It's nice to see Fancy Nancy is now attending Netroots N, so that someone of some current political importance is attending. (If she shows up; remember what Pelosi did last year?) Still, what about You-Know-Who? Where the boo-hoo is Barack H.O.?
    (As per my previous diary, with poll showing Kossacks very much want him to attend)

    ...Back on the first July 4, when our ancestors were sweating to death at Valley Forge (maybe I've got the seasons wrong), did you hear THEM saying, "Ohhh, we're afraid to go to the big bad blog conference, we might get criticized?" Well o.k., NNation didn't exist, but they wouldn't have shied away if it did.
    (And anyway, Barack can do a better Sister Souljah if he attends NN and shouts, "You pinko pundits with Pentiums!", than if he stays away)

    I hear Mr. Obama likes faith-based initiatives these days. Well, let's see if he can keep some faith with the people who did so much for his campaign, and whom he expects to do more. I sure hope he has that cowboy hat, so he can wave it around onstage in Austin. . .

Without a doubt, one of the greatest achievements of the netroots has been the creation of new forums where citizens and elected leaders sit together and talk about the future of the country.  If Thomas Jefferson could have seen the Leadership Forum at last year's YK in Chicago, he would have nodded in approval and said, "That's exactly what I meant by 'We The People.'" 

Well, this year, the organizers at Netroots Nation have stepped up again, organizing another citizen-driven forum called: Ask The Speaker.   Last year, we spoke with the Democratic candidates for President.  This year, we will spend an entire keynote session in conversation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  Sometimes I can hardly believe how far the netroots has come, and in such a short amount of time.  Amazing!

This email just went out to the Netroots Nation list:

One of Netroots Nation's goals is to facilitate in-person interaction between our political leaders and the progressive community.

So we're thrilled to announce that Speaker Nancy Pelosi will join us in Austin for a Saturday morning keynote session: "Ask the Speaker."

This won't just be any keynote. Speaker Pelosi wants to hear from you. Instead of simply giving a speech at a podium, the Speaker will be taking your questions and interacting with convention attendees.

Click here to register now.

The event empowers citizens to engage America's current House leader in substantive discussion about current issues, the legislative process, and how citizens can participate in their government.

The 9 a.m. keynote will be moderated by Gina Cooper, Netroots Nation's Executive Director.

Pelosi led the charge to put Democrats back in power, and as the first female Speaker of the House, Pelosi stands as a role model for women and girls across the country.

Netroots Nation is July 17-20 in Austin, TX. So if you haven't registered, there's still time.

Click here to register now.

When you come to Netroots Nation, you don't just see the big names from afar.  I remember last year sitting outside the main ballroom, and then starting thinking, wait, is that Ned Lamont walking this way?, and had a chance to talk to him for a few minutes.  That's typical, and Netroots Nation is a remarkable opportunity to talk to so many office-holders and candidates, one-on-one.

There are so many neat panels that we can't possibly list them all.  Sure, most of the FPers here are on the agenda, but there's so much more also going on.  How about Examining the Maze of Injustice: Our Nation's Failure to Protect Indigenous Women From Violence?   Or Frederick Clarkson, Pastor Dan and others on Whatever Happened to the Religious Left?.  Or a series of panels and speeches on green issues, and if you've never met Van Jones, you need to.  Or an all-star panel with Paul Krugman, Rick Perlstein, Digby and Atrios on "How the Media Learned to Bend Over Backward to Please the Right".

Just take a look at the speakers list; it's jaw-droppingly cool.

Help build the progressive movement.  Sign up today to join us in Austin.

this just in:  Jeffrey Feldman, who did such a great job with last year's Presidential Leadership Forum, will be co-moderating.  More on that later this week.

Wondering why it seems that Democrats, now in the majority, don't have the same success as the Republicans did in getting laws passed?

Curious about why the successes we saw in the first 100 days of the Democratic Congress didn't seem to continue?

Like to know what we can do as informed citizens to push forward a progressive and successful agenda?

Let's Ask Nancy.

I admit this weekend I haven't been available here at the Kos. I have an upper and lower respiratory track infection (in nonmedical terms a friggin bad summer cold) along with last night's gift of an ear ache (in other words I really can't hear my wife's honey do list). So if this brief diary has been published before my apologises and I will take it down.

Sunday I wrote about Seymour Hersh's article in the New Yorker and suggested that George Bush was an evangelical radical trying to spark Armagedon and the rapture. The evidence is there but, many perfer to deny reality in hopes it will fade away. It hasn't and I missed something very important.

More after the fold.

"This bill shows the American people that even in an election year, Republicans and Democrats can come together to support our troops and their families"    George Bush June 30, 2008

I had to laugh as confident Cheney hatchet man David Addington dropped Nancy Pelosi's name during torture hearings last week.  It was right out of the Senate hearings in The Godfather II - where the Corleones have systematically corrupted key legislators, and are sending tough, coded messages even in their own public testimony.  

Addington's message: 'Chairman Conyers, if these hearings go any further than today, I'll publicly ask why your precious Speaker - who my staff secretly briefed about these interrogation methods starting in 2002 - hasn't been called as a witness.  You've earned enough political capital; I won't be charged.  Don't push it.'

This perfectly fits an observation in yesterday's diary We Can End FISA Obstruction Next Week:

The Bush administration has done what the best con artists and criminals love to do: get The Mark involved in something illegal so they never go to the police - or even better, get police and prosecutors themselves involved.

We have an utterly unique opportunity between now and the day in July that FISA is raised again in the Senate.

Many recent diaries, a damning poll, and strong appearances by Prof. Jonathan Turley on Olbermann's Countdown (links below) all lead to the same conclusion: we - the Democratic base and increasingly the American people - are realizing that the Democrats in power are accessories, colluding with the Bush administration to prevent crimes they participated in from ever being prosecuted.

Turley makes the compelling (some would say obvious) case that Democrats' 'mysterious collapses' on FISA, Iraq, impeachment, even censure - almost every issue - has its roots in what Turley calls criminal collusion.  In the guise of "compromise", Democrats are carefully obstructing justice, sparing themselves from subpeonas and prosecution.

In the next 2 weeks we have our best chance - and maybe our last - for a "Mr Smith" moment where someone actually speaks this truth into the record on the Senate and House floor and changes the game.  

I have already begun speaking directly with Judiciary Chair John Conyers and his staff about this.

Let's use this forum to help make it happen.

Welcome back for more speculation! As promised, today we'll be polling the the top Western possibilities for Obama's v.p. After Southerners, I think Westerners are the strongest geographic group from which Obama could pick. He's shown strength there, and choosing a strong Westerner could, like choosing a strong Southerner, force McCain to expend resources in usually reliable GOP states.

I'm still alternating "break-out" polls for a while longer with the top 14 average vote-getting candidates in these threads' polls, averaging in each day's votes as we go. I'm going to do the top military veterans, those experienced with foreign policy/national security issues, and governors before cutting 14 names to narrow the field to just two tiers--that's if Obama hasn't decided by then, of course. I'll reset the averages then, too.

Please discuss any v.p. candidates in the comments. The correct format would be to simply state their name, unless you have further comments, in which case, "I believe ___ ___ should be Obama's v.p. running mate because..." "Oh my God, where's Jane/Johnny Politician?!" would be a bit alarmist, don't you think? I'm sure they're fine. I'm happy to hear all ideas, and of course I'm no official gatekeeper, so play nice.

(continued below the fold)

I've just been reading Crashing the Gates. (Yeah, I know Palmer is behind the curve.) Kos and his coauthor go into great detail criticizing teh single-issue mindset.
You know what current activity reminds me of that criticism? All this bitching about FISA.
Yeah, I hope the filibuster works.
Yeah, I don't like the idea that my phone calls -- few and unimportant -- and my e-mail -- more important and more political -- are being tapped.
Still and all, the House has made great strides forward. They passed several necessary bills and are beginning to hold hearings on some of the abuses of this administration.
Is Pelosi perfect? No.
Does she shine in comparison to Hastert and De Lay?
Hell yes!

This is good news indeed, as Nancy Pelosi has proven to be a miserable failure as a House Speaker. That was no surprise of course, but still.

Break on through to the other side for some of the article and further commentary:

Something is missing beyond the spine of some Democrats in the rush to legalize warrantless wiretaps, end privacy, and reward corporations for betraying the public trust. Let's call it the beef (or nicely textured soy protein for the vegetarians among us).

I am an empiricist at heart. I want proof in the form of sound evidence before I am willing to believe something is true. I am also deeply cynical and suspicious of politicians because too few decisions favor the common good. That cynicism has grown after our elected officials 'misrepresented' the threat posed by Iraq. In the uproar over the FISA revisions, now is a good time to point out there are some glaring gaps in the evidence at hand.

Since day one, Pelosi has held that impeachment is off the table, but is that what she REALLY means? I think not! Follow me below the fold to find out more.

We keep being told by the anti-constitution Democrats and those who defend their actions that shredding the Fourth Amendment is a necessary move in order to protect the Democratic Congressional majorities.

But there's a funny thing about that argument. Those Democrats actually on the front lines - those who are taking on incumbent Republicans or Republican-held seats - are among the most vocal opponents of the FISA surrender.

If these Democrats, those you'd logically expect to support the FISA compromise, are actually opposing it, and believe they can score points against their Republican opponents by doing so - then it blows out of the water any justification Pelosi had for agreeing to this, and should suggest that the contributions House Dems received from telecoms should be more prominently discussed.

1630 - the Fork is introduced to American dining by Governor Winthrop

2008 - Presidential foot firmly inserted in mouth, when Bush promises to prevent Iranians from having influence in Iran

COINCIDENCE? I think NOT!

" I was a good boy. I went to church and believed in God. . . . One day I was sitting at the kitchen table, happily drawing my hero (Jesus) when my big brother Bob asked, 'Why do you believe in God?' Just a simple question. But my mum panicked. 'Bob,' she said, in a tone that I knew meant 'shut up.' Why was that a bad thing to ask? If there was a God and my faith was strong, it didn't matter what people said. Oh . . . hang on. There is no God. He knows it, and she knows it deep down. It was as simple as that. I started thinking about it and asking more questions, and within an hour, I was an atheist. "
-- Ricky Gervais, 2007

Steve Hudson, a Republican candidate for Maryland's 8th District, kicked off his campaign with praise for the bipartisan efforts of the Speaker and the Majority Leader of the House. Subject: FISA. Target: Representative Chris van Hollen.

One thing Progressives have constantly been up in arms about since we helped the Democrats win back Congress in 2006 is the FISA fight. Many of us think that this bill was completely unneccesary, and that it was a bad idea. It wasn't that we needed new, broad ranging powers for the Federal Government to keep us safe, we just needed a competent administration in place to use laws already in place to protect us. That is what failed us on that terrible day of 9-11-01.

In an interview for Newsweek today, Nancy Pelosi was asked whom she might recommend to run with Obama in the VP slot.  First she said: "I think that anyone that Barack Obama wants is my choice for Vice President."  But when pressed further, she said: "I do think that in the list of considerations there should be someone from the House of Representatives."  Whom did she recommend?  Read on below the break!