Letters to the Editor
-
@ walter_map
Do you know? Do you have an opinion?
-
pow wow
These Members of Congress assert that they are being prevented by the president from speaking to private companies about this issue, and prevented from investigating allegations such as Pasdar's. This is beyond belief.
What chance do you suppose that some members of congress may have been, shall we say, threatened?
If view of everything else Bush has done, would that also be beyond belief?
-
A rumor:
Now the comment after W.T. passes over my bumped head like I was a giraffe, but I'm not a tech head long-neck person.
It be unkind to say that since I'm unable to forage high-tree-leaves that I'm just a "weird" white ghetto human slum trash.
If Rove wants to go to a Texan porn store,
and later walk down the DC wedding aisle and cheat,
okay... live and let live? I say not when they ruin many,
kill, lie, or assassinate reputations and 'others' character...
The ill-ilk then, must be stopped. Why? It's as dumb as it gets.
Maybe some sold-out politico will frequent a whore house and beg a discount and immunity?But Nature will not be mocked. Defy virtue and decency? O, Nature will demand her Natures immutable laws cause worst than a groin clap.... Oh, and they keep score? Gads. The GOPS ETC., are like a inner city priest praying to a ancient Theft Goddess to take away the burning limp penis pain?
Nature says heh, heh, ho, ho ah, but no way. Scripture is literature, and prone to error. But some where it says in the book they boast to read, cherish, and obey....THIS: A Natural Force can't be mocked. She will kick in the groin? Use a donkey. And now as it was in the past, and maybe forever shall be the same-same....
In the past if a politico was rumored to LIE....
Some powerful gal/guy with righteous anger may bite off a ear or lip.
You mug the poor or take advantage (Bank Usury) of another human?
Well. A Deity laughs last?
You pray and thieve? ... Yikes.... Answer: A messy Sneeze in ya's face!
This ain't being made up for anyone in particular. I just thinking before sleep.
Those that have a ear, or pass flatulence via the verbal lips, need to hear.
Kiss YKW. No kiss those who lie. Gads. Good night kisses? Oh silly. Duck!
-
William Timberman
Do you have an opinion?
I have suspicions. I know no more about it than you do, and possibly less. But I also keep in mind the nature of totalitarians and their ways. All that they have done to date suggests that they could also do, and have done, far worse than than we have been allowed to know. Keep in mind that not all the news is fit to print. They do not seem to recognize any limits to what they can do in secret, so you are entitled to imagine the worst.
How about that economy? See any major sectors that are doing well, aside from the bankruptcy lawyers? Any positive future prospects? See anything that's going to bring us up out of the recession, or prevent it from continuing to get worse? Any limits there?
Are these two topics connected?
-
Condatis, Here's A Start
If you check my comments from earlier this week, I transcribed a portion of an Armed Services Committee meeting held last week that featured a discussion about the merits of RESTORE vs. the Senate bill (regarding particularly the email collection problem, aka the 'foreign-to-foreign' issue described in my comment late in the preceding thread), between Senator Levin and DNI McConnell's General Counsel Ben Powell.
I followed up on the transcript comments by quoting the language in the RESTORE Act that enforces the obtaining of a warrant when a "specific" U.S. person is being collected upon along with their foreign correspondent. Powell was desperately spinning to cast that provision as unacceptable (it was originally a Jan Schakowsky amendment passed in the House Intelligence Committee mark-up of RESTORE). I assume that language is the key 'reverse targeting' (although I think it's broader than that, actually) provision which is in RESTORE but absent from the Senate bill, as Powell made clear in the Armed Services Committee hearing, that is now being proposed in the new House compromise.
Although, as you note, the Senate bill does have some nice-sounding language about this, it clearly wouldn't do the job the way the House bill provision would, or the ODNI wouldn't be making so much noise about the difference. The House provision provides for the FISA Court to approve Executive Branch guidelines for the obtaining of a probable cause warrant when a specific U.S. person is being collected upon - the Senate provision does not.
The ACLU, I'm sure, has much more information directly comparing the two bills, and Russ Feingold's website may be another good source of information on this.
walter_map - Not in the least (unbelievable that threats may have been applied to Members of Congress). What would be beyond belief, in my opinion, would be their remaining quiet about it, in today's environment. Such threat tactics, if publicly (and credibly) exposed by a Member of Congress, would blow away the "good faith" and "legitimate actor" cover that the Executive Branch thugs work night and day to maintain.
-
walter map
While I do think that in all facets of life it's generally helpful to understand the motivations that drive one's opponents, in politics oftentimes you just need to forget about trying to divine intent, and just pick up the damn rope and pull with all your might.
Politics is so malleable, ephemeral, and seemingly senseless sometimes that the only thing that ends up mattering is the brute open-hand slap of outrage, numbers, or humiliation.
Of the three, I believe that humiliation, sadly, is the only possible antidote to Democrats' continual apostasy. They have to be repeatedly exposed as spineless - even if not actually driven by fear - otherwise they will content themselves with whatever shameful motivation lies hidden in their hearts.
Time for Bill Maher...