Well, it finally happened. If your local daily covers it, it'll probably be a paragraph hiding near the classified section. But, let's hope Friday July 25th was an important beginning.

What was it? Six hours of testimony to the House Judiciary Committee - officially an inquiry into Executive Power and the Bush Administration. For the record, it was not about impeaching Pinocchio Flight Jacket and other arrogant members of his mis-administration.

Appearing on “Larry King Live” in 1995, Jesse Helms, then the senior senator from North Carolina, fielded a call from an unusual admirer. Helms deserved the Nobel Peace Prize, the caller gushed, “for everything you’ve done to help keep down the niggers.” Given the rank ugliness of the sentiment — the guest host, Robert Novak, called it, with considerable understatement, “politically incorrect” — Helms could only pause before responding. But the hesitation couldn’t suppress his gut instincts. “Whoops, well, thank you, I think,” [Helms] said. With prodding from Novak, he added that he’d been spanked as a child for using the N-word and noted (with a delicious hint of uncertainty), “I don’t think I’ve used it since.” As for the caller’s main point — the virtue of keeping down blacks — it passed without comment. (New York Times)

Helms passed away on July 4 at age 86. Was he a righteous warrior or a malignant wizard?

A giant among statesmen, or the last great unabashedly white racist politician? Who was Jesse Helms, anyway?

By now we have all heard about Obama supporting the FISA renewal. He has really gone against the beliefs of his party, and I believe himself as well.

This really seems like a politics as usual move. I know campaigns can be crazy but I certainly hope that Obama sees how he is straying. The Republicans are going to beat on him as weak on terror no matter how he votes. I only hope he realizes this and goes with his "gut" because I believe that will lead him to vote against this bill.

After all, this bill is only going to give the Bush Administration permission to walk all over the Constitution. They have done that, are doing that, and will continue to do that regardless. The other disgusting attribute of this bill is what is effectively a blanket Presidential Pardon, delivered via the Congress, to protect the telecom giants from being held accountable for their own lack of ethics.