Watch it here--http://www.c-span.or...

The Senate all-night session is an unusual oopprtunity for bloggers and everybody to really see what a sham these rethug Seantors are. I just watched Kit Bond, who seemed inebriated, then Jim DeMint, another in denial rethug--he didn't even know the Democrats were the majority until the Senate Parliamentarian corrected him!
I was so outraged by Jim DeMint's comments that I sent him this comment--
So you think an all night debate is theatre--intended to embarass the President. You and his Adminsitration are out to destroy the US Army and this country's democratic ideals, whether you know it or not.. How many more casualties sir are you willing to accept before admitting we cannot make democracy when people hate us?
You will be soundly defeated as soon as the voters on S.C. have an opportunity to vote for a serious patriot like we did here in Virginia in electing Jim Webb. You don't even know who's the majority--you fool--you're days in the Senate are limited. Enjoy your perks because you'll be out soon!

Jim Bunning was...until now.  Duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

In his last election, Jim Bunning was rumored to be suffering from a neurological ailment.  Wish I could remember the circumstances, but he did some very bizarro things that the media questioned his "competency" about.  But, alas, the Republicans of KY re-elected the impaired gentleman. 

Here's a better explanation of some of the things Bunning did during the last campaign

http://tinyurl.com/2...

we pull out of Iraq, they'll come over here and conquer America?  Can any one human being be SO stupid?  Apparently, sadly, yes.

In response to the criticism that Dems were trying to "micromanage the war", she said, yeah, well, it's about time somebody started managing it!

that he is tired, wants to go home, and just wants oil sharing.

Take a nap, dude, and grab an espresso - it's gonna be a long night.

Lamar!!!!  Ha.

What the heck was his reasoning behind THAT?

Like, if you put exclamation points after any!!!! word!!!! it!!!! makes!!!! it!!!! exciting!!!! 

Ha!!!

I GET IT!!!!!  I AM VERY EXCITED!!!!

WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Rudy!!!!!!!!!
Mitt!!!!!!!!!
Fred!!!!!!!!!
McCain!!!!!!!
Newt!!!!!!!!!

Getting excited yet? :)

MY MIND IS BLOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is the Middle East not imploding now?  Short of all-out war on Israel, I can't imagine it being much worse.

SSIA

:)

But Lieberman is making me want to not watch any more.

"I don't know if I want a withdrawl, but I do want to be abel to vote on it"

Geezzzz!

is the MASN2 station.  There's an Orioles game on.  What gets me is that basic cable gives me MASN2, but I can't get channel 62 to watch the Nationals on MASN. 

Accross the board the majority party's call ..."Let Us Vote" ... also needs to remind the American people over and over again that this administration and the Republican rubber stamps in Congress took us into the "Wrong War, at the Wrong Time, for the Wrong Reasons" 

The occupation of Iraq is a failed policy that has made Americans less secure, put our military in harms way unnecissarily, and a change in course is long past due.

it was the Democrats capitulation, looking for political cover, that aided and abetted the rubber stamp Republicans in taking us into the "Wrong War".

Just imagine if NO Democrats had voted for the war, would we be having this debate today?  I'm sure that Hillary felt that if she voted for the War, and it succeeded, she'd have her patriot stripes for 08.  Or if it failed, it would all be on BushCo.  Oops!

As much as I like listening to the Republican finger puppets and the very confused Democrats, I still believe the best way to end this war is to not fund it.

No money=no war.

I'm going to call Warner and put in my .02.  Not that he's listening to the voters anyway, but hey - gotta pay to play.

NOTE THAT ONLY A SIMPLE MAJORITY WAS REQUIRED FOR AUTORIZATION:

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 107th Congress - 2nd Session as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate
Vote Summary
Question: On the Joint Resolution (H.J.Res. 114 )
Vote Number: 237  Vote Date: October 11, 2002, 12:50 AM
Required For Majority: 1/2  Vote Result: Joint Resolution Passed
Measure Number: H.J.Res. 114
Measure Title: A joint resolution to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq.
Vote Counts: YEAs 77
NAYs 23

Alphabetical by Senator Name
Akaka (D-HI), Nay
Allard (R-CO), Yea
Allen (R-VA), Yea
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Yea
Bennett (R-UT), Yea
Biden (D-DE), Yea
Bingaman (D-NM), Nay
Bond (R-MO), Yea
Boxer (D-CA), Nay
Breaux (D-LA), Yea
Brownback (R-KS), Yea
Bunning (R-KY), Yea
Burns (R-MT), Yea
Byrd (D-WV), Nay
Campbell (R-CO), Yea
Cantwell (D-WA), Yea
Carnahan (D-MO), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Yea
Chafee (R-RI), Nay
Cleland (D-GA), Yea
Clinton (D-NY), Yea
Cochran (R-MS), Yea
Collins (R-ME), Yea
Conrad (D-ND), Nay
Corzine (D-NJ), Nay
Craig (R-ID), Yea
Crapo (R-ID), Yea
Daschle (D-SD), Yea
Dayton (D-MN), Nay
DeWine (R-OH), Yea
Dodd (D-CT), Yea
Domenici (R-NM), Yea
Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
Durbin (D-IL), Nay
Edwards (D-NC), Yea
Ensign (R-NV), Yea
Enzi (R-WY), Yea
Feingold (D-WI), Nay
Feinstein (D-CA), Yea
Fitzgerald (R-IL), Yea
Frist (R-TN), Yea
Graham (D-FL), Nay
Gramm (R-TX), Yea
Grassley (R-IA), Yea
Gregg (R-NH), Yea
Hagel (R-NE), Yea
Harkin (D-IA), Yea
Hatch (R-UT), Yea
Helms (R-NC), Yea
Hollings (D-SC), Yea
Hutchinson (R-AR), Yea
Hutchison (R-TX), Yea
Inhofe (R-OK), Yea
Inouye (D-HI), Nay
Jeffords (I-VT), Nay
Johnson (D-SD), Yea
Kennedy (D-MA), Nay
Kerry (D-MA), Yea
Kohl (D-WI), Yea
Kyl (R-AZ), Yea
Landrieu (D-LA), Yea
Leahy (D-VT), Nay
Levin (D-MI), Nay
Lieberman (D-CT), Yea
Lincoln (D-AR), Yea
Lott (R-MS), Yea
Lugar (R-IN), Yea
McCain (R-AZ), Yea
McConnell (R-KY), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Nay
Miller (D-GA), Yea
Murkowski (R-AK), Yea
Murray (D-WA), Nay
Nelson (D-FL), Yea
Nelson (D-NE), Yea
Nickles (R-OK), Yea
Reed (D-RI), Nay
Reid (D-NV), Yea
Roberts (R-KS), Yea
Rockefeller (D-WV), Yea
Santorum (R-PA), Yea
Sarbanes (D-MD), Nay
Schumer (D-NY), Yea
Sessions (R-AL), Yea
Shelby (R-AL), Yea
Smith (R-NH), Yea
Smith (R-OR), Yea
Snowe (R-ME), Yea
Specter (R-PA), Yea
Stabenow (D-MI), Nay
Stevens (R-AK), Yea
Thomas (R-WY), Yea
Thompson (R-TN), Yea
Thurmond (R-SC), Yea
Torricelli (D-NJ), Yea
Voinovich (R-OH), Yea
Warner (R-VA), Yea
Wellstone (D-MN), Nay
Wyden (D-OR), Nay

This ought to be hammered home at every possible moment:

According to the Republicans, it takes 50+ votes to declare war in a Republican administration, but at least 60 votes to declare Congress' intent to end a war, or 60 votes to exercise Congress' Article I, Section VIII plenary powers to regulate the land and naval forces and mandate fair treatment of our soldiers by limiting the duration of deployment and time between deployments. What a grotesque inversion of how a republic ought to operate.

That was a sad day!  I'd contacted Sen. Mikulski's (D-Md.), my rep back then, office all week.  But she would not be swayed.  None of them would.  "Let's give our President a chance.  It's important that at this crucial date and time that we support our President".  During her time on the floor this evening, that is what I remember her saying back then.

I thought then as I do now, that I could have written this script for Hollywood.  Almost word for word from the time congress sang "America The Beautiful" on the Capitol steps. I swear George Bush got the best break in recorded history. None of this has been a surprise.  And I know now that all of this will turn out just as Cheney/Rove has scripted it.

So, no, I don't participate in the eternal optimisim of getting "our" man in office and "change" things in Washington.  It's the same today as it was Oct. 11 2002, "how do we appear to be doing something without actually doing anything?".  After all, someone else is going to take the fall, right?

No one lead us into this war.  We allowed ourselves to be lead there.  Be it fear, or partisanship - we went willingly.  At least 60% of the American people did anyway.  Al Qaeda was in Iraq, training camps everywhere.  And Sadam had WMD, killed his own people (while Bush 41 watched), and Sadam was going to do the same to us.

And the very distrubing thing is that we will also be lead into Iran.  I know that someday soon we'll get the "We are breaking from our regularly scheduled program to go to the White House for a statement from the President - "My fellow Americans, we have begun combat operations in Iran".

Just as scripted.

We were told by James Baker in December 2000, that "we are not in a constutional crisis, there are no tanks in the street, America still has a government".  But, we were in a constitutional crisis in 2000, and we have been in one since.

And our newely elected Democratic majority says that "impeachment" is off the table.  If our Democrats can't grow a spine then we need to grow one for them.  Keep the pressure on, keep up the emails, phone calls, and stop kissing their (euphamisim for DONKEY)'s just for showing up at a *(%^*&% fund raiser.

Lieberman, Joe
Allard, Wayne
Baucus, Max
Bayh, Evan
Breaux, John
Bunning, Jim
Domenici, Pete
Edwards, John
Helms, Jesse
Hutchinson, Tim
Johnson, Tim
Landrieu, Mary
McCain, John
McConnell, Mitch
Miller, Zell
Thurmond, Strom
Warner, John

Not good company for Edwards to be in.

Our own Senator Jim Webb is currently acting as the President pro tempore and presiding over the Senate tonight as history is made. 

I suggest history will note this first procedural roll call vote to get absent Senators onto the floor was when it finally became clear that Senate Democrats are serious about changing the direction our Nation is taking in Iraq. 

At 12:11am est Virginia Senator John Warner came to the floor to vote. 

These are moral cowards -- they recognize the problem, but would prefer to let our armed forces get ground up in a civil war they have no hope of policing rather than exercise their own Constitutional powers and maybe embarass their parties.

Warner, Lugar, Domenici, Voinovich, Specter, Collins, and Coleman are the absolute largest profiles in cowardice in this embarassment of a political body. Unfortunately, we can only get rid of 4/7 of them next year. They all need to go ASAP.

I was looking at next year's Senate elections today, and there will be fully 35 Senators up for re-election (due to the death of Sen. Thomas in Wyoming).

We the People need to challenge every single one of those that would rather carry George Bush's bags than stand up for our country, troops, and Constitution.

saying that we MUST wait until the Petraus report in September.

QUESTION - since the Iraqi parliment will be on VACATION during the month of August, how much difference/progress  is their going to be between the NIE/Bush report released this week and a report from Gen. Petraus in September?

How can the Iraqi's make "progress" when their government is not there?

After betting his political future on "winning" in Vietnam ... oops Iraq ... he's so consumed with anger over his failing Presidential campaign .. I'm worried he's going to have a stroke  ... he's obviously losing it 

 

From the human and financial cost to how this administration has failed our troops  .... $12 billion per MONTH on Iraq vs $10 Billion a YEAR for childrens health care 

Her comments lead me to recall that during the 2006 campaign I used to compare the $8.4 billion per MONTH spending on Iraq to $8.2 bilion per YEAR for the Coast Guard 

Check these out
http://maps.nationma...

"...misguided policies and no good answers"  "miscalculations and mistakes"