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June 19, 2008
Democrats Cave In Again

As expected, the Democritters in Congress caved in on telecom immunity:

The agreement would also pave the way for companies such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. to shed the nearly 40 lawsuits they face for allegedly participating in a prior version of the NSA program, which have cast a shadow over their reputation on Wall Street and Main Street. To win immunity, they would have to pass review from a U.S. District Court.

Laura at War & Piece has a two good question to Pelosi that gets to the gist of the issue:

Doesn’t that actually endorse and extend to private actors the Nixonian view that if the president says it’s legal, it’s legal, regardless of what the law says and the Constitution says? Wouldn’t that set an awful precedent that an administration could get private actors to do whatever they wanted including breaking the law?

Answers: Yes and yes.

Why do Democrats choose to support this? Maybe they do really want that precedent?

I fail to see other reasons here.

Posted by b on June 19, 2008 at 16:13 UTC | Permalink
Comments

The democrats and republics are different in name only. The democrats support torture, illegal wars, spying on the American people, use of inhuman weapons containing depleted uranium, and George W. Bush. What we need in this country is another American revolution, but the people are too fat, stupid and lazy for that to ever happen. What I’m waiting for is for other nations of the world to unite and nuke the fuck out of us.

Posted by: JimT | Jun 19 2008 17:47 utc | 1

While most Americans slumber on, the left side of the political spectrum is aghast yet again at the Democrats in Congress. Look what tomorrow will bring — the House Dems are combining the latest $165 Billion Iraq supplemental with the Telecom Immunity bill so that the Blue Dog Dems will vote for the whole shebang.
Voila! Every “person” who acted illegally because “the President said” gets off scot-free, with no investigation, no revelation of their victims or the extent of their crimes, and no punishment, ever.
The precedent that “if the President says it’s legal, then it’s by Gawd legal” becomes enshrined into law tomorrow, in an genuine Act of Congress. You may be sure that the Supreme Court will make good use of this one. After tomorrow, whimsy rules. Any whim that comes to the President’s mind — anything a President wants done in future, to anyone and for any reason — has the full force of law, and the full force of the United States government behind it from the moment he waves his hand and orders it. There are no checks and balances, no crimes, no investigations, no fines or punishments in store.
Just get ‘er done.
Here comes the Sun King . . .
No one capable of reading a newspaper can possibly be aghast at this development, not unless they are willing believers and actors in the myth of electoral politics.
This is what the Democrats do, and must do even more, because the Democrats have been eager and willing partners in the raping of the Constitution that is the Bush Administration, the GWOT, and the illegal spying on Americans.
How can they let any of their own crimes come out now, or ever?
Seriously — only ask yourself from this point, “What would John Gotti do?” and you can plot the Democrats next move.

Posted by: Antifa | Jun 19 2008 19:26 utc | 2

That’s why we call them NeoZi.con’s. It was those Israeli Zionists, after all, who convinced the NeoCons to sign the PNAC. It was an Israeli Zionist as press secretary who put soothing pomade on the confudidium of our besotted leader. It was an Israeli Zionist who revived and expanded Full Spectrum Dominance, to include a new Pentagon Office of Cyberspace War, and it was an Israeli Zionist who penned the first domestic espionage attacks. We’ll never know who penned the Patriot Acts, but you’ll feel it.
America is just a monstrous version of Israel-Palestine now. Apocalypse rides again.
As that West Bank settler put it, “We won, you lost. Now get the hell out of here.”
Any questions? Clothes in that pile, suitcases in that one. Move along to the shower.

Posted by: Pe Elum | Jun 20 2008 1:27 utc | 3

This is why I stopped voting along party lines long ago. The promises may be somewhat different, but the actions will be the same. Two wings of the same bird of prey. You get lulled into thinking that your candidate is going to make a difference, and then they just join in the same game instead. I have watched this happen over and over for decades. If America doesn’t get viable third parties in play soon, then the country is finished — if it isn’t already too late.
To say a third party doesn’t have a chance, you have to look back to New York state in the late 1960s. The people got so tired of Republicans being painted with too broad a brush that they formed a third party, the Conservative Party (no resemblance to today’s Neocons). And the NY Conservative Party managed to get their candidate, James Buckley (brother of William F.) elected to the US Senate for a six-year term. So yes, third-party candidates have a chance of winning, especially if the other two candidates are horrible. At the moment, I am paying more attention to Bob Barr. But with five months left before Election Day, there is a lot of time for any or all of them to screw the pooch and become unelectable in my eyes.

Posted by: Ensley | Jun 20 2008 2:35 utc | 4

lament, bitch, whine, moan, beseech, wail, shriek, scream…vote? ha! too little, too late. it’s true fat asses are reluctant to leave comfortable couches. so go Nancy! go John! go Obomb!
yesterday in my local paper a concerned citizen submitted a letter regarding Obomb’s admittedly secret meeting with Hilldog in proximity to the annual global rape forum known as the Bilderberg meeting. funny shit. i mean, you gotta love the way he ditched the press corp, waiting until they were stuck in a plane on the runway to tell them see ya later.
attention ‘merikin citizens! the gloves are off. blaming enviros for blocking drilling in alaska and opening offshore sites and building new refineries is pathetic.
nothing should surprise us anymore.

Posted by: Lizard | Jun 20 2008 2:59 utc | 5

Once again a legislative wand is waved over illegal acts, and presto, they become legal. This is how the Vichy Dem leadership works; they make a big show of puffing themselves up and hand over the detestable bill. They are collaborators. Pelosi and Hoyer demostrated what loathesome shits they really are.
There is unlikely to be a reckoning over leadership in the House, until after the Election, and perhaps not even then. But as a friend of mine says, “When they took impeachment off the table, they as much as gave a pass to the crimes that have been committed up till now.

Posted by: Copeland | Jun 20 2008 5:40 utc | 6

Meanwhile…
this little round faced jovial guy,is responcible for A US House of Representatives Resolution effectively requiring a naval blockade on Iran…
Oh, and you can thank a dem…

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jun 20 2008 6:06 utc | 7

opps, left this out…
H.CON.RES.362
Title: Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the threat posed to international peace, stability in the Middle East, and the vital national security interests of the United States by Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and regional hegemony, and for other purposes.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jun 20 2008 6:08 utc | 8

The combined oil revenues of Saudi, Kuwait and UAE will exceed $17T this year,
more than $3T greater than the entire GDP of the United States, even with Fed
printing presses set to “HIGH”, and every discount window swindle they can rig.
One Dubai-based developer Emaar Properties has more than $100 billion worth of international projects in the pipeline, a senior executive said on Wednesday.
Intuitive observers watching US banking industry see S&Ls inverted by Labor Day.
Small grocers are going down too, as are small farmers, as are retail, in toto.
Those with a sense of the inevitable will begin moving towards the fire exits.
Those trapped in their seats would do well to run mental exercises, towards a
term solution, even if it’s just stocking up on rice, flour and pinto beans.
When the run starts, if it does, you’re fookted if you don’t hold a wad of cash.

Posted by: Mos Portum | Jun 20 2008 7:23 utc | 9

OBAMA TAKES PROGRESSIVES FOR GRANTED. PERIOD.
THEY’RE ALL P0LITICIANS.

Posted by: DonS | Jun 20 2008 23:59 utc | 10

Sen. Kit Bond this morning on NPR:
“When the Government tells you to do something, I think you all recognize, uh, that that is something that you need to do.”
uh, Heil?

Posted by: shockley | Jun 21 2008 1:44 utc | 11

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