pat roberts: "i am independent!"

* pat roberts: "i am independent!"

* damien asks: "has anyone any ideas on Executive Order 13011?" i got nuthin.

* re my recent questions about whether the domestic spying began before 911.

"GEN. MICHAEL HAYDEN: Sir, when I had to make this personal decision in early October 2001 -- and it was a personal decision -- the math was pretty straight forward. I could not not do this.... I was issued an order on the 4th of October that laid out the underpinnings for what I described." (link)

* The Family Research Council and Perkins, in his Washington Update, said about Bush's immigration speech:

"I should also point out that the President has not given a prime-time address on the marriage amendment. It's not that we are demanding this, but when the First Lady is disparaging the issue and when the Vice President lets stand unrebutted Mary Cheney's claims, we think some demonstration of Presidential leadership is warranted--and overdue."

rudepundit: "when Churchy wanna get paid, you better pay Churchy large or Churchy's gonna break you knees, motherfucker."

*driftglass:

"But coming out of the Blackshirt Closet is still not quite socially acceptable -- yet -- which means Conservative Republicans are forced to verbally contort themselves into all kinds of fascinating, Escher-esque configurations to pretend that what they really want, at the end of the day, isn't a nice, tidy, Christian police state. Owned and operated by unregulated megacorporation, with orthodoxy enforced by Fundy-friendly courts and cops."

*driftglass:

"Stacking one scientific journal, magazine and grade-school textbook atop another for the last 150 years hasn’t caused Conservative Christopaths to grow opposable thumbs en masse, climb down out of the Stupid Tree and stop believing dangerously lunatic trash. The only effect Reality has on these clowns is to make them feel ever more picked-on and angried-up.

They are the intractable opponents of democracy who, for example, make it their business to make it impossible to keep the Public Square neutral, because Jebus Abhors a Vacuum. Because when you believe the Absolute Truth of your God should fill all things, you will also and inevitably view neutrality-by-design as an Evil Liberal Assault on your righteousness."

* bobo (via dg):

"On Monday night, many of them approached President Bush's speech looking for things to hate. They didn't want to hear his plan for serious enforcement measures. When Bush — the man they revered until the day before yesterday — said something tough about securing the border, they assumed he was dissembling, and they lashed out in ways identical to the Bushophobic left.

It's as if there's some displaced rage here, some anger that couldn't be expressed about other issues. Or perhaps they are punishing Bush for the sin of being unpopular, and thus robbing them of the sense of triumph they felt when the left was on the ropes.

This is no fun. Yet the worst thing would be to stop now, having angered everybody and not resolved the issue."