This is a short diary about a new postcard-writing campaign I'm thinking of starting, as part of the You Work for Us summer tour.  I hoping to get feedback, especially suggestions about how to drum up support.

Postcards are a great way to express to our elected officials how we feel about their priorities, or lack thereof, on important issues.  USPS has a cool direct mail service where you can easily design postcards online, and they print and ship them for you.  We could use this as a tool to reach Senators and Representatives about their actions.  So, Kossacks, would you be willing to make up a simple postcard online and have the post office print and mail it to the Congressmen of your choice?  

Since the FISA bill was recently voted on, I thought that would be a good item for the first campaign.

We all know that the Senate and House caved in and rushed through a terrible bill to "amend" FISA, and have effectively removed all oversight on the government's ability to spy on its citizens.  The White House wanted this bill because it make the administration's warrantless spying activities legal.  The Senate and the House gave Bush the right to spy on Americans without a warrant, and they put Alberto Gonzales in charge of overseeing the program.  Alberto Gonzales.

Why did our legislators allow this to happen?

That's the headline in a frontpage article on the LA Times webpage.  I was skeptical, because as a rule whenever I see a headline about Democrats, no matter what it says, I expect it to be unflattering.  Remember the "Dems in Disarray" years?

But this article is quite good, actually, at describing the nature of the problem (read: Republicans) in passing a bill to withdraw troops from Iraq.  The article explicitly states that Democrats in the House and Senate are trying to pass legislation to begin withdrawal, that the President is against any attempts to wind down US involvement in Iraq, and that Republicans are pretending to want withdrawal, but are blocking all attempts by Democrats to actually get out.

I know, that's not news to you.  But it puts that confusing Dems Filibuster The War! "news" narrative to rest, and very clearly lays the blame where it belongs.

This is a short diary.  The New York Times is reporting (via the AP) that Democratic lawmakers are sending Bush a war funding bill with no timetables.

In grudging concessions to President Bush, Democrats intend to draft an Iraq war-funding bill without a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and shorn of billions of dollars in spending on domestic programs, officials said Monday.

The toll free US Capitol Main Switchboard number is 800-828-0498.  (Local number is 202-224-3121).  Please contact your representatives in DC today.

Update: Two more toll-free numbers are 800-459-1887 & 800-614-280.  (Thanks, annefrank!)
Why?  Here's why:

President Bush and congressional leaders began negotiating a second war funding bill yesterday, with Democrats offering the first major concession: an agreement to drop their demand for a timeline to bring troops home from Iraq.

Democrats backed off after the House failed, on a vote of 222 to 203, to override the president's veto of a $124 billion measure that would have required U.S. forces to begin withdrawing as early as July. But party leaders made it clear that the next bill will have to include language that influences war policy. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) outlined a second measure that would step up Iraqi accountability, "transition" the U.S. military role and show "a reasonable way to end this war."

Not much to say in this diary.  Many of you must know about the work being done by progressives to limit the damage that Fox News causes, by encouraging Democrats to avoid the network.  This has led to a boycott of the debate hosted by Fox News that was to include many of the Democratic frontrunners.

Of course, Fox news has hit back, desparate to maintain their 'fair and balanced' veneer.  

So imagine my surprise to read in the Washington Post an article an op-ed about the campaign that discusses the role that bloggers and liberals, and gets it exactly right.

The US Capitol Main Switchboard number is 202-224-3121, which can be used to contact your representatives in DC.

UPDATE: 1-800-828-0498 is the toll free number. -(thanks, Alegre)

The grace period is over.  The Democratic Party was given a majority in both houses of Congress in November of last year.  Iraq is still going badly. The troops are underfunded and unsupported, while the Taliban in Afghanistan is resurgent.  

Is this what we worked so hard for in 2006?

Congress needs our help, badly.  As has been noted, the political will in Congress to end the war may becollapsing, and Democrats seem to be having a hard time understanding that a majority of Americans are ready to stand with them if only they would stand.  

Our representatives in government are in danger of making a big mistake, and we shouldn't shirk our duty as citizens to help them out.   I think our Congressmen and Senators need reminding as to why they were elected.  So let's, um, remind them.

So, the Republicans have filibustered debate on non-binding resolutions to oppose the Iraq War, which the Democrats introduced as a way to express discontent without accepting the responsibility handed to them in November.

We cannot let them, any of them, get away with this.  Today is the day to call our Senators, and compell them to take a stand and get us out of this war.    Some Senators have introduced non-binding resolutions.  Some Senators have introduced watered down non-binding resolutions.  Some Senators have expressed vague displeasure of the way the war has been handled.  Some have expressed vague approval of the idea of the war.  Some Senators have switched to taling about Iran.  Some few have said unequivocally that the war needs to end now, and Congress should end it.  Do you know which kind of Senator do you have?

Today is the day that we tell the Senators what kind of constituents they have.  

(Sorry for the short diary.)

The last NIE on Iraq was published in the summer of 2004.  That one was rejected by the Bush Administration for not being positive enough, although its grim assessments were pretty accurate:

The estimate outlines three possibilities for Iraq through the end of 2005, with the worst case being developments that could lead to civil war, the officials said. The most favorable outcome described is an Iraq whose stability would remain tenuous in political, economic and security terms.

The most favorable outcome predicted by the last NIE, needless to say, never happened.

Will daylight finally be shed on the warrantless spying on Americans?

At the Washington Post (via AP):

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Wednesday he will turn over secret documents detailing the government's domestic spying program, ending a two-week standoff with the Senate Judiciary Committee over surveillance targeting terror suspects.

This is an update on the efforts by New Mexico to begin impeachment proceedings, as diaried previously.

(h/t to Digby for discovery)

According to David Swanson at afterdowningstreet.com:

On the same day that Bush delivered his state of the union address, eight state senators in New Mexico introduced a resolution (Senate Joint Resolution 5) that if passed would require their state government to send a petition to the U.S. House of Representatives asking that impeachment proceedings immediately begin against Bush and Cheney.

Today in the Washington Post Technology section there is a post mulling the implications of Hillary Clinton announcing her candidacy for President online, and, as the author calls it, "bypassing traditional media."  The article then ruminates on the wishes of newspapers to, like Clinton in her announcement, speak directly to the people.  Why do the newspapers want to do that?  Because they think it's affecting their bottom line.

We have lost readers over the past two decades, at least partly because of our lack of interactivity. If you didn't like an article in the paper, you could write a letter to the editor. And good luck with that.

Now, if you don't like what I write, you can instantly go to the bottom of this blog and post a comment. Or if you don't like something I write in the newspaper, you can go to the story on our Web site, click on my byline and send me an e-mail right away.

The author then goes on to list some ways in which newspapers are trying to become more interactive, and finally asks,

Is it working? You tell us.

So I told them.

Are we getting close to reaching a deal with North Korea over its nuclear program?  It seems like significant (read: some) progress is being made on the diplomatic front.

We at DailyKos are all committed to democracy.  All of us, through our actions, have in one way or another helped to bring democracy back and restore our country to what it should be.

Today, we are having midterm elections. We have been working hard to make good candidates competitive and help get their message out, just as we have been working to get voters to engage in democracy and vote.  Today is the day we THROW THE BUMS OUT (at least some of them).

So, the mid-term elections are 3 weeks away.  If you're like me, you are obsessively checking DailyKos and other blogs, as well as four or five newspapers and news magazines online.  You're looking at the polls and articles incessantly, hoping to find evidence that the Republicans will lose, lose big, in November.

After about two weeks of bad news for Republicans, and hopeful news for Democrats in the polls, I am getting antsy.  I want it to be over.  I want Dems in control of House, Senate, state government, and the FDA.

This started as a comment in another diary, but the more I think about it, the more fired up I get.  DailyKos and the netroots are awesome, and while I in no way think we should rest on our laurels and 'coast' until November, I just want to say "kudos" to everyone who has done anything to advance a saner, more progressive America (which is just about everyone here, plus many more people than I have time to name).  

And I also want to rant about the troll (and troll-like) diaries I have seen here recently.  Full disclosure: I lurked on DK for a year, and just recently joined. As an independent with formerly Republican leanings, I have learned a ton about the netroots and the progressive movement here, and admit that I have a lot more to learn.

So, there will be no vote on the Spector amendment or the full torture bill until tomorrow.   Also, several more amendments are scheduled to be heard.  That means that the fight to end this travesty is not over.    Everyone who is outraged that the Constitution is being tread upon for cheap political gain, let's get to work.

From now until the last vote on the last version of this terrible, terrible bill, we should:

Call, fax, and write every Senator.  Start with the ones in your state, and then Obama, and then the 2 Maine Republican Senators Snowe and Collins.   If the Senators you talk to are against this torture bill, then thank them for being true patriots and PRESS FOR A FILIBUSTER.  If they are not against it, or if they have no position, tell them that Americans do not torture.  Tell them that Americans believe in habeus corpus and the rule of law.  Tell them that Americans are not afraid to do what's right, and that's why we're Americans.  Then get your friends to tell their Senators the same thing.  Be succinct, polite, but don't hesitate to be forceful.