Use this thread to make fun of the speech as it happens, and to comment on the Democrat’s response.

And good for you, Cindy Sheehan, and California’s Democratic Rep. Lynn Woolsey, for having the guts to invite her.

Oh, and Joe Lieberman, try and keep your tongue out of the preznit’s mouth, would ya?

 

As president bunnypants swaggers into the SOTU address tonight, trying his best to look like a triumphant Caesar, here’s some things to keep in perspective.

Osama bin Laden is still out there, and the real brains of Al Qaeda – Ayman al-Zawahiri – showed up in a new video yesterday, (looking alive and quite well) to taunt our “war president,” calling him a “failure” in the war on terror, and a “butcher” for killing innocent Pakistanis. Republicans in Congress want Bush to come clean on his Abramoff connections (and more show up every day). The traditional media had one two of their own seriously wounded in Iraq, as Jill Carroll was begging for her life on videotape. Bush’s buddy Kenny-boy Lay’s trial began yesterday, and we’re all still waiting for the other shoe to drop on Karl Rove. Gas prices are up, deficit estimates are up even higher, Bush’s approval ratiings remain in the toilet, and trotting out that tired old “nine-won-won” chestnut doesn’t seem to be working anymore.

So, watch the SOTU tonight if you can stand it (I know I can’t; the feeling of embarassment is just oo much for me), but don’t bother with the traditional media spin. They’ll just drive you nuts.

The vote to invoke cloture will begin shortly. 60 votes are required to end debate, and if that happens Alito will likely be confirmed tomorrow morning. However the vote goes, it isn’t an end; just a beginning. In the coming weeks and months, we need to work to remove those traitorous Democrats and faux moderate Republicans from office, and reward those who stood up for the right to privacy, and rejection of the imperial presidency.

We’ve made our voices heard. The politicians and talking heads aren’t too crazy about our little peasant uprising. They aint seen nothin’ yet.

OK, this weekend was pretty good practice. Everybody should have their phone, fax, and e-mail lists all set and ready to go. When Senate office open up this morning, it’s time start hammering them. Let’s cause a meltdown of the Senate switchboard, and then start hammering their local offices, too. Check the Alito-48 page for the latest updates on heroes, cowards, traitors, and flip-floppers. Hammer the goddamn Republicans, too, ‘cuz you know damn well the wingnuts are pounding them.

If you’re at work today, find a Republican co-worker and use their phones while their not looking (or steal their long distance access numbers).

Here’s a list of campaign office numbers (f = fax) for Senators running in 2006. Tell them what kind of an affect a “yes” vote on cloture (that is, a vote to end debate) will have on their campaign coffers:

Akaka 808-522-8972, Bingaman 202-314-3222, Byrd 202-546-9292, Cantwell 202-314-3225, Carper 202-546-0909/202-546-6916f, 202-314-3224/202-314-3235f, Kohl 414-276-5645, Lieberman 202-546-0474/202-546-0476f, Ben Nelson 202-546-8100/202-546-7493f, Bill Nelson 202-547-0010/202-547-3419.

The showdown is scheduled to begin at 4:30 EST. If the Republican bid to end debate fails, they’ll no doubt schedule at least a few more votes (in part, thanks to Joe Biden telling them he intends to lose after the first vote) before they try the “nuclear” option. First things first. There are an awful lot of Democratic Senators out there who were born without a spine. They can’t stand up on their own, so we have to drag them to their feet.

As usual, and less than stellar lineup on the the talking head shows this week. Timmuh touts an Exclusive! (gosh) with Bill “Cat Killer” Frist on Press the Meat, and some other lazy slob urinalists will be on to talk about how wonderful Stripsearch Sammy is, how regal dubya will be on Tuesday night, and what a bunch of sore loser assholes those mean old Democrats are turning out to be.

George Snufalufagus has Barack Obama and Chuck Hagel, oh, and looky here, Joe Klein (wonder if they’ll ask him how it felt to get his ass kicked by a girl).

But, it’s Billybob Schieffer that scores big, with an exclusive interview with President George Dubya “Two-Terms Mandate” Bush.

Hey, it’s obvious that none of this shit is worth watching, so get back to those phones, fax machines, and computers. If you can’t get through to a Seantor’s office, then use that media link page to call or write the traditional media whores.

We’ve got a filibuster to bring home.

OK, I hope everybody’s ready to do the big work this weekend. Debate on the Alito nomination will continue
on Monday, until about 4:30 or so, at which time there’ll be a vote for cloture (an end to debate). If three-fifths of the Senators (that’d be 60) vote for cloture, there’ll be an up or down vote on Strip Search Sammy Alito on Tuesday. If not, the Republicans will likely attempt to declare the use of unlimited debate unconstitutional with respect to judicial nominations. Likely, that will take a while to work out, as moderate (that is, not quite totally insane) Republicans are reluctant to do this; what goes around comes around, eh?.

The State of the Union address is Tuesday night. You can either look at President Bunnypants stumbling over the English language with that smug fucking look on his puss, fresh from ensuring his imperial legacy for the next 25 years or so, or you can watch the arrogant little prick blink and scowl as he works that coke jaw back and forth, wondering what the hell happened to all that political capital he thought he had.

Work your phones, fax machines, and computers. Call your Senators. Call everybody’s Senators. Don’t forget the “moderate” Republicans, or the “conservative” Democrats. Screw ’em if they’ve already said they’d vote for Alito. They can change their minds (what, a politician saying one thing and doing another? Perish the thought). Be polite to their staffers, but let them know they’ll be rewarded for doing the right thing, and shunned – or worse, actively campaigned against – for running away from this fight with nothing but their lonely little tails between their legs.

You know what you’ll hear from the traditional media all weekend. Kerry’s crazy. There aren’t enough votes. This is bad for America. Poor Sammy’s wife is gonna cry. You name it. There’ll be venom aplenty. The Democrats in the Senate need to know that we’ve got their backs – that this won’t be political suicide. In fact, this may be the only thing that can save them. Win, lose, or draw, if they don’t at least put up a fight, they’ll turn those of who care off completely – and maybe permanently. They can’t afford that, and neither can this country.

Stop Alito. Start a revolution.

Lots of work to do today. With a vote to end debate on the Alito nomination set to happen on Monday, we all need to call our own and other senators to push for a filibuster. To have the thugs nuke the rules of the US Senate is one thing, but to try a filibuster and lose because you’ve been stabbed in the back by your own party, well, that’s something far worse. Say what you want about John Kerry (I’ve said a thing or two myself), he promised to lead a filibuster, and he’s kept his promise. Now we need to let the other Democrats know they can’t turn their backs on him – and us – on this one.

They need to know that standing up to this group of fascists in power isn’t what will get them in trouble – it’s cowering and posturing that will do them in. Giving in to Bush, Frist, Cheney, and their ilk is no different than Neville Chamberlain appeasing Hitler. Well, Hitler wasn’t satisfied with Poland, and this unholy bunch won’t be satisifed until this nation has been bankrupt in order to line their own pockets, and we’re all living in a Police State, with no right to privacy, no sovereignty over our own bodies, and surviving only by the grace of our corporate masters.

These people have no ethics, they have no shame, and they have no right to be in charge of this country. They must be stopped, and this filibuster is a good first step.

So, why is it so damn hard for them to tell us how long Marc’s new show is going to be, what time it’s going to be on live, and whether or not KTLK – or some other radio station(s) – is going to air the show live? I mean, surely they’ve figued that out by now, right? I mean, they try and tout their “premium” service by telling me that Marc’s going to be part of it, but they leave out any details?

Today’s my early day, up and out of the house. So, I’ll just say, carry on.

Big day ahead of us today; the garbage bags in the garage has gotten to the point where it’s us or them, so now that I’ve finally got the wood pellets unloaded from the van, I guess it’s a field trip to the dump tomorrow. Now that I’m around during the day, my wife makes me go with her. I don’t know why; she’s the one who’s pals with all the dump dudes, with the “hey buddy, wutt’s up?” stuff and all.

Hey, y’all, Gypsy is trying to recreate her recipes into a book (or at least booklet), so if you have any saved up, post them as comments under the “Gypsy’s Recipes” page.