UPDATED DIARY - beginning now with Mark Klein, the AT&T whistleblower, explaining why there should be no retroactive immunity.

On the flip, Russ Feingold, Chris Dodd & others speak FOR and against retroactive immunity -- and on the dangerous flaws of the various versions of the revisions to the FISA law.

OK so this is a less than serious diary entry but hey, its Friday! What do you expect? Here are some fun videos that I've come across today that only vaguely touch on issues of equality, habeas and politics. I'm not trying to kid anyone as these are essentially just some clips to kick-start your weekend and leave you with a smile.

Below is a Daily Show clip, a clip where Tila Tequila explains why she is a champion for equality and one clip that simply defies description. Also, feel free to share your own comedy in the form of comments, videos etc. Enjoy and TGIF!

I decided to dig up some McCaingry videos and share them.  There are more but I didn't want to put too many into this diary and make it too slow.  I posted five below the fold.  

I think we could all use a little bit of "feel good" this weekend.  I've dug up a couple of my favorite You Tube feel good moments to share with you.

The World is Just Awesome!

Continued beyond the fold

Over the weekend, there was an interesting diary about how the Democratic Party could be unified if Hillary Clinton would bash John McCain. This got me thinking.

With all the youtube clips of McCain being McCain, I figured I could do my part by putting a bunch of McCain videos on my personal website, which I'd created to promote the songs I write and perform. This morning, I picked out 10 videos and embedded them on my homepage. All that's left of my music are links to my myspace pages, and that's fine.

In picking out the videos, I tried to find clips that had not been edited by whoever captured it and put it up on youtube. So, while I could have used more exciting clips, there is no emotionally charged music, graphics, or sound effects to unfairly influence the unbiased viewer.

Please take a look and give me your feedback in the comments section. Also, I'd welcome links to more and better videos that meet the no-edit standard. And, of course, I invite you to forward the link to friends AND to create your own similar page. Together, we can create a viral campaign that will discredit McCain and destroy his candidacy.

Here's the link! (In a new window)

One of my jobs is as editor of a music blog based in Austin. We've covered South by Southwest for the last couple of years, and this year, my final day there was the longest and busiest of the entire week. Two events dominate it absolutely. First was the premiere of an unbelievably powerful documentary, "Body of War," the story of Tomas Young, who was struck with a bullet almost immediately after beginning his first tour of duty in Iraq, came home paralyzed from the chest down, and became an anti-war activist.

The second was the showcase concert that followed, featuring artists from the soundtrack including Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, the Nightwatchman), Ben Harper, and Billy Bragg. The recording features original material by Eddie Vedder as well as contributions from dozens of other alternative artists. But right now I'm just grateful the music got me there, because I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Inspired by the film and concert, in the last couple of months I've built a playlist of some of my favorite political music, and recently found videos for many of the songs... and I thought I'd share this video playlist with you here.

Music is a Universal Language. It is definitely the language of Protest. From The African American Slaves, to The Irish, to Our Own American Political History.

I do want to write about current political issues,
but I hope you all enjoy my music selections.

I've been reading various posts and watching the videos about John McCain, the Republican nominee for president, since before he got the (presumtive) nomination. Hell, I've been following the R's since they had a full field of whackos candidates competing for the coveted conservative nomination. Back then I thought to myself, "This is the best they've got? This ought to be a piece of cake." Now that McCain moved to the front, I find myself asking, "Is this the best they've got?" Sometimes I catch myself laughing, especially when another video of him in a McCain moment pops up.

It's amazing to see the reaction of bloggers and readers in Kos today.  So the Kantor video is out.  Some say it has been doctored.  Some say it has not or maybe enhanced to clearly show what Kantor said the second time around.

Ok. Here is my take on what has been happening around here.  

First of all, we are all dead tired of this primary campaign.  It has gone on too bloody long, and Democrats' feelings toward each other have started to sour.  As Matt Stoller has said, each primary since February has resulted in the most annoying and inconclusive possible outcome, and there is no reason to believe that this trend will not continue through to June.  Not to mention the fact that the superdelegates very well might not take decisive action after the voting ends, so it is possible that this thing could go all the way to the convention.  

Second of all, and more pertinently, people just went through a roller-coaster with Jeremiah Wright's recent appearances and Obama's interview on Fox News.  Watching the zeitgeist on this site over the past few days has been pretty entertaining, but also troubling....

(Keep reading for the motivational shpiel below)  

The rules for Friday Night Video Club:

1.  Duh, you do not talk about Friday Night Video Club.  Except in the comments, comments on the owners' youtube pages, conversations you have with other people or things, or on your own sites and blogs.  Other than that, kindly keep your yap shut.

2. No videos over 3:30 long.  Yes, I've heard all about your "in depth analysis," but this is Friday Night, dammit.  If we're geeky enough to be watching internet videos, we're geeky enough to know that internet videos should be under minutes.  Dr. Zhivago was a great flick too, but I don't want to watch it on a 3X2" screen.

3. Enjoy.  If you like what you see here or in the comments, spread it around.  Make positive comments in the videos' comment sections.  Please be kind--very few of these people actually get paid to create what you just enjoyed for free.  And show off the coolest, funniest, most compelling videos--preferably with progressive political themes--you've seen all week.

The top three of the week after the bump...

Hillary talks a lot about being for the working class. Well based on her unpaid debts and the dairy Hillary "cares"? she really doesn't care.

I don't have anything important to share with you today, just silly stuff - various video clips that made me laugh or touched me in some way.

Come, join me after the fold for a wee diversion.

There was a thread earlier about a really great moment on CNN when Jack Cafferty basically dissed Hillary over her appearance on Leno, and her general ridiculousness saying (to paraphrase) "Speaking as a voter, I'm thinking I'm not voting for Hillary Clinton".

Anyway, I missed it but even READING it made me laugh and adore Jack Cafferty, who I think is truly hysterical, and fair, and thoughtful. And yeah, I can tell he's "in the tank" for my guy--which is precisely how I like it!

Anyway, I decided I would look through the Youtubes for some of my favorite Cafferty moments from the last few days. Compiled below the fold for your viewing pleasure.

In the near future, hundreds of government-owned video cameras may record hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers a day as they maneuver the streets of Manhattan.

Is this some Orwellian Bush Administration plot?

No, it's the simple reality of the city's congestion pricing, which got the thumbs upfrom the New York City Council this week and now heads up to Albany.

Watch New York Civil Liberties Union Legislative Director Robert Perry describe how the congestion pricing proposal say violate New Yorkers' personal privacy rights.

Continue reading for more information on how New York's congestion pricing proposal may violate New Yorkers' civil liberties.

I've made an executive decision to cancel this week's edition of Sunday Afternoon Fortune Telling.  I halted the reading after the third card.  I'll try again next week.  Instead, I though I would post some of the creative efforts from Obama supporters.

Warnings, lots of video ahead.

Yesterday, I began to feel that Rev. Wright's sermons ARE the basis for dialog for race in this country. Actually they already are. When you see and listen to these videos (below) in their entirety, not some sound bite, but in context, they show that Rev. Wright is not in fact a racist or anti-American, but he does reflect the community he represented as a pastor. A community that by in large, whites have ignored. (until they "act up")

FoxNews has been forced to confront it's bias (and here), and at the same time lay bare, and display it's bias: Reporter’s Notebook: Obama Church Keeps Up Defiant Image

Because everyone knows that angry black people, are "defiant."  They should thank us whites for rescuing them from the horros of  Africa and just having them work off their passage for a few years. /snark

This is the inaugural episode of what I'm calling Daily Dose of Obama Vids. I've copyrighted that phrase, don't steal it or I will sue you for your last nickel and donate everything to Barack's campaign :-)

From now until Barack is the Democratic nominee for President (hopefully by April 23rd) I will pick about 3 videos each day for my DailyKos diary collection of "Daily Dose of Obama Vids". I will primarily be trying to find Obama videos that were uploaded within the past 24 hours but there may also be some encore worthy vids from time to time.

Enjoy!