During Panel 1, Representative Kucinich (D-Ohio) presented his three bills regarding the articles of impeachment for Shrub for the consideration of the Judiciary Committee. He asked his colleagues in Congress to honor our oath to support and defend the constitution.

These hearings are currently being shown on C-Span 1 TV

Links:C-Span 1 - follow link on home page

Other links

KPFA & Pacifica Radio will air Friday's hearing from 9:00AM - 1:00PM EDT streamed live at pacifica.org and kpfa.org and on the air at KPFA (Berkeley), KPFK (Los Angeles), KPFT (Houston), and others TBD.

Important Note: Please do NOT recommend this diary. Instead recommend the
Mothership here.

See Panel 2 speakers below the flip

Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), Judiciary Committee Ranking Member is speaking to the ACLU right now and is being aired on CSPAN2.

He is speaking out forcefully regarding warrantless wiretapping, rendition, and torture.

"

It's hard to give retroactive immunity when you don't know what you are giving immunity for."

Other speakers, including James Risen, coming up.

I nominate Tom Coburn (R-OK) for the 2007 Grinchiest Congresscritter.

(Photo courtesy of his
official Senate page.)

ALS patients nation wide are being held hostage this Christmas by a Grinch on Capitol Hill. His name is Tom Coburn, Senator from Oklahoma. The Wall Street Journal posted the front-page article on Dec. 21st.

Leon Peek is a friend of mine who was diagnosed with ALS in 2004. He sent me an email today about Coburn's hold on Senate bill 1382.

There will come a moment in this year's election cycle where the Democratic nominee is selected (preferably at the Democratic National Convention, and not by the teevee pundits, or the polls, beforehand). Let me put it out front:  I will support whomever that is and vote for that nominee.  I will also throw my primary support to another candidate of my choice (not saying who, because I'm still torn between several -- more on that later) when I believe that Al Gore is not to be a contender.

I am not there yet.  Why not?  Because I am heartened by the concerted efforts in California to put Gore on the ballot based on signatures.  I support the efforts in NH to generate a write-in campaign (requiring 51,000 voters to make an impact).  And although the efforts in Michigan did not generate the required signatures to get him on the ballot there, I exhort those organizers to send those lists to Al Gore.

Now here's one reason I'm not ready to give up:

Not only would this ticket win in 2008 by a landslide, it would guarantee the WH would be under could lead to progressive leadership for 16 years.  And don't think the opposition doesn't know this.  In fact, they are praying fervently that Gore doesn't get in the race. A redstate blogger clues us in to what they are thinking, and worrying about:

...let me explain how I think Al Gore could actually beat Hillary even though he would be entering so late, then I will explain why I think he would crush us in the general election.

So they are talking about the Gore-geous Gore-illas, and they're not talking about a possible run in 2012 or 2016.  It's 2008 that is the turning point.  For the country, for addressing the climate crisis in perspective of every other issue, and for Gore.

I loved the recent story about the clowns in Ashville, NC, and exlrpp's diary Bullets to use on Swiftboaters, I am hoping comments in this diary will produce some good phrases we can use.  We not only need to use the facts (I am printing Bush's discharge record, thanks exlrpp!), but find ways to turn their phraseology.

Yet another Gore diary.  As long as people beyond dkos are talking about the possibility of a Gore presidency, and why, I will keep my internal flame burning and my powder dry.

John Nichols has an opinion in the Capital Times this morning that stoked me up again.  I go to bed each night with a prayer and some hope and wake up in the morning debating with myself as to whether Gore will run.  Sometimes I think we should just leave it up to him and other times, like after reading Nichols, I know that we need to keep letting Mr. Gore know that we want him to be our next President.