...why "capitulation" is a more believable explanation for the Democrats' behaviour than outright collusion. They all read the polls, nothing that Glenn wrote here would come as any surprise to any national legislator. It seems they know to make the right noises at election time to make voters think they are actually going to Take Bush On This Time, if only they get Enough Of A Majority... only to go right back to what they intended to do all along, which is to strengthen the power of the State.

The portrayal of these legislators and scaredy-ass little wimps who really, in their heart of hearts, want to do the Right Thing but are afraid of the evil Republicans just doeasn't hold any wayer with me. Obviously there are exceptions, they are all individuals - but in my mind, the exceptions prove the rule.

Taken as a group, Congressional Democrats want more power, even if it means Bush gets to exercise it for a while. They believe their time will come, and that they will, of course, only use their power for Good. But they want that power.

on Nov 7, 2008 the great majority of posters here are going to vote for someone who will continue the slide of America into a totalitarian police state with imperial ambitions

...since election day is on Tuesday the 4th:

http://www.when-is.com/election-day-2008.asp

Sorry HRH, I had to...

because Kitt was kind enough to change the subject (not that the libertarian pissing contest wasn't endlessly diverting)...

The surname of Gilda's character was Roseannadanna. I know this because in one bit she referred to her grandmother "Nana" Roseannadanna; in another she talked about her aunt Pollyanna Roseannadanna, and in another, her "musically happening cousin," Carlos Santana Roseannadanna.

Waterboarding is drowning.

Waterboarding that is not stopped in time will lead to death by drowning.

RMP, I know you know this, I'm directing my ire at the author of the article. "Simulated drowning" is, in my mind, the most monstrous euphemism since "collateral damage" or perhaps "ethnic cleansing."

Who was it that said that language serves to obscure more than it does to explain?

You're completely missing the point. The boy who cried wolf endangered himself and everyone in the village, if you recall Aesop.

Remember the first Orange Alert? Remember the second? and the third? Does anyone even know (or care) what colour the alert is now?

In addition to manipulating people's fears for partisan gain, Bush has degraded the nation's preparedness. How much you wanna bet there's not going to be an apology from the Decider when al-Qa'ida blows up a mall?

Mona, it looks like the DHS has backed away from its former advocacy of the Grover-Cookie Monster-Bert-Ernie-Elmo scale... in no small part, I'm sure, due to ridicule. You can get a current update by following this helpful link I found on Arne's blog entry:

http://www.dhs.gov/xinfoshare/programs/Copy_of_press_release_0046.shtm

Of course, no one has ever even vaguely elucidated the difference between an Ernie Alert and a Bert Alert. I mean, aren't we supposed to "be vigilant, take notice of [our] surroundings, and report suspicious items or activities to local authorities immediately" pretty much 24-7 nowadays?

Now that's an interesting argument... given that the NSA has access to all the fat pipes, it would be rather incompetent of them just to be doing link analysis. Leave aside whether they should be doing more... that determination isn't their responsibility.

It used to be the responsibility of Congress...

I thought it was strange that we haven't seen Glenn since Tuesday, and then I was like, duh. Carnaval.

If we get a new post by the end of the week, I'll be stunned.

"Let's not talk about this, let's talk about the horrible Clintons."

If Billary were really concerned about their daughter, they wouldn't have put her in the public spotlight.

This is one of the things I find really odd about the whole "pimping" deal: the denial of any sort of self-motivation on the part of a 27-year-old woman whose mother is running for President. If she campaigns for her mom, she's being pimped.

Jenna and Barbara spoke at the 2004 Republican convention; I don't recall them being likened to prostitutes.

Welcome, Mr. Guckert, to the comments section. Congratulations on keeping the faith! It must be hard to ignore the signs that the economy is, indeed, "in collapse..." surely, all the bad economic news must be Senator Clinton's fault. It's probably like The Secret, you know, all that negative thinking fucking things up.

In that vein, I urge you not to read the following assessment of the nderlying tensions in Iraq papered over by the Surge™:

http://tinyurl.com/3eyyvp

The Law of Attraction, combined with Clintonian/Reidian/Greenwaldian naysaying, would probably bring about the collapse of the Sunni Awakening by morning.

Surge on!

Word.

You would think "terrorist" might have been a clue to their goals.

Of course, the fact that they call anyone who goes against them a "terrorist" should have been a clue to the Government's goals....

Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.

...fall out of "mainstream of security-minded Americans?"

I distinguish "genuine privacy concerns" from "frivolous privacy concerns" like the notion that my calls might be among the trillions of calls being data-mined for information.

What part of

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated...

do you have difficulty understanding?

And why should your ignorance be a reason for violating my rights?

And what are you doing, chief?