Today I’m on Bloggingheads TV with Bruce Fein, who has some choice words for Cass Sunstein, Obama’s adviser on FISA. Sunstein told Glenn Greenwald that the Bush Administration wasn’t breaking the law, they simply had a different interpretation of it, and to prosecute them would amount to the "criminalization of politics." (Glenn proceeded to refute this contention in their debate on Democracy Now, which is very much worth listening to. I didn’t get the idea Sunstein was accustomed to being surgically dismantled like that. Yes, it was that brutal.)
I was also on NPR this morning with Rick Williams of Break the Matrix, talking about how Ron Paul Republicans are aligning with liberal Democrats to push back against politicians on both sides of the aisle who are enabling endless war, outrageous government spending and domestic spying against American citizens. We talk about how this new coalition represents a political realignment along the lines of the Money Party vs. the People Party that David Sirota talks about.
Also, Ron Paul is going to have a counter-programming convention during the September Republican convention at Minneapolis’s Target Center. Glenn Greenwald and I are going to be there, along with our Strange Bedfellows Rick Williams and Trevor Lyman. Our "Accountability Now" money bomb to hold elected officials of both parties accountable to their oaths to uphold the constitution currently has almost 3,000 pledges.
And Glenn’s new Salon radio show, which begins today with an interview with Daniel Ellsberg, starts today. You can hear it here.
Related posts:
- Paul Krugman on “This Week”: “The Argument Against the Public Option is Sheer Nonsense”
- FDL Book Salon: Dear President Obama With Bruce Kluger And David Tabatsky
- Joe Klein: Still Haunted by His Shoddy FISA Reporting
- Jane, Others Discuss Historic Sotomayor Pick and Fed Transparency
- Obama at the Radio and Television Correspondents’ Dinner
Spotlight
Support this site!
Subscribe to the newsletter
Advertise on Firedoglake
Send
us your tips
Make us your homepage
About Firedoglake
Advanced search
Well, fine, if nobody is going to post a first comment I will then.
God, is it only a month till the RNC comes to St. Paul? Get me outta here!
Happy Birthday Jane !
dayum, thanks for that Glenn radio link – I’d heard nothing about this
we’re supposed to give you gifts not vice versa :D
Condolences
And the clock grinds slowly onward……..
Jane: I heard you on NPR this am. I said to myself – “You go, girl!”
Nice piece.
…of journalism, that is.
Strange bedfellows indeed!
;~P
Thank you!
Been in meetings most of the morning. What have I missed?
Some silly hearings on impeachment & stuff…
nothing to see there… move along
Cohen just called Cheney a barnacle! LOL!
Happy Birthday, Jane. Hope you get a chance to slow down and enjoy it later, but thanks for all you do for us.
Funniness going on in the hearing……Cohen (D-TN) referring to “The Barnacle” and questioning as to which branch he is attached
*snicker* *snort*
Here’s your Coke!
Working today, celebrating tomorrow.
We’re going to try to go to a Drive In and see the Dark Knight. And also catch Spencer Ackerman’s Band, The Surge.
Fein has done well so far today in the hearing.
Smoke for Pelosi
Jane,
What a way to celebrate your birthday! You go, girl!
What an inspiration you are.
I was watching the Holtzman panel this morning. Jerry Nadler made a few good points, but the Dems otherwise were disappointing. The panel, especially Holtzman, Barr, Fein, and Rocky Armstrong (sp?) were good.
Conyers was studiously low-key, as if doing a duty he had to do, but his cards, such as they are, were held close to his vest during the time I was watching.
No Barbara Jordans in sight.
Sigh.
Hippo Birdies, Jane!
We celebrate this milestone with you!
Bob in HI
Bill Moyers and William Greider are talking about the potential for political reallignment as well. Greider, whom I had never actually seen before, said he believes that there is an historic opportunity which has presented itself which may take a few years to sort out but nonetheless is looming large.
And guess what? We’re right in the vanguard of it. Thank you Jane, Christie, Pach and everybody else for leading the charge.
I didn’t just pledge, I went ahead and plonked my money into the “money bomb”. Can’t wait to hear it go BOOM!
I have some errands to run, and haven’t been keeping up very well, but I will be sure to read the post and watch the video as soon as I get back. But I wanted to go on record to say that if Obama pulls half the shit the GWB administration has pulled if/when he becomes President, I will fully support throwing his scrawny ass in jail as well! If you can read, you can see that the GWB administration has broken the law many times over. Only an illiterate person has any excuse for thinking “it was just a different interpretation.”
and, by all means, have a happy, Jane!
Cass Sunstein is David Addington’s stooge.
Happy Birthday Jane.
As busy as you have been lately, you deserve a break.
Jane, FDL just keeps on building as an incredible resource. I read with gratitude (and a bit of awe).
FWIW, earlier this week and part of last, driving in more rural regions of Washington state (sugar beets, wheat, lentils, alfalfa, onions, acres of potatos) I was surprised at the number of Ron Paul signs on farm fences.
My favorite: Ron Paul Revolution. (The EVO was in red ;-))
And I saw those signs even over in the Spokane region; smack dab in Cathy McMorris’s district, and even in Doc Hastings territory. Woohoo!
So give those Ron Paulers ‘a big howdy’ from one of your readers out in the West. And I hope the Ron Paul supporters enjoy some fine baked potatoes back there at that convention, from farmers in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon who don’t need the government spying on their phones and email.
Oh… and Happy Birthday!
how did you put money actually into the bomb? I pledged but I’m going to be out of the country on the 8th..I’d love to be able to put my money in now.
Happy Birthday Jane!!!! :):):)
EVO in red – i remember that EVOL was in red = love
happy birthday Jane! and that’s great news about the Ron Paul appearance!
Wasserman Schultz saying there is a 6 year backlog in hearings.
Jane- heard you too, to be honest when I heard your name and FISA, I expected a hit piece as NPR is not progressive friendly anymore. You came across great.
Happy birthday, Jane – this hearing must be a nice gift. when it’s over, i’m going to your and Glenns broadcasts. What a great development – this is the progressive infrastructure in the making, right here!
FWIW, there’s a new item at TPM about how “GOP Senators Facing Tough Races Are Skipping Republican Convention”. Hahahahaha!!!
Please give us the lowdown on any GOP Senatorial candidates who show up to meet Ron Paul ;-)))
Happy Birthday Jane!
OK, I figured it out…did my duty.
It would be nice to think that some of these folks have had the ‘come to Jesus’ moment about what they’ve helped Bush/Cheney do to the country and the Constitution…but I doubt it. I’m fairly sure it’s that they are sweating about losing their spot at the trough.
Matt has a not too complimentary book review of Sunstein’s Nudge. Looks like a book I don’t need to buy. Pass the word.
They are trying to figure out which lobbying firm they can get jobs at while the lobbying firms are trying to figure out how they are going to work with and trap the dems. Leaches, all of them—and not the kinds that help cure things.
Go Jane, GO!
Thanks for all you do! What a powerhouse site!
And, happy happy birthday. Celebrate in style, ok?
How can Lungren talk about mistatements and perjury with a straight face? Is he daring them to attempt to prove it?
That lady behind lungren looks pissed off doesn’t she?
It appears that for the most part the dems are already trapped.
Happy Birthday Jane and have fun tomorrow
I heard you this a.m. too while dressing to go to work! I danced a little around the room. Partly because of the Chris Carney ad, and Blue America (hey, that’s me, too!).
And happy birthday!
Mrs. BC constantly asks me, “How do these people (BushCo and allies like McSame) sleep at night?”
And my consistent answer is, “Probably very well. You have to have a conscience before it can bother you.”
BC
ding, ding, ding..we have a winner!!!
Give up golf in repentence
That’s a somewhat pessimistic assessment.
Impeaching Clinton really poisoned the water among the population for that sort of thing. We’ve never had a president who needed impeachment more than the Dim Son, but most people would view it as a political act. The big problem is that the Senate would be very unlikely to convict 43.
And yes, impeachment IS a political act. But it’s sometimes a necessary act. And sometimes conviction is necessary. Unfortunately, the 50 R’s in the Senate (I’m counting the Lieberliar among them) are still flying top cover for the Dim Son.
And, speaking of having a conscience: Ohio Attorney Cliff Arnebeck, who notified Attorney General Mukasey yesterday about threats made by Karl Rove against the GOP’s high-tech guru, Mike Connell, will join Peter B. Collins and Brad Friedman(of Bradblog fame) during the weekly Friday 5pm PT appearance on PBC’s syndicated radio show. You’ll be able to listen online at http://www.PeterBCollins.com. And what is this all about? “The immunity request from Arnebeck to the Ohio AG was triggered by information from a confidential source that Karl Rove, a kingpin GOP strategist, threatened that if Mike Connell doesn’t go in the tank for cyber-rigging the 2004 election in Ohio, his wife will be sued for lobbying law violations. Using this kind of hardball tactic to rain retribution down on an individual for not allowing himself to be “thrown under the bus” smacks of the identical retaliation tactic used to punish Valerie Plame by outing her as a spy for remarks made by her husband Joe Wilson before the commencement of the war in Iraq that no evidence existed for uranium being sold by Niger to Saddam Hussein.” Sounds a little bit like Roverboy is now trying to do a combo – Plame/Wilson/Siegelman thing here — three for the price of one. Very clever. http://thejournal.epluribusmed…..on-lawyers
They did a similar trick in NH with the phone jamming scam that took down Jean Shaheen’s challenge to Sununu 6 years ago.
Unfortunately it would be viewed as a political act and facts are held hostage to politics. At what point does accountability reassert itself and how
Oh, go on over to beliefnet.com and you’ll see that some of them have — quite literally — had the ‘come to Jesus’ moment. (Mostly around climate and social justice issues.)
Others, as BargainCountertenor notes, are beyond redemption and scrambling to figure out what financial opportunities will remain if/when the Dems win big.
Which takes us right back to the importance of Jane, Glenzilla, the ACLU, and StrangeBedfellows’ work, and waking up to the somewhat surprising reality that we have more in common with: (1) some of the libertarian gun owners, as well as (2) some of the evangelicals than with the sleek sharks on Wall Street and the DC Beltway.
Go figure.
Life is always full of surprises, eh?
Life is always full of surprises, eh?
New loosehead
I went and listened to the Cass Sunstein v. Glenzilla debate. Gee whiz, for the “most cited” law professor this guy came off like a dumb bunny. ALmost like a live John Yoo opinion.
When people you KNOW ARE VERY SMART sound like they could not analize their way out of a rippped paper bag, you know it’s cause they are intentionally spouting bullshit. They know their argument is lame, but they are willing to put their name and reputation to it to sell it.
“Nonsense on Stilts” just about sums it up!
Happy birthday, Jane! It was good to hear you this morning on NPR.
He is very close to Obama; they are friends and Obama was working under Sunstein at University of Chicago in his vaunted guest lecturing role. Sunstein is just spewing crap to cover for what Obama has staked out and what he intends to do (and more significantly, NOT do). His shine it on mentality that he evinces is EXACTLY what Obama intends to do, irrespective of the pablum he feeds the Democratic masses.
To be fair. Yes the goopers did run an illegal phone bank but the election should never have been that close. Shaheen went the way of the DLC and that did not sit well with the constituency that got her elected to Governor in the first place. She vetoed an income tax bill and that was her undoing.
it wasn’t the first time either – i listened to the video stream of a panel he was on at netroots nation. i think sunstein is one scary dangerous lawyer.
The ruling elite, Democratic and Republican, protect their own.
That’s an excellent question. I wish I had an answer as good as the question.
I think that once the R’s are out of power, criminal investigations would be a possibility. If the statute of limitations had expired, then we can have a truth and reconciliation fact-finding adventure.
The sad part is that those who created this swamp will probably not be punished for its creations.
No impeachment and no accountability from this Congress. There are too many Dems that are either complicit or co-conspirators with this criminal regime i.e. Pelosi and Reid. Sad but true. It appears that Obama is willing to let by gones be by gones. So much for the rule of law. Might makes right and anarchy reigns.
What’s with the University of Chicago? First Leo Strauss and his rationale for fascism and now Sunstein in his rational for abandoning the 4th Amendment. Why does the University of Chicago hate America?
LOVES ME SOME GLENN GREENWALD!!!!
Sadly he’s already spoken for.
Karma is going to catch up with Rove sooner or later.
And I’m guessing that within the next year, karma will come calling.
Bob in HI
I an late to thid thread, am writng from cell phome so forgive if already menioned
the OMLY reason the obama camp mightt even SUGGESŢ the president”s illegal.actions are ”interperative opinions” is because obama expects to be president and he wants that power
as I have ppointed out too many times, power corrupts and there is no.doubt, obama has corrupted himself sumply with the promise of power
I am reallt scared of this man
of course I am more scared of mccain but obama is proving to be the worst candidate we could have fielded
I bo longer defend him on the tubes and he has lost for me all hope our country will be returned to us if he is elected
he has spoiled the promise I held in my heart for his presidency
Super late but heartfelt, Happy Birthday, Lady Jane!
Is the Ron Paul convention at Target Center while the BushCheeCains meet at the Xcel Energy Center?
Have a fun, fun time in the Minne-apple…