As a wise man once said, "Fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."

All snarky comments aside, this is a false statement. How dare TPMMuckraker impugn that this quote was made by a wise man.

Wise man???

Please. You make me wretch just at the thought of some one even joking that such a thing is true.

Please don't even make a joke of that. You besmirch the entire company of humanity with even a sarcastic reference to that man having a scintilla of wisdom.

Please apologize.

Not to worry. "In the best interests of the country" the Democrats will cave in. If history follows its usual pattern, a few congressional members "may" learn what really was going on, but they too will not want the American people to know and will sell out on grounds of "national security."

You don't have to be a blind conservative not to see it, just an ignorant one to deny it.

Slightly off topic, but it'd sure be nice if the new Prez. asked for the Directors of the FBI, CIA and DNI to resign. On their failure to do so, to then go public with his lack of confidence in their abilities to perform their tasks, based on past performance.

Aside from starting a war with Iran, this is probably the biggest item left of the Cheney/Bush to-do list.

They don't care at all about the telecom industry. What they do care about are lawsuits against the telecom industry in which said industry offers testimony as to who in the administration said it was okay to violate the constitution.

My guess is that this is all about protecting one man, Dick Cheney. We may as well call it this bill the Cheney Immunity Act.

Congress will cave. With leaders like Reid and Pelosi what can you expect? That's why we need new Senators and Representatives, to replace these muddled, scared-of-it-all, unprincipled seasoned compromisers. I, for one, am sick of their cowardice.

Johann #1 said, "Before granting immunity to the telecoms, Congress should find out exactly what agreements the telecoms have with the Bush Administration"

That's exactly what the Shrubbery does not want anyone to find out.

There is no danger of anyone at the telecoms going to jail or suffering financial penalties. In fact, the Shrubbery would throw them under the bus too if they could.

The telecoms are quite capable of defending themselves from any wrong-doing. All they have to do is spill the beans.

This is just another bait and switch.

Bush's statements to the press indicating a willingness to compromise are the bait. If the press reports that the Democrats have taken the bait, Bush switches to his my-way-or-the-highway style and accuses the Democrats of flip-flopping to score political points. It has happened before and it will happen on the FISA bill too. The only way to deal with Bush is to get him the word that he must propose a responsible bill. Then, there is only the matter of dealing with the Senate GOPpers and the Democrats like Rockefeller who are more interested in placating Bush than defending civil liberties.

This is just another bait and switch.

Bush's statements to the press indicating a willingness to compromise are the bait. If the press reports that the Democrats have taken the bait, Bush switches to his my-way-or-the-highway style and accuses the Democrats of flip-flopping to score political points. It has happened before and it will happen on the FISA bill too. The only way to deal with Bush is to get him the word that he must propose a responsible bill. Then, there is only the matter of dealing with the Senate GOPpers and the Democrats like Rockefeller who are more interested in placating Bush than defending civil liberties.

This is Bush trying to cover his behind on all his illegal activities. He is also trying to get the issue revived so Sen. Dorf McCain will have a political bat to beat Democratic leaders with in the fall.

Instead of staying out of the elections, Bush is going to actively attempt to manipulate events to put McCain in the best position possible. If Dorf McCain in president, then Bush has his get out of jail(or even investigation) free card.

I predict if the House cedes Bush any ground on this issue Bush will take all his concession back in a signing statement and say, "April Fools!"

the answer is obvious to the question 'what is the administration willing to give up'?

it will give up attacking democrats for not giving it what it wants -- 'if you do what we want we wont call you names anymore' has worked for W in the past - why would this situation be any different.

and the next question at the press conference goes to 'stretch'...

He already granted the entire Bin Laden family immunity, including Osama, so why not AT&T? I mean, it's a nice, American company, turns a profit, pays its CEO good bonuses, and spies on your granny, who, after all, really does act suspicious. I mean, what's she really hiding under that knitted Kleenex box cover? And why does she smell like prunes and rubbing alcohol and spend so much time in the basement? She gave up making jams and jellies years ago.

We can't be, too careful.

As for McConnell, he really likes Congress. But the last Congress he hooked up with was always belittling him, just like his mother, before she disappeared that night he was drunk and couldn't remember anything. He can't open up like he used to so he puts up defenses, like the 16' border fence, around his bathroom.

I've heard him in there weeping after some serious subcommittee questions. Next time, just hug him. He'll tell you everything then, except that night when his Mom disappeared. She really was a wench, but you didn't hear that from me. Baloney and Miracle Whip sandwiches. On white bread from the day old rack. And she never helped with his chemistry homework or told him about girls.

...the administration "has signaled to Democratic lawmakers it is open to negotiation"....

Hey, they must be sincere since they didn't call them the "Democrat lawmakers."