After seeking adopting Bush positions on unlawful surveillance last week, President Obama has adopted another controversial Bush policy: opposing basic legal rights for detainees held in U.S. military prison in Afghanistan. Some of the most egregious allegations of torture and abuse have focused on such prisons as the one at Bagram Air base. President Obama is now claiming that access to courts and review in such cases would threaten national security.
Category: Congress
Happy Easter to Everyone on the Turley Blog. The Easter Bunny came as expected this morning, bringing sugarly foodstuffs . . . and even edible grass this year!
Faith organizations and individuals have increasingly been sued over their exclusion or discrimination against homosexuals based on their religious beliefs. As the federal and state governments enforce anti-discrimination policies, they are turning against religious organizations which exclude members based on what they view as immoral practices.
Continue reading “Faith Groups Facing Liability Over Discriminatory Faith-Based Policies”
Michelle Obama’s garden must go or she needs to add some good American chemicals. That appears to be the view of chemical and agricultural companies who view her organic garden as a threat to the nation’s agricultural industry. Lobbyists and corporate officials have been peering over the fence in worry and disgust as the First Lady plants a dangerous seed in the minds of Americans.
Continue reading “Michele, Michele, How Does Your Garden Grow?”
Former Sen. Ted Stevens (R., Alaska) and his allies are continuing their implausible campaign to rehabilitate the disgraced Senator and portray the Justice Department’s gross negligence as a vindication of the ethically challenged Stevens. Alaskan legislators in the House passed a resolution demanding not only an apology from the federal government but a lawsuit to recoup his fees and costs in defending himself.
Continue reading “Alaska Legislators Demand Apology to Stevens And Federal Lawsuit”
Vermont’s legislature voted Tuesday to override the veto of Governor Jim Douglas (R) and become the fourth state to recognize gay marriage. This follows Iowa only last week, which achieved the same result through a vote of its Supreme Court. On the same day, the District of Columbia voted to recognize such marriages in other states.
Continue reading “Vermont Becomes Fourth State To Recognize Gay Marriage”
In yet another break with its campaign promise to fight to restore civil liberties and privacy, the Obama Administration has made a breathtaking claim of state secrets to block a public interest organization from suing the government for illegal surveillance. There is not a scintilla of difference in the legal position of President Obama and the position of President Bush in trying to quash any effort to challenge unlawful surveillance by the government. It appears the “yes we can” means “yes we can do most anything that we want” when it comes to unlawful programs. I discussed this story on this segment of MSNBC Countdown.
The congressman that George Bush nicknamed “Congressman Kickass” and one of his favorite members has been arrested . . . again. Former Rep. John Sweeney was charged with driving while intoxicated for the second time in 17 months.
Continue reading ““Congressman Kickass” Arrested . . . Again”
NASA has captured a picture of what appears to be the hand of God reaching across space. Notably, the picture was taken as former Sen. Ted Stevens (R., Alaska) is about to appear in federal court to declare victory after the Justice Department drops its case against him.
With billions of federal stimulus and bailout money engorging lobbyists in Washington, I finally found a photo of one of these fat cats in the aftermath of visiting the public troth.
Continue reading “FAT CAT”
There is an astonishing effort by intelligence officials to block Attorney General Eric Holder and White House counsel Gregory Craig from releasing torture memos from the Justice Department. A senior national-security aide named John Brennan is leading the effort to block the release with the backing of people at the CIA. It takes considerable hubris given the CIA’s knowing destruction of evidence of torture and obvious motivation to withhold the memoranda to further conceal the agency’s involvement in war crimes. One official is quoted as saying “Holy hell has broken loose over this.” That is certainly the proper venue for officials still struggling to cover-up evidence of war crimes.
The Air Force has completed a bizarre case involving a former senior judge advocate general to practiced for more than 20 years without disclosing that he had been disbarred from practice. Col. Michael D. Murphy was convicted on three counts of conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman, one count of failing to obey a lawful order, and three counts of larceny. However, because the White House Military Office refused to release basic discovery material, he will not spend a day in jail and will simply leave the Air Force.
The effort to gain a presidential pardon for Jack Johnson took a major step this week with the support of Sen. John McCain R., Az). The conviction of Johnson for a 1913 Mann Act violation was a disgrace and it is time for the wrong to be righted.
In a major decision, Attorney General Eric Holder has announced that he has found that the Justice Department has acted improperly in barring any criminal investigation of well-documented war crimes committed by the Bush Administration in the torture program. To punish the failure of the Department to act in a timely fashion, he has announced that no criminal charges will be pursued regarding torture to teach prosecutors a lesson that “justice delayed is justice denied.”
Continue reading “Attorney General Eric Holder Announces Justice Department Will Not Investigate War Crimes Due to Prosecutorial Misconduct”
The Justice Department will be dropping all charges against former Senator Ted Steven (R., Alaska) due to the misconduct of its own prosecutors. The actions of the Justice Department in the case has been a continued scandal and the question is now what action will be taken against these prosecutors who scuttled a major criminal case through unethical and grossly negligent conduct. On closer examination, however, the action by Attorney General Eric Holder falls a bit short.
Continue reading “Justice Department To Void Case Against Former Sen. Ted Stevens”