Morning everyone — fresh coffee here, and some serious morning sunshine. Hope your day is going well, too…

Because I’m well past tired of the rule of law being on the backburner.

me too…

(holds out cup) Thanks, Redd…

We could use a little less sunshine and a little more shade out here in California…

btw, it’s free pastry day at Starbucks this morning — buy a beverage and get a free pastry before 10:30 am this morning. The Peanut and I are going over to get one in a bit — thought other folks would like to know as well.

Too bad it isn’t pumpkin loaf season, or Jane could get some for Kobe. *g*

Sadly, I think we could use “more sunshine” in far too many contexts everywhere. *g*

bring a little hardball

C’mon, Senator, bring it!! High, hard, and inside!

Wish I could stay, but gotta run to work. Makin’ a livin’ and all.

Hey — great to see you! Hope things are well…

Things are well, thank you, as I hope they are with you. My almost-13-year-old son is with us for the next two weeks, so the grocery bill is going on the high side (he’s already 5′9″ tall and who knows how long this growth spurt is going to last) but I don’t mind that at all. He can be difficult sometimes (he has a mild form of autism, PDD-NOS) but he is such a joy. He’s going to a summer camp near where Mrs. Cat works, she’s dropping him off and picking him up every day.

Oh, that is lovely for you all and for your son. And I hear you about the growth spurts — it’s almost like they sprout up overnight sometimes, isnt it?

Could someone please explain these holds that one senator can place on a nomination or a bill. Seems ridiculous. Kyl has taken it to a new low. He is holding up two Interior Dept. appointments until the Int Dept. approves a new copper mine on fed. lands. Is this extortion – quid pro Quo? He should be brought up on charges.

Kagro had a fantastic post on “Senate Holds” not too long ago that lines all of the back and forth out for everyone. I highly recommend it as reading.

Good Morning Christy and All,
Perhaps someone could send Kyl out here to LA and he could drive around in the 100+ degree heat with everyone honking at him. That would be some punishment. *g*
Oh, I’m fine, really. Just thought I’d share my experience with the good Senator. Fresh hell anyone?

Sotomayor committee approval postponed until next Tuesday 10: AM

CHS “as a former federal prosecutor, Whitehouse knows how to bring the evidence meticulously to light. And, even more importantly, he knows how to lay out the full evidence as a story easily followed and interesting enough to hold short attention spans — tailor made for public consumption — from his days of litigating before juries.”

Whitehouse is one of the very few Senators who actually gives me hope that there will be accountability and justice. He seems to believe that “no one is above the law”

I think he really knows the difference between Clinton’s lies under oath about the Bj’s and the lies shoved down the throats of the American people having to do with the WMD intelligence snowjob. The Bush administrations lies have resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, injuries, millions of Iraqi people displaced.

But most of us know most Americans could care less about the deaths of Iraqi, Afghani, or the people of Pakistan being killled by drones.

Whitehouse gives me hope. But so did Lincoln Chaffee

Thank you, Christy. There’s a Starbucks two stores down from the bookstore. I love free pastry. Yum! And, I’ve discovered that if I get a coffee in the morning, I can bring my receipt back after 2 pm and get any grande beverage for 2 bucks. I love the deals.

Franken gives me hope too. Not necessarily as a leader in the arena of judicial justice (although I do see him in a strong support roll for Whitehouse) but in the social justice arena.

only time will tell. If he follows in Paul Wellstone’s foot steps which he has stated that he will…then we can look forward to some serious focusing on social justice focus by Franken.

Only time will tell

christy/All

Bernanke reporting /congress…follow the money

http://www.c-span.org/Watch/C-SPAN3_wm.aspx

Franken will not dishonor Wellstone’s’ name. Ever.

He and Whitehouse are the lone beacons in the dark sea. They both deserve our unwavering support.

Happy to have sent you all the high that was sitting over south Texas for about the last month giving us here in San Antonio 21 days over 100 degrees. The high seems to be over the 4 corners now but will slowly move back over Texas once more.

65 degrees and raining here in Central Massachusetts !

Whitehouse seems pretty decent for a politician

I support Franken but what can you base your take on Franken on? Only time will tell…his votes..his focus on issues. Who he ends up listening to. Sure liked the way he started out during the Sotomayor hearings.

Franken said something about “listening and learning”

Think we need to tax coffee at 200%

Question about this:

“As a former federal prosecutor, Whitehouse knows how to bring the evidence meticulously to light. And, even more importantly, he knows how to lay out the full evidence as a story easily followed and interesting enough to hold short attention spans — tailor made for public consumption — from his days of litigating before juries.”

I know he was a prosecutor but am not familiar with his actual work on cases. Does he have a reputation for being great at this, or is it more a statement about prosecutors in general?

Franken understands how revered Paul Wellstone continues to be to many. It was not for show that he used Wellstone’s personal Bible for his oath. His promise to continue Paul’s legacy is not being made lightly.

What I have seen is that USAs do not directly engage in prosecutions but rather direct the AUSAs and are spokespersons for their districts. I do not have that much knowledge of State Attorney Generals but would imagine the role to be similar.

AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…

Citizen Hardin Smith and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:

Time for you to get yourself a hobby horse and ride, Sister Smith…Sister Hamsher has Healthcare right now, so how ’boutchu organize some “bombs” and telephone calls. I’d like to see a concerted effort to squeez One Hung Harry Reid and organize a progressive group that includes Dems on both the Judiciary and the Intelligence Committees to do what Jane has done with “the Pledge” in the House on healcare.

I understand that the Senate is a different species from the House of Representatives but a small well organized group of the arrogant bastards could be plenty effective…look at “The Family”.

KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION AND REMEMBER THE KIDS DYIN’ IN PLACES THEY DON’T BELONG!!!

I’ve contacted my Senators on two occasions when it seemed that the Dawn Johnsen nomination might come up for a vote. I got nothing from Udall, not even acknowldgement of receipt or a boilerplate reply. From Bennett I got a positive, specific response indicating support for Obama’s appointees (my email also supported Koh) and indicating he thought them well qualified.

Any idea when something might really happen?

Any other ideas for supporting this critical appointment?

I’ve got some pumpkin bread left in my freezer from last autumn. I love it, but would be happy to donate it to a good cause. *g*

Go Whitehouse. Hope he doesn’t cave. Doesn’t sound like he’s in the mood to do so.

FINALLY, a Whitehouse we can believe in…..

Citizen Leen:

As a native Minnesotan who lives jest accross the St. Croix River in Wisconsin now, I am here to tell you that what you see and hear from Franken is what you get…and if you think he’s jest another ambitious pretender you have not been payin attention. One of the reasons that the movers and shakers in Minnesota politics who run the DFL and, to some extent the Independence Party, have been lukewarm to Brother Al is that they know he won’t be another Klobechar…these folks were always very uncomfortable with Wellstone also becuase he didn’t play footsie with the landed gentry in the state.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.- Margaret Mead

Your description of Franken is my going in hypothesis. I was impressed by his Lying Liars book, and somehow he does not come across as someone who says one thing and does another. But my idols have developed feet of clay in the past, so I’m holding my breath.

Back to making the last cherry pie of the season.

I have a huge crush on Sheldon. Does that make me a total geek?

Citizen eCAHNomics:

You can breathe Citizen eCAHN…what you have seen and heard from Franken over the years is what you get and to a certain extent he is immune from the powerful pressures that non-millionaires have when they hit the Senate and nuthin they do can hurt ‘im without hurtin’ themselves too. There is NOTHING in Franken’s history and nothin’ in his “portfolio” (so ta speak) that would indicate vulnerability to pressure from anyone other than constituents.

None of Obama’s nominations should be approved. They all are like him: make American law subserviant to foreign tyrants. His law is tyranny. Bring back John Yoo and Arrington.

Bush/Cheney ‘12 !

Because America can never get too much of a good rogering thing !

If you are, then so am I. I heart him so much — could listen to him speak forever. Intelligent, passionate, one of the good guys … doesn’t matter that he’s kind of Pillsbury Doughboyish. :)

LOL!!!

A couple of hours on the Burbank airport tarmac, with the plane stuck because of thunderstorms over the desert, should do it.

(At home this week. Shingles. Do. Not. Want.)

This is good news. I can’t believe her appointment is still being blocked!

Well, for once, the fact that Cornyn is “my” senator may be worthwhile — he might not care for a constituent telling him “to go Cheney himself.”

I’ll give it a shot. : )

hey, everyone already knows this, apparently, but make sure to keep ignoring Glenn Greenwald – especially today – he’s way off the reservation:

First steps taken to implement preventive detention, military commissions

http://www.salon.com/opinion/g…..index.html

in which he writes:

From this interim report, it’s more apparent than ever that the central excuse made by Obama defenders to justify preventive detention and military commissions — there are dangerous Terrorists who cannot be released but also cannot be tried because Bush obtained the evidence against them via torture — is an absolute myth.

that kind of excuse was needed to fend off the unpleasant cognitive dissonance createdby hating Bush, yet loving Obama, who is continuing and expanding those same police state powers, and of course shielding Bush era criminals from any accountability.

so, that excuse having collapsed, the next best thing is to . . . pretend it’s not happening, la la la la la!

which seems to be the new tendency among frontpagers at FDL, especially when Glenn Reynolds is around saying something stupid, which is always:

http://firedoglake.com/2009/07…..ange-post/

Please do not put words in my mouth. I did not say he was an “ambitious pretender” I Asked a question and then also said that “time would tell”

” Leen | Tuesday July 21, 2009 08:37 am 20
In response to ghostof911 @ 17 (show text)

I support Franken but what can you base your take on Franken on? Only time will tell…his votes..his focus on issues. Who he ends up listening to. Sure liked the way he started out during the Sotomayor hearings.

Franken said something about “listening and learning”

Nothin’ says lovin’ like Sheldon in the oven, and Senator Whitehouse says it best!

I don’t get your point. Glenn Greenwald is very much against Obama’s preventive detention and military commissions. And what does Glenn Greenwald have to do with Glenn Reynolds? This makes no sense.

*scratches head*

What in the hell are you talking about? I mean, honestly? W.T.F!?!

The self-righteous act is getting really old. Especially given how much work Marcy, bmaz and Spencer put in on the national security issues on a daily basis, calling bullshit quite frequently on current administration policies when they are questionable just as they did with Bush administration policies.

And bitching about it here? Especially given how much ink I’ve devoted — for years — to civil liberties, torture, legal and other issues on every side of the aisle? Utter crap.

That report just came out yesterday, that Glenn is talking about, and it was embargoed for every member of the press and blogdom that got it until late last night. Since I haven’t had time yet to read it in detail, I thought writing about it would be stupid — since without reading it, I’d had nothing to actually say.

You’ll have to pardon me if I didn’t read it instantaneously and give you spot-on analysis, but I’ve spent the last few days researching and writing articles for here, and then rushing around to try and shop for new school uniforms because The Peanut has outgrown her old ones. Last week was taken up by nonstop liveblogging and it looks like next week will be something else, so I thought if we didn’t go now, they might be out of her size. And she has a project that has to be completed before school begins again — so we’ve been working on it during afternoons this week.

Damn me and my need to fit my family in my life.

I do, on occasion, get a life outside the blog. I know that’s tough to comprehend, given that I have a 6 year old, a husband and an increasingly high level of frustration with people who want to dictate my every thought, writing and topic — but there you are.

It is just this sort of passive aggressive whining about “my topic isn’t being discussed ad nauseum, and thus you suck and I, the griper, am self-righteously and morally superior” bullshit that drives people to leave blogging. Or turn off their comments.

For some people, nothing is ever good enough. So, perhaps, it’s time to just produce nothing and see where that gets any of us.

Except…that doesn’t feel right, either. And so? No idea, but I’m certainly contemplating any and all possibilities on that…

It was a whine that FDL isn’t covering the issues that sporkovat deems most important in the way that sporkovat feels we should think about them.

You know…the usual.

I’m with you, Christy!
I’ve been trying to load this diary all morning– don’t know why I couldn’t get through.

So what’s the problem? Sen. Harry “Fight less” Reid won’t schedule it? or what?

Aloha,
Bob in HI

Good for Whitehouse, even if White House has been less than impressive.