With the approach of the ten-year anniversary of September 11th, this chapter of a new book may be of interest. I agreed to join authors from both sides of the debate in a discussion of the legacy of the attacks, though the book is heavily weighted with conservatives ranging from John Ashcroft to Michael Mukasey to John Yoo. I was not aware when I agreed to do the chapter that Yoo would join Dean Reuter as an editor on the book. Despite my strong feelings about Yoo’s infamous role in the torture program, I felt that I had to fulfill my promise so I wrote a chapter on torture and the torture lawyers, including Yoo. The book is entitled Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security.
Continue reading “Nuremburg Revisited and Revised: The Legitimation of Torture in the United States”
Category: Society
With increasing reports that the Libyan rebel forces include extreme Islamic elements and ties with Al Qaeda, a new press report is not going to help matters in the creation of the first new government vis-a-vis the United States. Rebels say that they have discovered documents in intelligence files that show that the U.S. and Britain helped capture and turn over dissidents to the regime. The papers also reportedly show that the CIA used the regime in rendition cases where suspects were handed over to be tortured.
Continue reading “Libyan Rebels Claim To Find Evidence That CIA Helped Capture Libyan Dissidents and Used Regime For Renditions and Torture”
Darren Morris, 27, a parolee accused of trying to kill a police officer, has hit the jackpot. Morris will walk after Bronx prosecutor Christine Scaccia missed a series of court dates that resulted in the judge eventually forcing all charges to be dropped for lack of prosecution.
Continue reading “Perp Walks: Bronx Man Accused of Attempted Murder of Police Officer Allowed to Walk Due to Mishandling of Case By Prosecutor”
The Arizona legislature has passed legislation that will now allow prisons to charge $25 for people to visit their family and friends in prison. It is a remarkably cruel law since many of these visitors are coming from low income families and have to travel great distances. Yet, legislators are pointing out that they originally wanted to charge babies and children as well but decided to be nice guys.
Continue reading “Arizona To Charge People To See Incarcerated Family or Friends”
Submitted by Gene Howington, Guest Blogger
Town Hall style meetings have been a cornerstone of the political process in America since before its founding. Americans have a long tradition of directly interacting with both representatives and candidates on the issues of the day. The Constitution guarantees the right to petition in the 1st Amendment. “Congress shall make no law [. . .] abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The Declaration of Independence lists a failure to redress grievances as one of the reasons for splitting with the monarchy. “In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.” The right to petition is as old as English law, tracing its roots to the implicit guarantees of the Magna Carta and the explicit guarantees of the English Bill of Rights of 1689. However, in America today, this does not mean politicians are obligated to listen to the public. “Nothing in the First Amendment or in this Court’s case law interpreting it suggests that the rights to speak, associate, and petition require government policymakers to listen or respond to communications of members of the public on public issues.” Minnesota Board for Community Colleges v. Knight, 465 U.S. 271 (1984). With the manifestly undemocratic process of setting up “free speech zones” to stifle protests at political rallies, Town Hall events are (were) one of the last venues where the public can directly access their representatives without being a major campaign contributor or a corporate funded lobbyist. The reasons our elected officials have given for canceling these events vary, but the bulk of the excuses narrow down to blaming the voting public for change, some citing security in the aftermath of the Giffords shooting, others blaming grass-roots groups for commandeering the town halls. Of course, some offered no rationale for slapping the voting public in the face other than simple greed by opting for smaller (sometimes private) or paid events.
As Washington has grown less responsive to what voters tell them and operate in the favor of monied special interests more openly than ever, the voting public has taken notice. An Associated Press-GFK poll recently showed that 87% (you read that right, eighty-seven percent) of Americans disapprove of lawmakers’ job performance. In a democracy, the voters who no longer feel like they have a say in the political process have started to take their justifiable anger and frustration out on politicians whenever given the access to do so. Faced with vocal and public oppositions to policies unpopular with the public, some politicians have adopted a new tactic: ignoring the public and canceling Town Hall events while attempting to place the blame for their choice on the public for daring to criticize politicians or voice their displeasure at Town Hall meetings. When dealing with angry and frustrated people, let alone voters, is ignoring them a wise strategy? Or is it a recipe for even greater public anger and frustration at a system most already perceive as non-responsive?
Continue reading “Is Ignoring Voter Anger A Wise Strategy?”
Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence Rafferty (rafflaw) – Guest Blogger
In light of the news yesterday that the economy created zero net new jobs in the month of August, I began to think of ways that jobs could be created. I know a little thinking on my part is dangerous, but I came across an article that, in my opinion, really hit the nail on the head. The article discusses a study by professors at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst that suggests that more good paying jobs are created by the government when the money is put towards health care, education and clean energy and even tax cuts as opposed to runaway military spending. Continue reading “Where Do We Get The Jobs Needed To Ignite The Economy?”
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
Today I came across this fascinating exposition on a facet of American History often overlooked in our educational syllabus. The Boston Tea Party, from which today’s Tea Party takes its’ name, was actually a revolt against the dominance of the largest Multi-national Corporation of its’ time and its’ monopoly of the ubiquitous tea trade. The power of this entity came through its political dominance of the British Monarchy and with its’ compliance and enforcement of this Corporation’s needs. Contrast the actual positions of today’s “Tea Partier’s” with those whose names they usurp. I think you will find this a fascinating video and I will comment after the fold.
Continue reading “The Real Tea Party, Not Today’s Tea Party Fakes”
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
I don’t know about you but I’ve had a bad month. I’m not talking about personal issues in my life because those are fine. I’m talking about the awful political and economic situations in this country, and I’m talking about the pain and misery felt by so many in the rest of our world. Each day it seems the news gets more depressing and I glean few hopeful signs from the news indicating that things will soon start to improve. As many here know, I am talking from the perspective of someone saved from the brink of death last year, so in a personal sense I have little complaint.
Taking it away from the deeply personal though, I see a country and a world in apocalyptic turmoil. Not only are we overwhelmed with seeming insoluble problems, but also from my perspective, we are beset with a host of irrational political leaders and those who follow them blindly. Added to the cacophony of these politicians, of all sides may I say, we have religious leaders who have twisted their religion to fit their own emotional needs. We also have CEO’s who will put profit above all other considerations. Finally, we have a general population so absorbed in a cult of celebrity, that civic understanding and action are mere afterthoughts. Is there no hope? Continue reading “The Best of All Possible Worlds?”
This month, Nate Smith, 11, had a dream come true for a little boy. He made an 89-foot shot at a charity hockey event in Fairbault, Minnesota for a $50,000 prize. He had taken his twin brother Nick’s place when Nick went outside shortly before his name was called. Now the company, Odds on Promotion, is saying that he cannot receive the prize because it was not his ticket.
Continue reading “Company Tells Kid To Puck Off: 11-Year-Old Denied Prize for 89-Foot Shot”
Glenn Beck has brought his unique message to Israel as part of his “Restoring Courage” world tour. The born-again Mormon and former Fox anchor addressed a huge group of American Evangelical and Israelis in Jerusalem under the shadow of dome of the al-Aqsa mosque to denounce the United Nations, Arabs, and human rights organizations. That’s right, human rights organizations.
Continue reading “Beck Travels to Jerusalem To Denounce Human Rights Organizations”
We have been following the alliance of one of the world’s worst actor (Steven Seagal)with one of the world’s most abusive sheriffs (Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio). Seagal has been riding around in a tank supplied by Arpaio and raiding the home of citizens as part of a reality show — effectively turning Arizona citizens in extras and police personnel into cast members for his egocentric show, “Steven Seagal Lawman.” The recent assault with tanks and SWAT members of a ranch suspected of cockfighting attracted our attention since it was launched with roughly equal forces as the Normandy invasion with Seagal leading the way in his county-supplied tank like an over-stuffed George Patton. Now, Jesus Sanchez Llovera is taking the first steps toward a lawsuit.
Continue reading “On Deadly Ground: Steven Seagal Bags Puppy and Busts Jesus”
We have yet another politician who has resigned in the wake of the disclosure of Weineresque photos of himself. Puerto Rico Sen. Roberto Arango (Republican, San Juan) posted explicit photos of himself on what has been described as “an iPhone application for gays and bisexuals.” What makes this particularly notable is that Arango has a history of strong anti-homosexual politics.
Continue reading “Anti-Gay State Senator Resigns In Nude Photo Scandal in Puerto Rico”
If you are going to Utah, you may be seeing the return of the restaurant equivalent of a beer burka. Legislators in the heavily Mormon state have reinstated the required use of Zion curtains to separate diners from bartenders. In beer-only restaurants, bartenders will now have to be shielded from public eye.
Continue reading “Beer Burkas: Utah Legislators Require Restaurants To Install “Zion Curtains” To Prevent Customers From Seeing Beers Being Opened or Poured”
Aaron Tobey attained a degree of fame in carrying out a rather novel form of protest for civil liberties at an airport security point. Tobey stripped down and used a black marker to display a quote from of the Fourth Amendment on his bare chest reading “The right of the people to be secure … against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated.” He was arrested for his conduct, but now federal District Judge Henry Hudson had ruled that part of his lawsuit against the TSA can go forward to trial.
Continue reading “Indelible Ruling: Federal Judge Allows Case of Free Speech Protester To Go Forward Against TSA”
Pastor Mike Stahl is the head of an “internet church” called the Church of the Living Water and has drawn national attention due to a proposal he made a year ago: a national registry for atheists. We have seen religious and political leaders in the last year attacking atheists and even comparing them to terrorists. Stahl’s proposed national registry is the natural outgrowth of such demagoguery.
Continue reading “Pastor Proposes National Atheist Registry To Better Track Godless Citizens”