*ducks and runs*

Cliff Lee should be able to pitch 3 games if this goes 7. What a performance !

The understandably intense fear and panic gripping the nation in those early days following the attacks fueled the near-record speed with which dramatic alterations to U.S. surveillance law were drafted, debated and made law.

I hate the fear and panic meme they lay on then “nation”. I was startled by the magnitude of the event, but not fearful. Apparently our elected officials up and peed themselves and feel the need to project. Well, I say aim that thing another direction.

-from October 24 Trash, pick-up at # 61

“I actually feel better about the Nord Horde after this game than at any time earlier this year. No quit; Harvin’s certainly tough, able not just to play but produce with that bad shoulder; the d-backs showed signs of learning & improvement; Favre’s comment about Sidney Rice is looking credible. A small, superficially perverse prediction: that the Vikes’ power rating according to this goes up following this loss: http://www.advancednflstats.com”

And sho’nuff:

Going into Week: #7 #8
Overall ranking: 14 12
Game Win Percentage GWP: 51 55
Opposition GWB: 34 43
Offense ranking: 13 12
Defense ranking: 26 23

The Patriot Act changed the law [regarding "buiness records"] to authorize the government to collect any records deemed “relevant to an investigation.”

The consequences of this change are tremendous, as there are limitless interpretations of the word “relevant.” And while it is known as the “business records” provision, it actually permits the collection of “any tangible thing” (such as blood or DNA samples) as long as it can be called “relevant.”

I have served on the Senate Intelligence Committee for eight years, and I have yet to see evidence — classified or otherwise — that has convinced me that revising the business records provision to include a less intrusive standard would be harmful to U.S. national security. Yet as Congress considers whether to reauthorize this standard — written in a rush to judgment eight years ago — some will undoubtedly argue that Congress should just trust that the provision is essential and blindly sign-off on reauthorization. I disagree.

[...]

Specifically, there is classified information that the public and the majority of my colleagues have not seen that, in my judgment, is essential to understanding the full scope of this issue. I and other senators have raised this problem with the Executive Branch in classified correspondence, and I hope that this information will be declassified soon. If it is not, however, I believe that the Senate should debate it in closed session to ensure that all senators are fully informed before casting their vote.

Bob in AZ