Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos! Cancel my account, Lord Kos!

[Originally posted at Corrente. Welcome, Sidehow readers.]

Will the only Constitutional scholar in the race take a stand on retroactive immunity for the telcos?

I'm guessing no. Though nothing would please me more than for Obama to show leadership by denying retroactive immunity to the telcos helping Bush with his illegal and unconstitutional warrantless surveillance program and violating FISA, I think he'll play for safety rather than play to win.*

So, I'd like to give him and his a gentle nudge in the direction of standing up and doing the right thing. First, I'll give a high level overview** of the situation with the Fourth Amendment, the Constitution as I see it, FISA, and the role of the telcos. Then I'll summarize the very real political benefits that could accrue to Obama from using the Senate floor as a bully pulpit to prevent retroactive immunity for the telcos under cover of "reforming" FISA.

[Originally published at Corrente.]

[NOTE: This is not the Nevada flyer. This is a Florida flyer.]

Sheesh:

WANNA BECOME AN OBAMACRAT?!!!
By Obama Florida 2008
Published: April 24, 2007

That's why "Democrat for a Day" was launched this spring by ObamaFlorida2008. Using the official forms provided by all Supervisors of Elections offices, you may re-register as a Democrat for that one day -- when the primary is likely to be held -- on February 5, 2008. You must do so before the end of 2007, to make sure it is done 30 days before the primary.

[Originally posted at Corrente]

Surprise! Universal health care really is a matter of life and death.

Single payer, no rickety plans, just do it the Fuck like all the other civilized nations do. Xan nails it in this comment, which ought to be permanently front-paged on every fucking liberal blog in the world forever. Sarah advocates early testing, which in a sane world might make sense, but:

I always expected the question of how Mike Huckabee's son killed that dog* would be a fertile source for opposition researchers.

But I didn't expect that would happen the minute the Iowa polls closed!

[By MJS, at Corrente, where it was originally published.]

The following entries were found in a diary left behind in a Progressive Cave near the Whaddaguy Gorge dig in North America, unearthed after being hidden for almost ten days.  A remarkable discovery, by any stretch.  Perhaps even a miracle.

Day 161: Obama came over late.  I made dinner, but it was cold by the time he got to it and he threw it against the wall.  Told me "social security is in trouble" and I bit my lip.  He makes up stories, and if I contradict him he out awesome's me, and then I feel unloved and abused.  I did tell him that Krugman called, just to piss him off.

Amazingly, MoDo -- even a blind pig finds a truffle every so often -- has a good quote* in her column today that nobody else is reporting:

[Michelle Obama] told a group gathered at a nursing home in Grinnell on Monday that "Barack is one of the smartest people you will ever encounter who will deign to enter this messy thing called politics."

Come on. "Deign"?

Politics is how citizens make decisions in a democracy. "Deign" to enter that process? WTF?

I don't want someone who stands above the fray preaching "unity" and teh Bipartisan because he doesn't want to get down and dirty!

Via Digby, Bloomberg, some Broderites, and some 80s retreads are calling for a "government of national unity." Can we get a grip, please? Google it. Governments of national unity are for countries that have suffered huge trauma, like apartheid in South Africa or decades of civil war in the Sudan. You don't proclaim a government of national unity because there might be a change in government from one party to another, or because the cocktail wienies won't be coming, or because somebody's winger operative girlfriend is going to enter the dreaded private sector, or because a hippie or two is going to become a undersecretary of this, that, or the other. And you especially don't proclaim one because DC is your place.

[Originally published at Corrente]

One current permathread on here at Kos is that Krugman and Obama are feuding or having a vendetta.  Which, when you take a step back, is bizarre. That movement conservatives and Villagers like stone Bush enabler William Kristol, like David Brooks, Broderella, and Andrew Sullivan are all good with Obama isn't even mentioned in passing by Obama's fan base. And yet those same enthusiasts spend inordinate amounts of time vilifying Paul Krugman, a true progressive who was there for us from the earliest dark days of the Bush regime.

Curious. What's really happening?

Which Republican family is winning the all-important dog abuse primary? Huckabee, Guiliani, or Romney? Follow me below the fold to take the poll!

[Originally posted at Corrente.]

Dodd's filibustering on FISA tomorrow, for the Constitution and the Fourth Amendment, and against retroactive immunity for the telcos and warrantless surveillance.

And where are those who promised to help him?

Glenn:

Two other Senators at least -- Feingold and Kennedy -- have committed to being on the floor to enable Dodd to take periodic breaks by asking questions. Despite issuing prior statements claiming they would support Dodd's filibuster, none of the other presidential candidates in the Senate -- Clinton, Obama or Biden -- have indicated that they will do so tomorrow.

Boy, do Hillary and Obama both suck. [UPDATE: You too, Joe Biden!] What a surprise! Just to refresh your memories:

[Originally published at Corrente.]

Oddly, or not, the forthcoming Times article treats Huckabee's weight loss uncritically. But if The God Of His Choice put Huckabee first in the polls, why didn't God just staple Huckabee's stomach for him? Or is it possible there was a less divine form of intervention, from a surgeon with a staple gun?

[Originally posted at Corrente.]

Can anyone tell, from her site, whether Hillary has a plan to restore Constitutional government? And, if so, what it is?

[UPDATE Please, anyone, just answer the question. There are two parts to the answer: (a) the plan; (b) a link to the plan on the Hillary site. Thanks.]

I figured the Clinton campaign site had to be the most authoritative source of answers to this question, so I went there and looked at what was on the record, starting with the Issues/Government Reform topic. There, I see a lot of sound, good government administrative ideas like:

[Originally published at Corrente.]

Check out this lead from Peter Baker in WaPo today:

So, speaking of inconvenient truths, what's wrong with this sentence?

[Originally posted at Corrente.]

Here's a very interesting speech that Representative Hoyer gave yesterday over at Georgetown Law School. (I'm not clued into Village mores enough to know if the location is significant, but I'm guessing it is. Heck, it's the Beltway's own law school...). Here's the text of the speech, and some of what he had to say; I'm leaving out the terra-terra-terra ass-covering boilerplate to focus on what's new:

We also swear an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States, and to honor the values and principles that are contained therein for example, the Fourth Amendment right that Americans be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the Fifth Amendment right to due process of law.

[Originally published at Corrente.]

Yes, Clarence Thomas will stop giving America the silent treatment, and go on Rush Limbaugh Monday. Even Bush flak Dana Perino is condemning Limbaugh for calling serving soldiers "phonies", so why is a sitting Supreme Bush Court "Justice" rushing to support Limbaugh in his hour of need?

[Originally posted at Corrente.]

I went to the Mall yesterday and bought a copy of Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. It only took my an entire afternoon via public transportation, since, of course, buses run every hour, I suppose not to impede the tens of thousands of cars using the public roads. And the mall doesn't even have any fucking sidewalks!

Anyhow, the book is wonderful, illuminating, terrifying. You should--must--go buy it and read it immediately if you want us all to be able to start thinking strategically instead of reacting to each shock as it comes, and the next one is coming; that panting sound you hear is the wingers, waiting for it.

[Originally published at Corrente]

Now I can die happy. David Broder answered my question in a chat: