You know, one thing I get so sick of hearing from all the right-wing loons is how Progressives like myself and many of you are un-American. We have our patriotism questioned on a daily basis. Right-Wing idiots on the radio rail about how we do not believe in the Constitution and the values this country was founded on. Well, details that have emerged in the last couple of days show that the Bush Administration and their shameless enablers in the Republican Party and the former Republican Congress are the ones who really do not believe in the Constitution, or the freedoms granted by it.
(Cheney is wrong (not that I need to tell you...) - promoted by poligirl)
In diaries such as this one, I have chronicled how "Shotgun" Dick Cheney was a complete and total failure in preventing the worst attack ever on American soil and conducting the "War on Terror". Lately, although everything done by the Bush Administration to deal with terrorism and avenge the 9-11 attacks made our country less safe and cost thousands of lives, and over a trillion dollars of taxpayer money Cheney has been spouting off at every opportunity. Somehow, he thinks being a failed Vice-President under possibly the worst President in American History has made him some kind of expert or something.
(that pesky 4th amendment... - promoted by poligirl)
NSA 'No Such Agency' apparently continues to operate as there is 'No Such Thing' as a 4th Amendment ...
NSA Whistleblower: Wiretaps Were Combined with Credit Card Records of U.S. Citizens By Kim Zetter - Wired - Jan 23, 2009
NSA whistleblower Russell Tice was back on Keith Olbermann's MSNBC program Thursday evening to expand on his Wednesday revelations that the National Security Agency spied on individual U.S. journalists, entire U.S. news agencies as well as "tens of thousands" of other Americans.
Tice said on Wednesday that the NSA had vacuumed in all domestic communications of Americans, including, faxes, phone calls and network traffic.
Today Tice said that the spy agency also combined information from phone wiretaps with data that was mined from credit card and other financial records. He said information of tens of thousands of U.S. citizens is now in digital databases warehoused at the NSA.
I do most of my writing at the Iowa progressive community blog Bleeding Heartland.
Last year at this time I was scrambling to make as many phone calls and knock on as many doors as I could before the Iowa caucuses on January 3.
This week I had a little more time to reflect on the year that just ended.
After the jump I've linked to Bleeding Heartland highlights in 2008. Most of the links relate to Iowa politics, but some also covered issues or strategy of national importance.
I only linked to a few posts about the presidential race. I'll do a review of Bleeding Heartland's 2008 presidential election coverage later this month.
Good news: Congressional Democrats managed to do something right for a change, standing up to the shrub by overriding his veto of a Medicare reform bill. (Paul Krugman explains why this was an important victory.) Although it's certainly cause for some small celebration, this sudden display of courage speaks volumes about how far Democrats have sunk. We know they can and do stand up to the shrub when it comes to things like Social Security and Medicare -- so why won't they do it when it comes to the Constitution?
It's a serious question deserving serious and honest answers, especially from the Democratic Party's presumptive presidential nominee, who broke his promise to fight telecomm immunity.
Congressional oath of office taken by all members of Congress:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
[UPDATE] We have our first answers now. The Dodd-Feingold-Leahy amendment to strip telecom immunity was defeated 32-66 with only McCain (maverick that he is) and Kennedy not voting.
Voting to gut the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and ignore the oath of office they took when they accepted the position of U.S. Senator, with Democrats in bold (h/t to benny):
Okay people, the time is NOW! Edgery has provided the links and we must act now or give up our rights forever, with no fight at all. Let´s support our Senators who are willing to fight the FISA compromise and admonish those who are not, including our presumptive nominee, to come aboard. This is important, so I am promoting this diary now. - promoted by peacock)
It's just now noon, Tuesday, July 8th. Shortly if not already, Senator Russ Feingold will stand on the floor of the U.S. Senate in defense of your civil rights. This will mark the beginning of the end of the debate on the current FISA bill.
Yesterday evening, I urged you to take action -- to join with others across this country to demand that our Senators stand up against the tyranny that has been the Bush Administration. Today, let's examine what is wrong with the current bill, gain a better understanding of exactly what is at stake.
[UPDATE: Joining us tonight is Mike Stark, founder of "Calling All Wingnuts" and famous for his dedicated rejection of George "The Idiot" Allen during the 2006 elections. Mike is currently focusing his considerable talents on the FISA 4th Amendment battle, for which I personally am very very grateful! Let's give Mike a big round of applause for his work, and some great questions about the effort to get our Senators to actually stand up for our civil rights.]
Sometimes it takes a good parade and fireworks to remind us all what this country is about, to take us back to the founding documents of our country and why those brave patriots decided to break away from England in the first place.
One fundamental element of the fight for our new country back in the 1770's was the then-radical belief that government should be in place to serve the people rather than the other way around. This concept has been under attack by our current Chimp-in-Chief for over 7 years now, aided and abetted far too often by our personal representatives in Congress.
Tomorrow, the Senate takes up the FISA legislation again, with "debate" starting Tuesday on the amendments followed on Wednesday by "debate" on the full bill then voting. Will they listen to the rising call of the people to affirm the original intent of this law, and to block the ill-considered immunity for the telecoms? Or will they cravenly give in to the telecom money and fear-mongering Bushies?
As many of you know, I have a mantra I often use in cases like this:
Word to the wise, Keith: don't get into a war of words with Glenn Greenwald; he'll kick your ass every time. Take the Salon.com blogger's response to the Countdown host's snipefest at the Mediocre Orange Hype.
[The civil immunity provision] doesn't seem to be through sloppiness or neglect -- but rather through deliberate intent -- that the bill only immunizes telecoms from civil, not criminal, liability (the key telecom section, 802(a), provides that "a civil action may not lie or be maintained against any person providing assistance to the intelligence community" where the bill's conditions are met). There are likely many reasons for confining immunity to civil liability -- including the heightened difficulty of proving criminal intent and, most importantly, the fact that Bush, on his way out, can pardon telecoms from criminal but not civil liability. So it's far from certain that Obama -- even if he did have a Secret Plan criminally to prosecute telecoms once in office -- would even be able to do so. If Bush pardons everyone connected to his illegal spying program, as many have speculated he might, then Obama's Secret Plan -- even if it existed -- would be instantaneously extinguished. That's why these telecom lawsuits are the only real avenue left to ensure accountability and obtain a legal ruling on what was done.
But beyond all that, to give Obama a pass on his support for such a heinous bill -- one which Dean himself describes as a grave assault on the Constitution -- based on this imagined secret plan for the Good that Obama is harboring is to illustrate exactly the sort of blind faith in political leaders that is so dangerous.
In short, because the shrub can and most certainly will issue pardons to all those who helped him break the law -- thus preventing any and all legal hope of prosecuting the telecommunications companies that helped the shrub spy on Americans illegally -- Obama's support for immunity from civil suits is what almost every reasonable person is saying it is: a craven and cynical capitulation to the shrub for the sake of political convenience.
That Olbermann continues to make excuses for Obama on this matter, even going so far as to try to spin his way out of it -- the very thing he regularly chastises the likes of Bill O'Lielly for -- is particularly saddening. He has sold his soul to the Obama cult at Daily Kos, and with it his journalistic principles and ethics.
We must not let this stand. Glenn Greenwald is correct: Keith Olbermann is making excuses for Obama over something he would blast any other coward for. The host of Countdown must be reminded that he is above all else a journalist, and because he has chosen to be the voice of the left he has an obligation to represent us even if it means criticizing Barack Obama. Send him an e-mail and voice your outrage.
countdown@msnbc.com
Be polite, but make it clear to Olbermann that he screwed up and that it's not too late for him to redeem himself.
Exxon Ed Whitfield has had this seat for a long time and made a lot of votes. During his tenure, he has been a constant rubber-stamp for the failed policies of the Bush Administration. Despite his election year "Renaisance" Exxon Eddie can't hide from his real record. He has consistenty gotten it wrong time and time again.
(more on Congress - and go Heather - our EENR endorsed candidate! - promoted by poligirl)
One thing Progressives have constantly been up in arms about since we helped the Democrats win back Congress in 2006 is the FISA fight. Many of us think that this bill was completely unneccesary, and that it was a bad idea. It wasn't that we needed new, broad ranging powers for the Federal Government to keep us safe, we just needed a competent administration in place to use laws already in place to protect us. That is what failed us on that terrible day of 9-11-01.
