While the Senate was ready to vote on the FISA Amendments Act today, Senators Russell Feingold and Christopher Dodd fought to keep them from casting a final vote and jamming the bill through Congress.

In a statement released by Feingold, he says:

"I am pleased we were able to delay the vote on FISA until after the July 4th holiday instead of having it jammed through. I hope that over the July 4th Holiday, Senators will take a closer look at the deeply flawed legislation and understand how it threatens the civil liberties of the American People. It is possibly to protect this country against the terrorists while also protecting the rights and freedoms that define our nation."

For those who haven't read up on the new FISA bill, it would basically give the government the right to peek into the private overseas phone conversations, emails, and even text messages of all Americans. Part of the bill would give retroactive immunity to telephone companies that gave the government private information of Americans.

Feingold says the FISA bill would also allow the government to take all international communications and put it in a giant database. The most outrageous part of the bill states that there does not have to be any court review or evidence that anyone is doing anything wrong before the government intrudes on the person's privacy. The government will simply have complete access to the personal overseas communications of every single American.

Feingold continues to say, "It's a vast power that has no limits. There's no regulation of it."

Obviously, the new FISA bill was created to help the government "track down terrorists"....just like the Iraq War was orchestrated to find weapons of mass destruction. It all makes perfect sense.

It's angering that the government has instilled so much fear in the minds of Americans, that many are ready to hand over precious civil liberties in the name of "protection." In fact, it's sickening. All the Republicans who are avid gun owners and want to protect their constitutional right to bear arms have NO RIGHT to say an American's right to privacy is not as important. This proposed FISA bill simply violates the right to privacy. Fear tactics should not trick Americans into giving up their freedoms. The Senate needs to wake up.

The more the Bush Administration remains in power, the more the United States mirrors the image George Orwell illustrated in his book 1984. Big brother really is watching, and members of our own Senate are allowing it to happen.

Feingold admits that many of the Senators have not completely read the bill and do not know the logistics of it. By holding off on the bill until after July 4th, hopefully the Senate will have the opportunity to think things over and not just hand the Bush Administration exactly what they want.

If you want to watch TYT's interview with Senator Feingold, please check out the video below:




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While seventeen teenage girls in the same Massachusetts high school are awaiting the birth of their babies, everyone wants to know whether or not they made a "pregnancy pact" to conceive within the same year. There were allegations indicating that the girls planned on having, and raising their children together. Even the Mayor of Gloucester got involved with the investigation to put an end to the rumors.

During a press conference today, Mayor Carolyn Kirk stated she is "not able to confirm the existence of the pact." She continues to say, " Any planned oath to become pregnant - there is no evidence."

Who cares whether or not there was a pact? That is the most unimportant element of the story. Those girls are all under 16 years of age, and are already expecting children. There is a significant issue here that has received very little attention.

Gloucester High School reportedly had to cut back on health education spending to meet federally mandated standards such as No Child Left Behind. With little emphasis on sex education, and no contraceptives readily available, it's no surprise that the school, located in a conservative fishing town, has had trouble controlling teen pregnancies for years.

In addition, the nature of the high school simply caters to the needs of pregnant teens. For instance, there is a childcare center provided in Gloucester High for young mothers who wish to complete their high school education. This can be seen as good or bad depending on ones perspective. On one side, it's great that young mothers are given the opportunity to finish school. On the other side, it sends out a message that conceiving a child while in high school is acceptable, and will be supported by the school itself.

It would be foolish to completely blame the high school for the teen pregnancies, although Gloucester High still has some fault. Hollywood definitely could have played a role in this case. For instance, actress Jamie Lynn Spears mentioned she was pregnant at the age of 16, and just delivered her daughter Maddie Brian. News of Spears' pregnancy led to a little criticism, but mostly a lot of positive attention.

"Juno" was entertaining and well written movie about a teenage girl who got pregnant by a first-time sexual encounter. In fact, I will be the first to admit it was my favorite movie of the year. However, I hate to say that it did send out a bad message to young girls who are easily influenced by the media. While some people are able to differentiate reality from a fictional movie, some young people simply are not. It's a sad fact that movies like Juno have to receive flack because of those who can't think straight. But that's just the world we live in.

Hollywood romanticizes pregnancy. Ashley Simpson is back in the media after she announced that she's pregnant, and Paris Hilton keeps talking about how she can't wait to have babies with her boyfriend Benji Madden. But if schools have actual programs to sit young girls down and tell them the truth about how difficult it is to raise children, and how easy it is to prevent unexpected pregnancies, I think it can counter Hollywood pregnancy romanticism. Education is power in every single aspect of life. These girls just need to be aware and educated, and Gloucester High somehow missed the memo.

Pat Buchanan has a new way of describing Barack Obama -- exotic. Gee, I wonder if this word is loaded with racial and ethnic implications? On the upside, at least this wasn't on Fox News Channel. It's good to get some diversity.

Here's Pat Buchanan being called out on his absurd description of Obama:




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BoingBoing posted this security video of a worker freaking out and throwing computers and office equipment around. (There's a second video with sound and color here.) Many of us who have worked in corporate settings can relate to his nervous breakdown.

Thank you for your 179 comments this week! Some of you thought we missed the main point of the stories we passed along to you this week. Three examples:

In the post "Parents Put Baby Up for Sale on eBay,"
we said the crime was . . . joking about selling a child.
You thought it was . . . "naming the kid Merlin."

R&B artist Robert Kelly is currently on trial for allegedly engaging in sexual relations with an under-aged girl. A video released by the Chicago Sun-Times in February of 2002 displays a man who resembles R. Kelly taking part in vile sex acts with a 13 year old. Prosecutors finally played the tape for the jury, and reports claim the identity of the man on the tape is questionable. Watch the following video for more details on the R. Kelly tape scandal.
Watch TYT!

Wow, you don't check your comment emails for a while and then you have 561 messages accusing you of being anti-Christian. To recap, recently we brought you news of a new trend in the abstinence movement: father-daughter purity balls.

One wrote: "Look, Ada, we get it: you are apparently anti-Christian. This isn't even your business much less anything to write an article on."

For at least twenty years conservative hacks have been coming on TV, yelling and screaming with no substance -- and finally Chris Matthews couldn't take it anymore. He just annihilated this right-wing talk show host on national television. Watch it here:





The full seven minute embarrassing interview can be seen here. I have criticized Matthews plenty in the past. I think he's too chummy with power and often buys into Republican talking points without really challenging their core assumptions. But in this one shining moment, he wiped all that way. If he could challenge the assumptions of the right and the left like this night in and night out, then his show would truly be worth watching.

Young Turks on You Tube and Watch the Whole Show Here

PS -- Small note of caution for Matthews. he can't let this develop into a shtick. What he did great here wasn't asking the same question 28 times; it was challenging the underlying talking point. The point isn't to embarrass people on national TV, the point is to get beyond the talking points and get to the substance of what they are saying.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain suspects the war in Iraq will be over by 2013.

"By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq War has been won," said McCain.

Despite the fact that he predicts the war will "be won" in five years, McCain denies any claims that he has drawn up a timetable for full-scale troop withdrawal.

"It's not a timetable; it's victory. It's victory, which I have always predicted. I didn't know when we were going to win World War II; I just knew we were going to win," said McCain during his speech in Columbus, Ohio.

There you have it: John McCain JUST KNOWS the U.S is going to win the war in Iraq. He might not know how, but he just knows. One of the journalists who attended McCain's speech suggested he took listeners on a "magic carpet ride" to the future.

With the number of U.S casualties increasing, and the faltering economy in mind, occupying Iraq for an additional five years is a scary thought. But there are other underlying issues in McCain's statements.

First off, John McCain's response to reporters makes no sense at all. If he has not at least created a game plan for the Iraq War, what is the premise for him saying the war will end by 2013? Does he just assume things in the Middle East will smooth over by the end of his presidential term (if he gets elected)? Surely, he must have some sort of "timetable" set if he has the ability to announce a year as to when Americans can expect their sons and daughters to return from the war.

Denying that he has a game plan probably hurts him more than helps him. It's understandable that McCain likes to stick to his guns. In fact, he would be accused of hypocrisy if he didn't stand by his word. In his campaign during the primaries, McCain criticized former Republican rival Mitt Romney for hinting at a timetable for troop withdrawal. But since when is it a bad thing to have a timetable? Is the electorate keen on staying in Iraq for years to come?

The Republicans claim they are tough on national security, and that is precisely why they have kept U.S troops in Iraq. However, keeping troops in the Middle East has not secured the U.S at all. McCain's Democratic rival Barack Obama said the war has failed to secure America since it has made the U.S military weak and vulnerable to any potential attack made by other Middle Eastern countries such as Iran.

Cenk makes a good point about McCain's current comments in the following clip:



Nonetheless, it's comforting to know one of the candidates for presidency makes predictions with no real premise or plan.

President George Bush has given up golf in honor of U.S troops in Iraq. During an interview with Politico and Yahoo News, Bush said his decision to give up his favorite sport came after the August 2003 Bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad. The bombing killed Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was the top U.N. official in Iraq.

Bush continued to say, "I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."

Good job Bush. We're proud of you.

Did the preseident think that revealing his "sacrifice" would result in the American people increasing their respect for him? Thousands of troops have given up their lives for the war in Iraq , and thousands more continue to risk their lives in the Middle East. Instead of thinking of ways to END the war, Bush decides giving up golf makes him a respectable and honorable president.



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We just cleaned out our week's inbox, and here's what we learned: Most of you think the drinking age should stay where it is; kids should be taught moderation; and that incest cellar guy should be, let's see . . . ah yes: "tortured until he is dead."

Thanks for sharing! And thanks in particular to the reader who posted this insightful comment: "Ada makes such common sense it is hard to imagine those who disagree with her having any." It's probably some relative of ours in disguise, but hey, we'll take it!

This video is an awareness test. See if you can get the right answer to the question they ask:





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Get ready for AWESOME coverage of the Indiana and North Carolina Primaries today beginning at 7:00pm ET. The Young Turks will be joined by Ben Mankiewicz and Michael Shure to provide election results and interview great guests.

Here are the guests you can look forward to:

Taylor Marsh

Jeff Pruitt from Fort Wayne Politics

Eleanor Clift from Newsweek

Ari Berman from The Nation

Faiz Shakir from Center for American Progress

Representative Mel Watts (NC)

So make sure you tune into www.theyoungturks.com today at 7:00pm ET!

It is our professional opinion that Brian Williams is a stone-cold fox who can do no wrong, but the site Crooks and Liars disagrees.

In a recent post, they accuse him of slamming the New York Times for being shallow, and then hypocritically running a fluff piece that night about Miley Cyrus's photogate (a segment you can watch here).

So, is Williams throwing rocks from glass houses? Or is his show's coverage of Miley Cyrus totally different from the Times coverage of nudist colonies? More importantly, if we were both single, do you think he'd date us?

The right-wing and the media are playing a game called Six Degrees of Barack Obama. This is where they try to connect anyone who has ever said or done anything controversial to Barack Obama and then ask Obama to denounce and reject them. It is a guilt by association hatchet job that leaves the false impression that Obama agrees with these folks.

You can play this game with anyone, but so far they have only done it to Obama. Is Obama supposed denounce and reject everyone he has ever met just in case they've done something stupid in their lives? How many people do you know that you would have to denounce if you were subjected to this same scrutiny? I'd have to eliminate at least half my family and friends. Do you know anyone who doesn't have family, friends or associates who have said things that would sound really bad if the media repeated them over and over on TV?

Go ahead, play Six Degrees of Barack Obama and see if you can connect yourself to Obama and find out whether he has to denounce and reject you as well:




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