2008 archive
Why Do Republicans Hate the Constitution? 1
You don’t think so?
Not to mention this.
And everything these people have done in the last seven and a half years.
The Constitution is in their way. That’s why they hate it. Because they think they should always get their way.
Because, well, because . . . they just should! Okay!
This might help answer the question in the title.
No More No-Man’s Zone 0
The Guardian:
In one sense, the decision in Boumediene v Bush is a limited one. It does not order the release of a single prisoner – indeed, no prisoner has been released by court order in the six years that men have been held at Guantanamo. Nor does it address the scope of the President’s authority to hold individuals as “enemy combatants,” what procedural protections they are owed, or how they should be treated. It simply opens the courthouse door. Six years after Guantanamo opened, detainees will finally get their day in court.
But in every other sense, Thursday’s decision was groundbreaking. For the first time in its history, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a federal law enacted by Congress and signed by the President on an issue of military policy in a time of armed conflict. The Supreme Court has historically deferred to the President during times of conflict, especially when the President has acted with Congressional assent. For the first time, the court extended constitutional protections to noncitizens held outside US territory during wartime. And for only the third time in its history, the court declared unconstitutional a federal law restricting its own jurisdiction. (The court has typically sought to avoid such confrontations, because in some measure political control of the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction is seen as conferring democratic legitimacy on an unelected institution).
Give Me a Break (Updated) 3
Update: Bill points out that this took place in Easton, Md., not Easton, Pa. I have been to Easton, Md.
He’s a guy, for heaven’s sake.
A 1974 town ordinance forbids anyone from going topless in public buildings or on public streets and sidewalks with penalties of fines up to $100 and up to 10 days in jail.
I’ve never visited Easton, though it’s not all that far from here.
And I never will. I’ll take my tourist dollars somewhere else, thank you. Maybe Bensalem.
What Happened Over There? 3
McClatchy has been putting together the pieces. (Remember McClatchy: When they were still Knight-Ridder, they got the Iraq War story right.)
This should be good.
From their front page today (there is no separate link for this block of text and it will probably move off the front page at some point):
For more than six years, the United States has held hundreds of men at Guantanamo — “the worst of the worst,” in the words of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. But the truth was different. McClatchy tracked down 66 men released from Guantanamo in the most systematic survey to date of prisoners held there. Many had no connection to terrorism, but their experience turned them against America.
You can see the promotional video here (I didn’t see an “embed” code).
Meanwhile, in the Forgotten War 0
You know, the one Bush chose not to finish:
Wali Karzai, brother of President Hamid Karzai and Kandahar provincial council president, told the BBC 1,000 inmates were in the jail and all escaped.
Of the inmates, about 350 were believed to be Taleban.
There have been a number of casualties among security forces. A lorry bomb blew open the main gates of the jail and about 40 Taleban stormed inside.
A state of emergency has been declared in Kandahar city.
Police and troops are on the streets and all residents have been ordered not to leave their homes.
Context 0
Olbermann looks at the big picture.
This doesn’t have to do with “Liberal” vs. “Conservative.”
This has to do with truth vs. lies.
Transcript here.
Via the Huffington Post.
Boumediene v. Bush 0
Noz has some thoughts on the decision and on strict constrution of the Constitution of the United States of America:
McCain Abdicates Responsibility for His Surrogates 2
No, McHack can’t be a referee of every advertisement.
But he could publically disavow lies and smears (emphasis added).
“I can’t be a referee of every spot run on television,†McCain told the Herald in an exclusive interview. “I admire Sen. Obama and his accomplishments, but we all know there are groups who want to attack me.â€
The Arizona senator’s hands-off posture on attack ads by now-infamous tax-free and unaccountable political groups called 527s marks a softening of his view on the negative campaign tactic – and opens the door to a no-holds-barred five-month scramble.
Via Steve.
UnAmerican Activities 2
What Digby said.
Paperwork 0
I missed the whole birth certificate thing.
Drumbeats 2
Over there, at the Booman Tribune.
No More Firefox No More Thunderbird No More Saying That Dirty Word 0
That dirty word is, of course, clunky.
The new version of Opera (9.50) landed today. Video works again and all is right with the world.
Slurry: Not Just for Coal Anymore (Updated) 0
Fox News:
Note that it’s not Malkin, though one would expect something like that from her foul little mouth.
It’s the Fox News crawl, done by the Fox News snakes staff.
Via Duncan.
Addendum, Later That Same Day:
Fox has since said that the producer responsible for the crawl exercised “poor judgment.”
Well, yeah.
Poor judgment in revealing his or her fundamental racism.
(Because, face it, someone without racism would have never have even thought to display something of that nature. The idea would not have come to him or her.)
Or, more likely, the fundamental racism of Fox News’s approach to Senator Obama’s campaign.
This is beyond disgusting and beyond poor judgment.
But at least Fox News has put its cards on the table.
Drumbeats (Updated) 0
From the comments to a story on Market Watch (follow the link and look for a comment from Stormy):
Ray tells me that Market Watch has a habit of deleting comments they don’t like, not just for incivility, but for content, so here’s a screenshot. Click the excerpt to see it in context:
H/T Ray for the tip.
Addendum:
The Booman Tribune has more.
When Is the Republican Party Not the Republican Party? 0
When it’s the G. O. P.
It’s Not Just the Phillies 0
Add One More Lie 0
It’s not his boy or girl or spouse or parent over there, is it? Republicans are so generous with the children of others.
The Booman has a lengthy discussion of the bogus comparison between occupying–that’s occupying, my friends–a hostile Iraq and having troops in Germany, Japan, and South Korea. You can follow the link to read it. I am not saying I agree with all his points–just most of them–but I think he frames the issues accurately.
Candidate McHack’s analogy fails on the surface.
Suffice to say that no Germans, Japanese, or South Koreans are blowing up American troops. Indeed, when American bases were established in those countries following World War II and the Korean War, the inhabitants of those countries had stopped blowing up American (and other occupying) troops, either through surrender (Japan and Germany) or through partition (Korea).
Candidate McMaverick doesn’t seem to realize that he’s comparing apples and oranges apples and shoes. On second thought, I expect that he does realize it, but can’t think of any other, better fiction to justify endless war.
A war conceived in deceit and based on lies.
Add one more lie: Iraq is like Germany, Japan, and Korea.