wow.

i think the damn might be cracking.

if that happens, i would not want to be a bush loyalist in any high-level govt position in washington.

if the cracking grows, we may shortly have an answer to a central politico-biological question:

when the unitary executive turns tail and runs, does it run with one collective tail or with many?

does in run in one direction or many?

does it run solely to texas for cover? or take refuge also in mississippi, oklahoma, south carolina, kansas, idaho?

Or maybe Paraguay.

This is great news. The U.S. Congress has never stopped a war going full tilt before. Kudos, props, and a heartfelt thank you to the Democratic leadership in both houses, and to the liberals and progressives who pushed hard to make this a reality.

And they’re not about to start now. This bill is not going to stop the occupation of Iraq and enables Bush (or his Dem successor) to invade Iran. The only withdrawal is of “combat” troops by August next year; bases, and troops remain indefinitely.

The timeline is NON-BINDING. Bush will either use signing statements to nix the “symbolic” timetable and take the funding and run full bore; or veto it as undermining the troops.

emptywheel @
115

tbsa @
43

OT via Raw Story:
WASHINGTON – Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld cannot be tried on allegations of torture in overseas military prisons, a federal judge said Tuesday in a case he described as “lamentable.”
US District Judge Thomas F. Hogan threw out a lawsuit brought on behalf of nine former prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. He said Rumsfeld cannot be held personally responsible for actions taken in connection with his government job.

This is the same standard that is likely to get the Wilsons’ lawsuit thrown out, btw. Apparently, if you do it on government time, it’s okay…

Now about that trip to Belgium Rummy was thinkign about…

It’s called Sovereign Immunity

This goes into the discretionary functionary exemption of the FTCA

Possible pitfall

If Plame sued Rove or any other White House aide for redress under the tort laws of the District of Columbia, she would have to confront the “discretionary function exception.”

The FTCA authorizes a broad waiver of the government’s sovereign immunity for claims in tort. But the statute exemptsexternal link “any claim . . . based upon the exercise or performance or the failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty on the part of a federal agency or employee of the Government, whether or not the discretion involved be abused.”

article continues

Pelosi to Bush—-

Who’s your Mama!

(Yeah!!!)

Jane Hamsher @ 73

Bostontom @ 31

“So, does Harry Reid think it is better for him to kiss the ass of Lieberman so Joe doesn’t completely defect from the Democrats? I just don’t understand why he keeps fawning over Lieberman.”

Yes he does and so do I. Unfettered control of oversight is worth some words. And yes, before the flames – I know that the Dems keep control in case of a 50-50 split, except that Tim J. is still recuperating and shenanigans happen. So keep those Dem committee chairs, even if it means choking back one’s gorge for the next two years

Even if Joe switches parties the committee chairs don’t change.

I keep hearing this here. Yet when I personally asked my Senator from Vermont, he said this is false. If Joe flips, the majority changes.

The majority changes, but the committee chairs do not.