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February 12, 2008
Mr. Dodd Goes to Washington -- and Gets Screwed by his Fellow Democrats Again
With today's votes, retroactive immunity for telecoms means illegal spying is actually legal, at least according to the Senate. Oh well, Huxley and Orwell warned us. The House bill doesn't include protection for the telecoms. At this point in time, though, I wouldn't dare make a bet that Pelosi and her House Dems will put up a strong resistance. That would be naive, considering how weak they have been at beating back the crimes of the Bush mob. And hey, I seem to recall a five-year war and occupation still rumbling along somewhere...
Who really loses? The Constitution and the People of the United States, as usual.
Despite the best efforts of Senators Dodd and Feingold, certain Senate Democrats refused to help present a united front. Nope, when it came to holding companies accountable for spying on America's citizens without the proper warrants since February 2001, certain so-called Democrats jumped the fence to support Republicans in their abdication of responsibility to protect and defend the Constitution.
These are the names of the traitors:
Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
Evan Bayh (D-IA)
Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Mark Pryor (D-AR)
Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Ken Salazar (D-CO)
Tom Carper (D-DE)
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
Jim Webb (D-VA)
Ben Nelson (D-NE)
Bill Nelson (D-FL)
Kent Conrad (D-ND)
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
And in case anyone was interested in which corporations are supporting the telecom criminals, Starbucks has just entered into a new contract with AT&T -- one of the main offenders of unconstitutional spying -- for its Wi-Fi services.
AT&T replaces longtime provider T-Mobile USA and brings with it 17 million of its customers who will pay nothing additional for access. The new service will also be free for two hours a day to anyone who has and uses a Starbucks card.
An instructive note: T-Mobile, a local company, has not been participating in the illegal spying program.
You might want to check with your favorite neighborhood Wi-Fi cafe to see who they are doing business with.
Posted by shoephone on February 12, 2008 at 11:36 AM in National and International Politics | Permalink
Comments
After a while, it's hard to think of any new terms of contempt when I'm discussing the U.S. Senate.
BTW, I see that Hillary Clinton sat this one out. Way to take a stand, Senator.
Posted by: Cujo359 | Feb 12, 2008 11:50:10 PM
The betrayal is profound. I no longer care about propping up the limp Democratic "majority". Their failures are too numerous and the result is the end of our constitutional, democratic experiment.
As for Clinton, she blundered hugely in her absence on Tuesday's votes. Her judgment to skip out on this is more than just a disappointment. It is, frankly, a stunning mistake. But not for one moment do I believe that Obama's attendance reflected anything but cynical, political calculation and opportunism. He has shown himself to be devoid of any real strength on constitutional matters since coming to the Senate. And for someone who lectured on constitutional law, his lack of attention shows both arrogance and ignorance.
He and Clinton had an obligation over the last weeks to support Dodd every single time he went to speak on the Senate floor. Instead of doing the right thing, on almost every occasion they chose to traipse around the country campaigning and fundraising.
Your use of the word "contempt" was on target, Cujo. It's what I feel for the lot of them.
Posted by: shoephone | Feb 13, 2008 1:07:16 AM
I am very pleased that my senators -- Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray -- did the right thing and voted YES on the Dodd amendment.
Where was Senator Clinton when her vote was needed?
Posted by: RodneyL | Feb 13, 2008 4:34:45 PM
check out chuck schumer on dailykos lying his sell out ass off.
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2008/2/13/15637/0400/814#c814
Posted by: seabos84 | Feb 13, 2008 5:16:38 PM
RodneyL -
See my first comment.
Posted by: shoephone | Feb 13, 2008 5:47:50 PM
