I suspect that this post by Digby is much closer to the position you're trying to stake here.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/pecksniffian-twit-by-digby-peggy-noonan.html

Actually, it would be helpful to me (as I sort it all out) to know whether I intuited that correctly.

(FYI, I voted for Jesse Jackson, was proud to do so, and I'm completely white. In fact, Lilith-like.)

Now, I have to hit the grocery aisles, but I'll be back... ;~)

Pick your poison: Chertoff's gang of clowns dealing with actual threats, or the NSA going too far.

If the threat is real, then a domestic agency, not the NSA, should hire competent people to deal with domestic cybersecurity. And that ain't gonna happen under this Madministration.

I'm willing to believe that cyberterrorism may be (or may become) a real threat. However, I really don't want any of the political hacks in Bush's crew to be tackling such a sensitive matter. Better to let it wait-- along with so many other things-- for a new administration.

...from this:

The one (and only) "principle" that can really inspire many of these Senators to take a stand is the protection of their Senatorial prerogatives. Many of them don't actually have any beliefs other than that.

...to an acknowledgment that we desire nothing less than to retain our own constitutional prerogatives.

Sometimes, a real-life analogy is the only way to communicate through the fog.

What are you trying to do... kill me? Kill me with that recipe for alcohol poisoning? ;~) I just don't have enough body mass [sigh]

Wandering by...

Pedinska, I skimmed, but I'll go back and see what you're looking for. In the meantime, feel free to post whateveryouwant at the Interrobang yourself.

Kathleen Sebelius is responding now...

Is it over yet?

The speech is done. Toast, even. But we still have another year to survive of hearing that man's excruciatingly irritating voice. I don't know how much more I can take. Surely, that sound should be defined as torture under the Geneva Conventions? Or at least under the Uniform Code of Military Conduct? Something? Somewhere?

I was watching PBS, which is usually pretty good about responses and other speeches... They had Sebelius covered. David Brooks even gave her high marks for her delivery, noting how hard it is to sound "natural" under those circumstances.

...and, just for the record, it was not the screen that I wanted to slap.

a word cloud of Bush's speech

Wonkette's "The State of Your Liver" (8th annual SOTU drinking game)

a pre-buttal by two of the 30-something Democrats

Chris Shays kissing GWB (What is it about those guys from CT and their fascination with W's cheeks? Didn't Shays see what hay was made from Lieberman's kissing W?)

And for posterity's sake, Think Progress's fact-checking of W's speech. I'll bet the whole thing must be 3 or 4 times longer than the speech if they really did a thorough job.

There's more, but I don't want to give it all away...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/28/bushs-final-state-of-the_n_83718.html

Yeah, after David Brooks gave Sebelius props for her demeanor, and her unifying message, he did complain about her singling out the pundits... "...are we not human; do we not bleed..." or something like that. I just smiled.

It doesn't have to be Telecommunications immunity. But it might as well, be. For what it stands for, don'tcha think?

Yep. As Chris Dodd said in his speech on the senate floor the other day (near the end, I think), just pulling on that one thread [FISA/Immunity] has the potential to unravel the whole thing (meaning this scandalous maladministration), but I'm paraphrasing....

I agree that it's always better not to do these things (like watch the SOTU) without some kind of company. Oftentimes, the online company is far superior to any other that is readily available.

I think she was talking over GWB's head to the rest of America. I sincerely doubt that she thinks he's going to change his MO at this late date. Wouldn't you agree?

* * *

That's it for me tonight... Night!

No headache here, but then, I was consuming soup. Two kinds. One that I cobbled together from an asian rice noodle packet with some frozen peas & corn and leftover chicken added. And some leftover vegetable soup that I made myself. Still, a couple of really good cocktails would have been welcome.

A worthwhile reason to read the Politico regularly.

Obviously, you're no stranger to most of us, which makes the transition appear more seamless from the viewing/reading perspective. Welcome!

Ditto.

That EFF link is great. One of the best for ease of use, too. I especially appreciated how easy it was to edit the template letter.

So, just because they don't like the Clintons.... it's okay for the folks at MSNBC to dis the Florida Democratic Party's voters, by not reporting the results. Surely, the turnout is of interest (if only for what it "predicts" about November) and reporting that would require a count.