There's been a lot of discussion of today's vote on the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment concerning Iran.  Some people think it's no big deal, some people think it's equivalent to another war vote.

I don't expect to resolve these disagreements but I do want to provide some factual information regarding what the amendment actually means.  In particular, a lot of people seem to be wondering what exactly it means for the Senate to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a "terrorist organization."  Does it mean we can bomb them, does it mean Republicans can run ads putting their pictures next to pictures of Democratic candidates, what's the actual legal effect?

I wanted to write this diary to answer some of those questions, for people interested in details.  If you simply care about whether Clinton sucks or Obama sucks or Edwards sucks, this might not be the diary for you.

As was commented on previously in the MyDD diary section, the Open Government Act, a bill which strengthens the FOIA, was recently put on an anonymous hold in the Senate. The source of that hold has now been revealed as
Jon Kyl, Republican from Arizona.

Dozens of journalism and advocacy groups supporting the Open Government Act argue it would speed up the government's response to public requests for information under the federal Freedom of Information law.

Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., says the Justice Department is concerned that it could force them to reveal sensitive information.

In a statement Thursday, Kyl said the agency's "uncharacteristically strong" opposition is reason enough to think twice about the legislation, and he will block a vote until both sides can work out the differences.

Supporters of the bill are irate.

"This is a good government bill that Democrats and Republicans alike can and should work together to enact. It should be passed without further delay," said the bill's sponsor, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

Frustrated, Leahy now is pressing senators to clear the bill for a vote.

Advocates who range from the Society of Professional Journalists to the Humane Society of the United States are especially frustrated because Kyl had objected under a Senate rule that allows members to hold legislation anonymously.

Kyl revealed his name Thursday, days after the bill's backers launched an e-mail and telephone campaign, urging their supporters to help in "smoking out 'Senator Secrecy.'" They pointed out the irony that an open government bill was being blocked using a rule that allowed secrecy.

So, I'm a little puzzled as to what is going on here. If any Senator can perform this maneuver, then why don't we see these "anonymous holds" used more often? Is Jon Kyl in particularly good standing to be pulling this kind of stunt, and is there any way pressure can be placed on him? How exactly does Leahy go about removing the hold to bring the bill for a vote?

And overall, what happens next for the Open Government Act?

Jon Kyl knew the intelligence on Iraq having WMD's was wrong and failed to speak up or doing anything about it. In fact he still rubber stamped for Bush. He has continually lied about this information. The press in Arizona has been quiet on this and needs to bring it to the attention of the voters before the election. Jim Pederson can win this race if enough people are made aware of Jon Kyls position.
During his visit here last week, Ambassador Joseph Wilson first referred to a declassified Senate Intelligence report that makes it clear Kyl knew one of the president's central WMD claims was wrong but failed to speak up.

Well I'm in a good mood, having just downed a nice big cup of coffee and eaten a barbecue chicken dinner with mac and cheese and green beans.  And then Atrios gave me a robot pony, and Fox News ratings are still crashing.  At this point there's so much sleaze and spin coming from the right-wing and pushed through he press that it's impossible to track a tenth of it, let alone blog about it.  What's relevant now is turnout.  Who's going to vote?  And who has decided that it's just not worth it?

My fortune cookie last night: "The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance."

Racism is rooted in ignorance. That is its only power it will ever have. Those who use racism to manipulate the masses will find a shrinking pool. That's because the hip-hop generation isn't just black. It's all colors. We are the first generation in America that did not experience a segregated world. We see things differently. Even Strom Thurmond figured this out. Can the rest of the Republican party?

Just in time for Halloween -- Jesus' General ridicules the fear of miscegnation the RNC tried to exploit. Boo!

The big story this week: the negative ads Bob Corker is running against Harold Ford in the TN Senate race. Progressive blogs across a broad spectrum weighed in on the "bimbo" ad and the "tom-toms" ad -- like Arianna Huffington, Jerome Armstrong, Steve Gilliard, Oliver Willis and others here, here, here and here. Corker must be seriously desperate if he and the RNC have to resort to some people's fear of "race-mixing". It's so bad that people in other countries are talking about it. Tennessee Guerilla Women has the international coverage. FYI, for minorities, it may be interesting to explore but ultimately it really doesn't matter if the racism is Southern or Northern-flavored. Whether it's overt or covert. It's binary -- on or off. It's not a matter of degrees. It's more like the proverbial iceberg: the part you can't see is usually a lot bigger than the part you can.

Racism is like smoking. What was cool in the 1920s and 30s is increasingly uncool today.

It's important to call out racism when we see it. Even racists like Kerry Healy with her "Inmates for Deval" cadre (consisting naturally of her own campaign volunteers) don't want to be tagged with the R word. Except for the hard-core white supremacists of course. Racism just doesn't play well in the suburbs anymore.

Here's a funny thing:

Looking at the torture bill farrago, one of the last shots left in the locker of those seeking to stymie the bill seems to be the Specter-Levin amendment restoring habeas corpus rights for detainees (I haven't seen the actual text, which is not on THOMAS yet.)

Just now, I happen to be looking at a piece in the Columbia Journalism Review on the reporting of the torture issue, which refers to the original McCain amendment to the 2006 defense authorization bill which formed the basis of the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, which the bill currently under consideration would amend.

Now, my researches, such as they are (rudimentary), indicate that Levin had a hand in beefing up the McCain amendment, by extending the scope of the ban on habeas corpus claims by detainees.

As an Arizona Democrat, I am incredibly disappointed with the campaign of Jim Pederson, who is challenging Republican Jon Kyl.  I will be voting for Jim Pederson, but it is solely an anti-Kyl vote; I despise Jon Kyl and his voting record.  Jim Pederson, however, is an AWFUL candidate--his campaign ads, rather than energize me, actually annoy me.  I would suggest to the DSCC to stop contributing funds to this campaign, as Pederson, in my opinion, has absolutely no chance.  The DSCC should spend its money where it will really make a difference (PA, OH, RI, MO, MT, NV, TN, and unfortunately, MD, NJ, and MI).  As for the other Arizona races, I would suggest contributing to Harry Mitchell for AZ-05, and whichever Democrat wins the nomination in AZ-08; both of these House races are excellent pick-up opportunities in this "trending purple" state.  I think Janet Napolitano will be easily re-elected as Governor but needs our continued support.  Any Arizona residents agree with my assessment and pessimism concerning the AZ Senate race?  

We want Democrats to win. And we want to stop genocide in Darfur.

Can we do both at the same time?

Actually, yes. Voters consistently say that Darfur should be a priority. And a recent scorecard on Darfur showed Democrats leading the way. Detailed analysis inside.