good effort people, you tried - what more can you do? I mean, i don't care to move to another country - just yet...

.

it's mysterious that it took a Dem house/senate...but maybe it shouldn't be a mystery - same old Washington?

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just discouraging...

marc

this still has to go through the senate, correct?

In it, the deride GOP lawmakers for standing up to congratulation President Bush on his accomplishments as President. My response:

Yeah, it looks like the Democrats lined up to pay tribute, too. You guys are gutless wonders. Please don't contact me again for money until you grow a pair:

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll437.xml

That's what should be airing on all channels at this moment.

I suppose what is most disheartening is that so few of us really seem to care. I have many friends who consider themselves politically aware who have no idea that this is going on (until I tell them). In the defense of those who are well-meaning, I suppose there is almost no way for them to be informed because, alas, not all are addicted to Greenwald's blog! The fact that this has been rushed through is despicable -- but it has been hanging over our heads for a long time. Where was the movement against it?

I just told a friend of mine what happened and he said, "I thought that was shot down months ago." Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty and all!

If this comment is somewhat rambling it is because I genuinely feel somewhat shell-shocked. I mean, I even saw it coming and did not anticipate the strong sadness which weighs on me right now.

You know, I have to defend the uninformed but well-meaning. After all, isn't that why we all voted Democrats into office in '06?

What prompted me to write was that, while I have been at my computer today I have had CNN airing in the background. I do not believe that they have uttered word one on this story. If/when they do, it will surely be as though nothing had happened. Like it's insignificant -- or, worse -- positive!

The selfish media, corrupt government in both parties, silence from Obama...

...it's an enormous uphill battle we face!

Bucky2, you don't know what a personal attack is. If you think correcting you on your claim that Clinton (rather than Bush I) got us into Somalia is a personal attack, then you can't be nearly as "hard" as you claim to be.

But if everything is personal, then here goes nothing. Here's a laffer from a previous letter of yours:

Your assessment of our military's capability to defeat Iran is also inaccurate and false. I remember hearing the same garbage spewed in 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait about how our military couldn't defeat the vast and experienced Iraq Army. We all know how that war turned out and it would be no different with Iran. We control the entrance to the Persian Gulf and have done so for quite some time. In fact, when I was in the Persian Gulf in 2003 for OIF, Iran all but fell off the map when hostilities started. In conventional warfare, Iran gets smoked by us with out much of a sweat. However, conventional warfare isn't their strong suit.

(1) OK, you're a veteran. Too nad you're an ignorant, brainwashed veteran who apparently got his news through official Pentagon-approved channels.

(2) Can you tell us who said we couldn't handle the Iraqi army in 1990? I was alive then. I missed it.

(3) You got this dead right: "We all know how that war turned out and it would be no different with Iran."

But do you have any idea what that actually means? It means we can't defeat Iran. That's called analysis, military boy.

To repeat myself: you need first to get proper FACTS, and then learn to THINK. If you think this is a personal attack, get used to them. Here's a truly personal attack:

CHICKENHAWK.

I feel a certain sympathy and respect for a devoted Clinton follower who has received back whatever abuse he's dished out by an order of magnitude.

-- bystander

Maybe we should all become Republicans.

I'm thinking the Know Nothing party sounds good about now.

Right now I hate the House Democrats who voted for this abomination with a white-hot hate that rivals the power of the sun. They sold out the American people for a few crumbs on the Iraq appropriations bill. I can't believe the leadership was this craven and cowardly. They all must have guilty secrets to hide.

I assume this bill can and will be challenged and the Supremes will have to rule on it eventually?

Yes, it does. But the senate has much less resistance to this than the house did. They will pass it, unless Dodd and Feingold take their perogative to stop it. Which they can absolutely do, especially if they get a bit of help from friends. Individual senators can be immensely powerful, but only if they choose to be (and only if senate rules are honored).

Or whatever. The people in congress who are voting for this travesty have power and money as their only care in life. Or so they think. Some of them are just stupid and don't have the ability to comprehend what is going on around them. Which of those two excuses fits into your snack sack? There is only one other possibility. You're yanking our chain. Of course, that one fits pretty snuggly into the 'stupid fuck' snack sack so I'm not sure if that would qualify as a third excuse possibility.

If you're all smart, you'll ignore this loser or risk being drawn into his one man sink hole. Isn't the name clue enough?

In other matters, I agree with Amity. I'm obviously not as schooled as Glenn, but why defy the senate for pushing the bill down their throat--AND THEN PUSh IT DOWN THEIR OWN THROAT with only twenty four hours lead time?

IMHO, it seems that this was a dance meant draw the issue out long enough to dissipate grassroots inertia--especially the walkout, which may have convinced a lot of us that congressional Dems were seriously considering unfurling their vertebrae on this fight. The timing as Amity mentioned is also supsect due to the primaries, but I'm afraid I just don't know enough about that to speculate. Anyone else with rationales.

As I said before, and I'm often accused of being conspiratorial (and also of forgetting to put question marks at the end of my questions), it just seems like a hand off of the reigns of power. I think someone posted some data last year about how much cash Dems were getting from the telecoms, anyone have updates?