Nothing much to say — well actually, I’ve got a lot to say, I just don’t feel like focusing on one topic this morning. What I really want right now is food: Got some carrots sautéed in garlic, green onions chopped, mushrooms sliced, and a little bit of Laughing Cow cheese setting out in prep for my weekend morning omelette.
So while I go rustle up some grub, y’all sit back and comment on why silly Republicans seem to think that anything that pisses us off is somehow a ‘win’ for them, or on how the “maverick Republican opposition” to Iraq is a sick joke when the bill they’re backing would guarantee we stay in Iraq forever, or how the Democrats in Congress are getting around to using the power of the purse at last, or on the upcoming hearings on the Libby pardon (which FDL will be covering!), or on the pretty path in the picture above.
ADDED: If you’ve got a little coin that you can safely spare, please consider donating to our FDL pledge drive. As I just mentioned above, there are going to be major hearings on Capitol Hill in our future. Help us bring you all the latest live with boots-on-the-ground reporting from Marcy, Jane, Christy, Pach, Jeralyn, and others. You can donate through PayPal or by snail mailing to the address below.
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Rick DeVille @ 3
We represent the FDL Guild!
It is, i guess, probably cliched to remark on the similarity of the majority’s opinion to some of the stories by a certain K…
.
It is ludicrous beyond belief that US citizens can KNOW that we are being spied upon, yet, because we do not know who SPECIFICALLY is being spied upon by the government, NO ONE has standing to contest the illegal spying. Talk about your circular logic that reinforces itself with its own speciousness.
Where’s this generation’s Daniel Ellsberg?
Impeach. Convict. Incarcerate.
OMG that sounds delicious.
Feel like I’m living my life in coffee shops and eating bad catering these days. I knew life in DC was going to be hectic but this is beyond.
Can I come over, PW?
Jane Hamsher @ 8
Sure! Let me put the coffee on…
Mrs Mack just back from the bakery with paczki
I feel guilty
dakine01 @ 6
For me to file a suit, I have to prove I’ve been hurt in some way. You put your finger on a real dilemma, dakine, but I’ve been wondering about another approach.
A story first, though:
If I hire a private security firm to guard my house, and because of their mistakes in vetting their staff, I get robbed by one of their employees, I can file a suit against the security outfit. (Note that YOU cannot — because it wasn’t your home.) Whether I file a suit or not, however, the local DA can file charges against the guy who broke in.
Hmmm . . .
Suppose there was a US attorney, who had reason to believe, based on public testimony and statements by administration officials, that wiretapping without warrants was taking place. Could said attorney convene a grand jury to look into the manner, and file CRIMINAL charges if the evidence supported the charges?
It’d have to be a helluva USA to make this kind of case, against what surely would be major in-house pushback. Given the way the USAs have been treated by the DOJ over the last couple of years, I’d love to see one of them push back like this.
Of course, IANAL and might be completely wrong about this possible legal avenue.
President Gore is taking command (of the Democratic Party and soon the nation) This person walks the talk.
Millineryman @ 7
Change that “incarcerate” to “incinerate” and ya got a plan.
Metaphorically speaking, of course. ;-)
Jane -
Check went off snail mail Thursday. Is someone able to get these processed more quickly these days?
I proudly state for the record that I voted for Gore for President. And will again do so.
Millineryman @ 7
It’s that last part that bothers me. I love the idea of incarcerating these bastards. My problem with it is that I fear it’ll never happen.
The President’s plenary power of pardon is a holdover from the days of monarchy. It was an anachronistic relic when it was put into the constitution and it’s way more anachronistic now. The President could tomorrow pardon all registered Republicans for all crimes they have or may have committed so far during their current or any other lifetime. That would likely stand in court.
The only recognized limitation on the power of pardon is that the president can’t pardon for future crimes. Also there is debate about whether the President can pardon himself — it’s not considered a settled matter — see http://www.jstor.org/view/0044…..03a00050/0
There’s also the cases-of-impeachment exception, which seems to be very much a matter of debate:
– Does it mean that the president can’t shut down an impeachment hearing in the House?
– Does it mean that the president can’t shut down the subsequent trial in the Senate?
– Does it mean that when the president is being impeached he/she can’t pardon anyone?
– Does it mean that if someone is impeached for a crime, the president can’t pardon them from subsequent criminal prosecution for that same crime?
– Does it mean (as citizenspook has argued) that a conviction in the Senate would void any pardon for that same crime?
IMHO, the power of pardon is so great that we’ll have to look to international courts, foreign courts, or possibly state courts to incarcerate these bastards.
Impeach Cheney.
Shuster for Prez of Hard Balls…
Beautiful job refuting all repug lies…
“I was using a metaphor” bullshit… he shouldn’t mix his metaphors?
I want to be gentle, but it appears that
Wilson’s civil attorney is clueless, at least
she came off that way this week…
She’s not read in to what happened.
Wouldn’t you know it that the Boston Herald (Boston’s rag-a-tag)reporter said that the
Libby commutation doesn’t resonate outside the
Beltway…
So full of shit!
Oklahoma kiddo @ 12
I’ve been waiting for that since 11/2000
For seven long years George, Karl and Dick have been getting away with murder.
PW -
Let’s hope they read the bill to which you refer more closely than some of the other legislation they’ve passed. :-(
Don’t put the cart before the horse. Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched. Add any other appropriate old saw you wish right here. The Dems have NOT yet found the “power of the purse”. There will be no purse power found until they ACTUALLY exercise their purse power in deed rather than word. It appeared that they had found purse power for the Iraq supplemental, recall, and at the first bare HINT of resistance from Bush…POOF! The purse clasp flew open and money poured forth.
I wont believe there is a power purse discovered by the Dems until they actually USE that power through whatever resistance they encounter.
Bay State Librul @ 17
Ain’t it grand to see a prepared host who doesn’t put up with guests making shit up. I had forgotten that was possible, and that it should be the norm.
He certainly is desparate: A**HOLE
Peterr @ 11
That fearless USA would be completely vilified by the reich-wingers but would be as much of an American hero as any on the field of battle or any of the other whistle blowers who have given up everything for what they knew to be right.
Give the “surge” more time, Mr. Bush pleads. Surge? Surge in deaths.
TUZ KHORMATO, Iraq – Suicide bombings killed nearly 50 people and wounded dozens in two Shiite villages north of Baghdad, including a large truck explosion Saturday that ripped through an outdoor market and buried victims in rubble, officials said.
Separately, eight American troops and a British soldier were killed in fighting over two days.
Am I the only one watching Live Earth this morning? Al Gore made me cry when he introdued the concert at the American Indian Museum grounds today.
Mojo @ 18
Note that Gore does not favor impeachment — it would take too much time.
Mack @ 10
Did you bring enough to share, Mack?
Uh-oh! Kobe’s apparated over from Jane’s place and is trying to get at my plate! DOWN, Kobe!
From the continuing series: What’s Wrong With America
Whether or not one agrees with liberal policies as the best policies of governance, everyone should be proud and take as a compliment being called a Liberal. Liberal means you care about people other than yourself. Its an adjective people should seek out. But in today’s America among the darkness that is repug nation, Liberal is a smear, a snide remark, something you call someone to denigrate them and categorize them as a really bad person. What a preposterous condition! That the United States, a nation founded on such noble ideals of humanity and governance could be turned from its ideals by a bunch of screaming harpies to the point where “liberal” is a dirty word.
.
HA!!
Cool comment from a KOS diary about Schuster:
“You’re a liberal-”
–”Right. About this war–we TOLD YOU SO.”
– “Right. I joined the side that gave you the American Revolution.”
–”yeah, I’m with the folks who invented the weekend.”
“Yeah. Like Jesus.”
by kathy in virginia”
Oklahoma kiddo @ 18
Try Genocide….
Of our Society..
of our country..
of our founding principals..
of Iraqi’s..
of our economy..
of our faith in government.
of our freedoms..
of our entire planet…
These people have wrought more evil in the last 6 1/2 years than the REST of the wolrld’s dictators combined..
Where is are the tar and feathers ??
wigwam @ 27
I have noted that. ;0)
AZ Matt @ 23
As Vince Foster wrote in his suicide note, these people “lie without consequence”. Yeah, he was speaking specifically of the WSJ’s editorial board and William Safire, but really it fits all of the conservative movement and its fellow travelers.
Bay State Librul @ 17
She’s a blithering fool. They’ve got to get themselves a new attorney.
Waccamaw @ 13
THANKS! (((hug)))
wigwam @ 32
If you are talking about Joe and Valerie, they Do have a great attorney. I have known him since he was in law school and he is one of the best in the country. His name has not been mentioned very much regarding their case except where I live.
One thing I will say for Mr. Bush. He has not failed do what he set out to do.
Phoenix Woman I’ve been thinking a bit about the firey divide that is often created and stoked by both parties. And how many Democrats, Republicans and Independents find themselves not so far apart on many issues.
I hope that in the future we can find ourselves (which I believe is happenning with groups like MoveOn and Codepink) where we target the candidates based on the issues and where they stand and how they have voted not which party they are in.
The fiery Republican/Democrat divide has been used far too often by those who want to take the spotlight off the issue at hand.
Twain @ 35
You are right. I was talking about the lady
lawyer who appeared on HardBalls, I think on Wednesday, but I can’t remember her name
Mojo @ 30
War Criminals for sure! I just wish the International Community would call them out (even though there is not much that can be done)
Has any country set up sanctions against the U.S.?
Bay State Librul @ 37
Since I can’t stand to watch Hardballs, I don’t know who she is.
Bay State Librul @ 38
Melanie Sloan from CREW
AZ Matt @ 22
And it needs to be pointed out and tied to Trent Lott BRAGGING about the Rethugs being an obstructionist party, blocking any initiatives the Dems have proposed.
wigwam @ 9:09 -
Seems it’s almost one of those chicken vs. egg thingies……ie. if the “prepared” part came first, there’d have been a lot less of the “shit” part from the get-go.
Also Melanie Sloan isn’t apparently doing a very good job of representing CREW *or* the Wilsons these days.
anangryoldbroad -
Watching on Bravo…….no sign of Gore yet.
The lizard brains on the right view us progressives as EVIL. Therefore anything that upsets us, irregardless of the actual impact on our collective well-being, is seen as a source of joy. Annoying the libruls is an end in itself because they are Good and we are Bad. Idiots.
BTW: the Live Earth live stream is really quite good. Check it out
Waccamaw @ 42
I’m surprised. I have great respect for CREW.
There was a shot of Gore trying to clap in time to Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood earlier. As much as I love the man, he has no rhythm. And they REALLY shouldn’t film/tape him from below so we get a shot up his nostrils.
Phoenix Woman @ 9
Thank you FDL gurus for all that you do!
Kevster @ 44
I’ve actually had some ditto head acquaintances try to provoke me so that they could then call into Limpballs’ show and brag about how they got the librul riled up.
Twain -
Same CREW respect here…….including major donations in the past. Shuster was on in place of Tweety the other day (as mentioned by others) and had Sloan there at one point in time. She just did a *really* poor job; sorry, can’t remember specifics to justify that reaction.
Maybe we need a “Live Earth” kind of event to help remove the “powers that be”….oh, yeah…maybe this is it…
Bravo running the Blue Man group for Live Earth right now……..total hoot!
Lea-no uh @ 47
There is going to be a great deal of Gore hammering coming on! Gore is going to take out Hillary, Obama and Edwards in the fall.
I believe the tidal wave is still coming a response to the 2000 Supreme court judicial coup and all the catastrophic consequences of that horrible selection of the Bush administration 7 years ago.
RE-ELECT GORE!
The Gore Tsunami
Black-Eyed Peas on Sundance
wigwam @ 27
When does justice and holding people accountable for serious crimes take up too much time? Gore is wrong about this!
If you’re streaming Live Earth, go to the Africa feed. It’s really good right now. Gore’s supposed to be on in DC in 15 minutes.
kathleen @ 55
Anybody have verification of Gore clearing his calendar for the next 6 months (Presidential run ??) ??
Or was this just a vicious rumour to give us progressives false hope ??
OT but what is the cost for an independent polling organization to do a polling for us… A Zogby or someone else? Could a separate donation pot be initiated to start gathering the funds to have periodic polls done for us? Let us decide the topic and the wording… or at least consult on the wording. Could it be in conjuction with Huffington Post?
carrots in an omlette? eeeeeeyyyw! I always kinda thought you were an oddball, but this puts it beyond all doubt ;-)
Bay State Librul @ 39
Melanie Sloan
Too Funny! Another Republican A**HOLE!
AZ Matt @ 61
But — but Freddie’s authentic! Just like Bush! Honest!
AZ Matt -
Just the guy I’ve been looking for!
Have you watched any of the reruns of the editorial cartoonists convention this week on C-Span? It’s really neat to see some of these people live; there was an especially good one wrt to blogging and ed.c.s.
Phoenix Woman @ 63
Waccamaw @ 64
Haven’t seen it. Thanks for the word on that.
AZ Matt @ 65
Freddie as an actor is probably one of the worst outcomes of the H2Ogate era. All because some producers thought he looked good and projected well on TV.
AZ Matt -
They’re run several repeats (probably won’t have made the screen had Congress been in session); hope you may get the chance to still catch some of it.
dakine01 @ 67
Yea….
In a Buford Pusser kinda’ way !!!
Bob Gieger’s Saturday cartoon round-up!
If you haven’t seen a Mark Foire animated cartoon do yourself a favor and click on the one at the bottom of the list, it is really good!
dakine01 @ 66
Uh-huh. And he, like Bush and other Southern and faux-Southern pols, benefit from being seen as folksy/stupid/innocent
People tend to see stupid as virtuous, and many men have got very rich thereby.
Ronald Reagan’s (a non-Southerner, but widely seen as folksy/stupid) favorite political ad agency was run by Jerry Della Femina, the same guy who hired Yogi Berra because people stupidly thought the malapropic Yogi was stupid and therefore incapable of deception. A portion of an exact quote of Della Femina, from a bio of Yogi, runs like this: “The American public percieves intelligence as evil.”
Phoenix Woman @ 71
I thought it was interesting that this week it came out that Fred was feeding Nixon information from the congress on the Watergate hearings. Fred was Nixon’s snitch, stoolie, rat-fink or whatever you want to call him. He betrayed the congress.
Mojo @ 58
During the last several months on Matthews Sunday program Howard Fineman and another reporter have mentioned that close sources to Gore have given strong indication that he will declare in the fall, after the Nobel Peace Prize nominations.
I thought FDL’ers could MULTI-TASK…
Ya know… Like commenting while watching Live Earth :-)
kathleen @ 73
Thank You..
This made my weekend.. along with Live Earth of course
Gee Do you think the Nobel Prize would help or hurt a candidates chances ???
Only the Goper knuckle-draggers could not vote for Gore in a general election..
How anyone can describe Thompson as a good actor is beyond my comprehension; not to mention he’s ugly as spit.
And Dog save us from any more of what PW described as “folksy/stupid/innocent” pretenders to the WH.
I got the funniest feeling that Gore’s gonna get the Peace Prize; not that he doesn’t totally deserve it but whoever the people are who make the decision would probably consider a vote for him as a wonderful stake in the heart of shrub. ;-)
My mother loves Freddie’s voice and would vote for him just for that. On the other hand, my father, also a life-long Repub, is going to vote for whoever the Dems nominate, even Hillary. That’s how pissed off he is at the Repubs.
re: watching live earth.
i’ve wanted gore to run for prez at least since his mlk day speech in jan 2006. and today is the first day, i think he’s really going to do it.
but, i’m embarassed to tell you why…. it’s ‘cuz i saw him when he spoke at the dc live earth event this morning…. and it was clear that he’s lost weight.
damn. i want the old new gore.
Yes..
The International Film Jury at Cannes did the same thing with the Palm d’Oro when they awarded it to M. Moore…
I’d love to see Gore get the Peace prize…
THEN become our 44th President..
Millineryman @ 7
Yes, Yes, Yes!
Oh and by the way. This is no longer a minority opinion.
Walt Handelsman animated cartoon featuring VP Cheney – Loverly!
Seriously funny!
AZ Matt @ 81
Very funny!
Mojo @ 75
I have my fingers crossed that Gore is hanging back as a well thought out strategy. Let the others duke it out, keep doing his important and effective work, and then run right over Clinton, Obama and Edwards reclaiming the territory that the Supreme court robbed our nation of in 2000.
I don’t know if winning the Nobel Peace Price would help or hurt, but being nominated seems like a good thing. Although I believe John Bolton was nominated and that is not saying much.
IMPEACH
CONVICT
REMOVE
INDICT
CONVICT
INCARCERATE
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 14
With luck, this time we’ll actually get him inaugerated.
Waccamaw @ 50
I thought she seemed a bit lacking in factual knowledge of her case and not at all quick on her feet – I kinda cringe when I think that she might be the person trying to depose Cheney.
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes when they leave us, their passing goes unnoticed. Here’s one who is worth remembering…
Subject: SFGate: Tod Mikuriya — psychiatrist, medical marijuana advocate
Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2007
Please find an important belated notice on a great man and his passing. LC
This is a huge loss of long time counter cultural hero. Why his second marriage was
performed by the Rev. Alan W Watts no less ! The Dr. also understood the more
spiritual uses of marijuana, as well as how it threatens the “new world order” types. Unknown to many, besides being a marijuana advocate, the Dr. was an avid and original trailblazer in the field of bio- feedback research and light therapies.
Before he left us the Dr. worked for many decades at over six hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area. When AIDS began its terrible march in the City of San Francisco, he was the Dr. who believed in his patients and supported them in ever way and continued until his end.Another great one has left us .We must all come together to continue his important work . Plenty is left to be done and can be done, if only we, like the good Dr., keep believing in the patients and the importance of keeping access to the medicine open to all those many still in need . . Let us burn one for Dr. Tod —see that it is a phatt one!!!!!!
Leland Cole
“Grand Spook of Lower Bohemia”
William S Burroughs 1989″
Thanks to Leee Cole for that link, no doubt the neocons and the wingnuts would argue with putting a “pothead doctor” on the same list with Thomas Jefferson, but I would guess, Dr. Todd brought more comfort to more people than most of our heroes of democracy.
From tomorrow’s NYTimes, For Libby, Bush Seemed to Alter His Texas Policy. Just a bit of an understatement there huh?
Is there a spot for a write-in vote for Prez? Because I intend to vote for Gore whether he runs or not. I will not vote for Hillary (primarily because of her backing of the bill to make flag-burning illegal. Before that I thought if she was the dem nominee, I’d hold my nose and vote for her!)
PS, I am very impressed with the Live Earth Concert!
Maybe this has been discussed here already, but I sure hope every Democratic presidential candidate and every member of Congress reads the series about Bob Gates and the CIA posted on Tomdispatch.com. Its painful but information that is desperately needed if the country is going to get back on track.
anna @ 83
Gore has always had class.. maybe too much class..e.g Florida re-count in 2000.. I think this comes from being raised by a statesmen as opposed to a opportunistic war-monger ala Dubya.
Gore is DEFINITELY taking the high road.. away from the mud-slinging that is pre-requisite to campaigning. I’m hoping he jumps in or is drafted thereby uniting the entire country behind him.. Including the sane Repugs..
We need a strong helmsman to steer this country from the precipice of disaster we find ourselves today.
Ann in AZ @ 90
It’s like a banquet of amazing performances from around the globe!
Youtube should light up like a thousand candles w/these great performances from all over the world. For anyone late to the Live Earth party, Bravo has coverage right now, as well as Sundance Channel, & here are live feeds from around the world online:
Live Earth Feeds
AZ Matt @ 23
This is what a President would say prior to shutting Congress down for malfeasance. These are very scary words.
Good morning all! Foggy here, late sleepers….
Gore? I don’t think so:
In fact, Al Gore’s voting record as a senator was surprisingly conservative until he rolled his eye toward the White House. Throughout most of his career, he was pro-life and had an 84% anti-abortion rating from the National Right to Life Committee. From 1979 – 81, he voted five times on the side of a Republican sponsored rider that granted a tax exemption for schools like Bob Jones University that discriminate on the basis of race. He was openly anti-gay, calling homosexuality “abnormal” and “wrong,” and telling the Tennessean in 1984 that he did “not believe it is simply an acceptable alternative that society should affirm.” Gore was such a strong supporter of the gun lobby – ultimately voting against the critical 1985 legislation for a mandatory 14-day waiting period for handgun purchases – that National Rifle Association leader Wayne LaPierre once said, “We could have made Al Gore NRA Man of the Year – every single vote.” Finally, when it came time to vote on conservative Supreme Court nominees, Gore publicly praised but voted against the scandal-ridden Clarence Thomas. He voted in Antonin Scalia. If the wider public had been more aware of his legacy, few would have recognized the Al Gore of 1988 who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Pulling his hat down so that his eyes are shadowed from the sun, Vidal continues his effortless assault on Al Gore: “Another border-state, southern lover of the Pentagon…there was never anything the Pentagon asked for that Cousin Albert wasn’t down there giving it to them; he voted for the first war in the Gulf.”
Indeed, Al Gore was one of only ten Democrats to break with the party and vote for President Bush Sr.’s Gulf War in 1991.
dakine01 @ 6
And we can’t know, because this information would have been classified–by the defendant??
rwcole @ 95 –
i agree with you… gore pre-2000 was not a politician i could get very excited about. lot’s of stuff to dislike…
but i think since 2002 there’s a big difference. that’s the al gore i support.
selise~my thoughts exactly
Say what you will..
Gore is the most qualified candidate either party has seen in a generation…
rwcole says at 95
July 7th, 2007 at 10:51 am
I happen to think that Gore has grown a lot since then! He seems to be on the right side of most issues now. Besides, he at least knows and respects the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Geneva Conventions. He respects the environmental issues, and understands the power of the internet.
So, if not Gore, who do you prefer, RW?
wigwam @ 27
ReElect President Al Gore in 2008 – it promises to be the largest majority vote in our history.
Just imagine: a White House chock full of integrity, intelligence, patriotism, humanism and and respected leadership globally.
From The Next Hurrah!: From Marcy!
From AP:
rwcole @ 95
So I guess that means he would pick up the Catholic vote and gun owners.
Gore should quit wearing shirts that button too tightly at the neck. He looks like a over inflated balloon. He looks like he is going to pop like a tic. Other than that he is the perfect prez.
dakine01 @ 6
I disagree with the court that American citizens don’t have standing in something like this. We’re all harmed by this activity, because it allows the government to identify the people it doesn’t like and blackmail them, put them on a secret “no fly” list, or declare them “enemy combatants” (or whatever the boogeyman of the hour is) and throw them in prison.
IANAL, of course, which is probably why I feel this way.
Mary McCurnin @ 105
I wish he would dress more informally just some of the time. It reminds me of Nixon in that campaign photo where he was taking a walk on the beach in a suit and tie.
selise @ 97
Nevertheless, everything rwcole said about Al Gore is true. Late last summer, Gore was touring Europe, touting his movie about the environment, as the biggest oil spill in the history of the Mediterranean Sea – the Beirut oil spill – was spreading within a few hundred miles of where he was. He said nothing about this environmental calamity then, and hasn’t mentioned it since.
Re: Live Earth- the So. Af. group on Sundance right now are so fine- sound is right out of Soweto…
Oklahoma kiddo @ 19
Literally!
Come join us upstairs, Donna Edwards is here with Howie!
Blue America: Donna Edwards Could Be A Very Big Part Of A Bright Future For America
rwcole @ 95
Yep, that’s the Al Gore I remember. Maybe he’s grown up since then, but there’s still that lingering mistrust that you always feel when someone suddenly changes his deeply-held views on things for no apparent (good) reason.
Ann
Richardson- but I’ll probably vote for Edwards.
The US probably wins back world respect most with Hillary- if Bill becomes Secretary of State- which would make sense- it would help to wipe out the blight of the last six years.
Cujo359 @ 112
I’ll never forgive the PMRA attempt to stifle free speech through censoring music. Zappa wasn’t any too happy about that either.
RW, actually, I like Richardson and Edwards, too. But, after that speech at Constitution Hall on MLK day, 2006, I am absolutely convinced that Gore is “the One.” Pretty much all the others also have many negatives attached to their names also, and, although I would love to be able to vote for the first woman President, I will not vote for Hillary because I think she is too calculating and would sell out for a few extra votes or Lord knows how many pieces of silver. Obama so far seems to be mostly an empty suit who may yet fall prey to corporate interests due to naivete. Just not enough experience yet. He peaked too soon, if you ask me. It’s a shame, because I think he has a lot of potential, but was rushed into too early a run. Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
Rwcole, at the moment I think that Gore might be our best hope for winning back world respect. Because of the concerts, he is *everywhere* here (Germany) today, at the top of every news broadcast. They’re showing “An Inconvenient Truth” now on prime-time TV. The original release of the movie was also very widely covered here. The US hasn’t had this kind of good PR in a loooooong time.
james @ 115
Actually, Tipper was behind that — and she found out to her chagrin that she’d been hornswoggled by the PMRC. In fact, the Gores and the Zappas wound up becoming very good friends!
Ann in AZ @ 116
that was great speech. i made a list of links to many of gore’s speeches (including his mlk day speech, “Restoring the Rule of Law”) since 2002… down load the mp3s and be inspired.
dakine01 @ 6
Although it seems clearly at odds with common sense, the outcome of the case is not obviously wrong when viewed through the (cracked) lens of contemporary Supreme Court case law on standing. The cases are hopelessly irreconcilable, with the result that a judge can find support in the case law for voting either way on standing on just about any fact pattern you can imagine.
Marty Lederman has a useful analysis up at Balkinization. I also strongly recommend that you click through the link in Marty’s post to what Althouse wrote on the same subject. Notwithstanding that she is an a**, her analysis here is worthy of being taken seriously.
Selise,
In case you’re interested, there is a full video version of the speech still available at:
http://www.acslaw.org/node/2096
I hope y’all are watching the “Live Earth” concerts today (too freakin hot to be outside anyway, at least it is in Tennessee)
I’m flipping back and forth between Bravo and Sundance channels, and I gotta say, it gives me hope.
I started working for change in elementary school (okay, the first changes were for dress codes and such, but still..) My first environmental petition was in the 70’s, while I was in high school, trying to stop clearcutting in Bankhead National Forest in Alabama. And yeah, we won – about 20 years after that first petition, but we won.
And what was once my great grandfather’s land is now part of Sipsey Wilderness area. And it is BEAUTIFUL!
All these years later, I’m still feeling like I can change the world.
Are y’all with me?? Lemme hear a HELL YEAH!!!