Can anyone tell me why bad FISA legislation was brought to a vote in the first place? I thought we controlled both the House and the Senate. It isn't as if there haven't been several (almost yearly) adjustments to a law which Bush was been blatantly violating anyway.   Read More »

I begin to think that 95% of all the posts are from Republican trolls. Venom and rabidness are only destructive; they creates only bad feeling and convince no one.

This is supposed to be a mechanism for building our party, not destroying it. Please, vent your anger some other way.

I know you people all feel passionately about your candidates, but there's too much negativity getting thrown about.

Either of our candidates would be WORLDS better than McCain, but you wouldn't know that from reading these blogs. How about we stick to highlighting the good qualities of our candidate and the disaster we'd face with a President McCain.

Before you post a snark about Barack or Hillary, think to yourself whether your post would make Karl Rove smile. From what I've seen lately, he's giggling his lardy butt off.

None of us KNOW what is going to happen with our nominating process, but I can say for sure that there will be only one nominee. Try not to say things which will make it difficult for you to work for the side that ends up winning. Try not to say something which will make it difficult for your fellow bloggers to work happily alongside you.

Please! The Republicans are BRILLIANT at sewing dissent and discontent and using it for their own benefit. They and their captive media are quietly stirring the pot. Don't fall for it. Do what your wise grandmother would have recommended. Say nice things only. Don't do Rove's work for him.

We've got a new legal enabler.

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I can't help noticing that 40 votes would have been enough for a filibuster.

UG

For those wonder whether impeachment has popular support in this country, click the link and read the comments of your fellow citizens. Then click refresh and read more as they pour in.

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All this during a virtual media blackout!

Just as the Justice Department has suffered from politicization and mismanagement for the past 7 years, the State Department is now showing signs of damage.

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This administration is being run by people who want to demonstrate that government cannot operate effectively. They have taken vital, essential public institutions like FEMA, the State Department, the National Guard, and the Justice Department and mismanaged them into the ground.   Read More »

This is a transcript of yesterday's hearing. The questioner is Senator Whitehouse (D-RI).

WHITEHOUSE: Is waterboarding constitutional?

MUKASEY: I donâ??t know what is involved in the technique. If waterboarding is torture, torture is not constitutional.

WHITEHOUSE: "If waterboarding is constitutional" is a massive hedge.

MUKASEY: No, I said, "If it's torture." I'm sorry. I said, "If it's torture."

WHITEHOUSE: "If it's torture." That's a massive hedge. I mean, it either is or it isnâ??t. Do you have an opinion on whether waterboarding, which is the practice of putting somebody in a reclining position, strapping them down, putting cloth over their faces, and pouring water over the cloth to simulate the feeling of drowning. Is that constitutional?

MUKASEY: If it amounts to torture, it is not constitutional.

WHITEHOUSE: I'm very disappointed in that answer â?" I think it is purely semantic.

MUKASEY: Iâ??m sorry.


If he's unwilling to call waterboarding 'torture', then he will not stand up for the law when it conflicts with what Bush wants to do. He should not be Attorney General. We can't trust him.

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I applaud the blocking of this insulting and despicable nomination. This sort of willingness to act on principles and take strong positions is what will win my respect and my vote in the primary.

It is not when we fight and lose that we appear weak, it is when we choose not to fight.

We are right! The American people agree with us. But, they will not respect us as a Party if we fail to fight.

The 2006 election gave us more power, but if we refuse to use it, will they give us more? We must fight for what is right, EVEN IF WE THINK WE WILL LOSE. A loss suffered while fighting for core principles does not weaken us; it makes the case for granting us more power.

The Bush Administration has been remarkably effective at making the American people fearful. Perversely, a fearful person will support a strong leader even if that leader has caused the perilous conditions - if they see no other strong alternatives.

The Bush Administration has unconstitutionally exceeded its authority and imperiled our nation. But, for the past six plus years, it has saved some of its most strident and unwarranted attacks for the Democratic Party. WE KNOW THIS. THE PEOPLE KNOW THIS. We will never be seen as a strong alternative unless we use the power given us in 2006 to defend our principles and punish the rape of our Constitution. We must begin impeachment, EVEN IF WE WILL LOSE. If we refuse to fight for our Constitution, we have already lost it, and we will never be seen as a strong and viable alternative by the fearful segment of our population.

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Here's a letter from the House Justice committee about voter suppression during the 2004 election. Can we put impeachment on the table now?????

What will it take?
Cops tasering students who ask questions?
Blackwater patroling American cities?
Secret Prisons?
Lies about the need for war?
Spying on citizens?
Torture of prisoners?
Refusing subpoenas?
Congressmen with price lists?

Are you waiting for martial law?

Impeachment is mentioned six times in the Constitution, ... for a REASON! When we can't trust the administration to follow the law, do we still have laws?

I find it interesting that NPR, in this morning's coverage of Warren Jeffs' conviction, did not mention that he is the leader of a fundamentalist 'mormon' sect. Do they avoid the word "mormon" becasue of Mitt Romney?   Read More »

Remember these statements? We do. Please tell me why this is acceptable. When we allow the President to do this once without official reprimand, will we ever be able to stop another from doing it again? If you will not act, how will you escape from being seen as complicit? Is the Democratic Party so devoid of lawyers that we can't use the statements below to construct a damning, bullet-proof case? Which Congressman who would dare support a President's claimed right to perpetrate such thorough and base deception could survive a subsequent election? Which Congressman who would dare support a President's claimed right to perpetrate such thorough and base deception is deserving of our trust during negotiations about other important issues?   Read More »