« Rather: "Journalists Should Speak Truth to Power" | Main | Arrest Ann Coulter, Please »
Kerry To Lead Filibuster
UPDATE: Over at Kos I was reminded of a small but important point. As newsmodels continue to misreport the news that 41 votes are needed for a filibuster (you only need one for a filibuster), folks forget the real need here is for Frist to round up 60 affirmative votes.
Until Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell can report that he has 60 hard count votes, there is little reason for Frist to file a motion for cloture.
Once Frist files the cloture motion, he has 24 hours to come up with the votes and the vote for cloture cannot take place sooner that 24 hours.
It's gonna be a busy weekend.
UPDATE: Online activists are swarming quickly and one of the most interesting places is at Vichy Dems. Vichy Dems have posted a gameplan for action on Alito for tomorrow. Since DCP is an educational site, we can't recommend any specific political action to take, like going over and following their plan. All we can recommend is that it's important to act. The cloture vote is scheduled for Tuesday morning.
Once again, Madame DeFarge and DW have the goods:
In answer to the rumors that have swirled around Washington all day, John Kerry's office confirmed late this afternoon that Senator Kerry (D-MA) will be leading a filibuster against the confimation of Judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court of the United States.
For immediate information on how to take action, click here.
CNN has further updated this story to include that Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) will join the other senator from Massachusetts in the fight.
As the Senate now stands, there are 55 Republicans, 44 Democrats and one Independent. Sixty votes (no vacancies) are required for cloture. During last year's contentious cloture vote on John Bolton (for US Ambassador to the United Nations), a filibuster seemed likely with the possibility that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist would break the Senate's rules to require a simple majority of fifty-one votes (instead of the three fifths reequired by Senate Rule 22) to end debate, which has been referred to as "the nuclear option".
Just prior to that occuring, fourteen senators, who quickly became known as the "Gang of Fourteen," reached a non-binding agreement to end debate and in the future to filibuster a cloture vote only in extraordinary circumstances. There is no way of knowing what that term means, as it has remained undefined. The next couple of days may yield the answer to that question, as the "Gang of Fourteen" senators will be required to vote on cloture on the nomination of Judge Alito and move the question to the full Senate for the confirmation vote.
Senator Kerry, who was not one of the Gang of Fourteen, has clearly decided that the circumstance of confirming a judge for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land is an extraordinary circumstance. Since there have only been 109 Supreme Court Justices in the entire history of the United States, it would be difficult to argue this is not an extraordinary circumstance.
Jane Hamsher over at FDL and Markos at Daily Kos both have posts up on certain realities that exist in this fight for the filibuster.
Senators have declared their position on cloture already, but that was before they heard the voice of the people.
It's not over 'til it's over, and there is still time to change opinions, minds and votes. But only if you get involved, stand up and be counted. Call, fax and e-mail the Senators.
If you care about it, then just do it. Because if "Judge" Alito becomes "Justice Alito", it just might be your ten-year-old child who gets strip-searched next.
Bob Fertik over at this site http://www.democrats.com/kerry-filibuster, is keeping track of the situation with update and whip counts.
He has also identified the Alito 8, the group of eight Senators who need to be called the most.
Also, Ken Salazar has said he will call a meeting of the gang of 14. Why, so the Republicans like Lindsay Graham can spit in his face?
What a maroon.
reposted from the end of the last thread.
Yes Madame but they have decided to be whiney instead of productive see a whiner whines about things but never does anything about it, someone who is productive does something about and never whines can anyone name ONE Senator or House Member from our side who has actually done one dang thing to help this situation we are in. Either they Consev. Dems and vote most of Bush;s issues or they are Republicans in Dem Clothing the rest are weak and ineffective and are more worried about the few small things that they can have heard than the big picture. I remember The Contract for America and laughing it off, I aint laughing now, we better come up fast with a way a framing the issues or Alito will be the least of our worries.
Got a hold of Feinstein's Office finally. Geez--phone was busy enough. Its a good sign...
Has the news of a filibuster made Lamestream Media? Non-cable Lamestream Media, I mean.... I refuse to get cable because I see it as paying to get more commercials.... And I don't watch enough TV to justify paying for cable anyway. So far, I've not seen/heard anything even on PBS' News Hour, but I missed part of it, so if it was mentioned I missed it. There was nothing in the first five minutes of local in-state news shows.
Just checking in. I have emails to write....
Hey... JK has a new diary up on kos...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/26/192843/363
OT, but had to share this story about how Wisconsin towns are putting the Iraqi war issue on their ballots. It's people like Al Knorr who give me faith and remind me why we're doing what we're doing here at the DCP...
Wisconsin towns put war on ballot
LA CROSSE, Wis. -- At 79, Al Knorr could fill his days in the recliner with televised junk food, watching Oprah Winfrey and Judge Judy and yelling "big money, big money!" when "Wheel of Fortune" comes on.
But twice every weekday, Knorr dons his black snowmobile mittens and insulated shirt and heads to the busiest intersections in town, where he stands as a solitary street-corner sentry against the Iraq war.
Knorr's cardboard "STOP THE WAR" placard on a wooden broomstick draws honks and thumbs-up signals from some rush-hour drivers and abuse from others, such as the guy in the white pickup truck who rolled down his window, flipped Knorr the finger and called him a piece of excrement.
"It's almost always a young kid in a pickup truck," shrugged the World War II veteran and retired clinical social worker.
In Wisconsin, Knorr is part of an often emotional conversation about the war in Iraq. The grass-roots debate, though, is gaining focus and momentum in La Crosse and at least 19 other communities where voters will be asked April 4 whether the United States should bring the troops home now.
Read the rest ==>
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0601260067jan26,1,3100605.story?coll=chi-news-hed
FOR ALL OF US FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT ON THE ALITO FILIBUSTER, SOME WORDS OF INSPIRATION FROM A GHOST FROM THE PAST:
ANYONE WANT TO TAKE A GUESS WHO SAID THE FOLLOWING?
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations."
"It is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad."
"The means of defense against foreign danger historically have become the instruments of tyranny at home."
"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."
"Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power."
"The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty."
"The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe with blood for centuries."
"We are right to take alarm at the first experiment upon our liberties."
"Conscience is the most sacred of all property."
"Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm."
"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."
Posted by: Fe at January 26, 2006 08:04 PM
Well it wasn't Boy George...that's for sure. Too many big words with multiple syllables...
Does Hillary really think that she can vote for cloture and have any future with the Democratic Party?
Posted by: Ira at January 26, 2006 08:10 PM
Ira,
did hillary say she would vote for cloture?
The gap is getting smaller folks.
Why do you think John Kerry wants to filibuster Samuel Alito?
Conviction
42%
15354 votes
Politics
58%
21171 votes
Total: 36525 votes
ocall I thought I was imagining that when I read it on Vichy Democrats, though I can't swear for its accuracy. Getting an opinion of a staffer that we call in a Senator's office should not be written in stone. Heck the Feinstein staffer I spoke with seemed supportive of her supporting a filibuster but I certainly wouldn't put much stock in that brief conversation. Sometimes I think they will tell you anything to get you out of their hair.
In my book if she(Hillary) votes for cloture she should kiss good by any thoughts of running in '08.
I don't care if its based on principle or politics, its the right thing to do and I say kudos for growing a spine Senator Kerry. That means a lot to me
Posted by: Ira at January 26, 2006 08:25 PM
Agreed.
Another OT comment, but I was screaming at the radio in my car today when I heard clueless george complain that "those (Abramoff) pictures will be used for pure political purposes." Well, this post from DU about sums up my feelings...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2395756
Filibuster. Yeah, like this is a good use of our party's resources.
BTW, why don't you try reading the Groody case, you would be surprised what is not in there..or are we only reading our godawful talking point memos these days.
Posted by: Joyus1963 at January 26, 2006 09:06 PM
I think you're on the wrong website. Perhaps you might want to go back to the gopbloggers.
joyus
and why would the opponents of (Sc)Alito (both repub and dem) NOT filibuster this nomination? He is a candidate that will hurt both major parties as well as most of main stream America. He is just another tool of this administration and has the opportunity to be there for life - subject to impeachment, of course.
Joyus, Many in this party are opposed to a judge who seems so opposed to so many of our values, workers rights, upholding the rights of people to be secure in their persons and property, and a host of other decisions that this nominee has made.
A filibuster is a long and honorable tradition in the Senate, one which it would behoove the Republicans to uphold, for one day again they will be a minority party.
Of course it's a good use of our resouces, why would it not be?
Posted by: Joyus1963 at January 26, 2006 09:06 PM
In Doe v. Groody, pursuant to a warrant, police officers carried out a search of the home of a man suspected of drug dealing. While there, the police strip-searched the wife and ten-year old daughter, although they were not mentioned in the warrant. The Does sued for invasion of privacy. The officers argued that they were entitled to qualified immunity because they had not violated a clearly established constitutional right. The district court held in favor of the Does, and the divided three-judge panel of the Third Circuit affirmed. Judge Alito was the dissent and argued that the warrant could be read to authorize a search of the wife and ten-year old daughter, despite that it violated their rights and subjected them to humiliation.
Your point is Joyous?
Me thinks Joyous wishes they were a police officer.
Posted by: Fe at January 26, 2006 08:04 PM
George Washington's Farewell Address??
OC - good point - and not a Joyus one.
The warrant needs to be specific upon persons and property to be searched. The warrant did not specifically cite the wife and daughter as to be searched. That did not matter to the searcher and thus, a Constitutional violation occured. Any extension of the rights guaranteed in our Constitution is a breach of it - either for or against.
Unless, perhaps, you take a position of unilateral executive power, which means one person has ultimate power (a dictatorship) which circumvents our very Constitution.
Poll: Most think Bush is failing second term
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A majority of Americans are more likely to vote for a candidate in November's congressional elections who opposes President Bush, and 58 percent consider his second term a failure so far, according to a poll released Thursday.
Fewer people consider Bush to be honest and trustworthy now than did a year ago, and 53 percent said they believe his administration deliberately misled the public about Iraq's purported weapons program before the U.S. invasion in 2003, the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll found.
Pollsters interviewed 1,006 American adults Friday through Sunday. Most questions in the survey had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. (Poll)
Bush is preparing for his State of the Union address, set for next week, and told reporters Thursday that he is "looking forward" to campaigning for Republicans in November's elections.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/01/26/bush.poll/
Good news day. Kerry leading a filibuster and now this...Boy George is going to campaign for the Republicans in November!
Posted by: madame defarge at January 26, 2006 09:36 PM
Let him. Since the majority of people do NOT support Georgie's war of CHOICE, they'll lose!
Posted by: NonnyO at January 26, 2006 09:45 PM
Precisely. Gives me hope.
Posted by: abqjohn at January 26, 2006 09:35 PM
John, I should have attributed the above point regarding Groody to Rep. Slaughter. She wrote that synopsis. I apologize for not giving credit where credit was due.
My point is that the warrant that was executed that night was (perhaps) for the premises and possessions contained therein. Wife and daughter were (and still not are) "possessions" contained therein.
Warrants need to be VERY specific - that's a guarantee contained in OUR Constitution - for protection of all of us and the rules of OUR law.
For America to agree to accept or acquiesessce to anything less than full accountability to OUR Constitution is nothing short of disrespect of our Constitution - a/k/a treason
Fe
I vote for James Madison (the quotes).
NPR on the way home -
Hamas/Fatah trumped the Republicans/Democrats, Shiites/Sunnis, Canadian parties etc. - probably not what the neocons had in mind when they decided to try to spread "democracy" to the middle east. The old adage: Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!
I notice with these surprise elections that the moving force is "voting out corruption" - regardless of location on the political spectrum.
Our election may follow the same pattern. I spoke with an Independent today who had equal venom for Bush & Ted Kennedy (she loved McCain and Lieberman). The one thing we agreed on is that the government has become corrupt.
Re the filibuster -
Glad Kerry initiated it - he's doing his job.
Some wag on a blog complained because Kerry is in Switzerland - he's at the meeting of the World Economic Forum, moron!
Time to make phone calls now and get the word out. I heard Patti Murray will vote against Alito, but haven't heard word from Cantwell.
Posted by: abqjohn at January 26, 2006 10:07 PM
Oh great, Alito wants us to consider wives and daughters as "possessions".
We really are regressing.
Had to check out Kerry on Kos - lotsa comments - no way am I going to try to open that (too slow, makes my computer crash)
People for the American Way is on it.
Senator John Kerry has called for a filibuster of the Alito nomination, heeding your calls to do everything possible to defeat it. He has asked that activists now help convince his colleagues to join him.
Please ask Senators Boxer, Feinstein, and other key senators to support the filibuster effort!
http://www.SaveTheCourt.org/AlitoFilibusterCA
Then forward this email to anyone you know who is worried that Alito would likely condone the abuse of power by the president, vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, and help curtail Congress' ability to protect the civil rights, health, safety, and welfare of the American people.
We need to act now to prevent Senate Republican leaders from ramming this nomination through the Senate -- time is of the essence.
http://www.SaveTheCourt.org/AlitoFilibusterCA
It keeps getting closer.
Why do you think John Kerry wants to filibuster Samuel Alito?
Conviction
43%
28752 votes
Politics
57%
38622 votes
Total: 67374 votes
My 10-year-old child isn't living with a frickin' pusher, so chances are slim she'll be strip-searched.
That isn't very Christian.
Posted by: x-dhimmi at January 26, 2006 11:42 PM
Who says the chances are slim? With Alito on the court the chances are better than 50-50.
Ahh, the mythical little people aren't so very mythical anymore and we have our old John Kerry back. I feel the planets are slowly beginning to realign, the hole in the time/space continuum is closing slightly and we are seeing a glimpse of the real universe from the alternate one we've been living in since 2000. This can all change back at a moments notice, but it's the first time I've felt it in years.
Am I allowed to mention here that Save the Courts from People for the American way has a great website to help you fax your Senators? You can use their language, part of it or write your own letter. Bet you can guess what my letter said.
Great meeting of the IL Lake County Dem Party tonight, room was so packed it was hard to breath and this is Lake County, Illinois formerly thought of as a gop stronghold. Packed room, lots of speeches, lots of unity even with contested primaries.
Kerry will be back in DC tomorrow.
New York Times account was lame, imo.
Kerry is doing the right thing.
On election night, I remember a woman crying .. 'There goes the environment, there goes choice ..' - Kerry stood for something. He's doing his job and he's courageous.
Ellen Beth
I posted People for the American way site a few posts above yours. Just click on the link.
I am endorsing it, not this website. Thanks for the reminder. Go for it! You can send to 5 people at a time.
Almost 2500 Google news sources for the filibuster already .. controversial .. what should be controversial is Alito himself.
DiAnne:
You get the prize for today. Madison is the man.
Chuck in Doha for All
Well, that does it for me! Once more into the breach! Way to go, Senator Kerry! No turning back now! Or should I say Captain Kerry? (What was his Navy rank anyway? I forgot.)
Just a suggestion, but maybe the DCP could set up some links to the entire hearings and speeches on this SCOTUS confirmation. We will have to start lining up nuggets. We will have to come up with a simple, strong message as to why this gentleman's accession to SCOTUS represents an extraordinary danger to concepts such as the separation of powers, the sole right of congress to declare war, and the sanctity of inalienable invididual rights, like protection from groundless searches and seizures.
Politics?! Heck yes, it's politics! What in the world else does politics mean? Obstructionist? Heck yes, it's obstructionist -- how else can we defend the constituion without obstructing the progress of its enemies? Obstrutionist.... I call it defending the Constitution of the United States of America.
GO MASSACHUSETTS! BIRTHPLACE OF AMERICAN LIBERTY! TRUE BLUE AMERICANS UNITE! TIME FOR AMERICANS TO FOCUS ON THE MEANING OF THE CONSTITUTION.
Chuck in Doha
Chuck in Doha again for All:
Also, I am curious. Just what was it that Republican Senator Lindsey Graham asked Alito that made that poor woman cry? I think it was when Republican Senator Lindey Graham asked Alito if he was a bigot. Shame on that Republican Senator Lindsey Graham! How dare he insinuate that about Alito. I read the transcripts. I do not believe Alito is a bigot. However, Alito's record and answers does show a pattern of pandering to bigots to get the job he wants. I was proud of Democratic Senator Edward Kennedy for pointing that out in his quetioning of Alito. There is more to character than being a goody-two-shoes.
Chuck in Doha
Many voted for Kerry, but didn’t really know him. In the end, always, he is honorable and a decent man of principle.
The election was successful in many ways, full of ideas and hope, but also had to play the margins too much in that climate of fear.
This uphill gambit for this filibuster is the essential Kerry. Alito’s nomination is just too dangerous to let pass silently.
Chuck in Doha with one last Thought (and gee, I'm on-topic for once!):
Thinking on those forty Senators we need to either vote no on coture or abstain makes me think of the slogan "thin blue line" in a whole new light.
Chuck in Doha
Go Marjorie G! Go Burroughs! Go Mowtown! (And Go Seahawks!)
Chuck in Doha
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012606WA.shtml
Nail-Biting Times for Women
Excerpt:
For those who wonder why women pace like caged animals every time they hear "Supreme Court" and "nominee," consider the news. Samuel Alito Jr. is reaching for the robe to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
This is the guy who, in his 1985 application to become deputy to then-Attorney General Edwin Meese, wrote that "The Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."
And if anyone wondered if he still felt that way, here's Alito's 90-year-old mother on the horn from New Jersey: "Of course he's against abortion," she told The Associated Press.
This we expected. This we knew. Alito is, after all, President Bush's chosen one.
Just as Alito got the blessing of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Republicans on Tuesday, the Bush administration took heat for allowing pesticide testing on children and pregnant women.
Proposed new Environmental Protection Agency rules would prohibit regulators from using something called "intentional exposure research" that involved women and children.
But the research could still be used if the researcher didn't originally intend to submit the results to the EPA.
In other words, the EPA will be happy to use the research. It just doesn't want to know how it was obtained, capisce?
Medea Benjamin | When Will US Women Demand Peace?
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/012606WB.shtml
Medea Benjamin: "Whenever I travel to international gatherings to talk about the war in Iraq, economic development and women's rights, the question I get asked most frequently is: 'Where are the women in the United States? Why aren't they rising up?'"
Protesters Sue for State of the Union Protest Site
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012606T.shtml
Organizers planning a protest during President Bush's State of the Union address next week say they have been denied a permit to hold the demonstration around the US Capitol Reflecting Pool because that area has been reclassified as part of the security perimeter for the day of the speech.
Yesterday, Senator Ted Kennedy and I told our colleagues that we supported a filibuster of Judge Alito's nomination for the Supreme Court. And we weren't alone. But the bottom line is that it takes more than two or three people to filibuster successfully. It's not "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." If you want to stop Judge Alito from becoming Justice Alito, use your own email list and organize. We can't just preach to our own choir. We need to prove to everyone - from our friends and neighbors to our fellow Senators - that the American people know Judge Alito will take our country in the wrong direction, and they expect something to be done about it.
So I'm asking you to join Senator Kennedy, me, and concerned citizens across America who are signing this petition to support a filibuster. If there was ever a time to forward an email on to friends and family, this is it. One way or another, we're going to find out in the next few days if Judge Alito is going to become Justice Alito. You know where I stand. The time to make your voice heard is now. So please sign this filibuster petition and get as many friends as you can to do the same.
Sign the filibuster petition --> http://www.johnkerry.com/action/filibuster/
If Judge Alito gets on the Supreme Court, it will be an incredible mistake for America. And remember, this is one mistake that we can never take back.
I voted against Justice Roberts, but I feel even more strongly about Judge Alito. Why? Rather than live up to the promise of "equal justice under the law," he has consistently made it harder for the most disadvantaged Americans to have their day in court. He routinely defers to excessive government power no matter how much government abuses that power. And, to this date, his only statement on record regarding a woman's right to privacy is that she doesn't have one.
There isn't a shred of doubt in my opposition to Judge Alito's nomination. I spent a lot of time over the last few years thinking about what kind of person deserves to sit on the highest court in the land, so I don't hesitate a minute in saying that Judge Alito is not that person. His entire legal career shows that, if confirmed, he will take America backward. People can say all they want that "elections have consequences." Trust me, I understand. But that doesn't mean we have to stay silent about Judge Alito's nomination.
President Bush had the opportunity to nominate someone who would unite the country in a time of extreme division. He chose not to do this, and that is his right. But we have every right -- in fact, we have a responsibility -- to fight against a radical ideological shift on the Supreme Court. This nomination was a sellout to the demands of the extreme right wing of the Republican Party. The president gave no thought to what the American people really wanted - or needed. So now that the president and Judge Alito have proven they won't stand up for the majority of Americans, we have to stand up. We have to speak out. That's the true meaning of "advice and consent."
Sincerely,
John Kerry
How do you like your democracy now, Mr. Bush?
Hamas' stunning victory underlines the contradictions and hypocrisies in Bush's Mideast policies.
By Juan Cole
The stunning victory of the militant Muslim fundamentalist Hamas Party in the Palestinian elections underlines the central contradictions in the Bush administration's policies toward the Middle East. Bush pushes for elections, confusing them with democracy, but seems blind to the dangers of right-wing populism. At the same time, he continually undermines the moderate and secular forces in the region by acting high-handedly or allowing his clients to do so. As a result, Sunni fundamentalist parties, some with ties to violent cells, have emerged as key players in Iraq, Egypt and Palestine.
***
You can read the rest at Salon if you have a subscription (which I don't) ===>
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2006/01/27/hamas/index_np.html
or Digby has bits of it here ===>
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2006_01_22_digbysblog_archive.html#113834680024832148
including this key paragraph:
Democracy depends not just on elections but on a rule of law, on stable institutions, on basic economic security for the population, and on checks and balances that forestall a tyranny of the majority. Elections in the absence of this key societal context can produce authoritarian regimes and abuses as easily as they can produce genuine people power. Bush is on the whole unwilling to invest sufficiently in these key institutions and practices abroad. And by either creating or failing to deal with hated foreign occupations, he has sown the seeds for militant Islamist movements that gain popularity because of their nationalist credentials.
You can read the whole Salon article for free if you sit through the brief commercial. Really ... it usually isn't that long.
Posted by: chuck at January 27, 2006 01:24 AM
He was an LT.
Posted by: madame defarge at January 27, 2006 07:37 AM
Hmmmmmmm..... Don't know whether to laugh or cry in ironic frustration....
Elections in the US are rigged with machines that can be hacked into which puts idiots like The Cretin in power.
Paper ballots used in elections in "third world" countries where The Cretin and his Criminal Cabal are trying to shove democracy down the throats of the people (like he's bringing them a gift from his god) they freely elect a strict authoritarian and/or dictatorial regime... not unlike the one The Cretin wants to set up here, come to think of it.
The Cretin doesn't want to deal with anyone in any country who has been freely and legally elected the old fashioned way by paper ballots that can be counted and recounted if an election is contested....
I think I'll just cackle like a demented hyena.... :-)
cre·tin n.
A person afflicted with cretinism.
Slang. An idiot.
[French crétin, from French dialectal, deformed and mentally retarded person found in certain Alpine valleys, from Vulgar Latin *christinus, Christian, human being, poor fellow, from Latin Chrstinus, Christian. See Christian.]
www.dictionary.com
Why do you think John Kerry wants to filibuster Samuel Alito?
Conviction
42%
45121 votes
Politics
58%
62833 votes
Total: 107954 votes
Any Delaware people around? You may want to let Joe Biden know what you're thinking. According to NPR, he doesn't think a filibuster is a good idea.
He does plan to vote against Alito according to this ABC news report
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1547932
Fifty-eight percent of those polled said Bush's second term has been a failure so far, while 38 percent said they consider it a success. A smaller number -- 52 percent -- consider his entire presidency a failure to date, with 46 percent calling it successful.
Bush defended his performance Thursday, pointing to an improved economy despite higher prices for gasoline, heating oil and natural gas. He said the November elections would be about "peace and prosperity."
"We've got a record, and a good one," he said. "That's what I intend to campaign on and explain to people why I made the decisions I made, and why they're necessary to protect the American people, and why they've been necessary to keep this economy strong -- and why the policies we've got will keep this economy strong in the future."
PEACE AND PROSPERITY? BRING IT ON!
Look here for a nice graphic of the US today...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2398216
(and hold back the comments about the past...it's over.)
oncall, curious why you keep posting that unscientific poll? Is it just an error in posting?
Posted by: monkey at January 27, 2006 08:18 AM
I looked up the origin of cretin a long time ago. Intelligent pagans (originally meaning country folk, non-city dwellers) used 'Cretin' as a term of derision for some of the earliest Christians. Bu$h's version of Christianity is the most hypocritical I've ever heard of, next to the fundie preachers, and he constantly breaks the Commandments, especially 'Thou shalt not bear false witness...". Yet people who profess to be good Christians believe every word out of his LYING lips without ever doubting his LIES, even after the LIES have been exposed as LIES.... and I've no idea why! Total mystery to me...!
Now you know why I call Bu$h The Cretin.... ;-) Throwing in Criminal Cabal to describe the people in his administration I threw in because it's alliterative (and true).... :-)
We all know that the MSNBC and CNN polls are unscientific but nonetheless they do influence behavior for those people who visit those news sites.
If you don't want to look at them or vote in them, just scroll past and if at all possible, refrain from commenting.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/26/AR2006012601478.html
Using Our Fear
Excerpts:
Once upon a time we had a great wartime president who told Americans they had nothing to fear but fear itself. Now we have George W. Bush, who uses fear as a tool of executive power and as a political weapon against his opponents.
~~~~~
The thing is, fear works. The administration successfully invoked the fear of "mushroom clouds" to win support, or at least acquiescence, for the invasion of Iraq. By the time it was clear there were no weapons of mass destruction, the fear of losing to terrorists on the "central front" had been given primacy. We stopped hearing the name bin Laden so often -- no need to bring attention to the fact that he remained at large -- until reports emerged of secret CIA prisons, torture and domestic spying.
Bin Laden does remain a threat. He would hit the United States again if he could. We do expect the president to protect us. But a great wartime leader rallies his citizens by informing them and inspiring them. He certainly doesn't use threats to our national security for political gain. He doesn't just point at a map and say "Boo."
Nonny... I've long known that definition of cretin as well (six years of Latin pays off, FINALLY!)
Thought posting it might be interesting for others who were not familiar with the historical origins.
CARPE CRETIN!
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/27/politics/27judge.html
Prosecutor Will Step Down From Lobbyist Case
Excerpts:
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 — The investigation of Jack Abramoff, the disgraced Republican lobbyist, took a surprising new turn on Thursday when the Justice Department said the chief prosecutor in the inquiry would step down next week because he had been nominated to a federal judgeship by President Bush.
The prosecutor, Noel L. Hillman, is chief of the department's public integrity division, and the move ends his involvement in an inquiry that has reached into the administration as well as the top ranks of the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill.
The administration said that the appointment was routine and that it would not affect the investigation, but Democrats swiftly questioned the timing of the move and called for a special prosecutor
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mr. Hillman's departure from the Justice Department creates a vacancy at the top of the Abramoff inquiry only three weeks after Mr. Abramoff, once one of the city's most powerful Republican lobbyists and a major fund-raiser for Mr. Bush, announced his guilty plea and agreed to testify against others, possibly including members of Congress.
I keep thinking of the religious right stuffing our election system with personnel, with the end justifies the fraudulent means fervor. Creating those questionable voting results. Now pushing for their dream to overturn Alito. And all the media avoiding and not reporting the forces really pushing what is going on in this country.
Kerry seems all alone out there, still fuming from the last managing of the beast best way he could, and this another tipping point of no more, where the stakes are too high.
The Democrats are business as usual, feeling they have issues and Bush vulnerabilities going successfully into 2006. And no more harder worker and contributor for those candidates than Kerry.
But the Democrats ignore media's willingness to turn whatever issues so damning for Bush, to somehow a plus, or at least to neutralize.
We trust the media to deliver, and the fundies to somehow behave, at our peril.
Wish other Democrats, or presidential aspirants, saw these times as different than other pendulum cycles of history, since Bush, the fundies, have total control of the media and ballot box.
Posted by: monkey at January 27, 2006 09:00 AM
I rather thought you did - and I'm glad you posted the dictionary meaning and origin of the word for others to see! :-) Thank you! :-)
I knew I couldn't be the only one interested in etymology! :-)
Check out this rational argument from a conservative site RE: filibuster & cloture... I found it very interesting and well-reasoned. It's a little dated (Jan. 18th). And ignore the comments below, for your own sanity.
http://www.redstate.com/story/2006/1/18/22408/6325
NonnyO & Monkey
Thanks for additional etyomology on Cretin - fits.
Marjorie G
What is Kerry thinking not hiring you?!!!
Madame DeFarge
Thanks for posting the Juan Cole - he expands on what I was thinking. (Hamas and our going to middle east and "spreading democracy").
Other
Why does Google have musical instruments today?
Mardi Gras soon?
Go Kerry
Go Seahawks
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/27/politics/politicsspecial1/27alito.html
Kerry Gets Cool Response to Call to Filibuster Alito
Posted by: DiAnne at January 27, 2006 09:29 AM
Thanks Dianne. I read Juan Cole regularly and have exchanged emails with him on Middle East topics. In fact, we almost got him as a speaker at our "Moving Forward on Iraq" town hall forum earlier this month.
Just read this on DU...
CLINTON SUPPORTS FILIBUSTER!!!!!
Just got off the phone with person in her DC office and she is voting no on cloture and supporting a filibuster!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x257098
Madame Defarge
Glad to hear that (about Juan Cole)! That made my day, as he is so knowledgeable and should be listened to more. Thanks also for the news about Clinton supporting the filibuster. That should boost the profile. I had to read up on it to explain to someone not American and learned that it all hinges in the region between 50 and 60 votes, and I think the Democrats need to try it. Off to work, where I will lurk when able.
OT but we've touched on this before here RE: the validity of the bin Laden tapes... There's quite a bit out there about this, as I found out by googling "fake bin laden tapes" including this most recent entry about the tape just released early this month:
http://disc.server.com/discussion.cgi?disc=149495;article=97794;title=APFN
Bin Laden Tape Probably Faked by CIA
and this one...
http://www.unknownnews.org/0601240119binLaden.html
Bin Laden expert skeptical about latest purported bin Laden tape
It's also being discussed over at DU here...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2398496
So have we been duped again?
BTW, here's a poignant comic RE: clueless george & his stand on bin Laden:
http://www.webcomicsnation.com/mattjordan/realgorilla/series.php
Posted by: DiAnne at January 27, 2006 09:29 AM
Mozart's birthday. Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Wolfgang Amadeus!
Posted by: NonnyO at January 27, 2006 09:19 AM
Entymology: when bugs get stuck between the pages of your dictionary.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012006Y.shtml
Robert Fisk on Bin Laden tape (posted a few days ago but worth reading) - it was in The Independent but you have to be a subscriber, so thanks to TruthOut for making it available.
Fisk has worked in the mideast for over 3 decades as a journalist and is not a yes-man.
Anyone noticed the new front page today? I am finally back in business and FIRED UP!!
That is great news defarge but her behavior on this very impt decision really makes me question her judgment. This was not even a close call for her to make. Did she think that even a handfull of her New York constituents would want her to vote yes on cloture?
This experience has convinced me who the leader of the Democratic Part is right now and it is certainly not the Senator from New York. Please remember this experience in the summer of '07 when we begin discussing who we want as our next Presidential nominee for '08. I was not thrilled with Hillary before, this was definitely a turn off for her future as the leader of our party.
"CLINTON SUPPORTS FILIBUSTER!!!!!
Just got off the phone with person in her DC office and she is voting no on cloture and supporting a filibuster!"
Entymology: when bugs get stuck between the pages of your dictionary.
Posted by: Veritas at January 27, 2006 10:59 AM
ROTFLMAO!!! :-)
Posted by: madame defarge at January 27, 2006 10:11 AM
Sadly, but most likely yes, we've been duped - AGAIN. When I figured out the SOTU speech was coming up, and combined that with the Iranian Oil Bourse (IOB) stories recently, plus the warmongering rhetoric about the "threat" Iran is for wanting nuclear power plants and the Dimwit is lying to us telling us they want to make bombs... well, the OBL tape coming out right now was just too "convenient" somehow.... The Cretin wants another war to start in Iran because the IOB will adversely affect the financial status of the US and the US does not have the military personnel numbers to invade another country (at least not without a mandatory draft).
The link to the cartoon you posted after that with The Cretin's quotes about OBL through the years tells the whole story....
More IOB: THIS is why The Cretin sees Iran as such a "threat" to the US... (doesn't have a damned thing to do with "nuk-yew-ler" anything! If people in Congress have not already figured this out, they need to check into it PDQ so they can see through the LIES sure to come in his SOTU address on Tuesday evening!!!
Iran - a threat to the petrodollar?:
The proposal to set up the IOB was first put forward in Iran's Third Development Plan (2000-2005). Mohammad Javad Assemipour, who heads the project, has said that the exchange will strive to make Iran the main hub for oil deals in the region and that it should be operational by March 2006.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C1C0C9B3-DDA9-42E2-AE9C-B7CDBA08A6E9.htm
[A "must read!" There are three pages, so be sure to click on the next page....]
Gore Vidal: President Jonah:
Not since the glory days of Watergate and Nixon’s Luciferian fall has there been so much written about the dogged deceits and creative criminalities of our rulers.
http://www.truthdig.com/dig/item/20060124_president_jonah
Wrote to Norm Coleman and urged him to vote NO on Alito... he's such a weasel though, I don't think he'd have the guts to go against King George.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-alito27jan27,0,2625233.story?track=tottext,0,3652576.story
Key Democrats Try to Mount Filibuster Against Alito
WASHINGTON-The senators admit that their effort to derail the high court nomination is 'an uphill battle.' The GOP sets a vote for Monday to end debate.
http://simurl.com/rukcom
Another of King George's accomplishments:
Rich-Poor Income Gap Widens
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060127/ap_on_re_us/income_gap
I'm shocked. Shocked I tell you.
Posted by: Victoria Ellen at January 27, 2006 12:00 PM
I wrote to him, too. I agree with you. I think Coleman's lips are surgically attached to Bu$h's Butt.
But since I firmly think that Alito's belief in the theory of the unitary executive is a way to mangle our laws and "legally" (technically illegally!) maneuver The Cretin into the role of a dictator, I got desperate and sent Coleman a short note a day or two ago.
If Alito is approved for this nomination, we will all wake up sadder but wiser in the future... especially the politicians who have not listened to their constituents who warned them....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060127/ap_on_bi_ge/halliburton_kbr
Halliburton to Spin Off KBR Contractor
DALLAS - Halliburton Co. said Friday it plans to spin off a minority stake in its engineering and construction unit KBR, which has generated enormous controversy over how it has become the largest U.S. contractor in Iraq. Its shares rose nearly 6 percent.
Halliburton, whose chief executive was Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995 to 2000, has been criticized since the beginning of the war in Iraq for multibillion-dollar government contracts. Halliburton is an oilfield services company based in Houston.
The KBR unit posted $3 billion in overall revenue in the fourth quarter.
Halliburton President and CEO Dave Lesar told analysts the company will file for an initial public offering of shares in KBR with the Securities Exchange Commission.
[More on link... and do pay attention to the last one-sentence paragraph... my eyebrows just about disappeared up into my hairline over that one!]
The White House expressed confidence that Alito's supporters had the votes needed to cut off a filibuster.
The White House was so confident, in fact, that Bush spokesman Scott McClellan openly mocked Kerry's actions.
"I think it was a historic day yesterday. It was the first ever call for a filibuster from the slopes of Davos, Switzerland," McClellan said. "Maybe Senator Kerry needs to be spending more time in the United States Senate so he can refresh his memory on Senate rules. Senate rules say you have to have the votes in order to filibuster."
I just tried calling Barack Obama's DC and Chicago offices. The phone is off the hook in Chicago and in DC you get a voice mail, but cannot leave a message, the system telling you that the voice mailbox is full. The Senator is likely innundated with calls. In my email to him, I wrote that it doesn't matter if the no cloture vote has the 60 votes because the real problem is that this looks so normal to most Americans. They simply do not get the crisis we are in because between our political leaders and the media, we are all in business as usual mode. We have to show the American people that this is a big deal, that changes are being made that will likely hurt them in their real, everyday lives for a long time.
OT - but may be of interest to IL-06 residents.
http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/1/26/224315/389
and this one...
http://www.soapblox.net/chicago/showDiary.do?diaryId=1002
Chuck in Doha for Everybody:
You know, filibustering the Alito nomination is a gutsey step. Lots of Senators are in the middle of the cloture argument, I think it's fourteen of them, because they are on the record as saying it should be used only in extraordinary circumstances. So I want to through a challenge out to you all: why is it extraordinarily important that Alito not be confirmed? I'll start the bidding with why it's extraordinarily important to me:
Alito, under sworn testimony just the other day, refused to answer the simple question as to whether the President can take the country to war against the express will of Congress. And that's just the tip of this iceberg about how the President, by claiming some sort of permanent state of crisis, is beholden to no one and no law. And it seems clear to me that Alito holds to that proposition. It is clear he would not renounce it. That's what all that unitary executive talk is all about.
Chuck in Doha
PS: Under that extraordinary circumstance, I really am at a loss to explain Robert Byrd's position, who has always been so jealous of the perogatives of the Senate.
Kerry on C-SPAN - NOW....
Oops -- gutsey = gutsy and "through" = "throw" in my last post. Sorry! Late here in Doha after another longish day.
Chuck in Doha
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/26/AR2006012601961_pf.html
Trying to Maintain Control of the State, in a State of Confusion
Excerpts:
In all, Bush uttered nearly 7,000 words in his 45-minute Q&A. But his message could be summed up with a brief phrase in his least-favorite language: L'Etat c'est moi (I am the state).
~~~~~~~
His view on congressional anti-torture legislation: "Conducting war is a responsibility in the executive branch, not the legislative branch."
~~~~~~~
{{{ Uh-h-h-h-h-h... Say WHAT?!? What Constitution from what country is he reading?!?!? The US Constitution says only Congress can authorize war. Congress has the power of the purse and how much they'll spend in a war (although The Cretin calls legislators unpatriotic if they don't pass bills financing the military... with all the extra bills attached that he wants passed!!!). That boy needs to go back to school and READ the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the Amendments!!! Take a tranquilizer... the rest of the article with The Cretin's quotes just makes one's brain sizzle....}}}
Wrote to Norm Coleman and urged him to vote NO on Alito... he's such a weasel though, I don't think he'd have the guts to go against King George.
Posted by: Victoria Ellen at January 27, 2006 12:00 PM
My dumb civics question for the day: why doesn't Congress use secret ballots for special highly charged political votes like this?
(OK, I know they have to be held accountable to their constituents... But their vote should NOT be used to please the president...)
When I'm president of a real democracy, that's the way it's going to work.
When I'm president of a real democracy, that's the way it's going to work.
Posted by: madame defarge at January 27, 2006 01:46 PM
You run, and I'll vote for you!
My dumb civics question for the day: why doesn't Congress use secret ballots for special highly charged political votes like this?
(OK, I know they have to be held accountable to their constituents... But their vote should NOT be used to please the president...)
Posted by: madame defarge at January 27, 2006 01:46 PM
Our democratic republic is no longer a democratic republic.... it's a dictatorship in all but name, thanks to Georgie who has seized power per the "theory of the unitary executive" - which is how Hitler got all his power.
chuck how about Alito owning $800,000 in Vanguard Mutual Funds and then "Lying to the US Senate" about recusing himself when cases were to be heard regarding the Vanguard Group.
He's a pretty bright guy I am sure he knew that he had tesified in his Federal bench confirmation hearing before the US Senate that he would not participate in any way regarding Vanguard cases.
Oops it just slipped his mind.
I just heard on C-SPAN that Dayton voted No....
Posted by: chuck at January 27, 2006 01:28 PM
Above and beyond Alito's obvious plans to overturn anything to do with a woman's right to reproductive freedom and his disregard of the Fourth Amendment, this is an excerpt of what I sent in an email to Senators Kerry and Kennedy earlier today:
If a Democrat or an Independent had put forth a Supreme Court nomination for a justice who believed in the theory of the unitary executive, I would also urge a 'no' vote for a Supreme Court nomination. Here's why:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11670.htm
The case against Alito
(third paragraph of a very short four-paragraph article by Nicole Johnson Email - nickijohnson @ sbcglobal.net)
"The fact is that the unitary executive theory was developed by Carl Schmitt, the Third Reich's legal expert, to advance the appearance of a lawful dictatorial takeover of Germany. Arguing that an exceptional situation, like the Reichstag fire (or 9/11 in our case), gave the executive the right to decide law for himself, Schmitt's philosophy ushered in a reign of vicious authoritarianism. Recently, Schmitt's legal theories have been applied ferociously in signing statements and executive orders by Bush's legal team to liberate them from quaint restrictions like international treaties and domestic law."
Copyright Nicole Johnson Email - nickijohnson @ sbcglobal.net
Carl Schmitt:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Schmitt
A unitary executive is a pretty term for a dictator. America does NOT need a dictator in power, no matter what political party he says he belongs to!!!
Molly Ivins on C-SPAN (replay of a previous interview, it seems).
If you do nothing else today...
please, please go watch this music video at the American Friends Service Committee site. It's Robert Cray's powerful song called "Twenty"... Just watch & listen...& pray for peace.
http://afsc.org/iraq/cray-video.htm#topofpage
Hey Madame:
Robert Cray is from Oregon. He used to play alot down in Corvallis (Oregon State), where the movie "Animal House" was filmed. Some say he gave Akroyd and Belushi the "Blues Brothers" idea.
Also, Madame, I went to see that site you posted:
http://www.redstate.com/story/2006/1/18/22408/6325
to do some opposition research. And yes it does have a lot of closely-reasoned analysis. Very calculated and tactical and singular in its lack of passion and principle.
Like the line in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," -- "Who are those guys anyway?"
Chuck in Doha
Chuck,
I NEVER disagree with you, but Animal House was filmed in EUGENE (U of O. my alma mater).
Love ya anyway,
Karen
Well, I've got to turn in. One place I found some good statements on Alito is the speeches posted on the Senator Kerry webpage and the Senator Boxer webpage. I'm off to see what Senator Kennedy said. It was interesting the degree to which Boxer and Kerry were on the same page.
Good night, from a Doha POV!
Chuck in Doha
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060127/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_leveraging_wives
Documents Show Army Seized Wives As Tactic
The U.S. Army in Iraq has at least twice seized and jailed the wives of suspected insurgents in hopes of "leveraging" their husbands into surrender, U.S. military documents show.
In one case, a secretive task force locked up the young mother of a nursing baby, a U.S. intelligence officer reported. In the case of a second detainee, one American colonel suggested to another that they catch her husband by tacking a note to the family's door telling him "to come get his wife."
{{{OMFG!!! Take a deep breath.... It just gets worse from there....}}}}
Karen:
Ooops! My Bad! Go Ducks! Been gone too long from the green green grass of Oregon. Eugene makes more sense in that context anyway.
Chuck in Doha of to sleep.
Senator Snowe will oppose the filibuster according to her staff that I just spoke with. She might oppose Alito, which is meaningless.
Wouldn't hurt to have others call her office and remind her staff that Maine voters will be carefully watching. Apparently she is like Senator Specter, multiple choice;whichever way the way the political winds blow.
Ira,
Thanks for the updates, and let's keep the info flowing!
I just talked with a nice young woman at Dayton's office (he has a toll-free number listed on the MoveOn e-newsletter in one of the in-state phone numbers listed - I didn't know if I'd get a recording or a person, but I got a person!), thanked him (left a message with the receptionist, that is!) for voting 'no' on Alito, asked if he was going to vote yes or no on cloture, and got the reply "he hasn't made up his mind yet." I said: "Please let the filibuster happen!!!" She said she'd pass on the message, that she's taken hundreds of calls today.
I suppose he'll wait to see which way the wind blows, too.... he's not running for re-election this fall (he said fund-raising takes too much time away from senatorial duties, so is only doing one term in the Senate and won't run again). How he votes won't affect his career, but it sure will affect the lives of ordinary Minnesotans.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060127/ap_on_re_us/brf_coulter_stevens
Coulter Jokes About Poisoning Justice
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Conservative commentator Ann Coulter, speaking at a traditionally black college, joked that Justice John Paul Stevens should be poisoned.
Coulter had told the Philander Smith College audience Thursday that more conservative justices were needed on the Supreme Court to change the current law on abortion. Stevens is one of the court's most liberal members.
"We need somebody to put rat poisoning in Justice Stevens' creme brulee," Coulter said. "That's just a joke, for you in the media."
{{{ Um-m-m-m-m-m-m... Doesn't that fall under the category of a 'terroristic threat?'}}}
Chuck
Robert Cray used to play at the Rainbow Tavern in Seattle for $1. Kenny G was free at Volunteer Park. Nirvana was $1 in a club!
I was looking for news & all I could find was Ted Kennedy Love Child, Jacko in Mecca (changing name to Muhammad), US Govt Seizing Wives, Rather Rapes Daughter, & Anne Coulter Says to Poison a Judge.
This is what passes for "journalism" in America when one takes a quick, superficial look due to not having much time & it's probably also what many Americans get for their total news content.
more info:
Below are Fax numbers for the Senators. We
cannot get through by phone.
*Kerry is filibustering Alito! *
*FAX Senators Immediately! Their voicemail boxes are full!*
*Fax the Senators listed below, as well as your own, and tell them:*
* a "No" vote is meaningless without a filibuster
* it is cowardly to only fight a fight when assured victory
* the American people need to see the Senate standing up for separation of powers and against the "Unitary Executive"
Use these toll free numbers to call the Capitol:* 888-355-3588* or*
888-818-6641*.
If you can't get through, look up the Senator's District Office number in your phone book or here:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt?command=congdir
*First:* *Fax* the three Democrats (Mary Landrieu, Ken Salazar, and Dianne Feinstein) who oppose Alito but also said they oppose a
filibuster. We must persuade them that a vote against Alito is meaningless if they don't support a filibuster. _Fax numbers_:
*Senator Salazar (D-CO) * 202-228-5036
*Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) * 202-224-9735
*Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) * 202-228-3954
*Second:* Call your own Democratic Senator:* 888-355-3588* or* 888-818-6641*.
If you can't get through, look up the Senator's District Office number
in your phone book or here:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt?command=congdir
*Third:* Unbelievably, three Democrats (Ben Nelson, Tim Johnson and Robert Byrd) support Alito! Tell them to either support filibuster or at least "don't get in the way." _Fax numbers:_
*Sen. Ben Nelson* *(D-NE)* 202-228-0012
*Sen. Robert Byrd* *(D-WV)* 202-228-0002
*Sen. Tim Johnson* *(D-SD)* 202-228-5765
*Second:* Call your own Democratic Senator: *888-355-3588* or* 888-818-6641*. If you can't get through, look up the Senator's District Office number in your phone book or here:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt?command=congdir
*Fourth:* *Fax* the "Red State" Democrats:
(Message same as above -- "No" is meaningless)
_Fax numbers:_
*Tom Carper* (DE) 202-228-2190
*Kent Conrad* (ND) 202-224-7776
*Byron Dorgan* (ND) 202-224-1193
*Blanche Lincoln* (AR) 202-228-1371
*Mark Pryor* (AR) 202-228-0908
*
Fifth: * *Fax* these "Blue State" and pro-choice Republicans:
(Message: A "Unitary Executive" is dangerous to balance of powers--please do not get in the way of a filibuster.)
*Lincoln Chafee* (RI) 202-228-2853
*Susan Collins* (ME) 202-224-2693
*Lisa Murkowsky* (AK) 202-224-5301
*Gordon Smith* (OR) 202-228-3997
*Olympia Snowe* (ME) 202-224-1946
*Ted Stevens* (AK) 202-224-2354
For extra credit, *FAX* all of the 2008 Presidential candidates who are sitting Senators--Evan Bayh, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Russ Feingold, and John Kerry--and tell them to either* LEAD THE FILIBUSTER or KISS
YOUR SUPPORT GOODBYE*. * 888-355-3588* or* 888-818-6641*.
_Fax numbers:_
*Evan Bayh* 202-228-1377
*Joe Biden* 202-224-0139
*Hillary Clinton* 202-228-0282
*Russ Feingold* 202-224-2725
*John Kerry* 202-224-8525
If you can't get through, look up the Senator's District Office number in your phone book or here:
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt?command=congdir
You can also send that message to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (202-224-2447) and the Democratic National Committee (202-863-8000).
Share what you learn with Democrats.com members here:
http://www.democrats.com/alito-8
_______________________________________________
Backbone mailing list
Backbone@list.backbonecampaign.org
http://list.backbonecampaign.org/mailman/listinfo/backbone
Feinstein has fallen off the fence. She will not vote against the filibuster. YAY!
Senator Kent Conrad tells Ed Schultz a few moments ago that he is leaning toward supporting Alito and definitely against a filibuster. He says he spoke to Alito this morning and Alito promised Conrad that he would not allow Bush to trump Congress on national security through a signing letter. I guess he looked into his soul.
He promised Senator Conrad.. gee haven't we heard that before from Sam Alito. It is these times and comments that make it hard to support this party. Really hard.I truly feel like Landreu, Conrad, Salazar, Byrd and Pryor are really testing our (my) party loyalty. Personally I have had it with these cowards. Senator Kerry is the only Democratic leader I support any longer.
"Senator Kerry is the only Democratic leader I support any longer."
sorry about that Senator Boxer.
Aaron Brown surfaces in a speech that was covered by a reporter from this Florida paper...
http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/content/news/brown0126.html
Another item of interest... One of the dailykos frontpagers has been writing up the notes of a series of interviews with Daniel Ellsberg. Yes that Daniel Ellsberg.
Here's the intro to the latest post:
Conversations with Daniel Ellsberg, Part 4
by SusanG
Fri Jan 27, 2006 at 11:40:36 AM EST
Whistleblowing and Activism
Long reluctant to urge the personal risks of whistleblowing on fellow Americans, Daniel Ellsberg in September 2004 broke a self-imposed silence and issued, with 10 others (including Sibel Edmonds and Ray McGovern), a Call to Patriotic Whistleblowing, both a plea and something of a "how to" guide for those in government contemplating leaking pertinent information to Congress and the public. Out of this letter came the Truth-Telling Project, an organization founded to help encourage whistleblowers on a long-term basis. Ellsberg is also a member of Sibel Edmonds' National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, which was founded to support whistleblowers directly involved in national security issues.
Among other issues discussed below, Ellsberg points to Katharine Gun's leak of the plan to eavesdrop on UN delegates in the run-up to the Iraq war as the ideal of effective whistleblowing: current information disclosed about an issue in which lives are at stake and/or freedoms are threatened.
This is the fourth of a six-part series of conversations with Ellsberg that were conducted earlier this month. My questions are in boldface, Ellsberg's responses are in lightface. Topics and dates of future and past postings can be found at the end of this interview.
Has lots of embedded links; read the rest here...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/27/114037/774
Posted by: dwahzon at January 27, 2006 04:20 PM
After CNN spent two hours talking about Oprah and her book club (one and a half of which I didn't pay any attention to), I thought this morning about Aaron Brown and what CNN thought it was accomplishing when they fired him. He deserves better than to be on the lecture circuit. Hopefully his message will be widely accepted.
We deserve better than having Oprah's reaction to her book club mistake shoved down our throats.
Great comments about Robert Cray...but did you watch this music video??? It's great that it's Cray delivering the message, but it's the message that's most important...
http://afsc.org/iraq/cray-video.htm#topofpage
"Senator Kerry is the only Democratic leader I support any longer."
Ira,
Did you read the following information in your papers today? It's on Le Nouvel Observateur today. I post the translation.
John Kerry does not exclude representing himself in the American presidential elections
AP ∫ 26.01.06 ∫ 19:22
DAVOS, Switzerland(Swiss) ( AP) - The democratic senator John Kerry, who had failed in front of president taking out George W. Bush during the American presidential election of 2004, let hear(understand) on Thursday that he did not exclude representing himself.
Interrogated by Associated Press, outside the world economic Forum to Davos (Switzerland), about his intentions, the senator of Massachussetts indicated that his answer would come at the convenient moment. But in the question to know if he had given up competing again for the democratic nomination with the aim of a candidature to the White House, he answered: " not, I do not exclude it ". AP
Andre I see every indication from his weekly emails I have received from Nov '04, that he is definitely laying the founation to run again in '08. That is what my bumper sticker says Kerry in '08 anyway.
It will be a long haul and I believe many Democratic voters will have to first forgive him, or at least get over his loss in '04. Many folks I ask about supporting him again feel let down and tell me he should have won. And many here tell me he actally did but I take issue with them.
His actions today regardig the filibuster was a great start,but I am prejudice in that regard.
Thanks for your being here to share your thoughts; your contributions here enrich us all. Hopefully we are not all thought of as Regressive cowboys, although being from Texas sometimes I wonder.
Ira,
I get the mails as well, and I've had the same feeling as you have.
Out of the American politican mores (throwing away the loser as an old tissue, while he becomes the head and voice of opposition in European countries), you must keep in mind that JK is, not only smart and subtle, but a hell of a strategist...as in war. And what does he have in his war chest? All our email addresses...
I have nothing about cowboys, my last daughter has the most lovely French/Houstonian accent (yes, it exists) and we loved Brokeback Mountain. I know, it's not Texas, but there are cowboys and awsome lanscapes.
What about Maria Cantwell? Anyone heard?
Hillary Clinton was supposed to be here doing a fundraiser for her today.
Hi, guys. Thanks for the VichyDems plug above!!
I've been working my butt off today to create a resource to maximize people's efforts to get the word out to their senators. I'm hoping folks will help spread the word:
Every swing Senator. Every phone number: both DC and ALL District offices. Every fax number. Every email or webmail contact page. All in one place. With notes on where that Senator stands.
Especially over the weekend, you can call up to ten different numbers for ONE Senator, have your message on ten different voicemails, send to ten different faxes, and send an email. That's 21 bangs for one buck.
http://vichydems.blogspot.com
Thanks!
Thersites_T2
If the filibuster goes down (as the MSM are predicting), perhaps some press conferences criticizing the confirmation of Alito on Monday in order. At Democrats.Com there is outrage and a plan for a full-court press on the Senate for Monday. Somebody should be speaking out against the "unitary" executive, the strange Princeton club, the over-turning of Roe V. Wade, seperation of church and state, and the fact that there will only be one woman left on the court now. Also the Democrats in the Senate, the media and many others need to be reminded that 51% vote ain't no mandate for Bu$h etc....