During the last FISAsco in the Senate, when they were getting ready to pass the Rockefeller-crafted, capitulatory, Constitution-raping S.2248, I wrote both of HI's Senators stating my opposition to the bill, especially to the telcom immunity provision.

Both Senators Inouye and Akaka got back to me.  The former's letter, which I'm copying below the fold, is a case study in tortured logic (Akaka's letter was great, btw): Inouye twists himself into a pretzel explaining his vote against the 4th Amendment and against due process in the defense of what used to be considered our "unalienable rights".

Now granted, this letter refers to a slightly different bill than the one we are concerned with today, but the underlying issues are the same, as you will see.

So, if you have the stomach, here's the letter:

Well, as Hillary has got both of her feet in her mouth tonight, one more deceased Democrat has something to say about her invocation of the Bobby Kennedy assassination - an invocation that was made in defense of her hopeless quest to steal the nomination from Barack Obama.  

I'm setting this up in this fashion because this isn't just a random quote from Paul Tsongas; it's a quote that I discovered when wandering through the links that proved the first half of Hillary's notorious RFK comment (the part about Bill's '92 cammpaign still being contested in June) was also unadulterated bullshit.  See, Tsongas dropped out of that race on March 20th, leaving only the quixotic Jerry Brown for Clinton to walk over.
As Bill Clinton's strongest primary rival in the '92 campaign, many thought Tsongas had a good shot at it, but his funraising prowess was no match for the Clinton machine, even in those early, heady days of the New Democrat's ascendancy.  

When he withdrew from the race, he had something to say about it, and it pretty much pins what's left of Hillary's hide to the woodshed.  Go below for the quote.

OK, here goes: my last diary was about Barack's "capitulation" in agreeing to the Wallace interview on Fox, thereby breaking the progessive embargo of that GOP agitprop organ (Hillary's courting of Fox isn't in that category imo, btw).  

I was a bit piqued, to say the least, and the source of my anger was twofold: one, the progressive community had worked its ass off to corral Fox into the RW niche it deserves to occupy, the boycott being one of the main tools in that effort; and, two, I felt that Obama's relenting to the inane "Obama Watch Countdown Clock" would therefore have a net negative effect on his chances in the upcoming (IN and NC) primaries.  I was wrong, period.  My bad.    

I underestimated Barack's ability to bridge divides, and I overestimated Fox's ongoing efficacy in promoting the right wing line.  Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Sorry about that, and sorry for calling those in our camp who can't find fault with Barack's methodology "Obamatons" (though I must admit that I still find the snarky poll in that diary to be one of my finer dkos achievements).

So gloat at will, ye mighty herd of sheep!  (Just kidding, kids)

Recipe for Crow Casserole below!

With apologies to David Letterman's writing crew, mostly because I can't bring myself to make a joke of this; none of these points is even remotely funny.

So fire at will; the "countdown" starts below the fold.

Senator Clinton:

Yesterday you appeared in front of the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review which is owned by the ultra-right-wing billionaire, Richard Mellon Scaife - the same billionaire who led the "vast right-wing conspiracy" (your own words at the time) to smear your name and to Impeach your husband for lying under oath about his affair with Monica Lewinsky.

You chose that venue, the inner sanctum of the media organ of one of the most reactionary and divisive figures of our time, to reveal the depths of your desperation by driving a racial wedge into the Democratic Party. You did this in order to attempt to salvage your floundering candidacy.

With a look of scorn and disgust, you dismissively stated, "He would not have been my pastor," in response to the question of whether you would have left Senator Obama's church because of the comments of his former pastor (which Senator Obama has denounced).

This isn't going to be long.

My guess is that Hillary's days as a Presidential Candidate are numbered, and she can thank "former" Superdelegate and surrogate spokesmodel Elliot Spitzer for that inconvenience.

Think about it for a sec and jump down for a discussion.

NOTE: I'm leaving the original text of the diary intact so as to make sense of the comments below, but please go to the Update at the bottom of the body of the diary for a critical revision.  

Long story short: Bloomberg (and Blitzer) blew it.

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This just in from Bloomberg:

Florida Governor Charlie Crist said he'd support a repeat of the Democratic presidential primary so the state's delegates can be counted at the party's national convention.
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Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said he's open to the possibility. Primary elections are paid for by a state's taxpayers, so the offer from Crist, a Republican, is ``very helpful'' because money is an issue, Dean said.

This is big folks, and I hope Obama's team gets out in front of it by saying, in essense, "Bring it on!"

flippit:

Being on the send lists of several election reform orgs, I expect to see email dribble in from them from time to time.  

Imagine my shock this afternoon when, upon checking my mail, I saw no less than 8 emails from different outfits informing me of the latest twist in the fight against paperless voting in America.

Curious?

Follow me.

words escape me.

(Sorry, I couldn't get it to embed.)

This is gotta be quick, because there's only two hours before the caucuses here in HI start, and Obama supporters need to be aware that the main argument that is going to be made by the Clinton camp in caucuses tonight is their bogus "plagiarism" charge.

Drop down with me below the fold for necessary ammo to take with you!

I participated last night in a diary about the likely upcoming Superdelegate conundrum, which presents Democrats with the prospect of the winner of the "committed" delegate contest (delegates chosen by primary voters and caucus-goers) being overturned by the "Superdelegates" (an offensive concept in and of itself) who are bound by nothing other than their personal whim - and who comprise 20% of the total Convention delegates.

But the debate about the Superdelegate issue isn't what I want to address here.  Rather, I'd like to dispel a talking point that developed in the course of that discussion: that the FL Democratic Party was bound by the decision of the GOP-controlled FL legislature and Governor to a January 29th date for the selection of Democratic Delegates.

Not being one who subscribes to the current victimhood craze, I decided to check for myself as to whether a state Democratic Party could actually be dictated to by the GOP.  Most of you won't be surprised by what I found.

More below.

This will be quick:

There are 4.14 million registered Democrats in FL.  About 40% of them turned out yesterday to vote in a primary that had been ruled months earlier to be moot, meaningless.

So that's a 40% turnout for FL Democrats in what is nationally the most hotly contested Democratic Primary in many decades.  Wow.  Ya think the DNC ruling had anything to do with that?

Flippit.

No, this isn't a reprise of the old Simon and Garfunkel protest tune.  Yech.

This is an actual dream I had, or maybe it was a vision.  

Anyway when I got up this morning I wrote it all down while it was still fresh.

So picture this:

Rest easy, Einstein fans.  No need to break out the slide rules.  

This is a social thought experiment, and it has to do with Blackwater.

The point of the thought experiment is to get you to take a peak outside the box that we have allowed ourselves to be cartoned up in.  That's all.

Just heard this on NPR (5hr delay here in HI) and almost had a cringe-cramp.  

Go to this link and listen (click on the first audio link in the News Conference heading) to the Leader of the Freep World explain in tortured English (spoken and body - the video also has to be a keeper because you can actually, with a good sound system, hear him squirming on the radio feed) why his outright fucking lies are ample reason to praise him.  

All Praise, Oh Cleverest of Presidents!  (caption under the  classic portrait at the link above - quick, someone grab it before Condi makes 'em take it down.)

Then listen (second audio link) as whichever whore Ron Elving grabs the company phallic symbol NPR mic and faithfully regurgitates the criminals' sound-bite explanation attempted cover-up, for trying to sell poisoned, used snake oil.  No sputtering by the press corps of coffee all over the row in front of them when they say blather this shit, either, at least not on tape.

All Praise to Bush the Lessest

I just caught this on AMERICAblog.com, and find it extremely weird and indicative of the truly messed up state of affairs we find ourselves in these days.

The story was scooped by John Aravosis, who got a tip that US State Dept press releases lately have been virtual verbatim copies of News and Wire Service reports from days earlier.

Go to the piece and see for yourselves; it literally is word for word, and there's more than a few incidents, like this one, below the fold for the weirdness:

at this point in time".  

Ok, this is lifebouy time imo, and here's my toss - without so much as an argument for it.  Just laying it out there. If it fits above the flip, that's good enough for now.

Amendment 28 (or whatever)

"Section 1. The prerogative of the President to issue Pardons notwithstanding, no Pardon or Commutation shall be considered valid if issued to reprieve a current or former member of the President's Administration, or a current or former offical in the President's political party.

Section 2. Any Pardon shall be valid only insofar as it applies to a specific conviction against an individual obtained in a Court of the United States."

The day is thick with irony.

The Dalai Lama has been feted at the White House today as (in George W. Bush's words): a "universal symbol of peace and tolerance."  And that would be the same George W. Bush who, on that same day - today - threatened the planet with World War fucking III.  Here is how the certifiable leader of the "free" world put it:

"So I've told people that, if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon," said Bush.

This is way beyond the pale, folks - and I'm not just talking about the insane juxtaposition of the modern Prince of Peace accepting plaudits from the modern Demon of Disaster.  No it is much worse than trenchant, dripping irony.

Do you have any children, family of any kind, friends, people you would miss if something bad happened?  Think about all this for a few minutes (or as long as your brain can bear) and then follow me into the Pit of Dispair.