Posted on December 22nd, 2005 by
Take it away, Bo Diddley John Hinderaker:
You can tell it’s a good deal because Harry Reid is furious. He is threatening to filibuster the defense appropriation bill that includes the drilling provision, and to block all of President Bush’s pending nominations. This quote from Reid is unintentionally revealing, as well as hilarious:
We’ve become like the House of Commons. Whoever has the most votes wins. It hasn’t worked that way in 216 years.
Of course, it’s always good to cut out the bits you don’t like to make someone look like an ass. (Of course, Power Line is special because quoting more doesn’t help.) Anyhoo — what Reid said:
The Republican leadership now is attempting to impose the most cynical and I believe abusive practice in this pending conference report that, if successful, has the potential of changing the way this body operates forever. We will become another House of Representatives. […]
In the Senate and the House, the rules are that the conferees are not allowed to include in the conference report any matter that was not submitted to the conference by either House. This avoids the possibility of conferees including legislation that would not pass either one House or the other on its own and forces the Congress to reach a consensus on controversial legislation. This process has served the Senate well for more than 200 years. […]
If this practice is allowed to stand, then the Republican majority, or any majority, can change the rules in the Senate procedure prospectively in a conference committee without any say by the minority party by a simple majority vote on an unrelated conference report. […]
We become the House of Representatives. The Founding Fathers didn’t want two House of Representatives. They wanted a bicameral legislature. But we become the House of Representatives, and the possibilities are endless in an institution that exists to forge a consensus and not act on the whims of whichever majority party is in control at the time. We become similar to the House of Commons . Whoever has the most votes wins. We haven’t worked that way for 216 years.
This abusive practice will allow any majority to alter any rule at any time for the consideration of any measure to advance its short-term political interests and will change the very nature of the Senate. [link]
Maybe a small round of Sadly, No! for everyone? Merry Christmas!
Posted on December 22nd, 2005 by Brad
Sam Weaver is one of Renew America’s most exciting new talents. In the first place, he looks like a C-grade ’70s porn star:
“Howdy ma’am! My name’s Slammin’ Sam Weaver and I’m here to bring you a very special package! Bow-chicka-bow-wow!”
And secondly, he writes columns like this one, called “Conventional Wisdom.”
Conventional wisdom
Sam Weaver
December 21, 2005
“Education: The bringing up, as of a child; instruction; formation of manners. Education comprehends all that series of instruction and discipline which is intended to enlighten the understanding, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and to fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give children a good education in manners, arts and science, is important; to give them a religious education is indispensable; and an immense responsibility rests on parents and guardians who neglect these duties.” ? Noah Webster’s original definition of education, as it appeared in the first edition of his American Dictionary of the English Language (1828).
As you can see, Sam has already mastered one of the wingnuts’ all-time favorite tactics: quoting the dictionary. And not just any dictionary, mind you- a dictionary that’s more than 175 years old.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on December 22nd, 2005 by Brad
Heh-indizzle:
Science practices methodological materialism or naturalism. We test material explanations of the world because that’s all we can do?we don’t have a supernatural toolkit. Christians can practice methodological materialism all they want without damning themselves to hell. Even non-scientists do this all the time, when, for instance, they thump a melon at the grocery store to see if it’s ripe, rather than praying to god to send them a sign.
Posted on December 21st, 2005 by
Tim Lambert hast the perfect bingo game for the holidays, Christmas, that gay and festive period we call December:
After seeing yet another ignorant column about how banning DDT killed millions and millions and millions of people. I?ve been inspired to create DDT Ban Myth Bingo to make reading these stupid articles more interesting. Just tick the box when they use the bogus argument next to it. […] I?ve also included links to refutations of each argument.
This is our favorite:
Rachel Carson killed more people than Hitler.
Posted on December 21st, 2005 by
Fiscal conservatives are doing the happy dance over the budget deal reached today:
Is the money nearing the mouth?
Pajamas Media in Los Angeles
The Baron thinks so, writing about today’s passage of a federal budget with nearly $40 billion in spending cuts (Washington Post): “Today, Vice President Dick Cheney cast the deciding vote that will cut nearly $40 billion (with a ?b?) from the federal budget. […]
The bottom line: My student loan payments will now significantly rise. I could complain. I could be upset. But I am thrilled. Today, my money and my mouth are closer to being connected. I have called for spending restraint as long as I remember following politics. Indeed, one of my favorite questions to ask people is whether they would give up their favorite federal program in exchange for never paying income taxes. While I am not quite done paying income taxes, and the government program that most benefits me is far from non-existent, today?s vote moves my money and my mouth one step closer to each other. I long for the day when they are connected[.]
Of course, even the least informed among us will notice a few things:
The budget legislation would trim federal spending growth by nearly $40 billion over the next five years.
That’s $8 billion per year (we went to math school with Lynne Cheney!) The projected deficit from 2006 to 2011 is $314, $324, $335, $321 and $317 billion (yes, with a b!) Never mind money and mouth, how about connecting brain and hands before the latter are allowed anywhere near a keyboard?
Oh yeah, as long as we’re celebrating “spending restraints:”
Billions more would come from programs unrelated to benefit programs. The legislation assumes $10 billion in federal receipts from the sale of part of the analog spectrum, for example.
Spending restraints? Sadly, No!, for example.
Posted on December 21st, 2005 by Gavin M.
Swedish press: Santa dead via suicide.
(From Ed at Watch Me Sleep.)
Santa:
I can?t live like this any longer. When I started giving out Christmas presents it was to help those who are worse off in society get a little extra. But greedy store owners took Christmas from me. They sold Santa?s workshop to China where the elves have to work for slave wages while they make billions themselves. The owner of H&M, Stefan Persson, for example, has 11 billion dollars and is one of the world?s 30 richest people. It?s people like him that benefit from today?s Christmas.
[BTW: Please give the gift of Digby this year.]
Posted on December 21st, 2005 by Gavin M.
“I have a J.D. from Harvard Law School.”
He’s at it again.
Professor Stone,
you were quoted in the New York Times today to the effect that the administration’s NSA international intercept program is plainly illegal. This puzzled me, as I have been researching the issue and have not found any support for that proposition. It appears to be universally recognized by the federal courts that warrantless surveillance for national security purposes is within the President’s Article II power. See, for example, the November 2002 decision of the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review, in Sealed Case No. 02-001:
“The Truong court [United States v. Truong Dinh Hung, 4th Cir. 1980], as did all the other courts to have decided the issue, held that the President did have inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information. *** We take for granted that the President does have that authority and, assuming that is so, FISA could not encroach on the President’s constitutional power.”
The Supreme Court precedents are consistent with that view.
I am writing on this topic, and want to make sure that I am not overlooking an argument for the illegality of the intercepts. As happens so often in newspaper articles, the Times reporter quoted your conclusion without conveying any hint of the grounds for it. I would appreciate it very much if you would take the trouble to refer me to the authorities that you believe support the opinion that you gave to the Times.
Thank you very much.
John Hinderaker
While I have seen nothing so far that would suggest that the NSA program was illegal, I want to make sure that we are addressing the strongest arguments that can be made to that effect, and Professor Stone appears to be a respected authority on the subject. So I will post any response I receive from him, and will respond to whatever arguments and authorities he brings forward.
Posted by John at 07:30 AM
Dear Acme Company,
Please send the following:
1-gal. container glue
Giant spring
Crate of TNT
Inflatable monster head
Assortment of bear traps
“Little Giant” rocket sled kit
Anvil
Thank You,
John Hinderaker
PS: Am enclosing steam-powered pole-vault kit for refund, w/ accompanying hospital bills.
PPS: Will catch Road Runner this time for sure.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on December 21st, 2005 by Gavin M.
B?rub?’s got it.
As we winnow down to our core business of attacking other blogs with mutant cats and making fun of helpless wingnuts, it would be good if we could initiate one considered word into the grand conversation that is the ‘blogosphere,’ and in its wider scope, the ‘national discourse.’
‘Monarchists.’
[Brad! Go do a Swank or something or else we’re going to turn into Corrente here…]
Posted on December 20th, 2005 by Gavin M.
From Atrios:
Evil Plots
They keep reminding us that Bush’s illegal wiretap plan uncovered a dastardly plot to bring down the Brooklyn Bridge. Said plot involved bringing down the Brooklyn Bridge with blow torches. It’s rather like busting me for my evil plot to blackmail the world’s governments for ONE MILLION DOLLARS by threatening to send the moon crashing into the Earth.
While it’s indeed good that they stopped Atrios, let’s envision the converse:
“President Bush’s illegal spying plot against American citizens sent an attractive white mother to jail for crimes she didn’t commit.”
[Insert massaged narrative with whatever details can be semi-plausibly whooped-up.]
“Oh no, whewws my mom-my!?”
[insert 500 single-dip shovels of self-recursive punditry, pandemic to all media]
It’s ‘how they do it.’
Posted on December 20th, 2005 by Gavin M.
From TalkLeft, on the current spying unpleasantness:
These are not phone numbers we’re talking about…These are IP addresses, email addresses.
A system is in place that basically filters on certain triggers (text, phoneme, etc.) within Internet “conversations.” This is “detection” or at least it’s tortured definition that was placed in this idiot Bush’s mind. “Monitoring” would be recording an entire conversation, like in a phone conversation.
That system then collects information on those conversations including…ta da…source and destination IP addresses. Those IP addresses can then be stored for further investigation on other “conversations.”
E.g., I start an email thread with a friend in France. I mention Al Qaeda. My conversation is “detected” and my info is stored. The system then segments my address into another system and starts a deeper “detection” on any further “conversations” for further triggers. Hence, the system could still be said to be in the detecting mode, not monitoring.
(And, of course, definitely read the whole thing.)
It’s starting to seem that the program behind the scenes is something like Echelon, as we know it, but with greater (or smarter) filtering capabilities. And maybe it checks your ‘IP Daily,’ if that’s not a huge stretch for an obvious joke.
[Dear Seb, how are things in Deutschla…yeek! (cancel message)]
Extra linkage: PGP, the webgeek e-encryption guys. PGP (= ‘pretty good privacy’), their downloadable encryption stuff, is poison to e-snoopers.