Protect and Defend

Don't all Congresspeople take an oath to 'protect and defend the Constitution of the United States?" If so, then every one of the closet fascists and liberal ass-coverers that voted for Steny Hoyer's little piece of crap should be impeached.

Stop Obama NOW!

Just kidding, sort of. Obama's position on the FISA abortion is pretty much a dumbass CYA mess. He's gonna vote for it (despite it being the worst Constitutional shredding in modern memory) because it doesn't give the perpetrators cover from CRIMINAL prosecution, only civil? Great, we get another year of these crackhead morons in the Administration spying on whomever they damned well please, the telecoms get cover (and the Admin gets to hide everything because of the cover), and Obama gets the ability to do the same once he's kinglet. While I trust him more than Shrub and company, I don't trust anyone that much.

Write your congresscritters and urge them to vote this down (looks like it's down to the Senate). Contact the Obama campaign and let them know your VEHEMENT opposition to the FISA and your complete disappointment with Obama's position on this.

Make it go away. NOW. FOREVER!

Someone Pimpslap Me

Ummm... I sorta neglected to mention the main story of the day. Apparently, we're all going to be killed by terrorists, since the House Dems, reaching down and finding some cojones, told Bush to go fuck himself, they were going on break, and since he hadn't liked any of their earlier attempts at revamping the FISA bill, they'd just have to let it expire and worry about it later. I LOVE IT! Hell, if I'm wrong, and the the only thing standing between us and oblivion is the rending of the Constitution by this exremental bill, then I'm willing to be posterboy for wrong (since I'm basically living in ground zero point one, here in Socal...)

We'll see if the sudden attack of balls, and Bush's all too predictable tirade of inanity we're sure to be subjected to this weekend, and the warm, glowing, internally gooey sense of winning that Congress is sure to be feeling, can carry over past the break and give them the guts to do it again, and again, and again...... nothing succeeds like success.

Letters With Teeth

Cong. Silvestre Reyes (D-Tx), Chairman of the House Intel Cmte wrote a letter today to the Preznit. The entire thing is a masterpiece of patriotic snark and smack to the face of the Boyking. Read it (Atrios has it in full here.)

The conclusion makes me smile:

I, for one, do not intend to back down - not to the terrorists and not to anyone, including a President, who wants Americans to cower in fear.

We are a strong nation. We cannot allow ourselves to be scared into suspending the Constitution. If we do that, we might as well call the terrorists and tell them that they have won.

Sincerely,

Silvestre Reyes

Member of Congress

Chairman, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

Dianne Must Go

I've had it! Sweet Jesus, Dianne Feinstein is a fucking tool and needs to be replaced immediately (well, at the next election, I'm not calling for a recall!) The stupid fucking bitch just shat all over her constituents (she doesn't have any honor left to shit on!) by voting not to strip immunity from the FISA bill. Check the link and about halfway through, you'll see Dianne listed amongst the traitors; traitors to her Constituents and to the Constitution.

We can only hope that the version that comes out of the conference will be in line with sanity and the Bill of Rights.

FISA

Looks like they're going to buy some time. The House passed a 15 day extension, and the Senate seems moving in that direction, if they haven't done so already. Let's go for a 12 month extension, and let the next Congress/Administration deal with it.

Kagro Writes Reid and Pelosi a Speech

Kagro X has a great post on dKos today on the FISA foulup in Congress. He absolutely nails the response that Congress should have to Dumbfuck:

In August, Bush dictated the terms of the bill he wanted to Congress, and Congress (like the telecoms) rolled over for it, rather than delay their recess. Bush told them what he wanted in the bill, threatened to veto any bill that didn't have exactly what he wanted, and further threatened to use his constitutional powers to actually hold the Congress in session against its will until they passed the bill he wanted.

And in August, the Congress gave him what he wanted.

Fast forward to the present day, with that law now set to expire in February. Unsure of how to proceed on telecom amnesty (and remember, this is easy: the answer is no), the Senate offers to extend the law for an additional 30 days so that the Congress can work out a deal.

Bush's response?

"The president would veto a 30-day extension," a senior administration official said.

That's right. In August, this very bill was so important to Bush that he threatened to veto anything else, and to force the Congress to stay in session until they gave him the custom-built law he wanted.

Now, Congress offers to extend the very same law for 30 days, and Bush threatens to veto it. Yes, the same one he practically wrote himself, when he stomped his feet and held his breath back in August. Now that bill isn't good enough for him. And what's the difference between now and August? In August, we hadn't yet found out the details of how and the extent to which the "administration" had asked the telecoms to break the law on their say-so.

But now we know, and suddenly the law WATB Bush screamed his lungs out for in August is veto bait in January.

So here's the deal. The message to Bush here is, "F you. Do it. Veto this. Go ahead."

You're gonna veto the exact same law you swore to God we had to pass in August or we'd all die?

F you. Do it.

And it's not that I think you won't. You will. But f you, anyway.

You didn't bother asking for retroactive telecom amnesty in August, because you didn't need it. And you didn't need it because nobody had found out that you'd twisted their arms into breaking the law for you. That's why you're threatening to veto an extension of the only law you said in August would save our lives.

By your own claims, you'd be playing with the lives of the Americans you're charged with protecting. Either you were lying in August (and now everyone knows you were), or you're aiding and abetting terrorism now.

Take your pick, moron.

It's Starting to Sound Like Dodd will Filibuster

... new unimproved FISA bill.

Edwards On FISA

He's ag'in it!

Dodd Issues Challenge to Hillary, Obama

Presidential Candidate Sen. Chris Dodd basically threw down the gauntlet today to HRC and Obama to support his promised filibuster of the telecom immunity issue.

No Telecom Immunity?

Looks like it. Per TPM:

This is pretty big. As some people have been speculating today, aides to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have confirmed to me that the version of the FISA bill that was just reported out of the Judiciary Committee does not -- repeat, does not -- contain retroactive immunity for the telecom companies.

And a source close to Reid says that this is "most likely" the version that the Majority Leader will file a motion to proceed on. The aide declined to comment when this might happen, however, saying that it could happen next month.

All in all, it looks like a big victory for opponents of telecom immunity.

More on the hypocrisy of it all.

No Immunity

Go and sign the petition! NOW!

It Wasn't the Promise I Asked For....

but I'll take it..... Obama and HRC have indicated they'll support Dodd's filibuster.

Filibuster

Chris Dodd has announced his next step- if the hold on the FISA bill somehow fails (I'm looking at YOU, Harry Reid!), Dodd will filibuster the damnable bill. This could be fun; it would probably end up having to be an old fashioned 'read the Encyclopaedia Brittanica into the record' kind of filibuster. Think of the good stuff we could glean from the Congressional Record after this! Maybe he'll read all of Shakespeare... be the best quotes in the CR since Fulbright left the Senate!

Another Reson Not to Grant Telecom Immunity

You can never grant any privilege to these assholes, ever. They are all greedy bastards, interested only in their own bonuses, the customer, the employees, the nation, the world be damned.

GODDAMMIT, Dianne! Stop This!

I am once again forced to denounce my own DEMOCRATIC Senator for betraying everything she should stand for as a Democrat, hell, as an AMERICAN! Once again, Dianne Feinstein has voted a bill out of the Intel Cmte that should have been sent to Larry Craig to use in his off hour activities in restrooms. The bill gives Preznit Dumbfuck everything he wants, demands nothing of him, offers no real protection to the American citizenry, and, of course, lets the Telcos off the hook for any violations of law or rights that they might have committed in the name of our Fearless Leader. Great Dianne, just fucking great. We could have elected Darrell Issa or some other San Diego moron Senator for all the good YOU are doing us.

Good For Chris

For reasons beyond human understanding, the Senate (I'm looking at you, Jay Rockefeller!!!!) was set to pass the FISA bill out WITH corporate immunity. But, thanks to the monumentally stupid rules of the Senate, it's possible for Sen. Dodd to bottle it up and prevent it from coming to the floor

Two thoughts.... first, fix this fucking bill. Second, fix the stupid rules in the Senate!

(and third, get rid of these fucking appeasers in the Senate)

FISA Bad!

Steve Benen, at TPM, has a round up of several articles covering why the new FISA bill is so bad. The Anonymous Liberal post at C&L is particularly good.

Lynch Them All!

Both Houses of Congress caved to the fear and death mongering propaganda machine of the WH this weekend and passed the INSANE FISA bill that puts the decision making power in the hands of the AG (who is currently a mentally defective congenital liar!) Let your Congresspeople know that you are pissed. Check Bill O'Reilly's website comments for appropriate verbiage. God, I am pissed, and more than a little terrified.

No!

I've been quiet recently, but the idea that there is even a remote possibility that Congress will cave in and grant to the AG's office, let alone to that piece of human excrement currently occupying it, the authority (or even SOME of the authority) of the FISA court is such an abominable idea that I had to rise from my torpor.

Get off your asses and write/phone/email your Congresspeople and demand that this not happen. NOW! GO!

Update: Digby shouts too!