The Inspector General's report on the FBI's abuse of national security letters to obtain phone records using made-up terror emergencies was released today and is available here. The ACLU weighs in, "OMG, 2000 Emergencies That Never Were."

On a lighter note, legendary fashionista and journalist Blair Sabol, often called the Abbie Hoffman of 7th Avenue, whose irreverent and biting Village Voice columns (that were always right-on target) I never missed in the late sixties and early seventies, and who now is a friend of mine in real (not online) life, has been writing a column the past few months, "No Holds Barred" for the New York Social Diary. Her latest is on the Fox News blonde anchors, "Blair's Blondes." [More...]

Supreme Court Justice Sonja Sotomayor's issued her first signed criminal opinion this morning in Wood v Allen, upholding the death penalty for a man with a borderline IQ. It affirms the 11th Circuit's denial of habeas relief, deferring to the Alabama Supreme Court's decision under AEDPA that defense counsel was not ineffective, because he made a "strategic decision" not to present evidence of the mental deficiencies.

Justice Stevens and Kenney dissented. (Opinion here.) [More...]

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing today on Yemen and Al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula. Here is the written testimony of Gregory Johnson (pdf) who also writes the blog Waq al Waq. On pages 17 to 23, he accurately outlines the formation,activities and events related to AQAP this year. He concludes the section with:

[T]he US and Yemen seem more prepared to fight the enemy al-Qaeda was rather than the one that it has become.

It was one year ago today that Al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula announced its formation. Today, it released a statement (English translation)congratulating itself on its achievements during the past 12 months, and honoring its members who died during suicide missions. Some snippets: [More...]

I need to do some sports blogging. But here is a funny thing, Ezra Klein, PUMA?

There's a difference between letting Congress lead as a strategy and being unable to lead Congress. WH is teetering now.

Apropos of the Village Dem meltdown:

This is an Open Thread.

Via ABC and TPM, President Obama says:

Here's one thing I know and I just want to make sure that this is off the table. The Senate certainly shouldn't try to jam anything through until Scott Brown is seated[.] People in Massachusetts spoke. He's got to be part of that process.

The video, courtesy of Daily Kos:

Lanny Davis has a form WSJ/NY Post column he pulls out to punch the hippies for any occasion. Here's his Blame The Left (the literal title of his Wall Street Journal op-ed) piece explaining Massachusetts:

We Democrats had to explain to Massachusetts voters and other Americans why non-Nebraskans and nonunion members have to pay more taxes, while Nebraskans and union members get to pay less. Those two deals seem to have alienated most people across the political spectrum. That's not easy.

Somehow, in the last 12 months, we allowed the party of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to morph into the party of George McGovern (or more accurately, his most ardent supporters) and Howard Dean, who called for the defeat of the Democratic health-care bill if it had neither a public option or Medicare buy-in.

Heh. Now the "hippies" are responsible for Ben Nelson's sweet heart deal and for the unions taking care of themselves regarding the excise tax. Lanny Davis is one strange dude. But what is funny is this is exactly what you are hearing from some blogs.

Speaking for me only

Andy Stern:

The House should pass the Senate's health insurance reform bill - with an agreement that it will be fixed, fixed right, and fixed right away through a parallel process. [. . . ] The House and Senate must move forward together. And, there is no reason they cannot move forward together to make those changes through any means possible -- whether through reconciliation or other pieces of moving legislation.

(Emphasis supplied.) While the language is different than the AFL-CIO's, the message is the same - the Stand Alone Senate bill is unacceptable.

Speaking for me only

It is still morning on the West Coast. Unfortunately for me, I am in the cold Northeast.

This is an Open Thread.

Maybe the Village Dems can pick up the slack for the November elections if the unions sit them out, but the AFL-CIO made their views plain regarding the possible passage of a Stand Alone Senate health bill:

AFL-CIO legislative director Bill Samuel tells me in an interview that labor won’t support any efforts by the House to pass the Senate health bill in its current form [. . .] “We don’t want the House to pass the Senate bill,” Samuel said a few moments ago by phone. “We would not be in favor of passing the Senate bill without fixing the problems that we’ve identified.”

(Emphasis supplied.) How are the Village Dems at GOTV and such?

Speaking for me only

The Plan B discussions being forwarded by the Village Dems and Village Bloggers seem to focus on the idea of the House passing the Senate bill and, as an afterthought, maybe, fixing the bill through reconciliation. It is clear is that they seem oblivious to the fact that the only constituency for the Stand Alone Senate Bill is them. Consider this Open Letter to House Dems from Jonathan Cohn:

Dear Nervous and Frustrated House Democrat,

It’s up to you. [. . .] [I]f you find a way to pass legislation, then you have something to show for your efforts--an accomplishment you can tout, legitimately, as making people's lives better. [. . .] [Y]ou can pass health care reform very quickly if you want. All you have to do is vote for the Senate bill, as written. Yes, I’m aware of its flaws. But it’s also far better than nothing.

(Emphasis supplied.) Meanwhile, back on Planet Earth, the idea of "touting" the Senate health bill in the 2010 elections elicits hearty guffaws from Republicans. And rightly so. The Village Dems need a better pitch. And it happens to be there for them. From Cohn's letter:

Jacob Hacker and Daniel Hopkins write:

Forget the question of whether a Republican Senate victory in Massachusetts spells the end of health reform. It doesn't -- unless Democrats let it. The Senate has already passed a bill that is far from perfect but far better than nothing. [. . .] [T]he House should simply enact it in return for strong commitments from President Obama and Democratic leaders that they will fight to improve the bill in the future, including through the filibuster-proof budget process.

There are a few problems with this Plan B. Politically, the Senate bill is NOT "far better than nothing." (As to whether it is "far better than nothing" policy-wise, that is a matter of irrelevant opinions - no group of voters thinks so.) First, let's mention a word that Dem Villagers seem to have forgotten - UNIONS. There is nothing good for unions in the Senate bill. There is a lot bad in the bill for unions. Democrats need unions to work for them - especially in off year elections. "In the future" means what exactly? If it does not mean before the November elections, then it is meaningless. The unions' concerns need to be addressed BEFORE November. More . . .

Let me first state what I think this means for 2012 - it means that Barack Obama will win Massachusetts by double digits and Scott Brown will be unceremoniously dumped as senator from Massachusetts. No matter what the Dems do in response. I start with this view because I think it is important understand what the lessons of Massachusetts are about - November 2010.

Now the Massachusetts result provides many lessons for November 2010. Joe Sudbay cites to analysis by Scott Jensen of PPP: