Was it pow-pow who pointed out yesterday that Reid will let [whomever] introduce an amendment to replace the IC Bill (w/ telco immunity)w/ the SJC substitute Bill (no telco immunity), and then promptly "table" (KILL) the "no telco immunity" amendment?

What are the leverage points in the House? Is the Conference Committee (is that where "reconcilition of the two versions of the Bill occurs?) the last stand?

Just to vent some frustration from all of this, I posted the following comment to Politico's article:

Jay Rockefeller is lying, lying, and lying some more. The NSA can't (on it's own) simply order the telecoms to comply. Also, the telecoms already have protection under FISA if they acted in good faith. Finally, FISA already allows them to submit evidence in secret to a FISA court. It would be helpful to include some "facts" in your article when the published comments are clearly false. That is not partisan opinion. That is simply exposing the truth (and the liars).

I propose that the telecoms get immunity if and only if those who asked them to commit the illegal acts confess in a court of law.

to the "State Secrets Act" that Senator Rockefeller mentions?

So I diligently went to call the list of Senators. I spoke to an Obama person who said he was going to "try" to get back to support the filibuster, and then left a message for Kerry.

But what is weird is that when I called Sen. Clinton's Washington number, I was connected to Verizon Wireless and informed that I owe 88 cents on my bill (which is true, I do).

Has this happened to anyone else? I think it's so strange that I called to ask her about going to Washington to support the filibuster and to take a leadership role in stripping immunity from the telecoms, and my phone gets connected to...a telecom. Talk about a metaphor for the role of corporations in government. I certainly don't think it's Clinton's office, but I tried 4 times and it happened every time.

Just in case anyone thinks the government isn't listening to your calls, as well as reading your mail, think again. The software exists, and no doubt is in use in a secret room, to listen to and analyze and report on everything everyone says on a telephone. Everything, kids. One such company, which may or may not be part of this, is to be found at www.nexidia.com. It works.

Since we know the NSA gets all the AT&T trunk traffic, how hard would it be to listen to particular Senatorial conversations? Already there.

Big Brother is watching you, Jay Rockefeller.

So many "Democrats" like Rockefeller and Reid were so badly defeated, abused and thrashed about by the right for so many years that they've become conditioned to go along with their every demand and passionately fight against any attempt by anyone on THEIR side to resist this. It's illustrative (in an allegorical sense) of the biblical story of how god had the Israelites wander in the desert for 40 years after having been "liberated" from bondage, in order to rid them of the mentality of bondage, and of a generation of "leaders" who thought and acted like slaves, before they would be ready for the promised land.

Democratic "leaders" like Rockefeller and Reid are perfect examples of such slavish and compliant Dems who not only cannot and will not fight the other side, but will eagerly do its bidding in a desire to outdo each other as willing lapdogs. The party is going nowhere until it stops listening to and following these old fools and letting itself be led by them.

Earth to Dems: You WON. Now act like it and LEAD fergodsakes! And if you can't or won't, kindly STFU and get out of the way so that others who can and want to lead WILL.

Great. Congressional Democrats are more similar to Republicans than they originally believed. Republican congressmen are ashamed by their attraction to men and try to hide by claiming family values and undermining rights for homosexuals. Democratic congressmen are ashamed of being Democrats and try to hide their disgrace by capitulating to the administration. What wonderful representation.

It's gonna be Spring before we realize it.

The Snow Ball bulb shoots burst forth in February.

If the Clinton's nod at a gospel church event ~ what makes you think that on the other end of the cell-phone you won't just hear a recording of someone snoring?~

On full moon nights like we are all experiencing together...

Why not just go for a evening midnight walk on the razor thin ice when the glowing Moon beam streaks bright across the river or lake? It's so delightful.

O, save a dime.

Why waste time?

Wait until GWB gives his State of the (dis) Union speech in

house slippers size-19? Bad clowns.

Then we can all sleep and do snore.

To an otherwise great post I agree with otherwise:

They even failed to provide children's health insurance even though their entire party and much of the GOP favored it. They don't feel the slightest bit ashamed or remorseful about any of that.

I don't think SCHIP needs to be brought into this, as they have fought the republicans admirably on it. In particular, since this is mostly about the Senate, the Senate actually did vote to override Bush on SCHIP. The House GOP is the obstace (and of course, Bush who keeps vetoing the damn thing).

Anyway, I'm sure one could try and blame the Democrats for not acceding to Bush's demands about the limits of the program, but Bush isn't a force of nature either and chose to veto an enormously popular bill. The House republicans have chosen to stand by him instead of the American people.

Who should prevail? Where does the blame lie?

In short, SCHIP is not a good example of Democratic capitulation and failure to Bush.

...says the telecom's assistance was REQUIRED and the NSA was "very firm" that they comply. They did so, because they were very patriotic.

Lord, he's a creep.