !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

I think I've got a plan...
Submitted by Chubby Bubba on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 9:06pm.
-----------
Make it quick. You and the limo have a 3:30 flight to meet for Tslo-Lee Itern.

Now we are going to have another phase...

=================================================

NYT THURSDAY: Clinton's advisers acknowledged it would be difficult to catch up in race for pledged delegates even if she succeeded in winning 3 states on which she is most pinning her hopes: Ohio and Texas in March and Pennsylvania in April. Dem party's rules would be decided obstacle in efforts to catch up to Obama before voting phase of nominating process ends later in spring

Falling moose nearly squashes squad car

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120ap_odd_falling_moose.html?sou...

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Alaska State Troopers see plenty of hazards, but Trooper Howard Peterson was nearly felled by a new one: falling moose. Peterson was driving Feb. 2 on the Seward Highway south of Anchorage when something big and black fell out of the sky about 20 feet in front of his patrol car. "Falling rock!" he thought, ready to steer clear if it bounced onto the highway.

The thing didn't roll or shatter. It turned out to be a moose that fell from cliffs next to the highway.

Drivers often see Dall sheep on the cliffs but rarely moose. Peterson estimates the animal fell 150 feet or more.

It was windy that night, Peterson said, and a gust may have startled the moose into a fatal fall.

"They occasionally have bad days like the rest of us," said wildlife biologist Rick Sinnott. "They slip and fall. Maybe he was reaching for a branch and the snow just gave way."

Sinnott has heard or moose dying in strange ways - breaking through ice and drowning, jumping off railroad bridges at the sound of a train, falling off small banks. Once he saw the remains of two bulls that died during a rutting battle when their antlers got hooked together by a single piece of barbed wire.

A fall off a cliff probably doesn't happen often, he said.

Peterson treated the dead animal the same way he handles moose killed by cars. After snapping photos, Peterson called one of the charities that salvage road kill.

don't want to be hit by a falling moose.

what's Hillary's position of falling mooses?

of not being hit by a falling moose...

meanwhile Hillary ofers NO comprehensive falling moose reform...I fear she is firmly entrenched with the interests of the falling moose lobby. Hillary is a stooge for `big moose'...

Than all the lying The Bush Administation has gotten away with !

Pretty Pathetic, our Congress !

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

Initially she was for giving permission for mooses to fall but only as a precautionary measure and really didn't expect them to fall. Now she's not so sure but claims the falling moose forecast she was given may not have been completely forthright in it's predictions.

She remains silent about other plummeting members of the deer family.

___
brr

Senate Votes to Give Immunity to Telecom Companies: Hillary Clinton Skips Vote

The Senate voted today to defeat an amendment by Senator Dodd to strip the FISA bill of immunity for telecommunication companies. It was the latest in a series of perceived betrayals by Democratic voters of their leadership, which helped Sen. Jay Rockefeller guarantee immunity for the companies. Sen. Hillary Clinton did not even show up for the vote, one of the most important civil liberties votes of this Congress.

Neither Sen. Clinton nor Sen. Obama were present for the final vote. Yet, the key vote was the immunity question. It was not a close vote, but it was a shocking absence given the criticism leveled at the party elite for their failure to protect civil liberties. Clinton released a statement saying that she both supported changes and opposed them — failing to note that it is hard to support or oppose anything when you do not exercise your vote:

“I believe we need to modernize our surveillance laws and give our nation’s intelligence professionals the tools they need to fight terrorism and to make our country more secure. At the same time, smart, balanced reform must also protect the rights and civil liberties of Americans. In my opinion, the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 falls short of these goals, and for that reason, I oppose the bill.

The fix was in, however, months ago when Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) picked the Senate Intelligence Committee’s proposal (favoring immunity) to be the legislation to go first to the floor.

While Reid has said that he personally opposes immunity and asked for additional time from the White House to work out a compromise, he made an outcome-determinative decision in selecting the Senate Intelligence Committee to lead on the floor. Due to that procedural choice, it will take 60 votes for opponents to stop immunity. It does not appear that they have the votes, which was obvious when this decision was made by the Senate Democratic leadership.

The Intelligence Committee Chair John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) has long supported immunity. It was disclosed last year that Rockefeller knew of both the unlawful surveillance program and the torture program for years. The telecom lobbyists always had the upper hand with some members of the Democratic leadership, which hopes to pass the immunity bill once attention fades in 2008.

Majority Leader Harry Reid has shown lukewarm support for those like Sen. Dodd, Kennedy, and Feingold opposing immunity. As usual, the Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee — led by Sen. Rockefeller — supported the White House in killing the pending and future lawsuits. The Democrats on the Judiciary Committee supported the civil liberties side and denied immunity in their bill. Reid initially moved the pro-telecom Intelligence bill to the floor first and did little to assist his colleagues in moving the pro-civil liberties measure.

It was only after a determined campaign from advocates and Democratic colleagues that Reid relented in allowing both bills to go to the floor — but insisted that the Senate Intelligence bill would be the first legislation. This meant that it would have to be amended. Nevertheless, the filibuster tactic by Sen. Dodd paid off. The heat was too intense for Democrats and Reid decided to pull the legislation.

There is no good policy argument for immunity. If the White House is correct and they acted legally, they have nothing to fear. But these Democrats and the White House know that the companies did not act lawfully. Thus, they are struggling to protect the companies for our own courts and our own laws. The disconnect with voters is extraordinary. As with the torture vote, the fix is in on immunity. The only question is timing. This cynical manipulation of the vote reflects a certain contempt for Democratic voters and a major flaw in our political system. While civil liberties advocates like Sen. Feingold exist in the Senate, there remains a general lack of support for these principles over political expedience.While Senator Dodd is promising a fight, he has been clearly undermined by his own leadership. The vote again confirms the disconnect between statements of the Senate leadership to voters and their own actions — or lack of action. The leadership could have killed this immunity provision. Instead, senators will vote against it while ignoring the fact that they could have blocked it.

The loser, once again, is civil liberties.

http://jonathanturley.org/2008/02/13/senate-votes-to-give-immunity-to-te...

moose will fall for the next 100 years!

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

"I really don't want to sound as sappy as Vonnegut and Sunshine Jim, but,"

i've never been in better company.

...doesn't work does it?!?!?

___
brr

Boris Badenov: "Moose can't fly like squirrel."

Natasha: "Moose aerodynamics only good in one direction."

Good night all.

Good blogging.

Now I'm not sleepy from laughing!

Natasha: "Moose aerodynamics only good in one direction."

___
brr

"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

"So Young"
apart from the rest of the world
Caught up in the material world
With the forces of darkness at your side
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide

Only the good die young
Only the good die young
Only the good die young
Oh so young

Life's a struggle every day
Throw ourselves out in your way
Just sitting, waiting for the day
When the strength, and the number's come your way

from the bottom to the top
wonderin where your life will stop

*Les-Chic*

CNN calls Bush out for distorting Obama’s postions on Iraq and Pakistan when he appeared with Chris Wallace on FNS.

but Dana gets her jab in about Obama!