Year End Cleanup . . . .

Some end of the year cleanup is in order, and how fitting it is to feature the bush administration.

From Bob Herbert of the New York Times we get:

Add Up the Damage
By BOB HERBERT - December 30, 2008

Does anyone know where George W. Bush is?

You don’t hear much from him anymore. The last image most of us remember is of the president ducking a pair of size 10s that were hurled at him in Baghdad.

We’re still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Israel is thrashing the Palestinians in Gaza. And the U.S. economy is about as vibrant as the 0-16 Detroit Lions.

But hardly a peep have we heard from George, the 43rd.

















When Mr. Bush officially takes his leave in three weeks (in reality, he checked out long ago), most Americans will be content to sigh good riddance. I disagree. I don’t think he should be allowed to slip quietly out of town. There should be a great hue and cry — a loud, collective angry howl, demonstrations with signs and bullhorns and fiery speeches — over the damage he’s done to this country.

This is the man who gave us the war in Iraq and Guantánamo and torture and rendition; who turned the Clinton economy and the budget surplus into fool’s gold; who dithered while New Orleans drowned; who trampled our civil liberties at home and ruined our reputation abroad; who let Dick Cheney run hog wild and thought Brownie was doing a heckuva job.

_______________


The catalog of his transgressions against the nation’s interests — sins of commission and omission — would keep Mr. Bush in a confessional for the rest of his life. Don’t hold your breath. He’s hardly the contrite sort.

He told ABC’s Charlie Gibson: “I don’t spend a lot of time really worrying about short-term history. I guess I don’t worry about long-term history, either, since I’m not going to be around to read it.”

The president chuckled, thinking — as he did when he made his jokes about the missing weapons of mass destruction — that there was something funny going on.

Paul Krugman, winner of the Nobel prize in economics, also of the New York Times now weighs in:

Looking for a word
December 31, 2008

Unusually, I’m having a vocabulary problem. There has to be some word for the kind of person who considers his mild discomfort the equivalent of torture, crippling injury, or death for other people. But I can’t think of it.

What brings this to mind is this from Alberto Gonzales:

"I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror."

This reminded me of Laura Bush’s remark on carnage in Iraq:















"And believe me, no one suffers more than their president and I do when we watch this."

Remember this. And remember, too, that for long years these people were considered heroic patriots, defenders of the nation.

And now it is time for them to go away . . . .

Here Comes the Judge . . . .

Looks like bushco has encountered a bit of a snag:

Per Reuters this morning:

Judge tells White House to release wiretapping docs
Sun Nov 2, 2008 12:27pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration must give to a federal court documents related to government wiretapping of domestic communications without a warrant after the September 11 attacks, according to a recent court order.

U.S. District Judge Henry Kennedy signed the order on Friday requiring the U.S. Justice Department to provide the court for private review certain documents that were sought in lawsuits filed by the civil liberties groups.

Kennedy ordered the administration to provide the documents from the White House Office of Legal Counsel by November 17, and said he will review them in private to see if their release would endanger national security.

_______________


The White House and the department could not be reached for comment.

Poor gw.

Too bad he can't just slink away in quiet infamy.

Chuckle, chuckle . . . .

Border BS . . . .

This Homeland Security crap just keeps gettin' better 'n better.

Per Reuters:

U.S. tracking citizens' border crossings
Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:05am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government has been using its border checkpoints to collect information on citizens that will be stored for 15 years, raising concern among privacy advocates, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said the collection is part of a broader effort to guard against terrorist threats, the report said, citing a Federal Register notice the agency issued last month.

_______________


But it states that information may be shared with federal, state and local governments to test "new technology and systems designed to enhance border security or identify other violations of law," the Post reported.






A DHS spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the report.




Information on international air passengers has long been collected this way but Customs and Border Protection only this year began to log the arrivals of all U.S. citizens across land borders, the Post said.

Privacy advocates raised concerns about the expanded collection of personal data and said safeguards are needed to ensure the system is not abused.

"People expect to be checked when they enter the country and for the government to determine if they're admissible or not," Greg Nojeim of the Center for Democracy and Technology told the Post.

"What they don't expect is for the government to keep a record for 15 years of their comings into the country."

Huh.

15 years.

Sounds about right, doesn't it?

I'm thinkin' a boycott of the US border is in order, folks.

"Heckuva job, Mikey . . . . "

Border BS . . . .

This Homeland Security BS is getting a bit out of hand.

Per CBC News this afternoon:


U.S. border agents given power to seize travellers' laptops, cellphones
Friday, August 1, 2008 | 3:33 PM ET

CBC News

U.S. authorities now have the power to seize and detain travellers' electronic devices, including laptops and cellphones, and make copies of their contents at an off-site location, under newly disclosed customs policies.

The policy gives border agents at any point of entry into the United States the authority to also take documents, books, pamphlets and hard drives. The items can be seized from anyone crossing the border and may then be copied and shared with other government agencies, according to Department of Homeland Security documents dated July 16.

"Officers may detain documents and electronic devices, or copies thereof, for a reasonable period of time to perform a thorough border search," the policy says. "The search may take place on-site or at an off-site location."

U.S. Senator Russ Feingold told the Washington Post he finds the new policies "alarming" and said he plans to introduce legislation that would make grounds for border searches more rigorous.

_______________


"They're saying they can rifle through all the information in a traveller's laptop without having a smidgen of evidence that the traveller is breaking the law," said Greg Nojeim, senior counsel at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Democracy and Technology.

This whole crossing the border thing is really becoming annoying, and now it is an invasion of privacy to boot.

At least Russ Feingold is aware of the situation. That gives me some hope . . . .

Votes Are In . . . .

And, as expected, bush gets the FISA bill he wanted.

democratic red votes below are the "Good Ones".

democratic blue votes below are the "bush Enablers".

republican votes are in black and they all voted as expected.





U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 110^th Congress - 2^nd Session

as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate

Vote Summary

Question: On Passage of the Bill (H.R. 6304 )
Vote Number:	168	Vote Date:	July 9, 2008, 02:47 PM
Required For Majority:	1/2	Vote Result:	Bill Passed
Measure Number:	H.R. 6304 (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 )
Measure Title:	A bill to amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to establish a procedure for authorizing certain acquisitions of foreign intelligence, and for other purposes.

Vote Counts:	YEAs	69
	NAYs	28
	Not Voting	3

Vote Summary

By Senator Name

By Vote Position

By Home State

Alphabetical by Senator Name

Akaka (D-HI), Nay Alexander (R-TN), Yea Allard (R-CO), Yea Barrasso (R-WY), Yea Baucus (D-MT), Yea Bayh (D-IN), Yea Bennett (R-UT), Yea Biden (D-DE), Nay Bingaman (D-NM), Nay Bond (R-MO), Yea Boxer (D-CA), Nay Brown (D-OH), Nay Brownback (R-KS), Yea Bunning (R-KY), Yea Burr (R-NC), Yea Byrd (D-WV), Nay Cantwell (D-WA), Nay Cardin (D-MD), Nay Carper (D-DE), Yea Casey (D-PA), Yea Chambliss (R-GA), Yea Clinton (D-NY), Nay Coburn (R-OK), Yea Cochran (R-MS), Yea Coleman (R-MN), Yea Collins (R-ME), Yea Conrad (D-ND), Yea Corker (R-TN), Yea Cornyn (R-TX), Yea Craig (R-ID), Yea Crapo (R-ID), Yea DeMint (R-SC), Yea Dodd (D-CT), Nay Dole (R-NC), Yea

Domenici (R-NM), Yea Dorgan (D-ND), Nay Durbin (D-IL), Nay Ensign (R-NV), Yea Enzi (R-WY), Yea Feingold (D-WI), Nay Feinstein (D-CA), Yea Graham (R-SC), Yea Grassley (R-IA), Yea Gregg (R-NH), Yea Hagel (R-NE), Yea Harkin (D-IA), Nay Hatch (R-UT), Yea Hutchison (R-TX), Yea Inhofe (R-OK), Yea Inouye (D-HI), Yea Isakson (R-GA), Yea Johnson (D-SD), Yea Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting Kerry (D-MA), Nay Klobuchar (D-MN), Nay Kohl (D-WI), Yea Kyl (R-AZ), Yea Landrieu (D-LA), Yea Lautenberg (D-NJ), Nay Leahy (D-VT), Nay Levin (D-MI), Nay Lieberman (ID-CT), Yea Lincoln (D-AR), Yea Lugar (R-IN), Yea Martinez (R-FL), Yea McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting McCaskill (D-MO), Yea McConnell (R-KY), Yea

Menendez (D-NJ), Nay Mikulski (D-MD), Yea Murkowski (R-AK), Yea Murray (D-WA), Nay Nelson (D-FL), Yea Nelson (D-NE), Yea Obama (D-IL), Yea Pryor (D-AR), Yea Reed (D-RI), Nay Reid (D-NV), Nay Roberts (R-KS), Yea Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea Salazar (D-CO), Yea Sanders (I-VT), Nay Schumer (D-NY), Nay Sessions (R-AL), Not Voting Shelby (R-AL), Yea Smith (R-OR), Yea Snowe (R-ME), Yea Specter (R-PA), Yea Stabenow (D-MI), Nay Stevens (R-AK), Yea Sununu (R-NH), Yea Tester (D-MT), Nay Thune (R-SD), Yea Vitter (R-LA), Yea Voinovich (R-OH), Yea Warner (R-VA), Yea Webb (D-VA), Yea Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea Wicker (R-MS), Yea Wyden (D-OR), Nay

Note especially the large blue vote. Disappointing, isn't it?

Again, remind me why the democrats should get my vote.

Somehow, I'm not clear on that . . . .



UPDATE: At least my favourite organization - the ACLU - is still on the job.

Good job!

Dithering democrats ! ! ! !

Per Reuters today:

Spy, phone protection bill clears Senate hurdle

Wed Jun 25, 2008 6:43pm EDT - WASHINGTON
(Reporting by Thomas Ferraro)

(Reuters) - A White House-backed spy bill to protect telecommunication companies from billions of dollars in possible privacy lawsuits passed a Senate test vote on Wednesday and headed toward final congressional approval.

_______________


"This bill is not a compromise. It is a capitulation," said Sen. Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat.

Feingold has offered an amendment to strip out protection for telecommunication companies. But both Democrats and Republicans predict the amendment will be rejected.

Anti-democratic legislation supported by an idiot President with approval ratings hovering in the 30% range, and he gets everything he asked for! At least Feingold still has the right idea, but he's pretty much a lone voice in a sea of weaklings.

Knowing how enamoured harperco is with all things bushco, how many weeks, months or year's time will elapse 'til this little bit of crapola makes it up here?

And the dems would have you believe that things will be different when they have control of Congress and the White House. (If you buy into that, we've still got some Florida swampland we'll sell you.) They can't even muster the votes to protect the liberties and civil rights of US citizens that the Constitution mandates.

As "drf" continues to remind me: "It's just politics, Bob!"

Yup, looks like it is, and it ain't a'changin' anytime soon, no matter what "fairy" tales the DNC tries to feed you.

As Dana at TGB says: "Get drunk and stay drunk!" . . . .

Dems Fold on FISA . . . .

Nicolle Belle, John Amato and the crew at Crooks and Liars have been warning about Hoyer's behind-the-scenes backstabbing on FISA.

Today the knife was twisted.


From Congressional Quarterly:

House Passes Overhaul of Electronic Surveillance Rules

The House Friday passed an overhaul of electronic surveillance rules stemming from a bipartisan compromise that left Democrats divided.

The legislation, which would almost certainly lead to the dismissal of lawsuits against telecommunications companies accused of aiding the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program, won the support of 105 Democrats and 188 Republicans to pass by a margin of 293-129.

Senators agreed to place the bill on the calendar for next week and could clear it as early as Monday, delivering to President Bush legislation that gives him much of what he wants but with some restrictions he hoped to avoid. He placed a priority on the lawsuits’ dismissal, and on getting executive branch authority to conduct warrantless surveillance of foreign targets, even when they are communicating with people in the United States.

House members who voted against the bill said its expansion of executive branch surveillance powers would gut Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

“This bill scares me to death,” said Rep. Barbara Lee , D-Calif.

Supporters, on the other hand, said it was an improvement over a Senate-passed, White House-backed bill, which contained less court and congressional oversight. Some conservative Democrats have been pressing House leaders to take up that legislation all year long, and House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer , D-Md., said this week their support for that bill forced Democratic negotiators into a reluctant compromise.

“It’s not a happy occasion, but it’s the work we have to do,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif. She said the debate on the legislation was “valuable for making the bill better if not good enough but certainly preferable to the alternative we have.”

Republicans, including Bush himself, praised the legislation.

That last line sums it up pretty well.

Remind me again why someone should vote for a democrat vs. a reguglican ? ? ? ?

Cover Your Heads, Here it Comes . . . .

The dems caving-in, that is.

Figured they would, and this looks like the beginning of the end courtesy of Reuters:

Top U.S. Democrat: accord near on spy bill, immunity
Sun Mar 2, 2008

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives may soon resolve a stalemate that has blocked efforts to renew an anti-terrorism spy law and shield phone companies from lawsuits, a key Democrat said on Sunday.

Lawmakers may consider a compromise bill that would renew the law, which expired last month, and possibly grant some sort of protection to phone companies from lawsuits. But it would differ from a Senate-passed measure backed by the White House that would provide blanket immunity.

"We think we're very close. Probably within the next week, we'll be able to hopefully bring it to a vote," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes of Texas said of efforts to craft and pass such legislation.

_______________


Many Democrats have opposed immunizing phone companies that participated in the warrantless domestic spying program begun by President George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks, saying they first needed to know what the companies did.

Reyes said House Democrats were now reviewing confidential U.S. documents they received in recent weeks about the warrantless electronic surveillance program and were talking with phone companies.

Consequently, Reyes said he now had an "open mind" on whether to shield companies from lawsuits.

Yes, and I'll bet the "open mind" of a lot of representatives includes an "open checkbook" for all those telecom company campaign contributions . . . .