Lawbreaking Is Now the Law
The Senate earlier this afternoon passed the so-called “compromise” FISA bill, 69-28. Obama voted yes; Hillary Clinton voted no. Obama and Clinton also voted yes and no, respectively, on the vote to invoke cloture (which ended debate on the legislation and allowed the Senate to vote on the bill itself). Three separate amendments concerning the telecom immunity provision failed. The first, and strongest, amendment, would have stripped immunity from the bill. The second one would have delayed immunity to allow the Supreme Court to determine whether the NSA spy program is constitutional. The third (and weakest) amendment called for the immunity provision to take effect only upon completion of an audit of the NSA program by the Inspector General.
Obama voted for all three amendments (as did Clinton), but Obama’s yes votes were merely for show. They became meaningless the moment he voted for cloture, and then joined Senate Republicans in approving the underlying legislation.
Glenn Greenwald has two massive posts on the shameful proceedings (the second is linked from the first). There really is no need to go elsewhere, because his pieces have all the details, all the authoritative commentary, and all the links to additional information that you might need.
It is minimally comforting to know that my senator, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, voted for all the amendments, and against the final bill. One source of anger and outrage that I am spared from having to feel.
I also want to say here that Glenn deserves all of our thanks and appreciation for his unending, consistent, and truly fierce efforts to keep this issue front and center, not to mention the work he has done to prevent this disastrous legislation from passing. He, and the folks at Firedoglake — in particular, Jane Hamsher and Christy Hardin Smith — have labored tirelessly to inform and advocate on FISA and warrantless surveillance. The fight to hold the betrayers of the Constitution accountable continues; for more on that, you can start here.
John McCain, the Bush Administration, and Iraq
Interesting developments going on over the past few days vis à vis plans and agreements for Iraq’s future. On Monday, Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, announced that he wanted to work out a timeline for withdrawal of U.S. troops:
Wingnuts Want Addington in the Witness Protection Program After Delahunt Joke
The right’s hypocrisy is on display again in its unhinged reaction to Rep. Delahunt’s attempt at humor on the House floor today:
So the richest, most technologically advanced nation in the world…
You know, us.
How do we deal with flooding? It seems to be a problem. In 1993, the Midwest got trashed by rising river waters spilling over their banks. In 2005, New Orleans met Katrina and the latter won. And now that this summer is in full swing, the Midwest is flooded again. And how are we dealing with it? What technology has America employed?
Sandbags.
Piling On
As John and Jed pointed out earlier, John McCain’s “official campaign website” is apparently home to all sorts of hate filled vitriol the likes of which we have not seen since, well, yesterday.
More proof that monkeys can indeed type below the fold…
Hopes and Thoughts (again)
The good news that I was hoping for, that Senator Kennedy’s operation was a success, did come through, thankfully. But even while Senator Kennedy has a long and arduous road ahead of him, another long time Democratic fixture in the Senate was hospitalized.
Senator Byrd, 90, was put in the hospital last night due to a high temperature. My hopes and thoughts go out to the Senator. I can only hope that this isn’t anything serious, but… well… at that age I suppose even a high temperature is serious.
I know 90 is a long time to live, but given the events of his life, and how he has come full circle in some regards, one gets the feeling that he’s only just begun. Let’s hope that’s true.
Building Bogeymen
Law, Order, and a Better Society
What makes us a better society? What elevates humankind above the animals in our social machinations? At what point does upholding the law get in the way of justice, and what is the social and moral cost of those laws?
Francis Fukuyama Endorses Obama
Pretty amazing. Francis Fukuyama is well-known both professionally, as an historian, and politically, as a leading neoconservative — although he has been on the outs with that crowd for several years now:
In other news…
Gas is upto $3.96 in my Western Massachusetts neck of the woods. Where’s it at in your twenty? And at this rate, how long will it be before we’re paying $5 a gallon?
Ted Kennedy Falls Ill at His Home; Is Flown to Mass. General Hospital
Sen. Edward Kennedy was rushed to the hospital this morning after falling ill at his home in Hyannisport:
Please, Mr. President, Keep Talking
While it may be overstating things a bit to say that the Democratic party has a serious unity problem right now, it is not an overstatement to recognize that, temporary or permanent, fractures have been formed.
There are plenty of reasons for this, two great candidates, both of whom having done a fabulous job of forming emotional bonds with their supporters, not the least of which. But another, perhaps lesser, contributing factor has definitely played a part.
Explaining Atrios
I really can’t believe I’m about to do this. Read more
MoveOn Is Right On, and the Right Is Wrong
About that MoveOn Mission Accomplished video: Erick at Red State did not like it nearly as much as Kyle did (bolds are all in the original):
Why isn’t winning enough?
The current theme of the primary season being debated breathlessly in the media is the issue of whether Obama can attract white voters. In fact, it has been covered and discussed at some length right here at Comments from Left Field. The fact that Obama has failed to obtain a majority of white primary votes in all except a few states seems to suggest to tas and Michael Tedesco that whites will not vote for him in November.
On the same topic, I noted the following in a McClatchy article:
Elitism, Really John?
Okay, everyone everywhere, it is time to take a breath and come to grips with a single fact; there are some subjects in which some people know more than you do. There are some things that other people can do better than you. A lot of the time, it’s because they study and practice it more than you do. When they offer those services and knowledge to you, they are not being elitist; they are doing what they were trained, practiced at, and paid to do.
VA Suicides Hidden
This is just sad. Dr. Ira Katz, the chief mental health official for the VA, is being called upon to resign as a result of apparently attempting to cover up the number of suicides that have occurred or been attempted whilst under VA care.