TenuredVulture wrote:

VoxOrion wrote:Yeah, that seems overly cynical. I'm not denying that it happens, but brokering deals, managing budgets, managing to whatever indicators or metrics that are established as best practices, is all easily quantified - particularly if one is being evaluated among their peers and not in a vacuum.

And, it would seem that a fire department at least should strive to put out fires and minimize loss of life and property.

VoxOrion wrote:

dajafi wrote:Not to short-circuit the interesting discussion underway, but this seems like a big deal.

Rep. Jane Harman , the California Democrat with a longtime involvement in intelligence issues, was overheard on an NSA wiretap telling a suspected Israeli agent that she would lobby the Justice Department to reduce espionage-related charges against two officials of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, the most powerful pro-Israel organization in Washington.

Harman was recorded saying she would “waddle into” the AIPAC case “if you think it’ll make a difference,” according to two former senior national security officials familiar with the NSA transcript.

In exchange for Harman’s help, the sources said, the suspected Israeli agent pledged to help lobby Nancy Pelosi , D-Calif., then-House minority leader, to appoint Harman chair of the Intelligence Committee after the 2006 elections, which the Democrats were heavily favored to win.

Seemingly wary of what she had just agreed to, according to an official who read the NSA transcript, Harman hung up after saying, “This conversation doesn’t exist.”

Harman declined to discuss the wiretap allegations, instead issuing an angry denial through a spokesman.

Where it gets even more interesting is that supposedly Alberto Gonzales shut down the investigation into this in return for Harman promising to defend the administration's warrantless (a/k/a "illegal") wiretapping program.

Wow.

lethal wrote:Hey now, censor that photo.

Werthless wrote:

lethal wrote:Hey now, censor that photo.

Prix? It's pretty fuzzy, so sorry if I am missing something egregious.

CrashburnAlley wrote:

CalvinBall wrote:I don't understand these tea party things. Are they being run by Fox News? How come it was fine to have deficit spending the past 8 years but not now?

Colbert did a funny bit showing how Glenn Beck was going to run a tea party in the only place in America that made sense. The place he chose was the Alamo.

Jon Stewart also had a funny bit, pointing out the hypocrisy of the tea partiers. They're revolting against excessive spending, yet they spent money on something like a million tea bags.

Link

jerseyhoya wrote:

Werthless wrote:

lethal wrote:Hey now, censor that photo.

Prix? It's pretty fuzzy, so sorry if I am missing something egregious.

I think he's talking about the word $#@!. Which you notice when you type it in with words it comes out the same way as $#@! or $#@! or $#@!.

TenuredVulture wrote:If I understand Nate on 538 correctly, Ron Paul is the future of the Republican Party.

So if I understand this correctly -- and I'm pretty sure I do -- when the U.S. Government eavesdropped for years on American citizens with no warrants and in violation of the law, that was both "legal and necessary," and it's the "despicable" whistle-blowers (such as Thomas Tamm) who disclosed that crime and the newspapers who reported it who should be criminally investigated, but not the lawbreaking government officials. But when the U.S. Government legally and with warrants eavesdrops on Jane Harman, that is an outrageous invasion of privacy and a violent assault on her rights as an American citizen, and full-scale investigations must be commenced immediately to get to the bottom of this abuse of power. Behold Jane Harman's overnight transformation from Lawless Surveillance State champion to shrill civil liberties extremist.

But I'm really wondering: as serious as it is when a member of Congress is the target of government eavesdropping, can we really afford to investigate this? After all, we have so many very important things to do. It really seems like we need to be looking forward, not backwards. The Bush administration is gone. This all happened in 2005 -- years ago. Is this really a time to be pursuing grudges, to be re-litigating old disputes? What kind of partisan witch hunt is Harman after? We can, and surely should, reflect on what happened to her -- in fact, let us now pause together for a moment of quiet reflection on what was done to Jane Harman -- but this is not a time for retribution. The American people want the people's business done, not "abuse of power" investigations.

Besides, if Jane Harman didn't do anything wrong -- as she claims -- then what does she have to hide? Only Terrorists and criminals would mind the Government listening in. We all know that government officials have better things to do than worry about what innocent Americans are saying. If she did nothing wrong -- if all she was doing was talking to her nice constituents and supporters about how she could be of service --then they obviously weren't interested in what she had to say.
...
Jane Harman is so shrill and angry today. She sounds like some sort of unhinged blogger.

jerseyhoya wrote:

Werthless wrote:

lethal wrote:Hey now, censor that photo.

Prix? It's pretty fuzzy, so sorry if I am missing something egregious.

I think he's talking about the word $#@!. Which you notice when you type it in with words it comes out the same way as $#@! or $#@! or $#@!.

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) may have thought his political challenges were over after he won a racially-charged, highly-contentious Democratic primary with 79 percent of the vote last year.

But Cohen, the only white member of Congress representing a majority-black district, may be facing an even tougher challenge next year.

Memphis mayor Willie Herenton announced today that he is forming an exploratory committee to run for Cohen’s seat.

“My 30 years of public service has uniquely prepared me to represent Memphis at the federal level as our national leadership faces some very difficult challenges,” Herenton said in a statement.

Herenton has a more prominent political profile than Cohen’s main opponent in 2006 and 2008, attorney Nikki Tinker. Tinker had no political experience when she first challenged Cohen, while Herenton is in his fifth term as mayor.

lethal wrote:I get the impression that Rep. Barton thinks he stumped the nobel prize winning Energy Secretary with this question about where oil came from.

...

At least that's why he posted the himself and captioned it "Energy Secretary puzzled." Barton has an engineering degree?