If someone from Al Queda, who I presumably did not know, called me, and the topic were other than innocent, I'd call the police, etc. I'd tell them why. I can protect myself from Al Queda phone calls.

Traditionally Big Brother has no faith in the abilities of the populace. Neither does this administration. Big Brother is them.

The US system is built on checks and balances, not on trust. Mr Bush not only is resisting balances, he is resisting checks. At the very least every president should have an opposition party member or balanced observer looking over the shoulder to make sure that the president is not abusing power.

Like millions of Americans who trust no president, least of all Mr Bush, the very fact that he is not willing to have oversight of his operations leads me to believe that he is up to no good. If everything he was doing was above board, he would have no objection to oversight and would be working with Congress and the courts to have true oversight and make it work. The very fact of conducting operations without proper checks and balances erodes the trust that many Americans have in the system and rightly so.

With the FISA court as deferential to the Executive branch as it has been in the past, and with the number of warrants which were denied or modified having gone up during the first Bush term, one really does wonder what they're up to.

I doubt what they're saying publicly is anywhere near the full scope of what they're doing.

The funny thing here as usual most people miss the entire issue here. Its not to what level or extent eavesdropping or data monitoring are permissible and useful to the nation. There has actually been a very healthy national debate on this topic over the past two weeks.

The entire issue is simply whether a president has the right or power to decide this issue by himself

NO not in a democracy, not something that points do deeply into the moral values of this country

this is where he has gotten himself into deep congressional problems, they dont take kindly to being ignored and circumvented. NOr does the constitution allow they be.

MB

Superb essay Steve. Why can't congressional Dems pound the same themes? They have been remarkably silent, given the threat that the democracy now faces.

So, let me get this straight. Our "Demander In Chief" says he is monitoring phone calls from known al Qaeda members to American citizens, to protect us from terrorists. Right.

Does that mean the NSA is monitoring the Bush family conversastions with the Bin Laden family? That is definitely a known connection to Al Qaeda, Mr Numero Uno, to be precise. A lot closer connection than most of the people we are currrently torturing in secret locations.

This claim of having to spy on us to protect us is as illogical as his nonsense about fighting the terrorists where they live. They lived in Saudi Arabia, not Afghistan or Iraq.

When it was reported that Darth Cheney made a surprise visit to Iraq, I figured he was carrying sacks of bucks to the Iraqi equivalent of Katherine Harris, to make the count come out to Chalabi, but they just by-passed all the paper ballot nonsense and went directly to the guy who appointed Chalabi as Minister of Oil, again. Apparently, when the previous Minister of Oil, Uloom? returned from a 30 day vacation, he found a note advising him to take another 30. He resigned and "Voila, Chalabi" is pulled out of tha hat again and plopped into the "oil driver" seat. I wonder if they used all the missing oil for food money?

The question that keeps knawing at my brain is...

As Commander in Chief IF he possesses the "inherent authority" to suspend laws, IF he can suspend FISA at his whim and in secret, then what law can he NOT suspend?

What need is there to pass or not pass ANY law (such as the Patriot Act)if any or all of its provisions can be secretly exceeded by the President?

Why have a Congress or even a Judiciary at all?

Gosh Steve, it seems you are finally waking up to the situation we are in. Do you really doubt now the lengths these people will go to to STAY in power now that you are seeing the lengths they have gone to to EXCERCISE that power?? And like Sonate has queried, WHERE THE HELL IS THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP??? Failing to hold Bush accountable for each successive travesty has now produced a regime that views itself as totally beyond the law. And the arrogance and disdain for our nation's tenets is growing daily. This son of a bitch Bush and that abomination Cheney have no intention of observing law, nor of ceding power by honest polling. These bastards will have to be PRIED from power by the American people. And if we are to do so it will not be by partisan business as usual. Obviously the Democratic leadership has failed us entirely. What do you think of the mewling coward Reid now, Steve? Seen Phase Two yet?? Why would we? Did you see them demand the missing two thousand pages of the Taguba report after they were never produced as promised?? Where are the Abu Ghraib photos that were mandated for release by the courts?? Why WOULD'NT the Bush regime hold themselves increasingly above the law when they are not taken to task by the representatives of the people? Christ, where was the hew and cry when Gonzales flagrantly, arrogantly, and openly committed FELONY PERJURY by lying during his confirmation hearings about his role in getting Bush excused from jury duty in order to hide Bush's drunk driving arrest? Good God, if we can stand idly by as a nominee for Attorney General commits obvious perjury, what more to we EXPECT, or DESERVE, when an administrartion holds itself above the law?

International Operator: okay al-Qaeda, go ahead.
al-Qaeda: New York? This is al-Qaeda calling. You'll have to excuse us but, we're laughing at your stupidity. We won and you have to admit that we didn't have to do very much at all. The implosion of American democracy is a pure joy to witness. Serves you right for all of your interventionist and imperial foreign policies. That president of yours is quite the dummy, no? Besides, this has never been about al-Qaeda or terrorism. This has only ever been about fascism and the end of American democracy. Tell us America, how do you like your police state? We laugh at your arrogance and your ignorance.

No one wants to point out the elephant in the room. Bush is spying on opponents of his regime. If you think this eavesdropping is limited to al Queda you're deluded. Senate and House members of both parties are having their phones, e-mails and other items monitored by Bush. Crazy? You think not? OK, you're on, my next year's wages against yours. Oh, a little reticent in your denials now? That's what I thought.

POA

Your diatribe against the Democratic Leadership is totally unfair. It should be redirected to the Republican Leadership in Congress because Repubicans are the ones running Congress. The Democratic Leadership has been very vocal about the abuse of power. In case you haven't noticed, the Democrats are totally out of power. We have a one party state at the moment. So where is the Democratic leadership? Out of power. There is nothing Democrats can do about it except issue press releases. The Democrats have not been "remarkably silent" on this issue. The Democrats have been remarkably vocal.

Democrats do not control either House of Congress. The Democrats have no power to hold hearings. The Democrats have no power of subpoena. The last time Democratic Congressman John Conyers wanted hearings, he had to hold them unofficially in a broom closet.

The Republicans hold all the strings to power in Washington. The Republicans have their own media outlets FoxNews/Rush and Conservative Talk Radio/Matt Drudge and a host of right wing website PLUS the bully pulpit of the WhiteHouse.

People (or political parties) that have no power don't get heard by the mainstream media. So even though the Democrats have been outspoken, they don't make it on to the airwaves much because DEMOCRATS HAVE NO POWER. If you want to hear from Democrats on these issues, then Democrats have to have a power base. The only way for the Democrats to be heard is to elect enough Democrats so Democrats can control one or more houses of Congress. Expect the media to continue to ignore the Democrats unless the Democrats can make substantial gains in the 2006 election.

Maybe the Democrats are to blame for not getting enough votes. However, it is unfair to blame Democrats for failing to use power that they don't have. This is all the Republicans fault because they have all the power. The Republicans have the power to act. It is the fault of the Republicans for not doing so.

Today James Risen's 'State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration'hits the bookstores. This is, of course, the same James Risen who broke the NSA surveillance story in the NYT in mid-December. Risen has been researching the book for over a year and it promises to reveal even more explosive details about the Bush administration's spying.

Steve, I'm surprised that this whole NSA story hasn't been connected more to John Bolton's personal request for NSA intercepts of US government officials. This became a major problem for both Bolton and the administration in Bolton's confirmation hearings. And, as we know, the administration refused to cooperate in any way with the Senate on releasing any info on these intercepts. I think we can see in retrospect that they were trying to protect information about the whole NSA/US surveillance project from becoming known at that time. In the Bolton case, the intercepts had nothing to do with Al Qaeda but instead were involved (at this point just conjecture) with receiving intercepted telephone calls made by Powell and Bill Richardson, to name two. If my memory serves accurately, Bolton requested ten to twelve NSA intercepts.

In any case, I'm really looking forward to Risen's book. With any luck we'll gain an even clearer view of the players involved and their actions.

PS: And another controversy for the NYT. It looks like the NYT wasn't being particularly valiant in breaking the NSA story (after sitting on it for a year). They knew Risen's book was coming out and therefore had no reason to hold back any longer, in fact couldn't hold back any longer. It would have looked pretty bad to be scooped on this by one of their own reporters!

"Your diatribe against the Democratic Leadership is totally unfair. It should be redirected to the Republican Leadership in Congress because Repubicans are the ones running Congress. The Democratic Leadership has been very vocal about the abuse of power. In case you haven't noticed, the Democrats are totally out of power. We have a one party state at the moment. So where is the Democratic leadership? Out of power. There is nothing Democrats can do about it except issue press releases. The Democrats have not been "remarkably silent" on this issue. The Democrats have been remarkably vocal."

Oh bullshit. Were you off the planet when Kerry ABANDONED his supporters by an early concession, and his failure to support Conyers efforts tio expose the FRAUD in Ohio??? Blackwell ate Kerry's balls for breakfast. The Democratic leadership, since, has been compliant and subservient, with few exceptions.

"Democrats do not control either House of Congress. The Democrats have no power to hold hearings. The Democrats have no power of subpoena. The last time Democratic Congressman John Conyers wanted hearings, he had to hold them unofficially in a broom closet."

Yeah, and where was Reid during that occassion??Hillary??? Kerry???? Pelosi??? Why is it that a PRIVATE CITIZEN, Bev Harris, has done more to expose the Diebold story than all the democratic leadership combined??

Why haven't the Dems signed on to Conyers recent efforts to investigate and possibly impeach??? Only eight Dems thus far have signed on to his resolution. And if they don't have the balls to sign on, couldn't they AT THE VERY LEAST recognize his efforts in their public statements??

If you are happy with the representation you are getting from these damned cowards, then you aren't paying attention.

Picking up SaraBeth's point and questions about "inherent authority" and laws, my brain is wondering what does dubbya, condi and others mean with all their rhetoric about our democracy adhering to "the rule of law"?

What am i missing?

Why have a Congress or even a Judiciary at all?

Posted by SaraBeth

Cheney and Bush are most assuredly asking themselves that same question.

Didn't Saddam bypass Iraqi law and enforce his own will on the people of Iraq? Let's see, we have a president who defied the majority of the world and the UN to invade Iraq, he ignores congress (not like they have really been fighting him), his administration endorses torture, peaceful opponents of his policies are spied on, hmmm...

i cant understand why everyone is so surprised after all thats why we call it the "bush crime family" oh and the democrats are no better sure they will moan and groan (at least until the next news cycle) but at the end of the day they go along with shrubs police state policies - pat buchanan said it best years ago paraphrasing pat he said that there is no difference in the democrat and republican parties that they are just two wings of the same great bird of prey.

Winter in America
(after Steve Earle’s “Christmas in Washington”)

It’s winter-time in America, the Democrats rehearse,
Getting into gear for three more years, of things just getting worse.
The Republicans drink whisky, kneel, and thank their lucky stars,
They’ve yet to be indicted, and end up behind bars.

I sit home by the Rio Grande, just starin’ at the stream,
An uneasy feeling in my heart, I’m wonderin what it means,
So come back Woody Gutherie, come back Che Guevara,
Tear your eyes from paradise, and rise again somehow,
And if you run into Jesus, maybe he can help you out,
Come back Che and Woody to us now,

I followed in your footsteps once, back in my travelin’ days,
Somewhere I failed to find your trail, now I’m stumbling thru the haze,
But there’s killers on the highway now, and a man can’t get around,
So I sold my soul for wheels that role, now I’m stuck here in this town.
So come back Che and Woody, come back to us now,
Tear your eyes from paradise, and rise again somehow,
And if you run into Jesus maybe he can help us out,
Come back Che and Woody to us now.

There’s foxes in the hen house now, and cows out in the corn,
The People have been busted, and our proud banners torn,
To listen to the radio you’d think that all was well,
But you and me, and most folks know, its going straight to hell.
So come back Majhatma Gandi, and rise up old Joe Hill,
The baracades are coming down and they cannot shake our will,
So come back to us Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King,
We’re marching into DC now, let the bells of Freedom ring.
So come back Woody Gutherie, come back Che Guevara, tear your eyes from paradise, and rise again somehow.

Bush has declared a permanent state of war in which he as Commander in Chief has inherent power to do "whatever it takes" to "protect" Americans. Whether he thinks it's his duty or not, he is violating the oath he so often refers to, in which he swore to "protect and defend THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITIED STATES. The Constitution, like those Vietnamese villages and heretics of old, obviously has to be burned to be "saved".

The tendency in this Administration towards a "Unitary" form of government is strong but the genius of checks and balances is that it is based on competing interests. Bush's presidency has so deeply violated the interests of the Judiciary and the Legislative Branches that we can expect their instituional interests to push back equally hard. In this regard our democracy hangs very much in the balance.

I finally have located a number that goes DIRECTLY to Reid's office. I implore ALL of you to make it known that you EXPECT AND DEMAND that the Democratic leadership climb on board with Conyers, IMMEDIATELY AND TOTALLY, and support investigations and possible impeachment. Conyers MUST HAVE the support of not only concerned citizens, but that of his colleagues as well. LET REID KNOW THAT AMERICA IS WATCHING, AND THAT HE IS PAID TO REPRESENT OUR INTERESTS.

His office is closed today, but will be open tomorrow, Tuesday. Be sure to ask why his blog has been closed to comment as well. Oh, and, ask him when we can expect Phase Two, as well as the "missing" two thousand pages of the Taguba Report, and the Abu Ghraib photos that have not been released in DEFIANCE of a court order. You might want to ask him, as well, when we can expect a televised press conference, with ALL the deomcratic leadership in attendance, demanding that Bush be held responsible for his FLAGRANT violation of law in ordering the NSA wiretaps.

Reid's office number....

702-388-5020

Steve, your challenges to Bush are in line with a serious proposal I have---well, it's serious, but I can't imagine it happening. My idea is simply that some public elected officials---at least the President and members of Congress---must demonstrate basic proficiency before even being allowed to run. It is the literacy test in reverse. There is no democratic way of disqualifying poorly educated voters, but I don't see any constitutional problem with requiring candidates to be qualified; if there is, then we need a constitutional amendment. No one should be allowed to run for President without passing exams in civics, US history, and economics---at a bare minimum. I would like to see some very basic science included as well, such as understanding exponential decay models, which are ubiquitous and whose understanding is necessary for many public policy questions.

Can this be done? Why not?

Why can't congressional Dems pound the same themes?

Frankly,,,, I think that the Dems are waiting for the Abramhoff fallout and the fruit of it. Then I trust that they will be going after the Administration. But our country and the beliefs of our nation all hinge on one supreme court nomination. If Alito gets the nod, he will tip the court to the far right and this Administration will not be held accountable for any of its crimes.

I like your idea Marky, and hey wtf lets make it retroactive.

Lol.. steambomb, why don't we make the Constitution itself retroactive for the last 5 years.

I have been thinking about a comparison between the current governments of China and the US. My focus is on the huge engineering projects that China is undertaking now: the dam, water diversion to the north, and massive hydroelectric power creation. I believe that together they constitute the three largest engineering projects in human history;for certain, the dam will be the largest ever--probably by an order of magnitude.
Suppose any of the recent US governments gained control of China, and then imagine if these projects could have been undertaken. I think almost certainly they would not have happened, and if they did, the level of graft would be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.
What is the meaning of this? These projects in China will totally revolutionalize life for the better. The cost/benefit analysis is staggeringly positive on the benefit side, and yet our system of government could not possibly carry out these projects.

There are many angles from which to look for flaws. I see the character of our campaigns, which use the most advanced advertising and psychology research to prey on the "blink" intuitions of people, are tremendously deleterious. Of course, people here are poorly educated, but that is not easy to fix.
The result of these two influences is that incompetent, venal leaders are elected---almost exclusively. So, I reasoned that perhaps we can tackle the problem with my proposal above.
The whole premise that elections are equivalent to democracy is in doubt, in my mind, and certainly the idea that elections choose even middlingly mediocre candidates is "risible", as conservatives like to say. In many countries, public leaders, whether elected or appointed, are assumed to have had rigorous training in governance itself. Such a system has its own problems, but I think we need to consider a remedy to our own hugely flawed selection system now.

No matter how much some people are pissed at Bush, the country still needs a government. I think that holding up the (un) Patriot act to prevent abuses of power was a brilliant victory. The president is still powerful and Americans may be ready to clip his wings, but we are not yet up for impeachment.

A huge risk to Bush politically from all this is further loss of credibility; he had previously reassured Americans that FISA was being complied with. So I hope he keeps on lying about it.

Trying to "blame" the Republican Congress (or the upcoming new improved SCOTUS) for the abuses makes as much sense as hoping Cheney and Bolton act as restraints on Bush. I do blame Democrats:they should not be in Washington, but in their districts and states explaining to their constituents that we are now in a dictatorship. And we are, they have simply not yet needed to exercise their full range of powers because of the enabling by the Washington establishment.

Steve:"Who cares what you think?"

Whatcha gonna do about it.

Great work, Mr Clemons.

Even before reading your post, it occurred to me, not for the first time, to consider the differences between patriotism and nationalism. Because it seems to me that American patriots support America via democracy, and that American nationalists support America via the raw of virtue of it being their Fatherland.

Some interesting links:
http://yglesias.typepad.com/matthew/2005/02/patriotism_and_.html
http://sciencepolitics.blogspot.com/2005/07/nationalism-is-not-patriotism.html
http://www.americasvoices.org/archives2003/AdamsJ/AdamsJ_012503.htm

"Allo ABCD? This is XYZ from dormant terrorist cell #3 in Florida. How are you you guys from dormant terrorist cell #26 in Kansas doing? It is safe to talk, you know. The NSA only monitor INTERNATIONAL communications. Domestic communications are safe."

If anyone believes that the NSA does not monitor domestic communications, then he/she is smoking something really powerful.

The whole point of Bush's decision to allow monitoring without warrants is to be able to spy on everybody, suspected terrorists, political opponents, and ordinary citizens engaged in subversive activities such as attending Quaker meetings...

We are not safe from this nutcase. God only knows what he and Cheney are going to dream up in the next three years. I am sure that they are already trying to figure out how to get out of Bush's term limit.

Bush broke the law. He is not above the law. It is high time that We the People remind him, through impeachment proceedings, that the U.S.A. is a democratic Republic, not an absolute monarchy. Though these days, you would not know it by just looking at it...

Remember PW Botha? "Security," he justified, "decent citizens of South Africa have nothing to fear. True patriots will understand." And when those decent citizens became overly sensitive about State incursions into their private affairs, PW up-levelled the bogey: It would become "total onslaught." Of course there was also Frank Talk. Founding Father of the blog. I write what I like.

"If somebody from al Qaeda is calling you, we'd like to know why."

Shouldn't there be a Do Not Call List for al Qaeda? They could set up the list, wait a few months, and then investigate all those who do not sign up.

Steve's mention of the Soviet system is what I keep thinking about. Orwell was writing about a Soviet-like system, I thought. Putin's tactics of manipulating the Russian media are crude, but it seems the US is manipulating the press in Iraq and the US using more subtle measures, the motivation being the same.

I have to agree that based on the politicization of the Bush Administration, it seems inevitable that political enemies are being spied on as well as national enemies. Toles's cartoon says it well here: Toles Dec 18

Our local Jon Carroll has nicely summarized the issues in his latest column:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/01/02/DDG5TG01E31.DTL

including this:

"When will the war on terror be over?

The fight against terror is eternal. Terror is not a nation; it is a tactic. As long as the president is fighting a tactic, he can use any means he deems appropriate. "

Well said, and I would add, in response to Bush's comment reported in the WaPo, No, the American People did not elect you to protect us. Those who did elect you (if you were legally elected, a premise I do not admit), elected you to be President of the U.S. subject to all the limitations of office and rights of the electors. So get with it.

Great post, Steve. The anger and furor has died down a bit over the holidays and we need to make sure we get it cranked back up so the President feels the love upon his return to Washington.

I'm interested in hearing why some people who agree that Bush should be stopped do not support impeachment? What is the better/best option, besides waiting until 2008?
- No judgement intended, I'm just curious.

Here is Capital Hill Blue's take:

"Time to impeach a President
By DOUG THOMPSON
Jan 2, 2006, 08:26

I’ve always felt impeachment is the nuclear option of politics; a drastic action we call in after all else fails. That’s why I’ve been reluctant to call for the impeachment of President George W. Bush.

No longer. The reckless, arrogant actions of the man leave me with no choice but to consider that final solution.

Time to impeach the son of a bitch.

I don’t come to this conclusion lightly. Impeachment is a divisive process that all too often tears the country apart. Only two Presidents have actually been brought to trial before Congress under the impeachment process: Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Both were impeached more for political dislike than actual crimes against the Constitution.

Richard Nixon resigned from office after the joint Congressional committee investigating Watergate voted to recommend impeachment and avoided, in all likelihood, becoming the first President to be both impeached and convicted. Resignation was a rare, honorable moment in Nixon’s tattered political career.

But we cannot expect such honor from George W. Bush. Honor is not part of his modus operandi, as absent as honesty in a career marked by lies, corruption and abuse of the public trust.

Bush’s arrogance by continuing his illegal spying on Americans by the federal government is just his latest high crime against the Constitution, a document which he blithely dismisses as “just a goddamned piece of paper.”

At the very least, Bush is a reckless, irresponsible leader, one who led this nation to invade another country in a war based on fabricated reasons, a man who has sent more than 2,000 Americans and countless Iraqi civilians to their deaths while hiding behind a rationale based on a lie.

At worst, he is a war criminal, a power-crazed despot who could go down in history as a mass murderer. History will determine the final legacy of George W. Bush and I doubt seriously that history will be kind to a political figure of his ilk.

I’m not here to deal with the possibilities of the future but instead with the realities of now and that requires swift, decisive action against a dictatorial madman who threatens all of our futures.

Six months ago, when the Downing Street Memo surfaced, I said Bush should be impeached if it was true. I later backed off. I was wrong. He needs to go. I’m not sure America can survive three more years with Bush driving the ship of state.

I’m not sure we can survive three more years of corrupt control of Congress by a party that circles the wagons to protect criminals like Tom DeLay and then drops its collective trousers, grabs its ankles and allows itself to be gleefully screwed by fatcat lobbyists and cash-rich special interest groups.

I’m not sure we can wait for the electorate to take action because the electorate has been pretty damn dumb and stupid for too long and given us too many miscreants living in the White House and wandering the halls of Congress.

Let’s start the New Year by impeaching the criminal at the top of this corrupt pyramid scheme and then work our way down through the sordid pile. Indict Vice President Dick Cheney for bribes he paid and the money he laundered while Chairman of Halliburton. Send Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to prison for insider trading. Put former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay under the jail.

Time to send a message to the cabal of greed and corruption that has taken over our government and tell them that their ass is grass and we’ve got a bunch of lawn mowers fully gassed and ready to start cutting.
© Copyright 2005 by Capitol Hill Blue"

Impeachment is the Legislative Branch establishing complete supremacy over the executive. Threat of impeachment already gave us one never elected president, Gerald Ford, the former House MInority Leader. Impeachment is not to be used lightly, the way the GOP House did in 1998.

Basically, Americans want government to govern, not to get involved in partisan infighting. Bush was barely re-elected because many were fed up with his partisan unilateralism.

Impeachment could happen unless a new Congress controlled by Democrats is elected. Do you think the Republican Leadership in the House even cares to hold Bush accountable? let alone start hearings far short of impeachment? Impeachment has to start with the House, and this bunch would never walk that path. Forgeddaboutit. After the 2006 election, even if Democrats took the House, impeachment would be a drawn out affair that would not be completed until probably 2008, the start of the election cycle. Impeachment would be a repeat of the 1998 political circus and interfere with governing. A new Democratic controlled Congress would first need to establish with the American People that it was capable of governing. Serving up the nuclear option on the Executive right off the bat would not be a good way to govern. It would be simpler to take control Bush excesses through control of the purse strings. This is the greatest failure of Congress since 2001.

"Basically, Americans want government to govern, not to get involved in partisan infighting. Bush was barely re-elected because many were fed up with his partisan unilateralism."

Again, BULLSHIT. Bush was re-elected because Kerry ran an ineffective and incompetent campaign. Couple that with the indisputable fraud that occurred in Ohio, and voila, Monkey Boy gets to crap on the White House carpets for another 4 years. The Democratic leadership has been handed all the ammo they needed to BURY this guy and his handlers, and have failed to take the initiative about ANY of the key issues. Good God, the Gannon thing alone, if properly exploited, could have wrested the majority of the Christian right out of Bush's camp. Instead, VERY FEW American are even AWARE that a GAY WHORE was doing sleepovers in the West Wing. This son of a bitch not only NEEDS to be impeached to restore some dignity to the office, he really should see some time in a federal penetentiary. And really, that ISN'T ENOUGH. This bastard has set us back DECADES in many respects, not the least of which is the hard won environmental protections that he has dismantled. I find the limp wristed opposition to these people, such as that you voice, PATHETIC. Time to grow some balls, Bakho, and throw these lying treasonous criminals out of OUR White House. Impeach him??? YOU BET!!! Then indict the son of a bitch for failing to fullfill his oath of office to uphold and defend our constitution.

http://161.188.204.78/DNBlog/oldmt-comments.cgi?entry_id=2615

An excerpt;

"But, in the absence of a sustained and unrelenting "push back" on behalf of truth, justice, and accountability from the Democratic leadership, many -- if not most -- Americans will believe the Bush lies that they hear blaring from their television sets.

It's that simple. He may get away with breaking the law, again.

To those Democratic leaders who "cower in politically-calculated caution" based on the notion that Bush has the bully pulpit and that they can't change American public opinion by proclaiming the truth until the lies are buried in the rubble of Bushevism, we say remember that Newt Gingrich turned Congress from Democratic to Republican under a Democratic president.

And Gingrich grabbed onto two media messages like a junkyard dog; 1) He alleged that the Democrats in Congress were corrupt; and 2) He ran a national campaign (not 435 separate campaigns), based on a phony "Contract With America" that was fashioned by polling and focus groups conducted primarily by Frank Luntz.

The Democrats don't even need to allege that the Republicans in Congress are corrupt; the GOP Capitol Hill Corruption is oozing out of the Capitol Dome. Most of the Democratic "leaders," like the hapless Joe Biden on a recent Sunday morning pundit fest discussing Tom DeLay, claim they don't know much about it. The abundant and corrosive Republican corruption has been given to the Democrats lying on a platter. All they have to do is start carving the turkey up."

So the question remains, what was Bush really doing, who was he really spying on, and why is he now lying about it?

help stop this country from becoming a fundamentalist theocracy aiding and abetting a kleptocratic war profiteering police state that continues to remove civil liberties from americans on the premise of fighting a never ending war on a transitive adverb

ø¤º°°º¤ø¤º°°º¤ø¤º°°º¤ø¤º°°º¤ø¤º°°º¤ø

go wake someone up

The facts that bush defend his unauthorized electronic eavesdropping, does show another scary side of this psychopath. The question is what else did this “dictator” have done or have in mind for us? What’s next?
This man who tells us that GOD talk to him, profess to be religious, pro-life , anti women right to chose but as a governor of Texas put more people to death and does not care to send our youth to die in his illegal war.

Here are some quotes of George Bush which seem timely; (from The Left Coaster)

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier...just as long as I'm the dictator..."
--Washington, DC, Dec 18, 2000, during his first trip to Washington as President-Elect

"You don't get everything you want. A dictatorship would be a lot easier."
George Bush Describing what it's like to be governor of Texas.
(Governing Magazine 7/98)

"A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it."
(Business Week, July 30, 2001)

WHERE THE HELL IS THE DEMOCRATIC LEADERSHIP??? They have been shut out by the corporate Medias. This was mentioned at the Downing Street Memo’s hearing that Congressman John Conyers held last year. That was showed on C-span while never mention on CNN. Go to his site. “He is demanding a censure for Bush and Cheney in addition to the creation of a special Committee to investigate “Impeaching” the Bush administration for widespread abuses of power.”
He also did hearings on voter’s fraud in 2004. That is probably the 3 or more election that have been stolen. They do have proof that 2004 was stolen in Ohio and other States. Kerry gave up to quickly and felt into their trap there was not recount
We need to make sure that our vote will be counted this year or it will be stolen again.

Bakho I agree with you. I do get my real news at free speech TV at Inn report and Democracy Now and C-span.

marky How about a so call flying pilots who score 1 point more than to dumb to fly but was put in the National Guard and sent other in Vietnam because his name was Bush. ( Gregg Palast)

Is my pet goat reading with no reaction on 911, the invasion of Iraq for imminent treats, WMD’s, War is over, insurgents, better to kill over there than here, the Palmegate, we are bringing democracy in Iraq, The stolen elections, no veto to all those crazy laws voted by this super crazy congress, tortures, renditions and now we know that he thinks he is the leaders that he thinks that he is above the law is not a candidate for IMPEACHMENT?

A "limited" program - if true - would not be constrained by the existing FISA law. And it were limited, then why not go before Congress to request a change in the law?

There's one of two things going on here, and both of them are bad news:

1) The program really wasn't/isn't so limited.

2) The President is trying to subvert the Constitution by blatantly - and illegally - grabbing power that he is not authorized to have.

And the more I think about it, I suspect that BOTH of the above are going on. Double trouble, if you will.

We and our Constitution are under attack. Forget the "terrorists". We've got our own terrorists occupying the White House.

Not Stupid....

John Conyers' IS NOT the "democratic leadership". If you ask ten people who John Conyers is, more than half will be unable to tell you. The fact that John Conyers was ushered to a basement room for his "hearings" is testiment to what I am saying. Who in the purported leadership supported Conyers efforts??? Kerry??? Hillary??? Biden??? Lieberman???

On EVERY key issue that Conyers' has pursued, his own party has deserted him. Where are the mewling cowards now?? Only eight have signed on to his resolution, and they are certainly not eight whose names are widely recognized.

I want to see UNIFIED opposition to these bastards in the White House. That means press conferences with ALL the democratic leadership in attendance, voicing a UNIFIED cry for accountability, LOUDLY AND FORCEFULLY. You can cite the sins of the Bush Administration until hell freezes over, but unless the Democrats offer us something more than the feeble opposition they have offered thus far, we will have no hope of prying these fanatics out of the White House. Conyers is on the right track, but he is there ALONE, and the simple truth is he can't do it alone.

I just read an article about a mistake that cost a woman 3 weeks in jail:

http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/3932002

I can think of a more bizarre yet highly probable mistake: one of Usama's grandchildren playing on his phone and dialing a US number, resulting in the called citizen being labeled an enemy combatant.

I don't want George defining anything in my life.

that trackback url should be:

http://dragonballyee.blogs.com/philly/2005/12/flour_or_coke.html

does anyone know how to use trackback urls? I always seem to screw them up...

"Bush was re-elected because Kerry ran an ineffective and incompetent campaign."

AN OUTRIGHT LIE.

The only reason why the R party owns all the powers is because they STOLE EVERY ELECTION SINCE 1999.

We've caught them doing it. We've proven that the secret electronic voting system that Bush-backing R companies installed IN THIRTY STATES, systems which failed to provide a recount right, are not secure. We have caught the voting-fraud companies breaking their contracts, again and again, such as when Diebold foisted illegal software on California in 2003, statewide.

But in Ohio 2004, we CAUGHT Triad systems changing out the circuit boards in the counting computers across the state. We CAUGHT Triad profering fake numbers to be reported.

Gonzales' Justice Dept couldn't care less. They don't do felonies.

As for 'cowards,' why don't YOU go face down machine gun fire to save your fellow sailors? Kerry's silver star is for bravery.

What's yours for?

"On EVERY key issue that Conyers' has pursued, his own party has deserted him."

Why don't you ask HIM about that? He will tell you that politics, my son, is a winding road.

He isn't attacking the leadership, and he wouldn't support your overgeneralized attacks on the leadership.

So what should people be doing? Discussion is good, but it seems like some action ought to be taken, by somebody and from what I've been reading on this and other sites, Conyers is the only federal leader trying to do something. I see several online petition sites for impeachment and censure, but there needs to be a movement, like the one that tried to take down Clinton. Why are so many Bush detractors against fighting back, especially since it appears that the law is on our side and not just partican dislike? It will be more difficult to get any movemenr going if those who dislike Bush and want to see justice done are reluctant to take action. I guess we should just wait in 2008. That saddens me.

“The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy” Charles demontesquieu, French politician and philosopher, 1689-1755

"Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve." ' George Bernard Shaw

¨In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.¨
George Orwell

Steve, site looks great but can you change the font? Your new font style is hard for us visually impaired folks. But otherwise looks great.

"The only reason why the R party owns all the powers is because they STOLE EVERY ELECTION SINCE 1999. We've caught them doing it. We've proven that the secret electronic voting system that Bush-backing R companies installed IN THIRTY STATES, systems which failed to provide a recount right, are not secure. We have caught the voting-fraud companies breaking their contracts, again and again, such as when Diebold foisted illegal software on California in 2003, statewide."

Posted by Paul in LA

And where was the "democratic leadership" when Conyers' tried to pursue the voter fraud issue?? How much support did hje get from Kerry? Hillary?? Biden?? Pelosi??? Lieberman???

Why has one PRIVATE citizen, Bev Harris, done more to expose the voter fraud issue, as it applies to the voting machinery, than all the Democratic party combined??

"As for 'cowards,' why don't YOU go face down machine gun fire to save your fellow sailors? Kerry's silver star is for bravery.

What's yours for?"

Posted by Paul in LA

Tell me one key issue that Kerry is currently leading the charge on. Kerry is a joke, he has offered nothing but FEEBLE AND INEFFECTIVE opposition to the Bush Administration. Where is his voice on this NSA thing?

Did you see me attack his 'Nam history?? You won't. So wise up.

"On EVERY key issue that Conyers' has pursued, his own party has deserted him."

Why don't you ask HIM about that? He will tell you that politics, my son, is a winding road.

He isn't attacking the leadership, and he wouldn't support your overgeneralized attacks on the leadership.

Posted by Paul in LA

Of course he is not attacking the leadership. That would serve him how??? They have already made a Pariah out of him. But do you seriously entertain the notion that we should not demand representation from the leadership of the "opposing party", and implore them them to join Conyers' efforts? Do you REALLY mean to state that loud and forceful support, offered by Reid, Pelosi, Boxer, Biden, etc. would not be beneficial, if not pivotally positive, to Conyers efforts? One thing is for sure, his efforts will go NOWHERE without the support of his colleagues, and your brand of purely partisan apologies and excuses for dismal leadership sure as hell won't enlist the help of those colleagues.

Good God, if the dems can't make hay out of the myriad of mistakes, crimes, and clusterfucks that this Administration has committed, than the whole slew of them are incompetents, or worse.

It is not Democracy that Bush needs to define. He would call it "purple fingers."

He would say democracy elected HIM and so, he can do whatever he wants.

FREEDOM is what he needs to define.

Steve and readers ---- i sent this note to the conversation on "legacy-building" by mistake.

Steve and readers of this blog---

Marty Lederman has an interesting item regarding dubbya's statement when he signed the Def. Auth. Bill on Friday. http://balkin.blogspot.com/2006/01/so-much-for-presidents-assent-to.html

Here's some excerpts:

First, with respect to several provisions of the bill, the President signaled his intention to reserve his authority, as Commander in Chief, to ignore statutory mandates. ....

Most importantly, as to the McCain Amendment, which would categorically prohibit cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees by all U.S. personnel, anywhere in the world, the President wrote:

The executive branch shall construe Title X in Division A of the Act, relating to detainees, in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President to supervise the unitary executive branch and as Commander in Chief and consistent with the constitutional limitations on the judicial power, which will assist in achieving the shared objective of the Congress and the President, evidenced in Title X, of protecting the American people from further terrorist attacks.

Translation: I reserve the constitutional right to waterboard when it will "assist" in protecting the American people from terrorist attacks. [UPDATE: Or, as Matthew Franck eagerly puts it over at the National Review, "the signing statement . . . conveys the good news that the president is not taking the McCain amendment lying down."]

Second, the President unsurprisingly signals that the Administration reads the Graham Amendments to cut off currently pending habeas cases, including most importantly the Hamdan case that's now before the Supreme Court and the Al Odah case (Rasul on remand) that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has under review:
.....

Steve,

Best of luck.

Re:"This is a limited program designed to prevent attacks on the United States of America, and I repeat limited," Bush said before flying back to Washington after six days cloistered on his ranch in Crawford, Tex."

-That's funny. If Bush is cloistered at his ranch, does that mean he goes ranching when he visits the cloisters?

What really is sad, is that Bush has used his personality cult to degrade his own base and get them to accept, from him, what they know, in their hearts and heads, to be wrong and weak.

The Hegelian dialect and intrinsic maleficence of the Bush governments bold vision of democracy mangles, morphs, retards, perverts, and insidiously redefines or de-defines the core idea, principles, and constructs of democracy.

In a democracy, the people have actionable representation, certain inalienable rights, protections, priviledges, and freedoms; - there is a vibrant, independent, and unfettered press examining and vetting important news and events and informing the masses; - and leadership is accountable and obligated to serve, advance, promote, and defend the peoples best interests.

Unless and until wise women and men endeavor to question, examine, and define what exactly constitutes this thing called democracy, and then compel leadership to abide by those principles - there is in effect no such thing as democracy.

We can all snipe at this government or that, or slime one leadership, or exalt another, but with no solid ground or definition of democracy to stand on and defend, - all the arguments and lofty banter amount to substantless breath and hollow sounds and meaningless furies, signifying nothing.

We hear the word "democracy" farted out and parroted often, and leadership and the disinformation warriors in the socalled MSM fabricate allusions to, or retadations of the shapeshifting concept of democracy incessantly, - but the practical application, the actionable real world prosecution and/or conveyance, or the actual practicing of this unknown unknown thing called democracy, - if it exist at all, - is a rare and endangered species of government.

The natural born, relatively peaceful "Orange" Revolution" in the Ukraine was a peoples victory and a resounding opportunity to stand up a real democracy.

Yuchenko's administration may dishearten Ukrainians and other interested parties over time, for many myriad unknown unknown reasons and causes, but the spontaneous combustion and parthanogenic eruption of the potential for democracy in the Urkraine, of a government of, by, and for the people, - if only for a flickering ephemeral moment - was an eternal triumph for Ukranians and a shining inspiriation for all freedom loving people.

This unique form of government, a real democracy - a government of, by, and for the peoples is therefore in direct conflict with, and a direct threat to the ambitions and design of keptocratic oligarchies as in Russia under Putin, and facsist totalitarian dictatorships as in America, under the warmongers and profiteers in the Bushg government.

Tragically, the newborn Ukranian democracy did not fair well in the all important developmental stages.

The world, and particularly the warmongers and profiteers in the Bush government, being rather distracted and focused on the horroshow and deluge of blood, treasure, profiteering, and imperialism in the land of the two rivers, - neglected and/or abandoned Yuchenko, and the people of the Ukraine.

"Yuchenko and his Orange Revolution" recieve tellingly little support or acknowledgement from the Bush government. I wonder why?

Russia and Putin will obviously seek to weaken or curb the struggling Ukraine democracy to insure dominance in the region and of the regions vital resources.

Yuchenko's rarely mentioned, never fully investigated, and hideously creepy bug attack proves very powerful forces were and probably are now working to defeat and abort Yuchenko and his Orange Revolution".

The Ukranian military command sided with Uchenko and the peoples, and Orange Revolution was indelibly imbedded into the fabric is history, - but there was and is now little hope for this nebulous thing called "democracy" ever devoloping in the Ukraine, or anywhere else in the wild and violent world of man, - because not one of us knows what this unknown unknown thing called democracy is, or where it can be found. It's is no longer active or functioning in America. Iraq is no democracy. Where or where is this thing called democracy?

It's none of the government's goddamned business when I talk to my long lost cousin Abdul who might just have ties to Al Qaeda. Fuck Bush and fuck anyone who says the government has the right to spy on innocent people like me!

According to Bush and CO, monitoring phone conversations is more important the trying to keep people from illegally walking across our borders into the country with drugs, weapons or anything that may harm the American people.