All this stinking Cheney, I mean Bush administration has offered the American people is crass manipulation through fear. That’s basically how they’ve gotten away with everything they have done.

Not to dump on people’s personal belief systems, but this is out of the play-book of institutional religion. You get people scared enough, and then you’ve got them where you want them. It’s high time for this kind of stuff to end.

Yours is consistently the most readable, relevant and informative column on Salon. I called my Senator and tried to get as many others as I could to do the same. Thanks again for focusing on what matters and for making this point:

"Why do you think you can talk about The Motive of "Dems in Congress" as though it's one big monolith. You're talking about hundreds of human beings -- some of whom oppose these powers explicitly, some of whom don't believe in them but vote for them out of fear, some of whom do believe in them."

The Democratic Party is...messy, to say the least. The net results of their attitudes and actions are maddening, but there is much more diversity in those ranks than among the Republicans, who, with very few exceptions, consistently place party over country in all situations, as do their surrogates in the media. I vote for Democrats because I hold out hope that with a new generation mobilized to vote--perhaps we can thin out the Democratic ranks of the cowards and neo-Bushes and empower those who "oppose these powers explicitly." It's a stretch--but what the hell else can I do?

Also, this is such a vital issue that the presidential candidates really must discuss it on the campaign trail. It would do a lot to energize the base and more importantly to educate the public and the media. I am really pissed that they haven't discussed it more. I know that presidential candidates feel the need to tread lightly on controversial issues--especially those involving national security and intelligence reports they're not privy to and congressional intrigue--it's such a minefield. But their silence continues the grand Democratic tradition of cowardice and equivocation.

in the conversation is just about the time I usually observe: "They're not listening to you to see what you are doing wrong, they are listening to see what you are doing right!"

And I'm nothing if not con- I mean persistent, so there you are.

What a nightmare, and a bottomless money pit graced with complete unaccountability, this whole "security" hoax has been. The Homeland Security agency will end up being dismantled due to systemic corruption and essential operational criminality. But lemme see, what've they got, about 250,000 employees over there, who see any "easing" of the "imminent" threat as tantomount to unemployment? That'll be fun, another wonderful Bush legacy.

Boy Oh Boy!! I sure hope that the senators do The Responsible Thing and pass the current bill immediately. no delays!! Because I don't want to die at the hands of The Terrorists...which will surely happen if our intelligence community can't listen to any conversation that they want to. What a dangerous world we live in!! I'm so glad to have Senator Bond telling me which laws matter and which don't.

Also, if The Good President asked for something and the telecoms cooperated, then the telecoms must be good as well. That's just simple math. Right? Right? And good people/corporations don't need to be hassled by stupid laws. We have no time for laws!! Weren't you listening? We're all going to die soon.

ugh.

Did Senator Cornhole actually say that the telecoms were doing their "civic duty" by helping to illegally spy on...ummm...the citizens? civic. citizens. civic duty. spy on citizens.

....oooh...Dodd now. I heart Dodd's brain.

Watching and listening to Dodd. Note the difference between his delivery and Chambliss' delivery. Stunning.

Glenn has a new liveblogging post up now.

National Do Not Call Registry

Did that, too. But I do believe you drop off the registry if you don't re-up yearly! And there's a persistent local problem with some contractors, who can't be dissauded, if that's the word I want. In fact, my cell phone number has actually slipped onto a sales list and I got some calls.

But that's enough about this, anyway, and thanks.

Thus, if you answer in the first couple of rings & immediately say 'hello' & get no response for a couple of seconds, that is a call using the device I outlined above. When I make that determination, I hang up the phone. On the few occasions I was wrong, the friend/relative immediately called me back.

Yep, that works. But I royally ticked off a couple of good clients doing that so I quit.

In other words, don't try doing that if you're using your land line for business.

Get a cell phone and DSL and drop the land line,

Right, of course, but still, I don't think I have made,(or received from "real people") a single call on that land line in over a year, and still, the second it goes off line, telemarketers call. I was hoping a land mine in the land line would provide some protection, but I'm gonna go UN conventions, in case I get an international call. We've all gotta do our part. Thanks.

Saxby Chambliss can barely even read.

And BTW, either you're older than I, or you reproduced much earlier.

-- bamage

Could be a combination of both. My daughters are grown ups.:o)

Yep, you missed Feingold. Among other things he laughed in Kit Bond's face while calling him either a liar or an imbecile.

Cornhole is making it clear what the talking point plan is for the GOP.

Listening to/Watching these guys makes my skin crawl. It sucks to think about how much power these idiots wield.

Derbig Mooser asked: 'Stop the bickering and if either of you knows how to stop the telemarketing calls on my land line, please tell!'

Hey Moose, I don't know how to stop them from ever dialing your number, although when they talk to you & are recording the conversation, you might give them some legalase 'I, Jim Jones, do hereby demand that (entity they are representing) never call 999-999-9999 again'.

What I do is that I can recognize when it is a 'marketing call', because almost all of them employ what I call a 'ringer'. In this case, a ringer is a device/software that realizes when the marketeer is finishing up with the current call & makes the next call (the one you don't want to answer)while the marketeer is making their escape.

Thus, if you answer in the first couple of rings & immediately say 'hello' & get no response for a couple of seconds, that is a call using the device I outlined above. When I make that determination, I hang up the phone. On the few occasions I was wrong, the friend/relative immediately called me back.