Presidential power

I saw this in a comment at Daily Kos.
--the BB

A Hallmark moment for the U. S. Senate

Folks, depression is anger turned inward. Let's not do that to ourselves. Send your anger where it belongs. Let the Senators know how you feel about betrayal of the Constitution, about betrayal of what America stands for, about betrayal of Us the People.

Especially if one or both of your Senators is a Dem who caved.

Be polite but firm.

If you are writing letters to the editor, remember to keep it coherent, cogent, and civil but very, very clear.

How about a nice Valentine to Chairman Conyers of the Judicial Committee urging him to begin impeachment hearings (that's the first step)?

And to Speaker Pelosi, reminding her that when high crimes and misdemeanors occur impeachment is expected to be on the table, not off it. (Hell, on that alone I'd be pushing for her recall if I lived in her district. All her touted accomplishments are dust if we lose our Constitution, the one thing she is sworn to uphold.)

Love and kisses to all you Valentines out there!
--the BB

Another vote tomorrow

Check out mcjoan's post today with comments by John Dean (with Keith Olbermann) and an update on where we stand. We are on the brink of destroying another bit of our checks and balances and we're not optimistic about how the Senators will behave. We might not perform a blood eagle on caving Dems (though it is very tempting) but we should make it as painful for them to cave as we can.

How about pillorying Dems who cave? I think it would be an edifying spectacle if Dems who cave to the White House were shackled to a post in the public square where the populace could mock them, maybe toss a few rotten vegetables, and the elements could have their way.

Hell no, I'm not gonna be nice about this. Not when my nation is at stake. And I sure as hell want all the DINOs and Blue Dog dems voted out of office ASAP.
--the BB

Fighting for our Constitution

A call went out for the Dem presidential candidates to stand up against telcom immunity and support Senator Dod in his fight to keep FISA legislation constitutional. It seems that Obama and Clinton will be present to vote against cloture this afternoon. We need to encourage every senator to thwart the administration's efforts to protect lawlessness and hide their own criminal activities.

Check out some background the Economist blog "Democracy in America":

The clear hope of Republicans is to retain control of the tempo of the FISA fight. Their strongest weapon is the ability to paint opponents as recklessly allowing vital intelligence powers to lapse, supposedly leaving America blind in the fight against terror—an argument that the vice president pressed earlier this week in remarks at the Heritage Foundation, backed by the president in a later written statement. Any extension of the stopgap legislation currently in effect would ease that pressure. Similarly, Republicans do not wish to be in the position of filibustering individual FISA amendments, which would put the shoe on the other foot and allow Democrats to claim it is they who are holding up the process over this or that minor item. Civil liberties groups now begin a scramble to win over enough senators to block cloture on Monday.

Jane Hamsher and the crew at Firedoglake have striven mightily to marshal support for constitutional government and rule of law on this issue. They have encouraged calls and faxes. Last night they posted news that Clinton and Obama would show up to vote. Today they have a statement from Senator Clinton.

Do you know where your senators stand? Can you influence that?

Thanks to Grandmère Mimi for posting on this and rallying the troops.
--the BB

How's that Big Brother thing working for you?

Eric Lichtblau's article in today's New York Times spills the beans:

In a separate N.S.A. project, executives at a Denver phone carrier, Qwest, refused in early 2001 to give the agency access to their most localized communications switches, which primarily carry domestic calls, according to people aware of the request, which has not been previously reported. They say the arrangement could have permitted neighborhood-by-neighborhood surveillance of phone traffic without a court order, which alarmed them.

Note: "in early 2001."

Before September 11. The United States was not under attack.

One cannot blame it on Bush alone. They NSA wanted that power when he came into office.

The government’s dependence on the phone industry, driven by the changes in technology and the Bush administration’s desire to expand surveillance capabilities inside the United States, has grown significantly since the Sept. 11 attacks. The N.S.A., though, wanted to extend its reach even earlier. In December 2000, agency officials wrote a transition report to the incoming Bush administration, saying the agency must become a “powerful, permanent presence” on the commercial communications network, a goal that they acknowledged would raise legal and privacy issues.

There are government claims that these activities are designed to ferret out links between domestic communication and persons operating abroad. Still, one cannot help feeling a distinct unease.

At least one major phone carrier — whose identity could not be confirmed — refused to cooperate, citing concerns in 2004 that the subpoenas were overly broad, government and industry officials said. The executives also worried that if the program were exposed, the company would face a public-relations backlash.

Is it any wonder that the Bush maladministration is now frantically trying to obtain immunity for all communications companies that cooperated with the government?

Why can't the rest of us have immunity from laws we may or may not have broken but we can't tell you what they were or if we broke them? Just trust us.

Not!

Why is Sen. Harry Reid going along with the version of a bill that would grant immunity? What the hell is he thinking? There is a version that does not grant immunity. He should be championing that and not even considering the immunity version. If they broke the law, even at the government's bidding, they should be accountable, just as our government should be accountable for breaking the law.

See post immediately below.

Instead of "Give 'em hell, Harry" our motto today needs to be "Give Harry hell."

UPDATE: Glenn Greenwald writes:

More than anything else, what these revelations highlight -- yet again -- is that the U.S. has become precisely the kind of surveillance state that we were always told was the hallmark of tyrannical societies, with literally no limits on the government's ability or willingness to spy on its own citizens and to maintain vast dossiers on those activities. The vast bulk of those on whom the Government spies have never been accused, let alone convicted, of having done anything wrong. One can dismiss those observations as hyperbole if one likes -- people want to believe that their own government is basically benevolent and "tyranny" is something that happens somewhere else -- but publicly available facts simply compel the conclusion that, by definition, we live in a lawless surveillance state, and most of our political officials are indifferent to, if not supportive of, that development.

--the BB

A sign of the times

I saw this photo over at Group News Blog and felt compelled to share it.

And speaking of that fine site--a group that kept on blogging after the blogging community lost the brilliant, informed, passionate, and eloquent Steve Gilliard--I commend to your attention the article by Lower Manhattanite on wiretapping posted today [link].

It says in part:

Which is why this fight over the telecom immunity proposal is something that should NOT be given up on, even after it passes through the Senate like the corn-studded abomination we all know it to be. Yes, the “consideration” was ”delayed” a week as news like Klein's bombshell hit the bill's superstructure...and yes, our good friend, Dianne Feinstein—Cali's biggest whore since Mary Carey, is running a “Specter”—feigning concern now, so she can quietly relent on news-dump Friday next week as her check from her telecom masters clears. We—me, you—need to contunue to make this an issue all through the election season, and post-the 08's.

Because dammit, that's the last bastion, ya'll.

And may I just say that Dianne Feinstein surpasses Mary Carey and any other whore California has ever produced. Voting for an anti-flag-burning amendment to the United States Constitution was the last straw for me and I told her I would never vote for her again. A rather long succession of abominable votes has followed that incident. She clearly does not care about Constitutional government or the People of this nation. Now that I am in New Mexico , voting against her is not an option but if it were I'd fly back to my home state of California just to do it.

The Wikipedia article on Steve Gilliard is here.

UPDATE: Be sure to check out Glenn Greenwald's article in Salon on Feinstein, whom Greenwald calls "Bush's key ally in the Senate." Says it all.

A taste of Greenwald:

Dianne Feinstein may be betraying the overwhelming majority of her constituents. But as a result of her "heroic" work in the Senate, her husband sure is getting richer. And she is beloved -- just beloved -- by Arlen Specter, Trent Lott, Fred Hiatt and George W. Bush. And in Beltway World, that is far, far more important.

Yes, in my mama's way of putting it, DiFi has made me lose my Christianity on numerous occasions.
--the BB

Death of a Nation

From the N Y Times

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 — The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on Tuesday to approve the nomination of Michael B. Mukasey as attorney general despite opposition from most of the committee’s Democrats over Mr. Mukasey’s refusal to label a harsh interrogation technique used on terrorist suspects as torture.

Times Topics: Michael B. Mukasey
The vote, 11 to 8, with two Democrats joining all of the committee’s Republicans in supporting Mr. Mukasey, all but assured him of final confirmation by the full Senate. The Senate’s Democratic leaders are expected to schedule a vote by next week.

America cannot be destroyed from without. She is too strong, too diverse, and too resilient. We would unite in an instant against an attacking, invading, or occupying force. (Precisely what the Iraqis are doing with respect to us--duh!)

But we can be destroyed from within. Should it happen, it would be gradual.

Did I say "should it happen"?

My friends, it is happening.

Free speech? In restricted zones.

Free press? Not with deregulation and the consolidation of media into a few hands.

Privacy? Not when the Fourth Amendment is shredded and warrantless search and seizure are allowed.

Right to a speedy trial, confrontation by accusers, and knowledge of charges? Not when you can be seized on the President's sole say-so and "rendered."

Human rights? Civil rights? Legal rights? You don't have any in the eyes of Chenery, Bush, and their gang of thugs.

Is waterboarding torture? Historians seem to think so when it was used by the Inquisition. American jurisprudence thought so when it was used by the Japanese in WWII. The world thought so when it was used by the Khmer Rouge. People who have witnessed it or voluntarily submitted to it think so. It certainly violates international law to which the United States is a signatory. The whole world thinks it's torture.

But Mukasey is not sure, because if he came out and said waterboarding was torture, then that would put the highest echelons of the administration in violation of the law. Yes, the US Code. Can there be any question that authorizing torture constitutes a high crime?

Mukasey is not certain whether the President is subject to the law either. There might just be exceptions, you know.

And the United States Senate is likely to consent to this man being the chief legal officer of this nation?

Granted, we are not going to get an AG that is not to Bush's liking. If the Senate doesn't consent to one, Bush will establish one with a recess appointment. Is that really worse than the United States Senate being a co-conspirator in lawlessness?

I am watching the United States of America die around me, piece by piece. How can the People of this land take back our power, our laws, our rights, our freedom, our country, our pride?

DiFi and Schumer should, as my mama would have phrased it, be horsewhipped in the public square. And that's too good for them. I am ashamed of Congress and, as usual, outraged at the White House.

God is merciful, but she is not going to "fix" our own self-destructive stupidity. Redemption is not that simple or that magical. My beloved country is fucked beyond belief.
--the BB