Federal Judge Finds N.S.A. Wiretapping Program Illegal
By CHARLIE SAVAGE and JAMES RISEN
A judge ruled that the government had violated a 1978 statute requiring court approval for domestic surveillance when it intercepted phone calls of a now-defunct charity.

Yeah. So What... Do you think anyone (important) is going to do time for breaking the law?

If there are no consequences for breaking the law, then why not break the law, after all, the end justifies the means. Besides, only the lower classes commit real crimes.

The aptly-named Vanity Fair is coming out with a 14-page blockbuster spread on Tiger Woods, revealing what Fox “Sports” calls “shocking” and “explosive” details on his sexual escapades, which a former adviser blamed on his hanging out with “SOBs” like Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley. You know, any minute description of a sexual act and sexual parts, no matter how “normal,” is bound to sound “shocking” and icky, especially when it is a so-called “mainstream” publication that wades into this cesspool. There comes a saturation point when the reporting starts to say more about the reporter than the reportee.

Anyways, last Sunday evening my brother flew in from California to help me celebrate my birthday. Before he got on the Rockaraoke stage at one of the reservation (where every man sang a metal monstrosity, and every woman a country tune) to sing a Billy Idol song—which caused me to reminded him (again) that I had wanted to leave the place an hour ago—we had a discussion on the issues of the day. It wasn’t quite as contentious as a waitress thought—she hoped that we wouldn’t use the steak knives for a sword fight. My brother is a conservative on the “common sense” side (I think). As an entrepreneur, he still thought there was too much, not too little, regulation, and that selling health insurance over state lines would reduce costs. However, he surprised me by offering as his principle objection to the health care bill was that it was too convoluted and complicated. Why didn’t they just extend Medicare to the uninsured? Yeah, I said, why didn’t they just pass something that gave people that option, providing the uninsured with something like a W-4 form except as a health care form in which a person would note the number of dependents, and taking into account income level, that person would be subject to a tax deduction off each paycheck that went directly to the Medicare fund? It made perfect sense to both of us. I had to point out, however, that all the Republicans and 33 Democrats in the House voted against the current bill not because it didn’t go this far, but because it went “too far.”

My laissez-faire brother also surprised me by expressing a curiosity as to why someone might call Sarah Palin a fascist. He seemed to accept my argument that Palin’s politics bore some resemblance at least to the Nazi version of fascism with a modicum of sincerity. For example, Palin’s appeal to suggestions of racism and violence does mirror the Nazis’ efforts to use Jews and other “untermenschen” as a focal point of the “master race’s” paranoia. Palin’s “populist” appeal also bore some similarity to the Nazis’ “working man” propaganda, which might give people a notion of populist “power,” but in actuality maintained their status of powerlessness before the supremacy of the corporate world. While Hitler threw workers a self-image bone while actively reducing their rights, behind the scenes he was dealing with the major German business conglomerations and banking institutions to help him create his war machine, which he had every intention on unleashing on the world as soon as feasible. I don’t know if Palin is capable of all this, but her power-hunger, her appeal to national chauvinism, and lack of judgment or prudence can make anything possible.

The Powell Manifesto:

http://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate_accountability/powell_memo_lewis.html

There seems to have been some changes here. My user ID is constans, but I have been identifying myself as Mark K, which is my first name and last initial. I can't seem to be able to change it back to this in the account edit.

My morning rant . . . The OC (Orange County in CA) Register is whining that Orange County businesses have to pay for education for the rabble and they are ticked off about it. The truth is that businesses get the same benefit as the rest of society when society provides basic educational services to its peoples:

1. A common transactional language & basic understanding of the monetary system

2. A workforce oriented towards performing tasks for a delayed reward system

3. Lower crime rates

4. Innovation and efficiency

I HATE it when sociopaths get a little money in their pockets then fervently work to force others to make do with less. GRRRR . . .

@constans aka Mark K. I wouldn't let the name change bother you, other bloggers here will soon recognize your style and identify it with the new name soon enough.

"A rose by any other name..." etc.

@rladlof

I vote for changing "Free Trade" to "Anarchy Trade"

Foodfascist - We had a few issues with the new site - but everything seems ok now....hopefully...<s> Louise

During the first hour Thom was talking about domestic terrorism. Does anyone know the exact quote from Glenn Beck regarding strangling?

@Louise, a feature I would like to see on this page is an auto-refresh added to it (seems like I'm wearing out my refresh button on my browser ;-) )

Wow! Finally got on. Getting familiar with the usernames will be interesting. Also notice the Mysterious Floating Head now has a shirt.

Nice job on the site.

Formerly Charles in OH

MAKE BANKING BORING AGAIN!

Kewl - new website for Thom! I see that the first few words of a post are used as the topic, so I've placed the conclusion of my arguement at the top!

I often free-associate on my drive into work - put both the car and my brain on auto-pilot, and let them go where they will under minimal control. This morning, I was thinking about how pretty much ALL of the talking points that I seem to hear from the Cons these days seem to come directly out of the book I've been forcing myself to read over these past few weeks, Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged". The entire point of this book is to demonize the point of view that society has any right to re-allocate so much as a single penny earned by the labor of an individual. Several examples are provided of why this is so, all of which seem to me to carry the consequences of "liberal" policies far past the point of absurdity.

The essential arguement, however, is that the rich do the poor more good when they serve their own interests than when they are forced to serve the government's concept of the interests of the poor - that "men of intellect and ability" if allowed to persue their own agendas, without interference, will do wonderful things that will (a) create goods and services that benefit everybody, and (b) make a fortune for themselves.

Maybe, just maybe, that was true back in 1947 - I'm not sure I buy that hook, line & sinker, but let's accept it for the moment. I'm 56 years old, and I believe that I was on the trailing edge of the era in which those "men of intellect and ability" actually went into a fied where he produces things.

Back when I was young, banking and finance were very heavily regulated. There was little room, if any, for creativity - it was a painfully boring line of work, AND THAT WAS A GOOD THING!!! People who had the creative instinct, therefore, avoided the banking and finance sectors, and went into a line of work where they could create. Shortrly after, or perhaps right around the time I started my "career" (such as it is), the regulatory environment began to change, bank(st)ers and investors were granted more and more latitude, and the financial industries became more interesting and appealing to the creative person. Guys like me, who'd earned their undergrad degrees in Physics or Engineering, started to take Masters courses in Business Administration instead of the "hard" or applied sciences. These people took their creativity into the financial sector, where the relaxed regulatory structures allowed them to create these "exotic" ans "sophisticated" financial products (hell, folks, when I was a kid, anything financial was called a service, NOT a product), like derivatives and credit default swaps. As we have observed, these creations did absolutely no good for society in general - in fact, they damn near bankrupted the world.

So, obviously, there's only one solution to this situation ...

MAKE BANKING BORING AGAIN!

Actually (at least in my area) I was just commenting to my wife that gas prices have been abnormally stable. I was wondering if the oil companies were trying to keep a low profile with energy regulations coming up on the agenda. I'd say for almost the last month the cost of gas has been $2.899 in my LA suburb. (BP's Arco lowest Octane price that is)

@Nels (yeah, I'm gonna stick with the OLD names, when I can) -

I live in NY, which has relatively high taxes on gasoline, and work in NJ, where gas taxes are considerably lower. Needless to say, I try to buy as much feul as possible in Jersey. Since the beginning of the year, prices at the pumps are up by about 10-15% hereabouts.

mstaggerlee,

Re: Ayn Rand: "men of intellect and ability" if allowed to persue their own agendas, without interference, will do wonderful things that will (a) create goods and services that benefit everybody, and (b) make a fortune for themselves."

Has anyone ever challenged this myth and asked for examples of where this has worked the way it is predicted?

I am following your observations of Rand's book with interest. I tried to read Rand's books when I was in my 20s but just wasn't interested enough to delve that deeply into them, I guess.

Wow- new site! Much friendlier to use and no doubt geared to simplicity to hopefully get some more of the tea baggers here so we can straighten them out. Randi Rhodes had to replay and replay the speech of Bush Jr talking about the Ownership Society to the teabagger argument that 'The Government' mandated the banks to loan to dumb poor people.

Does someone have a link to the open letter that Thom just read? I am on my way to our Congress persons event today to release exactly what is in the health bill - that's Doris Matsui- she's pretty good.

And why the hell should I have to pay the bank to go to college.

Impossible to fire Government Employees.

No its not impossible for Government employees to be fired. However, their supervisors must build the case against the employee. There is paperwork that must be filled out, one of the most important parts of this is the employee review. This gives the employee a chance to improve their work habits, as well as gives the supervisor the proof of deficiencies as they add up over the course of time.

Its a fair way of relieving someone of their job. Unlike the private sector though, an unsuspecting employee doesn't arrive in the morning at the job, to be surprised that their let go at the end of the day. If you were a government employee and been fired, either you didn't see the writing on the wall, or you broke a major rule.

cmoore68,

Minnesota --- once thriving and progressive

I look around and see only the destruction wrought by the Rand/Reagan policies carried out by opportunist Governor Tim Pawlenty. I moved here 30 years ago because it was (to me) a progressive paradise. Under Pawlenty (taking instruction from Rove and others), we have really fallen to mediocre, at best. So I say, show me where these policies have actually made life for the majority BETTER! (No one seems to be held to account. Thom's right-wing guests never are.)

Breaking news.....from yesterday.....

After Patent on Genes Is Invalidated, taking stock. New York Times.

Many biotechnology stocks fell on Tuesday as investors struggled to understand the impact of a ruling that threw out parts of two gene patents and called into question thousands more.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/business/31gene.html?emc=eta1

One annoying issue- right after I post I am getting a blank comment on my own post. I do not need to see my post and a blank comment box. I want to see everyone else's posts, I find I am operating in a loop. - I have to get out of the board and then back in. I do stay on the site but get kicked out of this page.

@mstaggerlee:

'Atlas Shrugged'?

You have my sympathy. You might more easily get the essence of her approach from one of the collections -- 'The Virtue of Selfishness' or 'For The New Intellectual'.

Perhaps an even better choice is Leonard Peikoff's book 'Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand' wherein he summarizes and comments on her key concerns. It's weighty but well written.

In fact, I may take that last recommendation and speed read it again just so I can better understand the mindset of the Cons . . . though I bet most of 'em even never read Rand.

Nels,

Is this what you mean by emoticon?

:-)

Prop 16 in California is an example of corporate power at its worse. It says, if a community wants to create its own power generating system (municipal power services), it requires a 2/3 vote of community.

Putting the proposition on the ballot was totally funded by PG&E. The funding, among other things, involves hiring people from all over the nation (not necessarily California residents) to collect signatures.

I saw the PG&E's first advertisement in support of Prop 16 on the TV today, which inspired me to call and write this message.