Guess.

Leisure Guy!

the guess who?

hey eureka

EPU’ed

Thanks for letting me vent. This issue was supposed to be dead. I am glad we have the “Tres Amigas” in Christy, Jane and Digby. It will be much better when spineless Dems and all rightards refer to them as Atillas De Broadzillas.

Goodnight and keep after them.

g’nite ofg

Aloha, ES! Nite, OFG!

Good morning / evening, fabulous firedogs…)

So, what now?

Has anybody noticed a Stench in the air?

Stenynch? /s

I think it’s coming from D.C.

No, the music cleared it out.

Btw, neuro, I loved the way your mnd was working on your local critters this evening.. Out of the box.

This song seems a bit more appropriate, given the events of today.

Digg it

You can Digg this right HERE

I swore off politics for the rest of the weekend.

The Stenchy Horror Betrayal Show

must… go… eat… finally cool enough… no pronouns…

yous guyes did it again – a double digg – which one is the one up top of the post nahant and neuro?

Eureka, well, guess I’m gonna have to do the Warren Zevon thing:

Warren Zevon Disorder in the House
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW2fDRLd6jM

To quote:
“It’s home of the brave and the land of the free where the less you know, the better off you’ll be. …I’m sprawled across the davenport of despair.” etc. etc.

oh gawd, I can’t even begin to quote all of the great lines in this one….

Can always take a cow for a walk.

SO I took my defeated patriotic self out to the blueberry fields this afternoon. Which means I will be canning tomorrow, after pancakes. *g

What a dull life you lead.

never mind, nahant has the official Digg, Digg it at 15 or at the top of the page

nahant, I thought you were still BBQing

Looks like I got there first… Sorry Neuro I clicked on digg and it hadn’t done been dugg so.. well you know… I was gonna say you were falling down on the job…but you just twern’t quick enough:>)

jealous glare

SO many possibilities for a one song slot up above. I admit it was a struggle to keep it from going very dark tonight.. jack is just twisted enough to make me laugh at this strange inexplicable day.

Done cooking, eating doing dishes and
I’m back… hope you guys liked the Ribs I sent ya!

suzanne, you have just got to get that glare under control!

Why the hell did Obama back the immunity bill?

Hey the farm is about a half mile from my house… Bumper crop this year!

enjoyed watching the looks on the forking enn-ess-aaa’s sad faces while i was eating em and licking my fingers, thanks dood

Aren’t these two incredible? Glad they’re buddies.

too forking hot to have control neuro. 20 degrees cooler than the hottest part of the day but that is still too forking hot

Suzanne’s glare is a killer.

Because he’s hopeful that the telecoms will change their ways? Getting serious buyer’s remorse with that guy.

Sorry Hannibal, I don’t get that at all. What does it mean?

hey now… i’ve only used it to stun.. never have i set it to the lethal setting

I’ve been buried in big projects for about four weeks, and have only my nightly dose of Olbermann to keep me informed on what has happened. But, I’m stunned at this FISA shit, and most importantly the fact that Obama, a lecturer on constitutional law at the University of Chicago, has endorsed this pile of steaming crap. What the fuck is wrong with that man’s head? I voted for him, because I thougt he was less likely to do something like this than Hillary. Apparently I made a very big error.

VG, great song!

I have no idea.

nahant, you are here in time to give me (I hope) some technical advice.

several times tonight I have gone to look at/for a YouTube, and gotten this message:

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe’s Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.

Twice tonight I have followed the commands to load the latest Flash player, and it has told me that it was successfully installed, and then I have restarted my computer. But I still keep getting that message–and no access to YouTubes…

What’s up with that?

neuro, utubes have been all funky ever since i switched to the firefox 3

i keep having to reinstall my flash player too :( :( :(

Oopsie! STUN is the truth.

Because he’s hopeful that the telecoms will change their ways?

The telecoms just gave millions to the congress through lobbyists. Why the hell do these fucking clowns in congress act like they are going to fight for our civil liberties then turn around and fuck us over.

Oh well, cute cow anyway.

Missing you around the LLN lake, wigwam.

yeah, it’s worse than going awol. My vote in November may be in sheer agony.

cows

Yes, but the end isn’t exactly too cheerful.

Neuro, that’s what it always tells me, because I use NoScript in Firefox. You have to approve YouTubes and a couple other things maybe and then it will work.

did nahant go back for seconds on the bbq? lucky dog

I can’t watch all these wonderful utubes u all are posting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rj9OUWD528
Chicago

Cows with balls.

I have been having problems FF3 also… will have to do some testing of that when I have time… Try Opera 9.5 seems to be working great with youtube. You can get it here for free..

i tried disabling my noscript, margot, and the forking utubes still hang 2 seconds into play. i’ve disabled the various plug ins the youtube help page has.

still forking hangs

That just caused my synapses to misfire on an idea. Maybe we need a big grassroots movement of people refusing to pay their phone bill as a sign of protest. Wouldn’t work without a lot of people, massive numbers. An alternative is to go into the nearest payment office, and pay the bill in pennies. For myself, I’m tempted to wipe my ass with my phone bill, and mail that along with my money, and a note, “This is how you regard the constitution, just thought you’d like to know the feeling’s mutual.”

A lot of people last thread said that they unsubscribed from Obama’s list. I’m going to wait on that…can’t let McCane get an advantage…

John Dean thinks this bill might erase the civil suits against the telecoms, but that criminal cases are still a possibility.

I think so too! Just gotta mention to Suz that it is Warren Zevon AND Bruce Springsteen!

Bailed on FFox 3 in about a day. Memory hog.

i sure as hell hope the fuckers charged criminally

My lame theory on Obama and the FISA f***-up:
He is only the ‘presumtive’ nominee – and that depends on the superdelegates – many of whom are the members of the House and Senate. Some members have already refused to endorse him.

His actual position right now is a junion Senator from Illinois – that is – no seniority. Just because he is the presumptive nominee means nothing at this stage.

He still has to make it to the convention and be voted on.

Can’t make all those super-d’s mad at him.

Plus there’s always the 170,000 dollars he has received from the telcom industry…..

i’ve liked ff3 – using less memory and its not getting all funky and locking up on me like 2. was. except for the utube and no sound issues…

I am so prudent! I never installed FF3! FF2 works just fine, thank you.

Why isn’t there music like this today? Or is there and I just don’t know about it?

Nope! Besides I am stuffed… just like the peppers.. well at least for.. Will start thinking about dessert soon though:>)

Iceland!

one of the lawyer-type firepups a couple of threads ago said there are actually two sections – one that says only civil actions,

but the other one says any court

so the thing is up for some court to decide just what that means, and that means all bets are off as far as them getting any kind of penalty.

Imagine how much support he would get if he stood up in the next few days and assumed the position of party leader on this very American constitutional issue.. Independents, a lot of GOPers, Greens and Libs would really take notice, imo. (Worth far more than 170K too)

later tonight when i reinstall flash player again, i’ll be playing it.. right now, no sound and it hangs 2 seconds into play :*(

Yeah, but that was jayt!!! (Love ya, Jayt)

no shit… we wudda been cheering and happy he stood up – makes me wonder if he is just all talk and no real change/action

I like your take on the situation.

Somebody needs to break the mold and say NO to lawless GOP McGeorge Co.

People will love that person for it.

‘zackly.

I am so disappointed. I will vote for him in Nov, but holding nose, eyes closed, trying not to barf…

I have been defending him right and left against all kinds of crap but why bother. He’s not defending me against my OWN government!

ed zachary!

I will do it!!! I fucking swear to gawd. I will do it. Let me at them.

Must be an Apple thingy… FF3 uses less memory with Vista! But as Suz says youtube does seem to hang after about 2 seconds… Will do some poking around with it in the morning..

I will carry you on my shoulders! *s

thanks, dood… shoot me off an email when ya get it figured out.. this not being able to play utubes totally sucks big time

Agreed.
Checking into a bad font right now as well.

Will do… try the Opera works fine

Youtubes have been tricky for me on two different macs.. both safari and pre FF3, for a couple of months now.

If he can’t stand up for us now, I hold out NO hope when he’s in the white house. I am disgusted. I will vote for him, but I will do it knowing not a fucking thing will change. Yes he can, but no he won’t.

I’d like to know how many phone calls & emails the Blue Dogs got that were for and against the FISA bill? Could the other side be contacting them and saying their Dem’s? Is this a plausible explanation for why so many voted for it? I ask this because I sign petitions and twice I got back an email from my Senator with a topic subject line that I did not even contact her about and I thought that was extremely weird.

I’m guessing due to a combination of fear that he’ll be called soft on terror (that will happen anyway) and apprehension over dealing, if elected, with the structures already in place.

Grit TV viewer, is impossible. But that could be my medium connection speed.

yeah – i could not believe it when i heard on ko thursday when some fool was saying that they were not hearing from anyone in opposition to the bill

lying fuckers

Hmmmm NSA Telco manipulation?

Interestingly, I have never heard any poll questions or results on these issues. Except in an either you want terrorists or liberty context. Do they not ask intentionally?

I get that, but he said he would fight for us. Do you think any of these corrupt bastards are going to go away without a fight. He’s going to be in for a dog fight in the general, if he can’t stand up to this kind of pressure I am worried already.

YouTube works fine on my Mac, though it’s a PPC and not an Intel, which might be part of it.

I agree with that one Suz… While watching C-Span every call was against the FISA bill as written.

flying luckers.

You are assuming that they respond to actual humans.

Ok, this is just wrong. Obama’s gutlessness on FISA is actually making Bob Barr look good. And I left the Libertarian Party because he, and others like him, joined it. Fuck.

Bob Barr on immunity:

Q. What about this question of granting telecommunications companies immunity for disclosing their customers’ private calling information to the government without proper authority?

A. Companies, just like individuals, should not violate the law, regardless of their motivation. Legislation allowing companies to violate the law just because a government official asks them to would set a terrible precedent we would come to regret mightily.

as opposed to bribes lobbyists

Was it a Rethug? No one called them cuz we all knew it would be useless…

bullshit lying fuckers – we fucking called – they ignored it

You rascals – thanks for the best laugh out loud of this steneystinking wretched day. FDL – a link with sanity 24/7

*taking deep breath and forgetting my anger and going with the flow and trying to get my zen back on again*

hey npb.. you getting smoke from the fire in south santa cruz county?

hooray, I installed Opera and now YouTube is grooving for me.

thank you nahant, if you are still here. you are a gentleman, and no doubt a genius as well :)

*snicker* The snark, I can’t turn it off!

I am sorry to cause you all that bad stuff. Please forgive.

>extends flower offering

going with the flow and trying to get my zen back on again

not.enough.pot.on.the.planet. for me right now.

Dam not another one!!! I hadn’t heard about it yet.

thanks (sniffing deeply)

Sorry Suzanne, I’ve been on the road and out of news all day. Just read about the whole thing. Fresh anger here. Won’t make another peep.

Fire being previewed on local 7… looks bad:>) Just what we need another freaking fire in this heat:>(

no, not what i meant at all… please, don’t not vent because of me

i’ve just got to get my zen on.. am now focusing on the latest fire on the news, down in south county

Random fun fact: Bill Ayers has a blog.

Suz they are saying looks like it was set… some sick bastard!

set 5 fires alongside the freeway, nahant – still under investigation, fire has burned 15 structures, 1,000 acres, 2000 evacuated and freeway is still closed.

Obama has a lot of redeeming himself to do with the progressive community. And, maybe, as John Dean says, he’ll come out next week and tell how he’d go after the FISA violators with criminal charges. I’d love it. But, I’m not betting on it.

We have no alternative but to support Obama for the presidency. But the key is to get progressives into congress and especially to get rid of the Blue Dogs, who IMHO are far worse than Republicans. So, long as we can have a democratic majority, I’d prefer a republican to a blue dog.

firemap for what i’m talking about

tbsa – We are all bewildered.. I missed most of the day myself.. Fortunately I caught Eli’s venting thread earlier..

As Suz always says, this is LLN where off topic is the topic! So vent away..)

Watching news now… sorry for all the animals… hope they catch that sickie:>(

probably some wingnut who wants to drown government in grover’s bathtub by overtaxing its emergency response capabilities

I just pulled up the Declaration of Independence to revisit its thinking and terminology, and was struck by the phrase “long train of abuses and usurpations”.

How blue is he anyways? Yahoo has an article that says Chuck Hagel would consider being Obama’s VP. Now is their so few candiates in our own party that Dems have to look to the GOP for a VP. I was pissed when I read 4 yrs ago that Biden was considering McCain as a running mate. What is going on?

ANother one twelve bites the dust

Suicide attack on US convoy in southern Afghanistan kills 12

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Agencies): A suicide attack on a military convoy killed a US-led soldier and 11 Afghans in southern Afghanistan Friday, a day after a huge operation to drive Taleban rebels from a key stronghold. The convoy was driving through a crowded bazaar in the troubled province of Helmand when it was hit by small-arms fire and then an insurgent detonated explosives strapped to his body, officials said. Separately, two US-led coalition troops were killed Thursday in an operation against insurgents in Helmand, the country’s main opium growing area, while nine people died in clashes the western province of Farah. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for any of the incidents, but the Taleban had vowed to launch suicide attacks to avenge this week’s big offensive by Nato and Afghan troops in southern Kandahar province.

Hi Eureks. Thanks. For the past two weeks I’ve been working ’round the clock to get a report out. It went out tonight at 5:00 PDT, and I’ve been on happy time ever since. But even before this two-week crash project I had another that was pretty damn consuming for a couple of weeks. Anyway, I think/hope that I’m back now. And, I feel like the world has gone to hell in my absence: Obama supporting that FISA abomination!!! I’ve got to go over to Dkos, and see how those folks are reacting. Even last night they were confident that Obama would take a leadership role against it. Damn!!!

hello all,

the long march continues.
as Atrios says, “organize, organize, organize.” and keep voting. that’s what they don’t want us to do.
Steny Hoyer needs to have his ass handed to him, and the same with Pelosi. take no prisoners.

i can’t remember when i last made a comment. i’ve been at it seven days a week since mid-April.
good to see that you’re still knawing the political bones. i’ve got another seven days of grind before i head off to Munich, Chicago and Oregon (Portland and Bend) to see the lay of the land for myself.

y’all rock …..

They have already been tested enough with those last two fires in The hills….I give the Firemen a lot of credit for what they do especially in this heat 102 here today still 83 right now! Where is my fog damit!

yeah, welcome back wigwam.. i missed ya

Did any of you late nite pups receive an impeachment update from national treasure Congressman Kucinich’s fired up update on his historic impeachment efforts today? Damn, cannot find the linky.

hey!

I just don’t understand why no one has the intestinal fortitude to stand up to these criminal fuckers. What the hell will it take for us to stop them? Have any of these idiots read the constitution they swore to protect and defend? I will not believe a word any of them say again. BO will be no different, say one thing do another. He can talk about change all he wants but he’s just as full of shit as HRC is. We need to throw every last one of them out and start again.

Well, I am not optimistic by any stretch.. But he can still do something in these last couple of days before the Senate finalizes the “compromise”.

It’s time he assume the position of party /nation leader… because he’s going to take the heat like one who didn’t lead if he doesn’t. Rightfully so, imo.

Signed and sent mine already.

I wrote this on the His Blog today… got only one responce of support for my position:

Today I was very disapointed with our candidates stance on the FISA bill! I cannot fathom why anyone who represents us could possibly support this COMPROMISE on FISA. It is in direct conflict with our 4th admendment rights. When will our constitution be fully supported by our representatives, it has stood the test of time and now to just thows it under the bus is very disturbing to me. I did serve our country during the Vietnam conflict though I never saw conflict personaly I still served my three years and I did so knowing that our constitution and country were the main driving force for me to serve. I sincerly hope that MR Obama will change his stance on this FISA bill which grants immunity to both the big Telco’s and this decrepit administration. Why oh why should we accept such a compromise giving away the rule of law and allowing these criminals to usurp our constitution.

I was on the verge of donating to his campaign but unless he changes his stance on Immunity I in good conscience cannot donate my hard earned money to him at this time. I will still vote for him come November because I do see the big picture and we must have a Democrate in the White House but as of today I cannot/will not donate any money to him.

I know some of you will have fun making fun of my beliefs and that is your right under our constitution. But I feel I had to speak out on this Constitutional issue and state my objections to the FISA bill as passed in the House today.

I hope all of you do know what this means… All of your electronic communication will be monitored and I do mean all of it. In San Francisco that splitter is just what it implys every thing that travels over those back bones are copied over to the NSA… I know the tired old statement of “If you don’t have anything to hide what are you worried about”. But that is not the point, it is that that violates OUR FOURTH ADMNEDMENT RIGHTS. And makes a mockery of the Constitution.

Okay, check this. As I said, I was headed over to Dkos to see what they had to say about Obama’s capitulationism. But, of course, my firefox still was stuck on last night, and this pathetic piece of shit was what greeted me:

Obama Staff “Literally Reviewing FISA as we speak” Hotlist
by thereisnospoon [Subscribe]
Thu Jun 19, 2008 at 02:42:42 PM PDT

I just called Senator Obama’s office. A very courteous staffer answered the phone immediately.

I mentioned that I was a precinct captain for the Obama campaign in California, that I was a caucus captain in Nevada who broke the story about the caucus shenanigans by the Clinton campaign.

I explained that I was extremely concerned about the FISA compromise currently being rammed through the House, and that it was very, very important to me that Senator Obama use his leverage to make a public stand against this capitulation.

The response was somewhat heartening:

“We hear you loud and clear. The staff are literally reviewing the FISA issue as we speak. You’ll be hearing from us soon.”

* thereisnospoon’s diary

This is a fucking tragedy, and an outrage. All of these fine people putting their hearts and souls behind Obama’s campaign, and he sides with Steny and the telcos.

I’m really, really pissed.

Agreed.. it just doesn’t add up.. not even all the telco money.. Nationalize the damn telcos before embracing frigging fascism for them and McBushco! I don’t care what it takes.

They are low information legislators.

Try this one and yes I did sign the petition and asked that Representative Dennis J. Kucinich give it to my congresscritter Anna eschoo

i’m bailing early tonight pups. have a showing early tomorrow afternoon and the open house sunday. had a showing this afternoon in addition to the one yesterday – don’t wanna get my hopes up but… fingers and toes crossed and i stood over buried st joe and re-read the st joe prayer (and threatened to dig him up)

Good nite, Suz.. Hang in there!

Lots of luck Suz… crossing everything I can for a sale for you:>)

110 degrees here at noon in garden new plants wilted. I rescued then with water and a shade from the burning sun. The animals are miserable but tommorow should be cooler. Wish the politics were not so bad the HRC/Obama fight now this very sneaky legislative strategy which was out of the Rove playbook. Looks yo me like the conservative dems are teaming with the Repukes. This came out of nowhere blam!

fingers and toes, suz. sleep some

And nationalize oil too. Since we’ve paid for a war to rip off the Iraqis, I want a piece.

But maybe green will happen, in which case big oil can die it’s own death.

I signed and sent as well – and now cannot find the link so I can forward far and wide to my family and friends. God, if I only had a brain. If you saved the link please forward when you have a free moment.

I think that any speculation about the veep slot is just that speculation at this point. The MSM has been trotting out all these different people, each with their own reason for wanting to be there. In this case, they are going with the ‘Lincoln’ thingy – getting someone from the opposition. But I don’t think that’s going to be the case IMHO.

I also don’t know who is on the ‘new and improved’ veep selection committee, other than Caroline. So I think we shall just have to wait and see. I suspect he will not announce the choice until just before the convention.

All the rest is just MSM hype and trying to fill up copy space.

Good night, Suzanne. Best luck this weekend.

firefighters rock.

and ghouliani treated them like dirt.

g’nite all and thanks *poof*

Read the Articles (http://kucinich.us/impeachment/articles.pdf) and exercise your right to be heard by signing the official Kucinich Petition.
http://impeachment.kucinich.us/petition/.

What does that mean?

They are low information legislators.

Except Dennis, hopefully???

Pardon me for butting in Mary…
They don’t know shit is the point, I believe.

We used to call blue dogs “dixiecrats”, but they’re the still the same republican slime that they’ve been since reconstruction. This will be a Democratic year, and the best time ever to rid ourselves of them, and their northern-money A*P*C sponsors like Rahm Emanuel.

Dixiecrats it is!

I signed the petition and asked that it be sent to my rep, nahant

thanks for the link

Yes, Dennis can stay, Wexler too. I heard he called for impeachment at the Mclelen (sp) hearing today.

He literly buried them..

Some properties have moved down here of late. So good luck getting the cabin in escrow. Global warming has to have a very high priority. The forest are burning early this year.

Wexler had articles of impeachment against Cheney AFTER Dennis did and then went around and acted like he was the only one – never mentioning that Dennis had already done it almost a year before. So I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt – but Dennis rocks!

You may have missed it.. Obama is endorsing Blue Dog John Barrow of Georgia.. and the primary is not over. Blue America Progressive Regina Thomas is in the running too… WTF is Obama doing? That’s pure DLC politics right there.

The only reason I can think of why Obama is doing this, is Barrow actually endorsed Obama back in Feb. of this year.. Probably not a lot of southern Blue Dogs who did such a thing. But Obama at the very least should have stayed out of the primary.

There is NO reason impeachment should be off the table. The republics impeach a president over a lie about a blow job, but this idiot disguised as a president lies us into war and we take impeachment off the table. Unfuckingbelievable!

Yeah, and the message is:

The BlueAmerica PAC is targetting John Barrow as one of the first three people to get rid of…

So we’ll see how much good that endorsement is going to do him. Pffft!

And here is Regina at FDL!

yep, today’s FISA vote sucked, and Obama’s stance is disappointing, BUT, (always the BUT) there are a couple of contexts i’d like to add…

1. the Telcos have enormous power (not just money wise, but info wise as well) and they, the Bush Admin, and many DEMS have an overwhelmingly vested interest in preventing the potential of the “discovery” process in the pending lawsuits.

2. it is easy to forget that the power of an attack by Al Quaeda to alter the math of an election is incalculable. to stand up, do the right thing (not just say the right thing) risks the possibility of potentially crippling Obama’s election effort, should such an attack occur in Aug/Sep/Oct, especially if circumstances suggest that wire-tapping could have prevented it.

(yes, i know that the FISA compromise bill doesn’t/wouldn’t actually effect ongoing investigations, but that wouldn’t stop the GOP or FOX from blaming DEMS/Obama anyway)

just my .02 food for thought
happy to be back, been a long time since the US Attorney doc hunt and the Libby trial.

I don’t know why people are so surprised that Obama has turned out to be Hillary lite. A year ago I warned that Obama is dangerous do to his proximity to Rham Emanuel.

Well, the Blue Dogs (Bushdogs) rule! I think Nancy is completely buffaloed and under the total control of Stainy Whore (similar to Dennis Hastert and Tom DeLay) and after the floor fight over who was going to be the Majority Leader and she lost, she folded her tent and has been very quiet ever since. She may be the Speaker – but Stainy Whore is who is running the show (just like Darth Cheney)

I really liked Regina when she visited the lake with Howie recently. Another Donna Edwards, Al Wynn, no brainer, imo.

Wexler wasted his 5 minutes giving a lecture on impeachment instead of asking Scottie questions that could have put more light on the administration.

jack balkin has an explanation. don’t like it, but it makes sense. :(

Why Obama Kinda Likes the FISA Bill (But He Won’t Come Out and Say It)

the conclusion:

So, let’s sum up: Congress gives the President new powers that Obama can use. Great. (This is change we can believe in). Obama doesn’t have to expend any political capital to get these new powers. Also great. Finally, Obama can score points with his base by criticizing the retroactive immunity provisions, which is less important to him going forward than the new powers. Just dandy.

It should now be clear why the Obama campaign has taken the position it has taken. And given what I have just said, Obama’s supporters should be pressing him less on the immunity provisions and more on the first part of the bill which completely rewrites FISA. Because, if he becomes president, he’ll be the one applying and enforcing its provisions.

If you really care about civil liberties in the National Surveillance State, you have to recognize that both parties will be constructing its institutions. The next President will be a major player in its construction, as important if not more important than George W. Bush ever was. That President will want more authority to engage in surveillance, and he’ll be delighted for Congress to give it to him officially.

WTF is Obama doing?

Showing his true colors.

Welcome back, muleboy! All good points.. But the GOP slime machine will make it all up, if they don’t actually blow up something anyhow. Don’t you think?

No one better suggest that ‘wiretapping could have prevented’ anything at all since it is apparent to anyone who hasn’t been asleep or dead for the past 7 years that wiretapping has been happening with or without (mostly without) any authorization or oversight. And this stupid excuse of a bill isn’t going to change that, nor would it have changed anything if it didn’t pass either. Bush and crew would have kept right on doing what they were doing. Didn’t hear much out of them when the thing didn’t pass on their timetable did you. Nope. They didn’t really care about the wiretapping part – just the IMMUNITY FOR ALL OF THEM part.

The Youtube Queen is tubeless…? That’s a travesty…! ;-)

At the risk of sounding like an apologist for Obama (which I am not, at least conscienously) who among us can be certain he isn’t reconsidering and/or insisting on further debate prior to the Senate vote.

He has a lot on his plate, what with his ongoing Hillary drama and other unimaginable stuff at this oh so heady point in his campaign/life…including the escalation of the Kucinich amendments to his Articles of Impeachment.

Doesn’t that, in effect, give him (Obama) a pass for now? There is no possibility, imo, of anything but getting Obama to use his new clout to table it all until after the change of the guard. I seriously doubt there is another round of compromising in this congresses playbook.

Ongoing Hillary drama? I must have missed that….please quickie synopsis

And all of this will be a day in Disneyland compared to what the republic slime machine is going to throw at him. If he can’t deal with this he’s going to get chewed up and spit out in the general.

Hey Wigwam good to see you. The backdoor politics is emerging hot and heavy, The Big Dog has come off of the porch and is in the backroom. Not gonna expose self for target practice. I smell K street and as Loky points out the money spigots are open. I think they are using our lobbying to leverage their takes from big money. The connection between holding regulation in check and profitability… Wall Street took big drop of late DOW under 12,000 in recession territory. Maybe paranoia but Pelosi speech was fear mongering. I remember in USMC boot camp some Sicilians saying something like fonga la douche la mozzilla mouche la minke! it was very bad sounding and she reminded me of her connects. I don’t know but their ain’t no sunshine in congress. Just sayin Anyone speak Sicilian?

interesting point/angle… i hadn’t thought of that.. tyvm.

yes, it is quite possible that a “story” will come out during the post labor day GE campaign, of a “PLAN TO ATTACK..(fill in the blank) Chicago?” which was miraculously thwarted by the ever “watchful” Bush Administration/FBI etc. that would not have been possible without the FISA-bypassing powers.

in fact, the more i think about it, the likelier something like that will happen (i imagine Obama’s team is prepared)

but, again, an actual attack, by October, may be the ONLY thing that could possibly prevent Obama’s election (and the tidal wave/coat tails it portends) and in that case many different entities would have common interests in seeing it happen.

Obama is one of the lowest seniority in the Senate. Hillary has more ‘cred’ there then he does. He may be the “presumptive” nominee but that doesn’t give him any authority in the Senate at all other than the fact that he is there.

Unless he can put a hold on the bill – and then get Harry “no spine” Reid to actually honor it, I’m afraid we’re out of luck.

No effect from immunity on terror snooping.

I don’t like a presidential candidate’s supporting or condoning bad legislation and holding out the expectation that he’ll fix it later. There’s no avoiding the message that the legislation sends, and there are effects that good intentions won’t be reversing.

Pissed?
I’m so fucking pissed off at that sonofabitch Brian Baird I wrote him a little love note.
Read what the bastard put up on his website first,

Fixing FISA and Protecting Civil Liberties
Washington, D.C. – In a historic bipartisan effort, Congress has stepped in to fix the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA H.R. 6304). The bill increases our nation’s security by ensuring there is no gap in intelligence collection against terrorists, while protecting our civil liberties by preventing the government from listening in on citizens without a lawful warrant. This bill also increases oversight of intelligence activities, rejects automatic immunity for telecommunications companies. Equally as important, it contains a 2012 sunset so that Congress can further improve it during the next Administration. …more

Insert steam whistle here.

My reply;

Mr. Baird,
You have just cast a vote, that is supposed to represent your constituency, to allow the shredding of the Constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure without a warrant.
What part of the 54 words in the 4th amendment do you not seem to understand?
Spare me the fear mongering that you are trying to do your duty to protect me from terrorists, I consider you a bigger threat to my civil liberties than the probability of anyone from another country trying to kill me outright for political reasons.
Believe me, this is not the only disagreement with your public actions I have, either.

After your trip to Iraq and your very public exclamation that the situation there was not only stable, but greatly improved, I became even more aware of your BlueDog ways.
The latest outrage besides you voicing your opinion that it is perfectly acceptable for my government to coerce the Telecom providers to intercept my private data transfers and without a warrant, share my personal information and the contents of my correspondence with untold government agencies who have no oversight,is that you seem to have convinced yourself that you need to travel at taxpayer expense to the Galapagos Islands to study Global warming.
Sir, I can tell you without leaving my house, it is very warm at that latitude this time of year, every year.
Mr. Baird, at this point, as a life long Democrat, I feel that it is my duty to inform you that I am going to go out of my way to see that you are not re-elected. There is absolutely nothing that you can say to me to try and convince me you have my best interests in mind for anything you do.

In the interest of full disclosure, something I highly recommend you start availing yourself of, I have a Blog, I participate in the Democratic process, I am going to reproduce this letter to the general public and I am going to start an awareness campaign to see you replaced, ASAP.

Enjoy your trip.

My name here

We’re going to be treated to a ‘wiretapped’ conversation between someone (doesn’t matter who) and Mahmoud Ahmedinijad wherein MA states that he has an ICBM and he just shot it at the US.

Then Bushco will declare martial law, the ‘continuity of government’ secret plan will immediately take effect. The secret organization of business leaders deputized to help will begin shooting citizens on sight or rounding them up (all 8 million troublemakers) and sending them to the brand new Halliburton detention camps. The election will be suspended due to the ‘emergency’.

We will declare war on Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah, and nuke them all.

How’s that! Remember, you heard it here first!

Unless he can put a hold on the bill – and then get Harry “no spine” Reid to actually honor it, I’m afraid we’re out of luck.

But he’s the party leader now. And I wondered about that angle, this way.. What if he insisted Harry honor Dodds hold?

i think there two aspects of this. number one is to try to understand. and number two is to try to do what we can to stop it or at least make the guilty pay a price.

number one helps us to do the best we can on number two. but since it’s not over until it’s actually, you know, over. and because we can’t really know for sure why this is going down like it is… whatever we come up with for number one, should in no way, imo, impede or prevent our best efforts on number two.

Grin

quite right, the immunity is the money shot

and i suspect it was not just a sop to the Telcos to save them a hundred million or two in legal fees. i think it had/has more to do with preventing the American people from finding out (through the ‘discovery’ process) just what “other” information got gleaned. (some political stuff ala Donald Segretti i imagine, but mostly corporate espionage would be my bet)

I’ve Had Enough.

My current D Congresswoman used that slogan in 2006. She beat a 6-term wingnut R incumbent. I give her a lot of credit for that and it is very importand for the Ds to retain that seat.

But today she caved in to the White House and the telecoms and voted for the so-called “compromise.”

I really haven’t figured out how to deal with that.

Obama is one of the lowest seniority in the Senate.

yes. but, as the nominee, he’s also the defacto head of the democratic party. it is in that role that he has the power to stop this – if he wants to.

Reid wouldn’t honor any Democratic holds and he stated as much. However, if a Rethug puts one on – the cows will jump over the moon before he does anything about that.

Hell yeah Busted…

That’s the problem, he is NOT the nominee – YET. He is totally at the mercy of the superdelegates – all the Senators and Congresscritters of the D persuasion until he actually gets the official votes at the convention.

Until then, he’s a low-seniority Senator and not much more.

I have a blog!

love the letter, busted..)

I really haven’t figured out how to deal with that.

i did a bit of dumpster diving to figure out how many dems in the house were really against the fisa cluster fuck. i think there are 30.

now i’m trying to deal with that.

Sen. Harry Reid, Senate Majority Republican leader

Great letter! “clapping”

selise EPU’d from Eli:

Question: are there Democrats who deserver our support?

this is an update from an earlier post today.

First, it is a tentative list – I’m still soliciting corrections.

Second, a description of the list – How to determine who among the house Democrats genuinely opposed today’s FISA bill? Since today’s vote was a sham vote, we can only be sure of the intention of those who voted for H.R.6304. Those who voted against it may or may not have been expressing a true desire to see the bill fail (since they knew it would pass and it was therefore “safe” to vote no).

However, we do have a clue who really opposed the worst aspects of the proposed FISA legislation because twice some members of the progressive caucus and others like Rush Holt challenged their own party’s leadership to kill a bad bill. The first time this happened was on October 17, 2007 when, among other things, progressives including Rush Holt refused to back the leadership’s bill (this was the Restore Act version 1) forcing the bill to be withdrawn and improved before they would support it (compare these two youtubes of Rush Holt speaking from the House Floor on version 1 and version 2 of the Restore Act). Unfortunately, since the bill was withdrawn before a vote was taken, we don’t know who opposed it. The second time though, we do know.

On February 13, 2008 the House leadership attempted a second extension of the PAA, this time for 21 days. It was defeated when progressives and others like Rush Holt (see his youtube) joined with the Republicans (and some Blue Dogs) to vote against it. The difficulty with this vote is that we don’t know which Democrats voted against the extension because they joined with Republicans to play games and which Democrats genuinely opposed it. The defeat of this PAA extension derailed the Senate bill because once the PAA expired and nothing horrible happened it took the urgency away from the rush to pass a bill that included immunity for the telcos.

What I’ve done is to take the list of all Democrats who voted against (or didn’t vote) the PAA extension in February and cross referenced them with the Blue Dog coalition (BD), the Progressive Caucus (P) and with “NO” votes (N) on today’s FISA bill, H.R.6304.

If we count the number of Democrats who did not vote for the PAA extension in February and who voted again H.R.6304 today (and I’ve added in Donna Edwards since she wasn’t in congress in February but campaigned against bad FISA legislation), we are left with 30 Democrats (in bold below). I submit that, for people who care about this issue, they are the only Democrats who deserve any support from us.

Below is the current, tentative version of the list. I hope it is of help to all who reject both the call to condemn all Democrats because the leadership is corrupt and the call to continue to support the Democrats because there are few good ones.

voted against the PAA extension in Feb:
Jason Altmire
Dan Boren – BD
Leonard Boswell – BD
Michael Capuano – P – N
Jerry Costello – N
Lincoln Davis – BD
Peter DeFazio – P – N
Lloyd Doggett – N
Bob Filner – P – N
John Hall – P – N
Maurice Hinchey – P – N
Rush Holt – *** – N
Dennis Kucinich – P – N
Barbara Lee – P – N John Lewis – P – N
Tim Mahoney – BD
James Moran – N
Patrick Murphy – BD
Christopher Murphy – N
Frank Pallone – N
Bill Pascrell – N
Donald Payne – P – N
Collin Peterson – BD
Steven Rothman – N
Loretta Sanchez – BD – N
John Sarbanes – N
Jan Schakowsky – P – N
Jose Serrano – P – N
Tom Udall – P – N
Timothy Walz – N
Maxine Waters – P – N
Melvin Watt – P – N
Lynn Woolsey – P – N
David Wu – N

did not vote on the PAA extension in Feb:
Ruben Hinojosa
Mike Honda – P – N
Nita Lowey
Solomon Ortiz
Dutch Ruppersberger
Edolphus Towns – N

notes:
1. *** Rush Holt while not a member of the Progressive Caucus gets special mention for fighting harder than anyone else in congress on this issue.
2. republican Tim Johnson voted no today
3. Donna Edwards (MD)

oh, shoot. it’s late. time to try to get some shut eye.

here’s hoping for a better tomorrow.

Busted how the hell did you refrain from your usual usage of the peoples English?? But what a great freaking letter Busted…I have seen this kind of sentiment all the blogs… people sure are pissed at the total disreguard for the rule of Law….

I saw your excellent analysis. Pretty disheartening. Well, at least there are 30, that’s better than 20…or 15…I think anyway.

nite selise

It ain’t much of a Blog but I have a pretty loud mouth sometimes and the internets act as a megaphone.
That guy seriously pissed me off with the lies on his website.
Spit.

oh wow newt. i wasn’t going to repost that – is sooo long. but thanks. the original has some links…. but if anyone has any questions/comments/corrections i’d be happy to stick around for a bit.

30, wow. just. wow.

It’s a great blog!

Ya know I’m pissed when I get quiet or overly polite.

Now now no gloating at Suz’s FF3 issues… Opera does work and hopefully she has already downloade the new 9.5 version whioch works just fine with youtube… be carful about picking on Suz…you know that glare she has …

How about a link to your blog busted.

excellent! give ‘em hell busted.

i agree – 30 is better than 0.

but is it thirty? do i have this right?

Complain complain and then complain again. I am lucky my congress critter voted NO… But she usually listens to her voters.

I did a quickie on the gender differences in the vote because it kind of struck me when I was looking at the voting list. There are 51 Dem women and 22 Rep women. All the Reps voted in favor. 38 of the Dem women voted against and only 13 voted in favor. As a percentage, the women were much more correct than their male counterparts. Quite a few of the Dem women voting against are new, in their first term (or like Donna Edwards, on her first fill day!).

I don’t know what else to say about this except I do think we need more GOOD strong women in both houses of Congress. Nancy is NOT strong – she is a wuss and Stainy Whore is actually running the show.

Careful what ya ask for, I can be an Ornery Bastard sometimes.

It seems to be missing my two critters, Abercrombie and Hirono, I know they voted against the PAA and the FISA Capitulation today, and, the war funding bill to boot…! ;-)

Anna is a good critter and a great person.

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll437.xml Seems 128 dems voted no…if I am wrong correct me.

Well, given that you aren’t a mind reader, and given that these critters aren’t going to tell you their deepest darkest secrets as to why they actually vote the way they do, I don’t know another methodology to discern a different result.

I think what we do going forward is to really compliment these 30, and then work on the others who voted ‘correctly’ to see if we can a) find out what they really are up to, and/or b) push/kick/tackle/clobber them into changing their outlook on things.

sometimes i think there is a benefit to being an outsider or on a lower rung of the power hierarchy – and that is that 1) there is less temptation because there is less to lose and 2) one is close enough to the inside to accurately analyze it, but not so close as to get caught up in it (at least not as much as the insiders).

maybe your analysis is a reflection of that?

I figured that Busted but shit I don’t blame you… I got so pissed I went over to Obamas site and put up my two cents on his position… Said I was going to donate but after that statement I just couldn’t and more:>(

fwiw, a President Obama will have a very long list of things leftover from Bush & Co to fix. But that work will be much easier to accomplish if another 30 or 40+ new DEMs in the HoR (good-bye Steny?)and enough new DEM Senators are also elected in a “wave”. (Good-bye Lieberman)

I’m outraged by Obama’s stand on this FISA atrocity, but after two weeks of insufficienty sleep, I’m not so eloquent about it. May I recomend Greg Sargent: http://tpmelectioncentral.talk…..isa_ca.php

Selise what was the bill # for the PAA?

read the whole article selise did – you will see why we’re talking about 30…

Thanks ;)

I’m sure it does have something to do with it – the 13 who voted in favor are Pelosi, Harman, and others in leadership and high seniority positions.

So, longevity breeds contempt for the constituents apparently.

CTuttle, bigbrother – the problem is that today’s vote is a sham vote. because knowing that the bill would pass, many d’s could “safely” vote “no” even though they might not if their vote was the deciding vote. that’s the problem with the kabuki of these things – it makes it very difficult to see behind the curtains.

Ahh, another pissed off citizen who gets polite when he would rather call someone a Motherfucker.
Dude, Obama just shit in his mess kit .

the originial has links to the votes and some other stuff – both to explain and so that you can check my work. (see the link newt put at the top)

Actually, as members of the Gang of 8, past and present… They’re CYAing it!

busted, and just in case you haven’t heard this from me before, fuck that fucker, BB. But, I hope the equine cat brushes will help you in not splitting a vein. xxoo. Cat politics are local, too.

oh, and for more background into how these votes can be manipulated… here’s a bit of history – the diary i wrote after the PAA passed in the house last summer.

Yes, he is having the mother of all messes to clean up. The only thing I can say is to repeat what HE has said – that he cannot do it alone, and that he needs a whole bunch of help.

On that, he IS right.

So, since he ‘asked’ for help – let’s give it to him. He needs to be pushed every inch of the way, every single day to do the right thing. And yes, we need more and better Dems in both houses – get rid of the Bushdog Dems and a few more Rethugs and let ‘er rip!

Especially, the gang of four, early in the war years.. featuring Pelosi, imo.

So, since he ‘asked’ for help – let’s give it to him. He needs to be pushed every inch of the way, every single day to do the right thing.

amen to that!

My rep voted no on this FISA and yes on PAA last year

Selise, both of my critters are members of the Progressive Caucus, in fact, Hirono is a vice chair and Abercrombie was one of the founding members of it…! I know their credentials and am proud of them! ;-)

Listened to the video you linked with the boss doing some nice riffs. Enjoyed!

And Harman as the Ranking Member of the House Intel Committee…!

Sorry I had to bail so quick earlier but it was in the interest of self preservation right at that moment!!

Exactly.

Well this dawg is hitting the wall..

Good nite fabulous firedogs.

They may not have been present. You can look at the Record to see if they were excused for the day – they always read those at the start of business.

Helping her clear her huge campaign debt seems to me to be the conventional wisdom and the point of his campaign’s announcement they are going on the road together next week – Friday if I recall correctly. He cannot donate to her debts fund through his presidential campaign organization but he can clearly encourage donors who have not yet maxed out to step to the plate.

Personally I’d much prefer Bill had the class to pay off Hillary’s campaign debt. Its the least he could do in light of his uselessness to her campaign in general, and the company he keeps, who ended up undermining her campaign.

Gnite ES, sleep well .

nite eureka
very interesting thread

Oh, okay.

Bill cannot legally clear her debt. He is limited to $2300 just like the rest of us peons, unfortunately.

The debt can only be cleared by donations from others up to those limits, and may not be paid off by the DNC from its unlimited funds either.

That part kind of sucks – since she had almost enough to cover it in designated funds for the GE.

then why didn’t they stand up to their leadership and help block the PAA extension in feb? that was a critical vote because it derailed the senate fisa bill in the house.

Aloha, ES!

Of course, she has the option of writing to all those contributors and asking them to re-designate for the primary in lieu of her having to return all that money.

If all her supporters love her that much, she should actually be in pretty good shape. I would also tell Mr. Penn to take a hike on his bill – that would clear the whole thing out in a big hurry.

bb- thank you. I’ve got it listed in my youtube faves. I really do like it!

one of the things that has saddened me about this whole fisa fight is that there have only been two wins in the house – and both of them came from a small number of dems (mostly, but not members of the progressive caucus) who defied their leadership and forced a change. and each time they did it without the support, thanks or even support from the progressive blogosphere.

it’s way past due, imo, that we give credit where credit is due.

If I understand correctly, Moveon.org ran an ad calling out Steny Hoyer over his part in passing this FISA abomination. IMHO, Moveon ought to post a similar ad calling out Obama. It would be the shock of the town, but it’s early in the campaign; he can recover from whatever damage. But his staff would be very hesitant to pull such shit closer to the election.

Busted! Not to worry! I got the picture! Course, I am awaiting the local cat brush report! ;)

jeebus. i guess it really is time for me to try to get a bit of sleep.

one of the things that has saddened me about this whole fisa fight is that there have only been two wins in the house – and both of them came from a small number of dems (mostly, but not all members of the progressive caucus) who defied their leadership and forced a change. and each time they did it without the support, thanks or even support acknowledgment from the progressive blogosphere.

it’s way past due, imo, that we give credit where credit is due.

Teel me about it Busted I was just starting to warm up to the idea of plunking some cash for him…Shit I am still gona vote for him as I have to think about SCOTUS…. Shit it almost feels like I had served for nothing… Our constitution is in peril and if do nothing it will be gone and we will never get it back!

Next time ES you work hard for our freedom rest well only the strong survive.

As pissed as I am at Obama, if he’s not inclined to make a real move on this thing next week, it will do nothing but harm to him, and McCain will be that much closer.

It’s a trap, and a very cleverly designed one.

I am definitely a firm believer in that – you get more bees with honey than with vinegar.

I had an incident here in my home state where an extreme right-wing Rethug actually came out and spearheaded a program to get our mentally ill juveniles back to the state by funding a residential mental health facility here. Knock me over with a feather.

That’s an issue that is very dear to my liberal bleeding heart. I am sure his motives involved a family member or someone very close to him who is suffering in that situation. But I don’t care. I wrote him a letter of support anyway.

I think sometimes it’s better not to look at the motives, but reward good behavior anyway and hopefully get more good behavior. Doesn’t matter what their motives are as long as the behavior is what is desired.

(Works for dogs too!)

She is a fucking traitor… she is sponsering a bill to go after people who advocate change in the government …bitch

I completely agree.

At a frenetic time like this, a candidate must have mere seconds for each decision, if that. I suspect that such decisions are often left to the staff. That said, of course, Obama is responsible for the decisions of his staff.

re: motives. if we’re honest, most of the time we don’t really know even our own. i don’t think we can judge people who we’ve never met and have a better idea of their motives than we have of our own.

i’m not arguing for not trying to under the motives, but i am agreeing with you that we can’t base our actions on that.

WHAT!!!

I observe that I am crashing. G’nite all.

Obama is now in danger of creating the appearance that he believes Bush’s national security decisions were mainly sound.

Selise, I researched the rollcall, I was right, they both voted against the PAA…! ;-)

nite wigwam. it’s going to be a long weekend.

good call. i observed my own crashing awhile ago.

if anyone has any more questions/comments/corrections, i’d be grateful for all of them. you can reach me by email at the contact page on my website. but i will try to check back here sometime tomorrow.

hoping that we will can come to some kind of a concensus on this if we put our heads together. or if not taht at least understand why not.

today sucked in congress, but it was a great day at the lake.

nite all.

Yet he lip service doesn’t stop.
Jayzus Fookin’ Keerist.

Aloha, wigwam and Selise!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V…..ct_of_2007
Read and weep she is a fucking traitor

nite and sleep well selise. you deserve it.

nite selise

Thats enough. Y’all have a nice evening.
I’m gonna pop a gasket if I keep this up.
Loves ya. Bye.

Valley Girl as in San Fernando Valley?
There was a great club in the 80’s in Malibu where studio musician could jam. Was another in Marin in the late 60’s/ It is so good when great musicians play their hearts desire and have some fun. We can never get enough of that wonderful stuff.
OT saw Angelina Jolie in Harper’s saying how sexy her husband thought pregnancy was bizarre. Sorry I am losing my focus.

Good night Busted sleep well we will need all of our strenght to fight the good battles for our constitution!
Night pups time for me to call it a night…. NIGHT

that’s the wrong PAA vote. to see how that one was rigged, you have to read my diary from last august.

check the links at my comment in the previous thread.

i’m using the PAA vote in Feb, because that is the one that really, truly meant something.

i’m really open to using another criteria, if you have an argument for something else. but i think if you will read the links, you will see why i used the feb. one. and if not, then i promise to discuss tomorrow… but i am seriously crashing now and need to get some sleep before the sun rises. the birds are already starting their morning songs.

nite busted, nahant. i’m out as well
take care all of you, find a way to come out productive on the other side.

nite all!

Sounds like a great solution and begs the question why on earth she won’t take that route. It pisses me off she has put Obama in this position and I won’t soon forget nor forgive such a thoughtless scheme that smacks of mis-placed bitch/smacking & inherent entitlement.

I was happy Hillary ran for president. But then, as now, I become so turned off by her sense of entitlement and overall campaign arrogance I switched to Edwards and we all know how that turned out.

Somebody please tell me again why I shouldn’t have a very, VERY bad feeling about the period from July 4, 2008 through January 20, 2009?

Gusted I peeked in on your site and got an ear full of the young blond talent with the pipes. Didn’t know Eastern Washington had that kind of talent. Lot of good quarterbacks and your not spoosed to eat that yella snow duh.
And yes several years ago Janie Baby Harman sponsored legislation to criminalize political activists. Some kind of anti terrorist bill: This might reveal a little about Jane
Details of the Law:

HR 1955 is entitled the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007.

The sponsor is Jane Harman of California, one of AIPAC’s top legislators according to Time and The Washington Post.

Google Jane Harman AIPAC for more details
There were a lot of terrorist activities in LA I remember temples and school vandals and violence in fairness to her.

Sweet dreams all you sleepy heads – thanks for leading by doing! Am heading out as well. Happy weekend fabulous firepups.

Sorry, I’m in the same boat… my biggest fear is bomb, bomb, bomb, Iran…!

Aloha, npb!

Good Night fearless fire dogs”…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Yes, exactly. For starters. I mean, that’s perfectly awfully terrible enough right there, but what happens then, inside the US?

Good night, all ye leavers. Sweet dreams to you, tonight of all nights.

Heh, not with the Cabal we have in office…! Nite!

Or as The Firesign Theatre so neatly put it, “All we have to fear… is me.”

Well, I shall bid a fond adieu to ya’ll! Aloha Oe!!!

Me too. Dreamy dreams to all.

Good morning, pups. It’s Collins and Herbert this morning in the NYT. La Collins says that “Vice is Nice,” and that a vice-presidential nominee needs to be able to run the store in a crisis. Other than that, picking a running mate is like picking a pet. Well, sweetie, sometimes the store winds up in their hands for good. It’s happened more than once in my lifetime, so I’d rather have some serious attention given to the matter. Mr. Herbert writes about “A Dubious Milestone,” and says that a lot of clowns have fathered babies when they shouldn’t have, but it’s also difficult for many people to find the kind of job that makes raising a family feasible. Really? In this wonderful economy? Who’d ‘a thunk it?

http://mgpaquin.wordpress.com/

The coffee and tea are ready, and I’ve got French toast made with challah and just a hint of cinnamon, and Vermont maple syrup. I’ve got scads of work and errands today, so I’m relying on y’all to welcome the former lurkers Suzanne’s post last night encouraged to de-lurk. Have a great day.

Good Morning everyone

that’s a sweet song, ES
and mMmmmm! Marion, that is one sweet breakfast for us this morning.

7:30-8:00 MICHELLE RICHARDSON
American Civil Liberties Union
Legislative Counsel
House Approves Unconstitutional Surveillance Legislation press release
Topic: The House-passed compromise on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and the ACLU’s opposition to the bill. The House passed the bill Friday 293-129. It would shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits for government-requested wiretaps. The bill heads next to the Senate. The ACLU says the bill lacks meaningful judicial involvement and says the Fourth Amendment requires prior and individual court review before the government digs into private conversations. House Intelligence Cmte Ranking Peter Hoekstra discussed his support for the bill Friday on the Journal.

8:00-8:30 ARMAND MASCELLI
Red Cross
Domestic Disaster Response Vice President http://www.redcross.org
Topic: The Red Cross’s response to flooding in the Midwest amidst funding troubles within the organization.

8:30-9:15 Newspaper Articles/Phones

9:15-10:00 CHRISTOPHER COOPER
Wall Street Journal’s [WSJ’s Obama Reporter]
Political Reporter http://www.wsj.com
Topic: Sen. Obama’s decision this week to reject taxpayer financing for his general election campaign, allowing him to spend without limit in his race against Sen. McCain, who will accept public financing. Sen. Obama is the first major presidential candidate to reject public financing for the general election, which started in 1976. Had he decided to accept public financing, Sen. Obama would have been limited to spending $84.1 million in taxpayer funds between his nomination this August and the Nov. 4 general election.

Call-In Numbers
Support Democrats:(202) 737-0002
Support Republicans:(202) 737-0001
Support Independents:(202) 628-0205
Outside U.S.:(202) 628-0184
Email: journal@c-span.org

And what has Hillary done? Nothing.

Whether or not Hillary has done anything is no justification for Obama’s behavior.

True, I’m still waiting until next week when he has his opportunity to try to change the bill. Have a good barbecue tomorrow.

eCAHN, no doubt you are all ready for the big gig tomorrow! It sounds like it’s going to be a blast. I’m sorry I can’t be there, but I know the pups are looking forward to it.

It’s gonna be great! Thanks for the good wishes.

Coffee’s been consumed & I have more trees to plant, so later folks.

I plan to be partying without camera, but I hope to assign someone the job of visual documentation, so that everyone can particpate after the fact.

Great! thanks, I love pup pics.

Plus your place is sooo beautiful!

Ahh, looks like it’s time to Pull Up A Chair

Wish I were going to be in NYC over the next few weeks (well, just one of many reasons why):

Nakadai retrospective.

The great actor himself, now 75 years old, will be present at a couple of showings, though you’ll have to get rush tix for those.

(h/t Andrew O’Hehir at Salon)

Great letter!