Gates opened CIA to openly gay members.

Here are the potential areas under which EFF might be able to sue the telecoms going forward.

Outrage is one of the most moving and anger provoking documentaries about American politics I have ever seen. The documentary exposes closeted gay politicians who consistently vote in ways that harm the LGBT community. That form of hypocrisy needs to be exposed, in the same way that family value preaching evangelicals who pick up hookers need to be exposed. The American public revels in the revelations of hypocrisy, and for good reason. As Mike Rogers, our guest tonight said on the “The View”:
The basis of this country is that the people who make the laws have to live under them…That’s called tyranny where the people who set the rules don’t have to follow them.

According to sources on the Hill, the Lieberman-Graham detainee photo suppression amendment is out of the conference report of the supplemental.

For everyone who made phone calls — pat yourself on the back.

Let us all now sit back and enjoy the spectacle of Joe Lieberman throwing a tantrum. 

If you decided you wanted to celebrate by donating to the Marcy Wheeler fund, — well, I could think of worse things.

The Blue Dog Democrats are being forced to vote for it by Rahm Emanuel and Nancy Pelosi, but the pressure is only just beginning. If we mount an effort now by calling them and pinning them down, they’ll most likely change their mind and side with the GOP. There are enough of them to kill it.

Late this afternoon, New York State Senator Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens) voted with the Republican Party (along with Dem Pedro Espada, Jr. of the Bronx), shifted the balance of power in the state senate, and threw out NYS Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens). Neither turncoat Democrat says he will change his official party affiliation.

According to Maxine Waters’ office, the last word was that she will vote “no” on the supplemental. As a member of the Out of Iraq Caucus Rep Waters committed to voting “no” on all war funding that did not include a timeline for troop withdrawal. But she is also the author of a letter that has now been cosigned by 41 Democratic members, and since it takes only 39 Democrats to defeat it, that number is sufficient to keep the bill from passing until their concerns are addressed.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that a judge who accepts corporate campaign contributions during his/her reelection campaign must recuse him/herself in a case involving the that corporation. But the Court’s four radical conservatives dissented, saying rules to discourage bribery or the appearance thereof are a problem. Really.

The bailout of private banks and financial institutions has become a touchy political issue in the United States, ever since President Bush’s Treasury Secretary and former Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulson asked Congress for a $700 billion dollar blank check last September.

Now the Obama administration is asking the Congress for $108 billion for the International Monetary Fund. What is all this money for? There is an answer staring us in the face from the financial press: European banks.

The office of Rep. Dennis Kucinich has confirmed that he will vote against the supplemental. That makes 11 Democratic votes to block the passage of the package that includes supplemental funding for the war in Afghanistan, the IMF European bank bailout and the Lieberman suppression of detainee photos amendment. A total of 39 are needed, which means 28 more to go.