Michael Moore offers 5 ways the Dems can pull their heads out of their collective asses

wouldn't you love it if they actually did this...? 'course there's not a snowball's chance in hell they will...

michael moore...

Memo To: President Obama and the Democratic Party Leadership

From: Michael Moore

Subject: 5 Things Dems Can Do to Turn It Around by November 2nd

1. Immediate Wall-to-Wall TV Ads, Internet Videos, and Appearances Hammering Who the Hell Put Us in the Misery We're In.
We Americans have very short attention spans (Quick: Who Won the Oscar for Best Picture last year? The World Series? Exactly.). People need to be reminded over and over that it was the REPUBLICANS who concocted and led the unnecessary invasion of two countries, putting us in our longest war ever, wars that will eventually cost us over $3 trillion. Bush and Co. also caused the biggest collapse of our economy since the Great Depression. I don't know a single person in Hollywood who wouldn't shoot and produce those spots for you for FREE. Dems: Do not pull a single punch on this. Quit being a bunch of wusses and let the bastards have it! The public will be astonished that you've found your courage and your spine. We expect you to be Muhammad Ali, not Ally McBeal.

2. Indict the Criminals.
Announce that the Justice Department will seek indictments against both those who caused the economic collapse and those who became war profiteers. Call it for what it is: organized crime. Use the RICO statutes. Use the basic laws that make fraud of any kind a crime. Get in the face of those who stole the billions, make them pay for it -- and the people will love you. We want Dirty Harry, not Dirty Dancing.

3. Announce a Moratorium on All Family Home Foreclosures.
Last month (August) there were more home foreclosures than in any month in U.S. history. Worse than any month in the worst year ever, 2009. The bleeding hasn't stopped -- it's only gotten worse. And now, this week, two of the largest crime organizations who are throwing hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes (GMAC and JPMorgan Chase) have been forced to momentarily stop doing this. It turns out, they don't really have the paperwork to prove they actually own these houses! It's madness. So if you do one thing for the middle class this week, do this. It will take an hour of your time to draw up the decree and issue it. We'd rather watch "It's a Wonderful Life" than "Poltergeist."

4. Announce a New 21st Century WPA.
"Who's hiring? THE GOVERNMENT IS HIRING!" Put together a simple plan to hire enough people to repair our roads, fix up our aging schools, and rebuild our infrastructure. Fund this by taxing the richest 1% who have more financial wealth than 95% of Americans combined! Unemployment will drop to 5%. Can you pass it? Well, you sure can't unless you try! And as you're trying, announce that you will force the Republican senators (who until now simply have had to say they "intended" to filibuster in order to kill a bill) to have to actually filibuster! Make them stand on the floor of the Senate and read from the phone book 24/7. They won't last a day. And America will see them for who they really are.

5. Declare That No Democrat Will Accept ANY Wall Street Money in the Next Election Cycle.
Pick a day in the coming week. Have all your fellow Democrats in Congress stand in front of the Capitol (with President Obama) and pledge that if America allows you to retain control of Congress, none of you will take a penny from Wall Street for the 2012 election. Instead, promise to accept donations of only $2, $5 and $10. You will also pledge not to take a job as a lobbyist or lawyer for ANY corporation for ten years after you leave Congress. The message will be a powerful one to the average American fed up with corrupt political hacks. Act like Honest Abe, not Fast Freddie -- and see what happens.

mostly because i would rather die than see the asylum inmate on unsupervised leave, sharron angle, become my next u.s. senator, i went to the voter registration office on wednesday to sign up for absentee voting by email... so, yes, i will undoubtedly be voting for harry reid and, god help us, how pathetic is THAT...?

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Dear Senator Reid

Dear Senator Reid,

This communication is prompted by the recent Senate rejection of the public option in the health care reform bill, but it also expresses my profound frustration and outright disgust with both you and the rest of our country's so-called representative leadership in any sort of viable domestic policy.

Furthermore, I am writing you from a vantage point nearly 10,000 miles away in Kabul, Afghanistan, where I witness daily the abject failure of my country's foreign policy.

The United States was founded on the principle of honoring, protecting and ensuring the common good, not only for U.S. citizens but also, in whatever constructive and peaceful means we might have at our disposal, the common good of the rest of the world.

Senator Reid, the United States, on a daily basis, systematically demonstrates its complete and total rejection of that founding principle. What the United States honors, protects and ensures is the health and welfare of those who can pay the most for it. It is not democracy, it is capitalism run amok.

And it is not just you, sir. It is all of your Senate and House colleagues who have made it clear, time and again, that you do not have my interests nor the interests of any of the great body of your constituents at heart.

Do the honorable thing, sir. Admit you have forsaken your sacred duty to the country you purport to serve and step down. If there is indeed a god, perhaps your colleagues will follow your example.

Sincerely,

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Expanding TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program

good god almighty...

mish's view...

In late breaking news, Treasury Secretary Paulson has announced a new plan to expand TARP coverage.

Congress was behind the push as Pelosi, Reid Press for TARP Aid for Auto Industry.

and be sure to check this little amazing revelation...

Competition to get under TARP coverage is so high that Auto Makers Would Accept Strings on Aid.

oh, N-O-O-O-O-OOOOOO...!! they'd accept STRINGS...!! what is the world coming to...?

mish, no stranger to snark, offers this in conclusion...

Details of the exact nature of the new treasury plan were kept under wraps, but photographer Keith Taylor managed to sneak into the "Situation Room" and capture this stunning image of exactly who would be covered under the new TARP initiative.

News is sometimes so bizarre now that it is hard to tell fact from fiction.

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Dear Senator: "If you vote for this bill, you will not get my vote in the next election"

it's not very often i urge people to phone, email, write or fax anybody, but, after sending off three sets of emails and two sets of faxes to my senators, reid and ensign, wherein i threatened to withdraw my support for them in perpetuity if they supported and voted for the bailout bill, i read this on mish's global economic trend analysis and was moved to put up a post...

Sample Fax

Dear Senator/Congressional Leader

The Paulson plan is not workable. It is a sellout to corporate America at taxpayer expense.

Nouriel Roubini: "Paulson Plan is a Disgrace"

On Friday, Nouriel Roubini, the most widely respected economist in the country stated...

"The Treasury plan is a disgrace: a bailout of reckless bankers, lenders and investors that provides little direct debt relief to borrowers and financially stressed households and that will come at a very high cost to the US taxpayer. And the plan does nothing to resolve the severe stress in money markets and interbank markets that are now close to a systemic meltdown."

Former FDIC Chairman Weighs In

"Bailout Plan Will Not 'Work' in Current Form"

Mad Rush To Financial Judgment

On Friday we heard president Bush and Paulson, preach the same set of lies they have preached before.

• There can be no delay.
• Sweeping new Powers for the Fed are needed.
• The Treasury needs $700 billion dollars.
• There is no time to study alternatives.
  

In your heart you know all of the above are lies. It was the very same mad rush to judgment that started the Iraq War. We do not need and cannot afford a financial mad rush to judgment.

Thee odds of failure on the Paulson plan are 100%. The Paulson plan will not create any jobs or help homeowners pay their bills. Instead it diverts $700 billion of taxpayer funds to failed banks that took excessive risks. The sheer size of the bailout will cause interest rates to rise, further adding to taxpayer woes.

Long term interest rates are already up a half point on news of this bill. They will rise more if it passes. How is that supposed to help homeowners?

Robbing taxpayers to pay failed banks cannot possibly work!

Printing money and giving it away cannot work either. If it did work, Zimbabwe would be the most prosperous nation in the world.

190+ Economists Slam Bailout

Over 190 top economists in the country have slammed this bailout on grounds of fairness, ambiguity, and long term effects.

http://faculty.chicagogsb.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/mortgage_protest.htm

Paul O'Neil Is Against The Plan

Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said today that our nation's leaders -- especially President Bush -- are "in a panic" and haven't thought through the $700 billion bailout plan in a rush to pass it by the end of the week.

"I don't think he understands or knows much about any of this and it shows. It is possible to re-liquefy the credit system without 'We the People' owning $700 billion worth of homes," he said.

BB&T Corp. Chief Executive Officer John Allison critiques the plan

Treasury "is totally dominated by Wall Street investment bankers" and "cannot be relied on to objectively assess" the impact of government policy on the financial industry, Allison wrote in a Sept. 23 letter to Congress.

The letter was verified by Bob Denham, a spokesman for BB&T, North Carolina's third-largest bank.

• What is it that Paulson knows that 190+ economists don't?
  
  
• What is it that Paulson knows that William Isaac, former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. does not know?
  
  
• What is it that Paulson knows that former Treasury Secretary O'Neil does not know?
  
  
• What is it that Paulson knows that small bank CEOs who avoided this mess do not know?
  
  
• What is it that Paulson knows that Roubini does not know?
  

Remember it was Paulson who was telling us all how safe the US Banking system was just a few weeks ago.

Roubini: "It is a disgrace that no professional economist was consulted by Congress or invited to present his/her views at the Congressional hearings on the Treasury rescue plan."

Block This Bill

Our prayers are with you that you have the courage to stand up do what you know you must do: Block This Bill.

I cannot and will not vote for any member of Congress who votes for this bill in its current form or anything remotely close to the current form.

This insane rush to push something through, is wrong. If you vote for this bill, you will not get my vote in the next election. It is as simple as that.

It is time to scrap the Paulson Plan and start all over. Doing nothing is far better than wasting $700 billion in a Wall Street Bailout Boondoggle that puts an already stressed taxpayer in further jeopardy.

Your Name
Your Phone Number

Please fax everyone on this list.

Sen. Richard Shelby (R) 202-224-3416 or 202-224-5137 (try both not sure which is correct)
Sen. Harry Reid (D) 202-224-7327
Sen. Jim DeMint (R) 202-228-5143
Sen. John Ensign (R) 202-228-2193
Sen. Jim Bunning (R) 202-228-1373
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) 202-224-6020
Sen John McCain (R) 202-228-2862

Sen. Barack Obama 202-228-4260
Sen. John D. Rockefeller 202-224-7665
Sen. Dianne Feinstein 202-228-3954
Sen. Ron Wyden 202-228-2717
Sen. Evan Bayh 202-228-1377
Sen. Barbara Mikulski 202-224-8858
Sen. Bill Nelson 202-228-2183
Sen. John Kerry 202-224-8525
Sen. Daniel Inouye 202-224-6747
Sen. Hillary Clinton 202-228-0282

Those inclined should also fax their own senators as well.

they're meeting as we speak, so get to faxin', people...

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Do NOT - I repeat - DO NOT believe a single word that comes out of the White House

how many times have we read news stories about bush "backing down," "softening up," taking a "conciliatory stance," "signaling a willingness to 'cooperate'"...? huh...?? how many times...? and how many times was it nothing but a goddam smoke screen*, a deliberate red herring* to make everybody let down their guard...? huh...?? how many times...?

(* apologies for the mixed metaphors...)

from raw story...

After months of using politically loaded rhetoric and hyping "bogus" terror threats to push Congress to give him the domestic spying bill he's demanding, President Bush seems to be backing down.

The Wall Street Journal reports Tuesday that the White House is softening its hard-line approach to updating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The steps toward moderation and compromise come as House Democrats proved last month that they have enough votes to pass a FISA bill that includes more oversight of surveillance efforts within the US than Bush would like and also to block the immunity he has demanded for telecommunications companies that facilitated his warrantless wiretapping program.

the last time i posted a run-down on the bush administration's insatiable need for power and its absolute unwillingness to compromise on ANYTHING was back in mid-december... i think it's time to trot it out again...

take your time... read it carefully... NOTHING has changed... i repeat... ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAS CHANGED...

harry on george (december 2007)...

[Senator Harry Reid] said that in 40 years of public service he had not had a tougher relationship.

“He is impossible to work with,” the senator said. “There are times I say: ‘Is there something more I can do? Have I done something wrong?’ But even his own people tell me he won’t compromise.”

nancy on george (december 2007)...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., admitted Thursday that she had underestimated the willingness of Republicans to stand behind President Bush’s Iraq policy despite the drubbing the GOP took in the polls in 2006.

"The assumption I made was that the Republicans would soon see the light," she said. Instead, the minority stuck to the president’s war policy in the face of unrelenting pressure from congressional Democrats and powerful lobbying campaigns by anti-war groups.

kagro x on george (february 2006)...

So, is warrantless surveillance illegal or not? Well, not if you believe that the president has "inherent powers as commander-in-chief." That would answer the entire question.

"But there are no unwritten 'inherent powers,' or at least none that would simply justify warrantless surveillance on the president's say-so," you may object.

"Says you," answers Alberto Gonzales.

And you think he's nuts for saying so. But the problem is that you're still working under the old (albeit commonly understood) constitutional order, whereas Gonzales is proposing a new one. One under which there are such "inherent powers."

And that's when it hits you: If five Supreme Court Justices side with Gonzales, everything you knew (or thought you knew) about the Constitution is wrong. By which I mean, it now is wrong. It wasn't wrong yesterday, but now it is.

jack balkin on george (july 2006)...

What the press and the public must understand is that this Administration does not play by the rules. It does not take a hint. Instead it will continue to obfuscate and prevaricate, as it has so often in the past on issues ranging from detention to prisoner mistreatment. This Administration will not conform its actions to the Rule of Law unless it finds doing so politically infeasible. As a result, the Congress, the courts, the press and the public will have to object-- repeatedly and strenuously-- if they want the Executive to abide by its constitutional obligation to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

time magazine on george (october 2006)...

In fact, when it comes to deploying its Executive power, which is dear to Bush's understanding of the presidency, the President's team has been planning for what one strategist describes as "a cataclysmic fight to the death" over the balance between Congress and the White House if confronted with congressional subpoenas it deems inappropriate. The strategist says the Bush team is "going to assert that power, and they're going to fight it all the way to the Supreme Court on every issue, every time, no compromise, no discussion, no negotiation."

sidney blumenthal on george (november 2007)...

[T]he Bush doctrine: The president as commander in chief can do whatever he wants regardless of Congress. There must be no checks and balances, no accountability. There must be no disclosure to other branches of government, whether legislative or judicial. Oral findings, or, if necessary, secret memos, make the illegal legal merely by saying they are legal in the name of presidential authority. The operational need to know determines who knows.

sheldon whitehouse on george (december 2007)...

“To give you an example of what I read,” Whitehouse said on the Senate floor, “I have gotten three legal propositions from these secret OLC opinions declassified. Here they are, as accurately as my note-taking could reproduce them from the classified documents”:

1. An executive order cannot limit a President. There is no constitutional requirement for a President to issue a new executive order whenever he wishes to depart from the terms of a previous executive order. Rather than violate an executive order, the President has instead modified or waived it.

2. The President, exercising his constitutional authority under Article II, can determine whether an action is a lawful exercise of the President’s authority under Article II.

3. The Department of Justice is bound by the President’s legal determinations.

slowly, now... repeat after me...

N O T H I N G..H A S..C H A N G E D . . . !

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Harry Reid, my senator and "one of the biggest pussies in U.S. political history"

not cuz i haven't been bombarding his email inbox, i can assure you...

Quietly, while Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been inspiring Democrats everywhere with their rolling bitchfest, congressional superduo Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have completed one of the most awesome political collapses since Neville Chamberlain. At long last, the Democratic leaders of Congress have publicly surrendered on the Iraq War, just one year after being swept into power with a firm mandate to end it.

Solidifying his reputation as one of the biggest pussies in U.S. political history, Reid explained his decision to refocus his party's energies on topics other than ending the war by saying he just couldn't fit Iraq into his busy schedule. "We have the presidential election," Reid said recently. "Our time is really squeezed."

There was much public shedding of tears among the Democratic leadership, as Reid, Pelosi and other congressional heavyweights expressed deep sadness that their valiant charge up the hill of change had been thwarted by circumstances beyond their control — that, as much as they would love to continue trying to end the catastrophic Iraq deal, they would now have to wait until, oh, 2009 to try again. "We'll have a new president," said Pelosi. "And I do think at that time we'll take a fresh look at it."

they are pretty pathetic, i must admit...

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Worthless economic stimulus plan passes

oh, lovely... i'm going to sit down right now and write up a list of everything i'm going to buy with my $600 or whatever they're going to throw at me to help me continue to pretend that we're not being taken to the cleaners by crooks...

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a $171 billion economic stimulus program on Thursday afternoon, sending it to the House for final passage on Thursday evening so that it can be sent quickly to President Bush’s desk.

The 81-to-16 vote came after Senate Democrats agreed to add only payments for senior citizens and disabled veterans to a package already approved overwhelmingly by the House with the backing of President Bush. The Democratic senators had wanted to add more than $40 billion to the House version, a proposal that would have brought the cost of the package to about $204 billion over two years.

But Republican senators held firm, frustrating the Democrats’ efforts to get the 60 votes they needed to end debate. But in settling for a $171 billion package, the Senate Democratic majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, refused to admit defeat.

“We were able to make the House bill better,” he said, pledging to continue to try to corral enough votes to provide more economic stimulus in the months ahead.

“Discretion is the better part of valor,” said Senator Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

“The best thing for us to do is declare a big victory that we’ve achieved, namely getting the rebate checks to 20 million seniors and 250,000 disabled veterans,” Mr. Baucus said.

As passed by the Senate and sent to the House, the program calls for rebates ranging from $300 to $1,200 for most taxpayers, payments of $300 to people who paid no income taxes but earned $3,000 or more from Social Security or veterans’ disability benefits, and various tax incentives for businesses.

i posted on this disgusting scam the other day... like i keep saying, ferchrissake, let's let the whole goddam thing collapse under its own corrupt weight...

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Pick up the phone and call Harry Reid, fercryinoutloud

the only thing i've run across today that seems at all worth moving a muscle for (and that includes putting up a post) is this...

i gave the s.o.b. a call from argentina... how about you...?

Dear Friend,

By Wednesday night, the debate over government eavesdropping will end in the Senate.

In less than three days, we will know who stood up for civil liberties and who failed freedom. Help put Senator Reid on notice before the Senate votes.

Our demands are simple and unwavering. Stay true to your oath to protect the Constitution. Stand up against an overreaching executive branch. And, don’t grant blanket immunity to huge corporations that sold out Americans’ privacy.

Call Senator Senator Reid toll-free in Nevada at 1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343), or call his Las Vegas office at (702) 388-5020 and say something like this:

I am calling about the spying bill currently being considered by the Senate. I urge you to fight for a bill that’s constitutional and respects the rule of law. Please vote NO on the current Senate Intelligence Committee spying bill, and keep telecom immunity out of any bill that comes up for a vote.

Please reject any bill that allows for the warrantless surveillance or “bulk collection” of Americans’ phone calls and emails.

When you are finished, log your call here.

Your actions have made a difference in this fight. Together, we have jammed congressional switchboards, flooded the Capitol in a sea of email and buried lawmakers in a mountain of petitions.

After all the twists and turns in this debate, we are finally down to the wire. Every lobbyist, lawyer and organizer at the ACLU is determined to win this fight, whether we have to do it in Congress or in the Courts. But right now it is absolutely essential that the voice of freedom be heard throughout the halls of Congress.

Please call Senator Reid right now.

Help us finish the work we started in December 2005, when the warrantless wiretapping program was first exposed by the New York Times. Together, we will bring the government’s surveillance programs in line with the Constitution and the rule of law.

We will be in touch later this week about next steps in this fast-moving legislation.

Thank you for standing with us.

Sincerely,

Caroline Fredrickson, ACLU
Caroline Fredrickson, Director
ACLU Washington Legislative Office

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Hey, Harry... Hey, Nancy... What is it about unfettered executive power that you don't understand...?

the senate majority leader and the speaker of the house are oh-so-surprised that george isn't working with them...

harry on george (december 2007)...

[Senator Harry Reid] said that in 40 years of public service he had not had a tougher relationship.

“He is impossible to work with,” the senator said. “There are times I say: ‘Is there something more I can do? Have I done something wrong?’ But even his own people tell me he won’t compromise.”

nancy on george (december 2007)...

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., admitted Thursday that she had underestimated the willingness of Republicans to stand behind President Bush’s Iraq policy despite the drubbing the GOP took in the polls in 2006.

"The assumption I made was that the Republicans would soon see the light," she said. Instead, the minority stuck to the president’s war policy in the face of unrelenting pressure from congressional Democrats and powerful lobbying campaigns by anti-war groups.

well, goldurnit, there are quite a few folks out there who have been sounding the alarm for at least a couple of years, and, golly gee, they're all saying the samn damn thing...

kagro x on george (february 2006)...

So, is warrantless surveillance illegal or not? Well, not if you believe that the president has "inherent powers as commander-in-chief." That would answer the entire question.

"But there are no unwritten 'inherent powers,' or at least none that would simply justify warrantless surveillance on the president's say-so," you may object.

"Says you," answers Alberto Gonzales.

And you think he's nuts for saying so. But the problem is that you're still working under the old (albeit commonly understood) constitutional order, whereas Gonzales is proposing a new one. One under which there are such "inherent powers."

And that's when it hits you: If five Supreme Court Justices side with Gonzales, everything you knew (or thought you knew) about the Constitution is wrong. By which I mean, it now is wrong. It wasn't wrong yesterday, but now it is.

jack balkin on george (july 2006)...

What the press and the public must understand is that this Administration does not play by the rules. It does not take a hint. Instead it will continue to obfuscate and prevaricate, as it has so often in the past on issues ranging from detention to prisoner mistreatment. This Administration will not conform its actions to the Rule of Law unless it finds doing so politically infeasible. As a result, the Congress, the courts, the press and the public will have to object-- repeatedly and strenuously-- if they want the Executive to abide by its constitutional obligation to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

time magazine on george (october 2006)...

In fact, when it comes to deploying its Executive power, which is dear to Bush's understanding of the presidency, the President's team has been planning for what one strategist describes as "a cataclysmic fight to the death" over the balance between Congress and the White House if confronted with congressional subpoenas it deems inappropriate. The strategist says the Bush team is "going to assert that power, and they're going to fight it all the way to the Supreme Court on every issue, every time, no compromise, no discussion, no negotiation."

sidney blumenthal on george (november 2007)...

[T]he Bush doctrine: The president as commander in chief can do whatever he wants regardless of Congress. There must be no checks and balances, no accountability. There must be no disclosure to other branches of government, whether legislative or judicial. Oral findings, or, if necessary, secret memos, make the illegal legal merely by saying they are legal in the name of presidential authority. The operational need to know determines who knows.

sheldon whitehouse on george (december 2007)...

“To give you an example of what I read,” Whitehouse said on the Senate floor, “I have gotten three legal propositions from these secret OLC opinions declassified. Here they are, as accurately as my note-taking could reproduce them from the classified documents”:

1. An executive order cannot limit a President. There is no constitutional requirement for a President to issue a new executive order whenever he wishes to depart from the terms of a previous executive order. Rather than violate an executive order, the President has instead modified or waived it.

2. The President, exercising his constitutional authority under Article II, can determine whether an action is a lawful exercise of the President’s authority under Article II.

3. The Department of Justice is bound by the President’s legal determinations.

you gotta admire the man's consistency... when george says he's got unlimited powers as president, he means it, and he ain't gonna let anything as trivial as the u.s. constitution, checks and balances, separation of powers, or the rule of law get in the way...

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A study in netroots/grassroots power and a portrait of leadership: "The best gift you could have given this country"

glenn has an excellent and detailed chronology of the events leading up to yesterday's amazing and heartening senate debate on the fisa bill, highlighting the courageous stand taken by chris dodd, who quite likely would not have taken such a stand had it not been for a few savvy bloggers who initiated a groundswell... it's well worth reading... glenn includes this youtube clip of dodd delivering his own summation and urging us to remember that the fight has just begun...

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Reid postpones FISA bill debate for after the holiday recess and Dodd agrees

it just happened, and largely due to chris dodd's heroic leadership effort...

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Stop the capitulation and complicity

do your duty and go to firedoglake to let harry know what you think...

Tell Harry Reid To Support

Chris Dodd's Filibuster!

Dear Senator Reid: I am outraged by your efforts to enable the Bush administration and telecoms to escape all accountability for their illegal spying on American citizens. I am appalled by your refusal to recognize the "hold" placed by Sen. Chris Dodd on the Cheney/Rockefeller bill to expand warrantless eavesdropping and provide telecoms immunity, especially given the reverence with which you treat "holds" asserted by GOP Senators. And I am truly disappointed that you have treated in such a cavalier manner revelations that the Bush administration has simply broken the law in how it has spied on Americans. Sadly, your legacy as Senate Majority Leader thus far is one of extreme weakness and failure. It is astonishing to watch one capitulation after the next to a President who is widely discredited and historically unpopular and whose administration is patently corrupt. Your constituents did not send you to Washington to enable the Bush administration's behavior, but rather to act as an important check on that behavior. Your role as Senate Majority Leader is to impose limits on the President's misconduct, not to enable and endorse it. You are profoundly failing in all of your core duties. More than ever, America needs principled and courageous leadership, and you are uniquely situated to provide it. Please start doing so. You can begin by joining in Chris Dodd's filibuster of the horrific Senate Intelligence Committee bill and by urging your caucus members to do the same.

i've been out for a while and am trying to catch up on what's been going on... when i left, kit bond was spewing nonsense, and when i got back, he was STILL spewing nonsense... anyway, use the phones, sign the petition, do whatever you can do... somehow, some way, we need to hold the line against the liars and those who are hell-bent on destroying our democratic republic...

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Harry Reid, White House ally, and MY U.S. Senator

glenn...

The criticism isn't that Harry Reid is being insufficiently aggressive in opposing the White House. It's that he's doing what he can to support the White House, serving as their key ally.

would that it wasn't true...

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The FISA bill may come up today and here's Reid's response to me on telecom immunity

a gracious acknowledgement with zero indication of opposition...

I appreciate hearing from you, and I have noted your opposition to granting retroactive immunity to telecom companies.

the nyt doesn't see harry working in the interests of either the common good or the u.s. constitution...

Mr. Bush, of course, wants fewer, not more, restrictions and wants those powers to be made permanent. He also wants amnesty for telecommunications companies that gave Americans’ private data to the government for at least five years without a warrant.

Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, seems intent on doing the president’s bidding. He has indicated that instead of the Judiciary Committee’s bill, he may put on the floor a deeply flawed measure from the Senate Intelligence Committee that dangerously expands the government’s powers and gives undeserved amnesty to the telecommunications companies. The White House says amnesty is intended to ensure future cooperation but seems truly aimed at making sure the public never learns the extent of the companies’ involvement in illegal wiretapping.

That will leave Democratic senators like Christopher Dodd and Russ Feingold in the absurd position of having to stage filibusters against their own party’s leadership to try to forestall more harm to civil liberties.

i've repeatedly implored my united states senator and the leader of the democratic majority in the unites states senate to take a strong stand for the rule of law and the u.s. constitution and the above is a good example of what i've gotten back...

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S. 1959 and telecom immunity: yet ANOTHER letter to Harry Reid

i strongly encourage everyone to contact their own senators as soon as possible...

Dear Senator Reid,

I am writing to urgently request your cooperation on two issues.

The first is retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that is being considered for inclusion in the current bill updating FISA. Inclusion of this provision would be a serious mistake. The telecommunications companies are responsible, just like the rest of us, for obeying the law, and being asked to violate the law, even if the request comes from the president of the United States, does not release these companies from criminal accountability. Our nation has always prided itself on adherence to the rule of law and, just because our president chooses not to follow the law, does not invalidate compliance with the law. You must oppose this provision at all costs.

Secondly, S. 1959, the Violent Radicalisation and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, is coming up for Senate review after passage by the House. Given the sweeping abrogation of civil liberties, aided and abetted by a deliberate, seven-year campaign to instill fear in our citizens by the Bush administration, this legislation is both superfluous and potentially dangerous. Superfluous because the work is already being done and has been done for many years by the FBI, and numerous universities and think-tanks.

Representative Harman believes this type of inquiry could benefit the country. I see no need for duplication of existing efforts, but, moreover, I also see the establishment of this commission as a platform for launching additional assaults on our constitution and our civil liberties. The Center for Constitutional Rights asks precisely what is meant by the term "extremist belief system," as set forth in the bill, and that was my precise question when I first read the text of the bill.

In today's climate, Senator Reid, a person like myself who vigorously opposes the war in Iraq, any military intervention in Iran, the Patriot Act, the Protect America Act, the Military Commissions Act, domestic surveillance, the suspension of habeas corpus for terrorist detainees, torture in any form, extraordinary rendition, secret CIA prisons, and the entire concept of the unitary executive, I could easily be characterized as holding an "extremist belief system" myself. In fact, if you follow traditional media, as I'm sure you do, you will quickly agree that many of my fellow citizens who share similar perspectives are already being lumped into that category. The day that those of us who are passionate about the founding principles of our country are labeled as "extremists" is the day that the United States as we have come to know it will be officially pronounced dead.

Senator, we simply cannot permit our country to continue to abandon our founding principles. You, sir, have, in my opinion, been far too willing to proceed down this path and your leadership in preventing it, if it exists at all, has been less than visible to me. It's time that you drew your own line in the sand, as well as one for the Senate Democrats you purport to lead. Do everything in your power to resist telecom immunity and S. 1959.

Best regards,

let's hope i'm not just wasting more bandwidth...

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WANTED: for criminal complicity, ignoring the U.S. Constitution, and violating oath of office

Democratic leaders in Congress are quietly preparing to give President Bush essentially everything he wants to keep the Iraq war going for at least another six months without forcing any change in course.

please make the bad people stop hurting me...

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The Last Lie Revealed

Well, Princess Pelosi and Spineless Harry have taken back their last '06 election promise, a full Congressional work week.
From the Daily Campus.

Democrats won a majority in both houses of Congress last November, making several promises to the voters that elected them. Among these was "an end to the two-day work week," and a "return to a five-day work week."

Less than a year later, the Democratic majority in Congress has announced that starting in January, Congress will no longer work on Fridays. As it stands currently, important votes do not occur on Mondays because many Congressmen travel to their districts over the weekend. (emphasis added)
The announcement of a cutback in the Congressional work week has drawn several criticisms and rightly so. The promise of a return to a full five-day work week was a key principle in the Democrats' platform in the 2006 mid-term elections. It is disappointing that the Democratic majority, which has been vocal about its own inability to make gains in the face of a significant Republican minority and a combative White House, has decided to decrease its work efforts. Even though the House of Representatives has conducted 1,000 roll-call votes during its current session, only 106 of those votes were on bills that were ultimately signed into law. The 12 months were the laziest non-election year in the Senate since 1989. Not getting anything done in Congress will not be changed by working less.
[...]

Let's see, the war goes on with no end in sight, Dems are joining Repubs in calling for the invasion of Iran, privatization of public resources continues unchecked, the Bill of Rights is gone,war funding and domestic spying are totally supported by Congress,46 million still don't have health care, the economy is about to implode, the world thinks we are war criminals and imperialists, toys and food are being sold that are poison, and Congress cuts back its work week.
Call me crazy, but I think we are pretty much screwed from any angle, by every side.
Bush, Cheney and their corporate sponsors have nothing to fear from Congress or the people. They win.
I abandon all hope.
I am bereft of all reason.
I stand on the cliffs edge watching our world happily run off it. It might be time to just let it go, try not to get pulled over with it, and build from the ashes.
It's a bad day.

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Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the Democratic party are complicit in killing democracy

here's a follow-on to jim's Spoiled brat, two faced, eltist, scumbag beltway princess post from the 28th...

Her machinations since Democrats took over the U.S. House in January 2007 show that Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn't scared of the Republicans - "her eagerness to cooperate with the Bush regime is matched only by her incompetence in leading Congress." Pelosi and her leadership clique have never had the slightest intention of seriously opposing George Bush, since they are quite content with a status quo of endless war, half of New Orleans abandoned, true universal health care on perpetual hold, and a growing police state. Every constituency of the Democratic Party has been betrayed, with the complicity of Pelosi and her crowd.

[...]

It is clear that Nancy Pelosi's reign as Speaker has been an absolute disaster for the Democratic party and for the entire nation. Her eagerness to cooperate with the Bush regime is matched only by her incompetence in leading Congress. Under her watch, Congress gave Alberto Gonzales, on his way to riding out of town on a rail, a significant victory by expanding FISA regulations to allow warrantless surveillance of American citizens.

[...]

The story of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act debacle has been blamed on Bush. It is true that he once again lied about a terror threat, but it is not true that Pelosi and the rest of the Democrats were innocently stampeded. The Democrats had every intention of caving from the very beginning. Pelosi and the rest of the leadership promised the ACLU and other civil liberties groups that they wouldn't pass a bill without first investigating the extent of White House law breaking and without consulting them first. They did no such thing. As an ACLU lobbyist put it, "They turned around and screwed us over - and the Constitution - all at once."

Disappointment in the Democrats, pleas to "grow a spine" miss the point entirely. Pelosi and her clique have no interest in Democracy. They go through the flimsiest pretense of opposing Bush when they have no interest in doing so. Her goal is to preserve the status quo, not to overturn it.

[...]

Pelosi, Harry Reid and the rest of what passes for Congressional leadership have perfected their criminal enterprise. Every act of treachery is followed by lame excuses for inaction. The truly spineless ones, progressives wallowing in denial, foolishly whine, asking each other what is wrong when the answer stares them in the face. The Democratic party is complicit in killing democracy.

they ALL need to go, every last goddam one of 'em...

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Another Harry Reid email on FISA: says nothing, commits to nothing

i got another email today from harry reid... it's exactly the same boilerplate email that landed in my inbox last week...

today...

On October 18, 2007, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence agreed 13-2 to the text of a draft Senate bill which many believe is also a substantial improvement over the flawed Protect America Act. As Senators and the public examine the bill, there will be some debate about certain provisions in this initial draft bill, most notably how the draft bill addresses issues related to the alleged cooperation of telecommunications carriers with the government on intelligence collection.

In the coming weeks, Senators will have an opportunity to further refine and improve the draft bill, first through Senate Judiciary Committee action, then during floor debate, and in the conference process with the House. I assure you that I will work with my longtime friend and colleague Senator Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT) to ensure that he feels his rights as a United States Senator to amend and improve legislation are preserved and respected. You can be certain that I will be pushing hard for a final bill that provides America with the effective but legal intelligence tools needed to fight terrorism, while also protecting our civil liberties and establishing strong mechanisms for congressional and judicial oversight.

october 25...

On October 18, 2007, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence agreed 13-2 to the text of a draft Senate bill which many believe is also a substantial improvement over the flawed Protect America Act. As Senators and the public examine the bill, there will be some debate about certain provisions in this initial draft bill, most notably how the draft bill addresses issues related to the alleged cooperation of telecommunications carriers with the government on intelligence collection.

In the coming weeks, Senators will have an opportunity to further refine and improve the draft bill, first through Senate Judiciary Committee action, then during floor debate, and in the conference process with the House. I assure you that I will work with my longtime friend and colleague Senator Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT) to ensure that he feels his rights as a United States Senator to amend and improve legislation are preserved and respected. You can be certain that I will be pushing hard for a final bill that provides America with the effective but legal intelligence tools needed to fight terrorism, while also protecting our civil liberties and establishing strong mechanisms for congressional and judicial oversight.

ah, MY senator... how embarrassing...

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Harry Reid's response: says nothing, commits to nothing, but sounds nice

just popped in to my inbox...

Efforts to replace the flawed Protect America Act with a better statute are underway. On October 17, 2007, Representative John Conyers (D-MI) introduced in the House of Representatives the Responsible Electronic Surveillance that is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective (RESTORE) Act of 2007 (H.R.3773). Although the House has not yet voted on the bill, my colleagues will likely reconsider this measure in the near future and it is an improvement over the Protect America Act.

On October 18, 2007, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence agreed 13-2 to the text of a draft Senate bill which many believe is also a substantial improvement over the flawed Protect America Act. As Senators and the public examine the bill, there will be some debate about certain provisions in this initial draft bill, most notably how the draft bill addresses issues related to the alleged cooperation of telecommunications carriers with the government on intelligence collection.

In the coming weeks, Senators will have an opportunity to further refine and improve the draft bill, first through Senate Judiciary Committee action, then during floor debate, and in the conference process with the House. I assure you that I will work with my longtime friend and colleague Senator Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT) to ensure that he feels his rights as a United States Senator to amend and improve legislation are preserved and respected. You can be certain that I will be pushing hard for a final bill that provides America with the effective but legal intelligence tools needed to fight terrorism, while also protecting our civil liberties and establishing strong mechanisms for congressional and judicial oversight.

says nothing, commits to nothing, but sounds nice...

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