Where’s the Outrage?

Twice in one week, the Democratic party has rolled over and played like they were Republicans for President Bush. First, there was the passage of another spending bill for the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There was no limitations or qualifications on the spending as Nancy Pelosi promised. No withdrawal dates - nothing. It was in fact a blank check. Now, as a President with an approval rating just above that of Oil Company executives, the House passes a bill which gives Telecoms complete immunity. It is enough to make you want to spit (not on the keyboard, I need this computer to work!)

Tags: Countdown, Domestic Spying by ecthompson
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Ed McMahon the long time side-kick for the Tonight Show is trying to fight off foreclosure on his Beverly Hills home. McMahon is reportedly over $600,000 behind in his mortgage payments.

Tags: Economy, Television by ecthompson
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I just felt like some serious jazz tonight. This is the GREAT Dizzy Gillespie. This is the reunion of his Big Band. The song is called Things to Come.

Tags: Music by ecthompson
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Scott McClellan faced what he expected, a partisan assault from the Right and the same from the Left. The Democrats questions were focused on the White House, Vice President Cheney and President Bush. (I’m still fuming at the Dems for the FISA legislation.  It is wrong and they know it is wrong.)

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From WaPo:

Scott McClellan, the former White House press secretary-turned-Bush administration critic, told the House Judiciary Committee this morning that the White House has “sought to avoid public accountability and scrutiny” about the leaking of a CIA agent’s name and “overstated and overpackaged” intelligence related to the Iraq war.

McClellan testified that he does not know whether President Bush or Vice President Cheney broke any laws in the leaking of the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame, in part because so much remains unknown. (more…)

 

 McClellan on the Hill [2:13m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Domestic Spying by ecthompson
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This is a new Blue America and Color of Change ad.

Tags: Domestic Spying by ecthompson
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Above is a picture of Phobos.

While Phobos looks like a rock, it is in fact a moon of Mars.

The above graphic shows the orbit around Mars of the two Martian moons.

They spin around and around to no apparent end. 

Here are some facts about Phobos–

Phobos, the largest Martian, gouged and nearly shattered by a giant impact crater and beaten by thousands of meteorite impacts, is on a collision course with Mars

Phobos, named after a messenger of the Roman god of war, is the larger of Mars’ two moons and 27 by 22 by 18 km in diameter. It orbits Mars three times a day, and is so close to the planet’s surface that in some locations on Mars it cannot always be seen.

Measurements of the day and night sides of Phobos show such extreme temperature variations that the sunlit side of the moon rivals a pleasant winter day in Chicago, while only a few kilometers away, on the dark side of the moon, the climate is more harsh than a night in Antarctica. High temperatures for Phobos were measured at -4 degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit) and lows at -112 Celsius (-170 degrees Fahrenheit). This intense heat loss is likely a result of the fine dust on Phobos’ surface, unable to retain heat.

Phobos has no atmosphere. It may be a captured asteroid, but some scientists show evidence that contradicts this theory.

Moral of the story—Though it may look like a rock, it may in fact be a moon. 

Tags: Science by Texas Liberal
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I have been making changes to my blog on a daily basis.  I have added Amazon books that I recommend and I have added some ads.  Although the ads are nice, I’m not to wild about the fact that John McCain ads are showing on my blog.  Whatever!  I have some web guru’s working on getting me something else displayed.  Bear with me.  I’m not supporting McCain.  That ain’t happening.

Tags: Blogging issues by ecthompson
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Thank you sir (ma’am), may I have another.

 

 Thank you, ma'am: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Don’t tell me that there is a ton of difference between Republicans and Democrats when stuff like this happens. The FISA bill is a large piece of corporate lovin’. The Democratic leadership in the House planned this. They crafted this so that they would vote on Friday and that the blow back would happen over a weekend. They were hoping that everything would be almost back to normal by Monday. …And they are looking out for who? The American people not being served by Steny Hoyer and Nancy Pelosi, today. This is a terrible day for the democratic party. BTW, where is Barack Obama?

Donate NOW to help stop this craziness. I have given, I hope that you will give also because this has to stop.

Update: I thought that TCR would have some good information and I was right:

Looking over the final roll call, most House Dems voted against the measure, while House Republicans were nearly unanimous in their support. Specifically, among Dems, 128 voted against it, while 105 voted for it. Among Republicans, 188 voted for it, and just one (Illinois’ Tim Johnson, whose work I’m not especially familiar with, was the lone GOP lawmaker to break ranks.)

Plenty of Dems spoke out forcefully against the bill, but the one quote that stands out most for me came before the debate began. Sen. Chris Bond (R-Mo.), who negotiated with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on the legislation, told the NYT, “I think the White House got a better deal than they even they had hoped to get.”

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From WaPo:

The House today overwhelmingly approved a sweeping new surveillance law that effectively would shield telecommunications companies from privacy lawsuits for cooperating with the Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping program.

Ending a year-long battle with President Bush, the House approved, 293 to 129, a re-write of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that extends the government’s ability to eavesdrop on espionage and terrorism suspects while providing a legal escape hatch for AT&T, Verizon Communications and other telecommunication firms. The companies face more than 40 lawsuits that allege they violated customers’ privacy rights by helping the government conduct a warrantless spying program after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Before the vote, President Bush today lauded Congress for reaching agreement on the legislation, saying it was vital to help thwart new terrorist attacks. (more…)

Tags: Domestic Spying by ecthompson
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