No Lawyer for You!

I have a few words to say about the remarks from Charles "Cully" Stimson, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Detainee Affairs, who tried to bully lawyers into not providing legal assistance to Gitmo detainees. In an interview, Cully stated that CEOs should pull their work from law firms who provide pro bono assistance to detainees.

While the Pentagon has officially condemned Cully for his comments, the repugnant comment and blatant attempt to subvert the American judicial system shows the contempt this administration has for the Constitution and the Bill or Rights.

No matter how despicable a person is, no matter how disgusting society deems them to be, every person deserves the access to legal representation.

Karen Mathis, the President of the American Bar Association also issued this statement

Lawyers represent people in criminal cases to fulfill a core American value: the treatment of all people equally before the law. To impugn those who are doing this critical work -- and doing it on a volunteer basis -- is deeply offensive to members of the legal profession, and we hope to all Americans. The American Bar Association supports lawyers who give of their time and expertise defending those involved in legal actions. In fact it is one of the basic tenets of the Association's Second Season of Service, that lawyers should perform pro bono and volunteer work.

It is this lack of respect for our laws that has brought us illegal wire tapping, data mining, secret detention centers, torture, etc.

Here is a novel idea. If they are guilty of a crime - TRY THEM!

I am sure some of the people we have at Gitmo are terrorist - NOW, PROVE IT!

Show everyone in the world that the people we have locked away are locked away for a reason and not just because some nameless person says so. Or are they afraid that they can't actually prove a damn thing. If we cannot be a nation of laws, how can we expect anyone else to be.

Idiot In Chief

details about this are sketchy at this time, but it appears that the U.S. military has raided the Iranian consulate in Iraq, seized documents and computers, and arrested six Iranian diplomats.

With all the really, really stupid crap this president has pulled off over the years, I didn't think anything he did could surprise me any more... but, leave it to Dubya to pull a Gomer Pile and do something even dumber than before.

At this point, we have no idea how many international laws the Bush Administration has just violated. At the very least, we are in violation of Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. If we have violated more, I don't know right now. But, Article 22 expressly states that the embassy or consulates may not be entered under any circumstance without the express permission of the diplomatic mission. Additionally, no papers, materials or communications can be seized at any time.

We all know about diplomatic immunity. The amount of immunity that is granted to a person is dependant on his/her rank. An ambassador is untouchable. A custodian head is arrestable. A consulate staff employee is only arrestable for a felony and pursuant to a warrant. I am assuming that if we stormed the consulate, we are probably not paying to much attention to the diplomatic immunity of the people either.

So, basically, we have just done what Iran did to us 25 years ago. Not only have we given up the high hand in that relationship, we just opened up every U.S. embassy and consulate in the world to being stormed and having our diplomats arrested. But, we all know that Bush can't think past lunch time, so the fact that he is endangering our own citizens probably never even crossed his mind.

Like I said, details are sketchy. I will be looking to see if there was a good explanation to this.

U.S. Forces Raid Iranian Consulate in Iraq, Detain 5 (Update2)
By Marc Wolfensberger and Robin Stringer

Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. forces in Iraq raided Iran's consulate in the northern city of Arbil and detained five staff members, a state-run Iranian news service said.

The U.S. soldiers disarmed guards and broke open the consulate's gate before seizing documents and computers during the operation, which took place today at about 5 a.m. local time, the Islamic Republic News Agency said. There was no immediate information on whether any of those detained are diplomats.

The raid follows a warning yesterday to Iran and Syria from President George W. Bush in his address to the American people on a new strategy for Iraq. Bush accused Iran and Syria of aiding the movement of ``terrorists and insurgents'' in and out of Iraq and said the U.S. will ``seek out and destroy the networks providing advanced weaponry and training to our enemies.''

Coalition forces arrested six people during ``routine security operations'' in the Arbil area, the U.S. military said in an e-mailed statement. The military didn't confirm that the consulate was raided and didn't say whether any of those detained were Iranians.

The operation was ``part of an ongoing effort by coalition forces targeting individuals involved in activities aimed at the killing of Iraqi citizens and coalition forces,'' the military said.

(Full Story)

Hostile Enemy - FOX News

Well, I am back from vacation. I will put up a report on it later. It was nice not having any contact with American politics for a little over two weeks. But, I am back and nothing has changed.

Fox "Faux" News has always been nothing more that a shill for the Republican party, but this goes way over the edge and shows outright how inept they are in understanding anything about the constitution.

This morning, FOX anchor, Gretchen "Constitution? What's that" Carlson blatantly accused Ted Kennedy an enemy of the state, and compared him to Iraqi insurgents because Senator Kennedy proposes not paying for additional troops to be sent to Iraq.

GRETCHEN CARLSON: You talk about the hostile enemy, obviously being Iraq, but hostile enemies right here on the home front. Yesterday Senator Ted Kennedy, proposing that any kind of a troop surge should mean there should be congressional approval of that. A lot of democrats not coming to his side on this. But obviously this is not going to be an easy sell on Capitol Hill, even if it’s not an easy sell to the American Public.

Well, duh Gretchen! Of course it should be approved by the congress. That is their job!

Gretchen wouldn't know the constitution if she were wiping her mouth with it.

Lets review

Article I, Sec 8
The Congress shall have Power...

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

So, Gretchen is calling Senator Kennedy a traitor for doing his constitutional duty. The Congress is required to declair war. Congress is required to pay for it. So, yes, it has to be approved by the Congress, at least acording to the constitution. It is too bad that none of the Republicans thought well enough to read over the constitution and seeing what is in their job description over the past 4 years.

H/T Think progress - see the Faux News vidio clip there

Jackass Awards Part Deux - Virgil Goode

I haven't been blogging much recently. I have been overwhelmed with work and I will be leaving soon for a long vacation.

But this caught my eye. It is a letter from one of our U.S. Congressmen writing to a constituent regarding the use of a Koran to swear in the freshman Representative, Keith Ellison, who is a Muslim.

Virgil Goode, Jr. responds to his constituent to express how much disdain he has for anyone not Christian.

Thank you for your recent communication. When I raise my hand to take the oath of Searing In Day, I will have the Bible in my other hand. I do not subscribe to using the Koran in any way. The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran. We need to stop illegal immigration totally and reduce legal immigration and end the diversity visas policy pushed hard by President Clinton and allowing many persons from the Middle Ease to come to this county. I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped...

So, apparently, Rep. Goode is not a big supporter of the First Amendment... It is ok for Goode to hold the bible while being sworn in, but god forbid that someone of another religion gets elected by democratic vote and wants to use the holy book of his own religion.

Additionally, I am completely confused about how Rep. Goode equates illegal immigration with the election of a Muslim form Minnesota. Keith Ellison, the recently elected Muslim, was born in Detroit to a Roman Catholic family. Rep. Ellison converted to Islam in college, like many other Americans have over the years. But, I guess you can't apply logic to Rep. Goode's letter since it is devoid of logic completely.

It is so sad that we have a single elected official in the U.S. government that is so narrow minded and so bigoted that he cannot accept his fellow congressman as a legitimate American. The troubling thing here is not a Muslim using the Koran to be sworn into office, but that Rep. Goode is being sworn in at all.

Dee the actual letter here

H/T Talking Points Memo

Update: Virgil Goode has decided to stand behind his bigorty and will not appologise for his letter.

Linwood Duncan, Goode's press secretary, said that Goode sent the letter to hundreds of constituents who contacted their office after Ellison disclosed his plans. At about the same time, a member of a local Sierra Club contacted Goode about a different issue, and the letter was accidentally sent to him in response. The Sierra Club member made the letter public.

"The congressman is not apologizing," Duncan said. "He stands by the letter." - Star Tribune

I guess it makes it ok that he accidently sent the letter to the wrong people. You can be a bigot, but only if you are a bigot to other bigots.

Jackass Awards

Sometimes there are people who deserve a special mention for being outright jackasses. So, today, today, I am listing some from the past week who have gone above and beyond the call of Jackassdom to reach new levels of jackassedness.

#3 - Tom DeLay

Tom Delay this week blamed the whole fiasco in Iraq on liberals and democrats. He claimed that if it were not for them whining and complaining about how bad things are in Iraq, things wouldn't be bad in Iraq. I guess Republicans who had complete control of the government had nothing to do with the failures we have suffered in Iraq. Sectarian violence? Democrats... No military plan to win the war? Liberals... The erosion of moral superiority in the world's eyes? Liberal media... Donald Rumsfeld's job performance? Ted Kennedy all by himself.

#2 - Freepers

The brain trust that is also known as the Free Republic had much to say about the recent tragedy of Tim Johnson's stroke. They spent the first two responses in the thread commenting on how repugnant it is for democrats to talk about the balance of power in the U.S. Senate if Johnson was not to fully recover or die... and then spent the next 78 responses talking about the balance of power in the Senate if Johnson was not to fully recover or die.

Notably, the Freepers also commented on how Johnson's stroke was the will of God to put control of the Senate back in Republican hands.

The real news of the day is that God may have placed the Senate back in our hands!

If the Senator recovers we can have joy for him and his family, we are abased. If he does not, we can have joy for our nation, we abound [emphasis is their own]

Then the freepers went on to make fun of the Senator if he were to be severely disabled.

One blink means 'tax'. Two blinks means 'spend'. Three blinks means 'surrender'

It warms the heart to know that the good people at the Free Republic are looking out for our best interests.

# 1 - Soledad O'Brien

Today, the waste of space that is Soledad O'Brien, interviewed the three wives of the men trapped on Mt. Hood. As the three women held each others hands, on the verge of tears, Soledad reiterated the horrible conditions on the mountain and asked the dumbest question ever:

"Are you still hopeful? The weather conditions as you've seen are so dreadful; the rescuers can't make it up the mountain; It is almost white out conditions; it's weather wise terrible, terrible conditions. Are you still hopeful you are going to get any good news out of this"

Thank you Soledad for telling these women that they have basically no cause for hope that they may ever see their loved ones again. What are they supposed to say? 'No, we have no hope. Our husbands are as good as dead'? Why don't you go eat one of their kids also, Soledad... lets see if you can do anything to make them feel even worse.

Why Do Today What You Can Put Off Until Tomorrow

Yesterday, President Bush stated that he will put off announcing his plans for changes in his Iraq policy until after the new year. As of right now, we have gone into a "new way forward."

And by a new way forward, he means a new way forward... to a new slogan.

Seriously, if they had put as much time into actually planning and executing the war as they put into coming up with new catchy slogans, we might have been able to win this thing.

First it was "Mission Accomplished" - Well, turns out that the mission wasn't accomplished, so they had to scrap that.

Then they moved to "The Next Phase" - Unfortunately, the next phase was a phase into insurgency.

After that, we had "Stay the Course" - Again, that course was right over a cliff

Then came "Adapt and Change" - This, of course, referred to the Bush administrations slogans and not actually policy. The policy remained stay the course. The only thing adapted or changed was Bush's catch phrase.

Now, it is "A New Way Forward" - Again, this appears only to be a way forward to a new slogan. He just needed enough time for his PR team to come up with a new slogan... Because, you know... a good slogan solves everything.

I am thinking the next one will be "What? Like You've Got a Better Idea" - But then again, I think Mrs. Harding's 3rd grade class could actually come up with a better idea, so that might not be a good one.

"It's A Hard Job Being the President" has already been used, so that is right out the window.

With any luck, then next slogan will be "Whatever Dude! I Quit!"

The Nut Job Convention

There is a world meeting today of the world's leading nut jobs in Iran. Hosted by Iranian President Mahmoud "Mommy Didn't Hug Me Enough" Ahmadinejad, world intellectual featherweights convened the first annual "Holocaust? What Ev" convention to deny the deaths of millions of Jews during the Nazi era.

Disturbing enough was the attendance of former Grand Wizard of the KKK, David Duke, but what really got me was the number of Jews in attendance.

At one point, Ahmadinejad said that Israel will go the way of the Soviet Union and that there should be elections among "Jews, Christians and Muslims so the population of Palestine can select their government and destiny for themselves in a democratic manner." I guess he forgets that Israel is the only real democracy in the middle east.

Ahmadinejad, while being completely insane, is not politically unsavvy. I have to wonder if there is a motivation behind this conference other than just pure blinding hatred. At first, I thought that it could be a wedge issue to try to split the U.S. from its allies. Anti-semitism is still somewhat stronger in Europe than it is in the U.S., especially in Russia. But if this was his plan, it was sure to backfire, as has proven to have happen. Strong rebukes from all over the world have landed at the Iranian President's door mat. Any indication that he had made to the effect that his nuclear program is "peaceful" is contradicted by this, along with many of his comments that Israel should be wiped off the map.

Unfortunately, just like we are stuck with Bush, Iran is stuck with Ahmadinejad. When military options are nil, the only other path is diplomacy.

Holocaust deniers' meeting spurs outrage
By WILLIAM J. KOLE, Associated Press Writer

VIENNA, Austria - A gathering of Holocaust deniers in Iran touched off a firestorm of indignation Tuesday across Europe, where many countries have made it a crime to publicly disavow the Nazis' systematic extermination of 6 million Jews.

The European Union's top justice official condemned the conference as "an unacceptable affront" to victims of the World War II genocide. British Prime Minister Tony Blair denounced it as "shocking beyond belief" and proof of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's extremism.

"I think it is such a symbol of sectarianism and hatred toward people of another religion. I find it just unbelievable, really," Blair said in London.

"I mean to go and invite the former head of the Ku Klux Klan to a conference in Tehran which disputes the millions of people who died in the Holocaust ... what further evidence do you need that this regime is extreme?" he added.

David Duke, an ex-Klan leader and former Louisiana state representative, was among those at the two-day conference. Although organizers touted it as a scholarly gathering, the meeting angered many in countries such as Austria, Germany and France, where it is illegal to deny aspects of the Nazi Holocaust.

In Washington, the White House condemned Iran for convening a conference it called "an affront to the entire civilized world."

The conference drew especially sharp condemnation in Germany, where Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country repudiated it "with all our strength."

"We absolutely reject this. Germany will never accept this and will act against it with all the means that we have," Merkel told reporters. She stood alongside visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who denounced the meeting as "unacceptable" and a "danger" to the Western world.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy was interrupted by applause from lawmakers when he told parliament in Paris that the conference showed a resurgence of "revisionist" theories "which are quite simply not acceptable."

(Full Story)

The Way Forward

Well, the report is in - literally. The Baker-Hamilton report was released today and it flat out says that stay the course is not an option.

"The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating. There is no path that can guarantee success, but the prospects can be improved."

Hopefully, Bush will actually use this, along with the new Sec. of Defense as political cover to actually change course.

What I find very interesting about the report is that it acknowledges the role of the Palestine/Israeli conflict in the regions instability.

"The United States cannot achieve its goals in the Middle East unless it deals directly with the Arab-Israeli conflict and regional instability. There must be a renewed and sustained commitment by the United States to a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace on all fronts: Lebanon, Syria and President Bush's June 2002 commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. This commitment must include direct talks with, by and between Israel, Lebanon, Palestinians — those who accept Israel's right to exist — and Syria."

It took a lot of political balls to not only call Bush out on his failed Iraq policy, but on his failure to fully engage the other problems.

I will keep my fingers crossed that something will come out of this report, but I will not hold my breath. I doubt that Bush has the intellectual depth to comprehend the big picture on the Middle East and the War on Terror.

Excerpts of Iraq Study Group report

Panel: Bush Iraq policy 'not working'

Reaction to Iraq recommendations

Bush text on Baker-Hamilton report

Iraq Panel Calls Conditions 'Grave and Deteriorating'

Bolton Resigns Before Being Blown Out

Thankfully, John Bolton has resigned as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, a position that he filled after Bush appointed him by using the recess appointment process. Bolton, was active in the ongoing negotiations with both North Korea and Iran in regards to their nuclear programs. His track record on that alone is indication enough as to why he should not be confirmed.

Bush is calling the democrats obstructionist in the matter, even though there are Republicans who are also blocking his nomination.

I guess Bush will have to go back to his father's bull pen again to find someone who can actually do a decent job.

Bolton to exit as U.N. ambassador
By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton will step down in the coming days, the White House announced on Monday, unable to overcome Democratic Senate opposition.

Bolton's attempt to hang on to his job, already tenuous, became even more problematic after Democrats who had blocked his nomination won control of the Senate in November elections.

President George W. Bush appointed Bolton largely because of a commitment to reform the world body. But Bolton's outspokenness and prickly manner often angered the diplomatic community and some of his fellow U.N. ambassadors at times found him difficult to work with.
(Full Story)

7 Day Waiting Period for a 4 Day Cold

So, I am sick... yes, even superhero crime fighters get sick. I have been living the last couple of days off of Advil Cold & Sinus pills that I had left over from the last time I was sick. But this morning, still being in a drug induced stupor from the NyQuil I downed in mass quantities the night before, I forgot to take any of the Advil pills into work with me.

I figured that it would be no big deal. I would just pop into a CVS along the way to work and pick up some more and the day would go on as usual.

Unbeknownst to me, you can no longer just pop in to a CVS and buy the little buggers. Nooooooo!!! Now you have to go through a FBI background check to buy them.

I understand why. One of the ingredients in Advil Cold & Sinus is also used to make crystal meth. You have to take a little card from the shelf where the pills used to be, and take it back to the pharmacy where you have to wait in line behind all the little old ladies picking up their "water pills" and the middle age men picking up their little blue somethings that they cringe at when the clerk loudly exclaims, "Mr. Smith, your erectile dysfunction medication is now ready."

So, I finally get to the front of the line. I have to show ID, which they record. I have to sign my name. They then take a blood sample, urine sample, and run my fingerprints through IAFIS. I then have to recite a loyalty oath and tell me I can come back and pick up the Advil after a 7 day waiting period. I was waiting to the waterboarding to start.

Seriously, I think it is easier to buy a gun in North Carolina than to buy Advil Cold & Sinus in New York City.

Ethics Reform... Finally

While it is not a done deal, and I never hold my breath when it comes to politics and money in Washington, the Democrats are planning on actually doing what the Republicans promised, but never did... Ethics reform.

Early next year, the Democrats will roll out several bills that will ban meals, travel and other gifts from lobbyist.

Notably, the Democrats also plan on holding longer debates on each of the issues...

AND, get this, actually plan to allow the Republicans to take part of the floor debate and crafting of the legislation, something that Republicans never did when they had power.

Years of draconian rule by the majority party may be at an end, along with much of the money that spurs corruption.

But, like I said, I never hold my breath when it comes to politicians and money.

Democrats Plan Series of Votes on Ethics Reforms

A New York Moment