That is the basic argument for drones.

Aside from maybe a couple questions from Senators Wyden and King. But there was really no follow up. That this nomination is sailing through makes me feel kind of sick.

and it felt great.

Good for you, polly7. Great link as well.

We who consider ourselves progressives must protest this illegal and immoral practice. We cannot remain silent just because we want to support President Obama on his domestic policies and his opposition to Republican efforts at redistributing more wealth upward to the wealthiest few. If we don't now let him and his administration know how much we oppose this secret, indiscriminate and extra-judicial kind of murder, how can we ever complain, even if these robot attacks increase in frequency and, eventually, reach our own shores?

her husband works for the very entity that supports the military industrial complex. If she had just made knowledge of Code Pink's right to protest .. just a gesture towards their right as American's to do so .. then, it wouldn't have been so bad. But it was the tone, and the chuckle, that got me; if you listen to the replay. As if she were saying: ''get these crazies out of the room so we can get on with this charade''.

the purpose of the hearing, and interfering with the rights of others. That doesn't mean the activists, whoever they are at any given hearing or event, don't have a valid point. But I hate it when they put their own rights ahead of the rights of others.

There's a way to protest. That isn't one of them, IMO.

We don't have a say. It's not Democracy when they won't listen. And without exactly this sort of activism, the voice of the people would not be heard by those in power. The word Democracy can be broken down to "the voice / will of The People" so this activism is exactly that: the voice of the people which they will not otherwise hear or regard.

And There is a time and place that hurts your cause.

and voice not heard or even regarded until this direct action. Direct action gets the goods. It's not democracy if they don't listen, and drones were NOT on any election ballot.

they were against it too and part of the activism.

And then they grew up became Yuppies.

or protested against the Iraq war. Funny all that.

Are they stooopid or what? They're calling for an investigation! While they interrupt the investigation that is going on! Irony, ye have no better name.

But the point is...if they are so into democracy and freedom, what about the rights of the rest of the country to hear the hearing and the investigation that's going on, that the activists are trying to prevent from occurring? That's against the law. Again, ironic that they break the law while protesting that something else is breaking the law.

All too often these meetings only represent the elite.

Is it unclear to you that the government is completely unresponsive to the grievances of the people and goes so far as to actively exclude them from all discussions?

Is there anything that this government could do that you would object to?

and place the envelope into the provided "Suggestions" box:

is it accomplishes nothing, and marginalizes any valid complaints they may have. They're worse than useless - they're harmful to their own cause.

All they gain is high-fives from a few, and everybody else is just embarrassed for them.

Most Americans consider our country to be a democracy. But democracy requires participation by its citizens - all of its citizens - for freedom to prevail.

The question for we, the people, is how do we best participate? Almost everyone seems to believe that only by public protests and civil disobedience can we get the attention of politicians to do something.

There is a better way. And that is through ballot initiatives. But the initiative process itself is critical to the success of empowering everyone - and for keeping destructive influences from controlling it.

Much work has been put into the National Initiative for Democracy to improve the process and to prevent destructive influences from big money interests as we have experienced in various state initiatives.

I have been campaigning for the National Initiative for years, and I strongly believe it is our only way out of corrupt government.

And in the end if the seat must be filled, and you may safely assume that the seat of head of the CIA must be filled, then it will be filled and this Brennan might not be so bad as we may have got. It is good to keep in mind that once confirmed and in place the CIA Director, and in fact that entire Agency (most particularly its operations branches), is simply an extension of the will of the President.