Is there anyone else from the DNC's grassroots "Beat Bush" campaign in 2004 who feels their phone was tapped? I think mine was, for over a year. I filed a FOI request with the FBI, faxed it, they sent it back once for a refax. I didn't hear anything back from them within the allotted time frame so I sent another request. I got a letter back in September of 2006 saying that the FBI had sent a letter to me dated May 3,2006. A couple of weeks later I got that May 3 letter which stated I had 60 days to file a request for further review--of course, by the time I got that May letter, the deadline was already past. The FBI denied tapping my phone. But suddenly all the noises and clicks stopped. I guess they considered us terrorists because we had the nerve in 2004 to say Bush had to go. And I hope all the Republican fuckheads who spit at us, threatened us etc, during the campaign just lost a WHOLE LOT of money.

I agree that McCain is an empty a--hole and that we are seeing his true self in this campaign, not some media creation. But I wish there was more of a challenge from the left every time someone says "the surge worked." First, the surge was supposedly to give Iraqis the space to come to an agreement with each other poiltically. This hasn't happened. The Iraqis aren't even in agreement with the US government, to the point that we are apparently threatening them with withdrawing all support. Second, most neighborhoods have been ethnically cleansed, so basically there is no one left to kill. Over 2 million Iraqis have left the country--I doubt a lot of those Iraqi women who had to become prostitutes in Syria to make money to eat would be thanking Gen. Petraus for his big "success." Third, we are paying the Sunnis $30 million a month not to shoot at us anymore--you know, the same guys who were killing US soldiers not long ago. Fourth, Moktada al Sadr decided, for whatever reason, to stand down. He oculd change this at any time. About a week ago, he held an anti-US demonstration in Baghdad, over 100,000 people--does this look like winning to you? Fifth, we stopped sending US troops on a lot of missions, keeping them close has led to fewer casualties. But yet we have McCain and the media, which has never even dealt with the Pentagon propaganda issue in the smallest way, continue to spin this "victory" bull. Why do we let the MSM off the hook time and time again? And McCain as well. I have gone from accepting that "War hero POW" story to realizing he was shot down due to his own recklessness-and now he wants to be President?

I read yesterday that Seymour Hersch is getting calls from all sorts of WH people who are offering to fill him in on some of the criminal activity of Bush/Cheney once they leave their jobs in January. I know a lot of people think this is focusing on the negative or a wasts of time but I become more and more convinced that unless we deal somehow with the crimes of Bush & Cheney, we won't really recover as a country or gain back some of our lost freedoms and checks and balances. I 'm not sure what kind of apparatus such an airing would call for, but without the Truth and Reconciliation Committee I don't think South Africa could have healed from the wounds of apartheid. Maybe jail time for these guys is to much to hope for, still some kind of public airing of what went down would be in the best inetrests of the country and would have an effect on the MSM's idiocy.

I can deal with the former Clinton staffers being part of Obama's team. I can sort of take the Lieberman thing in that I can see how this will eventually play out to Obama's benefit (although I have to wonder how much AIPAC pressure there was to keep LIEberman on the HS committee). I think Hillary as Secretary of State will prove to be a mistake. But to go back on a specific campaign pledge to get rid of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy? Sorry, that is making me feel like I've been had. After being enraged over and over by Reid and Pelosi, I don't think I can take going through that with Obama. I know he hasn't started yet, officially, but I am getting that sinking sensation in my stomach.

Glenn,

I really enjoyed watching you on Bill Moyers show and appreciated what you had to say. I just have one issue ... While Al Quaeda jihadists are definitely extremists, they are not without motivation. I don't think that depicting them as being borderline insane, which is done by both the left and the right, gives an accurate picture of events (not to mention that such an unbalanced attitude means the problem will never be solved). The US did station troops in what Muslims consider sacred land. The US did overthrow a democratically elected government in Iran and replaced it with a thug, the Shah, who tortured and murdered thousands of citizens. Indian Muslims have been brutally murdered by so-called peace-loving Hindus while Indian police stood by and let it happen. These may not be legitimate reasons for acts of terrorism but these acts are not without motivation. If I were Muslim, I certainly would be feeling like my group was being targeted by western powers. I think that leaving out this aspect of motivation gives more credence to what I feel is a phony and manipulative "war on terror."