Yesterday, under heavy political pressure from the White House, the Senate approved a bill that provided expansive spying authority for the Bush administration. The White House had earlier rejected a compromise bill that provided powers sought by the Director of National Intelligence, opting instead to play politics with the issue.

Moments ago, the House passed the White House-backed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) bill by a 227-183 vote.

During the heated House floor debate over the legislation, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said the White House-backed FISA legislation was nothing more than a political ploy:

This bill is what Karl Rove and his political operatives in the White House have decided they need to win elections. That’s not national security. That’s political warfare.

I do not believe we will soon be able to undo this damage. Rights given away are not easily regained. This bill is not needed to protect America from terrorists. The only purpose of this bill is to protect this administration from its own political problems and cynicism, and its own illegal actions it has taken outside the law without any authorization.

In a symbolic move that reflected the efforts by many conservatives to politicize the FISA debate, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) immediately rose and asked that Nadler withdraw his statement that the Bush administration had conducted illegal activities.

After some pause, Nadler said he would withdraw his “truthful and accurate statements” in order to proceed with the floor debate. Issa, unhappy with Nadler’s retraction, said, “He is not withdrawing it if he claims they’re accurate.” Nadler responded, “I’m withdrawing them without any reservation but I retain my opinion.” Watch it:

Issa’s comments reflected the nature of the FISA debate — conservatives were more concerned with providing political cover for the White House than passing legislation that addressed national security concerns.

Nadler’s comments are hardly inaccurate. The current FISA debate was precipitated by the fact that a court had ruled the administration’s spying actions were outside the law. Just this week, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) revealed a secret court ruling that found “a key element of the Bush administration’s wiretapping efforts illegal.”

Rudy Guiliani’s former emergency management director, Jerome Hauer, blamed the former mayor for “locating the city’s crisis control room in the World Trade Center complex, even though it was a known terrorist target after the 1993 truck bomb attack which killed six people at the site.” Hauer said Giuliani rejected a facility in Brooklyn in favor of because “the mayor himself made clear that the site had to be walking distance from City Hall.” He added, “Rudy would make a terrible president and that is why I am speaking now.”

I agree with Brian Beutler. I’m struggling with how to express the fact that Barack Obama was stunningly impressive in . . . a secret off-the-record session with a few bloggers that I can’t really talk about since it was off-the-record. It was, to me, much more compelling than what he offered at the debate on the record.

Long story short: Candidates should save their impressive remarks for on the record sessions.

Afghanistan “will produce another record poppy harvest this year that cements its status as the world’s near-sole supplier of the heroin source, yet a furious debate over how to reverse the trend is stalling proposals to cut the crop, U.S. officials say.”

At the U.S. Forward Operating base in Iraq, Iraqis — including interpreters — are forced to use separate latrines from U.S. troops. The sign taped to the men’s restroom reads, “US Military Contractors Civilians Only!!!!!” One soldier at the base cited Iraqi “hygiene habits” as a reason for the separation.

McClatchy adds, “Another sign, in a dining hall, warns Iraqis and ‘third-country nationals’ that they have just one hour for breakfast, lunch or dinner. American troops get three hours. Iraqis say they sometimes wait as long as 45 minutes in hot lines to get inside the chow hall, leaving just 15 minutes to get their food and eat it.”

The Crypt reports:

House Republicans sought to rebuke Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) Friday night for his actions while presiding over the chamber earlier in the day. [...]

Sitting in the chair, Murtha overruled GOP requests for a recorded vote to approve the previous day’s record despite an overwhelming majority of Republicans in the chamber, even though rules dictate the party with the majority can force a vote. [...]

Republicans, still fuming over the contested vote, were upset all day that Democratic leaders chose Murtha to preside over the House, given his reputation as a hardball politician who once threatened a Michigan Republican on the House floor.