Digby has a fantastic post on the recent James Fallows article in The Atlantic regarding stopping escalation in Iraq and also stopping the ramp up to war with Iran that keeps rumbling out of the Bush Administration with all the force of the neocon hunger behind it. As Digby says:
In a sane world, the congress would move very quickly on this before that notion jells. But it won't, because they believe they must allow the president to have all "options on the table," — a "duty" which Republicans repeatedly failed to fulfill when Clinton was in office and which an earlier group of Democrats understood to be nonsense. Still, that seems to be where they are, at least with respect to Iran. Not only are they not prepared to stop it, they are either silent on the issue or actively supporting the premise upon which the president's argument is built.
Still, we must at least begin to make this case and this James Fallows article is an excellent first step. I particularly liked this part, because it is absolutely true and shows the seriousness of the danger we are in:
If we could trust the Administration’s ability to judge America’s rational self-interest, there would be no need to constrain its threatening gestures toward Iran. Everyone would understand that this was part of the negotiation process; no one would worry that the Administration would finally take a step as self-destructive as beginning or inviting a war.
But no one can any longer trust the Administration to recognize and defend America’s rational self-interest — not when the President says he will carry out a policy even if opposed by everyone except his wife and dog, not when the Vice President refuses to concede any mistake or misjudgment in the handling of Iraq.
We are dealing with an administration that handled the overriding message of the mid-term election by doing exactly the opposite and escalating the war. They are not responsive to anything, not even political considerations. They are obsessed with their own legacy and if that means selling their own party down the river, they will do that too. There is nothing to stop them.
But there is something to stop them. A welling up of sentiment from the voters of this nation, so strong that it cannot be ignored. If ever there were a time to stand up and be counted — to tell your elected representatives exactly how you feel and why — this is it.
If for no other reason than this, as Digby says:
As Bush and Cheney get more and more unpopular, their legacy becomes more and more predicated on the fact that they did the unpopular thing for the greater good. The more unpopular they get the more they have to prove.
Think for a moment about that. And then start writing a letter to fax to your members of Congress. Give their offices a call and register your thoughts. Send a few e-mails to local offices. Show up at a town meeting or to a local office and speak to someone in person about this. Write a letter to the editor — make it concise and on point and free of invective because the object is to get it published. Send in questions to online media chats. Talk to the folks at the beauty salon or the barber shop or at work or at the family dinner. Call in to your local talk radio. Call into C-Span. Send everyone you know an e-mail with a link to the Fallows article and ask them to do the same.
Do something. And do it now.
Just this once, shouldn't we all take a step back and ask for proof before we rush off to another ill-planned F.U.B.A.R. of a war? Just this once, oughtn't we be skeptical of the very same pronouncements from the very same people who lied to us using the very same words the last time? Just this once, shouldn't we try every possible avenue — including actually engaging in meaningful diplomacy — before we send other peoples' children off to fight in a war of George Bush's choice?
Because the bottom line is this: do you trust George Bush to be making the correct decisions for this nation, based on his abysmal record of repeated failures, piss poor record of planning for any and all contingencies, and the waste and fraud and rampant cronyism that gets attached to anything he and his Administration have touched? Yeah, me neither.
Contact your elected representatives now (the Capitol switchboard number is (202) 224-3121, but if you click the prior link, you can find a direct dial number for your elected representatives). Let them know that you expect them to do their jobs — and remind them that they work for us, and not the other way around. It's time to dial for spines again, kids — start working on your faxes and talking points today. I'd start with Digby and Fallows. And don't sit back and think everyone else will take the ball and run with it this time and you won't have to worry about it — every person reading this ought to stand up and be counted. We need you, every single one of you. Please, take the time to do something today.
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FITZMAS !!!!
With Jane in the house!!!
Game. On.
Christy!
I wouldn’t trust Bush to go to the store to buy a loaf of bread, much less tell the truth.
Sounds like it’s time for the Roots Project to kick back into gear.
Morning gang — RevDeb it’s time to kick a whole lot of somethings back into gear.
egregious at 2 — it’s lovely to see your phosphors again. So glad you made it back safely from the trip. Is it freezing in DC this morning, too? It got down to 1 F here last night. (Without factoring in windchill, which I’m sure made it even worse.) Brrrrrrr….
Good morning gang.
Christy,
Yesterday on one of the chat shows (Chris Matthews?), the talking heads were saying that no one will trust Bush’s word on Iran because he’s ruined his credibility. They said the administration knows this and that’s why they’ve pulled back the rhetoric in the past few days.
I will still make the calls and send the faxes.
Christy – I will write, call and, as Molly Ivens suggested, bang pots and pans in the middle of the street to help out.
In the meantime – an OT question…Since Libby’s attorneys promised something they may not prove in court (that Libby was being thrown under the bus for Rove…and Libby and/or Cheney are needed to prove that…but it doesn’t look as if they will testify), what sanctions, etc., could they face for making an unsupported claim in their opening “argument”?
tommy yum @ 7
Hi Tommy yum, good to see you.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 4
Lit a candle for Molly and Fr. Drinan in church yesterday. (I light communal candles RARELY). Used Molly’s last paragraph of her last column.
Good Mornin’ Christy, Rev, twolf1,
left all my good wishes for Her Poodleness and The Cowboys downstairs – Bon Chance !
have pretty much been doing all you have suggested Christy for the last month – except the call in thingy – my reps are
Hutchison & Cornyn, and hand picked by DeLay Carter as my Rep. All three ramoras on Cheney’s ass – Hutchison is hiding behind “the Senator has yet to take a position” – all the while good Texas men and women with their lives on the line –
so, have decided to contact other Reps to remind them of all the above and there are legions of us out here with long memories
waves excitedly and blows kiss to Tommy Yum
Sha at 9 — It’s not likely that they will face any sanctions. You don’t generally get to the Rule 11 sanction point unless and until there is some strong evidence that there has been an outright lie to the court. Opening statements, especially for defense counsel, are an attempt to tell their client’s story — to introduce the jury to who and what the case is — and defense counsel are given quite a bit of latitude for them. For good reason: their client faces a chunk of time in jail and a substantial fine, and you need to push the government to prove its case, no matter how strong it may be in any particular case.
Generally, courts give quite a bit of leeway for openings and closings for defense counsel because of the jeopardy their client faces at the end of trial in terms of punishment. You want to encourage a vigorous defense — but there is a fine line between an honest one and a dishonest one — and generally, at least in my experience, a dishonest defense is rewarded with a guilty verdict by the jury. Not always, but a lot of the time — because juries aren’t stupid and they can see through bullshit just as easily as anyone else when it’s obviously done for manipulative purposes.
Tommy,
How’s Esten doing?
Sending {{{{{hugs}}}}}
Time to e-mail my reps, unfortunatetly those are: McCain, Kyl and Trent Franks – the reddest threesome this side of the Mississippi. I do not want my nephew in Afghanistan getting extended because Bush/Rove needs a distraction from Cheney/Libby.
btw, all — there will be arguments this morning regarding the airing of the grand jury tapes. E&P has an article on the intended media arguments.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 16
Is that blogabble?
The Bush administration has no use for government other than the military. War will continue to be the “solution” to every perceived problem.
We do not have a functioning State Department – they aren’t even pretendng to use diplomacy in Iran. Condi simply said that now is not the time (and she is supposed to be the smart one!!! Talk about dazzling intellect!)
Congress needs to set up a team (Albright & Skocroft?) with full access to State Department personnel to act as a State Department in exile. I do not think that we can wait for two years to get a functioning government.
well, hey Tommy Yum… ‘morning Redd…. howdy all!
coffee anyone?
RevDeb @
11
Watched Molly on C-SPAN2 yesterday morning in an interview from ‘98- what an inspiration to us all. Make as much noise, noise, noise as you can against the administration’s yanking us toward bombing Iran.
Also yesterday went with friends who have a late teens son to the movie “Children of Men.” During the horrific final half hour, w/bombs & death continual in the blasted streets of a waterfront city, the kid turns to me and remarks, “Just another afternoon in Baghdad”…
Christy Hardin Smith @ 5
Oh, you saw my new exercise program?
Ayup, mighty cold here, 12 F.
The cold weather actually helps get me motivated for long walks in a strange way. I feel I am fighting a worthy adversary, it energizes me.
[waves hi to tommy!! hi to Esten!!]
RevDeb @ 14
He’s doing great, thanks. We’re now entering the “interim consolidation” phase, which will be much less aggressive than the last. It was put off a week because the last round of chemo knocked his numbers down.
Just being out of the hospital for the last month is such a blessing!
Great Toles cartoon in the WaPo this morning.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/….._main.html
Toles has been really good lately. :) Thanks for the heads up on today’s, AZ Matt.
The doonesbury is great too:
http://www.uclick.com/client/wpc/db/
Good morning everyone. I have to go to my daughter’s school this morning and read with first graders. A worthy cause but I’ll be having Libby trial withdrawal. Great post Christy, I will call my congress people at some point today–I also ended up reading about 6 threads over at Digby’s place; Digby a genius. I sent that paragraph from Molly Ivins’ last column to everyone in my address book.
The Big Uneasy – WaPo
Maybe too close…
I wasn’t clear. Will they be blogging this part?
as if any of us need motivation other than all of that Christy has posted/linked above
Richard Thompson, yep, that Richard Thompson has written a song from the perspective of a grunt in Baghdad (’dad)
‘dad’s gonna kill me
standing apology if previously posted
And… compose and send polite, well reasoned, but firm, ‘letters to the editor’ to your newspaper and news magazine. “Mainstream” voters read these things. If your letters are good, they will print them.
every day I write one of my representatives… mebbe I better charge up the cell phone and get to calling too…
Thanks.
As an ex-Congressional staffer (at one time one of those grumms who responded to mail) could I offer a few suggestions for “contacting your Congress-critters”?
1) Most mail is NEVER seen by the Congress-critter. The exceptions to this are very NEW Congress-critters who are idealistically trying to read all communications from their constituents (until they realize how futile this is), those who live in Montana who only have 63 constituents, and letters from “important” people.
2) Thus your communication doesn’t have to be long, well-crafted, elegant, articulate — all the qualities we would normally value in written communication (a la FDL); it just needs to be something that gets your point across, suggests that you didn’t write it because Family Circle magazine told you to, etc.
3) Numbers (how many letters you can get folks to generate) and in-state residence count. Don’t bother writing to out-of-state folks; they don’t care.
4) The less “form letter” you can look, the better. Take out a piece of paper; write several sentences (none of which includes the words “F*** you”), note that you are a constituent (include address) and send it off. Get spouse, grandma, neighbors, etc. to do the same. Hell, offer to write the note for them & let ‘em sign their name. Just don’t use a photocopy, form postcard, etc.
5) E-mail & phone calls may be counted, but follow-up with written communication. It’s all about the numbers.
6) Don’t feel compelled to articulate a complete solution. “Stop this madness” and “bring our guys home” (coupled with “it’s your responsibility as our Congress-critter”) can work wonders. The point is to get them scared that NOT doing anything is a liability.
What Congress-critters respond to is things in their district that suggest that they’d better pay attention to this issue: that either a whole lot of people will actively support them in the next election because of it, or that they’ll oppose them on the same grounds. Communication indicates energy, and, next to $$$, Congress-critters respect energy, because they know that translates into folks who WILL get themselves to the polls in the next election, WILL put up yard signs, WILL talk to neighbors. One of the scariest things a Congress-critter can hear from a staffer is “we’re getting a ton of mail on …”
Don’t despair if you live in OK, TX, AK or one of the many states with Neanderthal critters. Your communications can have a real effect, because they will be quite noticed and unusual. It’s particularly important for you to think of ways to get others around you to write, call, e-mail, etc. to get the numbers up.
Best of luck. We can EACH do something.
Oh, and finally, that “letter” you get back from your Congress-critter was probably written by a staffer. Wipe those stars out of your eyes!
3-page article:
Cheney’s Fund Manager Attacks… Cheney
By Brett Arends
Mutual Funds Columnist
2/5/2007 7:57 AM EST
http://www.thestreet.com/_goog…..;cm_ite=NA
think progress put this up from the generals concerning Iran
In a letter to the Sunday Times newspaper, the three former officers urged President Bush to open talks, “without preconditions,” with the Iranian government in a bid to find a diplomatic solution.
The signatories were retired Lt. Gen. Robert G. Gard, a senior military fellow at the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation in Washington, D.C.; retired Marine Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, former head of U.S. Central Command; and Vice Adm. Jack Shanahan, former director of the Center for Defense Information.
The officers said an attack “would have disastrous consequences for security in the region, coalition forces in Iraq and would further exacerbate regional and global tensions.”
“The current crisis must be resolved through diplomacy,” they said.
Christy, Have you considered a remake of ‘Ms. Smith Goes to Washington?’
wowie Mauimom – thanks so much !
I’m predicting that the Bushniks will opt for war on Iran for two reasons: First, they are belligerent idiots. Second, their domestic agenda is deader than yesterday’s mackerel. There is no chance whatsoever that the GOP is going to get any of their regressive bills through Congress, so foreign policy (war) is the only area where they still have the reins and can make trouble for us all.
(”War is America’s way of learning geography.”)
Is emptywheel going to be live blogging at the trial this week?
thanks, mauimom – that’s about what I figured… NUMBERS count!
teeceecee at 38 — Emptywheel is taking the week off to rest her fingers and catch up on some other business — Swopa, TRex and Jane will be doing courthouse duty for us this week. And yes, there will be more liveblogging all week long this week. With Russert expected on the stand and a whole lot of wrangling and grand jury testimony, we’re looking forward to it.
RevDeb @ 4
amen, Rev! we are the roots!
off to make my phone calls…
but first, here’s a link to big tent dem at talkleft who argues that the best way for congress to prevent an attack on iran is to stop the iraq war/occupation.
p.s. howdy tommy!
p.p.s. christy, i love this picture. all by itself, it get’s me all fired up.
ESaund @ 18
Heard this morning on CSPAN that certain organizations Britain have spoken against US military action in Iran. It occurred to me that perhaps the only thing that will stop this is for a large part of the international community to threaten retaliatory action if we take such steps. Why should a reckless nation not be impeded by the international community from engaging in such aggression in the same way it did by in 1991 with the invasion of Kuwait?
I realize I’m dreaming here, but with Congress sitting on their comfortable behinds, seems like the only real impetus against such insanity. Dems still won’t embrace Feingold’s good sense approach. And I can’t believe the stinking Republicans are saying they will vote against a non-binding resolution. They sicken me to the core of my being.
I don’t think I can listen to the news any more. If it weren’t for the upcoming hearings on Iraq waste, fraud and abuse, I would be cancelling cable today.
I’m exhausted with railing against the wind.
teeceecee @ 37
Not this week. We will be hearing from Swopa in the media room and Jane and either Pach or TRex also.
Last week MoveOn had a virtual march on Wash. They logged over a million calls to Senators in one day. Then they had the interactive map to show where the calls came from and a continual counter that was amazing. The numbers just flew.
War in Iraq Propelling A Massive Migration
Wave Creates Tension Across the Middle East
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01604.html
You’re welcome. I just wanted everyone to use his/her energy wisely: not in writing the “perfect” epistle, but in writing one, and getting others to write, call, etc.
LMAO.
OldCoastie @ 38
That’s what we were told by the staffers in Kennedy’s and Kerry’s offices. Good to keep letting people know this.
Thanks for outlining it so well.
mauimom — those are fantastic suggestions! I may pull those out at some point and put together a post on that subject. If you have any other tips in that regard — or any other former or current Congressional staffers who might have some information on how to do contact more effectively — please post in the comments (or e-mail me if you want to remain anonymous about it), and I’ll try to work something up for later in the week.
Also, if anyone has thoughts on better calls and/or letters to the editor, that would be helpful, too.
CourtTV is doing a bit on the Libby trial.
-
teeceecee @ 38
No my understanding is that Swopa, Jane, TRex?, and Pach? will be handling it this week.
I put this up last nite hoping the day shift got to see it, off topic but important for everyone to read
this is incredible coming from a corporate source…newsweek does it right, emboldens are mine;
corporate media has been let loose on cheney…this looks to me like the work of rove
Feinstein warns Republicans not to stop Iraq debate
How about a little debate on the Israeli-Palestinian “question”, Senator?
ccmask,
talking points !, git yur talking points right here !!!
great read cc, easy to understand and some snarkiness to boot !
cbl @ 54
That link didn’t work for me.
Christy,
Faxes are good, so we are told. The physical hum of the machine is more powerful than lots of e-mails. Most computers have the capacity these days to send a fax by connecting to a phone line.
The CIA Leak: Boring In on the Veep
Thanks perris, here’s a link.
morning all-
is there a backup libby trial site again in case ((((fdl)))) is overwhelmed again?
if so, will someone post it for everyone?
so glad to have found you all
d
Do you seriously think Bush and Cheney care what their legacy is? Have you missed the point of their administration entirely? They are true believers who don’t have the slightest interest in what the Liberal Left thinks. Yes, that’s you.
perris,
I think folks give Rove too much credit. The media has been scorched by this trial. They could be feeling their oats a little. The tell will be when they ratchet back and try to spin the trial in ways we know here are not reflecting the truth.
That’s why blogging the trial is such a powerful and threatening tool. All the more reason for us to be doing it!
dmac @ 57
Last time the servers fried, Marcy went over and live blogged on DKos. some of us found out about it on windcatpond dot blogspot dot com.
Mauimom @ 46
any thoughts on if hand written or typed is better?
thank you for your most excellent insider advice!
Jane S,
try this,
the street
if it doesn’t work, go here (home page) and click on Brent Arends article , just to the right
home page
ok – off and running, pups… have a productive day!
Christy, those are my suggestions based on being a staffer many (cough, cough) years ago. But my daughter interned in Edwards office in 2003 and things were about the same.
I too would be interested at what suggestions current staffers have.
Also, all Congress-critters have one or more district offices. I worked in DC, so I don’t know how communicating with the DO affects this.
My main suggestion to folks is to put together an e-mail or whatever to your friends & relatives, telling them that it’s REALLY important that they contact their critters (House member & 2 Senators) NOW; provide names & addresses if necessary; suggest points to cover & brevity/simplicity and just get that plea/suggestion out. Bug them (”did you send it yet”), assist them, or whatever it takes.
It really IS about the numbers. Let the folks who are on the “good” side of this know we’ve got their back, and others know they’d better watch their back.
Feel free to quote/snip at will. Contact me if you need additional help [I’m in DC].
Aloha.
marc at 59 — No, I don’t think that either bush or Cheney give a crap. But members of Congress who face reelection in a year and a half DO care. And they control the pursestrings. Which would be why there is a need to call elected representatives and not the White House. And, I have to say, if you think calling me or anyone else here a liberal is some sort of slam, you are on the wrong damn blog.
Pardon my error at #42, heard in on NPR, followed by the usual calm commentator reaction. I’m sitting in my car thinking, why isn’t Corva Coleman panicking??!!
And thanks Mauimom for the good suggestions. I get really hung up on my writing style which holds me back. Just the facts, ma’am. Also, I have sent many e-mails and it’s helpful to know that written communication works better. We’re all so used to having full e-mail boxes that they probably just don’t register in the same way. It makes sense when you think about staffers actually seeing piles and piles of letters and having to go through them all. The visual has a greater impact.
RevDeb @ 60
I would love to credit the media for finding their wings, but the media is corporate owned, these corporations have paid for their law makers and they’ve paid for law
while I would love to think they are finLLT doing some legitimate reporting, it is hard to believe
on the other hand, I agree, rove is a nothing, a dim wit who managed to get things accomplished by cheating and stabbing people in the back
stabbing people in the back does not make anyone a genius
so when I say it looks like the work of rove, only in it’s simplicity and the back stabbing implications
it won’t help the president at all if cheney goes down, it will hurt the administration, so if it is a plan from rove it will demonstrate once again how inept his strategy really is
Is it a 9:30 start today?
I don’t know. I worked for a rep. of a rural district, and many (cough again) years ago. You just want something that suggests that a real person sent it — that it’s not a postcard they pulled out of the AARP or NRA magazine & sent in. (Although those NRA postcards seem to work pretty well, damn it.)
raven at 69 — I believe so, and it ought to be legal arguments to start this morning based on the number of motions that went flying back and forth this past weekend. They have several outstanding issues to resolve before starting testimony this morning — or the Judge may finish up with Agent Bond and then do arguments before lunch. We’ll just have to see…but it is supposed to be a 9:30 am ET start as far as I have heard.
Jeff Gannon’ led the charge against Wilson
Did you see the Diary about Gannons questions on Plame over here at Kos and at Bradblog?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/2/5/0530/93358
Jane S @55: go here and the story can be found there.
http://www.thestreet.com/
Christy Hardin Smith @ 71
Thanks! How’s the peanut?
Another tip which we have said here before is to program the phone numbers of your senators and congress critters into your cell phones or home phones, both the DC numbers and the home office numbers. And add the fax numbers and office numbers in your address books. Keep them handy at all times. You never know when you will want to use them.
raven at 74 — She’s doing well. We’re playing with Mr. Potatohead this morning. :) No preschool today because it is so freezing cold here. But her cold is a bit better, so life is better for momma this week as a result.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 76
sweet
snowbird42 @ 72
if the media really did find it’s voice again, this trial would bring the gannon issue up again and they would be brutal exposing gannon as a make prostitute in the whitehouse
they would do some investigative reporting and find out just who it was gannon serviced to get his position in the press corp
this is their ticket and if they took their responsibility as the fourth estate this would be a very nice story for them, but I doubt they are asuming their responsibility…I hope I am wrong
is today the day the senate will be debating iraq resolutions?
There’s a bit of a delay in court getting started this morning because Judge Walton is finishing up another matter. Just FYI. Should be soon, though.
RevDeb @ 60
It is an essential and much-appreciated service. Honestly, the msm treatment of the Libby indictment was so blase, while I personally was appalled at this admin’s behavior, it seemed pointless to get worked up into a lather about it since everyone just didn’t seem to care.
I think the work that the Libby trial group here is doing is certainly pushing the media to do their jobs, as someone else stated earlier in the thread. They are no doubt embarrassed (or should be) that “lowly bloggers” are doing a much better job than they are. I want them to experience their come-uppance in the most humiliating fashion possible.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 76
Oh, is that a Tim Russert doll?
mandrake @ 81
i just want them to start doing their proper jobs.
mandrake at 82 — LOL — nope, just your standard, everyday Mr. Potatohead. With lots and lots of parts. But we’ve now moved on to Disney princess magnetic dress-up dolls.
mauimom,
you have jogged my memory –
prodigal but beloved regular Sharkbabe once bought a stack of generic prepaid postcards from the Post Office, wrote brief but clear message to Reps. gave them to friends and neighbors to sign (and provide contact info)and mailed them herself.
pre paid postcards
looks like 20 for $5.20
Go dogs, Go !!!
selise @ 83
Well, that too, of course. But a little good-old fashioned contrition sure would make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :)
Christy Hardin Smith @ 84
Oooh, fashion girl!
Get the peanut a Lite Brite. I hear they are a hot item in Boston.
mandrake @
67
I have heard/read here (link?) that letters take 3-5 weeks to get through the DC mail checking system. I believe this is new-ish, since anthrax etc.. So if you want it there sooner than later, I’d suggest e-mail or fax. Of the two, faxing a hand-written letter probably has more clout.
BTW, my faxes don’t print out, they just stay on the computer. I only print them out if they are important, that’s less than 10%of the time, the rest I just delete (basement waterproofing, travel deals, etc.) I would expect congresscritters have similar these days.
Love the idea of talking to some current staffers about contacting Congressional offices. Perhaps some of our Blue America contacts might help in putting that post together, or BA might get three or four of them together for a “chat with folks behind the scenes.”
I’d also love to hear the wisdom of contacting the district/state offices vs. DC. In person vs. mail. etc.
Susan S at 88 — Mwahahahahaha! But I’m not quite ready to spend every waking hour of my day picking up tiny colored plastic pegs. *g*
Christy Hardin Smith @ 91
We have that problem with Legos and The Kid. Finally found the solution: spread out a big flat bedsheet, and that becomes the play area. When you’re done, you grab the corners, dump it all back in the storage box, and *G*.
new thread upstairs
Peterr at 92 — Now, THAT is genius! Thanks!
ok, here’s the chain of events;
cheney told libby to expose valerie”s status in order to discredit her husband
cheney told libby to lie before the grand jury, he his chief of staff was not allowed to tell the special prosecutor or the grand jury that it was the vice president that exposed this covert asset.
cheney then goes on the TEE vee and invents a new vice presidential power in order to forgive his ctimes
he makes the bizzare claim that he is able to declassify anything he wants on the fly and at will, he claims this came down in some presidential order
now, if that’s true, he believes the unitary executive has the power to instruct an agent of the government to lie to the grand jury “in the interest of national security”
fitz has always known it was cheney and has had more then enough evidence to indict the vp, however that indictment would take more then a simple prosecution, the vp would claim unitary privieldge, they would even get the case transferred superior courts venue where it would be dismissed
fitz prosecuted libby for a crime that he was hoping would not get transferred out of his jurisdiction, that of lying to the grand jury
so there it is, the president has laid the groundwork to claim he is entitled to declassify anything he choses if he thinks it’s in the interest of national security, he will also claim that for the sake of the country he can instruct anyone to lie before the courys
whatcha think firedogs?
Much worse is stepping on the damn things [or Lego blocks].
Ow, ow, OW!!
Coleman doesn’t have a chance again, especially now that Al Franken plans to run for the senate. Coleman is so phony, but I’ll call anyway even though I never voted for him. Predictions were April for Iran to be attacked, that’s been moved up to March. No time to waste. Wish Congress would stop this now and quite wasting time on non-binding crap.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 94
Found it on while looking on line for some missing instructions for one of those Lego vehicle kits – couldn’t find the instructions, but found this!
You gotta love the toobz!
Morning everyone!
Dear Christy. Thank you yet again for a well-aimed and perfectly-timed elbow to the ribs for a good cause.
I vowed to get a letter together and send it off to all our legislators from OH, PLUS any others who have stuck their heads up above the crowd toying with presidential ambitions. Will also try to hit some MSM, and our local newspapers.
Give the Peanut a hug for us. Hope you guys are staying warm. OH finally started its winter with a vengence, and schools are closed all over the state, just because of the awful wind-chill.
I know, I know, you guys in AK are thinking we ain’t seen nothin’. But, frankly, the ones who worry me most are those in the south, and the homeless, who also are experiencing record cold, and yet don’t have the comfy insulation we well-sheltered northerners enjoy.
Poor dear folks all over, not receiving the care they so desperately need! We just HAVE to wrench this country’s priorities back to HELPING instead of hurting!
Got my letter done. Yayyy. Now – Off to pester with it. Back LATER to lurk and savor FDL. Thanks again for the timely nudge… ;->
Thanks Christy. You’re absolutely right. I’ll hit the phones shortly.
Mauimom @
96
oh yeahhhh. those middle-of-the-night treks in the dark are downright dangerous. *g*
I’m all for us trying, and Congress acting, but if Bush/Cheney is determined to attack Iran (or allow Israel to do so, which for our troops in Iraq will amount to the same thing) we won’t be able to stop them. So I see our real job as not preventing a worse debacle (we can’t if they are really that stupid) but ensuring not only this administration but the GOP as a whole gets stuck with the political tab for the disaster that would result.
This is all good. But we don’t need “proof” of anything. We know what’s in our hearts.
It’s simply WRONG to kill without provocation. In order to take even a life in self-defense, we have to take the first blow. PERIOD. Otherwise it’s all projection, fear, and madness.
As I posted at Digby’s SuperBowl commercial thread however, I’m afraid it’s going to take a tragedy of unimaginable proportions to rub our collective face in the shit to the point where we acknowledge what’s in our own souls. That’s how the universe works, and right now the hell-train is coming straight at us with its throttle welded open.
Christy,
For 3 years I have been calling, writing, sending emails…to no avail. I hope with enough others doing the same, they will have no choice but to pay attention.
What is really profane is that while they continue to dick around, more people are dying. HURRY UP!
this is already EPU’d but Perris @ 95 – you are correct. now what do we do about it?
It would be easier to contact our congress people if we all had a good list of the possible consequences of a war with Iran. I can think of a few, but I’m sure there are lots more.