Letters to the Editor
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Pelosi so angry this morning @ Repubs' fear mongering ...
... that she was choking? A commenter @ Firedoglake said this, IIRC. If anyone has video, I'd LOVE to see.
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House Rules
Glenn, you and Jane and Digby, EFF and the rest of the netroots can take quite a bit of the credit for this, and I thank you for your clear-headed, unceasing coverage and advocacy. I really like that you've always provided us with some outlet for frustration on this issue: call, write, take action.
I will be interested to see how this plays out, but what I really want to know is, will Joe Klein have the time and legal background to figure out just what happened here? I'm sure he is quite confused about now.
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Oops, that came out wrong
I didn't mean that I'd love to see her choking ... just that it's great to see her giving it back to them. Her calling Bush out yesterday was terrific.
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Well, I'll be damned...
I had to call Pelosi's and Reyes' offices, retract some of the vituperation I'd directed their way over the past few weeks, and offer them instead a hearty thank you.
I couldn't be happier about it.
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A speed bump
on the all-but-inevitable path to an unaccountable total police state.
hate to sound so cynical, but why would I believe anything but the worst after what the democrats have pulled thes past year?
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Crust
Ron Paul voted Nay with the rest of the Republicans
I'm a little surprised. He's usually on the right side on such issues. The vote was unanimous among R votes as Glenn said (13 R's didn't vote).
-- Crust1
That was probably a 'Protest' vote. Kucinich voted 'nay' also. He voted that way because he thinks the legislation still goes to far, not because he is for telecom immunity, he most certainly isn't.
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Not trying to be too snarky...
Ron Paul voted Nay with the rest of the Republicans
I'm a little surprised. He's usually on the right side on such issues. The vote was unanimous among R votes as Glenn said (13 R's didn't vote).
-- Crust1
but don't the republicans nearly always vote in lock-step while goose-stepping is only optional? I guess Ron must be another one of the "mavericks" we keep hearing about.
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BrightStar
hate to sound so cynical, but...
-- brightstar65
No you don't. Sounding cynical is your pastime
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The Bill
Can we exhale yet?
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@brightstar65
hate to sound so cynical, but why would I believe anything but the worst after what the democrats have pulled thes past year?
Dunno. Maybe because sometimes you have to put your faith in people who are doing the right thing. Even if you have to mutter "for once" under your breath to make yourself feel better. If you can't do positive once in a while, you're crippling your own cause.
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Kitt
Do you know who the other Liberal Nay voters were, and what the main objection was? I understand they felt the bill was insufficiently protective of 4th amendment rights, but was there a particular issue there?
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Congratulations
Thank you Glenn for your dedication and remarkable tenacity. It is extremely heartening to see Democratic legislators stand up and courageously defend, with intelligence and fairness, the Constitutional rights of the constituents they were elected to represent. Over the weeks, the efforts you and others expended to keep this issue of warrantless wiretapping and retroactive immunity for telecoms in the news were impressive. If one could take a moment to reflect, however, in the aftermath of a significant, if limited and not certain, legislative victory for civil liberties, it should be to consider how deeply our liberties have been eroded by Bush and the Republican/Special Interests allied with the President's administration.
Best
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casual_observer
No, sorry, I don't know the specifics of why they voted as they did. I think the protest votes were done under the understanding that enough votes were in the hopper to prevail. Details can be found at Emptywheel or FDL if you're so inclined to visit either of those two. Glenn probably could answer your question also but I understand he's out celebrating by tying one on or something now in celebration. ;o)Kidding.
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Even Better: The Media Narrative's finally starting to change
It's still dominated by GOP spin, but not as much.
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Some questions
Numerous Republican speakers asserted that the House amendment requires a warrant to be obtained in advance for foreign targets (and that the original FISA did never required this). I think this is also what President Bush and others mean when they say that the House bill ”would extend protections we enjoy as Americans to foreign terrorists overseas”. I expect that this will continue to be an administration talking point, and will need to be repeatedly rebutted.
What provision are they talking about here? Is this the requirement that targeting and minimization procedures be approved in advance by the FISA court (except in an emergency)?
Would these procedures have to be approved before new foreign to foreign communication are targeted?
Would these procedures have any impact on the court orders put into place under the so-called Protect America Act?
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A Good Day, Indeed!
It's amazing how good this feels. Which is surprising, because it's kind of like being happy to get rid of a face pimple when your body is full of plague buboes. But, hey, we'll take the good stuff when we can get it.
Thanks to Glenn, the folks at FDL, Kos, et al, for keeping the pressure up and enabling us to make our voices heard.
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The best line in the AP story:
The government does have the power to compel telecommunications companies to cooperate with wiretaps if it gets warrants from a secret court. The government apparently did not get such warrants before initiating the post-9/11 wiretaps, which are the basis for the lawsuits.
Pheonix Woman is right. The press is starting to understand the issues a little better.
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THIS IS GOOD NEWS.......but
Are any of you guys aware of the secret meetings that are taking place to create a North American Union between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico? This has been BOLDLY shrugged off as a conspiracy theory. Visit the link below and check out the reality of this, as you read about the meeting that took place on Monday. NO MEMBER OF CONGRESS ATTENDED. The small victories that we have enjoyed at times are not going to have any relevance, if this Union is not opposed on the State, and Federal level by ALL of our elected officials, and by every citizen that cares about our Constitution, and our sovereignty. Here is the link.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=58788