Drive By Review: Hellboy II: The Golden Army

If it were a little better, it might not have been so easily forgotten.

Drive By Review: The Dark Knight

"Wow"

The first thing out of my mouth as the credits roled - spontaneously, "Wow"

When someone asks me if The Dark Knight is really that good, I will have to say, "yes, it is that good"

"Wow"



I now return you to your scheduled break from TNTP...

Let's Take A 10...or so...

I'll not be blogging for a bit - not sure how long I'll be gone.

Feingold and Dodd Amendment Fails - FISA Passes And The Founding Fathers Weep For America

Update below

I guess some pigs are more equal than other's

via Crooks and Liars

Disgusting.

Here's a list how each Senator voted on the Feingold/Dodd Amendment to strip immunity from the FISA bill:

Question: On the Amendment (Dodd Amdt. No. 5064 )
Vote Number: 164 Vote Date: July 9, 2008, 11:55 AM
Required For Majority: 1/2 Vote Result: Amendment Rejected
Amendment Number: S.Amdt. 5064 to H.R. 6304 (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978)
Statement of Purpose: To strike title II.
Vote Counts:
YEAs 32
NAYs 66
Not Voting 2


Alphabetical by Senator Name Akaka (D-HI), Yea
Alexander (R-TN), Nay
Allard (R-CO), Nay
Barrasso (R-WY), Nay
Baucus (D-MT), Yea
Bayh (D-IN), Nay
Bennett (R-UT), Nay
Biden (D-DE), Yea
Bingaman (D-NM), Yea
Bond (R-MO), Nay
Boxer (D-CA), Yea
Brown (D-OH), Yea
Brownback (R-KS), Nay
Bunning (R-KY), Nay
Burr (R-NC), Nay
Byrd (D-WV), Yea
Cantwell (D-WA), Yea
Cardin (D-MD), Yea
Carper (D-DE), Nay
Casey (D-PA), Yea
Chambliss (R-GA), Nay
Clinton (D-NY), Yea Good for her!
Coburn (R-OK), Nay
Cochran (R-MS), Nay
Coleman (R-MN), Nay
Collins (R-ME), Nay
Conrad (D-ND), Nay
Corker (R-TN), Nay
Cornyn (R-TX), Nay
Craig (R-ID), Nay
Crapo (R-ID), Nay
DeMint (R-SC), Nay
Dodd (D-CT), Yea
Dole (R-NC), Nay
Domenici (R-NM), Nay
Dorgan (D-ND), Yea
Durbin (D-IL), Yea
Ensign (R-NV), Nay
Enzi (R-WY), Nay
Feingold (D-WI), Yea
Feinstein (D-CA), Nay She just lost my vote if she runs again...in six years!
Graham (R-SC), Nay
Grassley (R-IA), Nay
Gregg (R-NH), Nay
Hagel (R-NE), Nay
Harkin (D-IA), Yea
Hatch (R-UT), Nay
Hutchison (R-TX), Nay
Inhofe (R-OK), Nay
Inouye (D-HI), Nay
Isakson (R-GA), Nay
Johnson (D-SD), Nay
Kennedy (D-MA), Not Voting
Kerry (D-MA), Yea
Klobuchar (D-MN), Yea
Kohl (D-WI), Nay
Kyl (R-AZ), Nay
Landrieu (D-LA), Nay
Lautenberg (D-NJ), Yea
Leahy (D-VT), Yea
Levin (D-MI), Yea
Lieberman (ID-CT), Nay
Lincoln (D-AR), Nay
Lugar (R-IN), Nay
Martinez (R-FL), Nay
McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting I guess the Constituion doesn't matter to this maverick
McCaskill (D-MO), Nay
McConnell (R-KY), Nay
Menendez (D-NJ), Yea
Mikulski (D-MD), Nay
Murkowski (R-AK), Nay
Murray (D-WA), Yea
Nelson (D-FL), Nay
Nelson (D-NE), Nay
Obama (D-IL), Yea
Pryor (D-AR), Nay
Reed (D-RI), Yea
Reid (D-NV), Yea
Roberts (R-KS), Nay
Rockefeller (D-WV), Nay
Salazar (D-CO), Nay
Sanders (I-VT), Yea
Schumer (D-NY), Yea
Sessions (R-AL), Nay
Shelby (R-AL), Nay
Smith (R-OR), Nay
Snowe (R-ME), Nay
Specter (R-PA), Nay
Stabenow (D-MI), Yea
Stevens (R-AK), Nay
Sununu (R-NH), Nay
Tester (D-MT), Yea
Thune (R-SD), Nay
Vitter (R-LA), Nay
Voinovich (R-OH), Nay
Warner (R-VA), Nay
Webb (D-VA), Nay
Whitehouse (D-RI), Yea
Wicker (R-MS), Nay
Wyden (D-OR), Yea
via U.S. Senate Page

Take note of your Senator's vote and write them.

Senate

Update:
While Obama voted for the Feingold/Dodd Amendment, he voted for cloture of the FISA Bill. Hillary voted for the Feingold/Dodd Amendment and voted against the overall FISA Bill, also. Hillary showed better leadership than Obama in this instance. Of course my cynical side tells me Clinton would have voted the same way Obama had if she were the Democratic nominee for President.

Obama's tack to the "center" does not explain his disgusting support for this anti-Constitutional bill. Obama needs to show more leadership and less politicking.
While I still support Obama for President, he has just lost any monetary support I was going to give to his general election campaign; that's about the only thing I can think of to do - it's not much, but it something.

Rule of men, indeed.

The ACLU has vowed to fight the FISA bill once President Bush signs it, thank goodnes.
I think I will send what I was going to send to Obama to the ACLU.

via Joe.My.God

Drive By Review: TRON, Wall-E, 10,000 B.C.

Three reviews today...

Saw TRON (1982, Disney) with Chad at The Castro.

TRON:
Someone thought, "Fluorescent tape. Black light. Computers. Now that would make a cool movie." And they were right. Prescient.

Wall-E:
Leave it the minds at Pixar to make the dusty, cold, barren earth of the future preferable to that of the bloated, technicolor human existence of the Axiom. Brilliant.

10,000 B.C.:
Thoughts going through my head as I watched 10,000 B.C.:
"I'll keep watching because it's got to get better."
"Oh my gawd, it's not getting better."
"Scissors! Must. Stab. Out. Eyes."
"Oh, oh, oh. STOP IT, PLEASE!"
"Why? Oh, why?"
"Nooooo!"

Contempt For The Constitution

We cannot allow ourselves to weaken what makes our society and country great; that no one person is ever above the law. By allowing the telecom companies to become immune to our laws because one man, the President of the United States, asked the telecoms companies to spy on us because we are, as a country, in a “crises”, is a precedent that cannot be allowed to stand. Nowhere in the Constitution is there a section that says the President may break the law. In fact, the Presidential oath of office states” “"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." Well, perhaps, Bush thinks he is doing “the best” of his abilities to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” Far be it for me to question Bush’s abilities, but…

It is generally known that Article II of the Constitution is where the contemptuous Bush/Cheney/Adington/Yoo anti-Constitutionalists get their bizarre and dangerous theory of executive power. If you read Article II, you will not see anything about the President being given the authority to command private citizens (or companies) to break the law. Yet, that is precisely what the anti- Constitutionalists are claiming; that they have the right to order private citizens and companies to enact their bidding because of claims they make about Article II, that he, as Commander is Chief is allowed to order such law-breaking (forget the fact that the Commander in Chief cannot even allow the armed forces to break the law – although, he has done that also).

But, it is not only the President and his administration that has shown contempt for the Constitution. The House of Representatives, by passing the flawed and dangerous FISA bill, have not only shown their contempt for the rule of law, they have shown a disrespect for We The People. Now, we should have seen this kind of contempt the House has for the Constitution when Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, stated “impeachment was off the table.” Again, the kind of contempt for what is part of the House’s Constitutional duty was pushed away as if the duty of Congress was somehow distasteful. Whether you think impeachment is the correct action for the House to undertake, is not what I am arguing, what I am arguing is that Nancy Pelosi revealed her own contempt for the Constitution by taking impeachment off the table, even when it was known the President authorized the illegal wire-tapping of our phones.

If we allow the Senate to pass the FISA overhaul next week, we, as citizens, will reward the actions of the Bush Administration’s illegal actions and state categorically, that, yes, the President can break our laws. The Constitution was written specifically to ensure that any imperial designs one may have while in power cannot and will not be allowed. Let’s not change the Presidency into an imperial power.

Let’s not allow this dangerous precedent to stand. Our government is By the People and for the People, not by the President and for the President. Let’s not forget our role in ensuring our laws are not trampled upon.

We have only until July 8th to make known our feelings about FISA. Please write your Congressperson and tell them "I like the WHOLE Bill of Rights -- Vote NO on FISA!"

Write your Senator