"live blogging" the Senate hearings:

11:07

63!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

11:04

Cloture invoked! More than 3/5 of Senators voted for this. Success!

11:00

SEN Menendez literally just raised his hand to get the clerks attention and then voted, "Aye". There is something amazing about watching this happen...Senators, raising their hands to cast an affirmative vote against discrimination. It's amazing

10:59

It's surreal to watch this. The Senate is so corporate...suits, pantsuits, scarves. Yet these peoples votes are incredibly important and literally change people's lives. How strange...

10:57

It would be very helpful if CSPAN would caption the Aye/Nay votes when they're said because it's very difficult to hear

10:53

I couldn't hear Collins vote!

10:51

Cloture vote now. Is this really happening??

10:50

McCain-Today is a very sad day. Sites the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

10:49

Lieberman-removing discrimination isn't liberal or conservative, it's American. He also included sexual orientation in the list of protected classes...a step forward politically if not legally.

10:46

CSPAN live streaming goes down...NOOOOO! (also, my computer clock is off by fifteen minutes or so)

10:41

Murkowski just voted "Aye" on the DREAM Act...I was surprised.

10:26

I was just thinking, it probably won't happen, but imagine if the R's DID filibusted DADT repeal. We should let them...think of all the ridiculous things they'd say in that period of time that we'd all get to hear. Imagine hours...days...of crazy homophobia. It'd be amazing to have them bring it all out on the floor, quite literally.

10:24

Cloture on DREAM Act now...kinda cool how the lady calls out each Senator by name, and I got oddly excited when I heard, "Ms. Boxer"

10:22

Reid--people who suggest that the DREAM Act would mean you only have to sign up for two years haven't read the bill, plus, you can't enlist for only two years anyway, so it would have to be longer than that. Good point.

10:17

Harry Reid is talking about the DREAM Act now. It's really, really sad that this bill will go down due to politics when it is good legislation.

10:15

"We have a gay guy in the unit, he's big and he's mean and he kills bad guys." I love the fact that this is in an official military document AND the Senate records now.

10:13

Harry Reid--"Hearing the Republican leader talk about what we're doing 'procedurally' elicits a big yawn" good call. After all the procedural crap the R's have done for the last two years it's ridiculous to suggest that D's aren't playing by the rules. And now he's talking about how the R's keep moving the goal posts. He may be boring, but at least now he's not pulling his punches and calling it like it is.

10:12

Mitch McConnell now brings up the lack of testimony from the Sergeants Major of the Marine Corps and Army. Seriously? When did that become an issue?