We've gone way past the thin edge of the wedge. And it's hard getting a wedge back out of some types of wood. Driving it on through is the easiest way.
But in this metaphor, it's the worst thing that can happen. And there are damn few helping us pull the wedge out. We're left praying that a dem regime will back it out.
Sun, 02/10/2008 - 22:59 — Filthy Harry (not verified)
This whole 'superdelegate' thing has been sticking in my craw lately, (since I found out about them) but was willing to let it slide till I saw how it played out, then I read this in the times: "...said a Democrat who is both a [candidate's name] superdelegate and major donor"
WTF?!? I mean these people have the this kind of voting power and they can donate heavily? To me that stinks big time.
Would it be too much to as for the 'Bastion of Democracy' to actually have some goddamn democracy?
So who is McCain to complain about torture? He totally caved to the Bush regime and his little bill "outlawing" waterboarding is now being cited retroactively by the Bush regime to claim that it wasn't illegal when they did it. You see, because Congress specifically banned it, they say it must have been legal before when they were doing it. Geneva Conventions? International treaties? Who cares? Orwellian, no? Or is it Kafkaesque? Whatever.
Good question. Must be, since it's being questioned hard by the most weak-kneed bunch of mofos ever assembled in Congress since the last Congress met. The telecoms and their lords obviously violate U. S. law. So why isn't it straight into a federal court?
But maybe not, if they actually succeed in striking it down. I don't know.
Super capitalist do business in Zurich...
Without the interference of government regulation
4 enterprising capitalist earn 163 million dollars on
only a small investment in hand guns.
The highest form of capitalism.
Shouldn't they get a medal of freedom or something?
Please, call your Senators tomorrow and raise hell. I'm calling Feinstein.... AGAIN!
Link to Greenwald's post about tomorrow's vote at www.GOPnot4me.blogspot.com
These are not statements of fact, merely allegations. There is no assertion that Conyers is guilty of war crimes. This is for discussion purposes only by State Grand Juries, the public, and State Governors for purposes of appointing replacement Members of Congress.
Draft War Crimes Indictment: John Conyers
1. John Conyers ["Conyers", or "defendant"] was sworn as a Constitutional officer, 5 USC 3331 in Jan 2007. Conyers as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee knew, or should have known, the oath was his binding agreement to fully enforce the Constitution and Geneva Conventions.
2. Conyers in or about 2006 drafted, "Constitution in Crisis," a well-researched list of exhaustive war crimes, impeachable offenses, and other high crimes of the President and Vice President.
3. Conyers is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Michigan.
Count 1: Conspiracy
4. In or about December 2006, John Conyers and Nancy Pelosi allegedly conspired to agree to remove impeachment from the legal options of Congress to prosecute, investigate, and challenge the President's war crimes. Conyers and Pelosi allegedly knew, or should have known, such an agreement would impermissibly leave the Constitution, Supreme Law, and Geneva Conventions unenforced, contrary to their oath of office.
5. The aim of the alleged conspiracy was for Conyers and Pelosi to agree with the President that there would be no impeachment, and a DoJ OLC agreement not to investigate Conyers, Pelosi, and other alleged co-conspirators for their knowledge of, and failure to prevent planned war crimes abuses against prisoners of war. In exchange for the agreement not to prosecute or impeach, Conyers and his alleged co-conspirators were promised by the DOJ Attorney General immunity from prosecution for any and all acts they may have been aware related to war crimes planning, policy making, and implementation. This promise of immunity from prosecution was impermissibly relied upon as an excuse not to fully assert his oath of office.
Count 2: Malfeasance
6. Incorporating all paragraphs above, Conyers allegedly knew or should have know that as a sworn Constitutional officer, he had the legal obligation to keep impeachment on the table, fully investigate facts, and where appropriate issue a final Congressional report related to the alleged war crimes of the President. Conyers refused to do this.
7. Despite Congressman Kucinich's resolutions calling for an investigation to the Vice President's alleged war crimes, Conyers and his alleged co-conspirators did not fully investigate the facts outlined in the "Constitution in Crisis," did not fully enforce Article 82 of the Geneva conventions, a legal duty on him as an attorney to enforce Geneva; and they refused to fully assert their oath of office to defend the Constitution, Supreme Law, and Geneva Conventions.
Count 3: Breach of Fiduciary Duty
8. Incorporating all above paragraphs, as a sworn Constitutional officer, Conyers and his alleged co-conspirators did not fully meet their legal obligations under the US Constitution, despite exhaustive evidence of those standards in "Constitution in Crisis."
9. Conyers when working on the Watergate Hearings knew, or should have known, the importance of enforcing the Constitution against the President. Despite knowing this legal duty on him, Conyers and his alleged co-conspirators refused to meet their legal obligations.
Count 4: Refusal to Investigate War Crimes
10. Incorporating all above paragraphs, Conyers and his alleged co-conspirators did not meet Article 82 legal obligations under Geneva; nor did they fully investigate the alleged war crimes of the President. His Committee did not issue a final report.
Adjudication
Incorporating the above paragraphs, Conyers and his alleged co-conspirators did not meet the minimum legal standards expected of an attorney, a member of the House of Representatives, a sworn Constitutional officer, nor as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. His alleged malfeasance in re war crimes has no mitigations. If convicted by a lawful tribunal, the maximum penatly for war cimes is the death penalty.
We've gone way past the thin edge of the wedge. And it's hard getting a wedge back out of some types of wood. Driving it on through is the easiest way.
But in this metaphor, it's the worst thing that can happen. And there are damn few helping us pull the wedge out. We're left praying that a dem regime will back it out.
Otherwise, Viva La Resistance.
I would've gone with more of a wedgie metaphor (in which case driving it through is not the easiest way), but other than that, yeah, what (s)he said.
We have a FISA resolution that was implemented in 1978 and regularly updated till present. It will expire Friday and the administration wants to include an immunity clause to protect themselves and the telecoms who participated in illegal surveilance since he took office, not just since 9/11. Write your senators now. Don't wait till tomorrow.
"In any event, this notion that federal courts can't handle national security matters is insulting to the judges that this body has seen fit to confirm – and it's contrary to the facts."
Feingold is THE man. The only one I can consistently see.
Obama, make him VP. Congress is pretty much useless 99.9% of the time. All those new executive thug powers would be sweet if Feingold had a say with part of them.
We have a FISA resolution that was implemented in 1978 and regularly updated till present. It will expire Friday and the administration wants to include an immunity clause to protect themselves and the telecoms who participated in illegal surveilance since he took office, not just since 9/11. Write your senators now. Don't wait till tomorrow.
This is too important to not do anything about it. Even though I don't live in the US, I see every country the US has any dealings with doing similar things. Whatever the US does, the rest of the so called free world follows suit. Human rights, civil rights and freedom in general will cease to exist if the US is allowed to continue like this. Orwell's 1984 will be a walk in the park in comparison.
C&L, you're trying to change the subject, putting the focus on the Repubs. BUT (as I said in another posting), there's a lot of dirt on the Dem side to deal with before anyone goes around acting holier than thou. Let’s not forget that o-MOB-a played the race card against the Clintons. Let us not forget the turncoat Dems that are working hard to get to Loserville again come November.
Let us not forget that the media has revved up o-MOB-a-mania, and that way too many Dems are falling for it, just like they did for Kerry in 04.
Let us not let all the Obamorons move on with their travesty without forcing them to look in the mirror and admit they are no better than the Drudges of this world. Because o-MOB-a IS politics as usual, covered up by a media waiting to swat him down.
While Repubs rally around Reagan, you Dems treat your first family like crap.
You call Clinton a racist and then expect my vote if you steal this thing.
C&L, you're trying to change the subject, putting the focus on the Repubs. BUT (as I said in another posting), there's a lot of dirt on the Dem side to deal with before anyone goes around acting holier than thou. Let’s not forget that o-MOB-a played the race card against the Clintons. Let us not forget the turncoat Dems that are working hard to get to Loserville again come November.
Let us not forget that the media has revved up o-MOB-a-mania, and that way too many Dems are falling for it, just like they did for Kerry in 04.
Let us not let all the Obamorons move on with their travesty without forcing them to look in the mirror and admit they are no better than the Drudges of this world. Because o-MOB-a IS politics as usual, covered up by a media waiting to swat him down.
While Repubs rally around Reagan, you Dems treat your first family like crap.
You call Clinton a racist and then expect my vote if you steal this thing.
C&L, you're trying to change the subject, putting the focus on the Repubs. BUT (as I said in another posting), there's a lot of dirt on the Dem side to deal with before anyone goes around acting holier than thou. Let’s not forget that o-MOB-a played the race card against the Clintons. Let us not forget the turncoat Dems that are working hard to get to Loserville again come November.
Let us not forget that the media has revved up o-MOB-a-mania, and that way too many Dems are falling for it, just like they did for Kerry in 04.
Let us not let all the Obamorons move on with their travesty without forcing them to look in the mirror and admit they are no better than the Drudges of this world. Because o-MOB-a IS politics as usual, covered up by a media waiting to swat him down.
While Repubs rally around Reagan, you Dems treat your first family like crap.
You call Clinton a racist and then expect my vote if you steal this thing.
Again, I say no. I say hell no.
WHY are you such a hater? Geez!
You go along with a trumped-up race card, and I'M the hater. As I said, when this is said and done, you will all feel soul-less. Thank you for abandoning your true leaders in our time of need.
rights and civil liberties are not for flesh and blood American citizens,
are for the corporate entities and business rich friendsof bushco
and cheney.
forbid the hard-working, tax-paying citizens should have any right, except
the one bush gives and that is to be fodder to greed.
C&L, you're trying to change the subject, putting the focus on the Repubs. BUT (as I said in another posting), there's a lot of dirt on the Dem side to deal with before anyone goes around acting holier than thou. Let’s not forget that o-MOB-a played the race card against the Clintons. Let us not forget the turncoat Dems that are working hard to get to Loserville again come November.
Let us not forget that the media has revved up o-MOB-a-mania, and that way too many Dems are falling for it, just like they did for Kerry in 04.
Let us not let all the Obamorons move on with their travesty without forcing them to look in the mirror and admit they are no better than the Drudges of this world. Because o-MOB-a IS politics as usual, covered up by a media waiting to swat him down.
While Repubs rally around Reagan, you Dems treat your first family like crap.
You call Clinton a racist and then expect my vote if you steal this thing.
Again, I say no. I say hell no.
WHY are you such a hater? Geez!
You go along with a trumped-up race card, and I'M the hater. As I said, when this is said and done, you will all feel soul-less. Thank you for abandoning your true leaders in our time of need.
Your rants make it hard for any of us to understand what you are for.
C&L, you're trying to change the subject, putting the focus on the Repubs. BUT (as I said in another posting), there's a lot of dirt on the Dem side to deal with before anyone goes around acting holier than thou. Let’s not forget that o-MOB-a played the race card against the Clintons. Let us not forget the turncoat Dems that are working hard to get to Loserville again come November.
Let us not forget that the media has revved up o-MOB-a-mania, and that way too many Dems are falling for it, just like they did for Kerry in 04.
Let us not let all the Obamorons move on with their travesty without forcing them to look in the mirror and admit they are no better than the Drudges of this world. Because o-MOB-a IS politics as usual, covered up by a media waiting to swat him down.
While Repubs rally around Reagan, you Dems treat your first family like crap.
You call Clinton a racist and then expect my vote if you steal this thing.
Again, I say no. I say hell no.
Let us put the blame where it belongs, right on the repugs noses. You my friend are falling for the divide and conquer tactic of the Rove machine (MSM).
You go along with a trumped-up race card, and I'M the hater. As I said, when this is said and done, you will all feel soul-less. Thank you for abandoning your true leaders in our time of need.
Your rants make it hard for any of us to understand what you are for.
Clinton. The prosperity and move toward world peace that comes with that leadership. REAL feeling of hope and accomplishment. Of empowerment. Remember?
I'm NOT for kingmakers that guide mob chronies to the head of the line. I am not for candidates that berate a candidate for working for Wal-mart while his wife made money off of that corporation. I am not for someone who plays along with the media as they invent race issues.
I am NOT for a candidate the GOP-owned media delivers on a silver platter, knowing they will cut him to ribbons once they have him all alone.
C&L, you're trying to change the subject, putting the focus on the Repubs. BUT (as I said in another posting), there's a lot of dirt on the Dem side to deal with before anyone goes around acting holier than thou. Let’s not forget that o-MOB-a played the race card against the Clintons. Let us not forget the turncoat Dems that are working hard to get to Loserville again come November.
Let us not forget that the media has revved up o-MOB-a-mania, and that way too many Dems are falling for it, just like they did for Kerry in 04.
Let us not let all the Obamorons move on with their travesty without forcing them to look in the mirror and admit they are no better than the Drudges of this world. Because o-MOB-a IS politics as usual, covered up by a media waiting to swat him down.
While Repubs rally around Reagan, you Dems treat your first family like crap.
You call Clinton a racist and then expect my vote if you steal this thing.
Again, I say no. I say hell no.
Let us put the blame where it belongs, right on the repugs noses. You my friend are falling for the divide and conquer tactic of the Rove machine (MSM).
You go along with a trumped-up race card, and I'M the hater. As I said, when this is said and done, you will all feel soul-less. Thank you for abandoning your true leaders in our time of need.
Your rants make it hard for any of us to understand what you are for.
Clinton. The prosperity and move toward world peace that comes with that leadership. REAL feeling of hope and accomplishment. Of empowerment. Remember?
I'm NOT for kingmakers that guide mob chronies to the head of the line. I am not for candidates that berate a candidate for working for Wal-mart while his wife made money off of that corporation. I am not for someone who plays along with the media as they invent race issues.
I am NOT for a candidate the GOP-owned media delivers on a silver platter, knowing they will cut him to ribbons once they have him all alone.
You go along with a trumped-up race card, and I'M the hater. As I said, when this is said and done, you will all feel soul-less. Thank you for abandoning your true leaders in our time of need.
Your rants make it hard for any of us to understand what you are for.
Clinton. The prosperity and move toward world peace that comes with that leadership. REAL feeling of hope and accomplishment. Of empowerment. Remember?
I'm NOT for kingmakers that guide mob chronies to the head of the line. I am not for candidates that berate a candidate for working for Wal-mart while his wife made money off of that corporation. I am not for someone who plays along with the media as they invent race issues.
I am NOT for a candidate the GOP-owned media delivers on a silver platter, knowing they will cut him to ribbons once they have him all alone.
BTW, it is all of you who have fallen for the Rovian Mind Trick and divided the party.
Sorry pal, but I have been against anyone putting down OB or HRC, whoever takes the nom. I will vote for, it's people like you who are the Rove-ing idiots!
loubie @ 29:
Your rants make it hard for any of us to understand what you are for.
Clinton. The prosperity and move toward world peace that comes with that leadership. REAL feeling of hope and accomplishment. Of empowerment. Remember?
I'm NOT for kingmakers that guide mob chronies to the head of the line. I am not for candidates that berate a candidate for working for Wal-mart while his wife made money off of that corporation. I am not for someone who plays along with the media as they invent race issues.
I am NOT for a candidate the GOP-owned media delivers on a silver platter, knowing they will cut him to ribbons once they have him all alone.
So...you're for McCain, then? Huckabee?
We shall see. There's still a long way to go.
But I will not vote for people that called the Clintons racist. And I don't see whcy Clinton supporters should either.
BTW, it is all of you who have fallen for the Rovian Mind Trick and divided the party.
Sorry pal, but I have been against anyone putting down OB or HRC, whoever takes the nom. I will vote for, it's people like you who are the Rove-ing idiots!
Clinton. The prosperity and move toward world peace that comes with that leadership. REAL feeling of hope and accomplishment. Of empowerment. Remember?
I'm NOT for kingmakers that guide mob chronies to the head of the line. I am not for candidates that berate a candidate for working for Wal-mart while his wife made money off of that corporation. I am not for someone who plays along with the media as they invent race issues.
I am NOT for a candidate the GOP-owned media delivers on a silver platter, knowing they will cut him to ribbons once they have him all alone.
So...you're for McCain, then? Huckabee?
We shall see. There's still a long way to go.
But I will not vote for people that called the Clintons racist. And I don't see whcy Clinton supporters should either.
If you lose because of it, you deserve it.
So which one are you leaning toward right now, McSundowner or pHuckusall? Or are you hoping for a McpHuckitup combo?
BTW, it is all of you who have fallen for the Rovian Mind Trick and divided the party.
Sorry pal, but I have been against anyone putting down OB or HRC, whoever takes the nom. I will vote for, it's people like you who are the Rove-ing idiots!
I have my right to vote as I wish, I believe. It's not as if Dems have done a damn thing anyway. With their approval rating, they may not even hold Congress. (Nice job as new sherrif, Pelosi.)
Tell me, lafin. Do you believe the Clintons are racist.
If not, do you go along just to boost o-MOB-a.
If you do, where in the hell do YOU get off calling me a Rovian Idiot?
I see no reason for Clinton supporters to go along with people who smear them.
BTW, it is all of you who have fallen for the Rovian Mind Trick and divided the party.
Sorry pal, but I have been against anyone putting down OB or HRC, whoever takes the nom. I will vote for, it's people like you who are the Rove-ing idiots!
I have my right to vote as I wish, I believe. It's not as if Dems have done a damn thing anyway. With their approval rating, they may not even hold Congress. (Nice job as new sherrif, Pelosi.)
Tell me, lafin. Do you believe the Clintons are racist.
If not, do you go along just to boost o-MOB-a.
If you do, where in the hell do YOU get off calling me a Rovian Idiot?
I see no reason for Clinton supporters to go along with people who smear them.
You are a total moron, I like them both and if you did your homework you would know that it was the media that started that bull crap and you fell for it. STFU!
I have just sent Senator Leahy's statement to Senators McCaskill, Smith, Rockefeller, Obama, Clinton, and Reid. Smith is my senator but everyone needs to get there to vote for the Specter/Whitehouse amendment to the FISA legislation. Hooray for Leahy!
Mon, 02/11/2008 - 00:30 — uncle joe mccarthy (not verified)
yesterday we not only lost a great actor, we also lost a great writer
not many of you know the name of steve gerber, but those that collect or read comics will.
and a rememberance of him does indeed belong on a progressive blog, for steve created one of the greatest counter culture heroes to ever show up on on the pages of mainstream comics, howard the duck.
forget about that awful lucas movie, the comic was rife with social commentary of a liberal slant
i met mr gerber on two occasions at the comic con...he was genial and just so gosh durn smart.
what kills me is that he was working from his hospital room (he died of complications due to pulminary fibrosis) right up until a few days ago...i knew something was up when he stopped bloggin on the 8th, as he likes to keep his fans aprised of everything he is doing on a daily basis.
Not only do we need to win the White House come November. We have to win significant majorities in the House and Senate. Our work is cut out, but another Republican is making our attempt easier...
louie is just upset that Hillary's got crappy odds.
Actually he's still annoyed about how the comments in South Carolina went against the Clinton camp and caused them grief that they still haven't gotten over. Even Edwards came down against the Clinton comments and in defense of the Obama response. I think that annoys him since I've seen him posting the same things over and over in any thread he can attack Obama in. Not to mention his constant attacks on Chicago or his overuse of the word kingmaker (which every single candidate on both sides has done before).
Every time I see him use kingmaker I'm reminded of the words of Inigo Montoya - You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
yesterday we not only lost a great actor, we also lost a great writer
not many of you know the name of steve gerber, but those that collect or read comics will.
and a rememberance of him does indeed belong on a progressive blog, for steve created one of the greatest counter culture heroes to ever show up on on the pages of mainstream comics, howard the duck.
forget about that awful lucas movie, the comic was rife with social commentary of a liberal slant
i met mr gerber on two occasions at the comic con...he was genial and just so gosh durn smart.
what kills me is that he was working from his hospital room (he died of complications due to pulminary fibrosis) right up until a few days ago...i knew something was up when he stopped bloggin on the 8th, as he likes to keep his fans aprised of everything he is doing on a daily basis.
im going to miss reading his words
Steve Gerber was a great talent and I second what you wrote. For those of you interested in knowing a bit more about him, he had an interesting weblog at: http://www.stevegerber.com/sgblog/
But man, after Gore, she's the second Dem to screw up Bill's good will with the public. How hard can it be to just suggest some semi-progressive ideas and flip off the Repugs at the same time? People like Bush and McCain ain't nothin' without their Trust Funds.
I sure hope Obama calls McCaskill and tells her not to grant immunity, although she is foursquare for immunity. He can tell her to take her endorsement back, now that he won Missouri by a hair.
Yeah, right, that's going to happen. Obama standing up for our privacy rights, LOL! Nothing but helium-filled rhetoric.
We have a FISA resolution that was implemented in 1978 and regularly updated till present. It will expire Friday and the administration wants to include an immunity clause to protect themselves and the telecoms who participated in illegal surveilance since he took office, not just since 9/11. Write your senators now. Don't wait till tomorrow.
FISA bill is one thing; the immunity issue doesn't need to be included in this bill. Thank you for your comment.
I agree, there's no reason to wait. Immunity-discussion can wait until after we have an investigation of Congress and the President: What did they do/agree to. When they cooperate with an investigation, we'll possibly discuss immunity for that to-be-investigated misconduct.
We cannot forgive what is not understood, nor what the Congress and President will admit to, much less ask for forgiveness. If immunity is granted, that is arguably an illegal assertion of judicial power by the legislature: They've affected ongoing litigation. Only a court can decide an outcome. Congress is illegally self-delegating itself the unconstitutional power to decide the outcome of pending FISA-vi9olation cases.
If Congress does "pass" immunity, please be prepared to support efforts to declare these potential immunity-acts as unconstitutional and an illegal assertion of judicial power by the Congress, something no telecom could reasonably rely. Rather, it cannot be said that telecoms "granted immunity" could destroy evidence when they should reasonably know that grant of immunity was not lawful. They are still responsible to retain all evidence related to the original FISA violations; and how the illegally captured information was used to allegedly support subsequent war crimes, in breach of Geneva and the laws of war.
This isn't about US criminal law, but about international war crimes evidence which the telecoms should know they need to retain. They appear to incorrectly believe that the "date of the immunity grant by Congress" is when they can legally destroy all the war crimes evidence in re FISA-NSA illegal activity. No legal counsel could credibly defend this absurd decision. That data needs to be safeguarded, regardless the decision of Congress on immunity.
Looks like a case of "Who do that voodoo...you do".
You remind me of a man!
I do it my way.
I thought you may know the old bit that goes--
you remind me of a man
what man?
the man with the power
what power?
the power of voodoo
who do?
you do
do what?
remind me of a man
what man?------------
you remind me of a man
what man?
the man with the power
what power?
the power of voodoo
who do?
you do
do what?
remind me of a man
what man?------------
Thanks lafin gas!! That's exactly what I was thinking of, but could not remember enough to google out the rest, so I bluffed a reference to a Sinatra song. Do you happen to know who did it?? Are you a fan or just one of those annoying eidetic memory lucky bastards? (8-)
How can a thread on Telecom immunity turn into Obama vs Hill discussion?
I think the cartoon is funny and makes a point (as cartoons are supposed to be clever, witty sarcastic and totally funny).
How can a thread on Telecom immunity turn into Obama vs Hill discussion?
I think the cartoon is funny and makes a point (as cartoons are supposed to be clever, witty sarcastic and totally funny).
Good night
At the end of the C & L day, the post is an 'open thread' which means there really is no subject that we are limited to. Whatever picture and or headline is posted is an optional starter topic.
How can a thread on Telecom immunity turn into Obama vs Hill discussion?
I think the cartoon is funny and makes a point (as cartoons are supposed to be clever, witty sarcastic and totally funny).
Good night
At the end of the C & L day, the post is an 'open thread' which means there really is no subject that we are limited to. Whatever picture and or headline is posted is an optional starter topic.
Mon, 02/11/2008 - 04:29 — I Am Anonymous (not verified)
#71, great comment.
If this bill is passed we can mark the passing of the United States as a 'free' country, however nominally it deserves that designation now. If the executive is allowed to usurp such powers of congress and the courts, continually expanding their dominion over government - with such little oversight and the meekest compliance from congress and the media-pacified electorate.. the result can only be totalitarianism. The only true citizens - supercitizens, if you will - will be the corporations, whose rights trump all.
I find it depressing that there is not more serious discussion of the issue in the mainstream - let alone here - as this bill alone represents perhaps the most egregious appropriation of rights during Bush II's entire reign.
yesterday we not only lost a great actor, we also lost a great writer
not many of you know the name of steve gerber, but those that collect or read comics will.
and a rememberance of him does indeed belong on a progressive blog, for steve created one of the greatest counter culture heroes to ever show up on on the pages of mainstream comics, howard the duck.
forget about that awful lucas movie, the comic was rife with social commentary of a liberal slant
i met mr gerber on two occasions at the comic con...he was genial and just so gosh durn smart.
what kills me is that he was working from his hospital room (he died of complications due to pulminary fibrosis) right up until a few days ago...i knew something was up when he stopped bloggin on the 8th, as he likes to keep his fans aprised of everything he is doing on a daily basis.
im going to miss reading his words
Steve Gerber was a great talent and I second what you wrote. For those of you interested in knowing a bit more about him, he had an interesting weblog at: http://www.stevegerber.com/sgblog/
thanks...i forgot to mention a couple of things
gerber fought for creator rights before it was fashionable
everyone has been watching the goings on of the wga strike, but think of an entire industry of people who were getting low page rates and creating characters that companies were making millions off, and giving the creators nada....steve fought it, and worked to wake up the creators in his industry that they did indeed have worth.
and steves death again points out the failings of our health care system
first, he had insurance only by the grace of a fund started to assist comic book creators, the hero initiatve, and despite his being fully insured, he still had to go through tons of red tape to even be placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant.
now sure, his health probs could be laid at his own feet (steve was a heavy smoker) but this just shows the pitfalls of our current private health care system.
im apologize about going on and on about a guy most of you know nothing about, but his work meant alot to a teenaged version of me and continued over a period of 30+ years, and i feel that i have lost a friend.
I have a question. How much easier is it to bestow immunity on these companies because of the Telecom Act of 1996? Do we have Bill CLinton to thank again?
Climate warming threatens Antarctic king penguins - http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN1155513120080211
The researchers found that high sea surface temperatures in the area where the king penguins spent the winters cut the amount of available marine prey, which in turn cut the survival rate of adult king penguins.
Bush's Budget Takes Aim at Working Families - http://politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/6466/1/315/
Last week, George W. Bush delivered his final budget proposal to Congress. As expected it contained severe cuts to domestic programs, especially for working families, and massive new spending for the military along with huge tax breaks for the very rich.
Activists look forward to the end of the militaristic, excessively inhumane, and anti-working families policies of the Bush administration. But, they argue, the fight to block or reverse these budget proposals in this final year of Bush's presidency is as important as ever.
Priorities of a corrupt, shameless, & worthless party....wastes of existence
The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy Lives On: Reject Those E-mails - http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/analysis/252
Turn up your racism radars, Democrats; and your sexism radars. These smears and mischaracterizations in your inbox are a right-wing, divide and conquer strategy. Ask not, whether that stuff could be true. Ask, instead, who would want you to wonder? The senders don't care which Democrat you vote for in a primary. They are just getting the jump on their Swiftboating for the general election.
Wedge politics, pure and simple. Think about it. The extreme right wing has nothing. Divide and conquer is their last hope.
Harvey Wasserman: There’s Nothing Mainstream About the Corporate Media - http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/10/6968/
The culprit, in the parlance of the day, has been the “Mainstream Media,” or MSM. But that’s wrong name for it. Today’s mass media is Corporate, not Mainstream, and the distinction is critical. Calling the Corporate Media (CM) “mainstream” implies that it speaks for mid-road opinion, and it absolutely does not.
We need to start using "CM" when we talk about the big 5 Infotainment corporate empires in this country....
WP: As the closing arguments were made to voters in Virginia, Maryland and the District, election officials were predicting a heavy turnout for the first-ever "Potomac Primary," and a great deal was at stake for the two Democratic candidates. Obama was angling to sweep the three jurisdictions. For Clinton, a stronger-than-expected showing could blunt Obama's momentum in what has turned into a protracted competition for convention delegates: 171 are in play today.
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/11/AR200802...
Bush Family Chronicles: The Patriarchs - http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/021008a.html
To fully understand the present manifestation of the Bush family and its excesses, one must consider its history over several generations, a difficult and painful undertaking since it reveals so much about the self-destructive apathy of the American people.
James Madison wrote passionately in the Federalist Papers that in order for a democracy to function and not descend into a tyranny of the wealthy and the well-connected, the citizenry must stay well informed. In Madison’s view, a democratic society was wholly dependent on an informed citizenry.
Hmm...the con-servatives, busheviks, 'free market' corporatists always quote Madison's Federalist quotes....except that one....hmmm....
Kucinich says Pelosi & AIPAC ultimatum story didn't happen - http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/30931
Dennis Kucinich has denied a story that representatives of Nancy Pelosi and AIPAC visited him before the Nevada primary and told him that if he dropped the impeachment of Bush & Cheney, they would guarantee his re-election to Congress.
He needs your help, being outspent 5-1 by corporate DLC running a candidate in primaries against him.... http://www.kucinich.us/contribute.html
Right-Wing Blogs Oblivious To Troop Deaths In Iraq - http://www.beggarscanbechoosers.com/2008/02/right-wing-blogs-oblivious-t...
Anyone who has ever spent any time in the creepy parallel universe known as the right-wing blogosphere has likely noticed that these sites tend to share one thing in common. Here, you'll find a complete and total absence of any mention of our troops who've fallen on the battlefield in Iraq. As far as the right-wing blogosphere is concerned, troop deaths in Iraq simply don't exist.
Major Siegelman update... - http://www.atlargely.com/2008/02/major-siegelman.html
"Against this backdrop, I give you the latest from the brilliant Scott Horton, who also describes yet another corrupt case by US Attorney and Rove pal Alice Martin. Most importantly, he appears to be showing the WH that the story won't die even if CBS does not run it, because someone is leaking."
Stomping on Their Children's Dreams - http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/021108.html
One painful irony of the Obama-Clinton showdown is that it could end up with middle-aged women – who are determined to elect the first female president – stomping on the dreams of their own children, who have shaken off years of political apathy to rally behind Barack Obama.
Brad Blog: 'WA GOP Chair, Esser the Suppressor: 'To win the election, we have to keep as many of these loudmouth leftists and shiftless deadbeats away from the polls as possible' ' - http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5681
GOP: Party of Voter Supression & Election Fraud
As Chief Judge Vaughn Walker wrote when dismissing AT&T’s immunity claims, “AT&T cannot seriously contend that a reasonable entity in its position could have believed that the alleged domestic dragnet was legal.” Judge Walker also flatly rejected the government’s secrecy argument: “The compromise between liberty and security remains a difficult one. But dismissing this case at the outset would sacrifice liberty for no apparent enhancement of security.”
And yet today, we are on the verge of losing our right to challenge illegal behavior because Democrats in Congress have been bought and sold by a couple of big companies.
Let none of these people ever again try to claim that they are doing the people's business.
I wouldn't worry about the immunity thing too much as a legal matter. The Republicans, and now our compliantly rubber-spined Democratic Congress, have made lots of changes to existing law over the last 7 years, like declaring that torture isn't really torture, or that its wrong to punish people for fraud, or that current bankruptcy, tax, and corporate governance laws are too big a hassle, or, in this case, that people who spy aren't responsible for it. The thing about all these changes though, is that they themselves can be changed through legislation, which is a fact even the legislators seem not to be aware of these days (and that right there says everthing you need to know about the quality of the individuals currently running this country).
There was a time in the United States where the wealthy and the powerful could pretty much do whatever the hell they wanted to anybody. We called it the Gilded Age, and Roosevelt smashed it all to pieces in his first four years. We've been here before and fixed it; we'll do it again.
Tom Toles is absolutely the best, IMO. Great insight, great gags, and funny drawing. His drawings of Bill Clinton and W are just plain funny to look at. He can't be beat.
Oops: White House spokesman admits telecoms spied
John Byrne
Published: Tuesday February 12, 2008
Oops.
On the eve of a vote to give telephone companies immunity for their alleged participation in the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretap program, White House spokesperson Dana Perino admitted that the companies actually spied.
Chairman Conyers Writes to White House Counsel Fielding on Amnesty
February 12th, 2008 by Jesse Lee
In a letter to White House Counsel Fred Fielding today, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers indicated that the secret documents recently provided by the White House do not justify the Senate amnesty provision. In addition, Chairman Conyers reiterated previous requests for additional information that the White House has not yet provided and requested declassification so that more information on this crucial issue may be provided to the American public.
from Toles at Wapo. Open Thread below...
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Rights are a quaint notion right now, to some.
Just like the idea that we are human beings. Or even Americans.
Toles is one of the best. I have him on my home page, along with Ted Rall and, of course, Trudeau.
We've gone way past the thin edge of the wedge. And it's hard getting a wedge back out of some types of wood. Driving it on through is the easiest way.
But in this metaphor, it's the worst thing that can happen. And there are damn few helping us pull the wedge out. We're left praying that a dem regime will back it out.
Otherwise, Viva La Resistance.
Spying Immunity is also sought by ... Billo!
Remember very early on in the nightmare when Boosh was asked about the fact that he wouldn't disclose his email?
He said something like: 'It's 'cos I don't want people lookin' at mah stuff.'
Everybody else's 'stuff'...fair game.
McCain lies about Castro.
Toles is by far my favorite editorial cartoonist in action today. Even just to look at his drawings makes me laugh. He's always spot on.
hoping for a BIG obama win tomorrow - the bigger the better
a Edwards endorsement to Obama
Obama winning huge in Hawaii and Wi
Obama taking Texas and Ohio
This whole 'superdelegate' thing has been sticking in my craw lately, (since I found out about them) but was willing to let it slide till I saw how it played out, then I read this in the times: "...said a Democrat who is both a [candidate's name] superdelegate and major donor"
WTF?!? I mean these people have the this kind of voting power and they can donate heavily? To me that stinks big time.
Would it be too much to as for the 'Bastion of Democracy' to actually have some goddamn democracy?
Pardon my ignorance due to not living in the US, but is the immunity a fact now?
Tequila @ 6:
So who is McCain to complain about torture? He totally caved to the Bush regime and his little bill "outlawing" waterboarding is now being cited retroactively by the Bush regime to claim that it wasn't illegal when they did it. You see, because Congress specifically banned it, they say it must have been legal before when they were doing it. Geneva Conventions? International treaties? Who cares? Orwellian, no? Or is it Kafkaesque? Whatever.
Immunity a fact?
Good question. Must be, since it's being questioned hard by the most weak-kneed bunch of mofos ever assembled in Congress since the last Congress met. The telecoms and their lords obviously violate U. S. law. So why isn't it straight into a federal court?
But maybe not, if they actually succeed in striking it down. I don't know.
Super capitalist do business in Zurich...
Without the interference of government regulation
4 enterprising capitalist earn 163 million dollars on
only a small investment in hand guns.
The highest form of capitalism.
Shouldn't they get a medal of freedom or something?
Please, call your Senators tomorrow and raise hell. I'm calling Feinstein.... AGAIN!
Link to Greenwald's post about tomorrow's vote at www.GOPnot4me.blogspot.com
The only rights that aren't being violated is the corporations. The supreme court considers them as individuals with rights.
These are not statements of fact, merely allegations. There is no assertion that Conyers is guilty of war crimes. This is for discussion purposes only by State Grand Juries, the public, and State Governors for purposes of appointing replacement Members of Congress.
Draft War Crimes Indictment: John Conyers
1. John Conyers ["Conyers", or "defendant"] was sworn as a Constitutional officer, 5 USC 3331 in Jan 2007. Conyers as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee knew, or should have known, the oath was his binding agreement to fully enforce the Constitution and Geneva Conventions.
2. Conyers in or about 2006 drafted, "Constitution in Crisis," a well-researched list of exhaustive war crimes, impeachable offenses, and other high crimes of the President and Vice President.
3. Conyers is an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Michigan.
Count 1: Conspiracy
4. In or about December 2006, John Conyers and Nancy Pelosi allegedly conspired to agree to remove impeachment from the legal options of Congress to prosecute, investigate, and challenge the President's war crimes. Conyers and Pelosi allegedly knew, or should have known, such an agreement would impermissibly leave the Constitution, Supreme Law, and Geneva Conventions unenforced, contrary to their oath of office.
5. The aim of the alleged conspiracy was for Conyers and Pelosi to agree with the President that there would be no impeachment, and a DoJ OLC agreement not to investigate Conyers, Pelosi, and other alleged co-conspirators for their knowledge of, and failure to prevent planned war crimes abuses against prisoners of war. In exchange for the agreement not to prosecute or impeach, Conyers and his alleged co-conspirators were promised by the DOJ Attorney General immunity from prosecution for any and all acts they may have been aware related to war crimes planning, policy making, and implementation. This promise of immunity from prosecution was impermissibly relied upon as an excuse not to fully assert his oath of office.
Count 2: Malfeasance
6. Incorporating all paragraphs above, Conyers allegedly knew or should have know that as a sworn Constitutional officer, he had the legal obligation to keep impeachment on the table, fully investigate facts, and where appropriate issue a final Congressional report related to the alleged war crimes of the President. Conyers refused to do this.
7. Despite Congressman Kucinich's resolutions calling for an investigation to the Vice President's alleged war crimes, Conyers and his alleged co-conspirators did not fully investigate the facts outlined in the "Constitution in Crisis," did not fully enforce Article 82 of the Geneva conventions, a legal duty on him as an attorney to enforce Geneva; and they refused to fully assert their oath of office to defend the Constitution, Supreme Law, and Geneva Conventions.
Count 3: Breach of Fiduciary Duty
8. Incorporating all above paragraphs, as a sworn Constitutional officer, Conyers and his alleged co-conspirators did not fully meet their legal obligations under the US Constitution, despite exhaustive evidence of those standards in "Constitution in Crisis."
9. Conyers when working on the Watergate Hearings knew, or should have known, the importance of enforcing the Constitution against the President. Despite knowing this legal duty on him, Conyers and his alleged co-conspirators refused to meet their legal obligations.
Count 4: Refusal to Investigate War Crimes
10. Incorporating all above paragraphs, Conyers and his alleged co-conspirators did not meet Article 82 legal obligations under Geneva; nor did they fully investigate the alleged war crimes of the President. His Committee did not issue a final report.
Adjudication
Incorporating the above paragraphs, Conyers and his alleged co-conspirators did not meet the minimum legal standards expected of an attorney, a member of the House of Representatives, a sworn Constitutional officer, nor as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. His alleged malfeasance in re war crimes has no mitigations. If convicted by a lawful tribunal, the maximum penatly for war cimes is the death penalty.
Bit NOLA @ 3:
I would've gone with more of a wedgie metaphor (in which case driving it through is not the easiest way), but other than that, yeah, what (s)he said.
Another Toles goodie
http://www.uclick.com/client/nyt/tt/
We have a FISA resolution that was implemented in 1978 and regularly updated till present. It will expire Friday and the administration wants to include an immunity clause to protect themselves and the telecoms who participated in illegal surveilance since he took office, not just since 9/11. Write your senators now. Don't wait till tomorrow.
Toles is right on, as usual.
Senator Feingold 2/11/08
"In any event, this notion that federal courts can't handle national security matters is insulting to the judges that this body has seen fit to confirm – and it's contrary to the facts."
Feingold is THE man. The only one I can consistently see.
Obama, make him VP. Congress is pretty much useless 99.9% of the time. All those new executive thug powers would be sweet if Feingold had a say with part of them.
Ron @ 19:
This is too important to not do anything about it. Even though I don't live in the US, I see every country the US has any dealings with doing similar things. Whatever the US does, the rest of the so called free world follows suit. Human rights, civil rights and freedom in general will cease to exist if the US is allowed to continue like this. Orwell's 1984 will be a walk in the park in comparison.
"Good intentions do pave the road to hell.
C&L, you're trying to change the subject, putting the focus on the Repubs. BUT (as I said in another posting), there's a lot of dirt on the Dem side to deal with before anyone goes around acting holier than thou. Let’s not forget that o-MOB-a played the race card against the Clintons. Let us not forget the turncoat Dems that are working hard to get to Loserville again come November.
Let us not forget that the media has revved up o-MOB-a-mania, and that way too many Dems are falling for it, just like they did for Kerry in 04.
Let us not let all the Obamorons move on with their travesty without forcing them to look in the mirror and admit they are no better than the Drudges of this world. Because o-MOB-a IS politics as usual, covered up by a media waiting to swat him down.
While Repubs rally around Reagan, you Dems treat your first family like crap.
You call Clinton a racist and then expect my vote if you steal this thing.
Again, I say no. I say hell no.
lou: No one liked Kerry the way they liked Obama. And how is defending MLK playing the race card?
Anyway, the Brits hate
the Tibetans.
loubie @ 24:
WHY are you such a hater? Geez!
No one attacked MLK.
Go back to Chris Mathews.
Get set for the McCain Years.
lou: McCain can't even win against Bush.
Ron @ 26:
You go along with a trumped-up race card, and I'M the hater. As I said, when this is said and done, you will all feel soul-less. Thank you for abandoning your true leaders in our time of need.
rights and civil liberties are not for flesh and blood American citizens,
are for the corporate entities and business rich
friendsof bushcoand cheney.
forbid the hard-working, tax-paying citizens should have any right, except
the one bush gives and that is to be fodder to greed.
24 loubie--Bush wants his Chaney back!
loubie @ 29:
Your rants make it hard for any of us to understand what you are for.
Tequila @ 28:
It will be fun finding out about o-MOB-a and his fun times in Chi-Town come September.
I know I won't vote for him. Hypocrisy and cronysim do not equate to Hope and Change.
They do equate to Audacity, when you pull the act he's pulling off.
lougie @ 24:
Let us put the blame where it belongs, right on the repugs noses. You my friend are falling for the divide and conquer tactic of the Rove machine (MSM).
loubie @ 33:
So, you're for Clinton then?
Ron @ 32:
Clinton. The prosperity and move toward world peace that comes with that leadership. REAL feeling of hope and accomplishment. Of empowerment. Remember?
I'm NOT for kingmakers that guide mob chronies to the head of the line. I am not for candidates that berate a candidate for working for Wal-mart while his wife made money off of that corporation. I am not for someone who plays along with the media as they invent race issues.
I am NOT for a candidate the GOP-owned media delivers on a silver platter, knowing they will cut him to ribbons once they have him all alone.
lafin gas @ 34:
I got that. LOL!
BTW, it is all of you who have fallen for the Rovian Mind Trick and divided the party.
loubie @ 36:
So you hate blacks. Why didn't you just say so.
loubie @ 36:
So...you're for McCain, then? Huckabee?
loubie @ 38:
Sorry pal, but I have been against anyone putting down OB or HRC, whoever takes the nom. I will vote for, it's people like you who are the Rove-ing idiots!
Proud2bHumble @ 40:
We shall see. There's still a long way to go.
But I will not vote for people that called the Clintons racist. And I don't see whcy Clinton supporters should either.
If you lose because of it, you deserve it.
lafin gas @ 41:
Geeeeee, ya think?
loubie @ 38:
and you have been drinking too much cheap wine.
loubie @ 42:
So which one are you leaning toward right now, McSundowner or pHuckusall? Or are you hoping for a McpHuckitup combo?
lafin gas @ 41:
I have my right to vote as I wish, I believe. It's not as if Dems have done a damn thing anyway. With their approval rating, they may not even hold Congress. (Nice job as new sherrif, Pelosi.)
Tell me, lafin. Do you believe the Clintons are racist.
If not, do you go along just to boost o-MOB-a.
If you do, where in the hell do YOU get off calling me a Rovian Idiot?
I see no reason for Clinton supporters to go along with people who smear them.
Proud2bHumble @ 45:
Actually, I'm planning to vote for Hillary Clinton in November.
Well then, who do you dislike more, Huckatheotard or McCaintgonnalastlong?
loubie @ 46:
You are a total moron, I like them both and if you did your homework you would know that it was the media that started that bull crap and you fell for it. STFU!
loubie @ 47:
Yeah? Great, me too if she gets the nom. What are the things you like about her most in non-comparative terms, if that's possible for you?
I'm going to bed.
Here's a sneak preview of Septmeber's news if o-MOB-a steals the nomination.
http://cbs2chicago.com/politics/alexi.giannoulias.christine.2.332409.html
Go, Hill.
Sweet dreams, loubie. Love yer enthusiasm for Hillary!
Go, Hill.
Definitely not a troll.
I have just sent Senator Leahy's statement to Senators McCaskill, Smith, Rockefeller, Obama, Clinton, and Reid. Smith is my senator but everyone needs to get there to vote for the Specter/Whitehouse amendment to the FISA legislation. Hooray for Leahy!
Somebody else wanna play?
yesterday we not only lost a great actor, we also lost a great writer
not many of you know the name of steve gerber, but those that collect or read comics will.
and a rememberance of him does indeed belong on a progressive blog, for steve created one of the greatest counter culture heroes to ever show up on on the pages of mainstream comics, howard the duck.
forget about that awful lucas movie, the comic was rife with social commentary of a liberal slant
i met mr gerber on two occasions at the comic con...he was genial and just so gosh durn smart.
what kills me is that he was working from his hospital room (he died of complications due to pulminary fibrosis) right up until a few days ago...i knew something was up when he stopped bloggin on the 8th, as he likes to keep his fans aprised of everything he is doing on a daily basis.
im going to miss reading his words
louie is just upset that Hillary's got crappy odds.
Seriously, I don't see how anyone can still consider Hillary, when she's just Bill's puppet.
Not only do we need to win the White House come November. We have to win significant majorities in the House and Senate. Our work is cut out, but another Republican is making our attempt easier...
PHOENIX - Rep. John Shadegg, a seven-term congressman, said Monday he will not seek re-election, becoming the 29th House Republican in the past 13 months to either leave office or decline to seek re-election.
This is great news in my opinion. Many more seats are open come November than we thought.
Tequila @ 56:
Actually he's still annoyed about how the comments in South Carolina went against the Clinton camp and caused them grief that they still haven't gotten over. Even Edwards came down against the Clinton comments and in defense of the Obama response. I think that annoys him since I've seen him posting the same things over and over in any thread he can attack Obama in. Not to mention his constant attacks on Chicago or his overuse of the word kingmaker (which every single candidate on both sides has done before).
Every time I see him use kingmaker I'm reminded of the words of Inigo Montoya - You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Tequila @ 57:
I think she wears the pants in the family!
lafin: She wears the pants, but he pays for them.
uncle joe mccarthy @ 55:
Steve Gerber was a great talent and I second what you wrote. For those of you interested in knowing a bit more about him, he had an interesting weblog at: http://www.stevegerber.com/sgblog/
Tequila @ 61:
Don't fool yourself, she just lent her own campaign $5 million!
But man, after Gore, she's the second Dem to screw up Bill's good will with the public. How hard can it be to just suggest some semi-progressive ideas and flip off the Repugs at the same time? People like Bush and McCain ain't nothin' without their Trust Funds.
Barack Obama for United States President.
lafin: I imagine she took it out of the salaries of her campaign workers.
I sure hope Obama calls McCaskill and tells her not to grant immunity, although she is foursquare for immunity. He can tell her to take her endorsement back, now that he won Missouri by a hair.
Yeah, right, that's going to happen. Obama standing up for our privacy rights, LOL! Nothing but helium-filled rhetoric.
Let's see how much more mud we can sling at ourselves! The pugs got to be loving it!
Fast froward to 10:30 minute mark.
SPREAD THE WORD!!!
There's going to be a HUGE peaceful protest march in Washington.
Even if you hate Ron Paul, go anyway to voice your displeasure at how shitty we have been treated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryMliyeIDp4
ABC doesn't care about black people.
Ron @ 19:
FISA bill is one thing; the immunity issue doesn't need to be included in this bill. Thank you for your comment.
I agree, there's no reason to wait. Immunity-discussion can wait until after we have an investigation of Congress and the President: What did they do/agree to. When they cooperate with an investigation, we'll possibly discuss immunity for that to-be-investigated misconduct.
We cannot forgive what is not understood, nor what the Congress and President will admit to, much less ask for forgiveness. If immunity is granted, that is arguably an illegal assertion of judicial power by the legislature: They've affected ongoing litigation. Only a court can decide an outcome. Congress is illegally self-delegating itself the unconstitutional power to decide the outcome of pending FISA-vi9olation cases.
If Congress does "pass" immunity, please be prepared to support efforts to declare these potential immunity-acts as unconstitutional and an illegal assertion of judicial power by the Congress, something no telecom could reasonably rely. Rather, it cannot be said that telecoms "granted immunity" could destroy evidence when they should reasonably know that grant of immunity was not lawful. They are still responsible to retain all evidence related to the original FISA violations; and how the illegally captured information was used to allegedly support subsequent war crimes, in breach of Geneva and the laws of war.
This isn't about US criminal law, but about international war crimes evidence which the telecoms should know they need to retain. They appear to incorrectly believe that the "date of the immunity grant by Congress" is when they can legally destroy all the war crimes evidence in re FISA-NSA illegal activity. No legal counsel could credibly defend this absurd decision. That data needs to be safeguarded, regardless the decision of Congress on immunity.
Tequila @ 70:
Looks like a case of "Who do that voodoo...you do".
Tequila @ 70:
I care about people and I don't care what color they are!
Proud2bHumble @ 72:
You remind me of a man!
lafin gas @ 74:
I do it my way.
loubie @ 51:
you gop assholes just project and project....god will get you for your bullshit.
Proud2bHumble @ 75:
I thought you may know the old bit that goes--
you remind me of a man
what man?
the man with the power
what power?
the power of voodoo
who do?
you do
do what?
remind me of a man
what man?------------
lafin gas @ 77:
Thanks lafin gas!! That's exactly what I was thinking of, but could not remember enough to google out the rest, so I bluffed a reference to a Sinatra song. Do you happen to know who did it?? Are you a fan or just one of those annoying eidetic memory lucky bastards? (8-)
sorry, just showing my age!
Oh an LOL, by the way, ha!
lafin gas @ 79:
Yeah, I've noticed a few wrinkles in your comments, but I didn' wanna say anything... (8-p
The Jabberwacky
"they hate us for our freedom ."
perhaps originally from Vaudeville
lafin gas @ 84:
Sure sounds like it. Obvious reminder of "Who's on first".
How can a thread on Telecom immunity turn into Obama vs Hill discussion?
I think the cartoon is funny and makes a point (as cartoons are supposed to be clever, witty sarcastic and totally funny).
Good night
TheEnticer @ 86:
At the end of the C & L day, the post is an 'open thread' which means there really is no subject that we are limited to. Whatever picture and or headline is posted is an optional starter topic.
Hillary is siphoning
off Evangelicals from the Republicans. Billy Gates doesn't seem to understand that no means no.
Remember when it was Clinton who got flak for the Chinese connection?
Proud2bHumble @ 87:
Go Obama :)
#71, great comment.
If this bill is passed we can mark the passing of the United States as a 'free' country, however nominally it deserves that designation now. If the executive is allowed to usurp such powers of congress and the courts, continually expanding their dominion over government - with such little oversight and the meekest compliance from congress and the media-pacified electorate.. the result can only be totalitarianism. The only true citizens - supercitizens, if you will - will be the corporations, whose rights trump all.
I find it depressing that there is not more serious discussion of the issue in the mainstream - let alone here - as this bill alone represents perhaps the most egregious appropriation of rights during Bush II's entire reign.
Well, folks, here it is. More proof that, yes, an actual chimp could do a better job than George W. Bush.
Roark77 @ 62:
thanks...i forgot to mention a couple of things
gerber fought for creator rights before it was fashionable
everyone has been watching the goings on of the wga strike, but think of an entire industry of people who were getting low page rates and creating characters that companies were making millions off, and giving the creators nada....steve fought it, and worked to wake up the creators in his industry that they did indeed have worth.
and steves death again points out the failings of our health care system
first, he had insurance only by the grace of a fund started to assist comic book creators, the hero initiatve, and despite his being fully insured, he still had to go through tons of red tape to even be placed on a waiting list for a lung transplant.
now sure, his health probs could be laid at his own feet (steve was a heavy smoker) but this just shows the pitfalls of our current private health care system.
im apologize about going on and on about a guy most of you know nothing about, but his work meant alot to a teenaged version of me and continued over a period of 30+ years, and i feel that i have lost a friend.
pHuckusall.
Truly a work of art p2bh.
A collection of his works.
http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/mikehuckabee/a/huckabeequotes.htm
just saw on the crawl...
Dolly Parton has cancelled her upcoming tour promoting her new cd "Backwoods Barbie" due to back problems.
I have a question. How much easier is it to bestow immunity on these companies because of the Telecom Act of 1996? Do we have Bill CLinton to thank again?
They hate us for our freedoms. So Bush took them away. Problem...solved? :-(
Daily Reading pt 1...
Climate warming threatens Antarctic king penguins - http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN1155513120080211
The researchers found that high sea surface temperatures in the area where the king penguins spent the winters cut the amount of available marine prey, which in turn cut the survival rate of adult king penguins.
Bush's Budget Takes Aim at Working Families - http://politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/6466/1/315/
Last week, George W. Bush delivered his final budget proposal to Congress. As expected it contained severe cuts to domestic programs, especially for working families, and massive new spending for the military along with huge tax breaks for the very rich.
Activists look forward to the end of the militaristic, excessively inhumane, and anti-working families policies of the Bush administration. But, they argue, the fight to block or reverse these budget proposals in this final year of Bush's presidency is as important as ever.
Priorities of a corrupt, shameless, & worthless party....wastes of existence
The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy Lives On: Reject Those E-mails - http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/analysis/252
Turn up your racism radars, Democrats; and your sexism radars. These smears and mischaracterizations in your inbox are a right-wing, divide and conquer strategy. Ask not, whether that stuff could be true. Ask, instead, who would want you to wonder? The senders don't care which Democrat you vote for in a primary. They are just getting the jump on their Swiftboating for the general election.
Wedge politics, pure and simple. Think about it. The extreme right wing has nothing. Divide and conquer is their last hope.
Harvey Wasserman: There’s Nothing Mainstream About the Corporate Media - http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/10/6968/
The culprit, in the parlance of the day, has been the “Mainstream Media,” or MSM. But that’s wrong name for it. Today’s mass media is Corporate, not Mainstream, and the distinction is critical. Calling the Corporate Media (CM) “mainstream” implies that it speaks for mid-road opinion, and it absolutely does not.
We need to start using "CM" when we talk about the big 5 Infotainment corporate empires in this country....
WP: As the closing arguments were made to voters in Virginia, Maryland and the District, election officials were predicting a heavy turnout for the first-ever "Potomac Primary," and a great deal was at stake for the two Democratic candidates. Obama was angling to sweep the three jurisdictions. For Clinton, a stronger-than-expected showing could blunt Obama's momentum in what has turned into a protracted competition for convention delegates: 171 are in play today.
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/11/AR200802...
Daily Reading pt 2...
Bush Family Chronicles: The Patriarchs - http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/021008a.html
To fully understand the present manifestation of the Bush family and its excesses, one must consider its history over several generations, a difficult and painful undertaking since it reveals so much about the self-destructive apathy of the American people.
James Madison wrote passionately in the Federalist Papers that in order for a democracy to function and not descend into a tyranny of the wealthy and the well-connected, the citizenry must stay well informed. In Madison’s view, a democratic society was wholly dependent on an informed citizenry.
Hmm...the con-servatives, busheviks, 'free market' corporatists always quote Madison's Federalist quotes....except that one....hmmm....
Kucinich says Pelosi & AIPAC ultimatum story didn't happen - http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/30931
Dennis Kucinich has denied a story that representatives of Nancy Pelosi and AIPAC visited him before the Nevada primary and told him that if he dropped the impeachment of Bush & Cheney, they would guarantee his re-election to Congress.
He needs your help, being outspent 5-1 by corporate DLC running a candidate in primaries against him.... http://www.kucinich.us/contribute.html
Right-Wing Blogs Oblivious To Troop Deaths In Iraq - http://www.beggarscanbechoosers.com/2008/02/right-wing-blogs-oblivious-t...
Anyone who has ever spent any time in the creepy parallel universe known as the right-wing blogosphere has likely noticed that these sites tend to share one thing in common. Here, you'll find a complete and total absence of any mention of our troops who've fallen on the battlefield in Iraq. As far as the right-wing blogosphere is concerned, troop deaths in Iraq simply don't exist.
The Big Takeover; Virginia youth registering to vote at twice the rate of adults - http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2008/022008/02102008/355192
Major Siegelman update... - http://www.atlargely.com/2008/02/major-siegelman.html
"Against this backdrop, I give you the latest from the brilliant Scott Horton, who also describes yet another corrupt case by US Attorney and Rove pal Alice Martin. Most importantly, he appears to be showing the WH that the story won't die even if CBS does not run it, because someone is leaking."
Another mark for Bush: 'The Army's Other Crisis: Why the best and brightest young officers are leaving' - http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2007/0712.tilghman.html
Daily Reading pt 3...
The Nation endorses Obama For president - http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/08/opinion/main3807653.shtml?sour...
This coupled with rumors of Al Gore's endorsement & Obama's upcoming meeting with Edwards...means a alot for his campaign.
Attytood: Bush lays a Guantanamo trap for the next president; The horror continues - http://www.attytood.com/2008/02/bush_lays_a_guantanamo_trap_fo_1.html
Soldier, After Bipolar Treatment and Suicide Attempts, Sent Back to War Zone - http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_con...
Andy Ostroy: Why Al Gore Would Have Won - http://ostroyreport.blogspot.com/2008/02/why-al-gore-wouldve-won.html
Stomping on Their Children's Dreams - http://www.consortiumnews.com/2008/021108.html
One painful irony of the Obama-Clinton showdown is that it could end up with middle-aged women – who are determined to elect the first female president – stomping on the dreams of their own children, who have shaken off years of political apathy to rally behind Barack Obama.
Brad Blog: 'WA GOP Chair, Esser the Suppressor: 'To win the election, we have to keep as many of these loudmouth leftists and shiftless deadbeats away from the polls as possible' ' - http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5681
GOP: Party of Voter Supression & Election Fraud
I would sentence the telecom industry to a lifetime of having to listen to teen-aged lovers saying, "No you hang up first."
now this is a funny cartoon.
Is this the Victory in Iraq they keep talking about?
Via EFF:
As Chief Judge Vaughn Walker wrote when dismissing AT&T’s immunity claims, “AT&T cannot seriously contend that a reasonable entity in its position could have believed that the alleged domestic dragnet was legal.” Judge Walker also flatly rejected the government’s secrecy argument: “The compromise between liberty and security remains a difficult one. But dismissing this case at the outset would sacrifice liberty for no apparent enhancement of security.”
And yet today, we are on the verge of losing our right to challenge illegal behavior because Democrats in Congress have been bought and sold by a couple of big companies.
Let none of these people ever again try to claim that they are doing the people's business.
They. Are. Not.
CheneyIsaDick:
I wouldn't worry about the immunity thing too much as a legal matter. The Republicans, and now our compliantly rubber-spined Democratic Congress, have made lots of changes to existing law over the last 7 years, like declaring that torture isn't really torture, or that its wrong to punish people for fraud, or that current bankruptcy, tax, and corporate governance laws are too big a hassle, or, in this case, that people who spy aren't responsible for it. The thing about all these changes though, is that they themselves can be changed through legislation, which is a fact even the legislators seem not to be aware of these days (and that right there says everthing you need to know about the quality of the individuals currently running this country).
There was a time in the United States where the wealthy and the powerful could pretty much do whatever the hell they wanted to anybody. We called it the Gilded Age, and Roosevelt smashed it all to pieces in his first four years. We've been here before and fixed it; we'll do it again.
Tom Toles is absolutely the best, IMO. Great insight, great gags, and funny drawing. His drawings of Bill Clinton and W are just plain funny to look at. He can't be beat.
How Hillary Will Win
Help use the telecoms to improve your life situation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4HPRWI5RWc
For crying out loud people, These murdering bastards will kill you, and
Oops: White House spokesman admits telecoms spied
John Byrne
Published: Tuesday February 12, 2008
Oops.
On the eve of a vote to give telephone companies immunity for their alleged participation in the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretap program, White House spokesperson Dana Perino admitted that the companies actually spied.
Because they were 'patriotic.'
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Oops_White_House_spokesman_admits_telecoms...
we're making a list...
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm...
Chairman Conyers Writes to White House Counsel Fielding on Amnesty
February 12th, 2008 by Jesse Lee
In a letter to White House Counsel Fred Fielding today, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers indicated that the secret documents recently provided by the White House do not justify the Senate amnesty provision. In addition, Chairman Conyers reiterated previous requests for additional information that the White House has not yet provided and requested declassification so that more information on this crucial issue may be provided to the American public.
Full text of the letter (pdf):
http://speaker.gov/blog/
Watch Chairman Conyers discuss the matter during markup of the RESTORE Act, when a Republican amendment to include immunity was offered:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7tBUhuCuho&eurl=http://speaker.gov/blog/
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