Fitz!

Leahy! Yes I am volunteering, Ms. Christy.

YES!

Ray Charles!

we’ve got to get the congress back. i know people are mad at the weak knee’d Dems. but we need the chairmanships of those committees. we can whip the wimpie ones into shape when we take the power back. don’t lose heart now. push past the despair.

If you’re listening to 60s Aretha, you’re having an Atlantic Records morning. Now you’re going to have Jerry Wexler on your ass!

Yes, I am volunteering, A LOT, and it is indirectly because of this community. Honestly, I can’t tell you how good it feels! Not only am I working my butt off to elect a true progressive values-oriented woman and to rid us of a Rubber Stamper, but it is a wonderful outlet for all those political toxins that have built up over the last 5 years.

Rove wants us demoralized, don’t bite!

Peterr @ 4

Ray Charles!

I miss that man. And Louis Armstrong, too.

Peter Lee @ 6

If you’re listening to 60s Aretha, you’re having an Atlantic Records morning. Now you’re going to have Jerry Wexler on your ass!

Can you get a draft deferral for that?

Peter Lee — hehehehe — I had trouble finding a good YouTube for this post. I’ve got the Supremes, a Motown compendium and Aretha on mixed play at the moment n– I should have been more specific about it being an Atlantic/Motown mix. You’re right — I will have the Atlantic folks on my ass (and Howie teasing me later if I don’t amend above!).

EPU’d

OK everyone, there’s an easy button on the top of the page that says Blue America. Scroll up, click, find good candidates you want to support, give, then feel better.

Then, those who can, get out on the streets tomorrow to support your dem candidates. If they want a fight, we’ll give them one.

WE WILL NOT COWER

WE WILL NOT GIVE UP

WE WILL SHOW THEM!

WE WILL WIN.

now I gotta go look for a new microwave. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping—but not until they’ve given $$ to good dem candidates. My list today, Ned Lamont, Coleen Rowley, Joe Sestak, Victoria Wulsin.

Louis always makes me feel better. Same with Stevie Wonder!

“Freedoooooooom!!
Whoa-oh, freeeeedom
Give me some FREE-dooom,
Whoa-oh, FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOM!!”
(Aretha)

The buzz on the news today isn’t the Senate legislation. It’s Jack Straw’s scathing remarks about the Bush Administration’s handling of the war.

I think it’s significant that Bobby Kneepads has broken ranks with BushCo on the war. This could be a major development.

RevDeb at 11 — Kerry sent around an e-mail to his list this morning echoing that, with a call for donations to Tester, Webb, Cardin and Whitehouse — all Senate seats which are within serious possibility for Democrats winning. He must be paying more attention to the Roots visits from all of the MA group! :)

“Jack Straw says Iraq situation is Dire” via CNN.

OfT:
The Sons of Confederate Veterans are demanding an apology from Felix Macaca. Methinks the Senator may be coming undone.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01835.html

some days the only thing that keeps my head from exploding reading all the insanity pouring out of washington is the knowledge that henry waxman is my congressman. every time i see him calling for some sort of accountability from bush administration it lowers my blood pressure just out of the danger zone. but oh how i would love to see him with subpoena power to really start kicking some ass.

e.c. at 17 — click through that Jack Abramoff link above — Waxman has done an exceptional job of documentation.

There’s amazingly little buzz about yesterday’s shredding of the Constitution. What the pols did doesn’t surprise me in the least, but that the people as a whole don’t even seem to care… Makes me incredible wary of how close we are to the precipice.

This election is HUGE, tantamount to saving us from going over that cliff. Whoever listed the steps to be taken is right on: 1.) elect the D’s, throw the R’s out, 2.) fix the D party with good progressive candidates, 3.) begin to undo the incredible damage to this country. Or something like that.

TRex @ 13

“Freedoooooooom!!
Whoa-oh, freeeeedom
Give me some FREE-dooom,
Whoa-oh, FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDOOOOOOM!!”
(Aretha)

The buzz on the news today isn’t the Senate legislation. It’s Jack Straw’s scathing remarks about the Bush Administration’s handling of the war.

I think it’s significant that Bobby Kneepads has broken ranks with BushCo on the war. This could be a major development.

I agree – the Sunday morning shows will have a little bit on Bush getting his way with gutting the Magna Carta, but Bobby’s little book will have the tongues wagging.

“I listen to the commanders when it comes to troop levels,” . . . except when he doesn’t.

“There’s no infighting in my administration between Powell and Rumsfeld,” . . . except when there is.

“No one could have anticipated . . .” is a phrase we’re going to be hearing a lot in the coming days. I’d like to end it in November with “. . . a Democratic Senate.”

Volunteering for Webb; $,$,$ and time and LTE’s

Boosh’s song for the day: Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..mp;search=

So are we going to start… seeing leaflets?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..29734.html

…being offered bounties to turn each other in?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..00390.html

From Salon’s War Room:

The committee report says Abramoff’s team had at least six direct contacts with Mehlman, including an instance in 2001 in which Abramoff offered him a pair of tickets for a U2 concert. But when it comes to White House officials with Abramoff connections, Rove was plainly the biggest of the fish. Rove has dismissed Abramoff as nothing more than a “casual acquaintance,” but the committee identified 82 contacts between Abramoff’s team and Rove’s office. In one e-mail exchange, Abramoff told Rove’s secretary that he’d just talked with Rove about hooking him up with tickets to watch the NCAA basketball tournament from his skybox at the MCI Center. Abramoff worked out the details with Rove’s secretary — the same secretary who on at least one occasion informed Abramoff that the White House had come around to his way of thinking on a political issue.

Uh-huh.

Get me the fainting couch. I’m SHOCKED that someone would presume to bribe the White House directly! SHOCKED!!

TRex at 22 — you mean, Rove’s secretary, Susan Ralston who was hand-picked for the job by Grover Norquist and Jack Abramoff? Get out! (hahahahahaha)

Motown morning recommendation:

When I got an ipod, one of the first things I did was record Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On lp start to finish as one track. The reason to make that track is so you have to deal with something emotionally difficult… It’s like playing chicken – asking yourself “do you honestly think you can hit fast forward on this and live with yourself? No. You can’t just skip it. You have to go through it. Deal with it, kid.”

Last friday, on the way home from work, walking through Union Square in NYC, BAM! No escape. The next 45 minutes (all the way back to brooklyn on the train) — meditation. On our nation. On my brother in the Army (”send that boy off/to die”), on “Hang ups, let downs
Bad breaks, set backs.”

So necessary to remember that this isn’t the first time our country has failed, and it may not be the last.

Tough day, Firepups. Chin up. Fight the good fight.

TRex @ 22

From Salon’s War Room:

The committee report says Abramoff’s team had at least six direct contacts with Mehlman, including an instance in 2001 in which Abramoff offered him a pair of tickets for a U2 concert. But when it comes to White House officials with Abramoff connections, Rove was plainly the biggest of the fish. Rove has dismissed Abramoff as nothing more than a “casual acquaintance,” but the committee identified 82 contacts between Abramoff’s team and Rove’s office. In one e-mail exchange, Abramoff told Rove’s secretary that he’d just talked with Rove about hooking him up with tickets to watch the NCAA basketball tournament from his skybox at the MCI Center. Abramoff worked out the details with Rove’s secretary — the same secretary who on at least one occasion informed Abramoff that the White House had come around to his way of thinking on a political issue.

Uh-huh.

Get me the fainting couch. I’m SHOCKED that someone would presume to bribe the White House directly! SHOCKED!!

This could get fun.

Is John Dean around? After his reminiscences about Rumself (!) in the Book Salon threads, I’ve got a followup for him:

What do you think of Henry Kissinger’s return to the White House, to give advice to Bush on the Iraq war? Any other old memories of Henry and Don that seem more than a little appropriate today?

so now the government report shows that the white house wasn’t just in bed with jack abramoff but that they were naked under the sheets, the nie says that iraq is making terrorism worse and bob woodward’s new book says that, well bush is a lying idiot blah blah blah. what more is it going to take before the rupublican base starts to get a clue. or are they really just that brainwashed by the bush cult of personality?

Well, both of my Democratic senators from NJ voted for the torture bill. My chat with their staffers was posted on Shakespeare’s Sister.

Any ideas? The primary has already come and gone.

Puting Dems in office is only step one.
Once we do that, we continue to hold their feet to the fire when they can no longer whine that ‘they can’t do anything because Repubs wont let them”.
If we kick out repubs our work is far from over.
Kicking some backbone into the weenies we elect will be the next step.

Charlie Bass voted for torture. Go Hodes!

George Allen voted for torture. Go Webb!

George Allen’s self imploding campaign is surreal to follow.

many more allegations of his racism coming to light daily despite the lame attempts by his loyalists to try to tamp them down.

Yesterday Senator Macaca co-sponsored a bill in the Senate to provide relief to black farmers after years of ignoring the issue. (sounds a little reminiscent of his quite transparently CYA anti lynching legislation after being caught with a noose and a Confederate flag in his office,eh?) Now that he has denounced his love of the Confederate flag, a group assoc with same has publically come out against him.

And with all that, Senator McCacain has made a commercial for the sorry racist. This rethuglican loyalty sure runs deep, even thru this stench. blech. But despite the foul stench emanating from Felix, he has a huge war chest and no end to the dirty tricks and endless lying, so the race is still close. It is vital to kick this scum out of the Senate and ruin his Presidential aspirations forever. He is not fit to hold office.

In GOP Senator George Allen’s latest ad, John McCain delivers what may be the ultimate endorsement: He says that Allen will save the world from evil. Against a split screen showing a female purple-fingered Iraqi next to a finger-wagging Osama, McCain claims he has the “utmost confidence and belief that in this terrible, titanic struggle that’s going on now between good and evil in the world that we will amd must prevail. And one of the reasons why we will prevail is because of George Allen’s leadership, vision, courage and his ability to stand up for what he believes in.”

ad at linky
http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/el….._mccain_ad

It crossed my mind again last night wondering what spun off of Fitz’s interface with Ralston last year. Was she already getting some gentle pressure from the backside by DoJ for her role in Abramoff dealings? Could Fitz have seen back then what was down the pike for Rove that would provide a more direct path to serving Rove with a heavy dose of justice? Why indict in the CIA leak if you’ve got a boatload of evidence and cooperation from a convicted Abramoff that obliterates Rove.

IANAL, just wondering.

Christy — WOW. You weren’t kidding about Waxman and team doing a great job.

Awesome. LOVE that website.

And now it’s archived FOREVER on the toobz, so many of the sordid details of Abramoff, the RNC and White House all laid out in PDF’s.

Heh.

Ralston must have sung like a nightingale. She’s up to her neck.

No wonder they’ve buried her in the bowls of the bureaucracy.

God forbid she’s been disappeared…

Peterr @ 26

Is John Dean around? After his reminiscences about Rumself (!) in the Book Salon threads, I’ve got a followup for him:

What do you think of Henry Kissinger’s return to the White House, to give advice to Bush on the Iraq war? Any other old memories of Henry and Don that seem more than a little appropriate today?

Whenever Rumsfeld’s name comes up in connection with Iraq (and that’s such an unusual event), I like to take this little stroll down Memory Lane.

“No one could have anticipated . . .” is a phrase we’re going to be hearing a lot in the coming days. I’d like to end it in November with “. . . a Democratic Senate.”

And….. “I haven’t read it yet”
Does not matter that these yokels are driving the bus over the cliff but that is ok that they do not read a NIE that was released in April or ANY thing else….. Maybe I need to send them “Hooked on Phonics” CD set just to make sure they CAN read?

Have you ever seen so many people who have NOT read things…. What do they do all day? What is their job if not to read NIE’s or PDB’s or intelligence reports?

katymine @ 34

Have you ever seen so many people who have NOT read things…. What do they do all day? What is their job if not to read NIE’s or PDB’s or intelligence reports?

Cut ‘em some slack. They’re “creating reality.” It’s hardly their fault that a reasonably well-informed nine-year-old could create a better one.

rat bastahd @ 19

There’s amazingly little buzz about yesterday’s shredding of the Constitution. What the pols did doesn’t surprise me in the least, but that the people as a whole don’t even seem to care… Makes me incredible wary of how close we are to the precipice.

This election is HUGE, tantamount to saving us from going over that cliff. Whoever listed the steps to be taken is right on: 1.) elect the D’s, throw the R’s out, 2.) fix the D party with good progressive candidates, 3.) begin to undo the incredible damage to this country. Or something like that.

I think a number of Republicans held their noses and voted for this thing – hoping it will be struck down quickly. I think that’s why there isn’t a lot of crowing today. Only the most venal of the bunch – i.e. Bush and some other nitwits – are acutally proud of this abomination. Has McCain had a word to say since last week?

——————

“And even some Republicans who said voted for the bill said they expected the Supreme Court to strike down the legislation because of the habeas corpus provision, ultimately sending the legislation right back to Congress.

“We should have done it right, because we’re going to have to do it again,” said Senator Gordon Smith, a Republican from Oregon, who had voted to strike the habeas corpus provision, yet supported the bill.”

katymine @ 34

don’t forget the copy of ‘My Pet Goat’ to read as they work their way through ‘Hooked on Phonics’!

As for what they do all day – God knows (but she isn’t telling us). I think they spend a lot of time either in meetings or picking nits from each other’s pelt.

Adie from belowthread – be sure to pass along my, “heckuva job Brownie” to Sherrod’s campaign, although I already called it in.

Got a bubbly intern who thanked me for telling him that his protorture boss has no business serving in Congress, much less the United States Senate.

Everyone has to do what they have to do. I am deadset behind certain Dems, like Leahy. I am going for the throat of Republicans, like Hostettler here in the Bloody 8th, that supported torture.

I am ALSO going for the throat of Democrats, like Brown, who supported torture.

I’ve seen the explosive eruptions here and elsewhere when Bush does one awful thing after another and his numbers don’t budge and people ask, “what would it take to make a kool aid drinker turn their backs on Bush- having him sacrifice a baby on stage during Dancing with the Stars?”

Now you know. You look and see what you are willing to tolerate to win, and you have found your common ground.

How do you believe that the exact same triangulation won’t happen immediately upon election, with 2008 squarely in the sites of the torturers. Because remember, they are the torturers. Torture stopped, they gave the order to start it again.

Already, no one wants to talk about torture, because it is now a liability issue for the campaigns. So the win is total. It means that the people and the press go mute on the topic, because the Republicans never wanted it discussed and now the Democrats have to admit to either voting for it; or deliberately and knowingly failing to mount any campaign against it in the weeks precedeing the vote.

We have real, solid, horrible and complex issues facing the country. Where do you find leadership to address those issues with Harry Reid sitting back and thinking that maybe McCain and Bush will wear each other down over torture and Reid just won’t have to deal with it? Where do you find insight, foresight, or even hindsight there?

I believe the last election was huge. The next election will be huge. That’s an excuse.

YOu are either about the issues or about the party. Everywhere I looked before the vote – Dems were already being given the pass, “pre-immunity” for voting in favor of torture, because it was already decided going in that it was an acceptable trade off for winning.

That’s really what you are saying. Re-starting the stopped torture isn’t a problem if it means winning. Karl Rove is not the Hilary Clinton whipping boy to take the lashes earned by the people who not only cast the votes, but those who refused to tackle this issue in good faith prior to the vote.

There are some wonderful Democratic leaders who were there, and I have sent them tears, prayers and I will send them my support. But I can not understand making excuses for someone pushing the restart button on torture, because “just this time” or because “THIS election is so important” or because “we think they’ll be better when they are in office and don’t even have to worry about our votes.”

Torture hasn’t fallen off of page one as an issue for me, just because it is now an inconvenient truth issue for Dems who can never credibly hold anyone accountable when they have opted for complicity and prior to complicity, silent assent. It should be and remain the most “uncomfortable” of all issues for every politician who endorsed, and every politician who failed (Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi) to organize a response and a voice and preferred to sit back and see what the Republicans would do.

What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? (Matt.16:26)

dab from CT @ 36

>”And even some Republicans who said voted for the bill said they expected the Supreme Court to strike down the legislation because of the habeas corpus provision, ultimately sending the legislation right back to Congress.

“We should have done it right, because we’re going to have to do it again,” said Senator Gordon Smith, a Republican from Oregon, who had voted to strike the habeas corpus provision, yet supported the bill.”

You had your chance, didn’t you, Gordie?

It took 30 years of inattention and a right wing propaganda effort of unimaginable proportions to get here.

How long do we have to get out of here? Global warming trends needed to be reversed 15-20 years ago. Religious wars need to be stopped NOW. AIDS is killing off all of Africa and has started in on Asia. Who knows if H5N1 is going to moot all of this? North Korea has nukes. Oil production has peaked. All of these things are path dependent, IOW, they are shit that has happened. No going back. Only repair as far as we are able.

There’s a lot that needs to be done immediately to make survival of humanity possible. And the US is running as fast as possible in the wrong direction on all of them.

This is not parlor games. This is about survival. FDL is more than informative, it’s one of the few insitutions that can stop the madness.

Talk about a thin line. Way to go, girls!!!

EvilDrPuma @ 35

katymine @ 34

Have you ever seen so many people who have NOT read things…. What do they do all day? What is their job if not to read NIE’s or PDB’s or intelligence reports?

Cut ‘em some slack. They’re “creating reality.” It’s hardly their fault that a reasonably well-informed nine-year-old could create a better one.

Yesterday, as I was watching one of the votes in the the unfolding trainwreck on C-SPAN2, The Kid (just days away from his fifth birthday) asked who was calling all the names, and why. I explained about taking a vote, and then he started echoing the clerk of the Senate as each name was called. When it came to “Mrs. Feinstein,” he said “Mrs. Feinstein! – Hey, she’s our senator.”

He’s gonna be something when he gets to be nine. For that matter, in my humble and completely unbiased opinion, he already is.

And watch out for the littleprop, spreading that politically subversive cool music around. (Thanks for that story on the last thread, lhp!)

“Teach your parents well . . . and feed them on your dreams . . .”

Thanks again Mary. We definitely know where you stand. I respect your passion.

“What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? (Matt.16:26)”

That’s right.

Peterr @ 41

EvilDrPuma @ 35

katymine @ 34

Have you ever seen so many people who have NOT read things…. What do they do all day? What is their job if not to read NIE’s or PDB’s or intelligence reports?

Cut ‘em some slack. They’re “creating reality.” It’s hardly their fault that a reasonably well-informed nine-year-old could create a better one.

Yesterday, as I was watching one of the votes in the the unfolding trainwreck on C-SPAN2, The Kid (just days away from his fifth birthday) asked who was calling all the names, and why. I explained about taking a vote, and then he started echoing the clerk of the Senate as each name was called. When it came to “Mrs. Feinstein,” he said “Mrs. Feinstein! – Hey, she’s our senator.”

He’s gonna be something when he gets to be nine. For that matter, in my humble and completely unbiased opinion, he already is.

And watch out for the littleprop, spreading that politically subversive cool music around. (Thanks for that story on the last thread, lhp!)

“Teach your parents well . . . and feed them on your dreams . . .”

I’ve learned from experience to never underestimate the power of a smart child. I have a five-year-old niece who is an absolute firecracker, but I worry because she’s in Texas and my brother is not the most politically conscientious person in the world. Still, one can hope that she’s too smart for the Kool-Aid.

EvilDrPuma @
8

Peterr @ 4

Ray Charles!

I miss that man. And Louis Armstrong, too.

Two of the brightest stars in the firmament.

Just banged out another half-dozen customized versions of “Had Enough.” Every one we’ve done is either 30 or 60 seconds, and we have an hour’s worth.

Why volunteer for one candidate when you can volunteer for all? :)

AGH!!!!! As if I wasn’t already torqued off, blood pressure off the map!!!!

From the first set of emails in the Waxman folders (cripes, I haven’t even made it past page 5):

From: abramoff To: Susan Ralston Wed Jan 30 19:57:03 2002
…The guy they were pushing now [redacted] is not suited for this at all. Plus, they claim that Barbara Ledeen and Grover are pushing for him…

Great. Yet another Ledeen with their fingers in the pies. That makes Daddy, Mommy and Baby Ledeen all pulling the strings on our democracy.

From: Solomons, Mark / Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2002 6:48 pm / To: Abramoff,Jack
Jack, Thanks for offering to support [redacted] (my wife) candidacy for Homeland Security CFO. She feels that any intervention is not timely at this point. She was not looking for an administration job but was asked to consider this by the White House. She was a PAS in both the second Regan Administration and the first Bush Admin. and is a great patriotic Republican…

Nice. Very nice. Just what I wanted, a patriotic Republican with an ass-kissing pimp of a husband on my payroll instead of a highly-qualified candidate who’d protect my country and its resources.

Whores and pimps, every single one of them. That’s what you get when you vote Republican.

Current CNN.com poll:
Do you believe President Bush has been frank with the nation about the situation in Iraq?
(Yes/No)

It hasn’t been up long enough to have results. One guess which way I voted.

Hey, here are some questions for the lawyers and other concerned and informaed citizens out there:

How many of the representatives and senators who voted for the torture are lawyers?

Where did they go to school?

How does their vote reflect on their education?

dab from CT @ 42

Thanks again Mary. We definitely know where you stand. I respect your passion.

If, respectfully, I might say, for me anyway, it’s not only the ‘passion’. It’s the ideals too.

Link to CNN poll? – I can never find them when I go to the web site.

Dru @ 21– OMG!!! — what awful, terrible and impossible timing on that wapo article. I cannot believe it! Would it have changed the vote? Probably not (for shame) but it confirms what a lot of us here knew. ;(

The huffpo article I had read and it, too, is shameful, shameful, shameful. ;(

Grievous sins and crimes against humanity are being committed in our name!

SpaceCowboy @
28

Well, both of my Democratic senators from NJ voted for the torture bill. My chat with their staffers was posted on Shakespeare’s Sister.

Any ideas? The primary has already come and gone.

yes. shame them, repeatedly. That’s what my family, NJ democrats, are doing today. Menendez is sitting in the catbird seat, and has to be voted despite his disgusting vote.
Lautenberg has no excuse, and my family is hammering him today. We are drafting a letter, signed by the entire family, telling him he’s a disgrace to the state and to the country. that his vote on torture trumped every other good thing he’s ever done and that we will never help him again in any way.

We’re considering including a SASE, because I KNOW my dad expects a response. He’s a member of the Atlantic County Democrats and has held fundraisers etc for the likes of Lautenberg.

Not anymore.

Oklahoma kiddo @ 49

dab from CT @ 42

Thanks again Mary. We definitely know where you stand. I respect your passion.

If, respectfully, I might say, for me anyway, it’s not only the ‘passion’. It’s the ideals too.

I agree. Mary is our conscience.

But in terms of passion – I’d rather have Mary on my side than the other side.

Oooooh, Froomkin has a good one today. *g*

Heh. This is going to be a blast. There is SO much ammo in the Abramoff investigation emails.

This might be the thing they were trying to fend off and misdirect with the showboating yesterday.

What I really enjoy is the redaction; names and emails stripped out of headers, but stuff like Best regards, Chuck remains in the body of an email regarding “Chuck’s” possible role at EXIM Bank. Like we can’t figure that out.

Jeebus, I’m only on page 7.

clem @ 48

Hey, here are some questions for the lawyers and other concerned and informaed citizens out there:

How many of the representatives and senators who voted for the torture are lawyers?

Where did they go to school?

How does their vote reflect on their education?

Oh, that’s good. Some letters to the various alumni publications might stir up some interesting reactions. “I was distressed to see that Sen ABC (class of ‘xx) voted to support the shredding of the Magna Carta. Why, I remember sitting in Prof. so-and-so’s great course, and marvelling at the wisdom of the document – and now a classmate has helped the US to disavow it!”

Letters to the current deans/presidents/chancellors might get some interesting reactions, too . . . “Is this what you’re teaching these days? Perhaps my alumni donations ought to go elsewhere.”

Look at their undergraduate degrees too – especially if they went to a religious institution.

Look at where they gave commencement speeches last May and June – any of those school disapppointed now, given the votes yesterday?

Schools love famous alums and famous speakers, until they stand up and do something the school is completely opposed to.

Pressure, pressure, pressure . . .

“Just banged out another half-dozen customized versions of “Had Enough.” Every one we’ve done is either 30 or 60 seconds, and we have an hour’s worth.

Why volunteer for one candidate when you can volunteer for all? :)”

tommy yum, words can’t describe efforts like yours!!! One of those was for us, I believe. Can’t wait to run it!

Space cowboyy:

theatrics like the Lieberman Kiss Float work well too. Show up at Lautenberg events dressed like a detainee, with wires hanging from your clothes.
Write letters to the editor in his hometown paper decrying how someone who fougt in world war 2 could countenance blatantly nazi tactics.

Things like that. never let the issue drop either.
Menendez has a world of hurt coming at him when he runs for re-election, if he even wins, the corrupt little bastard.

Mary @ 38 — amen!

I posted on an earlier thread, this morning I called Sherrod Brown’s office (not to be confused with the excellent Charlie Brown!) — 1-800-587-4180 — to ask for my fifty dollars back. The cheerful intern who answered said someone would get back to me. We’ll see.

But I can see myself morphing into that paperboy hunting down John Cusack in that movie for his two dollars. Not that there is anything humerous in this.

I understand the desire to pretend it isn’t so and keep supporting torture pols because they at least aren’t Republicans. But I can’t do that. I don’t mean that in a smug, I’m-so-pure kind of way, because I’m not. It’s just that I feel physically sick thinking even one of my dollars — which represent my spiritual energy on this matter — could be in the coffers of a person who voted for torture.

I’m not ignoring habeus corpus — that would have been enough to put me over the edge. Oh, gah! Are we having this conversation???????

Anyway, Mary — and god, Christie too — I think my brain would stop functioning if I couldn’t come here and read your outrage. You both say it so much better than I do, but I say: Thank you for speaking out. Thank you for being here. Thank you for letting us know we are not alone, we are not crazy.

Yes — I got home last night, and started making donations. I am volunteering. They did this to keep themselves out of jail and motivate their base. They are also motivating ours!

I’m spending the weekend in Republican-land (town I grew up). I have found lately that the thoughtful ones are disgusted. I’ll remind the rest that they’re supporting torture.

dab from CT @ 50

Link to CNN poll? – I can never find them when I go to the web site.

dab, lower right-hand corner of the main page.

I hope we win in November. 2008 is even more important–these current abuses are at their heart a war powers issue. Thus, all we need to do is the stop that heart. But nothing will happen before 2008 under Reid and Pelosi.

So, I don’t want a knight in shining armor now or in 2008. I want a ruthless political infighter with a grudge against these thugs in power, who can smile in their faces and then knife them in the back. Sounds like a Clinton to me.

If our greatest fears are realized (as has been the suprising trend of late) and we are desending into facsism, then it is truly our test, and we will fight back. Our country needs us.

Politics is what it is. Perhaps like in poker, you should never show your hand for free.

dab from CT @ 50

They stash it in the bottom right corner of the front page.

Do you believe President Bush has been frank with the nation about the situation in Iraq?
Yes 20% 426 votes
No 80% 1686 votes
Total: 2112 votes

How are you feeling this morning, Shrub?

Just to let you know how depressing (or funny, or both, depending on how you look at it) following is a link to the front page story in my daily paper about the Democrat running for State Senate in my district. I’ve pulled out a few special quotes to give you the flavor. Gosh, don’t you wish he were running in YOUR district? I’m so proud to be a Democrat today…

http://new.savannahnow.com/node/146517

As of Wednesday, Traylor also was still registered to vote in South Carolina, where he still has an office and a family home and has long done business.

Traylor, who said Wednesday that he also has a house in Cape Town, South Africa, insisted Thursday that he still lives at 139 Nilsson Drive.

“It’s been the family home forever,” he said.

“He’s a pain in the ass,” he said concerning Johnson. (his opponent)

But Traylor refused to say when he last stayed there.

“I stay where I want to,” he said shortly before hanging up on a reporter. “I have a girlfriend. I’m not married. I don’t have to go home and clock in like Eric.”

Gack — Rita Cosby is on MSNBC! Shouldn’t she come with a warning announcment?

NV Congressman Jon Porter re-election campaign banner I just contributed.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 64

Gack — Rita Cosby is on MSNBC! Shouldn’t she come with a warning announcment?

She looks like one of those life-size blowup dolls.

BobbyG at 66 — I’m not even going to ask you how on earth you would know that… *G*

I made a mistake yesterday and I wanted to comment on it. I had thought that the Military Commissions bill even after it had passed could still be stopped because it was a part of a larger piece of legislation HR 6061 The Secure Fence Act. The problem was that I had missed something crucial. I wanted to reconstruct the legislative as best I can and admitting in advance that there may be some mistakes and holes in it.

This history begins on Friday September 22, 2006 when Senator McConnell introduced two bills S 3929 and S 3930 on Military Commissions with two slightly different titles. Beyond the title difference I do not know if there were any substantial differences between them.

Over the weekend of September 23-24, I’m guessing the text of the Warner, McCain, Graham “compromise” was hammered out.

On Monday September 25, Frist put this compromise language into an amendment SA 5036 and attached it to HR 6061 The Secure Fence Act. He also submitted notifications for cloture votes on both which would then have occurred two days later on Wednesday. Frist may have done this because he thought attaching the Military Commissions Act to the Secure Fence Act he would make it more difficult for Democrats to vote against it, a sort of two for one in that the Democrats would be seen, he hoped, voting for terrorists and illegal immigrants just before the election.
Nevertheless, at this time, talks began between the Republican leader Frist and the Democratic leader Reid for a unanimous consent agreement on how the Military Commissions bill would be dealt with.

On Tuesday September 26, Senators submitted a series of amendments to SA 5036 on Military Commissions.

On Wednesday September 27, the unanimous consent agreement had been worked out and was announced. This is also where I missed something I should have caught. Frist submitted an amendment SA 5085 which was essentially SA 5036 and which was identical to the House version of the bill except for perhaps a minor technical detail. This amendment was to McConnell’s original bill S 3930 and substituted the language of S 5036 into it. In effect, SA 5036 through SA 5085 became S 3930. This meant that it stood on its own and was not longer attached to HR 6061 The Secure Fence Act. Frist could do this because in exchange for the consideration of 5 Democratic amendments:
Levin on a substitute
Specter on habeas corpus
Rockefeller on congressional oversight
Kennedy on interrogation techniques
Byrd on sunset
he was guaranteed that the bill would move directly to a final vote. There would be no filibuster.

As we saw yesterday, all of the amendments were defeated. The Democrats under Reid gave away the store and got the sidewalk in exchange.

There is one final piece of this story that I would like to relate and which you might find interesting but it involves a rather long quote and I will put it in a separate comment.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 67

BobbyG at 66 — I’m not even going to ask you how on earth you would know that… *G*

groan…

Never owned one, BTW. LOL!!

We’re sick and tired of your ism and skism game
Die and go to heaven in Jesus’ name, Lord
We know when we understand
Almighty God is a living man
You can fool some people sometimes
But you can’t fool all the people all the time
So now we see the light
We gonna stand up for our right

So you’d better get up, stand up, stand up for your right
Get Up, Stand Up, don’t give up the fight
Get Up, Stand Up, stand up for your right
Get Up, Stand Up, don’t give up the fight.

Thought we coud all use a little humor today:
http://uspolitics.einnews.com/…..0928_3.gif

Woops, forgot to attribute that, as if I need to:
Get up, stand up… Bob Marley

I loved this part of the Froomkin piece…

“In fact, Bush is so sure that he supposedly told a group of Republicans gathered at the White House quote, ‘I will not withdraw even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me’, unquote.

Jack Cafferty comments: “Apparently it doesn’t matter that almost two-thirds of Americans oppose the war in Iraq. That only a quarter of this country thinks we’re winning the war in Iraq. And that most Americans think the situation in Iraq has degenerated into a civil war, 65 percent, as long as Barney supports him.”

Gonzales threatens Judges – don’t interfere

That’s pretty much how I take it.

**********
Then there’s this:

“Do you think Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon?”
Yes No Unsure % % %
9/15-19/06 31 57 12
8/17-21/06 31 60 9

So with the on camera Bush response to “what did Hussein have to do with 9/11 – NOTHING!” only a few random Democrats have managed to work it into the conversation/ads and the people who think Hussein was NOT INVOLVED in the attacks has actualy dropped over the last month.

Message problem?

dab from CT @ 73

I loved this part of the Froomkin piece…

“In fact, Bush is so sure that he supposedly told a group of Republicans gathered at the White House quote, ‘I will not withdraw even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me’, unquote.

Jack Cafferty comments: “Apparently it doesn’t matter that almost two-thirds of Americans oppose the war in Iraq. That only a quarter of this country thinks we’re winning the war in Iraq. And that most Americans think the situation in Iraq has degenerated into a civil war, 65 percent, as long as Barney supports him.”

_____

Paraphrasing Lewis Lapham: “There are but two inhabitants of Bush’s world. It is a place wherein Bush the Actor need only please Bush the Audience.”
.

Hey, you guys. NPR is hiring a blogger. I should apply, don’t you think? I’ve been wanting to move to Washington.

TRex @ 76

Hey, you guys. NPR is hiring a blogger. I should apply, don’t you think? I’ve been wanting to move to Washington.

Then you will become an insider and what would happen to the snark??? We’ve become addicted. We couldn’t go on without it…

***imagining Maura Liasson logging in to the official “TRex NPR blog”…***

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Okay, that was an amusing moment for me, TRex. *g*

Sounds just like you TRex! From your link:

At least five years of journalism experience, preferably daily news; familiarity with the blog form and a passionate desire to join the blogger “A” list; demonstrated excellence as a writer and storyteller; demonstrated ability to communicate in a sparkling personality and unique perspectives in writing; demonstrated ability to understand the difference between having an attitude and taking a (political) stand in the written word; a broad range of general news knowledge; well-developed curiosity in a wide range of subjects; ability to work quickly and efficiently under deadline pressure; ability and willingness to relocate; proven ability to consistently work well with others, demonstrating at all times respect for the diverse constituencies at NPR and within the public radio system; and a desire to be part of a new NPR venture. Prefer broadcast experience, the ability to be a voice of a podcast; previous blog writing experience; and familiarity with and an appreciation for public broadcasting.

all of it, but especially the bolded part :) (mine)

No, no!! I won’t sell out!! Not unless they offer me a WHOLE lot of money!

Come on, I want that job. Do I have to dress up as Catwoman (or better yet, Wonkette) and go on the Joan Rivers show?

Gonzales threatens Judges – don’t interfere

That’s pretty much how I take it.
—————-

Judges don’t take kindly to being threatened – do they? Are they easily cowed?

TRex @ 76

Hey, you guys. NPR is hiring a blogger. I should apply, don’t you think? I’ve been wanting to move to Washington.

I hear they’re sticklers for pyjama tops and bottoms to match over there.

;>)

Youtube – Jimi Hendrix – Freedom

You got my pride
hanging out of my bed
You’re messin’ around with my life
So I bought my lead
You even messin’ with my children
And you’re screamin’ at my wife, baby
Get off my back,
if you wanna get outta here alive

TRex @ 76

Hey, you guys. NPR is hiring a blogger. I should apply, don’t you think? I’ve been wanting to move to Washington.

Looks like you might qualify – from the position description: “. . . uses news judgment and a lively prose style to present a singular perspective; . . .”

Lively style?
Singular perspective?

Sounds like a certain 60 ft. snarkosaurus to me. . .

I’d send a resume right now, but it’s at home on my laptop. Damn, damn, damn.

TRex – just read the job description. It was definitely written for you!

Mary, I could only get about four paragraphs into that article you linked before I wanted to pick up my monitor and throw it across the room.

You know, as I do, that when the Dems get back the Oval Office (assuming we are still a country with elections by 2008), the first people to line up and demand an end to all this “war-time” power, the people who will be arguing that this is not a “real” war, will be Republicans.

My hope is that if we are able to have a say, that we will do the right thing and dial back the unitary executive crap that has taken over, and return to co-equal governance.

But, when I read articles like the one you cited, the hair stands up on the back of my neck, and goosebumps break out on my arms as I contemplate the fact that this president sees no limit to the extent of his power and is poking into every corner of government to make sure he gets every last bit of it. And it scares me that they will not want to cede one bit of that power. Ever.

TRex – Perhaps the Late Night folks could help write your letter of application.

Peterr @ 83

TRex @ 76

Hey, you guys. NPR is hiring a blogger. I should apply, don’t you think? I’ve been wanting to move to Washington.

Looks like you might qualify – from the position description: “. . . uses news judgment and a lively prose style to present a singular perspective; . . .”

Lively style?
Singular perspective?

Sounds like a certain 60 ft. snarkosaurus to me. . .

Yeah, but can you use naughty words or is the Post going to hide behind that “family newspaper” bullshit?

*g*

dab from CT @ 81

Gonzales threatens Judges – don’t interfere

That’s pretty much how I take it.
—————-

Judges don’t take kindly to being threatened – do they? Are they easily cowed?

_____

Abu Gonzales is pathetic. [bleep] him.
_

Gawddamnitall. I can’t read any more of those Abramoff emails, I’m going to hurl.

I get the distinct feeling Ralston was more than hired help to Abramoff.

One of the first things this next Congress — assuming we get our heads out of our beers and kick some ass — needs to do is conduct an investigation of the DoI and its subsidiary OIA.

Top to bottom.

Tens of billions of dollars has gone missing, with roughly ten billion walking off through “mismanagement” of oil royalties, and billions more (maybe 100 billion plus) gone walking from Native Americans (thanks a lot, John McCain, for all the hot air and lip service).

“THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.”

That is by Tom Paine from “The Crisis”. He helped instigate two revolutions, US and France. But these also may try the souls of women and children.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine

“Gonzales threatens Judges – don’t interfere

That’s pretty much how I take it.”

This needs to be turned on it’s head. “Hey Executive Branch, don’t interfere with out Constitutional DUTY to oversee the laws being enacted. Write laws that subscribe to the Constitution and you won’t have this problem.”

proposed bumpersticker:
JUST SAY NO
to Republicans

dab at 81 — the answer is that judges do not take kindly to being given marching orders, especially not federal judges with lifetime appointments to the bench. Giving orders to others — yes, being ordered about themselves — no way in hell.

TRex @ 76

Hey, you guys. NPR is hiring a blogger. I should apply, don’t you think? I’ve been wanting to move to Washington.

Will they let you bring the Fighting Koi to DC?

Charles Babington and Jonathan Weisman write in The Washington Post write…

(snip)

“Democrats . . . nearly amended the detainee bill to allow foreigners designated as enemy combatants to challenge their captivity by filing habeas corpus appeals with the federal courts. But Republicans held fast, gambling that Democrats will fail in their bid to convince voters that the GOP is sacrificing the nation’s traditions of justice and fairness in the name of battling terrorists and winning elections.”

TRex @ 76

Hey, you guys. NPR is hiring a blogger. I should apply, don’t you think? I’ve been wanting to move to Washington.

Only apply if you can bring the Fighting Koi to DC.

I’m not sure I’m ready for a therapod in the locality.

When Frist submitted his amendment SA 5036 on Monday September 25, he made it clear that his goal was to get the Military Commissions bill through before the break. This was after all the last chance for Bush and the Republicans to pass a thoroughly nasty piece of legislation whether it was called a “compromise” or not. What was surprising to me and may be to you was Minority leader Reid’s response

Mr. President, if I could just briefly respond, we would like to proceed as expeditiously as possible. We have been alerted by one of my Senators that the rule XIV legislation that was brought to the Senate late last week is different from the amendment that was filed tonight. So some of my folks are trying to figure out what has happened. We thought what was going to be filed as an amendment to this fence bill was the same piece of legislation that was rule XIVed. So we have now a rule XIV that has been sent up, and now we have this amendment. So that has created a little bit of confusion on our side.
But I also say this: I think we could work something out if we can get to the bill. When we start late in the session like this, any one Senator weighs about 1,000 pounds because any Senator can stop anything they want. So we have to make sure we can get to this. It takes all 100 Senators to agree that is the case. If we could proceed to it, it is my understanding the majority leader would allow a limited number of amendments. We could work on this tomorrow with some time agreements on it–agreements on both sides.
If this is not worked out, it is my understanding that what would happen is that on Wednesday there would be a cloture vote on this amendment dealing with Hamdan. That would occur on Wednesday, and then after that, amendments germane in nature would be in order if, in fact, the majority decided to allow any amendments to go forward.
So it appears to me the best chance for Senators on both sides to have an opportunity to offer amendments to Hamdan would be to move to it tomorrow. If we cannot do that, then we will have to see what happens with cloture. But I believe that is where we find ourselves tonight.

Basically, Reid was snookered. Frist played a bait and switch on him and rather than rejecting it, Reid went along with it on the offhand chance that the Democrats could get it amended (without really considering how unlikely that was first because the Republicans were unlikely to do so since they already had a “compromise” worked out with the House and the White House and second because amending the legislation would mean that the House and Senate versions would no longer be the same which would imply reconciliation of them which might not happen within the time constraints).

But, of course, what really gets me is Reid’s own admission (in bold type above) that if he or the Democrats had really wanted to sink the Military Commissions bill they could have done it, and done it easily.

Oh man, all of a sudden we’re getting hail outside. Weird.

A precursoir to Christy from Langston Hughes. I find I have to keep reading it alot right now:

O, let America be America again–

The land that never has been yet–

And yet must be–the land where every man is free.

The land that’s mine–the poor man’s, Indian’s, Negro’s, ME–

Who made America,

Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,

Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,

Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose–

The steel of freedom does not stain.

From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives,

We must take back our land again,

America!

O, yes,

I say it plain,

America never was America to me,

And yet I swear this oath–

America will be!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,

The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,

We, the people, must redeem

The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.

The mountains and the endless plain–

All, all the stretch of these great green states–

And make America again!

TPMmuckraker has a take on Torture Bill

Court Challenge to New Detainee Law May Come In “Days”

With President Bush poised to sign the White House-backed detainee treatment bill into law, groups are promising to challenge it in court “in days.”

“I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in ‘H’ that this will be found constitutional,” Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, told Congressional Quarterly (sub. req.). CCR represents a number of Guantanamo prisoners.

Strangely, some senators who voted for the bill weren’t convinced of its constitutionality. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), who voted for the bill even after his amendment to preserve certain rights for detainees was defeated, called the proposal “patently unconstitutional on its face,” The Washington Post reported. When CQ asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who negotiated with the White House to win minor concessions on the legislation, if the bill was constitutional, he responded “I think so.”

Hugh — I honestly think we’ve been a minority party for far too long. We don’t know how to think like a ruling party, let alone one with a dictator in our ranks.

I can’t blame these guys for acting as they did; they still think we live in a democracy.

Fight Club rules, kids. We need to learn ‘em, use ‘em.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 101

Oh man, all of a sudden we’re getting hail outside. Weird.

As long as it’s not frogs you’re probably safe from the Rapture…

Pachacutec @ 98

I’m not sure I’m ready for a therapod in the locality.

There goes the neighborhood.

T-Rex. Do it. You’d be great. You already work for them so the paperwork would be no big deal, and you have a huge fan base right here. Don’t forget to amend your resume to talk about how the comments on Late Night FDL are getting so ginormous that they blew the server, or how the readership on this blog just keeps expanding as voices like yours are added. And when they offer you the job, (which they will if they have any sense), be sure to negotiate the right to post separately here when the spirit moves you. That way, you have a place to use all those truly icky metaphors that might be too much for their delicate and politically correct sensibilities.

Why is MSNBC only having Republicans on to discuss Booby Woodward’s new book allegations? Where are the retired generals and others who can corroborate some fo the reporting? Where are democratic pundits who can talk about this subject? Hellooooooo?!? They have no shame. (Wooops — spoke to soon, they let a Democrat speak for about 2 minutes at the tail end. SIGH)

1,272 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…

Citizen Hardin Smith:

Thank you for your call to arms for this election… I would like to say that this election has this day taken greater importance. Since yesterday this election is not simply for control of congress but is an election to redefine American democracy and eradicate tyranny and injustice.

We are now a fascist state until the actions insulating and institutionalizing state torture and terror are not only repudiated in the courts but overturned and forged into swords of democracy to be used on those traitors to American liberty now in power.

This action in the senate must become a campaign issue like the war in Iraq and the war profiteering of the Bush family and all must be hung around the necks of every single corporate fascist running for office at every level from school board to United States senate. We must use the word “fascist” to define those who do not oppose the current power holders and we must use the words war criminal and terrorist to label those in power from George Bush on down.

We have reached a critical mass politically in this country where there is no middle ground. You are either a fascist or an anti-fascist, not Democrat or Republican. This election is our last opportunity to save ourselves and our history so FDLers…

1. Volunteer with your local Democratic Party to join voter registration efforts and if there aren’t voter registration efforts, start them.
2. Volunteer for phone banking, door knocking or anything else that your local candidates need.
3. If you are not in a Republican held congressional district, volunteer and hit the turf for state assembly and senate campaigns.
4. Encourage your local Democratic Party to get involved in all school board elections…this is critical because for decades the fascists thru the Republican Party and local religious factions have been undermining public schools and public school funding and building candidate factories out of school board positions.
5. Make it your first priority to mobilize your immediate family, make sure they’re all registered and make sure they get to the polls, especially the kids.

KEEP THE FAITH, BE ANGRY AND TAKE NO FUCKING PRISONERS… THIS IS NO JOKE FOLKS!!

angie @ 30

In GOP Senator George Allen’s latest ad, John McCain delivers what may be the ultimate endorsement: He says that Allen will save the world from evil. Against a split screen showing a female purple-fingered Iraqi next to a finger-wagging Osama, McCain claims he has the “utmost confidence and belief that in this terrible, titanic struggle that’s going on now between good and evil in the world that we will amd must prevail. And one of the reasons why we will prevail is because of George Allen’s leadership, vision, courage and his ability to stand up for what he believes in.”

ad at linky
http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/el….._mccain_ad

Fascinating. So all you have to do to “battle evil” in McCain’s judgment is to show up and press the “aye” button when Georgie tells you to? I think we could find a trained monkey who would do that for a lot less than Allen is being paid. It’s not like he’s done anything else to earn it.

sofistic @ 70

Get Up, Stand Up, stand up for your right
Get Up, Stand Up, don’t give up the fight.

That’s the one that’s been running through my head, too!

I don’t know, Rayne. Reid seems like a born enabler. He acts like a bill tossing habeas corpus on the trash heap should be treated in the same way as one renaming a post office. He thinks he can change a bill no matter how ghastly with a few amendments, even though he knows those amendments don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of surviving. I think it is a major, major mistake to think that Reid can be or will ever be part of the solution. His “leadership” shows, however, that he is very much part of the problem.

Christy – heh. Let them have their little Repug-heavy tea party about Boobie’s book.

Wait until KO gets a grip on it.

Heh. Can’t wait.

BTW, FirePups, you need to see BriVT’s DKos diary, “We Challenge a Republican on Torture, he FREAKS OUT“…I think they hit a nerve, in a BIG way.

Maybe that’s the narrative we need to take, stop eating our young and take it to the real source of torture and its sycophantic adherents. Why can’t they support the troops by protecting them from torture? Why can’t they provide real moral leadership for the rest of the world? Why are they tearing apart America’s backbone, its Constitution? What will they infringe on next, after spying on us and providing ammunition to the terrorists — will they take our guns?

Run with it, FirePups. BriVT shows you the way.

By attempting to fly an airplane into the bricks and mortar of the U.S. Capitol on September 11th 2001, Saudi Arabian financed, Pakistani trained and Afghani domiciled terrorists led by Osama Bin Laden tried to destroy the United States’ facade of constitutional heritage and democratic liberties.

Five years later, Osama Bin Laden can finally cheer, “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” as the Republican Congress has unconditionally surrendered and capitulated to the Bush-Cheney regime’s hijacking the very basis of our constitutional heritage and democratic liberties.

I suppose if Osama Bin Laden had bothered to read his 2001 daily briefing entitled: “Bush-Cheney” determined to strike at U.S. Constitution; he would not have wasted his time trying to blow up the U.S. Congress.

slainte,
cl

TRex @ 76

Hey, you guys. NPR is hiring a blogger. I should apply, don’t you think? I’ve been wanting to move to Washington.

Go for it. Shouldn’t be too hard to find a place for you and Ned; safe houses and undisclosed locations are practically a major industry here these days.

Redshift @
111

sofistic @ 70

Get Up, Stand Up, stand up for your right
Get Up, Stand Up, don’t give up the fight.

That’s the one that’s been running through my head, too!

Lyrics like this one, Aretha’s song at the top of the post, other black protest music from the 50s through the early 70s remind me that from the perspective of people of color, things have been worse before for them than they are now for the population at large.

As depressing as yesterday was, we will win. Thank god for the Center fo Constitutional Rights! We’ll certainly find out soon how big a difference the switch of O’Conner for Alito has been when it comes to separation of powers and hc.

Hugh, I don’t know yet. Last year we applauded his leadership when he invoked Rule 21.

I think he got played here, what with all the scrambling of documents at the last minute and some of it in the middle of the night — it’s probably not hard to do when you’re outnumbered. It’s happened almost daily in the House as well, like the vote those bastards snuck in when two Dems had to leave for another hearing and a potty break, or last nights voice-vote on Iran.

We’ve put all fates into the hands of less than 50 people, and they simply are outgunned just as the troops are in Iraq without adequate weaponry, protection or backup.

BobbyG @ 67

Christy Hardin Smith @ 64

Gack — Rita Cosby is on MSNBC! Shouldn’t she come with a warning announcment?

She looks like one of those life-size blowup dolls.

BWAAHAAAHAAAAHAAAAA!
Good One.

Peterr @
56

clem @ 48

Hey, here are some questions for the lawyers and other concerned and informaed citizens out there:

How many of the representatives and senators who voted for the torture are lawyers?

Where did they go to school?

How does their vote reflect on their education?

Oh, that’s good. Some letters to the various alumni publications might stir up some interesting reactions. “I was distressed to see that Sen ABC (class of ‘xx) voted to support the shredding of the Magna Carta. Why, I remember sitting in Prof. so-and-so’s great course, and marvelling at the wisdom of the document – and now a classmate has helped the US to disavow it!”

Letters to the current deans/presidents/chancellors might get some interesting reactions, too . . . “Is this what you’re teaching these days? Perhaps my alumni donations ought to go elsewhere.”

Look at their undergraduate degrees too – especially if they went to a religious institution.

Look at where they gave commencement speeches last May and June – any of those school disapppointed now, given the votes yesterday?

Schools love famous alums and famous speakers, until they stand up and do something the school is completely opposed to.

Pressure, pressure, pressure . . .

Princeton Grads

Rumsfeld
Alito
Frist
Josh Bolten
James Baker
George Schultz

Probably more I can’t think of offhand

Think Princeton cares? Their motto is “In the Nation’s Service”

CNN poll, Do you believe President Bush has been frank with the nation about the situation in Iraq?
Yes – 20%
No – 80%

The spin machine is off balance and lurching around like my washing machine, and this is the best they can do. Bwahaha!

CNN poll
(scroll down to vote)

New thread, gang — Donita’s got a great Friday mix for everyone today. :)

Rayne @ 117

Hugh, I don’t know yet. Last year we applauded his leadership when he invoked Rule 21.

From what I’ve read/heard Tom Daschle was behind the curtain on that. Damn, I miss him. He knew how to work it and would have mopped the floor with Frist

Hello everybody, just dropping in to let everyone know Donita’s post is up, come on upstairs for a jam session in the comments with us.

“The End of the “Summer of Diplomacy”: Assessing U.S. Military Options on Iran
By Wes Clark
On September 18, 2006, Sam Gardiner, Colonel, USAF (ret.) issued a sobering report entitled “The End of the “Summer of Diplomacy”: Assessing U.S. Military Options on Iran” under the auspices of The Century Foundation. Colonel Gardiner is one of the military’s most respected specialists on war simulation.”……

http://securingamerica.com/

dab from CT @ 81

Gonzales threatens Judges – don’t interfere

That’s pretty much how I take it.
—————-

Judges don’t take kindly to being threatened – do they? Are they easily cowed?

I’ve been thinking that another aspect of this travesty is to continue the authoritarians’ war on judges. One of the wingnut senators even talked on the floor about the Supreme Court decision being “unconstitutional.”

They want to be able to claim they’re putting “the terrorists” on trial to “keep us safe,” but they really want to keep then in a black hole forever (especially the innocent ones who’ve been tortured.) So putting out unconstitutional plan after unconstitutional plan isn’t just a power-grab, it’s also a way get what they want and blame the courts for the American people not getting what they want.

So it’s not enough to just hammer on how bad this bill is on the merits. We have to fight this assault on the courts by hammering on how they’re deliberately delaying and undermining our ability to apprehend and convict terrorists by endlessly passing legislation that they know is unconstitutional.

Redshift @ 123

dab from CT @ 81

Gonzales threatens Judges – don’t interfere

That’s pretty much how I take it.
—————-

Judges don’t take kindly to being threatened – do they? Are they easily cowed?

I’ve been thinking that another aspect of this travesty is to continue the authoritarians’ war on judges. One of the wingnut senators even talked on the floor about the Supreme Court decision being “unconstitutional.”

They want to be able to claim they’re putting “the terrorists” on trial to “keep us safe,” but they really want to keep then in a black hole forever (especially the innocent ones who’ve been tortured.) So putting out unconstitutional plan after unconstitutional plan isn’t just a power-grab, it’s also a way get what they want and blame the courts for the American people not getting what they want.

So it’s not enough to just hammer on how bad this bill is on the merits. We have to fight this assault on the courts by hammering on how they’re deliberately delaying and undermining our ability to apprehend and convict terrorists by endlessly passing legislation that they know is unconstitutional.

“This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.”

Plato

Rayne, Cozumel, it was the Republicans who were running out of time and yet it was Reid and the Democrats who got squeezed. And again what gets me is that Reid in his own words admits that he could have stopped the Military Commissions bill with its attack on habeas corpus dead with he had wanted to, and without much effort. I find that just an incredible admission of his complicity in this awful result.

Mary

I have great respect for you, but I’ll thank you for not trying to put words in my mouth.

Stick with your own tune, and we’ll get along well enough to continue on this important journey together.

Thanks. — Adie

Thanks, Christy, Fini, for the heads up on the thread, but I hate to muddy those lovely artsy-music threads with purely political stuff. I’ll linger in the basement.

Besides, I’ve managed to swallow my bile and wade into the next batch of Abramoff emails.

Ralston is immersed completely. She should be hung from a pike, right next to her fellow leech, Abramoff.

Page 11 of the second batch sure looks like they were laying out the groundwork for organizing profiteering in tandem with the organization of Homeland Security. Abramoff is reluctant to cut her in, might be why she sang.

But that’s what it looks like from page 11 of the second batch. Might be worse as I go deeper.

Do you believe President Bush has been frank with the nation about the situation in Iraq?
Yes 20% 5993 votes
No 80% 23590 votes
Total: 29583 votes

I think Shrub’s publicity machine has a hitch in its gitalong. Or something.

Woodward will be on Larry King Live Monday ; )

Adie – what words did I put in your mouth?

I’m usually pretty clear that what I say is from me and my words and I stand by them or apologize for them as required.

Heckuva Job Brownie I was pretty clear were my words. YMMV and may be accrued on a completely different journey from mine.

I still think there ought to be enough of us to dress up in the infamous hood and gown with the electrodes attached and stand on a box outside of each and every politician’s office for a few hours (or at least until the press arrives) who voted for this monstrosity…

anybody know anything about “loitering” laws? does standing on a box in a hood qualify as “disturbing the peace”?

Apropos of Kissinger advising Boosh, it does make sense to have one war criminal teaching another.

What can be more soothing, at once to a man’s Pride, and to his Conscience, than the conviction that, in taking vengeance on his enemies for injustice done him, he has simply to do them justice in return? — Poe

snowballs says woody’s book is like cotton candy–it melts on contact.

nobuddy is misleadin’ anybuddy on the attacks on the troops.

no intent to mislead…

dismisses criticism of rummy by abizaid as “gossip”.

badabing.

After hearing about the vote in the Senate yesterday, I found myself having a flashback to the old days when people wore black armbands to show they were in mourning. I really feel like donning one to tell how I feel. I mourn the loss of rights being forced upon us. Sigh!
But when the mood lifts, maybe I’ll have that fantasy again about Dems making a strong showing here in Texas. I’d love to see the smug repugs here knocked down.
Gotta keep tryin’!

I think it is a safe bet that Woodward has molded his book not with a view toward history or personal redemption but with a view to the marketplace. If there is more criticism in it, it is because he thinks that criticism will sell this year, just as in his previous books he unashamedly sucked up because that’s what was selling at the time.

Hugh @ 139

I think it is a safe bet that Woodward has molded his book not with a view toward history or personal redemption but with a view to the marketplace. If there is more criticism in it, it is because he thinks that criticism will sell this year, just as in his previous books he unashamedly sucked up because that’s what was selling at the time.

yup

DeeinBigD — you know, that’s a protest statement right there.

Every Democratic/progressive and left-leaning indie wearing a black armband in mourning for our democracy.

Hugh @ 138

I think it is a safe bet that Woodward has molded his book not with a view toward history or personal redemption but with a view to the marketplace. If there is more criticism in it, it is because he thinks that criticism will sell this year, just as in his previous books he unashamedly sucked up because that’s what was selling at the time.

My take is that he doesn’t want to be on the wrong side of History. He sees his books (I think) as the defacto historic record.

Mary @
38

Adie from belowthread – be sure to pass along my, “heckuva job Brownie” to Sherrod’s campaign, although I already called it in.

Got a bubbly intern who thanked me for telling him that his protorture boss has no business serving in Congress, much less the United States Senate.

Everyone has to do what they have to do. I am deadset behind certain Dems, like Leahy. I am going for the throat of Republicans, like Hostettler here in the Bloody 8th, that supported torture.

I am ALSO going for the throat of Democrats, like Brown, who supported torture.

I’ve seen the explosive eruptions here and elsewhere when Bush does one awful thing after another and his numbers don’t budge and people ask, “what would it take to make a kool aid drinker turn their backs on Bush- having him sacrifice a baby on stage during Dancing with the Stars?”

Now you know. You look and see what you are willing to tolerate to win, and you have found your common ground.

How do you believe that the exact same triangulation won’t happen immediately upon election, with 2008 squarely in the sites of the torturers. Because remember, they are the torturers. Torture stopped, they gave the order to start it again.

Already, no one wants to talk about torture, because it is now a liability issue for the campaigns. So the win is total. It means that the people and the press go mute on the topic, because the Republicans never wanted it discussed and now the Democrats have to admit to either voting for it; or deliberately and knowingly failing to mount any campaign against it in the weeks precedeing the vote.

We have real, solid, horrible and complex issues facing the country. Where do you find leadership to address those issues with Harry Reid sitting back and thinking that maybe McCain and Bush will wear each other down over torture and Reid just won’t have to deal with it? Where do you find insight, foresight, or even hindsight there?

I believe the last election was huge. The next election will be huge. That’s an excuse.

YOu are either about the issues or about the party. Everywhere I looked before the vote – Dems were already being given the pass, “pre-immunity” for voting in favor of torture, because it was already decided going in that it was an acceptable trade off for winning.

That’s really what you are saying. Re-starting the stopped torture isn’t a problem if it means winning. Karl Rove is not the Hilary Clinton whipping boy to take the lashes earned by the people who not only cast the votes, but those who refused to tackle this issue in good faith prior to the vote.

There are some wonderful Democratic leaders who were there, and I have sent them tears, prayers and I will send them my support. But I can not understand making excuses for someone pushing the restart button on torture, because “just this time” or because “THIS election is so important” or because “we think they’ll be better when they are in office and don’t even have to worry about our votes.”

Torture hasn’t fallen off of page one as an issue for me, just because it is now an inconvenient truth issue for Dems who can never credibly hold anyone accountable when they have opted for complicity and prior to complicity, silent assent. It should be and remain the most “uncomfortable” of all issues for every politician who endorsed, and every politician who failed (Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi) to organize a response and a voice and preferred to sit back and see what the Republicans would do.

What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? (Matt.16:26)

just got to this thread… and had to say “thank you” to mary….

Mary. Lash out, then nuance your self around the block if that’s comforting for you. I just won’t be participating in that part of the exercise.

This has been an awful week for all of us, & we each handle the strain in our own way. Snark, in my mind, is delightful. Over-reaching ridicule about a subject or person not fully understood, is not.

My favorite way to recoup is to go and spend time alone just listening in the midst of our quiet woods. I find it far more helpful in the long run than responding directly to abuse, even that heavily veiled in elegant language.

I truly think we can get along. I firmly believe, and I know you do also, that we’re involved in a good cause, and that our struggle will be long and difficult. We need to cooperate and respect eachother. I do NOT mean we must agree on everything. Simple respect is good. Silence does not automatically signify lack of courage or understanding of an issue.

Let’s just leave it at that. ‘kay?

If this still sounds vague to you, I apologize. It’s the best I can do at the moment…

The problem is that since Woodward’s information is based on “access journalism” it represents what his sources would like history, and their roles in it, to be and not what it was. Can there be such a thing as “access history” or is it all just history of the rich and famous by the rich and famous as transcribed by the court clown and favorite stenographer?

I can’t type the string of obscenities I just screamed out loud.

Lying, f*cking bastards.

Page 26 of the second set of emails.

From: Abramoff, Jack
Sent: Monday March 18, 2002 8:31 AM
To: ‘octagon 1′
Subject: RE: Sunday
I was sitting yesterday with Karl Rove, Bush’s top adviser, at the NCAA basketball game, discussing Israel when this email came in. I showed it to him. It seems that the Presdiednt was very sad to have to come out negatively regarding Israel, but that they needed to moliify the Arabs for the upcoming war on Iraq. That did not seem to work anyway. Bush seems to love Sharon and Israel, and thinks Arabfat, is nothing but a liar. I thought I’d pass that on.

These f*ckers had the war planned from Day One. Even their sycophantic lobbyists were in on it.

HA– Foley not running for re-election after his creepy emails to a young boy…

blaming Mahoney for dredging this up.

Breaking…

Foley (R) will NOT seek re election….

Heh

Rayne @ 141

DeeinBigD — you know, that’s a protest statement right there.

Every Democratic/progressive and left-leaning indie wearing a black armband in mourning for our democracy.

Not black armbands, too Nazi Party. Not Orange, already taken, twice.

What’s a nice Progressive/Good government color? I’m serious. Kinda like te Orange Revolution.

Or in “miracle on 34th Street” the “I believe” buttons.

Pick a color, any color. I am serious.

yesterday I posted about standing tall. Pick a color (not red, that’s taken too. Damn, I look good in red)and let’s see if we can spread the idea. Think of what a wonderful grass roots visual it would be.

Think of the press. And since it’s armbands, it goes on over any outfit, folks can wear them more and more and it can grow.

Just like the red ribbons did.

Yellow? Sorta hooking into the yellow ribbons to bring the troops home?

Got a color idea?

Go Mahoney! We need that seat!

Officials: Foley considers leaving House

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..NlYwM3MDM-

I know Howie Klein has had as terrible a couple days as the rest of us, if not moreso, because he brought Sherrod Brown here to FDL. Devastated might be an understatement. Anyways, here’s his take on the situation: http://downwithtyranny.blogspo…..rting.html

LHP-

Purple, like the voter’s fingers; or red white and blue – the flag upside down (?)

Rayne @ 144

I can’t type the string of obscenities I just screamed out loud.

Lying, f*cking bastards.

Page 26 of the second set of emails.

From: Abramoff, Jack
Sent: Monday March 18, 2002 8:31 AM
To: ‘octagon 1′
Subject: RE: Sunday
I was sitting yesterday with Karl Rove, Bush’s top adviser, at the NCAA basketball game, discussing Israel when this email came in. I showed it to him. It seems that the Presdiednt was very sad to have to come out negatively regarding Israel, but that they needed to moliify the Arabs for the upcoming war on Iraq. That did not seem to work anyway. Bush seems to love Sharon and Israel, and thinks Arabfat, is nothing but a liar. I thought I’d pass that on.

These f*ckers had the war planned from Day One. Even their sycophantic lobbyists were in on it.

I would imagine the lobbyists were hired to demand it. Sorry I have been out in the woods for a few hours. Will you share the abromofia links por favor?

Hugh–thanks for the legislative history. I’ve been trying to disentangle some it myself.
I’ll just add the final note (I commented earlier but it’s good to put it all in one place) that in order to avoid going to conference committee (and therefore requiring a second vote) the House bill was simply dropped, and the Senate bill after passage was simply sent to the House.

the flag upside down means distress– makes perfect sense.

purple is pretty and dripping with irony.

nice.

lhp – I was thinking about wearing black myself (not that I look good in it, because I don’t!). Or Iraqi-style burqas for women …

Rayne – I’d be screaming too. (I wish my work computer had a USB port that worked, because I’d have those e-mails on my flashdrive already.) Sounds like good evidence for impeachment, if we can get to that point. Let’s get as many copies of these out there as possible, so they won’t ‘disappear’.

lhp – Oh my! Not yellow puh-lease! *s* This is a wonderful idea. I like the purple ink per dru but desert fatigue tan or progressive blue were my first thoughts.

Professor Foland @ 155

Hugh–thanks for the legislative history. I’ve been trying to disentangle some it myself.
I’ll just add the final note (I commented earlier but it’s good to put it all in one place) that in order to avoid going to conference committee (and therefore requiring a second vote) the House bill was simply dropped, and the Senate bill after passage was simply sent to the House.

Thanks for that information. I was wondering how the last part with the House was going to be handled. I’d also like to see the vote and if the 34 Democrats who voted for the previous version are still on board.

Rayne @ 146

I can’t type the string of obscenities I just screamed out loud.

Lying, f*cking bastards.

Page 26 of the second set of emails.

From: Abramoff, Jack
Sent: Monday March 18, 2002 8:31 AM
To: ‘octagon 1′
Subject: RE: Sunday
I was sitting yesterday with Karl Rove, Bush’s top adviser, at the NCAA basketball game, discussing Israel when this email came in. I showed it to him. It seems that the Presdiednt was very sad to have to come out negatively regarding Israel, but that they needed to moliify the Arabs for the upcoming war on Iraq. That did not seem to work anyway. Bush seems to love Sharon and Israel, and thinks Arabfat, is nothing but a liar. I thought I’d pass that on.

These f*ckers had the war planned from Day One. Even their sycophantic lobbyists were in on it.

Well my goodness, there are many things in that one little email that nearly caused my head to explode…… no peace for the ME and a war too.

Thank God for Henry Waxman. We will get our Republic back one day with men like him digging thru the dump.

Hugh – The full House has to vote one more time on this bill or just a committee?

Had dinner with a couple from Belfast, Ireland who arrived in NZ via Singapore. More and more people flying between NZ and Europe are deliberately choosing not to fly through the US, they say, as they don’t want to be caught up in the US data base. All passengers on through flights that refuel in the US are deplaned, fingerprinted, and iris scanned.

Are internationals still touring in the US? Why would anyone risk visiting there with this new bill? A campaign to inform international tourists would be a good thing (I’d love to see a tourist boycott developing). Anecdotally, among the internationals that I meet here in NZ, I notice that students who want to study abroad are not including the US in their plans.

Breaking CNN…

Foley submits letter of resignation…

ESAR 161–full House has to vote. But there’s no way to filibuster in the House, the House rules give the leadership there much more power. There’s really nothing to be done to slow it down there.

Also, Cozumel 151–yahoo now reports that Foley has actually submitted his resignation. Also, that resignation means for sure there’s much worse to come out (I’m guessing with another page than the emailed one). Ney hasn’t resigned yet and he’s already pled to a felony.

One (unexpected, I think) seat closer to 15…

Eureka Springs –

Link to the second set of emails

Link to the Waxman page on House Reform (which they’d be hard pressed to “disappear”, P J Evans, since it’s on a .gov domain).

Professor Foland

Got it! As for Ney, he wants the pay (check) I guess.

ah, lots more poop gonna come out if he already did that, Coz.

another one bites the dust.

NZ Expat– I heard a story the other day on NPR and they were talking about how more and more Chinese students do not make the US their top destination anymore.

Cozumel — heh. I think Ney is actually threatening somebody; he’s going to stay right in place until somebody coughs up and helps him out with something he wants.

At least that’s how I read his situation. He’s only done his masters’ bidding and look where it got him. The least they could do is…??

angie,

ah, lots more poop gonna come out if he already did that, Coz.

Sure sounds like it!

Cripes. In February of ‘02, Ralston is poking around asking questions Abramoff relevant to starting a “private charter plane” business.

Want to bet there was demand already for private planes for renditions at that time?

Ralston is not an innocent bystander. She is hardly a poor little secretary as some people would have you believe.

Ralston also uses email on AOL and on domain “georgewbush.com”. Wonder how much of this stuff was campaign-related crap, utilizing government resources?

Rayne @ 171

Ralston also uses email on AOL and on domain “georgewbush.com”. Wonder how much of this stuff was campaign-related crap, utilizing government resources?

I noticed that too Rayne and thought it “odd” to say the least. You make a good point.

Orange jumpsuits for the lot of them!

Rayne Thank you.

Prof. Well If it’s not to late I will call Arkansas Rep Mike Ross (Democrat) who f*#! voted for it the first time. Not my rep but close enough.

LOL

http://news.messages.yahoo.com…..amp;mid=80

Well, Waxman wouldn’t disappear it. My trust in others is less; remember, these guys couldn’t find the logbooks for the WH visitors until they were pushed into it.

Incidentally, there’s a request for Lieberman’s committee to clarify/amend some of the expenses reported on Schedule B. The FEC is reminding them that ‘contract labor’ (among other terms in a longish list) is not acceptable on that return.

Coz– hilarious and predictable, only a couple of messages in and the loonies are hollering about Monica (who was not a 16 y o boy!!)

NZ Expat @ 160

Had dinner with a couple from Belfast, Ireland who arrived in NZ via Singapore. More and more people flying between NZ and Europe are deliberately choosing not to fly through the US, they say, as they don’t want to be caught up in the US data base. All passengers on through flights that refuel in the US are deplaned, fingerprinted, and iris scanned.

Are internationals still touring in the US? Why would anyone risk visiting there with this new bill? A campaign to inform international tourists would be a good thing (I’d love to see a tourist boycott developing). Anecdotally, among the internationals that I meet here in NZ, I notice that students who want to study abroad are not including the US in their plans.

I would never fly through a country that does this! Are we the only one? Last time I flew in Turkey we could smoke!

I’m on p. 13 of the Abramoff emails (linked in 165 above) and it is a situation of not being surprised at the crudity of power and the contempt for the tribes, but still, seeing it in print, is a bit much before breakfast. He’ll give the Cherokees another “trail of tears”? And I’m on the same planet with these amoral creatures? I share citizenship with them?

Christy Hardin Smith @
65

Gack — Rita Cosby is on MSNBC! Shouldn’t she come with a warning announcment?

I was sleepily watching “Dog: The Family Speaks” last night on A&E when she came on. I just couldn’t believe that voice came out of that person. Damn!

Eureka Springs, AR @ 173

Rayne Thank you.

Prof. Well If it’s not to late I will call Arkansas Rep Mike Ross (Democrat) who f*#! voted for it the first time. Not my rep but close enough.

Eureka – Well at least it’s not Boozman. Whadda f’ing douchebag.

Boozman is an android short a few chips. Did he graduate from a dakota jesus camp?

NZ Expat #178 — Racism. That’s what it is.

You will not see any emails in the first two batches that describes any Native Americans with anything but utter contempt, no matter which of the “Team Abramoff” folks writes about them.

I’m mentally drafting an email to post to the “SagChips” and ask them if they want more of this, or if they would rather have people represent them who actually respect them as human beings.

Republicans are a party of racists. Period.

I heart Mary – even more than usual.

Eureka Springs, AR @ 181

Boozman is an android short a few chips. Did he graduate from a dakota jesus camp?

Are you in the 3rd over there in God’s country? D’ya think ol’ Woody has any chance? Oh… I gots a great campaign bumber sticker for Woodrow:

Ahem – Got Wood(y)?

:-)

Damn, now another domain: “xxralston@rnchq.org” — and in the same email sent FROM that domain, the reply instructions say “xxralston@georgewbush.com” — while discussing a government official’s endorsement of a candidate for election.

They simply do not see any need for a firewall between these entities.

I think we sue the RNC jointly and severally with all the rest of these racketeers.

Maybe they should just change their name:

Racketeering Network Corp.

Has everyone seen this? http://nedlamont.com/blog/1576/open-thread
Here’s something to still be proud of…GO NED! ~~~ THX FDL!!!

Good news on Foley.

Adie – I don’t actually understand what your are getting at, so I don’t know how to respond. I’m not sure where ” Lash out, then nuance your self around the block if that’s comforting for you” comes from.

I don’t think I’ve ever been very nuanced on torture, GITMO, Padilla, torture rendition, or some related topics, like torture. I don’t have an exercise video out and haven’t asked anyone to walk with me. I certainly was not nuanced when I called Brown’s office and I gave them my name, not yours. Just like I had given them my money, not yours.

The causes that mean a lot to me have nothing to do with whether Sherrod heckuvajob Brown or “the” Democrats win an election and they never have, so perhaps I inadvertently hurt your feelings because you thought that I was coming from a different place and you felt blindsided that I am unforgiving of Brown’s position. If so, I’m sorry for the result, but I don’t think my position has ever been veiled.

Do what you need to do and feel comfortable with, but don’t try to say that I am not allowed to have contempt for Brown because it hurts you or because you view his election as being more important than I view his torture position, so I am not allowed to have that contempt.

If FDL wants to focus on rallying the Dem troops between now and the elections and doesn’t want the site mucked up with criticism of candidates and party leadership – that is an appropriate and defensible function. It’s not mine though and so far the site had not been that focused.

As far as I know Woody has not been here during his campaign (possibly the highest population of true progressives in our state). I have only talked with a couple of folks who have actually heard of him and they don’t have any hard details. Last time I checked his web site it was a couple of months behind on updates. I will vote for any warm body who is not Boozman but found it near impossible to learn more about the Woodster.

I’m a little confused….are there two threads going now for comment? I was staying here because my comments weren’t about music?

Eureka:

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/….._like.aspx

http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/……aspx#more

Not a whole lot to go on from ArTimes.

Send me an email at cozadnumber1 [at] yahoo [dot] com and I’ll try to send you more info as I find it.

:-)

ok Dr my name will be my email addy and thanks

nz I think there is a new thread beyond the music :)

NZ Expat @ 189

I’m a little confused….are there two threads going now for comment? I was staying here because my comments weren’t about music?

Sumpin like dat. Matter ‘o fact – If you jump up two flights, there’s a fresh thread on GOP Values

NZ Expat — I’m staying downstairs here because I don’t personally want to muck up the music threads with the stuff I’m doing. Head upstairs if you like.

Now into Batch 3 of emails. Page 14 and Abramoff shows concern about an email going to the wrong email system (someone sent one to Ralston’s RNC pager…but he mentions not wanting it to go to WH system?).

They are aware some of this stuff is a liability.

Rayne, thanks for reading all this muck meticulously. I’m sort of a skim along until I get outraged person, then focus, and skim along again. So I contribute Sound and Fury, but not enough substance. Where do you see this going?

I want to encourage, not discourage, you, but over and over, I have thought, surely this will be the nail in the coffin. Yet it never is and I wonder if we are busy trying to find more sure nails while the bigger picture is off there, behind our backs, over the horizon.

Then sometimes I think there is just the sure smell of sulphur, pure evil, and as someone wrote a few days ago, we are part of someone else’s lesson, not matter what we do. We, like so many in the long reach of history, are in someone else’s story.

Okay, I’m going to move upstairs two flights now that the Music thread has been superceded.

God, I think I need to bleach my eyes and brain after reading all that Abramoff crap.

Criminals. They think they own the White House.

1st half of 1st sentence, Mary, for starters.

didn’t intend to drive you nuts with this.

your word around here is revered by all of us, and normally, justifiably so.

more careful candidate research before pulling out the big cannons would have been helpful in this case.

I hope everyone gets to know Sherrod Brown better after he becomes Senator. Then you all might understand my reaction to Mary’s slam-dunk earlier today.

I am very very picky in choosing candidates to support. I proudly support, and will gladly vote for Sherrod Brown for U.S. Senate. I have full confidence he will not betray that trust.

I knew Bush jr would be a disaster even in early 1999. Did you? The evidence was all there for anyone who cared to look. Does that make everyone who ignored the evidence a total, foolish idiot? Of course not. Nevertheless, oh how I wish people had paid attention when it counted.

Instead, here we are, all trying to play catch-up to save our most treasured institutions, our country, our environment, our sanity. Each person who tries to help deserves a measure of respect and appreciation for their efforts. It is unfair to attack them out of ignorance.

}}}peace{{{

* * * crickets * * *

Adie – it is just flat disingenous to say “crickets” while calling me ignorant and flipping out challenges like, “did I know?”

I’m not sure what you are trying to provoke, but comparing a vote for Bush in in his first run up to a vote in favor of restarting the torture that the S. Ct stopped – not a great analogy.

Dear Mary.

I continue to have great respect for you, your principles, your courage, your intellect, your eloquence…

I was never good at the finer points of written language. So – in no particular order:

Scratch the “not a great analogy” to which you object,

ditto my “disingenuous” *crickets (a lame attempt on my part to put the issue to bed for the night).

Just as you, earlier, claim not to have been aiming at me directly, I too emphatically avow I absolutely was speaking in general terms and NOT aiming at you when I said, “Did you?” Please note the earlier references to general audience (e.g., “everyone”) within the text of my comment.

No, I am NOT trying to provoke. But I will not back up one inch in supporting a candidate I feel has been unfairly maligned, when I feel he does not deserve the level of criticism levelled at him.

You lambasted Sherrod Brown. That is your right and privilege. Fair game. Others, also apparently not having personal knowledge of his excellent record as a member of the House, picked up your theme and began what I feel was an unwarranted level of attack (essentially “piling on”) on someone I consider one of the best Democratic candidates out there in this or any other year in my memory (age 60-something).

So, I’ve been trying all day to level the playing field by speaking up for this fine candidate because, in my PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, Sherrod Brown has a PROVEN record of being progressive, intelligent, articulate, dedicated, trustworthy, caring, humble, tough, resilient, hard-working, good-hearted, strong on environmental issues, workers’ rights, health care & care of the needy . . . . altogether a SUPERB candidate for the U.S.Senate – IMHO.

I do not know him personally but, as I have stated before, I keep close track of politicians over the long haul, and “pretty is as pretty does” is my main measuring stick.
Sherrod Brown WILL make a TERRIFIC Senator, if he’s not shot down by “friendly fire” during this fall’s campaign.

Is that clear enough? I have had no other message or agenda in mind, either stated or implied, in this long, overwrought dialogue.

Now, I plan to turn on my own personal *crickets, because it’s been a long, stressful week, and I’m tired. Nothing personal stated or implied. ‘kay?