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Category Archives: Creeping Totalitarianism

Dems set to cave on FISA

Monday, March 3, 2008

The Democrats in the House appear set to follow their Senate colleagues into infamy. Give them credit for weathering the storm of two weeks of criticism from the Republicans and a virtual rebellion by the people at large (did you miss that? So did I actually) against their stand in favor of the Constitution. The […]

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The forces of ignorance come calling

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

I just got a call from a group that I believe called itself the Protect America Foundation, trying to spread lies about the FISA vote. Unfortunately, I can’t contain my outrage at these people. In retrospect I should have feigned ignorance, and listened to her whole pitch, but I cut her off and told her […]

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In a nutshell

Saturday, February 23, 2008

FISA explained: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7X8u5IEEBc[/youtube]

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Democrats don’t blink

Friday, February 15, 2008

The House Democrats have had a spine implant. After the craven performance of the Senate they have redeemed their party and the nation, at least temporarily, by telling Bush to shove it on FISA. to the surprise of the White House, they didn’t “blink”, as they’ve done so often in the past. Now they’re going […]

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Shame 2.0

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

The last time I used this title for a post, it was to bemoan the Democrats (including Joe Courtney’s) craven attempts to appease the unappeasable by voting to censure Moveon. This time it’s more serious: the Senate of the United States has voted to sanction lawbreaking by a wide margin, voting against Chris Dodd and […]

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Outrage of the week

Friday, February 8, 2008

This week the Attorney General of the United States declared that the law does not apply to members of the executive branch. He did it twice. First he told the Judiciary Committee that torture is legal as long as the Justice Department clears it in advance. By extension, anything is legal as long as the […]

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The Times: what FISA bill?

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

I realize that it is mandatory that the press cover the State of the Union address, so I am not criticizing the New York Times for doing so. However, it is emblematic of all that is wrong with the press in this nation that the real important event that took place yesterday, the fact that […]

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New rules in the Senate

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Harry Reid teams up with Mitch McConnell to lecture Chris Dodd: only Republicans get to declare filibuster and win. Democrats, members of the majority party, members of Reid’s own party, have to actually filibuster. New rules: it takes 60 votes to get something Democrats want; it takes only 51 to get something Republicans want, and […]

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Court rules torture okay

Friday, January 11, 2008

McClatchy reports (In voiding suit, appellate court says torture is to be expected): A federal appeals court Friday threw out a suit by four British Muslims who allege that they were tortured and subjected to religious abuse in the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a ruling that exonerated 11 present and former senior […]

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Priorities

Friday, January 11, 2008

Seems like the telecoms have a good handle on their legal rights when their pocketbooks are involved: Telephone companies have cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureaus repeated failures to pay phone bills on time. A Justice Department audit released Thursday blamed the lost connections on the FBIs […]

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