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Tuesday :: November 27, 2007

Time, Klein and FISA

Update: Time now prints this correction, which isn't much of a correction:

In the original version of this story, Joe Klein wrote that the House Democratic version of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) would allow a court review of individual foreign surveillance targets. Republicans believe the bill can be interpreted that way, but Democrats don't.

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The uproar over Joe Klein's FISA articles in Time Magazine is growing:

If you are new to the story, start with Ryan Singal at Wired or Glenn Greenwald.

Then check out Matt Stoller at Open Left, Dan Gillmoor and Jane at Firedoglake.

What Klein said initially:

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Monday :: November 26, 2007

Feds to Hospice Patients: Die Faster, Please

The Government is going after hospices to repay Medicare when their patients don't die fast enough.

The result: Many hospices will go broke and have to close.

A perverse interim measure: Some hospices are trolling nursing homes looking for more patients. That way they can use the new money to pay Medicare back for the old patients who didn't die fast enough.

[Ms. Youngstown, a] Hometown Hospice nurse, said that after she visited her charges — doling out their pills, and turning the sweet potatoes in their ovens — she trolled for new patients at nursing homes and senior centers.

At the small hospital here, she said, the nurses joke about her “marketing” forays: “They’ll say, ‘Here comes Nurse Kevorkian. She has no shame.’ And I’ll say, ‘Look, I have to have a paycheck, too.’”

Something is seriously wrong with this picture.

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Hastert Resigns Effective Tonight

Republican Congressman Dennis Hastert has resigned, effective tonight.

In his letter, Hastert said he chose Monday because he was advised it would give Blagojevich sufficient time to set a special primary election for Feb. 5 so voters can pick candidates to run for the remainder of his term, which ends in January 2009.

....If Blagojevich calls the special primary for that day, voters in Hastert's northern Illinois district not only will choose candidates to run for his unexpired term, but also cast ballots in a regular primary election to whittle down the candidates who will run to be Hastert's full-time replacement.

Hastert says he has no firm plans.

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Judith Regan Tells Her Side

Former Regan Books (Harper Collins) chief and Bernie Kerik paramour Judith Regan tells her side of the story of her firing by Harper Collins and News Corp in Bazaar (full article here.)

While she doesn't address her lawsuit against News Corp, there's plenty there that shows how her life tumbled after her firing.

For a look back to what she said at the time about her OJ book, check out Why I Did It.

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Cheney to be Evaluated for Irregular Heart Beat

Vice President Dick Cheney will enter the hospital Monday to get evaluated for an irregular heart beat. He's expected to return home Monday night.

Cheney visited his doctors because of a lingering cough from a cold and during the examination he was found to have an irregular heartbeat, which on further testing was determined to be "atrial fibrillation, an abnormal rhythm involving the upper chambers of the heart," said Megan Mitchell, spokeswoman for Cheney.

....Cheney will undergo further evaluation on Monday and if required he will have an electric impulse to the heart delivered, which is standard treatment for this diagnosis, Mitchell said. He would be put under sedation.

Update: Cheney got an electrical shock and is okay.

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Trent Lott Resigning

Miss. Senator Trent Lott has announced his intention to resign his Senate seat by the end of this year.

"It's time for us to do something else," Lott said, speaking for himself and his wife Tricia at a news conference. Lott, 66, said he had notified President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour on Sunday about his plans. Barbour, a Republican, will name someone to temporarily replace Lott.

"There are no problems. I feel fine," Lott said.

His term ends in 2012.

He said he doesn't have a new job lined up and that new restrictions on lobbying that take effect after Dec. 31, 2007 "didn't have a big role" in his decision to retire. The regulations extend the "cooling off" period for lobbying by former members of Congress from one to two years.

He may feel fine, but this is awfully short notice. Is there more to the story or is it just about money? Jerome and Todd at MyDD have some details on the replacement process.

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A New Politics? Maybe Not So Much

Barack Obama promises a "new politics." Jerome Armstrong wonders:

Is anyone shocked that the Obama campaign re-opened their PAC and started using it to dole out contributions in the early states? If this is not PAC-cynicism of the FEC regulations, nothing is:
in recent months, Obama has handed out more than $180,000 from the nearly dormant PAC to local Democratic groups and candidates in the key early-voting states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, campaign reports show.
This is a pretty serious issue that Obama is going to have to confront. Maybe it's not a violation of the letter of the law (because since when is the letter enforced?), but it sure is a violation of the spirt of the law-- especially for a candidate that vows to not accept PAC money.
. . . Obama is stretching the rule to claim that his presidential campaign and his PAC activities have "no affiliation", especially given that 68% of the PAC's contributions are going toward officials in the states where his is campaigning 80% of the time.

I always thought the "lobbyists"/PAC nonsense from Edwards and Obama was phony. Now we see that Obama thought so too.

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Colorado's DeGette Endorses Clinton, Will Co-Chair Health Care Task Force

Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette has just endorsed Hillary Clinton for President and will co-chair her campaign's Health Care Task Force.

"Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience we need in the next President of the United States," said Rep. DeGette. "Under her leadership, we will finally provide quality, affordable health care for every American. These challenging times call for a leader with Hillary Clinton's ability to hit the ground running on her first day in the White House."

Diana rocks. Seriously. She's the best. This is good news for Hillary. And for those who really care about stem cell research, health care and kids. She's also a former criminal defense lawyer and personally opposes the death penalty.

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Taser Developing Product to Stun Multiple Suspects for Crowd Control

Antoine di Zazzo, a Taser representative in France boasts he's been stunned more than 50 times and it didn't cause "real pain." He's also tasered France's far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen and convinced French President Nicolas Sarkozy of the stun gun's benefit. Sarkozy promised to buy one for all 300,000 French policemen and gendarmes.

But the more frightening news is this:

Di Zazzo's French company is also developing a mini-flying saucer like drone which could also fire Taser stun rounds on criminal suspects or rioting crowds. He expects it to be launched next year and to be sold internationally by Taser.

While Taser continues to insist the stun gun doesn't cause death,

There have been at least three other deaths this week in the United States after police use of the Taser.

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How Dare Brown People Participate In Politics?

If the point is that money corrupts politics, well duh. But the choice of example by the Washington Post bothers me a great deal:

Clinton's success in this unlikely setting is based almost entirely on her friendship with one man, McAllen developer Alonzo Cantu. A self-made millionaire who once picked grapes on the migratory farm labor circuit, Cantu persuaded more than 300 people in Hidalgo County, where the median household income in 2006 was $28,660, to write checks ranging from $500 to $2,300 to the senator from New York. Cantu offers a simple explanation for what he's doing for Clinton. "To me, there's two things that will keep us from being ignored," he said. "Money and votes. I think we've shown we can raise money. That will get us attention, or at least get us a seat at the table, get us in the room."

Gawd forbid a self made Latino, an American citizen, involve himself in the political process by raising money. Does the Washington Post think this is a unique or even an unflattering story? In a way it is, to them.

Look, I am for complete public financing of political campaigns myself. But until that is even remotely a reality, Latinos, just like everyone else, will and MUST participate in the political system as it exists. To single Cantu out, as the WaPo does, is patronizing at best, racist at worst.

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Raw Story Investigates the Don Siegelman Case

Larisa Alexandrovna and Muriel Kane of Raw Story have the first of a multi-part series today on how Republican heavyweights sent former Alabama Governor Don Siegleman to jail.

RAW STORY Investigates has decided to focus a series of reports, interviews, and investigative pieces over the next several weeks on Siegelman’s case. At the very least, the investigation will illuminate an incestuous pool of corruption in Alabama, with government officials, lobbyists, attorneys, and even judges behaving in ways that breach the public trust.

Their timeline of the prosecution is here. Part One is entitled, Don Siegelman, political prisoner.

The idea that a prominent politician -- a former state governor -- could be tried on charges that many observers consider to be trumped-up, convicted in a trial that involved numerous questionable procedures, and then hauled off to prison in shackles immediately upon sentencing would be almost unbelievable. But there is such a politician: Don Siegelman, Democratic governor of Alabama from 1999 to 2003.

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Comparing Hillary and Obama on Health Care

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have introduced health care plans. Hillary says Obama's plan leaves 15 million people uncovered and only provides mandatory coverage for children.

That appears to be the case. Here's Obama's plan (pdf.) There is a mandate that applies only to children.

Nor has Obama been consistent in his statements on universal health care.

Hillary maintains her plan not only covers everyone but also, like Obama's, cuts costs. Her plan is here (pdf).

Both plans are improvements over our current system. I agree with Hillary that mandatory coverage should include everyone, not just children and 15 million uninsured is too many.

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