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Tuesday, July 1, 2008 12:00 AM

The Obama campaign's past two weeks

It matters what Obama says and what tactics he uses in his attempt to win the election.

The letters thread is now closed.

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Tuesday, July 1, 2008 12:59 PM

Jkalos

I have no idea if the other bloke will be able to help you. I can be positive that I can not help answer your question, but since this is the net, I'll try anyway.

We know that McCain is insane and will use the American war machine to kill, rape, murder, and destroy all around the globe. We know that he will back any play the crazies in Israel pull. We know that he will try to spend (using inflation) the nation into total ruin. We know that he is the bane of all poor working class men and women.

So vote for Obama? It is not that easy. Perhaps the only way the planet earth will ever see peace and progress is if the dominate evil empire is destroyed. Who better than McCain to destroy the empire? The down side is that he may take most of the planet with him. That is worth consideration.

So, what to do? As always, look to seek enlightenment inside yourself as our time in this incarnation is limited. Then do not vote, it only encourages the evil bastards.

[if you write in a vote, please consider Horus] :-)

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 12:58 PM

Claire McKaskill's response on FISA to my email to her

I don't mean to get off-topic, but I emailed my senator to vote against the FISA bill and this is what she sent. I thought Glenn and the rest of you would find this response from her insightful because she is one of the Democrats that's caving, and she's supposed to offer an alternative to Kit Bond, my other senator, on this issue. If you read nothing else, this is her key statement:

"I just don’t think we should punish these companies for their good-faith reliance on government assurances that they were assisting in a legal effort to combat terrorism. If the government violated our surveillance laws by eavesdropping without the necessary warrants, then it is the Administration – not the telecoms – that needs to be held accountable."

I emailed her back Federal District Court Judge Vaughn Walker's (the Republican appointee presiding over the case) ruling that “AT&T cannot seriously contend that a reasonable entity in its position could have believed that the alleged domestic dragnet was legal.”

Of course she did not respond to the second email. Anyway, here is her full response:

Thank you for contacting me regarding efforts to revise the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, also known as FISA. I appreciate hearing from you, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

On February 12, 2008, after months of debate, the Senate passed the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 (S.2248) by a vote of 68-29. I voted in favor of this effort to modernize the 30-year-old FISA in order to allow us to effectively monitor terrorist communications overseas.

As the FISA Amendments Act was debated on the Senate floor, I voted in favor of three amendments introduced by Senator Feingold (D-WI), all of which sought to add further safeguards against Executive Branch surveillance on innocent Americans. Unfortunately, these amendments failed to garner enough votes to pass. However, the Senate-passed FISA Amendments Act does include several measures to improve our national security without violating the constitutionally protected privacy rights and civil liberties of law-abiding Americans. For example, it would require the government to obtain a warrant whenever the target of surveillance is a U.S. citizen as well as bolster the authority of the FISA courts to oversee the eavesdropping activities of the National Security Agency.

As you may know, I joined 18 other Democrats in voting against Senator Dodd’s (D-CT) amendment to remove provisions granting retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies (telecoms) that cooperated with the Bush Administration’s wiretapping program. Please keep in mind that this is a limited immunity that applies solely to the telecoms, not the government. I just don’t think we should punish these companies for their good-faith reliance on government assurances that they were assisting in a legal effort to combat terrorism. If the government violated our surveillance laws by eavesdropping without the necessary warrants, then it is the Administration – not the telecoms – that needs to be held accountable. That’s why I supported Senator Specter’s (R-PA) amendment, which would have substituted the federal government in place of telecoms as the defendant in lawsuits, allowing existing legal actions to move forward in an appropriate manner. While this measure was rejected, the underlying legislation would still allow citizens to sue the government for past violations and telecoms for future violations of the new law. As your United States Senator, I remain determined to get to the bottom of any government misconduct.

Currently, the Senate-passed FISA legislation needs to be reconciled with the House-passed version. I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind as Congress continues to debate this important issue.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future regarding other matters of interest or concern to you.

All best,

Senator Claire McCaskill

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 12:57 PM

Senator Obama - Please Vote NO on Telecom Immunity - Get FISA Right

Sorry, my cut and paste got mangled in my last letter. Click my name for link to MyBO group.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 12:55 PM

Obama

Frankly speaking I see a man that gives speeches by locations, sometimes forgetting where he last spoke. It's a obvious fact that our Country is populated by many different races, and religous cultures, and Obama is trying to make them all happy. How about a speech as to who he really is and what he really intends to do if he wins the Presidency. This leads me to believe he is just another smooth mouthed politician with a Muslim name, and not very good insight as to the church he attends.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 12:55 PM

ing the link to this page with your friends and family...(more) Senator Obama - Please Vote NO on Telecom Immunity - Get FISA Right Senator Obama - Please Vote NO on Telecom Immunity - Get FISA Right

8374 Members as of right now, within striking distance of the #3 slot by EOB PDT today. Thanks for the plug, Glenn.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 12:52 PM

Senator Dodd's Appeal on FISA

Dear Friend:

For the last nine months, when retroactive immunity has surfaced, we have been able to delay its passage.

We were able to stop it in December because I had an army behind me.

Two months later, it stalled again -- this time in the House.

And last week, we managed to delay action one last time.

But when the Senate returns from the July 4th recess, we will vote on FISA legislation that includes retroactive immunity for telecom companies that may have illegally helped the Bush administration spy without warrant.

It's a bad bill and we need action to stop retroactive immunity from becoming law.

I've introduced an amendment with Senator Feingold to strip immunity from the bill.

This amendment has the support of Majority Leader Reid and Senator Obama, but it needs 51 votes to pass.

Will you sign on as a citizen co-sponsor of our amendment?

Sign on now! [click on sig, the link I got in the email to me is there; doesn't seem to be customized to me]

Together, we can prevent this assault on our Constitution.

Let's do it one more time. With your help, we can stop the further erosion of the rule of law.

We'll be in touch soon.

Chris Dodd

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