Tell Harry Reid to block granting telecoms immunity from the spy scandal

It’s heartening to see how Democrats and the American public alike are rallying behind the idea that the major telecom companies should not be immune from prosecution for their role in abetting the NSA’s illegal spying. The common wisdom is that Americans care less about esoteric issues like privacy than those that hit them in [...]

Prescription for congressional democrats…

Something from Mark Fiore for those congressional democrats who keep voting for FISA and war funding, and can’t seem to muster the political will to treat Bush like the lame duck he is:
Spineocrat!

Dodd threatens filibuster of FISA bill

“Why does Harry Reid hate America and freedom?”
That’s the question I was asking myself after S&R reader “Dee Loralei” pointed out in comments to my post yesterday that Senate Majority Leader Reid was planning to move ahead with a vote on the FISA update, even in the face of Dodd’s hold on the bill. [...]

Democrats’ spines turn to jelly on warrantless spying once again–but there’s still hope

It was largely expected, but no less disappointing to wake up this morning and find out that Senate Democrats on the Intelligence Commitee agreed to carry water for the Bush administration by granting retroactive immunity to the telecom companies involved in the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping scandal:
The draft Senate bill has the support of the [...]

Quotabull

Charity is not a health care system.
— Dr. Terry D. Dickinson, executive director of the Virginia Dental Association, defending dentists against critics “who include public health experts, some physicians and even some dental school professors — [who] say that too many dentists are focused more on money than medicine.”
The President feels very strongly that this [...]

Verizon to the government: “Our customer information…let us show you it.”

In response to an inquiry launched by House Democrats as to the role the major telecoms played in abetting the NSA surveillance program, Verizon came out yesterday and admitted that it had turned over customer data to federal authorities 720 times between 2005 and 2007–or once a day, every day, for the last two years:
The [...]

The NSA was spying on Americans before 9/11, and telecoms were in on it

That’s the accusation levied by disgraced former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio, who claims that he was approached by officials from the Bush administration to bring his company into an NSA surveillance program in February 2001–as in, several months before the 9/11 attacks, and contradicting claims made by the White House that 9/11 was the reason [...]

Saturday Video Roundup: edufication in the America

Howdy, folks, and welcome to Saturday Video Roundup, where today our guests tackle the tricky issue of education and politics. Up first, one of our heroes offers some thoughts on education in our ownership society.

Quotabull

We have a responsibility to provide a moral framework for our kids.
— John Arthur Eaves Jr., Democratic candidate for governor in Mississippi, who once “rebuked the Democratic National Committee for leaving Jesus out of an Easter statement” and says he wants a “new day in Mississippi, where our children go to school with voluntary, student-led [...]

Democrats battle Bush–and each other–over telecom immunity for spying

Although this Reuters article does a masterful job of burying the lead (as Denny would say), the fact remains–the House Judiciary Committee refused to grant immunity to telecom companies for illegal spying in their FISA law update
[T]he House Judiciary Committee voted 21-14 to reject an amendment sought by the White House that would shield telecommunications [...]

Democracy Death Match results: Limbaugh & Clear Channel defeat Fairness & Public Interest

Once upon a time in America there was a thing called the “public interest.” The airwaves were a publicly owned resource, and broadcasters profiting from their use were obliged to serve “the public interest, convenience and necessity.” These principles were codified in 1927 and 1934 legislation and were accepted (if not universally loved) for decades. [...]

Iraq war surtax is DOA

Yesterday, Democratic representatives David Obey (Wi), John Murtha (PA), and Jim McGovern (MA) proposed a 2% surtax for low and middle income taxpayers and 12-15% for upper income taxpayers in order to pay for the $150 billion costs of the Iraq occupation in 2008. The response, both by the Democratic leadership and the Republicans [...]

Bush guarantees Obama fundraising increase with sloppy hit pieces

Just as the condemnation of MoveOn.org’s “General Betrayus” ad ensured a spike in the organization’s funding and donations, George Bush seems set to do the same for Barack Obama’s campaign, thanks to some hysterically funny slamming of Obama’s intellect and ability in today’s Examiner :
As for Obama, a senior White House official said the freshman [...]

Mukasey nominated for Justice; strange bedfellows seem happy

Bush has nominated retired New York Federal Judge Michael Mukasey to replace Alberto Gonzales at the helm of the Justice Department. At a glance, this seems like about the best the Democrats could have hoped for, although it’s too early to say who’s really “won” here.
Bush was clearly motivated to avoid a public defeat, it [...]

Ignore politicians who don’t play nice with the other children

First, MoveOn.org, a liberal political action group, uses a full-page New York Times ad to attack the character of an American commander, calling him “Gen. Betray Us” and accusing him of “cooking the books for the White House” on the war in Iraq.
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton assails the general’s report to Congress, saying it [...]