These are the types of lines that I have been seeing lately and it really makes me sick: Obama moves to the center

This write-up and others similar really diminish the truth in its reporting. The real reason why Gore and Kerry lost is because of the media and the party they represent. When the charges came up that Gore said he invited the internet, the media ran with this republican falsity as a valid issue and easy story. As a democrat, my party did not defend against it full bore. When the swift boat stuff happened, again the media took it on as a valid issue, created questions, and the republicans were right there, writing the script. Now as Obama is being attacked over his religion, patriotism, citizenship, liberalism, non-liberalism, etc. where is my left wing media bias?

Helping the anti-Obama folk out of course. Note: but I do love Webb and the General this time, fighting back baby! In fact, I think they have both exposed themselves as the only 2 viable options at VP, bar none. I just hope that women can find it in their heart to forgive the unforgivable things Webb has said in his past. Its tough.

More after the bump........

Some of you wanted to know what I meant when I wrote something yesterday, but that something disappeared from this site. Here's my explanation.

Below is newsletter from Privacy Forum I subscribe to. The author has given me permission to quote these in toto, given it is published as a public newsletter electronically via a listserv that anyone can subscribe to, and the whole point is, after all, to try and get people to pay attention to the threats to their privacy that loom larger and out of control in our society every day.

There is little to say about it other than, well, is anyone surprised anymore at the arrogance of the corporations like AT&T? They have Congress eating out of their hands after pouring tens of millions of dollars into Congress' pockets.

Congress is going to pass a bill that unconstitutionally exempts them illegally and ex post facto from investigation for their crimes, committed at the behest of the Bush / Cheney administration.

The vast majority have not even read, and do not even know what is in the law that is about to be passed. They just know that in their secret meetings with the telecoms, as the money changed hand's they were assured is was best for them, and of course, best for America.

Ever since the House’s approval of the FISA capitulation and Obama’s subsequent embrace of it, those of us who care about the Constitution, the Fourth Amendment and accountability have been told by many on this site to essentially "sit down and shut up." Then we're told we also need to keep giving our money and time. That sounds too much like a mugging to me.

In my last diary, I called for a variety of face to face approaches to our Senators while they're back in their home States over the recess. After hearing from various folks, I'm narrowing it down, to Operation Read the Bill. Print the thing out, all 114 pages (pdf) LINK FIXED, and hand it to your Senators.

Best if you can say "I've read it, I expect you to take the time to do so yourself." For extra credit, take a highlighter to the printout and mark up the sections you consider problematic.

UPDATE: Bring an accomplice with a vidcam. An admission that they haven't and won't read the bill makes nice youtube, come re-election time.

With the Congress in recess, members typically return to their States and Districts for the Holidays. Many hit the Parade and Picnic circuits. We should be there.

Options include lining the route with signs, trying to march as contingents, cornering the Members for personal pleas, and, my favorite, cutting old tapes into 5 foot segments and using it as confetti, or 'tickertape.'

If you're able to find an appearance by your Senator, print out a copy of the bill, ask if they've read it yet, and if nolt, hand them a copy.

Please look on your Senators' and Reps websites and campaign pages, search local papers, etc. and list their holiday appearances as comments.

Also spread this call to action to other sites, especially local once you've identified times and places.

If you can't find your DC representatives' parade schedules, work your local one anyway.

WIRETAP THIS M#*&@-$>@^"RS!

Facebook event page

According to an analysis by MAPLight, a non-partisan group that tracks campaign contributions, The 94 Democrats who voted YES on the FISA Bill received on average $8,359 in contributions from Verizon, AT&T and Sprint from Jan. 2005 to March 2008.
The 116 Democrats who voted NO received an average of $4,987 from the Telecoms during the same period.
God only knows what the average Republican Congressman skimmed off the Telecoms.

So take note, all you future Congressman buyers, for just $8,000 they'll strip the Constitution for you. God only knows what $9,000 would buy you in favors. Your pocket change may be enough to land you your own Off-Shore oil rig - or maybe an Ambassadorship (I've got dibs on Switzerland).

I recently posted this statement as a comment in the diary regarding Sen. Feingold's announcement of a planned filibuster.

It was intended to help explain why I, and many of my fellow Obama supporters, could be so angry at his recent announcement of support for the FISA bill.  It is a fine line that we walk, and I am sure that some view us as never truly being supportive of his candidacy.

Beyond any other expectation I may have for Sen. Obama, the foundation of my support is based on his honesty.  I do not mind being told something I do not want to hear, as long as it is the truth.  A simple comparison of his recent statement.. and the truth.. should help explain my emotional response.  If it doesn't, nothing else will.  

I just got this statement from the Obama Senate office, after contacting them and voicing my opposition to the bill (I'm from Illinois). Since there's been a lot of controversy and discussion about this at dKos in the last week, I thought I'd post the letter in its entirety so that you can see for yourself what their position officially is and how (sadly) it seems that he will be letting the bill pass (yes, I know he says he'll "try" to remove the retroactive immunity provision).  The letter is below the fold.  My goal isn't to beat a dead horse, but to keep the light and pressure on this issue as it approaches a vote. Help me by Rec'ing this diary. Peace.

I cannot for the life of me understand why any Democrat would vote for warrantless wiretapping.

I can easily understand why every Republican would. Republicans fully support the Bush Dictatorship in every way, including imperialism, torture, corruption, and warrantless wiretapping. If George Bush took the completely opposite positions (as he did before the 2000 election), they would support him too. They don't think and have no principles, they blindly follow their Fuhrer Leader.

But why would any Democrat - including our party leaders?

At the Presidential polling blog FiveThirtyEight, Nate Silver analyzed 31 vulnerable House Democrats in conservative-leaning seats, and found 23 voted for warrantless wiretapping, while 8 voted against. Nate observes,

Did these Democrats vote for the FISA bill because they think it will help them to get re-elected? Or were they elected in 2006 because they were conservative enough Democrats to vote for this legislation in the first place?

This FISA issue is something that I've been following for a year now closely and for the most part its been my highest concern.  Its been the issue I've been advocating personally for with my friends and family and people who I work with.  Whenever the house was cooking up another bill with retroactive immunity and reverse targeting, there I was, sending out emails; calling my congress-critters and donating money to the ACLU.

Why?

In my view, its the most important issue of this political cycle.  Whoever gains the ability that this president wants in wiretapping would certainly gain power that is quite new to government because of the state of technology today.

Apologies if this has already been diaried...

I was wondering if the House has tossed us a small bone in this bill.  According to an blog entry from Phillip Carter at the Washington Post, the FISA "compromise" gives retroactive immunity to the telecoms between September 11, 2001 and January 17, 2007.

Under the surveillance agreement, which is expected to be approved today by the House and next week by the Senate, telecoms could have privacy lawsuits thrown out if they show a federal judge that they received written assurance from the Bush administration that the spying was legal.

[...]

The immunity would cover companies that helped the government between Sept. 11, 2001, and Jan. 17, 2007, when the warrantless surveillance program was brought under the authority of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

More below the fold...

As we all review the stunning, Hoyer-led capitulation in the House today on FISA, with Senate cave-in soon to follow, we might need a good laugh -- and a good conversation starter for the future about the appalling loss of our civil liberties under this mis-administration.

So I'm proud to let y'all know that CREDO -- the socially-active and progressive mobile phone company where I work -- is now publishing the George W. Bush* wiretap ringtone.  "This call may be illegally wiretapped by the Bush administration. That's my administration. Heh heh heh heh..."

What scares the US Government about the rule of law and the US citizen?

Taking stock of the adversarial relationship between the US Federal Government and the US Citizen, I find criminals on both sides of the wall.

Rachel Maddow used the principle of Occam's razor last night on Countdown to "shave" the Bush-McCain Iraq policy.

I wonder what we find, if we apply the same thinking to FISA...

I write this having closely followed the debate on Telco immunity through Greenwald, by reading wikipedia articles and even reading the most recent version of the legislation on Congressman Hoyer's website.  As I am not a lawyer, it is not possible for me to truly determine what this legislation will do as written or to understand how it would impact future litigation regarding this issue.  I would like to lay out some basic principals for what any final agreement should include/achieve and would certainly appreciate it if those with actual expertise in this area would comment and help to inform readers both what is right, wrong, practical and impractical about these principles and also the extent to which the current bill being considered in the house succeeds at or fails to achieve these objectives, which can be most clearly stated as "holding the government accountable for actions it directs others to take on its behalf."

Today, Congressional Democrats stood up defiantly to the President’s bogus spying program. Shouting down cries for mercy by Republicans counting on Comcast for re-election money, Democrats boldly asserted the rule of law and set the matter straight once and for all on the legality of George W. Bush’s illegality. We should be proud of our party. They have ensured that the President can’t just go over the electorate and confer with corporate America to do things expressly forbidden by the law.

No not for the Iraq war but for the fact that Sweden since yesterday has a new Orwellian law. A law that allows the military to listen in on all communications that cross the border.

I am not the person who should be writing this diary. There are many Kossacks who are far more clever and informed than I am about the compromise being worked on the FISA bill, but for whatever reason they choose to focus their talents on other matters. Very well then, this is too important an issue for us to ignore.