There is nothing like a jolt on a Monday morning right before Thanksgiving to get you to sit up and take notice.

However, as some have predicted, it looks like the Senate Democrats are on the verge of capitulating again with regards to Iraq War funding.  

More after the flip...

CNN is reporting that Conyers has reached a deal with the White House Department of Justice that will allow up to seven administration DOJ officials to be interviewed regarding the USA firings.

However, the "interviews" would be in private.

More after the fold.

After that gut-wrenching testimony on Panel I, I literally needed to step away, but now that the second panel is on, I want heads on a platter, starting with Kiley who lied through his teeth last week when he said the WaPo expose was much ado about nothing.

Some honor there, Kiley.

(This is a continuation of the live discussion thread found here.)

If you want to see the C-SPAN stream, you can find it here.

Sen. John McCain, as everyone knows, has been flip-flopping on everything from abortion to gay rights to Mom and apple pie.

The great maverick that McCain supposedly is has become lost as he tries to court the religious right and make nice with Falwell and Dobson in an attempt to garner a foundation of voters for his 2008 presidential hopes.

Unfortunately, his mouth just got in the way.

(More on the flip.)

As we know, the faux docudrama "Path to 9/11" has be able to convince Scholastic to distribute materials for "classroom discussion and debate."  But due to the fact that this movie is a propoganda piece, the materials from Scholastic are nothing more than items of support to bash the Clinton administration while making George W. Bush the white-hatted hero.

While Scholastic may have pulled the materials from their website, the hard copies of that material were already mailed out.  Since a recall of that material may only be partially successful, it is imperative that the netroots shield the students from biased materials by contacting their local school districts.

More on the flip (including a way to find your districts with a few mouse clicks).

CNN is reporting that the Connecticut Secretary of State has certified that Joe Lieberman has enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in November and to run on a third party ticket.

Additionally, many local labor unions in New Haven have officially endorsed Lieberman and support his bid.

More on the flip.

Being an Arizona native, I grew up knowing about John McCain, his war record, his love for Arizona, and his political aspirations.

I knew John McCain when he was a fierce Republican maverick.  He was, in many ways, a Barry Goldwater for the next generation.  As a Republican, he was conservative, but would often spare with party regulars when he felt the GOP was tackling issues that were unfair to the American people.

In 2000, he was willing to challenge George W. Bush in a primary and had some decent points about how the GOP was going to far to the right.

But that was then and this is now.

More on the flip.

Robert Novak just published his latest column, and it is a doozie.  Instead of outing an undercover CIA operative, Novak has decided to go right after the most vocal war critic in Washington, DC.

According to Novak, Rep. Jack Murtha (D-PA) is a corrupt politician and has the other Dem's worried.  And his big revelation?

Jack Murtha proves there are second acts in American politics. I had forgotten that federal prosecutors designated him an unindicted co-conspirator in the Abscam investigation 26 years ago. (my emphasis)

More after the flip.

Today I contacted my cell phone carrier, Virgin Mobile, with a very pointed question:

Did you turn over any consumer records (names, numbers, calls) to the National Security Agency as AT&T, Bell South and Verizon did?

I was hoping not to get some weasel-like answer.

What I got is after the flip...

You will never meet a more dedicated, loyal and patriotic American warrior than my nephew.  I am a very proud uncle in that my nephew, despite the presence of a horrible father, managed to take charge of his life and enlist in the Army instead of becoming a delinquent.

When he enlisted, he was happy to hear about the enlistment bonus and the pledge by our government that they would pay for his college education in return for his two year commitment and postponing college until his discharge.  Once he landed foot in the field, however, fate would change his outlook.

Did you see the Golden Globes last night?

I did, and it was a night that brought me to tears. Not because of some of the horrendous fashion, but because a film that means a lot to me won the awards for Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Song and Best Dramatic Movie. That was, of course, "Brokeback Mountain," the wonderful and brilliant movie about a couple of cowboys who find out they love each other.

I was there the day "Brokeback Mountain" opened in Phoenix and I had my tickets ready and stared mesmerized at the screen watching this amazing motion picture strike at my soul and my heart, so much so that it immediately ended up in my list of the top 5 movies ever. Why?

Well, there's more on the flip.

Coming soon to a television station near you is a pack of lies.  In an advertising blitz-a-thon, MoveAmericaForward.org will be hitting the television airwaves with commericials claiming that "new evidence" proves that Saddam did have huge arsenals of WMDs and even greater links to Al Qaeda.

According to the Wall Street Journal in this story, the group of history revisionist are claiming that "The discoveries are being covered up by those 'willing to undermine support for the war on terrorism to selfishly advance their shameless political ambitions.'"  

On DKos, I tend to be rather reserved in my interaction with the community.  Politics is something I am engaged in, but I always feel somewhat a step behind in grasping it all.  However, when something evil rears its ugly head and tries to grab me, I find myself unable to stay reserved.

The revelation that our King made unilateral decisions to spy on American citizens without warrants has chilled me to the bone.  What has made my spirit even more frosty is the people crawling out from the woodwork to defend Bush and prooftext the FISA statute to show that what Bush was doing is just nifty and swell and sunshine.

Then, at the end of the argument, the emotional bomb is dropped:

Dear President Bush:

Why the hell are you in my state?  You are currently here in Arizona.  El Mirage (a small Phoenix suburb), to be exact.

Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi are suffering tremendously due to Hurricane Katrina and you are here, in Arizona, soaking up the rays of a 110 F degree day.

Why the hell are you in my state?

I am a person who lives paycheck to paycheck.  More often than not, I am actually living beyond paycheck to paycheck.  I have, like a lot of people, been able to squeak by because the local "payday loan" shop was able to give me some money to tide me over, albeit at skyhigh interest rates.

I haven't had a real vacation in 15 years.  My vacation is usually a 3-day weekend spent with friends at their homes in California or New Mexico.  If I am lucky, I am able to save enough change each year to celebrate my anniversary with my partner as someplace other than Outback Steakhouse.

Although money is always extremely tight, I found some money to contribute to Paul Hackett in his bid to become a Congressman from Ohio even though I live far away in Arizona.

Here's why:

"Coin-Gate" out of Ohio has just taken another turn... for the worse.

It seems as though coins (which can't be accounted for or have been lost) aren't the only things the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Comp invested in via Tom Noe.  Now, there are paintings, autographs and other collectibles that Mr. Noe purchased with state monies for "investment" purposes.

More on the flip.

Dobson is now on record as feeling betrayed:

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., May 23 U.S. Newswire -- Focus on the Family Action Chairman Dr. James C. Dobson today issued the following statement, upon the announcement by members of the U.S. Senate that a "compromise" had been reached on the filibuster issue:

The outrage over Senator Man-on-Dog's comments comparing the Democrats to Hitler because of their stand on the filabuster is well-deserved.  The comparison is flat out wrong, unfair and a complete slap in the face to all of those who suffered at the hands of the Nazis.

However, I think a more compelling case could be made that Bush & Co., the GOP and Santorum are acting like Stalin.  One only has to look at the record to see the track record: