Something Fun

JNS, a month ago you wrote-
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“In reality, the lame duck entered like a lamb this week and looks to leave like one next month. What will they get done? The new Congress has to elect their leaders and rules – the GOP ban earmarks being the biggest news. The old Congress, still in office through the end of the year, must deal with President George W. Bush’s tax cuts before they expire in January. And they’ll have to pass legislation to keep funding the federal government in the new year. Virtually everything else – a list of nearly 30 bills from the DREAM Act, which would help put some children of illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship, to the reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, to (yes) climate change and the ratification of the START nuclear nonproliferation treaty – will likely either die or get shunted to the next Congress in January”
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It seems there is more activity then you were expecting. Even a chance for a change in DADT.
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Why do you suppose that is?

You’re right, it has been busier than I was expecting, though I don’t think all of this will get through. I’m 50-50 on the omnibus, which is getting help from pro-earmark Rs and Gates’ support today. I thought it’d never make it through DeMint and the TP but it’s looking more likely now. Start is looking good as well, though I suspect that was a side deal attached to the tax cuts. DADT could pass if Reid’s willing to stick it out next week — it’ll take nearly till xmas to get it done. DREAM and 911 are still non-starters.

It’s more productive for two reasons: 1) retiring Republicans who are willing to flout the will of the Tea Party in order to secure their legacies, and 2) the elections lit a fire under Dems and they’re more tenacious than I’d expected: take DADT. In years past they would’ve accepted the first defeat. The fact that they’re bringing it back is surprising. They know this is their last best shot at this and they’re dealing with a lot of angry constituencies — gays, Latinos — so they’re doing their best to get whatever they can done.
JNS

Thanks JNS.
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It’s more than a little ironic that the man leading the charge to pass something to perhaps mollify an angry Democratic constituency is not a Democrat.
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Joe Lieberman.

Speaking of comedy greats, albeit here in sorrow, alas, Blake Edwards died today, RIP.
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http://voices.washingtonpost.com/celebritology/2010/12/blake_edwards_dead_at_88.html
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Great career (including Peter Gunn) and married to Julie Andrews (remember her ripping off her top in SOB?)…

…and of course his legacy…
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http://movieclips.com/akwHW-a-shot-in-the-dark-movie-naked-traffic-jam/
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(my fave PP film series scene ever)

here’s something fun:

First, some thank yous. To all the people around the world who have had faith in me, who have supported my team while I have been away. To my lawyers, who have put up a brave and ultimately successful fight, to our sureties and people who have provided money in the face of great difficulty and aversion. And to members of the press who are not all taken in and considered to look deeper in their work.

wow he lost his mind in the joint. who are these “non-taken-in journalists” he’s thanking? something they have in eurostan, i guess.

relatedly, wouldn’t it be great if there were a national newsmagazine with investigative reporters who could reflect on their own criminality should assange be indicted as manning’s co-conspirator? that really should grease the skids for DOJ’s case against the NYT’s Risen, no?

and yes, i mean the obama DOJ.

sorry, didn’t link the blockquote (although the source is pretty obvious). here

I’m not in favor of Assange, or even Manning, for that matter, to be held accountable for the leaks and heres why:
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1. Nobody was harmed, or placed in harms way due to the postings. We have the words of Gates, Clinton and several others who should be in the know on that.
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2. Though the documents posted haven’t harmed any person, or even this country, they have caused an embarrassment among our diplomatic corps, the CIA and others.

3. The nature of these documents just goes to show that those in power seek to classify every tiny word or phrase spoken between any diplomat and a counter-part. Most of these documents were little more than gossip, if that. Hence the embarrassment.

4. In today’s world, we need oversight more than ever. Lack of oversight has led this country into at least 2 ill-fated wars, Iraq and Vietnam. The North Vietnamese had not fired upon a US ship as the pentagon claimed and Iraq had lost its biological & chemical weapon capability long before Bush & Co. claimed otherwise in ’03.
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5. All branches of government need to learn to behave with a measure of decorum and stop relying on stamping everything with the word “classified”. How about classifying the really big stuff and really would change our standing in the world rather than everything that can simply “embarrass” us. Proper behavior and decorum will naturally lead to less and less embarrassing behavior.
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6. The publication of these documents have led to at least one reactionary republican/tea party incoming congressional freshman to call for the cencorship of the media. I say enough is enough. The media’s purpose is to inform the public, even when the government doesn’t want the public infomred. The call for censorship will furhter erode our freedoms, bringing us closer to a totalitarian government right here in North America.
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7. While some call Manning a traitor and call for his head. I call Manning a true patriot because he has shone a spot light on the secret workings of our government. Manning and Assange have together shown us it is better to oversee our government and diplomatic corps; to know what they are doing than it is for us to sit back and allow them to go about the nation’s business with little oversight and a “classified” stamp.