I'm taking a break from this blog for a couple months. In the meantime, please make all of your political donations through ActBlue in order to maximize the influence of the progressive netroots.

Do not donate directly to the DCCC or the DSCC. Their leadership is brainwashed by the corporate corruption that fills the beltway bubble. By contributing through ActBlue instead, you can leverage your donations to help move the Democratic Party away from the corrupting corporate influences that block progress and cause Democrats to lose elections.

Donating to the DNC is good too. Support People Powered Howard Dean's 50 state strategy. DNC Chairman Dean is helping bring control of the party away from Washington and out to the grassroots.

And keep donating to the ActBlue campaign to hold accountable Steny Hoyer and some of the other scoundrels who sold out the country and the Constitution to the phone company so President ShitHead can continue to spy on all of us.

All the good amendments were defeated and the overall bill passed in the Senate. Join the fight to hold the villians accountable.

Senate debates FISA today. The vote on amendments is scheduled for tomorrow. Glenn Greenwald provides an update of the situation, including the Bingaman amendment and the Strange Bedfellows coalition to hold the scoundrels accountable.

With regard to the Senate FISA vote, a new event occurred yesterday that underscores the pure lawlessness of what our Congress will do this week. One of the pending Senate amendments -- the only one with any remote chance of passing -- is an amendment (.pdf) sponsored by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (co-sponsored by GOP Sen. Arlen Specter and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey). The Bingaman amendment would merely postpone the granting of telecom immunity until 90 days after Congress receives the Inspector General's audits of the President's NSA spying program which the new FISA bill mandates, and would freeze the telecom lawsuits in place until then.

The Real News' Aijaz Ahmad looks at why Rupert Murdoch support's Obama. (Murdoch supports Obama? You could have fooled me, at least judging by the blatant bias of the clowns that work for him at Fox News.)

Do you remember the excitement when we first stopped retroactive immunity in the Senate last year?

We earned that moment together -- both the victory and the feeling that we had made a difference.

That hard-earned success felt so good because collectively we made our voices heard in the well of the Senate and in offices across DC.

On the eve of another vote, it's time for us to speak up again.

Please use the call tool created by our friends at Firedoglake and ask your Senators to vote "YES" on the Dodd-Feingold Amendment to strip retroactive immunity from FISA

http://tools.advomatic.com/7/fisa

Listen to this mp3 of a 1988 Chomsky lecture, Necessary Illusions.

Then watch this video from the Onion News Network:

Thanks to borkitekt for the Chomsky link.

If "patriotism" is the Fascism Lite of conservatives, count me out. If patriotism means wanting one's country to be as good as it can possibly be, I'm there and always have been.

Russ Feingold and Democracy for America have a petition to stop telecom immunity.

Senator Feingold needs our help to stop the FISA "compromise" bill. Russ sent me this message to pass on to you directly. Please read it and then sign our Senate Petition to Stop Telecom Immunity. We will deliver the petitions to every Senator on Tuesday morning, right before the expected vote.

Thanks to TomP.

From firedoglake:

Blue America is launching a call tool today to help you get in touch with Senators regarding the FISA bill. We're trying to make it as easy as possible for everyone to talk with their Senators about the importance of standing up for the constitution, the rule of law -- and standing against telecom immunity.

We have been working hard to put together some tools to make your voice heard -- and there is more to come today.