Well Fitz

Feingold!

Colbert! Murtha! Roots!

Fitz

I love this site. I gave Ned and others from here. Coverage on so many issues is great. BUT it sometimes seems you want to fight every single thing the Admin does. I think it is better to choose battles, and I don’t think Hayden was worth a fight, which almost certainly could not be won. Clemons thinks he’s in Rummy’s face, which would be good.
The wire tapping is serious, and some good questions were asked of Hayden, but the way to attach that issue is not through this nomination, IMHO.

I live in California and I’m desperate for a Democratic candidate to run against Dianne Feinstein. I would vote against her if the opposition was at all reasonable. She’s a total sell-out and wimp.

BTW, I might be cranky, but I’m really sick of the content-free comments like numbers 1-4. I think you’d do most readers a service if you would delete such chaff.

They are a** kissing people pleasers, rather than people who show leadership for an agenda

I couldn’t agree more Jane.
Dems don’t get it, they are stuck with Hayden now. When he does Bush’s bidding, as he surely will, and it blows up, as it always does, GOP will point to this vote and say 9 Dems voted for him too.
Mehlman is already lining up to blame the Democrats for high fuel prices.
RNC’s Mehlman Warns of $3.75 Gas with Democrats

#5 Blackwatch says

… BUT it sometimes seems you want to fight every single thing the Admin does. I think it is better to choose battles, …

i agree, the rape-public-con’s wanted this to devolve into a fight . . . hey hoped for a diversion and did not get one.

that said frakenFEINstein is a monstrous war profiteer . . .

man have we work to do!!!

ROOTS!!!!!!!!!!!

LeisureGuy!

I think this gets at what I was trying to say in the Crashing the Gate thread. These people are way beyond the point where subtle messages are of use. They need a severe asskicking.

For God’s sake Jefferson just refused to leave his comittee post. They are in the final stages of uselessitis.

If we want change clearing the decks is a darn good place to start (with as before a couple notable exceptions).

Jane Harman demonstrates that the only thing that will wake these people up is primary challenges.

Anyway, here’s the narrative for the 06 elections: The Republicans out-spend the Dems 4-1 in the elections. They unleash a firestorm of negative ads. The Dems cower and grovel and whimper that they really aren’t so bad. The disgusted voters say, A plague on all your houses, and stay home.

The day after the Dems fail to gain either house, Immanuel and Schumer ask for the head of Howard Dean.

Oh yeah, Brown fails to unseat Dewine, but polls show that Hackett would have walked it.

See everyone in 08.

If we aren’t under martial law by then.

Thank you Jane for this post. It’s sad to see really, and it just makes what you, Redd and the rest of this community are doing that more important.

I’m thankful the internet is around now to keep tabs on these idiots, and to encourage people to take action.

Serving notice with Lamont defeating Liberman will show people like DiFi that they really do have feet of clay, and with a collective whack of the progressive community, they will go down.

Yeah,I’m rather disappointed in Sen.Mikulski too,but rather than burning down the house how can we reassure them that its safe to stand up for whats right.Granted I’d prefer a safe be damned,right is right approach,but we are talking about polititions here,not evreyone can be Russ Feingold(we can wish,though).
I do hate working hard only to feel ’sold out’ buy our leaders.

Thanks Jane and absolutely it is about leadership… makes you wonder, really wonder what they are thinking. No phase 2, the FCC can’t investigate, Congress won’t investigate; I could understand it if there was transparency but there is none. He wears the uniform and followed orders from the CIC– never read the law according to his own testimony and trusted the administrations lawyers. He violated his oath to uphold the Constitution and does not even understand the 4th amendment. If ever there was a time for a filibuster, now is the time. The dems did a disgusting thing by giving him a pass.

Well, since there will be no other investigation of this issue because Specter has ( again) caved to the WH, where will further information about it come from which will satisfy the public that they are safe from prying eyes? To me, this was just like Alito in terms of the seriousness of the vote and the potential outcomes. Hayden at CIA just closes the door on further information and puts another “Yes Man” in Bush’s pocket. I have already written DiFi to express my outrage and to the no’s to say good for you.

I couldnt disagree more with you, Blackwatch. I strenuously object to the NSA program, to further infrigement of my rights with no pushback, and am disgusted with these Dems who are willing to give our constitution to the Bushies to be stomped on at will in the name of terror, terror, 9/11. There should have been a vote along party lines and it should have come with speeches. I am so disappointed in Jay Rockefeller and again, so happy Russ is there.

Like it or not, Presidents usually get the people they want to run various agencies. As long as the people aren’t just stupid incompetent it’s going to be that way. If you all want to complain then complain about george bush…..not the dems on the committee. bush picks these people, not the dems.

Apparently dems have made a strategic decision not to oppose Clusterfuck’s illegal spying prior to the elections.

I’m not sure if this is wise either politically or constitutionally- but they’re too far down that road to turn back now- so I hope it works out politically at least. We’ll see.

Leisureguy (7):

Scroll feature, learn it, love it, use it.

This post perfectly illustrates my often made point why WE. SHOULD. NOT. continue to support any democrat– no matter who the fuck they are– that betrays bedrock american principles.

It only enables and emboldens them to continue to bitch slap the rule of law… the constitution and us.

LeisureGuy says:
May 24th, 2006 at 1:14 pm

I brought this up the other day and had Fernald recommended to me. Beats voting for DinoFi.

And the opening comments are traditional. You don’t mess with tradtions, no matter how silly (think of “Groundhog Day”).

OT - Thinkprogress has a funny post up about Tom “hammer-time” DeLay’s use of a Colbert interview as a defense against his critics.

Apparently the people at DeLay’s legal fund think that Colbert is actually a conservative. Or maybe they’re just that desperate for supporters.

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/05/24/delay-colbert/

methinks we give fellow human beings far too much credit
there are what, 1% of us that care enough to be active, watchful…
the rest are complacent and hope everything goes away if it is bad, or
leads directly to them if it is good. simple, 5 year old values sums them up.
now we have been complacent long enough to see the government of mussolini and hitler become a role model for power in DC. we have no more rights, but few people know how much has been lost.
our congress is soiling themselves yet again to do what they are told by the fascists, can’t piss on themselves fast enough.

this possible conclusion awaits; since congress doesn’t care and won’t act on any accountability issue, they are a party to the crime, and can never be trusted. they are handing the knife to the butcher to remove their own testicles, and smiling thankfully as the deed is done. we will never have a chance with any of the ones that have voted with the criminals, because it shows they have no cojones at all, they were sacrificed long ago. as long as your neighbors are happy with this, it will continue.

so, we get what we deserve, and now we are lost. we can stand up daily and bemoan yet another freedom vanish, but as long as the sheep don’t care, it isn’t important enough for a poll. and if it isn’t in a poll, the elected could care less about you and yours. they are far to busy thinking about what is theirs, and how they can get just a little bit more

Problem is we’re liberal/progressive and they’re Centrist/Democrats and staying in the middle works dammit! Ask From and Witman and Begala, they never find the scruffy hippy deadheads at any of their get togethers, who wants to get blacklisted from this summers East Hampton lawn party list? Not Centrists.

Hey LeisureGuy there’s nothing wrong with content free, why look at all the empty suits that voted for Hayden.

Our Fitzing is like a cleansing breath.
It is not wasted space, but a sacred space.
Use the scroll.

OT– watching cnn and they announced that Blair/Bush are having a presser tomorrow eve. Lemmeseehere, John Howard, Olmert and Blair– his best buds circling the wagons with him? ah, the smell of desperation.

Blackwatch, that looks like something, I wrote when I started reading FDL in September.
This is about the separation of powers. “Separation of powers” is code for NOT A Monarchy.
Blackwatch, Judge Bork, the original “strict constructionist,” should be blasting away at the destruction of the 4th Amendment. Instead he’s on Wingnut welfare at the Hudson Institute with IRVING Libby. They are paying Bork not to talk, and he likes the money more than he likes the Constitution.
Please keep reading FDL. If Jane or Christy hold someone accountable, you can bet your last nickel, they deserve it. If Jane or Christy think they are wrong, or the person deserves a second chance, they are quick to post about it. See a post Jane post giving Michael “hechuva job Brownie” Brown another chance, after he started telling the truth.

Blackwatch at 5 -

I am close to agreeing with you, especially given this administration’s record on appointments. If they blocked him I can imagine Bush appointing someone a lot worse just out of spite. At least he has the respect of much of the intelligence community from what I can gather. However, I can’t really get over the fact that he seems to behind the NSA surveillance programs. If he can be persuaded to act in such legal circumventions (if not outright illegalites) at NSA, what about as head of the CIA. There is a lot of opportunity for serious international problems if he goes along with this administration in their legal interpretations.

I all ready emailed Levin, who is my senator, telling him how angry his vote made me and begging him to not “become a Joe Leiberman” on the Michigan citizens (moi included). This is the third vote he’s cast over the last year that just screamed “I am NOT a Democrat!”
I also asked him to please read the book delivered by “me and a couple thousand of my friends” yesterday.
I worked so hard in the 1960’s and 70’s - and here I am again.

angie 26 - that’s not desperation you smell, that’s the snoring cheney’s halitosis.

Ok, so how about we build momentum in California to send Dianne Feinstein a message? The primary is June 6th. She has two challengers, but the Dem party has officially endorsed her (how come? shouldn’t the party itself be neutral in its own primary??). But maybe the netroots can pick one of the challengers to get behind? If that challenger picks up (say) 10-20% of the vote, that’d be a strong message to Feinstein, wouldn’t it?

So how about it?

Here’s my little dose of FDL wierdness:

When I click on a link that’s embedded, read it, then come back via my “back” arrow (Firefox), I return, not to the place I was in the comments, but the place before my last refresh. Very strange.

Oh, let’s not get too picky and unreasonable and uncivil with the Democrats.

Remember…they are keeping their powder dry.

Maybe they’re saving that powder as a negotiating chip when the rapture comes.

In the meantime, I’ve unsubscribed from all their email lists, I send snotty letters back in all the self-addressed-stamped-envelopes they send me every week asking for money, I tell the phone callers that not only do they not get a freakin’ penny but that I want off their lists and when they whine I tell them you show me yours and THEN I’ll show you mine, I have attended my last fundraiser for any Democrat (unless Feingold appears in my god-forsaken part of the US), and not to put too fine a point on it, not only have I washed my hands of them, I’ve also washed them all right outta my hair.

Re: Cheney’s halitosis- I’ve seen thoughts that his smelly burps and bad breath are caused by fish oil he takes for his heart (unsubstantiated). (but very possible)

No news on Fitzy and the grand jury apparently– guess the frogmarch watch will be on again Friday. This is getting stressful Fitzy- DO SOMETHING!

well I sent my faxes to both the good senators and the bad senators yesterday

’tis a shame the incredible resource that is Cindy Sheehan isn’t being marshalled or utilized better (No I’m not flamin’ Cindy) I’d have positioned her to at least scare Feinstein with serious talk of a run - DiFi is flirting with Lieberman territory - disgusting !

TeddySF - worked for her campaign in 92, so difficult now to remember that candidate, and that incredible high to send two women to the Senate in one night - of course, it was the same night so many of us were pleased to have a new first lady with our values - sigh

It amazes me and I wonder why I even care anymore.

In 2006, if angry conservatives sit out the election, how would the GOP react? They would move so far to the right that they would make Bush look like Ghandi.

Now, say we on the left sat out in 2006 or another year? How would the democrats react?They would move so far to the right that they would make Bush look like Ghandi.

Screw these idiots, cowards, and simpering fools.

What is really scary is that Justice Stevens (dissent in B*sh v. Gore) is 86 years old, Ruth Ginsberg is in her 70’s battling cancer and I belive Steven Breyer is pushing 70 - I would hate to have DINO’s like DiFi give another free pass to a right wing nominee to exist for at least 30 years…(it is 95 degrees here in Phoenix and I have the chills at just that thought)

Hayden wasn’t only NSA director when it was condusting warrantless wiretapping, he was director from 1999 to 2005, when he became Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence. He was NSA director when the Cole was bombed. He was NSA director when 9/11 happened. He was NSA director when the US went into Afghanistan and Iraq. All that stuff happened on his watch.

I have mixed feelings about this — Hayden is certainly a bum to anyone who cares about that 4th Amendment thingy and the Constitution, that “Goddamn’d Piece of Paper!” as the Decider so fondly described it — but that said, Hayden may be the best hope for saving the CIA.

Both Joe Conason and Mark Shields said as much — and we need to remember, the CIA was the only spy agency that got it right on Iraq, and Vietnam for that matter. 80% of the CIA staff are analysts, not spies — but if a strong leader like Hayden is not appointed DCI, the Agency will be further damaged, and replaced by DoD spooks under Rumsfeld’s control.

Still, the DC Dems missed another chance to kick the bastards in the knees.

Oh, well — it’s not like we were using our civil liberties or anything . . .

What makes this special is two days ago I received an email from the DNC asking me to sign a petition against Hayden. Silly me, I thought the petition was aimed at Republicans who might want to take a stand to protect our civil liberties. Then Levin and Feinstien both representing safe seats vote with the people that want to abrogate the rule of law.
I can see only one way out, we need a new political party.

Yep, yer starting to get the picture….

Why are we in Iraq?

Why are we at the mercy of oil producing nations?

Why is abortion about to become illegal?

Why are the President and Abu Gonzales able to ignore the Constitution?

It ain’t because of the ReThugs homer. Nope, it’s because both party’s are in the clutch of the Corporate Slave State and they have been for many, many years.

But people are starting to ‘get it’. They now understand that the Democrats who have gone along with Bush & his criminal posse have to go. See my post, ‘Why we must move ahead.’, from three days ago if you want to see ‘great minds run together’

‘Gurney’ Joe Liebermann just will be just first to go down.

Please pray for Kobe. His stomach flipped (they think) and he is at the doctor’s now. I’m in Oklahoma and I can’t be with him and I feel so helpless.

hmmm, let me predict how Senator Obama will vote, wait, gotta think about it oh, 3 seconds, there! He’ll probably vote in favor, because its a foregone conclusion and all, and the Dems have to “keep the powder dry” for a real fight someday…

It would be great to be wrong on this, but he’s looking more like Joe-Bama all the time….

Oh Jane– super special thoughts yours and Kobe’s way– must be doubly awful being away from him. {{{{{*}}}}}

Whither Wither Democrats?

BTW - What happened to preview?

Oh no, Jane! Huge hugs from this side of the country. And lots of good thoughts for Kobe — poor pooch. I’m sure they will be able to set things right and he’ll be begging for pumpkin loaf in no time at all.

LeisureGuy, you are not the first person to mention that and I’m sure you won’t be the last. At the start of the next thread, someone will probably comment: “LeisureGuy” instead of Fitz.
I recognize all the commenters in 1 - 4. They all make quality comments here. I would invite you to consider apologizing to all four.
If you don’t like their comments, you could have just told them that. Instead you went the extra step and asked Jane Hamsher to delete their “chaff.”
I doubt you intended it, but do you figure Jane has nothing better to do than take orders from you about what stays and what goes?
If you want to contribute to FDL, via PayPal, I think that would be great.

imho, the key issue should be the evisceration of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights by this administration: in short, the imperial presidency. When these guarantees no longer hold, there is little left except for taking to the streets with whatever weapons are to hand, not necessarily of the lethal type. Maybe that is where we all should be, following he lead of Ms Sheehan.

Glenn Greenwald continues to focus on this major issue; thanks to all here who support and have supported him and his book.

And what is with the “loading” icon and timer and purplish (I am sure it has some fancy name) background on my post?

Did I miss the revolution?

I am beginning to like thees idea for a medium to longterm strategy of concentration on “safe” seats for las Democratistas where faux-centrist invertebradas can be rrreplaced weeth fighting progressives.

Then we begin to focus on the red states where conservative Dems can be replaced weeth real centrists Dems.

Push, push, push, never stop.

As the fantastic Digby says:

Things aren’t going to turn around overnight. But we are beginning to affect the way the media sees itself and we are putting political pressure on the party. This is how change is made. We’ll ride all their asses like Zorro until they get the message. We’re in for the long haul.

so.

EPU, it’s not automatic anymore, you have to select it, down next to the “Submit Comment” button.

Amen Jane. Great post!

Re: Hayden.
Has anyone read Joe Conason’s piece in Salon on him? I respect Conason and am confused.
Here’s what he says: “Don’t punish Hayden for Bush’s sins. It’s essential to rebuild a CIA devastated by partisan Bush hacks. Michael Hayden is qualified — and may be the last chance etc etc.”

And yes, the beltway DLC so-called Dems can suck my non-existant dirk and take their finger-in-the-wind, spineless, focus-group positioning, inauthentic selves out the door and off my phones and outta my email. Effing cowards! ‘cept for Feingold, maybe,(his vote greased the Ashcroft nom, remember) and I don’t know who else.

Jane,
of course some prayers coming Kobe’s way and some for Mom’s peace of mind and comfort as well

Sending good thoughts to a vet’s in Oregon….

OH Jane! I hope Kobe is okay. I’ll do my own version of prayer.

preview of comments is now optional which is good because the automatic preview was awfully pokey for folk using ancient, slow PCs. It was excrutiating for some users to type a comment because of the software overhead associated with automatic preview…

Hang in there, Kobe. And you, too, Jane.

OT –

Is there anybody here who understands how telephone connections work (meaning: how a phone call is connected)?

We just had a bizarro-world thing happen — a voice emanating from the answering machine (we let the machine take all calls) with what sounded like a snippet from the middle of a long sentence (a male voice speaking English — innocuous content, something like “OK, I’ll have to look into that.”).

This happened without a) the phone ringing first, and without b) the answering machine engaging first.

Finally the answering machine DID engage, interrupting the male voice — but without the phone having rung first, and it engaged at the very end of the outgoing message. What could be heard after the end of the outgoing message [”leave a message at the tone”] was just a dial tone.

I checked the caller ID function (by hitting *69) and the last call registered was a phone call received last night, not the “call” or whatever it was (the disembodied voice, creepy!) which had just happened.

I fully expect to hear jokes about me “hearing voices” — but I’m hoping someone here understands phone technology well enough to suggest what could have happened. I would’ve thought such an “event” would not be possible.

Thanks in advance for any techie’s response!

My understanding is that Hayden is Poindexter’s “boy” to defend the CIA against Rumsfeld.
If that’s accurate, Dems could have used it as an opportunity to attack against Rumsfeld.

Two things:

One, while I would have liked to see more Dem vtoes against Hayden in committee, given that a party line vote would still send the nomination to the floor, I would be interested to see whether those who voted for him in committee will vote against him on the floor.

Two - to Jane. My heart goes out to you on Kobe’s difficulties, and how hard it must be to be away from him now. I can’t remember what kind of dog he is, but I do know that what you have described is not uncommon in large dogs. What happened can be the result of heavy exercise followed by gulping of water or wolfing down of food. Sometimes they can manually flip it back, and I sure hope that’s the case with Kobe. Will have him, and you, in my thoughts and prayers.

You and Kobe are in our thoughts and prayers. Nothing worse than the helpless feeling of not being able to be there.
Best wishes.

Any thoughts or response on why my comment appears as awaiting moderation–not that I object to moderation? I am just a bit surprised, especially since my (rather few)comments iover the last several months have been very supportive of the work you do and folks who you have enlisted both as those psting and those commenting.

I comment from Greece as an expat American of almost 30 years.

As a resident of SF for 30 years, I’ve known Senator Feinstein a long time. While I urged her to vote against the confirmation of General Hayden, it is hardly a surprise that she was not prepared to take a stand. She was once aptly described as a “Democrat in Republican’s clothing”. Encouraging these people to develop a spine is going to be a real challenge.

When CA-Roots visited Senator Feinstein’s SF office, we specifically spoke about our willingness to back her up on positions she should take against this Administration. I said that “we were ready and able to defend her against swift-boating” if it came her way. The staffer clearly knew what we were talking about. Why not use the netroots for support on a vote like yesterdays?

She called Hayden an “honest broker” in the WaPo article today, which I simply cannot understand given her off-mike comment after questioning that “He didn’t answer any of my questions!” and one of them was about torture, which the Senate outlawed 90-9 and the Preznit signed. Hayden deferred his answers until closed session. WTF?

Oh, and also WTF, why did the SSCI vote in SECRET? Like we wouldn’t find out? Are their confirmation votes a national security issue?

Sorry, repeating my rant from last night, but WTF?

mark #41 - I wholeheartedly agree!

Sorry folks, the Dems have folded on nearly every issue (perhaps every issue) I’ve cared about since the last election, and I see no signs of change.

Saying it’s OK to have a soldier who breaks the law and lies about it head our department of civilian spying that has license to imprison people indefinitely, torture them and kill them is just a little over the top for me.

If their powder got any drier it would blow away in the first light breeze.

Whups, there it went.

It’s beginning to look like the party has developed a level of comfort with the status quo; said status quo being the destruction of practical democracy in favor of a formal presentation of democratic rituals.

Voting is not democracy, it is a tool of democracy. Making and enforcing law according to the best wisdom and will of the governed is democracy.

Amen, Jane

Thinking of rubber stamps, how about seeing if we could find a med school supplies wholesaler and send spines to all the Democrats in Congress?

Jane, I don’t do pray, but positive thoughts are with your pooch (and you) for the best possible outcome.

Leisure Guy, I agree with you 100% on the 1-4 thingy, but when I’m in the position to, I just go ahead and do it anyway. It makes me feel like such a puerile hypocrite, but how can I stop, Dear Abby?

EPU @ 50 - Just click on the “Refresh Comments” button, and the revolution will come around again. (And you can reload the revolution every fifteen seconds!) ;)

MrsK8 - I emailed your post to a friend of mine who should know the answer (West Pointer, former Verizon highlevel tech exec). I figure he’ll find it interesting and will, hopefully, provide an answer.

Jane #43 - Email me if they think this is torsion. Just went through it a week ago with our search dog.

I am a californian and am so ashamed of Feinstein. Can we please have a California Ned Lamont too? I just sent her a piece of my mind. Is she well connected enough to put me on a blacklist?

Wither [the] Democrats? On the vine.

Yikes, Jane!

[I went back to read the comments I missed and just caught yours about Kobe.]

Prayers go to Kobe! And to you! And to the vet caring for Kobe for all skill and wisdom!

Our pupster gets an operation for cancer next Tuesday, so I know the deep anguish of the heart over any threat to our beloved creatures.

Great comment Hereclitus, 68, I hope we can step often into your “river” of wisdom.

I guess the SECRET committee vote was a way for Chairman Roberts to say STFU to Feingold et.al.: no need for speeches here, just vote!

John C and Peterr - Thanks.

OK kiddo @75 - and all you get from it is a poor whine.

EPU -

give me back my Refresh Comments button !!!
I know it was Your Vastness and I want it back !

Jane, Christy, and Jamie (@ Intoxination - send him some hit love !) love the site improvements and additions

Dear EPU –

Oh thank you so much! I knew there would be someone in this wonderful community with either an idea or knowledge of someone who would know.

A big hug to you!

{{{{{{{{{***EPU***}}}}}}}}}

Taylor @ 1:18 pm (#13) - I think Schumer and Emmanuel may try that, but they will also have quite a bit of explaining to do, particularly if some of their hand-picked candidates lose. Many of the state Democratic parties will be supportive of Dean, because he’s been doing his best to help them. They don’t want to go back to the losing DC-centric approach the D[SC]CC represent.

Mrs K8:

What kind of phone do you have?

If it’s a wireless it might have been a freak occurence … a radio signal came through that woke up your phone, and the answering machine glommed onto the transmission.

It isn’t supposed to happen, but it can.

BC

It ain’t because of the ReThugs homer. Nope, it’s because both party’s are in the clutch of the Corporate Slave State and they have been for many, many years.

But people are starting to ‘get it’.

What was it 20 came to Clinton’s gathering where 200 were expected? Hmmm.

“I do recognize the danger of bashing Democrats in an election year..”.

Which is to say (as does the DLC) every other year. It’s OK to bitch and keep your fingers crossed one year, if you’ll shut your mouth and pony up your dough during the next, ad nauseum. Which is why Dianne is so radiant in that picture. She can vote for the Bushite bankruptcy legislation one session, AND remodel her new $16 million home in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights the next.

The “one seat at a time” crowd would do well to consider that perhaps the democratic party is a lost cause.

What really bothers me about this is the lost opportunity. Since the republicans have put an end to congressional oversight, the Democrats should be seizing any opportunity to probe the facts and make known their principled opposition to Bush’s lawlessness. It’s very disheartening, and it really makes me not want to vote at all because what’s the point?

Haralambos #65

The answer my friend, is blowin’ in the (ethernet) wind. It happens to more than a few of us lately. Server switch. I believe. It’s supposed to clear up any day now.

Jane Hamsher @ 1:37 pm (#44) - Hope he gets better soon.

Haralambos –

Not to worry! It happened to me (a long-time denizen of this site) just yesterday, happens to lots of folks here, and often we can’t figure out what triggers it.

The anti-troll software option seems to be sensitive to certain words or phrases, but your comment will be “moderated” soon, not to worry.

I look forward to hearing what you have to say! Your perspective as an expat will surely be interesting.

Bargain Countertenor –

Thanks for asking, I should have made it clear in the original post:

No wireless. Normal landline.

Haralambos at 65 — we’ve had to set our SPAM filters at a high level, due to a recent influx of spamming bots. Unfortunately, that also means that regular posts get caught up in the net on occasion due to lots of links or key word usage and so on. Usually, it’s just a matter of Jane or I (or someone else who may be helping out with monitoring on occasion) going in to manually approve the comment. It generally has nothing at all to do with content or the person posting the comment (unless of course, they habitually trip things up by trying to spam or something…). HTH!

Late thank you for Christy - that makes sense on the word conversion. I thought maybe while I had been a little missing in action that a new code had started. *g*

What happened to all that “we can’t have a military man running a civilian agency!!” outrage??

Guess that’s being saved for a rainy day too? Like, the day that Abu Gonzales moves into a cushy private sector job and Bush nominates Tommy Franks as his replacement?

cbl - I didn’t do it, no one saw me do it, there’s no way you can prove anything!

Maybe the Jefferson arrest has put the fear of God in them. That WAS a sting operation. Maybe that’s what happens when you are righteous and corrupt at the same time. The truly corrupt seem to get away with it.

DiFi has plenty of spine. She wants Hayden in there and will stand against her constituents to make sure he gets the job.

zennurse from #31 - re FDL weirdness. Are you aware of the Tab feature in Firefox?

And when this bunch of spineless wimps gets a majority, what makes you think they will suddenly find their spines? They will still be terrified of Rove after he is in jail. Better start thinking about how to take over the party soon.

Re: Dems holding a hearing about the possibility of war with Iran:

How can we get the word out to the media that, THIS time, if/when the “president” takes us in to an unnecessary war to protect his political a$$, you MUST NOT GIVE HIM A FREE PASS with the old “We’re a nation at WAR” and therefore must never, ever critique the president!!

My heart just cannot take another round of that cr*p. Honestly!

EPU @ 93 –

And there was nothing wrong with what you did, even though you didn’t do it!

Deep, sincere, atheistic wishes aimed straight at the poodle from NYC.

Jane and Kobe, you’re covered in The OC.

Two items from the last thread:

1. LHP, if you’re still here, send up a flare. I have a suggestion or two re: anti-swiftboating.

2. Would nonverbal recognition of a fellow FDLer be called ReddDar?

(sticks tounge out at punaise, then runs away)

LeisureGuy says:
May 24th, 2006 at 1:14 pm

I live in California and I’m desperate for a Democratic candidate to run against Dianne Feinstein. I would vote against her if the opposition was at all reasonable. She’s a total sell-out and wimp.
———————————————–
Her Republican opponent is the worst of the worst - DICK Mountjoy, emphasis on dick. DiFi on her worst ever day is 100,000 better than him.

He lives in my city, was our state senator and I know him socially. I like people, can usually find something in their better nature, but I’ll be darned if I can with him. “Abortion, Gays, Crack Cocaine - Liberals, Doncha just love ‘em?” is the bumper sticker on the back of his car.

Find out about him so you don’t make a big mistake.

And leisure guy #7? You are cranky. And I don’t like the way you angled that chair in your living room, change it will you?

Jane, you want prayers? You got it. 24/7.

Thanks, Mrs K at 91. As I said, I don’t object to moderation and can understand it, having overseen the set up of several blogs for myself and my students and encouraged them to become active in this new sphere. It is good to hear a virtual personal response in this virtual impersonal zone.

“OT%u2013 watching cnn and they announced that Blair/Bush are having a presser tomorrow eve. Lemmeseehere, John Howard, Olmert and Blair%u2013 his best buds circling the wagons with him? ah, the smell of desperation. “

No… It’s a strategy meeting on how to nuke Iran without getting called on it.

I would so love to see the ‘loyal opposition’ stand up and actually oppose the administration. What are they waiting for??

As an example per my last small comment, thees invertebrada Jane Harman ees facing a primary challenge form Marcy Winograd een California, a safe blue seat.

Harman has relinquished her responsibilities on more than one occasion. I do no know much about Winograd, but I theenk thees ees definitely one seat where netrrots pressure ees appropriate.

so.

I felt the same way until I read Conason (definately no spinless wimp) on Salon. It’s behind a wall but you can get through
for the day by playing a 30 second ad.

Jane,

The Dems have to keep their powder dry in order to use it for the circular firing squad. Remember, the early Christians’ wrath was directly almost exclusively toward other Christian sects, not the Romans who were slaughtering them all indiscriminately.

Are you talking about the unintelligence committee? Democrats need a leader to unify party.

That spinless was unfortunate. Of coures I meant spineless.

OT– just caught the tail end of Georgie Porgie Allen lying his butt off on Tweety wrt charges of racism. Will catch it again at the 7pm showing.

Oh Jane! Poor Kobe - that is very serious. If he is at the vet’s, though, you are way ahead on the curve.

Thanks, Christie at 93 replying to me at 65–sorry if this chatter is jamming things up. You folks are why I am here every day. Virtual democracy seems to be within reach but threatened–the next step is something approaching real participatory democracy–go netroots. Thanks