N.Y.T. Warns Against Believing What F.B.I. Director Swears to Be True

Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Mueller addressed a proposal to require telephone companies to retain calling logs for five years — the period the N.S.A. is keeping them — for investigators to consult, rather than allowing the government to collect and store them all. He cautioned that it would take time to subpoena the companies for numbers of interest and get the answers back. “The point being that it will take an awful long time,” Mr. Mueller said. ...

[R]ather than being able to instantly query the complete database to see who a suspect has been in contact with, he said, investigators would have to present legal paperwork to a half-dozen carriers and wait for them to gather and provide the records. ...

“You cannot wait three months, six months, a year to get that information, be able to collate it and put it together.” ...

Mr. Mueller did not explain why it would take so long for telephone companies to respond to a subpoena for calling data linked to a particular number, especially in a national security investigation.

A Trailblazing Denial

Sen. Burris Denies Wrongdoing Over Senate Seat

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Even Republicans are saying, "He's #UCK!NG N@TS!"

Republicans Look for a Reliever in Kentucky

WASHINGTON — One of the entrenched narratives in American politics is the case of the guy who refuses to quit, even though a lot of people on his own team want him gone.

While the Democrats are preoccupied with Senator Roland W. Burris and his ties to a tainted Illinois governor, the Republicans are trying to rid themselves of Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky, the former baseball star who clearly has little use for some colleagues and party leaders, and who keeps exhibiting what one senator calls “behavior issues.”

Key Republicans are gently (or not gently enough) trying to dissuade Mr. Bunning from seeking re-election in 2010 out of concern that his paltry fund-raising, declining approval ratings and irascible conduct have made him something between vulnerable and unelectable.

But in recent weeks, Mr. Bunning has shown no sign of stepping aside and delivered a string of incendiary pronouncements that have fed an impression that he is, to go with a baseball metaphor, a bit of a screwball."....

He's right about one thing:

“I don’t believe anything John Cornyn says,” Mr. Bunning fired back.

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Roland Burris has this vote of confidence and it's phokking golden

The former governor's publicist issued a statment today about the Sun-Times story regarding Burris.

"There's absolutely nothing inappropriate that took place between Gov. Blagojevich and Sen. Burris in connection to the governor's appointment of Mr. Burris to the U.S. Senate," the statment said.

"The governor acted ethically and honestly and believes Sen. Burris did too."

Would killing someone in a duel get you expelled? Just what would it take for these spineless losers??

McCain backer Lieberman keeps committee chair

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Joe Lieberman will keep his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee despite hard feelings over his support for GOP nominee John McCain during the presidential campaign.
The Connecticut independent will lose a panel post on the Environment and Public Works panel as punishment for criticizing Obama this fall.
Lieberman's colleagues in the Democratic caucus voted 42-13 Tuesday to approve a resolution condemning statements made by Lieberman during the campaign but allowing him to keep the Homeland Security Committee gavel.
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he had been very angry about Lieberman's actions but that "we're looking forward, we're not looking back."
Added Reid: "This was not a time for retribution, it was a time for moving forward on the problems of this country. Also, i have no testicles. Mining accident as a child..."
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Ted Stevens's cranium: where brainzzz go to die

ETHICS -- TED STEVENS: 'I HAVE NOT BEEN CONVICTED OF ANYTHING': Last night, during a debate with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich (D), Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) was asked what he would say to those requesting he step down "after your conviction Monday on seven felony counts." Stevens replied, "I have not been convicted of anything." In fact, a jury did indeed convict Stevens "on all seven counts of making false statements on his financial disclosure form regarding $250,000 in home renovations and other gifts he received from an oil contractor..."

God. Still in Charge

Legal case against God dismissed

Mr Chambers sued God last year. He said God had threatened him and the people of Nebraska and had inflicted "widespread death, destruction and terrorisation of millions upon millions of the Earth's inhabitants".

Here's my question - did he call out the "people of Nebraska" by name?

you knew this would start...

News item: Rather than exchange a traditional handshake, Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) bumped fists at the conclusion of their joint appearance on CNN's Late Edition yesterday. The move appeared to be "a reference to Barack and Michelle Obama's celebratory fist bump on Tuesday."

22 Republican Senators Who Don't Support the Troops

75 Senators Stand With Veterans: GI Bill Passes in a Landslide

NAYs ---22
Alexander (R-TN) Allard (R-CO) Barrasso (R-WY) Bennett (R-UT) Brownback (R-KS) Bunning (R-KY) Burr (R-NC) Cochran (R-MS) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) DeMint (R-SC) Ensign (R-NV) Enzi (R-WY) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Gregg (R-NH) Hatch (R-UT) Kyl (R-AZ)Lugar (R-IN) McConnell (R-KY) Sessions (R-AL) Voinovich (R-OH)

Even though Obama and Clinton made it to DC to vote, McCain couldn't be bothered (though he was on the record as not supporting the bill).

Even Larry Craig voted Yea. Of course, he does like a man in uniform.

what a flip-flop: McCain NOW FOR torture

Just pathetic... and this may lead one to ask: what did McCain give up to the Viet Cong as a result of torture? Must have worked, huh? 

Who’s Your Maverick? John McCain Votes In Favor Of Torture

The Senate voted today to ban the CIA from using torture on suspected terrorists and the most famous POW in the Senate voted against the bill. The Maverick is now most assuredly dead and the betrayal is complete. The blogosphere was all over this issue, and thankfully the measure passed, but for McCain, it was a show of pure cowardice. In other words, the Senator who himself was tortured for years and has previously spoken out against it, voted to allow the use of torture on others to save his political hide and pander to a party base that despises him. Shame on you, Senator. Is this the sort of weakness you want from your Commander in Chief?

Tell me again how this no jobs, more wars, pro-torture, pro-Bush tax cuts, anti-choice, pro-surge Republican is going to draw Independents and Democrats to his side this fall? As a side note, would it surprise you that alleged Democratic caucus members Senators Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman also voted for torture today?

Senate Roll Call Vote

The U.S. Senate: PATHETIC

Senate Votes For Retroactive Immunity

I don't know if Dianne Feinstein is going to run again, but if she does i'm voting for a 3rd party fruitbat... Other spineless Democrats:

The final tally was 31-67; crossing over to vote nay were Sens. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Evan Bayh (D-IA), Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Ken Salazar (D-CO), Tom Carper (D-DE), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Jim Webb (D-VA), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Kent Conrad (D-ND), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

And just like the Politburo, the Replutocrats were lock step with Dumbya again...

What have these blood-thirsty man-eaters ever done for us anyway?

They'll rip your face off as much as look at ya...

Senators complain about delay in polar bear protection

...senators, i mean.