Hindrocket Follies

Ken AshfordRight Wing Punditry/Idiocy, War on Terrorism/Torture1 Comment

You have to hand it to Powerline’s John Hindrocket, for combining so many lies, hypocrisy, and tortured logic into such a compact sentence.

Here he was on CNN’s Reliable Sources this past weekend:

KURTZ:

OK. Let’s move — let’s move beyond the legal justification. You think the public doesn’t have a right to know because classified information is involved that the

CIA is maintaining secret presence in Eastern Europe, that the Bush administration is conducting wiretaps in this country without — without warrants? You would be just as happy if reporters could not publish that kind of information?

HINDERAKER: Oh, absolutely. There’s all kinds of information that you can’t give to the American public without also giving it to the terrorists. That’s what “The New York Times” did, and as a result our security has been compromised.

The NSA program was capturing lots of international terrorist communications. That’s dropped off drastically since “The New York Times” published the story. So they’ve — they’ve damaged our security.

(1)  First of all, how does a blogging pundit know that we’ve been capturing "drastically" fewer terrorist communications since the publication ot the New York Time article?  Is somebody with inside knowledge telling him this, and if so, isn’t that the same kind of leak to the public that Hindrocket condemns?

UPDATE:  It’s pretty clear that Hindrocket is just making shit up.  His conservative blogging allies are all abuzz about how al Qaeda chatter is at "pre-9/11 levels".

(2)  Secondly (although relatedly), if the New York Times aided and comforted al Qaeda by publishing the story about the NSA wiretaps, doesn’t Hindrocket do the same thing by letting al Qaeda know that that the NSA is scoring a big bunch of failures?

(3)  Finally, assuming that what Hindrocket says is true (that the NSA started experiencing fewer communications intercepts following publication of the NYT story), he obviously doesn’t understand the difference between correlation and causation.  Wonkette explains:

We’d like to point out that there have been no terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since Senator Russ Feingold introduced his resolution to censure the President. That must mean that censuring the President is the newest and most cutting-edge weapon on the war on terror in our arsenal. Emphasis on the arse.

Separate Schools And Sex: Kaye Grogan

Ken AshfordEducation, Right Wing Punditry/Idiocy, Sex/Morality/Family Values3 Comments

Grogan0315It’s Wednesday, which means . . . time to check in on our favorite wingnut columnist — Kaye Grogan.

Today’s Renew America column from Kaye: "Maybe It’s Time To Separate Schools From Sex?"

Note the question mark.  We wonder why Kaye is being so tentative.  Oh, well.  Let’s dive in the pool of dimentia.

Is there a movement on to desensitize your children to sexual misconduct?

No.

And who is behind flooding school libraries with obscene reading material?

Well, since we haven’t granted your premise — nobody.

Well, parents — don’t you think it’s way past time you found out?

Well, since we haven’t granted your premise — no.

Some children have been reprimanded for reading the Bible during recess, and yet this type of ungodly literature is acceptable? Good grief!

…Charlie Brown!

Maybe it’s time for separation of school and sex?

Maybe the question mark on Kaye’s keyboard is stuck?

While parents have been busy working trying to keep their children fed and clothed — the innocence of their children has been stolen away from them under the guise of sex education.

Best to keep teenagers innocent and ignorant about sex.  Because that leads to good results.

Just what kind of sex education classes are being taught, and who is teaching them?

Bondage for Beginners, taught by, oh, Mickey Rooney.

That’s just a wild guess, though.  We have to be honest here: we didn’t know there was going to be an exam.

After seeing the latest results — one has to wonder if producers and directors of porn movies have infiltrated schools as sex educators.

Results of what, exactly?  C’mon, Kaye.  Don’t be coy.

The rights of the parents should not end at the entrance of the school unless they are not paying taxes to keep those schools operating.

Fair enough.  But how to get past the hall monitor?

What really needs to end at the entrance of schools is sex-crazed teachers, principles, coaches, and anybody else molesting children.

Not to mention principals molesting children.

I am glad to see parents beginning to awaken from their stupor and challenge books like "Beloved" that has sexual perverseness, bestiality, and other highlights too filthy even for the gutter.

Like that other book . . . um . . . the Bible.

And by the way, Toni Morrison’s "Beloved" is not a book used in sex ed classes.

Parents and Christians should have smelled the coffee more than 30 years ago, when the Bible and prayer was removed from public schools.

Mandatory prayer, sweetie.

All one has to do is to look into the advocates behind these movements and they will see what is really going on behind the scenes.

Kaye is obsessed with behinds.

These misguided people want to influence the minds of your children to accept things that are evil and abnormal — as a normal way of life. They know that it’s much easier to brainwash children when they are young, impressionable, and vulnerable.

I haven’t read Beloved, but I know it deals with the perils of slavery.  So I’m pretty certain that it depicts rape and other cruelties as, you know, bad.   

Meanwhile, where in the Bible is slavery condemned?

For several years now, groups like the (PABBIS) Parents Against Bad Books in Schools, and Concerned Women of America have been alerting the public to the types of bad books in school libraries children are being exposed to.

While the other groups, like the Literate Parents Against Dangling Participles, get virtually ignored.

So, parents must accept that they are partly to blame by not insisting that schools maintain the highest form of integrity when selecting reading material for children and teens.

It’s their fault!

News that many teenagers are engaging in sex on school property is disgusting.

It’s the media’s fault!

But what is even more disgusting: is how many children are being molested by schoolteachers, coaches, and principles.

"Principles".  Sigh.  Maybe Kaye wants to separate schools and spelling, too?

It seems here lately, a day doesn’t go by that we don’t hear about another teacher being caught having sex with a minor — especially female teachers.

Hey.  Give props to Kaye for not spelling it "miner"!

Now I am not saying that all teachers can be shoved underneath the same wide umbrella.

"I’m just saying we should try it, for kicks"

The majority are fulfilling their obligation to educate children.

"It’s just the ones at the entrance of the school that we have to worry about.  Them and the principles."

But there are enough engaging in this type of despicable activity to be alarming, to say the least.

The least said, the better.

It’s getting really bad when the school personnel are the ones who need to be guarded instead of the children, so they won’t act inappropriately during school hours.

"Give me the good ol’ days when children molested teachers!"

Can the taxpayers afford a security guard in every classroom to keep the teachers in line?

In every classroom, Kaye?  Sounds like somebody is trying to shove all teachers underneath the same wide umbrella.

There are many advocating that the age of consent to have sex be lowered to age twelve. Now that’s really sick!. . . and shows there are many out there wanting to take advantage of children without being held (legally) accountable. Children that young have no business making such life altering decisions, that will affect them for many years.

Many?  Give me an example of one person advocating that.  Just one.

I was shocked to learn that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg favors lowering the age for consensual sex to twelve. Even for a radical liberal — this should be considered way over the line.

Well, let’s clear up that nonsense right now.

In 1974, before she was a Supreme Court Justice, Ginsburg (with a "u", Kaye) authored a report entitled "The Legal Status of Women Under Federal Law."  One section of Ginsburg’s report discussed "traditional sex discrimination" as it appears in legislation.  As an example, Ginsburg cited a 1973 Senate bill as an example of legislation that better "conform[ed] to the equality principle."  The bill dealt with rape, and defined rape several ways, including one where "the other person is, in fact, less than twelve years old."

Ginsburg point, germane to her report, was that the Senate bill use the phrase "the other person" as opposed to automatically assuming that the rape victim was female.  That was what she was approving — the gender-neutral language of the Senate bill.  She did not opine at all about the merits of the legislation.

Okay parents, now that the aroma of the coffee has finally made it up into your nostrils, the ball is now in your court.

Block that metaphor!

Are you up to balking the school system that has gotten out-of-hand and hold school boards and administrators accountable?

Sure!  We’re always up for a good balkin’!

As taxpayers, you have the power to shut the schools down by taking your children home, and keeping them there until the schools are cleaned up.

Somehow, we think that if we take take our kids out, the schools won’t exactly "shut down".

The American Library (ALA) is against censorship of any kind.

They’re probably pissed because someone stole the last word from their name.

Well, let them read the obscene books if they want to, while their minds decay at a rapid pace, but underage children should be shielded from those who are lacking scruples or moral values.   Sometimes people have to be protected against themselves — when they are out of the perimeters of plain decency.

We have to protect underage children from themselves?  Oh, so now it’s their fault!

Speaking of taking the Bible and prayer out of public schools: I have to wonder if atheist Madeline Murray O’Hare has found out by now in the hereafter if God is real? What do you think she would say if she could return to earth for just a few minutes?

She’d say that the Bible was wrong, since it predicted that Jesus (and not her) would be resurrected after death.

Somehow. . . I believe if given a second chance knowing what she knows now — Ms. O’Hare would be advocating putting the Bible and prayer back in schools . . . pronto!

This has been happening a lot with Kaye.  Last week, Kaye argued that Patrick Henry would repudiate his "Give me liberty or give me death" speech and support her position instead.  Now she claims to know what a dead atheist would say if she was suddenly resurrected. 

Kaye Grogan: So right that she can influence the dead.

American Idol Update: Stevie Wonder Week

Ken AshfordPopular CultureLeave a Comment

Okay.  My first comment: kill the stylists.

I liked these kids better when they were just themselves.  But tonight, a bunch of L.A. stylists put them in clothes and hairstyles which made many of them simply ridiculous.  I think the NC kids suffered worse — Kellie Pickler especially.

Now on to the talent portion.

The first hour and a half of the show was so miserably bad that I almost swore off it forever.  Even the people I like – Kellie Pickler and Lisa Tucker – were bad.  Unlike the judges, I thought Mandisa was a huge disappointment.  Same with Elliott.

I think part of it was nerves, a larger theater, and a stage that just swallowed them up.  Some of them simply weren’t suited for Stevie Wonder songs.  The first 8 contestents either died, or failed to deliver the goods.  Thank God for TIVO fast forward.

But then Katharine McPhee came out and, as Randy said later, it was a whole new show.  She did amazing.  And so did everyone who came after her.  Paris and Chris really rocked the place, although not as much as Katharine. 

But the best performance for me — by far — was Taylor Hicks.  It was the first time I watched American Idol and thought, "You know, if this guy came to town, I might actually pay to see a concert" — which is saying a lot since I don’t go to concerts.

So who should get voted off?  That’s easy.  Melissa McGhee, who never should have been there in the first place.  She forgot her lines?  Yeah, but that was the least of her problems.  I’ll bet after hearing her, Stevie Wonder wished he was deaf, too.  Since she’s my pick, I’ll make fun of her bio and be generally mean to her (below the fold).

And for God’s sakes — will someone please shoot Kevin Covais?  He can’t sing.  Plus, I’m beginning to think he doesn’t realize that calling him a "sex symbol" is a joke.  Not that I ever liked him, but at least he was more tolerable when he showed a little humility.

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No Shit, Sherlock

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Rumsfeld today on the subject of an Iraq civil war:

"…I think until I’ve had a chance to think more about it and-and-uhh-I-I will say I don’t think it’ll look like-ahh- the United States’s civil war."

Damn.  And I was so hoping there would be a Shia/Sunni chess set one day.

Civil20war20chess20set1

Global Warming Beautiful, But Real

Ken AshfordEnvironment & Global Warming & EnergyLeave a Comment

I’ll let ScienceBlogs tell the story:

Well, despite the fact that the George Bush Gang has been shushing scientists who dare to disagree with his administration’s fantastical world view, now an entire governmental agency has come out and stated that global warming is occurring.

Two studies were recently published, documenting changes in the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, confirming that climate warming is changing how much water remains locked in Earth’s largest storehouses of ice and snow (Greenland pictured below). As if there could be any doubt regarding their conclusions, NASA recently published a satellite study of both regions and goes so far as to directly tie these changes to global warming, describing the survey as "the most comprehensive" ever for both regions.

Based on satellite mapping of ice sheets, published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Glaciology, the survey validated computer models projecting the effects of global climate change on Earth. In the NASA press release, the study’s lead author, Jay Zwally said of the data;

If the trends we’re seeing continue and climate warming continues as predicted, the polar ice sheets could change dramatically. The Greenland ice sheet could be facing an irreversible decline by the end of the century.

Unfortunately, NASA did not go so far as to directly link global warming to human burning of fossil fuels, which emit carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas. As a result, it is possible that the Bush Gang will claim that warming is due to cow farts, echoing claims from an earlier administration.

My question; how long it will take to silence NASA?

This is a picture of a meltwater stream flowing into a large moulin in the ablation zone (area below the equilibrium line) of the Greenland ice sheet.  [Photo by Roger J. Braithwaite, The University of Manchester, UK.]

112166897_10524b51c7_o

Disrespectful Blacks Should Be Grateful About Slavery And Flock To The GOP

Ken AshfordRace, Right Wing Punditry/Idiocy1 Comment

AdeleThat’s what Adele Ferguson, a columnist at the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal thinks:

Remember Ronald Reagan’s story about the kid who had to shovel a huge pile of manure? He went about it with such joy he was asked why and said, “With all that manure, there’s got to be a pony in there somewhere.”

The pony hidden in slavery is the fact that it was the ticket to America for black people. I have long urged blacks to consider their presence here as the work of God, who wanted to bring them to this raw, new country and used slavery to achieve it.

Wait… is she fucking kidding me?  Setting aside the invalid metaphor about ponies buried in their own shit, is she really saying that, uh, slavery was God’s way of bringing blacks to America? 

And what were those slave auction blocks all about?  God’s way of introducing blacks to the free market system, I suppose, right?

The whippings and beatings subjected on slaves?  God’s physical education system.

And let’s not forget the rape of slavewomen by their slaveholding tyrants.  What was God trying to achieve with that?

Never mind.   I don’t want to know.

Adele’s point (other than the one at the top of her white hood) is that she is mystified why blacks aren’t flocking to the Republican Party.   I think she needs to look into the mirror for those answers.

But before she gets to that, she compares the experience of slaves to other immigrants who came to America.  Those other immigrants, you see…

…suffered hardships and indignations as indentured servants. Their descendants rose above it. You don’t hear them bemoaning their forebears’ life the way some blacks can’t rise above the fact theirs were slaves.

Well, Adele, that’s because other immigrants, for all their hardships and indiginations, were never actually SLAVES.  They came here of their own free will, and once here, they were never, according to the founding documents of this country, three-fifths of a person.

Besides freedom, a job and a roof over their heads, they all sought respect. But even after all these years, too many have yet to realize that to get respect, you have to give it.

The treatment given President Bush at Coretta King’s funeral was shameful. And these weren’t poor, uneducated black people who “dissed” him. They were among the country’s top-drawer blacks, there to bury black royalty. While Bush got the cold shoulder, former President Clinton was welcomed as if he still held the office.

It mystifies me why the black population remains in thrall to the Democratic party.

Let’s see, Adele.  You just told blacks that slavery was a gift from God, and then you chastize blacks for not showing due respect for President Bush, a man whose policies have a greater comparative negative impact on blacks than for people colored like you.

And you’re mystified why blacks don’t jump on to (the back of) your bus?

Jesus’ General responded to Adele, in an open letter on his blog:

I think you answered your own question about why black people aren’t flocking to the Republican Party. If, as you point out, slavery was a godsend to them, then surely, they’re still angry at Lincoln, the first Republican president, for freeing them. If it wasn’t for him, they’d still be enjoying all of the fruits slavery had to offer, things like: hand-me-downs from the big house; forced breeding; free scarification; the joy that comes from seeing your children selected for housework or sold to a master who doesn’t beat them during rape; and the comfort that comes from knowing one’s place in the world.

Heh.

For those of you who want to respond to Adele Ferguson, but don’t feel like blogging about it, you can let her know your views by writing her at  P.O. Box 69, Hansville, Wa., 98340.

Dubai’s Lies

Ken AshfordWar on Terrorism/TortureLeave a Comment

ABC News:

The Dubai-owned company that promised to surrender its U.S. port operations has no immediate plans to sell its U.S. subsidiary’s interests at Miami’s seaport, a senior executive wrote Monday in a private e-mail to business associates.

But why should we care?  It’s not like Florida could become a hotbed for terrorist cells, right?

Attasfldriverslic

Is Claude Allen Covering Up For His Evil Twin Brother?

Ken AshfordCrimeLeave a Comment

That’s the scuttlebutt/running gag of the day.  Yes, Claude Allen has an identical twin, who has had trouble with the law, so while it is still improbable, Josh Marsall applauds the "evil twin" theory for its "sheer neo-Brady Bunch theatricality".

UPDATE:  But Rep Jean Schmidt (R-Oh), who gained noteriety by calling Vietnam war hero John Murtha (D-Pa) a "coward" on the House floor, is — we’re not making this up — employing the "evil twin" defensive strategy.

USA Today/Gallop/CNN Poll Puts Bush At 36%

Ken AshfordBush & Co.Leave a Comment

That’s his lowest approval rating for that poll ever.  It was taken this weekend — after the Dubai Ports World deal fell through.

The poll also discovered that:

57 percent of those polled believed that sending troops in Iraq was a mistake, while 42 percent felt the war was not a mistake. Sixty percent of Americans believed that things were going badly in Iraq, and 67 percent believe that President Bush does not have a clear plan for handling the war.

Why You Should Boycott Victoria’s Secret

Ken AshfordSex/Morality/Family ValuesLeave a Comment

From the website of the American Decency Association*:

(1) Victoria’s Secret is blatant and boldly erotic in the marketing of their products.

Well, since their primary line includes exotic lingerie, this is hardly surprising.  Just what, exactly, does the American Decency Association think the advertising should be like?

(2) They exhibit little sense of concern regarding moral sensibilities.

In other words, societal norms should be conformed to the priggiest of the social prigs.

(3) Their response to expressions of concern are and have been disingenuous for a long time. [See one of their letters below.]

In the letter response to the American Decency Association, a spokeperson for Victoria’s Secret wrote as follows: "We regret that you feel the advertisements were offensive. Selling lingerie is a delicate task. We walk a fine line between being attention-getting and exciting without being overly sensual or tasteless."

I suspect the people at Victoria’s Secret do regret that some people find their ads offensive.  Selling lingerie is a delicate task, and they do walk a fine line.  What about that is "disingenuous"? 

(4) Their advertisements on television are frequently foisted upon an audience unprepared and, in many cases, undesirous of their "in your face" sexual imagery.

(5) Victoria’s Secret is a very frequent advertiser on "Desperate Housewives."

Maybe if the folks at the American Decency Association didn’t watch "Desparate Housewives", they wouldn’t have the offending Victoria Secret ads foisted upon them.

(6) Their annual "Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show" is about models parading before an ogling audience dressed to titillate and spur sales through pornography (guised as a fashion show).

Again, Victoria’s Secret doesn’t sell body armor; they sell lingerie.  It wouldn’t make much sense to have a fashion show, and not have models wearing your product.

(7) Victoria’s Secret’s arrogance that they think they can get away with using pornography at the local mall, on national television, etc. And, to our shame, they have gotten away with it.

They’ve also gotten away with using no verbs, apparently.

(8) Victoria’s Secret lowers the "community standard" of the local mall.

The American Decency Society hates it that fine establishments like Sunglasses Hut,  Zanes Jewelers, Radio Shack, and the Yankee Candle Company are all getting the vapours.

[* Don’t you just love the name?]

Bird Flu Update

Ken AshfordAvian/Swine FluLeave a Comment

Ot121904s Look, I’ve blogged about this subject before, so obviously I’m concerned.  But I don’t think we need to instill panic:

In a remarkable speech over the weekend, Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt recommended that Americans start storing canned tuna and powdered milk under their beds as the prospect of a deadly bird flu outbreak approaches the United States.

Ready or not, here it comes.

Storing canned tuna under the bed?  This is what our government is telling us to do?

I’m sure the people at "Chicken Of The Sea" will be grateful for the panic shopping, but are probably huddling right now in the conference rooms to give serious consideration to a name change for their product.

It is being spread much faster than first predicted from one wild flock of birds to another, an airborne delivery system that no government can stop.

"There’s no way you can protect the United States by building a big cage around it and preventing wild birds from flying in and out," U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Michael Johanns said.

I have an idea.  How about Minutemen?  Why don’t they guard our borders?  Dick Cheney, an avid bird hunter, can teach them to shoot.

No, wait.  Maybe not that last part.

U.S. spy satellites are tracking the infected flocks, which started in Asia and are now heading north to Siberia and Alaska, where they will soon mingle with flocks from the North American flyways.

"What we’re watching in real time is evolution," said Laurie Garrett, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations. "And it’s a biological process, and it is, by definition, unpredictable."

***

Even on a model farm, ABC News saw a pond just outside the protected barns attracting wild geese.

It is the droppings of infected waterfowl that carry the virus.

Okay.  Well, so much for the pool this summer.  Shit.

The bird flu virus, to date, is still not easily transmitted to humans. There have been lots of dead birds on three continents, but so far fewer than 100 reported human deaths.

But should that change, the spread could be rapid.

ABC News has obtained a mathematical projection prepared by federal scientists based on an initial outbreak on an East Coast chicken farm in which humans are infected. Within three months, with no vaccine, almost half of the country would have the flu.

But, of course, the most powerful nation in the world has the best health care system in the world, so there’s no need to panic, right?  Right?

Anyway, here’s a handy dandy fact sheet (click on it to enlarge):

Understanding_bird_flu_factsheet

Have a nice day.

What’s That Basketball Thing On The Right?

Ken AshfordEducationLeave a Comment

Click it (or click this) and find out.

Meanwhile, here’s some fun facts to ruin your March Madness:

  • Percentage of the 4,000+ students who play Division 1 men’s basketball who will go on to professional sports careers: 0.8
  • Percentage of NCAA men’s basketball players who entered college in 1997 and had graduated by 2003: 44
  • Number of the teams in last year’s March Madness, out of 65, that would not have qualified to play for the national championship if a 50-percent graduation rate was required for players: 43
  • Approximate number of colleges that last year “asked the NCAA for leniency” when it began handing out penalties to teams that had not met the Academic Progress Rate standards: 400
  • Average salary of a worker with a bachelor’s degree in 2004, according the U.S. Census Bureau: $51,206, versus $27,915 for a high school graduate
  • Average revenues for a Division 1-A athletic program in 2003: $29.4 million, up 17.2 percent from 2001
  • Number of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams that did not graduate a single African-American college athlete from 1999-2004: 45, out of 328
  • Percentage of Division I men’s basketball players who are African-American: 58
  • Number of NCAA Division I women’s basketball teams that did not graduate a single African-American college athlete from 1999-2004: 27
  • Number of Final Four teams in last year’s tournament sponsored by Nike: 4

    • New Hampshire First-In-The-Nation Status Undermined

    Ken AshfordElection 2008Leave a Comment

    From WaPo:

    The Democratic Party’s Rules and Bylaws Committee yesterday dealt a blow to New Hampshire Democrats hoping to keep their coveted place in the presidential nominating schedule, agreeing by voice vote to a plan that would place one or two caucuses between the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 14, 2008, and the New Hampshire primary eight days later.

    The proposal, which grew from recommendations by a commission studying how to make the nominating process more diverse both racially and geographically, would also add one or two primaries after the New Hampshire contest but before Feb. 5 — the date after which any state is free to schedule a vote.

    But the Granite State won’t take it lying down….

    New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner has threatened that if a state caucus is added between the Iowa and New Hampshire events, he will simply move up the date of the Granite State vote — a power granted him by state law. Should Gardner go that route, the DNC could refuse to seat delegates from his state at the 2008 national party convention.

    One of the nice things about New Hampshire being first-in-the-nation (although you really have to be a New Hampshireite to appreciate it) is that politics there is retail.  You get to meet the candidates, talk with them, etc.  Politicking there isn’t merely a bunch of cleverly-crafted Madison Avenue ads.  You have to know your shit.  If the New Hampshire priomary gets lumped in with others, politicians will stop meeting the people, and deploy a broad-based advertising strategy spread over several states (with New Hampshire being a small one).  And for that,, we’ll all be the losers.

    The Case For Censure

    Ken AshfordWiretapping & SurveillanceLeave a Comment

    Sen. Feingold raised the notion of a Bush censure this week on The Week With George Stephonoplous, and the idea is already gaining much support.

    Georgia10 at Daily Kos makes the case:

    Five minutes is all it takes, really.  Less, if you’re not that chatty. In five minutes, you can speak up for the rule of the law. In five minutes, you can put your own footprint in history, as one of the mass of millions who advocated for the censure of a President who broke the law.  Years from now, no matter what the outcome, you can look back and say you stood up when Congress stood down, you pushed your party forward no matter how much it wanted to cower back in the shadows.  Are you ready?

    Talking points:

    • The President admitted to conducting a domestic spying program outside the scope of FISA, despite knowing that FISA is the exclusive means of such surveillance inside the United States.  President Bush broke the law, and this is the only way this Republican Congess can hold him accountable.

    • President admitted he did not brief the full intelligence committees. This is against the law.

    • We don’t have to wait for an investigation before censure.  President Bush admitted to his crimes publicly. An investigation is needed, but that should not preclude censure at this time.

    • Andrew Jackson was censured in 1834 for refusing to hand over papers to Congress and assuming power not granted by the Constitution.  With his stonewalling of the investigation and by ignoring FISA, this is exactly what President Bush has done, and he should also be censured accordingly.

    Makes sense to me.

    The White House responds:

    "I think it does raise the question, how do you fight and win the war on terrorism?" McClellan said. "And if Democrats want to argue that we shouldn’t be listening to al Qaeda communications, it’s their right and we welcome the debate. We are a nation at war."

    Okay.  For the last time.  Read this and let it sink into your think skull. McClellan: Democrats are not against listening to al Qaeda communications.  We just think that we should do it within the law.  And we can do it within the law.  And if we can’t (for some reason), then we change the law the way we always do — through an act of Congress.  Why is the White House being misleading here?  Can they not help it?

    UPDATE:  Glenn Greenwald catches the same McClellan lie.

    UPDATE:  Sen. Feingold has posted the proposed Senate Resolution for Censure on his website (PDF format).