So, even though the press has said that John McCain has "released his military records" it is pretty clear that 19 pages of dog and pony show material probably does not comprise the actual records of his service.  In order for the whole record to be released, McCain himself would have to fill out and submit a Standard Form 180.

Perhaps Mr. McCain thinks that would be a big hassle that would take him away from his busy schedule of taking money from Colombian terrorist sympathizers.  And, since he's admittedly computer illiterate, he wouldn't know how to get one on the Internets. He also probably thinks it would be too much trouble to go to a government office to pick up a hard copy of the form (after all, he doesn't seem to have set foot in his own government office in the U.S. Senate for quite a while).

However, we can help John McCain ourselves.  If you simply go to The Google and types in "sf180" the first thing on the results list will be an online copy of the sf-180 in fillable .pdf format.

Here it is:
SF-180

Cross posted at Calitics.

Here is the text of my latest letter to Senator Feinstein on FISA and telecom immunity.  It appears that we have been corresponding for so long that I now have a pretty good record to go by to understand her position.  To see where she was, and where she's gone on this issue is not pretty.

Please note that I did take one thing out of this letter before I faxed it, but I left it in for the readers here to understand just how I feel.

This is one of those stories that just seem to get weirder and weirder as you get into them.

Basically, it goes like this: a Blackwater subsidiary, Presidential Airways is being sued by the families of 3 servicemen killed in a crash of a Presidential flight in Afghanistan.  Presidential's has been defending itself in a Florida federal court by arguing that since the crash occurred in Afghanistan, Shari'a law, should apply.

But it gets stranger still.

Blackwater Defends itself arguing for Shari'a Law

I have been thinking about this for some time regarding a Meet the Press appearance by Newt Gingrich from December 17, 2006.  At the time, I was paying only mild attention, as I was busy grading final exams.  However, you know how it is when you hear something that just catches you and won't let go.  So, this morning I pulled down the transcript, and what I was hearing indeed did happen.  Fortunately, it appears on a single page.

The Newt & Whomever Show

Cross-Posted at Calitics.com.

So the Daily Breeze (covering the Torrance-LAX-Long Beach area) has an update on the Laura Richardson foreclosure story.  Seems her lender on her vacant Sacramento house has rescinded the foreclosure.  That would be good, except another party has already  bought the house and has spent money on repairs and improvements.  He's not leaving, and he says he'll sue Richardson and WaMu, the lender.

Did Richardson get a break?

This is a short diary.  I tuned in to see the results of the local races here in San Diego.  In case you didn't know, today was California's SECOND primary election (even though we could have gotten by just fine with one).

So, I went to the Channel 10 (KGTV) News website to check the results. I can report the results to you now, regardless what happens later: Channel 10 is clearly biased against the Democratic Party.

Check it out for yourself here.

Today TPM Muckraker and The Hill picked up on the story about Laura Richardson, which I diaried here and at Calitics this last weekend.

This could be a big story, and a very big problem in the district come November.

This is a very interesting story.  One of Hillary Clinton's Congressional superdelagates has had one house foreclosed, and is facing foreclosure on two more.

Housing woes mount for Rep. Laura Richardson

I don't want to see anyone in financial trouble, but I am having a hard time feeling much in the way of sympathy or empathy for her.

Crossposted at Calitics.com

So today, I received the latest volley of Steve Francis mailers (it's been an average of two a day for the last two weeks).  Today, there was the regular Francis stuff, but also another one that would seem to be clearly targeted at people who think (for a change).  This one only mentions Steve Francis in the return address.

It has a big picture of Mayor Jerry Sanders standing next to George H.W. Bush, with the caption "Why has the Republican Party endorsed Jerry Sanders for Mayor?"  It goe on to answer with statements such as "Because Sanders has no plan to protect the environment . . . Because Sanders gives favors to fat cat developers . . ." and so on.

Yes, and now, all of those questions you've had about her will finally be answered.

No, not that.

The current issue of Hustler Magazine has an article entitled "Is Ann Coulter a Felon?" written by Brad Friedman of the Bradblog, and, I'm quoted in it.

The article details how Ann Coulter may have committed voter fraud in 2006 and so far gotten away with it.

I have to admit that I was surprised at my new notoriety.  Here's how I found out about it:

Announcement from the Bradblog.

So we're going ahead and building a giant steel and concrete monstrosity on the Texas border.  So what if it's ugly, imposing, and would remind anyone with half a brain of the Berlin Wall.  It'll keep out the brown people, right?

Well, I guess it would help if there weren't any gaps in the fence, don't you think?

But, there will be gaps - big ones.  Perhaps you don't have to have a fence on your property - if you give George W. Bush enough money.

I try to stay from the horse-race stuff, but when I heard about Senator Clinton on the Today show, I felt as if I had heard the same words before, almost verbatim.

Here’s President Bush responding to questions about his dealings with Jack Abramoff:

"I've had my picture taken with a lot of people. Having my picture taken with someone doesn't mean that I'm a friend with him or know him very well."

///

"I frankly don't even remember having my picture taken with the guy. I don't know him."

[AP, 1/26/06]
Link to quote.

Now here’s Senator Hillary Clinton responding to questions about Tony Rezko:

"You know, I probably have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures."

///

"No, I don't know the man. I wouldn't know him if he walked in the door."

[NBC Today Show, 1/25/08]
Link to quote

If you're like me, you were upset about the thought that the Congress would give telecom companies immunity for participating in a warrantless wiretapping program set up by the Bush Administration.  If you're from California like me, you were upset that your Senator, Diane Feinstein, would actually have considered supporting such a horrendous idea.  And, if you're like me, you contacted Senator Feinstein about it.

It seems like it was a long time ago that I wrote to Senator Feinstein, and I frankly expected that she would blow off all of us.  But tonight, I received a response from her via email.

This just in from Bloomberg:

Phone companies disconnected some of the FBI's eavesdropping operations because the government failed to pay bills on time, a Justice Department audit found.

Read the full story here.

What does this say to you about telecom amnesty?

I was busy yesterday morning enjoying the sunny day before the rainstorms hit (they're here now - so the hillsides that burned last October will now wash away), so I didn't check my email.  This morning I did, and I got an email from Stacy Taylor, a local radio talk show host who was the former morning drive personality on KLSD, the now-defunct Air America affiliate.  Stacy is back on air on 1700 AM from 4-7.  So, maybe progressive radio is back - well maybe.

Here's the link to the station.  You can look at the lineup yourself and skip the rest of this diary if you want.  Otherwise, read on.

As long as it features blather from the likes of Laurie David.

This is the third crazy wind storm I have been in in the last two months! I am in extreme weather hell. First the Santa Ana's and Malibu fires, then Iceland and now this. Like the Griswold's family Christmas road trip, we packed up the car, loaded up assorted kids and headed for beautiful Mammoth ski resort.

I've been pretty lucky the past couple of years.  We're completely out of unsecured hig-interest debt, and we've got some decent safe investments.  However, I've been thinking that it would be nice to have something that is actually capable of paying a real dividend, rather than insulating from loss.

I am expecting to have a little extra cash to invest at the beginning of next year, and I am seriously considering a particular investment that could pay off handsomely.

I’m not going to link you to an endless series of clips from various Administration apparatchiks, toadies, and water carriers, about how waterboarding is not torture if it’s done properly (I’m much too lazy for that), because you’ve already heard it all anyway.  Rather, I’m starting from the assumption that we in the U.S. now think waterboarding is not torture if it is done properly.  If that is so, then we have made it possible for the legal system to recognize a new tort: negligent torture.