http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/opinion/11krugman.html

(or click on signature)

In previous years, payments to doctors were maintained through bipartisan fudging: politicians from both parties got together to waive the rules. In effect, Congress kept Medicare functioning by expanding the federal budget deficit.

This year, the Democratic leadership decided, instead, to link the “doctor fix” to the fight against privatization and offered a bill that maintains doctors’ payments while reining in those expensive private fee-for-service plans. Last month, the Senate took up this bill — but Democrats failed by one vote to override a Republican filibuster. And that seemed to be that: soon after that vote, Senators Max Baucus and Charles Grassley had another bipartisan fudge all ready to go.

But then Democratic leaders decided to play brinkmanship. They let the doctors’ cuts stand for the Fourth of July holiday, daring Republicans to threaten the basic medical care of millions of Americans rather than give up subsidies to insurance companies. Over the recess period, there was an intense lobbying war between insurance companies and doctors.

And when the Senate came back in session, it turned out that the doctors — and the Democrats — had won: Senator Kennedy was there to cast the extra vote needed to break the filibuster, a number of Republicans switched sides and the bill passed with a veto-proof majority.

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Notes: it differs from our FISA situation in that

1. It is a much more potent election issue

2. It had powerful but opposed lobbies weighing in

3. Republicans broke rank

Haven't been able to go through all the comments, apologies if this has already been posted.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/7/11/01545/3460/430/549785

Feingold:

"I sit on the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, and I am one of the few members of this body who has been fully briefed on the warrantless wiretapping program. And, based on what I know, I can promise that if more information is declassified about the program in the future, as is likely to happen either due to the Inspector General report, the election of a new President, or simply the passage of time, members of this body will regret that we passed this legislation. I am also familiar with the collection activities that have been conducted under the Protect America Act and will continue under this bill. I invite any of my colleagues who wish to know more about those activities to come speak to me in a classified setting. Publicly, all I can say is that I have serious concerns about how those activities may have impacted the civil liberties of Americans. If we grant these new powers to the government and the effects become known to the American people, we will realize what a mistake it was, of that I am sure."

What I have learned this week has truly shaken me. On the one hand, we have the President, his Administration and the telecommunication corporations given a pass on law-breaking by our legislature.

On the other hand, people who are here - not legally - but to work, to support a family, and are quiet members of the community - are not simply deported, they are coerced by the government into submitting to jail sentences. Not only that, the judiciary finds their hands tied by the executive, and the result is not justice. (click on my signature for the story).

I'm not here advocating amnesty or that these people not be deported - it is just that coming to the US without legal documents in order to work - to work - to work - is not criminal and simple deportation is punishment enough. (I wouldn't object if we were softer; but that is not the point of this post.)

My allegiance is not to this.

I will simply repeat this, and this is true for the telecoms and true for the workers from abroad -

As a citizen, I want our judges to administer justice, not a federal agency.

When the executive branch forces the hand of the judiciary, the result is abuse of power and arbitrariness, unworthy of a democracy founded upon the constitutional principle of checks and balances.

-Arun

http://arunsmusings.blogspot.com/2008/07/give-me-your-huddled-masses-not.html

You may want to read the lengthy report

A Review of the FBI's Involvement in and Observations of Detainee Interrogations in Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, and Iraq, May 2008

available at

http://fas.org/irp/agency/doj/oig/product.htm

(click on signature)

Or, find Brian Lehrer's show on WNYC for May 23, 2008:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2008/05/23

Probably easier than reading that report.

-Arun

http://www.accountabilitynowpac.com/promote.php

Promote the Accountability Now PAC!

Pledge to contribute, if you haven't already done so!

According to Glenn, torture and government-sponsored mayhem are recent creations of the Bush Administration. But according to Niall Ferguson, we've been evil from the beginning of time.

A man at the corner claims to be Jesus. Probably means (elephantman logic) the original claim is also false.

If we have a Democrat in the White House in 2009, we will be able to test the hypothesis that the rule of law only applies when a Democrat is in the White House. We shall see.

And that might lead to the most excellent of reasons for always voting for a Democrat for President.

:)