Good Morning pupulists!

Have to take the dog out, but here’s the detailed lineup for Washington Journal:

7:30-8:15 SCOTT KEETER
Pew Research Center
Survey Research Director http://pewresearch.org
Topic: The role of independent voters in this year’s presidential contest and their role in past elections. Mr. Keeter will address issues important to independents, their demographic make-up, and recent polls and surveys on their preferences in the Obama-McCain contest.

8:15-9:00 ROLAND WARREN
National Fatherhood Initiative
President www.fatherhood.org
Report: www.fatherhood.org/downloadabl.....ceCost.pdf
Topic: The first report ever to measure the cost to taxpayers of father absence. The report was released Wednesday in Washington. Mr. Warren will discuss the findings of the report and suggested measures to increase financial and emotional participation of fathers in the lives of their children.

9:00-9:30 THOMAS WOODS
Heritage Foundation
Senior Associate Fellow for African Affairs www.heritage.org
Topic: Zimbabwe’s elections, scheduled for June 27. Last week British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe to permit international observers to monitor the impending run-off presidential election. Meanwhile reports from the southern African country describe an ongoing campaign of intimidation to prevent voters from going to the polls. Mr. Woods is a former deputy assistant secretary of state.

9:30-10:00 Newspaper Articles/Phones

Elliot, Good Sunday morning. Read your first sentence and am going to call some senators NOW and leave messages on their voicemails (including Obama!!) about NO IMMUNITY FOR TELECOMS and I will be back. Thanks for the motivation! Thanks for all that homework you did and shared!

Good morning, Elliott! I’ve brought along the chocolate croissants, and there’s still coffee and tea. I usually avoid the Sunday Morning Gasbags but today I’ll admit that I might check out Press the Meat just to watch Biden take Graham apart and scatter the wreckage…

Morning again!
Now the dog is happy and the cats are fed.

.
marymccurnin and her husband are featured in the Sacramento Bee this morning, on their insurance woes:

Ron Bednar and his wife, Mary McCurnin, of Rancho Cordova, self-employed graphic designers, thought they were protected when they bought a health care policy from a Tennessee company. But they were hit with $250,000 in bills after he had open-heart surgery, and she developed breast cancer.

link to the full article
It’s ‘buyer beware’ in individual health insurance market

(((marymccurnin & Ron)))

Good Morning everyone. I see the ActBlue PAC reached their original goal of $300,000 and have raised the goal to half a million.
That’s the good news.
Now if you really want to get alarmed, read this DKos diary about Congress setting the stage for war with Iran. It makes Kyl-Lieberman look benign. http://www.dailykos.com/storyo.....181/539848

I see the link didn’t work. It’s one of the recommended diaries at DKos.

The link worked fine for me.

Good Morning Elliot. Stirring the pot again I see.

it’s working now solai, thanks for the scary news

Just when you thought a Congress could not debase itself any further, having just approved massive funding for the Iraq war and given the corporate criminal accomplices of Bush’s attack on the Bill of Rights a free pass… along comes the mother of all insane resolutions of our time. This is even worse than the notorious Iraq War Resolution. and is likely to pass Congress like a glassful of laxatives. more…

Where are my manners? Good Morning everyone and Elliot.

The Chris Matthews Show must also air on saturday? Flipping channels yesterday, I saw a bit of it with the same panel. Kathleen Parker seems to have a huge crush on Bobby Jindal extolling his intellect. I didn’t hear Andrew Sullivan mention Jindal cheerleading creationism as good science which should be taught in Louisiana classrooms even though Andrew is aware of that. I didn’t hear anything about Jindal’s exorcism expertise either. Then again, I only saw a little of the show before I switched channels.

what’s the contact for Obama, all I see is his blog

Here’s what I plan on writing to the senator;

“When you first announced your campaign I thought you were too inexperienced and in a country that has so many bigots and misogynists I thought neither you or Hillary would stand a chance>

You proved me wrong and I became a real supporter of your campaign.

Once I found that you didn’t need corporate sponsors for your campaign and that you could sponsor your presidential run with support from THE PEOPLE, you gave me real hope, a hope I shared with legions, that you would prove to do the work of THE PEOPLE, a government FOR the people and by THE PEOPLE, that you might indeed become one of the very greatest presidents to have ever served this land and her constitution.

And so I have been all over “the tubes” and “the googles” and I have been esposing the real promise an Obama presidency would bring to this land.

But now for the “concern troll”;

I feel as though I have been kicked in the stomach, I feel the country and the constituents of the senator have been betrayed, misled.

I feel as though the senator has corrupted himself, corrupted with the promise of a presidential office more powerful then any other in our history.

A president with both the congress and the senate voting with his agenda, a president who will likely enjoy a filibuster proof majority once the midterm elections are decided.

We THE PEOPLE cannot…CANNOT allow “telecom immunity”

With this “immunity”, all information gathered becomes the property of those who might have taken it for their own personal use!

If I have a manuscript, or a screenplay, that can be plagiarized and I will have no redress, if I have invented a novel method for a fuel efficient vehicle, that intellectual property is now the property for anyone in the telecomunity to own without the threat of our law, in fact the law will be on their side not mine.

If the information was used to have an advantage over our lawmakers, they can blackmail and threaten our congressman, our senators, our judges our attorneys, they can write law and force our lawmakers to sign on to thosec laws, they can have cases dismissed, they can have politicians ignore crimes.

The purpose of a “warrant” is to insure information is not gathered by criminals using the cover of office.

Information can be gathered even before the warrant is applied and the only restriction is that at some point in time those gathering information demonstrate the data was not gathered for personal or criminal use.

The ONLY reason an “official” would not want this over site is because they WERE gathering data for their personal use, to gain an edge in the market, to know how a lawmaker was about to vote, to follow investigations and to intercept someone who might discover their criminality.

Those are the ONLY reasons an official would not welcome over site, the ONLY reasons.

The senator MUST demonstrate his leadership on THIS issue, he MUST DEMAND democrats REFUSE signing on to this theivery!

The method is simple and it will HELP his campaign;

“Telecom immunity allows officials using the cover of their office to steal from the American people, it allows anyone in the telecom industry who might have gathered market information to use that information and steal from their customers.

I cannot believe either democrats or republicans want the telecoms to have sensitive information they might sell to our enemies, that they might sell to terrorists, I cannot believe either democrats OR republicans would like to allow the telecoms to keep data they collected for their personal gain at the expense of this country.

If they committed crime against this government or her people they must be held to account and we will NOT allow telecom immunity in this or ANY bill.”

I would like to ask the professionals here at the lake to edit for me before I send it off.

Everyone is invited to use any portion they like for their letters as well

please notice my bold, it is a point which has not been made yet and a point we MUST exploit if we are to be successful

yep!

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

you can call Obama using the katymine numbers.

will do, will also like to have an edit for my text and send it to him and post it to his blog

I think I should put the part about selling our information to terrorists first

that part came to me in my mews writing it, I should have put it as soon as possible

any other edits I would appreciate

Elliot, you are a VERY good writer, if you have the time, I cannot edit my own work, I write it the way I say it and that usually reads differantly then I have in mind.

I cannot edit my own writing

I wrote to Congressman Arcuri this morning. He has never disappointed me until the FISA vote. He’s also signed on to that awful Iran bill. In fairness to him, after expressing my outrage, I let him know that I would be writing a letter to the editor expressing my views. This has got to stop. I don’t know what happened to him in the last month. I donated to his campaign, my daughter volunteered to work for his campaign and now…I’m outraged.

That’s why I’ve never been able to understand any attorney supporting FISA. My boss is in the process of working to get FDA approval for a new cochlear implant he invented and has had dealings via e-mail and the toobz with his patent attorney and the engineers. I’m sure none of them will mind if that gets sucked up into the maw of AT&T and Verizon…

Kathlen Parjer = total putz. Good to see she’s getting over her crush on Willard. Anone else think Jindal is a kind of odd looking fellow? I don’ty means he’s ugly, but odd.

Marion, can you tell the basics of the new cochlear implant. That may be in my future.

I don’t care so much about telecom immunity as retrocative immunity.

good morning Marion, (who is no in savannah)

WUTZ UP?

what’s a cochlear implant? I’m dumb. Also pretty deaf. Could that help?

and, yes,, mornin’ everybody

Good morning all. Totally OT if I may. Some time ago, on a Sat or Sun thread we talked about growing potatoes in wire cages. I have no idea who was the “expert” but if anyone can remember I would appreciate knowing as I have more questions. Thanks.

Back on topic. obama is a bloody idiot if he thinks vague promises of “trying to do something about immunity” in the Senate is going to be believed by anyone with a brain. He had his chance, he blew it, he showed himself totally cowed by big business. I will write in Chavez for President!!!!!

yeah, I’d venture to say that there are a whole lot of companies that take the steps necessary to encrypt their communications. Perris has been sounding this alarm for a long time.

A week or so ago, I listened to bits of a hearing on supposed Chinese infiltration of a couple Republican Congressmen’s email accounts. So obviously even Congress wasn’t/isn’t very careful.

I say supposed Chinese hacking, not because I don’t think China is trying to hack it’s way through our government (lord knows we are doing the same to them.) But I think our government is spying on our legislators and staffers, and other political operatives — just to start the list of victims.

for some reason I couldn’t get into the comment section of the Russert post in late night last night. Just wanted to say –and I said the same thing whenhe was alive, just not here — I don’t know what people wanted from the guy. I thought he was good. If I missed the show, I read the transcript.

What he’s working on is a totally in-the-ear implant, which is not only much smaller but much cheaper than what is currently available. Grinding through the FDA is a nightmare, so there aren’t any clinical trials yet, but we live in hope.

nomolos, do you mean this comment by Votus?

Here’s some basic information on cochlear implants.

Good morning (or is it mourning?) Elliot.

I’m done with the lot of them. Done making phone calls to them or for them. I got a letter from Sestak with all the bullshit talking points. My reply which is going to his home e-mail address is this:

Congressman,

Please don’t insult my intelligence with this talking point nonsense. You know and I know that there was no legal need whatsoever to do anything to FISA at this time. It could easily have waited until a new administration was in place. The law had served well since 1976 and was more than adequate to serve without modification for another 6 months.

The only reasons to have gotten this done now was either to cover up for crimes that the democratic leadership was complicit in or because Obama wanted the ability to continue to have the ability to spy on his own citizens—should he get elected.

You write:

First and foremost, I believe that ensuring national security for the American people is the number one responsibility of Congress and the President.

No, the number one responsibility of Congress and the President is protecting the rights of the American people as set forth in the Constitution. Period.

Here is your oath of office:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”

It does not say support or defend the American people against all enemies foreign and domestic. That is a HUGE distinction.

In case you might have forgotten, the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights passed Dec. 15, 1791 reads:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.“

The “oversight” you describe at length below is laughable. This government is going to appoint an IG that is going to investigate and hold it accountable for its misuse of the FISA law? Laughable. There has not been one cintlla of oversight performed by the Democratic congress other than toothless hearings and sternly worded letters. You can’t even get a subpoena complied with! The requirement that a court review the past practices of the administration is another joke. All that needs to happen there is that the court see that the President told the telcos that what they were doing was legal—whether it was or not. If the President and his hack lawyers say it’s legal, well all right then. I’m sorry, that is not acceptable. And you know it.

I will not even begin to express my outrage about the torture scandals that the congress has taken no action over other than toothless hearings and sternly worded letters. I do not recognize this country. Neither does the rest of the world. And the buck falls to you and your compatriots in congress since the Administration is the branch that has committed war crimes beyond measure and you have not held them accountable.

There is a line in one of my favorite movies, The American President, that says “I was so busy trying to keep my job that I forgot to do my job.” You know I have not been happy with your votes to continue to fund the war even though you were elected on a platform that you would try to put an end to the war. I recognize your personal need to make sure the military is equipped to do their jobs and have not joined in with the pickets at your office nor have I bad mouthed you to anyone over it. But this takes betrayal to a whole new level. You, sir, have violated your oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution as far as I’m concerned. You have lost my respect, my support and possibly my vote as well. And I’m far from alone in this.

my bolds as they appear in the e-mail.

What do you think? I haven’t pressed send—yet.

A cochlear implant is for the profoundly deaf. I’m not there, thanks to surgery. But the condition I have worsens with age. My doctor once told me not to fear, if all else fails, a cochlear implant is a possibility. But, at present, the sound one would hear is a bit robotic. A last resort, to be sure. But, I figure, I have time to let them be more perfected in case I really need one.

i don’t think he’s stupid at all. to the contrary. io think that he thinks he doesn’t have to cae about us on that becausew we’re gonna vote for him anyway. Right about that. Also, he may have thought he could be painted as “weak on terror” very, very easily and that most Americans are too dumb to understand that a vote against this “compromise” means no such thing. If that’s what he thinks, he’s righrt again.

What ??

thanks

you had surgery? anyplace i can find out about the type of procedure you had? where did you have it, if you don’t mind? i guess it improved things.

“cintlla” should be scintilla, but other than that I’d press “send.”

The usual cast of criminals and complicit gatekeepers.

Elliot. You are too much. Just what I needed. Thanks a bunch.

(((marymccurnin & Ron)))

Marion, our little grandson (8 months old), Daniel, is scheduled to have cochlear implants put in next winter. Any extra info that could be of use to him I would appreciate! His cochleas are malformed and the implants seem to have helped some of the other kiddos with CHARGE syndrome.

Meanwhile, I will call my worthless Senators and attempt to make them paranoid about their own “privacy” if a Dem becomes President. And I will call Obama and Hillary. This would be a terrific project to demonstrate they are working together for all us peeps.

I have Meniere’s Syndrome which (simplified) is fluid retention in the cochlea. It messes up your balance and your hearing. The surgery I had was to install a tube into the cochlea to continually drain it. Hearing and balance improved.

morning spelling haze—thanks.

Did you finish the book?

Bravo Deb, it really demonstrates how angry you are and you do it without crossing any lines.

What lines are left to be crossed at this point?

Not yet, but I no longer have as much time for reading as I used to. I’m thoroughly enjoying it. The first chapter should be read by anyone who thinks Roe should be done away with…

Well, you didn’t swear!

Friends~
We have been sold down the drain by your duly elected Democrats. I guess we will never learn will we. They really don’t give a hoot about anyone but themselves. Throw the whole batch out and bring in some relief for “My Country”. We are in one hell of a hole and it is getting deeper.
Change…….is that spare change or what, as you are not going to get any change the way things are going. It is the same ole crap and its only getting worse. Remember that ATT and the rest of the thugs are watching us closely. They already have our number. God help us!!!!!!!

seconded!

and I don’t blame you for giving up on Sestak, RevDeb. His vote was a profound disappointment, and Murphy’s,too; no surprise on Gerlach’s vote, he sent franked mail crowing on it.

Something that would warrant a visit from the FBI.

((solai)) glad to know your balance has improved.

call your Senators, it’ ain’t over ’til it’s over.
Letters to the Editors, too.

It is time for the book to be re-released with a splash, I think. Actually, a movie of it would be great. And Jane could write a SMASHING screenplay. It would be just as important as what she does here I think.

The book we are talking about is The Fourth Procedure. It came out about a decade ago but is more relevant today than it even was then. Great fantasy food.

glad to hear your grandson is getting the implants, he’s had to work extra hard to grow.
((Daniel))

Under the ‘Barack’ administration just commenting here would be grounds for that.

I agree, and further if these vile sellouts of our liberty and rights think they are going to ‘live’ politically to enjoy the fruits of their labors from the TelCos they are insane.

N. Pelosi is going to run into a buzzsaw this election. I can see the signs of it already here on the ground in CA.

It’s just heartbreaking & utterly shameful that marymccurnin & Ron and so many other americans are getting shafted by their “insurance providers”. Insurance scammers is more accurate. Sending my prayers to marymccurnin & Ron.
Just a couple of weeks ago, a friend tripped & fell in the middle of the night from his loft bedroom to the floor below. In the process of building this home themselves, they had not yet put up guard rails…an unwise oversight that occurs a lot more often than one would think. He is fortunate that he didn’t die or become paralyzed. He had cracked bones in his back, neck, dislocated fingers, surgery for broken wrist & jaw & no insurance. He is out of the hospital with a wired jaw, neck & back braces & should be taking it easy to heal. However, they (family of 4, 2 kids in grade school) have bills to pay. He & his wife are hard working people & one of their enterprises, caretaking of yards, plants & lawns of seasonal residents & local businesses has turned into almost a full time job. This last week he has been back on the lawnmower, 4 hours one day & 8 hours on the next.
Every time I hear people say we live in the bestest, most awesome country on earth, I want to scream.

RevDeb,
Admire the letter very much. Your point about the Oath of Office is one that I make with people all the time. I also believe it to be a most critical point. My own feeling of betrayal has so overwhelmed me this week that I have been unable to figure out what to do next.

Elliot,
Thanks for the post this morning. Must disagree with your advice to call Senators. Elected representatives clearly do not give a f*ck what we say, what they swore to, what the law is or what the Constitution says. I for one have abandoned all hope at this point.

Mr.Cbl

At the risk of being jumped on, let me suggest something controversial. If the Senate is going to cave, which looks likely, why aren’t they at least getting guaranteed net neutrality out of the deal. It seems to me that any negotiation should lead to some give and take. The deal they’ve made is all give.
IMHO, there are a few things left on Bush’s agenda before he leaves office. And they’re all corporate gifts. The offshore leases is one, war with Iran is another. And, I fear that ruining the internet may be a third.

I left a message for Dear Speaker and said to her that I didn’t think she could sink any lower after she took impeachment off the table, and now she did. I also told she disgraced America, the Constitution and herself in the process.

morning pups, am gonna be in and out all day……

new proposed legislation for oil companies…….

natural resources chairman rahall-wva—oil companies, use it or lose it-permits for 68 million acres of public lands…….
http://www.dailymail.com/News/.....uild=cache

wheeling paper covers it, too
http://theintelligencer.net/pa.....10829.html

Beerfart Liberal @ 19:
I do think Jindal is odd looking but I feel that way about most R’s in office. Mean spirited, ignorant ideologies color my visual perceptions of them.

IMHO most Republicans would just say this shows the “go get em attitude” of the American spirit. Remember when our Leader was thrilled when a woman in the audience at some dog and pony show the Republicans like to put on had to work 3 jobs to make ends meet. Georgie was tickled.

Hold on, read Christy’s post before ye abandon all hope
A Necessary Word Of Thanks…

Well, I tried but I just couldn’t do it… I turned on Meet the Press but my tolerance level for teh stooopid is low this morning and it is Lindsay Graham, after all…

Morning everybody! Long time to see. Glad to see I haven’t missed much on the Sunday talk shows. Got a great (form) letter from my Rep. re: FISA vote. He got his votes “right” on both FISA and war funding. I was pleasantly surprised to see he got a mention at OpenLeft as one of the key races this year.

Any guesses which comment is mine there?

Bluetoe2@62:
True until bad stuff happens to them. Then the wailing & whining begins. Unless they experience it personally, it doesn’t exist.

that would be the one signed noonan!

I Know Kagen (0.00 / 0)
Not only do I know him, but I’m running for Assembly within his district. We’re both looking at historic elections this year. Steve would only be the second Democrat reelected in this area - ever. I’m looking to be the 1st Democrat elected to my district since 1966.

We can do it, but if you’d like to help, you can donate to both my campaign and Steve’s on my ActBlue page…
http://www.actblue.com/page/ko…

yeah, it’s amazing how low they can go, and then still go lower.

BEAUTIFUL! Please send it. And send it to your Senators as well in a preemptive strike!

Exactly, when one of their get rich quick schemes tanks they are crying to the “government” to bail them out. Socialism for the rich. For everyone else it’s dog eat dog.

Duncan says it. Pay attention

Regret:
As I’ve written before, Democrats will regret embracing the expansion of executive power because a President Obama will find his administration undone by an “abuse of power” scandal. All of those powers which were necessary to prevent the instant destruction of the country will instantly become impeachable offenses. If you can’t imagine how such a pivot can take place then you haven’t been paying attention.

I remember reading about a hospital who did a cochlear implant on someone and the insurance company claimed it was not covered the person paid for the surgery and thought that was the end of it. However, much to the hospital’s credit, they fought for the patient and after eighteen months delevered her a sizable check! Five stars to the hospital and zero stars for the insurance company.

Send, Send, Send!!!

Insurance companies have HUGE armies of people working to deny claims for a reason. Kudos to the hospital for fighting it, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

And a new dem administration will do nothing to change that calculus. Beyond sad.

Bluetoe2@70:
I see the same obtuseness in R friends & family. They just don’t see the issues until it hits close to home. For example, a recent discussion with a couple of R relatives with them arguing that we couldn’t have homeless young people in our area because it’s too cold to live outside!!! My husband who has worked with the local United Way explained to them that homeless young people here & elsewhere move from place to place, whoever will give them a sofa to sleep on for a little while.
The disconnect is astonishing in otherwise very intelligent, caring people.

The symbol for the Republican Party should be an ostrich rather than the elephant. They bury their heads in the sand refusing to see what is all around them. They are by and large extremely ignorant of history and the world at large. They wear their ignorance as if it’s a suit of armor that will protect them from the harsh reality of the world they have largely created themselves.

Excellent point. Unless the current criminals are held accountable the right wing will be on Obama like jackals. The corporate media will help facillitate the feeding frenzy.

Kudos to ex Gov Ridge for not letting a talk show host (in this case Little Wallace) make him decide on television whether or not he would accept a VP nomination.

I do not understand why talk show hosts feel it is their duty and obligation to get such commitments from potential candidates. Always a Russert tactic and only of value to the journalist; certainly not the potential candidate, the campaign, and certainly not the country. Was one of the things I hated most about Russert’s journotactics. Wholly and solely self-serving.

Elliott,
Just wondering this morning how many times we are expected to pick ourselves up off the canvas and fight on looking through eyes swollen almost shut, nose bleeding, ears ringing, legs giving out, corner man screaming to carry on the fight when the opponent is obviously toying his way to a sound thrashing.

However, my sense of pride at being a member of this community remains undiminished. Jane, Christy and the team of front pagers they have assembled here are genuine heroes of mine for the fight they have engineered and lead. Just feeling battered beyond my ability to recover this morning.

Mr.Cbl

I sent this email to Mathews thru Elliots’s link.

Mr Mathews, Why don’t you be a patriot and tell the public what it needs to know? Mr. Russert was not a saint. Why did the VP - revealed thru his aid’s testimony in the Libby trial - say that MTP was the best venue to control the message (disseminate pro-war talking points)? Did Russert or do you serve the public interest by ignoring this dangerous fact? It is clear that MTP served as a propaganda outlet. Russert’s credibility is in question. No saint.

“The deal they’ve made is all give.”
What else is new?

I’m with you there, Solai..I’ve got otosclerosis…one side is totally gone; I use a hearing aid on the other. As long as hearing aid technology keeps up wth me, I’m good to go, though my doc told me that once I go into menopause, I’ll probably lose the rest of it.

I tweeked it a bit. Better or worse?

Congressman,

Please don’t insult my intelligence with this talking point nonsense. You know and I know that there was no legal need whatsoever to do anything to FISA at this time. It could easily have waited until a new administration was in place. The law had served well since 1976 and was more than adequate to serve without modification for another 6 months without compromising national security.

The only reasons to have gotten this done now was either to cover up for crimes that the democratic leadership was complicit in or because Obama wanted the ability to continue to have the ability to spy on his own citizens—should he get elected.

You write:

First and foremost, I believe that ensuring national security for the American people is the number one responsibility of Congress and the President.

No, the number one responsibility of Congress and the President is protecting the rights of the American people as set forth in the Constitution. Period.

Here is your oath of office:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”

It does not say support or defend the American people against all enemies foreign and domestic. That is a HUGE distinction.

In case you might have forgotten, the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, part of the Bill of Rights passed Dec. 15, 1791 reads:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

Please tell me how data mining complies with the Fourth Amendment.

The “oversight” you describe at length below is laughable. This government is going to appoint an IG that is going to investigate and hold it accountable for its misuse of the FISA law? Preposterous. There has not been one scintilla of oversight performed by the Democratic congress other than toothless hearings and sternly worded letters. You can’t even get a subpoena complied with! The requirement that a court review the past practices of the administration is another joke. All that needs to happen there is that the court see that the President told the telcos that what they were doing was legal—whether it was or not. If the President and his hack lawyers say it’s legal, well all right then. I’m sorry, that is not acceptable. And you know it.

I will not even begin to express my outrage about the torture scandals that the congress has taken no action over other than toothless hearings and sternly worded letters—window dressing. I do not recognize this country. Neither does the rest of the world. And the buck falls to you and your compatriots in congress since the Administration is the branch that has committed war crimes beyond measure and you have not held them accountable.

As you know I am not a lawyer. Should you wish to know more about what you just voted for, I will be glad to send you links to the information written by many lawyers, some of them constitutional scholars. It is reading you might have done before the vote. But I know how busy you are. But here’s one anyway.

There is a line in one of my favorite movies, The American President, that says “I was so busy trying to keep my job that I forgot to do my job.” Either this is true, or you don’t know what your job is. You know I have not been happy with your votes to continue to fund the war even though you were elected on a platform that you would try to put an end to the war. I recognize your personal need to make sure the military is equipped to do their jobs and have not joined in with the pickets at your office nor have I bad mouthed you to anyone over it. But this takes betrayal to a whole new level. I actually thought you were better than that. You, sir, have violated your oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution as far as I’m concerned. You have lost my respect, my support and possibly my vote as well. And I’m far from alone in this.

Deborah

Oh and make sure to get a copy of the Washington Post on Thursday. It is the beginning, only the beginning of a campaign for accountability.

Bluetoe2, I like the ostrich as their symbol. It really fits.
TobyWollin@82: I’m really curious what the connection is between menopause & losing the rest of hearing.

battered spouse syndrome. We keep getting beaten up and then think that next time they will be nice to them if only we would . . . . .

Enough. I’m leaving the bastards behind and putting my effort behind better dems, not more of the same.

Outstanding. Might I use your letter as a template to contact my Senators? I’m pretty sure Stabenow in MI is leaning towards voting for this abomination. She’s used the same argument about “protecting the American people………blah, blah, blah

Here’s a Russert gem someone can use:

Russert revealed in his own testimony in the Libby trial (a case involving the exposure of a CIA asset by the WH for political retaliation) that he deemed ALL converations with Bush administration officials as OFF the record. With that rule, how could Russert call himself a journalist?

Is a free press not one of America’s founding principles?

otosclerosis in women(and I have to couch this in the correct terms - if you get it genetically - there are several other women in my mom’s family who had it as well) tends to be set off by hormonal events. I got my first big loss with my first pregnancy; after the second baby, I lost the rest of the right side. With baby number three, I lost most of the left side. My doctor told me - and it has worked this way - that as long as I did not have any more babies, and as long as my hormones stayed pretty even, the losses would be minimal. He said that the next big ‘event’ would be menopause and since I have actually very little hearing left, that change would probably finish off what I have. I’ve been going through perimenopause for a couple of years and I’m seeing some more losses, so I think he’s right about that.But, not everyone gets otosclerosis because of a family connection. So, I don�