Here are a few tidbits to chew on over lunch. Enjoy!
– Bob Geiger has a great round-up of the Senate committee schedule for this week. Very interesting stuff – read the whole listing.
– There will be two hearings in the House today on the situation at Walter Reed, and at other VA facilities across the country. The WaPo says it isn't just Walter Reed. I'm sensing that these hearings are going to be testy, and will be worth the watching. And could this be the face of the new "Heckuva job, Brownie?" Don't know about you all, but I'm sensing that Rove might be looking for a VA scapegoat and if I were Jim Nicholson, I'd be watching my back. C-Span has been running the hearings live this morning.
– Never thought I would say this in a million years, but I agree with Al D'Amato. (Oh lordy, that hurt.) The whole Bush Administration religion nanny state enforcement has got to stop — we could put these reseources to much, much better use elsewhere and, frankly, we could figure out a way to make that revenue work toward lowering the ballooning deficit. Plus, when you look at the totality of issues facing this country at the moment, soem guy wanting to play poker in his own home while wearing his jammies? Not exatly at the top of the enforcement list for me. How about you?
– From the Department of I'm Not Even Remotely Surprised, the Bush Administration has no "plan B" for Iraq. None. Nada. Zip. Taylor has some thoughts on Lindsey Graham's "positively bursting with propaganda" weekend gabfest appearance.
– Another edition of why I love Roger Ailes (the good one).
– Wolcott unleashes a fabu zinger: Annie Oafley. Just when you thought that Ann Coulter could not possibly make more of an ass of herself, she opens her mouth. More here, here and here.
– Digby puts history in perspective for some folks in the media who clearly have no sense of it. Here's a clue: bad policies, bad results, bad Republicans. Get the picture?
What is catching your eye today? Do share a link in the comments.
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Fitz!
Lunch!
Bush doesn’t believe in contingency plans- cause if ya have one it means that ya don’t have FAITH in the main plan- an everyone knows it’s FAITH that makes his plans work so well..
He read the “power of positive thinking” at an impressionable age and has never become an adult.
Hungry for guilty verdicts!
Now that was a tasty sandwich.
Off to get coffee to wake meself back up.
Save Our Internet Radio
No Plan B for Iraq? Of course not. Then he wouldn’t be able to go to Texas with Cheney and take another five months trying to figure out what to do next. He just wants to wait it out so someone else has to deal with it. He loves the way the war is going. As long as the war is on, he gets to claim all of his special powers.
That’s why he needs to be impeached. He needs to be stopped now. There’s so much more damage he can do in two years. Look what’s going on with them firing all these AGs.
Bears repeating:
Word to Ann Coulter: hate speech is never a joke.
Never.
Has Lynne Cheney expressed her great moral outrage yet?
Sorry, I can’t go along with opening up gambling. It’s been proven that it’s very damaging to addictive personalities and their families—as bad as alcoholism. I’m all for letting people go to hell in the handbasket of their choosing, but I’ve seen stories of and know people who are destroyed by compulsive gamblers in their families, who resort to stealing to feed their habit. Might as well legalize narcotic drug use.
Gambling is a corrosive agent in our society, I’d just as soon it remains restricted to Las Vegas, Atlantic City and reservations. And governments relying on lotteries for revenue, gack!
does anyone know if the senate judiciary hearing will be on cspan tomorrow??
Yo quiero Taco Bell.
Re: no plan B—
Not to worry. Dubya told Nancy Pelosi that Plan A would succeed because he told the generals that “it had to.”
Linky.
Redd, left you a linky in last thread wrt CREW filing ethics complaint against Domeneci.
litigatormom @ 12
Honest to God – just when I think he couldn’t get any worse.
At fdl late night last night, I erroneously claimed the syndicate representing Ann Coulter is the same organization, UPI, owned by Rev. Moon. I was corrected (after I ambled off to bed) by Missouri Bird:
Don’t confuse Universal Press Syndicate with UPI. The syndicate, which is owned by a good guy, is not affiliated with Moon. The man who edits Ann Coulter also edits(or edited) “Boondocks.”
thanks, Missouri Bird, and my apology for providing incorrect info.
I have yet to see a plan A.
All I see is a lot of troops on the ground retaking the same real estate over and over.
annx @ 14
You must never misunderestimate just how bad our Preznit can be.
puppethead @
9
I favor legalizing online sportsbooks in the US.. otherwise folks will simply use the conventional “call-in” bookies who launder money, never pay taxes, and are know for using violence to claim thier winnings.
Bush’s new general in Iraq says that the Bush plan has a 25% chance of succeeding—so who’d need a “plan b”?
He’s the king of low expectations!
brief TPM squiblet about retiring head of USAs – Michael Battle – he made the calls to fire, and may have been guy to write glowing reviews
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…..012808.php
WOOT!
I like chihuahuas.
Pachacutec @
22
But are they what’s for lunch?
Question – this guy Kiely (sp?) was 2nd in command at Walter Reed but used to be in charge – he was replaced by the guy who was fired first last week -
has anyone heard how a former #1 became a #2 ?
Prairie Sunshine @ 8
(my bold)
hey, good point.
Where’s the outrage, Lynn?
BTW, if my dog were on a table with said food-stuffs in front of him, there is no way said picture could be taken without those plates being sparkly clean. It is not K-9ly possible that both that food and that dog are real.
I want some tacos…I have just lost 45 pounds and I’m back to my “good” weight. This trial is killing my exercise program and I’m scared to weigh now. Please hurry jury…
cbl @ 24
currently he’s the Army’s Surgeon General, although prob not for long
So much for the Christian evangelical movement’s wooing of Jews: http://www.dailykos.com/storyo…..1170/24629
re the walter reed/va shit: my dad and ex are both combat vets viet nam/panama and gulf 1. they both se the albuquerque VA and do get very good care but it took orever to get in. just saying
thanks Elliot and my real question is how/why did he go from being in charge to being second in command ? is it just a rotation thingy or is it something else ?
PLAN B- INVADE IRAN!
More FEMA competence-and-tax-dollars-at-work:
Katrina Victims Evacuate FEMA Park
By CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press Writer
7:44 AM PST, March 5, 2007
HAMMOND, La. — Dozens of families evacuated from a FEMA trailer park that had been plagued by sewage leaks and power outages were in temporary homes Monday, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it had requested work permits to dismantle the site this week.
Many of the residents were moved to other FEMA locations in the Hammond area, agency spokesman Manuel Broussard said.
Nothin gets a wing nut’s blood boilin more than seein a big ol building housing something run by the federal govt.
They have an unquenchable need to “privatize it” (let Halliburton run it)
Americans will soon pay more attention to who’s runnin Halliburton than to who’s screwin up the White House.
Yesterday I read this at TPM. It is SOOOO important – distinguishing between incompetence and bad policy and why we need to stop calling Bushco incompetent. [mods - this is my first attempt at using the link function. Please fix if I’ve f.u. thnx] talkingpointsmemo.com
Cleanup aisle 35
As a 100% disabled vet I feel that I must speak up and correct a misunderstanding that the MSM and you seem to have. Walter Reed and the other locations mentioned in the WaPo article(I read the article in my local paper, and called the editor about the misleading headline) are not in fact part of the VA healthcare system. Lets get this straight. The article talks about soldiers(not troops, see a dictionary for the primary meaning of “troops”)who are still on active duty, getting outpatient care, and awaiting either discharge or return to active duty-the correct term is medical hold. The VA is a seperate problem that the american people need to understand. gwb in his 2008 budget calls for massive cuts in VA healthcare, and this continues on thru 2010. On the other hand, the repigs are more than happy to give billions to their pals in the multicorps(KBR, Haliburton, and others in the MI complex) don’t listen to the repigs talking about how they support the troops, watch what they do, and as always follow the money. I get all my medical care from the VA, and I(along with all others that I talk to while waiting fro apts.) feel that the repigs are trying to destroy what Clinton built up over his 8 years(clinton made the VA the very best health care system in the world, now gwb and his merry band of thugs and thieves are trying hard to destroy it-remember when the VA had to go to congress and ask for billions more? that was done only because the shortages made it into the MSM. if that had not happened, the VA budget cuts would have remained) what is the ultimate goal of bushco on the subject of the VA? I think that they want to starve it enough so that they can say that the VA can’t do what it is supposed to, so lets privatise it! give it to Haliburton to run. Remember that the goal of gwb is to give all govt functions to his friends in the multicorps, and let them rob the country blind.
Some rumbles from the sleeping giant. From the NYTimes:
Cleanup needed on 36, but for a different reason.
From Josh Marshall :
Breaking: Heads rolling in advance of tomorrow’s rumble?
We’re hearing that Michael Battle the executive director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys has resigned.
He’s the one who made the firing calls on December 7th of last year.
More soon.
hey Pachacutec !
care to hold forth on why the wingers appear to be smacking on Ms. Coulter so much this time vs. her hate speech in the past ?
Volokh
My father was treated in Arizona at a VA hospital and was under their care for 2 years with serious back pain, they kept him on pain killers for two years before somebody finally decided to do a CT scan and hey guess what they found, CANCER! Tumors all over his bones. Yep, finally diagnosed him and he went to two radioations treatments before he died just two weeks later. Fucking VA outpatient care is for shit. I hold them personally responsible for my twin boys never getting the opportunity to meet their grandpa. Bitter much? Well, it just happens to be my name in Hebrew, so there you have it.
jmba (Mara)
Even more disturbing than Coulter’s vile remark was the audience response – vigorous applause and laughter – that should be made part of this story as well…
d’Amato experience:
About 15 years ago, I was flying back from DC to NYC on a thunderstormy Friday afternoon. While I was changing my ticket, the clerk serving me handed a shuttle boarding pass to a short dumpy man with the words: Welcome aboard senator. I ascertained that it was indeed d’Amato. I got the next seat–in the middle to his aisle. We conversed for the full time of the flight. Seldom does one get the undivided attention of a U.S. senator for an hour. He turned out to be far more knowledgable and thoughtful than his Senator Pothole name would indicate. We talked about medical care problems & costs, NYS & CA wine industries, nanny states, and oceanographic pollution, thanks to the window passenger who imported pet store fish and traveled 250,000 miles per year. It was one of the most interesting flights I’ve ever had.
Still, what matters is the job he did, and that did not show much evidence of the qualities I saw on the airplane.
Howie Kurtz hearts Michelle Malkin, and thinks she’s a role model for all bloggers when their side goes too far:
More ammunition to get rid of those damn DRE’s.
Clint Curtis Documents Evidence of Widespread 2006 Florida Election Fraud
“We’ve done almost a dozen precincts so far, the trend has shown a Democratic—at least in my race—undervalue between 12% and 24%.”
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4220#more-4220
PLAN B – RECESSION!
Gnome at 38 — It is a legitimate viewpoint — why ask for clean-up? The GOP is trying to privatize a lot of the VA system, and they have been using Walter Reed as a testing ground for that (and see how horribly that has worked?) Waxman and Mikulski have actually been making that point pretty loudly the last week or so.
cbl@31
According the WP, he chose to step down, sorry I don’t know more than that:
Spotlight on Kiley’s Leadership
see also:
(from Think Progress)
Kiley’s past
Teresa @
27
Congratulations, Teresa – you are an inspiration to me – I’m working on 45 right now also – 30 or so to go. It’s HARD WORK! And you’re right – waiting on this jury is certainly not making it any easier.
Gnome de Plume @ 39
Gnome de Plume – that wasn’t directed at your comment. The mods already got the one I was concerned about.
OK, I’ll just do a normal link. I couldn’t get the tab link to work right. (I know, I know, but I’ve ignored all the lessons.)
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…..012794.php
Timothy @ 38– Thanks for clearing up the difference between Walter Reed and the VA system! Best wishes to you….
George Simian @ 32
sometimes I think INVADE IRAN! is the real Plan A.
I hope not.
From the BBC:
cbl at 40 — Because this time she did it during photo-op time with the GOP presidential candidates, so she’s tainted the brand directly? (As if she didn’t do that before…but hey, a picture is worth a thousand words and there are a LOT of pictures of her at CPAC with a LOT of people who are trying to run away from her taint this morning.)
CHS and annx – I didn’t take you to mean my problem. No worry. I was trying something new “gasp” – I just got quote to work right recently. I am a little behind the times.
It’s that Repug self-fufilling prophecy. Government does a lousy job at running things so we should give it all to private companies to run. Then, just to prove the point, we’ll do a lousy job running the government.
That Post story purporting no Plan B is a terrible piece of reporting from two fine reporters. If they’d read back through their own paper’s coverage of the Bush administration’s strategy review and the results of it, they’d learn a lot more and tell a different story.
It’s astonishing how bad that story is.
On Gabbly they are saying the head of US Attorneys has resigned.
wingnuts are nervous about Coulter for one reason- they LOST.
Had they won the midterm- they’d continue laughing their asses off at her snide comments with a sneer at the end.
Now they figure that they’ve gotta change- but they are sufficiently numb that they don’t exactly know what about em alienates people- so they’re bein careful about everything.
thanks Elliot ! I was driving the Gabblers nuts(clinical term) with that one
Christy – that sounds perfectly plausible and ties in nicely w/ my on going believe they would all eat their mothers if it promised even a tiny advancement of their ‘crusade’
everhopeful…you can do it. I’m proof of that.
Jury, get with it. I think today or tomorrow and then I’ve lost all patience with you.
Mmm, lunch break..
By the way, Ralph Nader gives his thoughts on Senator Clinton and her road to the white house. Republians are Flummoxed When It Comes to Senator Clinton
jmba @ 42
What. A. Horrid. Nightmare.
you have my condolences
In this Boston Globe article, it is finally dawning on some (but not enough) that we don’t need to be expanding the size of the Army/Marines unless we plan to have huge numbers of troops in Iraq indefinitely.
Analysts question need for additional combat troops
This may be Off Topic, but if it’s still lunch break it may be OK.
I have a question about Supplemental Budget Requests such as the one for 93 Billion $ now in the Appropriations Committee which will hit the full House on next Wednesday.
Is my understanding correct in that a Supplemental Budget request is the president asking Congress for approval to BORROW the money?
Where is this cash supposted to come from? Is that part of the request?
OT: Don’t know if anyone has posted this yet but Josh Marshall is reporting this:
Breaking: Heads rolling in advance of tomorrow’s rumble?
We’re hearing that Michael Battle the executive director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys has resigned.
He’s the one who made the firing calls on December 7th of last year.
More soon.
hpschd at 67 — Is my understanding correct in that a Supplemental Budget request is the president asking Congress for approval to BORROW the money?
In a normal administration, no. Just asking for more money above the budget. However, since the Bush administration is already deeply in debt, any new money appropriated does result in our borrowing money.
And the cash is coming from your health budget, your kids’ education, and your grandkids’ standard of living.
via Josh -
Comey pushes back – natch !
The soup looks good. The dog looks a little underdone.
Elliott @ 65,
Thank you for that. It was three years ago and I am as angry now as I was then. It is never easy to say goodbye to a parent, especially when they are 62 years old and otherwise “healthy”. I am a nurse and went to the VA hopsital to advocate for him when he was there. Someone mentioned in a previous thread the need for patient advocates, and I couldn’t agree more. It was disgusting how often I would have to tell people to get him his pain meds, or not to put him in a wheelchair but a gurney (as he couldn’t keep his head up with the tumor on the base of him neck). I mean it was absolutely astounding the complete lack of continuity of care. There were some there who were wonderful, but they were so busy, with so many patients, it was next to impossible for my father to get the level of care he deserved…, and so hospice at home was the answer. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but all this talk of the ineptitudes of the VA system really sets me off.
Dog needs a nice mole.
TeddySanFran @ 45
Howie neglects to mention that Coulter received a sustained ovation when she came up – more than that given to the Presidential candidates — precisely because everyone knew she had made such extreme statements in the past and would likely do so again. Digby via Glenn quotes Andrew Sullivan, who nails it by saying Coulter is the heart and soul of the conservative movement.
Edwards capitalizes on Coulter slur. From AP:
vibrolux @ 71
It’s a sushi dog.
Jeff at 58 — I read it and thought it might have been a rushed deadline, because you are right that so much got left out. And then I started to wonder if some editor whacked it into column sizing — and if there was a lot more from the reporters because Ricks, especially, knows so many of the missing details.
My little chihuahua is the same color, but much cuter. Cindy Loo Hoo.
At The Daily Howler there is an interesting post entitled “When You Read Dowd, You’re Riding With Coulter.”
http://www.dailyhowler.com
ok since it’s a wide variety of topics:
if you say ‘ann coulter’ backwards you get (in an ancient tongue) ‘the spawn of satan ruined my perfectly good wedding party by spitting lizard tails into the punch bowl’………
Please leave the poor doggie out of it???
[Not you Terry—funny name Cindy Loo Hoo]
cbl: Dunno.
Guess they’re hoping to limit the damage to kill the story, distance the party from her and insulate the candidates.
We usually have no ability to move these storoes into the mainstream the way they do via places like Powertool and Drudge, but post Foley, they may be skeerd.
Especially after this trial and the stenography of Russert, Miller, et. al. – thank God for Dana Priest and Josh Marshall. They restore some of my faith in the fourth estate.
Rawstory has a headline stating
Democrats to subpoena 2 more US attorneys: Developing…
The world is indeed flat. Asia sneezes and we cough. Afternoon trading so far:
Nothing catching my eye in current news, still plugging along on a story about U.S. Attorney Chiara here…
Also watching “V for Vendetta”.
God, I love Hugo Weaving…
edit: and please, let one of the two U.S. Attorneys to be subpoenaed be Chiara. [fingers crossed]
I don’t know why, but the chihuahua in this photo just makes me giggle. *g* Thought everyone else could use a mid-day chuckle as well.
egregious @ 69
I’m in the process of writing a letter (inspired by TRex, I’ll send a fountain-pen hand-written letter – via fax so it gets there this year). I’ll fax it to my congresscritters (Levin, Stabenow, and Miller R-MI 10th. I’d like to make the point that not only is this most recent budget request a means to continue an illegal, mismanaged, and failing war, but it is passing the cost of that war to future generations.
If the money has to be borrowed (if that is a certainty) who is it likely to be borrowed from and under what conditions?
Also, in view of troops being supported, what is the beginning of the period in which this request is needed – now, next year?
egregious @ 81
Sorry; I’ll just be hanging out in the corn field.
Timothy Richley @ 37
This is what they’re doing with No Child Left Behind as well. Once nobody can improve their scores any further, which NO school can, the schools are no good and must be privatized.
I live in a town where there are entirely too many chihuahuas. They are muy popular aqui en South Texas.
hpschd at 67:
Since projected revenues for 2007 have already been fully distributed (and then some), then the bill will actually authorize the US Treasury to sell treasury bills in the designated amount. Money used to buy these treasury bills will then be allocated over to the DOD for prosecuting the war.
At some future point in time — say, 20 and 30 years from now — we will have to pay back the principal plus interest on the treasury bills, thus taking money away from future things we might want but will not have the money to pay for.
What time is lunch usually? Would the jury be back deliberating?
Surfing to the Roger Ailes link, I couldn’t help but notice that our best buddy Robert Cox has finally thrown in the towel on olbermannwatch.com. It’s sad to see this site go, and I wish Robert the best in his “non-partisan” Media Bloggers Association. I don’t understand why emptywheel is so unwilling to work with him. I mean, it’s only due to efforts of people like him that bloggers are attaining legitimacy in mainstream circles such as the NYT.
My parents have had two chihuahuas I absolutely love, both 15 years old. I brought them from the pet shop and helped train them as pups while I was living in the basement apartment of my parents (then) home, while I was in grad school.
I don’t like the way they’ve become chic fashion accoutrements in pop culture, but I do like the dogs.
annc @ 92
Yup, they should be. No response to Reggie’s response yet.
old gold @ 79
Great catch. Describes the Hummer crowd to a T.
Evolution of reality: President, to Preznit, to Preznut Bush.
The quality and consistency of our work had every bit to do with an article about. .. our work.
Nothing really new an different, but I don’t think you’ve finished the broad outlines of the USAtty purges until you’ve also tossed in this:
http://lawprofessors.typepad.c…..tutio.html
Crim Defense appeals of the Constitutional basis of the sitting replacements. How can “some guy” calling himself the USatty but not Constitutionally appointed file charges?
Christy Hardin Smith @ 87
I think my cat could eat him for lunch.
*ymmmm… sushi dog!*
Mmmm, philipino cuisine.
Picture reminds you that at the time that Cortez “liberated” Mexico from the baathists, the Aztecs had only one domestic meat animal- the dog. Was it this one? Maybe- but you’d think they’d find a way to fatten em up a little.
hpschd at 89:
To answer your follow-up questions: Treasury bills are bought and sold on the financial markets, so it’s an open process as to who actually purchases the notes. Some will be bought by you and me through our mutual funds, IRAs, and 401(k) plans. Many others will be bought by the Chinese, as they have been our largest debt purchaser for the past several years.*
From what I understand, the current Iraq and Afghanistan appropriations run out in just a few months, so this money would be put to immediate use for funding the remainder of this year’s warmongering. Under the Constitution, it could fund at most two years of military spending. Military appropriations can only be budgeted for 2 years, to give us a chance to elect a new House if we want to re-argue whether or not we should even continue the military operations. (At least, that’s the theory. I’m starting to wonder whether anyone else has read what’s left of our Constitution, though.)
* Remember 25 years ago when the big Republican to-do over deficit spending revolved around the fact that the Arabs were buying up all our debt and would eventually own us lock stock and barrel? Notice how that’s worked out just grand for us? What’s that again about history moving in cycles?
Mary4 at 98 — That is such a good point. We had that issue when an elected prosecutor was disbarred on ehtics issues — and trying to parse out whether the indictments he secured in his last term were valid or not because they were obtained at a time when the actions that got him disbarred had already occurred. (The newly appointed prosecutor had to reindict was the answer — but at taxpayer expense.) Forethought is an awfully good thing on the taxpayer’s dime — perhaps the Bush Administration might like to try ot some time, rather than just jumping at the first politically expedient opportunity to push the boundaries of cronyism.
Where’s your right hook? MoDo on “Obambi”:
Mandingo!
(NYTimes link is behind TimesSelect wall.)
It’s not the dog, it’s that chicken tortilla soup that’s driving me crazy…
I’ll drive miles out of my way for a good one…
Christy Hardin Smith @ 77
I mean, if they read DeYoung’s own article from early February, or Ricks’ key reporting on the internal strategy with Robin Wright, they’d quickly re-figure out the main lines of debate over what’s next within the administration, which would at least be a start. And at the time Bush unveiled his strategy, the White House clearly signalled that there was a Plan B, but they weren’t going to talk about it, for the very obvious reason that they didn’t want to highlight the very idea that the proposed plan might fail.
There is plenty to criticize in the president’s plan and, most likely, in the most likely Plan B’s. But to get there you have to have a sense of what is actually going on, and the Post does none of that. It’s a completely disorganized, incoherent and uninformed presentation of a bunch of random thoughts from random observers.
randiego – I’ve got a great recipe for Sopa de Tortilla so you don’t have to drive. If I ever get to “Pull up a Chair” on time some Saturday, I will share it.
The next thing you know, MoDo is going to be criticizing Obama for wearing non-earth tones….
Mary4 @ 99
Great point, nice effort by the criminal defense…but if this goes to SCOTUS, would this seated bench actually rule the PatAct revision unConstitutional?
Hopefully no SOLs were running out when the reindictments were secured.
For me, the two most headshaking, can’t really laugh bc it’s too sad to be funny, parts are that they have opened the door for those kinds of crim def appeals, and that the Ark appointee – Rove’s pal – the fearless USAtty who is supposed to be able to handle organized crime guys and all the group W crew — has withdrawn his name because he’s scared that someone on the judiciary committee might ask him a ‘mean’ question.
I’m torn between feeling appalled and maternal. Sending a nasty letter or a binky.
Rayne @ 110
THIS SCOTUS? That’s a good question.
Fresh post from the courthouse, up and ready for the reading, gang.
Keep Talking Anne
Coulter: Edwards’ Campaign Manager ‘Fronting for Arab Terrorists’
http://www.editorandpublisher……1003553697
Pachacutec @ 98
No, of course not. This is mainstream news organizations we’re talking about here, so the quality of our work really isn’t relevant. By contrast, the professionalism and dedication of people like Robert Cox are essential to getting positive quotes into, say, NYT front page articles.
Seriously, I don’t see how you can be so naive.
puppethead @
9
If gambling is as bad as booze, and gambling should be restricted to a few select venues, are you then in favor of limiting booze to a few bars across the country? Why or why not?
Rayne @ 110 – it has a severability clause (or had, last I looked whichwas a year ago in Dec when Feingold actually was briefly successful fighting back the renewal) so the Court could find the one provision – allowing the slot to be filled ad infinitum without advice and consent – unconstitutional without it affecting the remainder.
my understanding (limited as always) says they were able to bypass Senate App. due to rider slipped in to Patriot Act rev. – so is the guy in Mary’s link filing to challenge constitutionality of revision ??
btw – isn’t Ark. boy formerly Rove/RNC Dir. of Oppo Research ???
I’ve been saying this for some time now…ever since we aquired our majority in both houses
Americans can’t wait for 08
America and her constitution can’t wait for 08
the middle east can’t wait for 08
the world can’t wait
the democrats have got to break deals with the republicans to get an impeachment
we have plenty to offer…we can offer pork, we can offer unchallenged elections, we can offer seats on committees
the republicans think their only chance of remaining in power is to stand with the president…you have to dance with the girl you brung
they don’t want to hang with the president but they see it as their only choice…we have got to give them other choices
once again…the world cannot wait…we need to offer whatever it takes, we need to have the republicans initiate the impeachment…that by the way would guarantee their re election I might add
then, if we are to regain our national integrity and influence internationally, if we are to somehow regain the higher ground in the fight against terrorism, we have to submit this administration to the world court
the world can’t wait, we have got to deal
Christy – Thanks for your response to my reasonable doubt instruction question above. Kind of in and out of the mix here today due to nagging priorities like actually having to do actual work; hate that. For what little it is woth, contrarty to a lot of commenters, I found the jury’s question on reasonable doubt kind of encouraging. If their only question in this regard is effectively “does it require human certainty”, then they must not have very much doubt about Libby’s culpability, and that is a good thing.
Thanks egregious and Jeff
empty wheel has a new thread upstairs
scarecrow @ 66
It’s another example of addressing a problem 2-4 years too late to solve a situation that will not exist 2-4 years from now. Typical.
Gnome de Plume @ 108
Plume, no worries on that. Living in San Diego there’s a good one on every block.
When I was in DC, it was another story! Hard to find a good one…
Still, we can’t wait to see that recipe!
Meanwhile, the Reverend Sharpton traces his family roots:
Continuing the Mandingo meme.
Raph at 114 — You know, I’m not certain what you are getting at with this other than trying to stir the pot. The Media Bloggers deal with AP is a good step forward for bloggers being taken seriously. As is our liveblog coverage. As has been a lot of other coverage of the trial. There is no reason to play one end against the other with this — and, frankly, trying assign some sort of hierarchy of who is doing what levelof good is counterproductive to the whole. Who knows what catches any individual media person’s attention? But if it feeds into a better narrative for bloggers over all, then it is good for all of us, regardless of who is responsible. We are ALL responsible for how we are viewed as a whole on some level. Frankly, I’m not sure why people keep trying to argue individual weeds on all of this — when the bigger picture for everyone is a net plus, and whomever gets the credit is something about which I, personally, could care less.
SF Chronicle article about John Edwards’ East Bay appearance yesterday.
Ann Coulter Should “Go Into Rehab”
“Old vs. “New” Europe
Washington’s plans to build a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic have cast a shadow over US relations with Europe. Will German Chancellor Angela Merkel feel compelled to distance herself from US President George Bush?
http://www.spiegel.de/internat…..28,00.html
Pachacutec @
22
i fear our kitty could beat up that pooch with one foot tied behind her back. but I’m sure she wouldn’t. she just knows she could, & he does too, and that’s enuf.
btw. I like chihuahuas too. but kitty’s attitude needs some adjustment on that score…
Mary4 @ 117
Ah. Excellent. I didn’t know that; reading the “New and Improved!” PatAct on my list after I get through my work on Chiara.
shoephone’s been writing about the U.S. Attorney firings at Evergreen Politics. Here’s her latest (from yesterday):
http://www.evergreenpolitics.c…..menic.html
Raph Levien @ 115
Raph, Cox’s effort looked like an attempt to co-opt what is and has been an extremely high-quality blogger’s product for purposes that did not serve anyone’s interests save Cox’s. I simply do not see where it served Marcy’s interests.
I’d personally prefer that Marcy remain as independent as possible, since her independence reduces the chances of groupthink.
Quality also doesn’t always need a broker, either; it can stand on its own two legs, as Marcy’s work has ably demonstrated.
Christy:
Sorry to be so snarky. I realize it’s pretty easy for people to get confused by what I’m trying to get across, so let me set it out more clearly here.
Until the NYT story appeared, giving Robert Cox major credit for getting press accreditation, I had no idea who Robert Cox was. Until today, I didn’t realize that he was the same person who was responsible for OlbermannWatch. When I saw that item at Roger Ailes, a bunch of things clicked for me.
Efforts like OlbermannWatch are symptomatic of the degraded level of political discourse in this country. They hide behind grand-sounding rhetoric about upholding standards of “journalistic standards” and “balance,” but in reality offer nothing more than partisan insults. Check out Watching OlbermannWatch for some choice quotes. Since OW and MBA are both basically public faces of Robert Cox, the latter’s claim to be “non-partisan” is simply not credible in light of the partisan muck to be found in the archives of the former site (now taken offline).
My snark is about the fact that the mainstream media, even when doing a largely positive story about FDL and blogs, simply cannot tell the difference between the kind of work we do here and the partisan shill fronts like MBA, and give the latter equal credit. I don’t mean to stoke the fires of a pissing match, but I believe that one of our strengths is that we can tell the difference, and call people like Cox on it.
Is that clear enough? Posting any more on this is probably just giving Cox more attention than he deserves, so I’ll shut up about it now.
it’s official. brittany declares as the antichrist..with tom cruise in the blue corner..it’s time for a sell order if you ask me. the end is nigh!
and, from slightly sad to indescribably appalling.
WARNING extreme content!
raw story reports on the japanese mengele unit and the details of their experiments on live prisoners.
don’t read this if you’ve just eaten. really. the thing that stood out was the fact that the american government did not prosecute for these war crimes, allowing the japanese to scrub their records, so our military could use the “research”.
and cheney probably has the films in his bunker.
TeddySanFran @
128
Thanks, Teddy! I’m thinking that a ticket with Edwards and Obama on it would be a very good ticket indeed.