TUNE IN NOW to Raw Story’s own Larisa Alexandrovna, appearing on Young Turks weekend filibuster live show. By the way, and I think this is weird, their page was blank until I registered with the site and logged in. So, register first, and then you can click on
Someone at Daily Kos posted this alternate listening link in Martin’s top-rated diary — sometimes Young Turks has gotten overloaded. So try the other if you need to.
We’re a GO! Larisa just e-mailed me to confirm. She’s on after that, um, country western song.
You’re not seeing things .. I ripped off my own text from the previous open thread.
mary thought we should start a new one … if this song is ever over …
anyone want to rate that song?
The song lyrics:
“I’VE GOT MY CHURCH AND MY FLAG. I’m TAKING MY COUNTRY BACK!”
Okayyyyy …
Mary, my ‘puter is running slowly because of this live video so .. i’ll do the best I can to keep up with the posts.
I think its kind of a catchy little tune.
The Beatles are better though
It was an “up” song …
here she is!
“Back in the USSR” — Brad is comparing our life today to life in the USSR.
Now he’ introducing her — the tireless and intrepid investigative journalist.
She’s trying to connect the forgery dots + Plame … same thing she’s been doing for a year … wow …
But she says that people complain to her that that’s old news. ..
WHat’s this about the Patriot Act, Mary? “Silence,” she says … no discussion .. no meeetings …
She finds the silence on the Patriot Act disturbing because its not clear why they are being silent. They made a big to do about how important it was and the issue is still around, but now they are silent. Where did it go? She speculates that it might be timed to Alito and state of the union.
She’s working on the Niger forgeries story. Another piece to come out tomorrow (?) but she’s past deadline. [Is there a deadline for online stuff?]
I bet they do. John, the editor/publisher, is incredible in what he gets up …
I wonder if they try to post their hot story by 6 or 7 am ET?
“Is there a deadline for online stuff?”
yep
Huh. Learned something new.
i’m not sure i ever made one though…
Hi, Ron!
What’s the latest on today’s bombings in Iraq? (if you have time to share.)
susan,
hiya!
y’mean church bombings or the woodruff one…
i’ve been kind of busy on abramoff related stuff so there’s probably not much i can tell ya about either really…
(and hiya larisa if you’re peeping this now or later)
Now they are talking about the Patriot Act. The month’s extension expires on Tuesday.
CALL-IN #:
Call in:
323-866-8201
It was hard to find on the site. I hope that’s the correct one.
Impeachment question based on Jefferson Rules allowing impeachment to be brought up by a state legislature. She knows the theory but admits she isn’t really up on it. They speculate on which state would bring it. New York, California?
Why aren’t Dems standing up?
Fear
blackmail?
and some are owned by corp. interests
She still wants to know why Kerry walked away right after teh elections … and so odd with his history — BCCI, Nixon,etc.
Glad he came back to life for filibuster.
Inane chatter with caller Steve — oh, we get a question.
Media question — why we aren’t getting the truth about voting machines, etc. Reticence of Democrats to stand up and be a minority party is suspicious to him. Used to joke that someone had good blackmail on Tom Daschle but maybe now with NSA that’s not so crazy.
Larissa thinks you can’t underestimate the power of fear. Only two people to get anthrax letter were Feingold and Daschle.
Larissa kind of avoids the blackmail question.
Steve brings up the fact that DiFi’s husband is a defense contractor — ties it into the concept fear for her.
She wants to know what made John Kerry walk away so quickly.
In the middle of that conspiracy discussion all my lights went out. I forgot this room is on timers!
Back to the discussion, tin foil hat firmly in place
She’s defending Kerry … he took on Nixon admin after Vietnam, he then took on one of the biggest money laundering scandals ever, Iran/Contra … and you’re going to tell me 12 hours after the tally, he’s walking away?
She has NO idea … she has a theory and has heard things … but it would be negligent to say without proper support …
Host thinks the swift-boating has affected the Dems …
Larisa thinks GORE should not have conceded after Supreme Court decision! Wow…
She thinks that the country would have stood behind Gore had he challenged court.
I dunno about that.
Now they are talking about Al Gore and whether he fought enough or not over Florida. Brad thinks when he stopped the fight he thought it would be best for the country. Larissa thinks that the day the Supreme Court came down with the decision he should have fought on over the constitutionality of the supreme court’s decision.
Now they are comparing Kerry. He took on the Nixon administration and one of the biggest money laundering scandals ever, Iran contra. He’s always butting heads. But 12 hours after the tally he walks away in tears. She’s suspicious that something happened. She has no information with proper support, so she’s just suspicious.
She thinks the swift boating of Kerry makes the Gore campaign look like Romper Room.
Brad thinks that Democrats are afraid it will happen to him.
She posits that the whole country would have stood behind Gore if he had said after the supreme court decision that we should have challenged it. She seems to think they could have gone back to the Supreme Court — ????? (Sorry but she’s losing me here on this one. They wouldn’t have taken the case back!)
She’s glad Rehnquist lived long enough to see Katrina and the ramifications of his actions.
yeah … i don’t think Al Gore had a legal alternative
Larisa thinks we should hit HAGEL.
I know — I’m going to fax him tonight.
Tony from Pacific Palisades: He wants to tell us every single person he has faxed today.
He has a Gore question and Maxine Water’s plea for a senator to stand up for them — couldn’t Gore have done that? No, he wasn’t a senator he was the vice president.
Now they are talking about educating the electorate.
This caller is giving a good rundown on MTP.
They all seem to think that they can use television to educate people. Just stay on TV for 24 hours and explain things. (they are losing me on this one too — with cable there are too many other options.)
They are all talking about how exciting the Galloway thing was on live television.
What are they talking about — I never saw it?
it’s almost like the separation we feel from D.C. … we blogger / news junkie types are separated from the vast majority of the American public. They don’t read, listen, view like we do.
galloway was not a good example … just like Kerry’s rushed return trip to stand up for the filibuster — it got all couched in him flying in from a ‘ski resort” on a “quixotic” mission … I’ve heard that word quixotic repeatedly since CNN first did it on Friday.
“At this point we’re all being anthraxed and we have nothing to lose by standing up.”
They point out the successes. Obama will filibuster; Clinton has come out in favor of it.
She says they won’t overturn Roe v. Wade because they need it.
That does make some sense. Well, though, they could just move on to the gays or sex shops or pornography or whatever.
already moving in on those issues. (WaPo link, read the litany at the end of the second paragraph)
grrrr
Talking about Unitary Executive — should call it dictator in chief. That would scare people. Bring it to the level that people can understand.
Yeah … academic terms lose people.
I love Harold Cho of Yale Law School … he gave great testimony against Gonzales’s nomination … but he talked about “rights-free” prisoners. “prisoners who have no rights” or something like that would be clearer in a AM radio sound bite.
New caller: Dennis in California near Sacramento.
Two pieces of puzzle are important. Giant media conglomerates owned by big companies and private corporations who own voting machines. We are screwed.
Messages are not getting to the majority of the people. WE spend our days finding out what’s going on. But others are different. Some people are Totally Apolitical.
She suggests that you print out interesting information and leave it around — doctors office, stores, etc.
Internet is wonderful but we have to get to people who aren’t on the internet or who aren’t using the Internet for politics. (She’s right there!)
Guerilla marketing!
Larisa sticks her news stories inside Ann Coulter books at Borders.
yeah, that was great!
Caller from UK: Focus on unitary executive / link it to dictatorship / separation of powers
she was military and they took an oath to defend the CONSTITUTION, not their president
It’s the Constitution, Stupid
Now its Ginger from England — but she’s American. Airforce?
Works at American middle school.
She’s been calling (internationally) Senators and linking unitary executive to dictatorship and their oath of office. Violated oath of office if they support Alito.
Larissa — constitution takes precedence over president or any individual.
She wants some piece she wrote to be read on the floor of the Senate because she thinks it will explain this.
Ginger says its not a liberal/conservative issue. “It’s the constitution stupid”.
Why aren’t true conservatives up in arms about Alito.
Ginger reminds the staffer to say hi to the NSA people who are listening in(!!).
I’m going to depart in a minute … i need to get up very early because we need to be on top of things on the blog.
I told Martin to call me to wake me up! 🙂 I hope so!
It’s over anyway — I’m out of here too. It was fun!
Caller Steve Audio(sp?)
Googled Alito Filibuster and brought up all Republican spin.
steveaudio.blogspot.com
must check that out!
Mary, you’re terrific! Hugs .. .
Bob Kinkaid in W. Virginia is taking over.
I’ve got a bunch of Galloway clips on file, remind me in the FBC sometime. They’re priceless!!!
We need to get Martin and Howie on these shows … they both have great voices and the knowhow to strike at questions.
Larisa was very good … i hope she gets some sleep!
I’m not staying with this much longer because tomorrow’s a workday, but I just wanted to say I’ve been listening to the live stream and following your commentary.
Night all!
Call your key senators tomorrow.