Server problems?

urp!

or, hiccup! if you prefer….

ES!

OUCH… that left a mark (rubbing tushie)

*standing on chair clapping for best tech crew on the internets*

Oh the Toooobz! It’s a series of clogged toobz..

who parked the NSA truck on the tubes? if i find out the name of the fool who did that and went home with the keys in his pocket…..

Eureka! Sweet Ivan!
On my mind? Impeachment, a Happy New Year for everybody, Senate Hearings, Impeachment, the state of Journalism, Edwards, oh and Impeachment.

shit, i left laundry in the washer. thanks for the reminder, es

ES!! Happy happy New Year to you (and all you alls here tonight!) Hope your personal years are marked by joy and good health, and here’s to peace for us all.

Geez, ES, good video, but when I clicked, I saw the comments. Thought FDL had a whole new crowd on late night. Thank heavens it was just the comments on YouTube!!

Man.. this cat (that would be me) is doing the Boogaloo for impeachment every day.

Friend of the fiance’s used to tend bar at Nikki’s BBQ.

Hey Laura D

Thank you so much Laura.. Together, redoubling our efforts.. it’s bound to be a good year.

My thoughts ‘zackly, Laura Doty!

teddy, you up for another meetup in late january here at the little cottage by the creek in the redwoods? maybe your fiance would like to attend

Hello, Laura!

AMEN!

Teddy? Have you Boogalood at Nikkis BBQ? Haight between Filmore and Page.

Hey Newton! Hi Suz!

And Loo Hoo – Welcome back!
Nice respite?

Laura, good to see you.;)

That would be, literally, right around the corner, and No.

(reply to ES’s 20)

Yes! And yes!

Thanks, newtonusr. It was nice to get away, but somewhat frustrating to get minimal news. I missed you guys!

Happy New Year to Laura Doty and all of the Pups!

Time to put the old bones in the reclining position.
Good night Firepups, one and all.

One of my favorite old haunts.. Each night of the week presents a different theme…. Thursdays were funk night. Best original raw soul DJ ever.. Although it’s been a few years since I’ve been there, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if I walked in ordered a Phillipino malt liquor called Red Horse, and danced on table tops until they kicked me out, again.

g’nite busted, thanks for the email – i’m chewing on it

Token, make that lady put down the email this instant!

night busted

I have your best interests at heart sweetie.Wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to a friend without saying something.

Suz, if you’re going to plan another meet-up, maybe you could plan it somewhere in betwixt where the trains meet up? SoCal and NoCal?

the spin cycle I’m in.

token has his very own chew toys – ’sides, he is sound alseep in his chair next to mine, wearing his manly big dog sweater and sleeping on top of his old navy blankie.

I’m with you there…following every minute of the cliffhanger for John and Elizabeth Edwards–just read Glenn Greenwald at Salon about the 3 ignored populist candidacies and recommend it to firedoglakers!

yeah, and the bounce is at the ready.

sorry LooHoo, but we ARE the Bear Creek Krew and it would not be the same not being on Bear Creek

hey pun

Margot! Thanks for the hug! Happy New Year everyone.

I’m turning in. Stiff and sore from painting new office and moving all the furniture. Starting new year in ‘new’ (60+ year old vs 100+) earthquake proofier building. I don’t get how come I can be thrown all over kingdom come in Aikido and feel great, but end up stiff painting a few walls. BOTHER this getting older business!

Hope to be able to join you folks at a CA meet-up. And no matter what, join everyone in raising hell and saving the world.

Thanks ES and Suz (and lurking RBG?) for all your wonderful efforts this year.

Good night and best to you all.

dang it.. yesterday, i put back outside all the plants that i had brought inside due to freeze warnings last week – tonight, we are already down to 34 (sigh) gonna have to lug them back inside again

oh, but Loo Hoo, plan to join us on Bear Creek, please!

On that note, this old bear’s heading to bed, hoping to sleep off this winter cold I picked up while Mother Bear visited.

Goodnite, all.

g’nite laura d – a nice hot soak in a frothy tub always helps me when i’ve been painting – its the repeated movements that get ya

{{{ tech krewe }}}

g’nite teddy

sorry LooHoo, but we ARE the Bear Creek Krew and it would not be the same not being on Bear Creek

City people. They can’t hardly find the time to leave, but once they get a taste of the sweet life by the water, they can’t pull themselves away. *g

nite laura
nite teddy!

ES, do you read mysteries? Marcia Muller’s PI, Sharon McCone, is an SF gal. I believe she mentions Nikki’s in Edwin of the Iron Shoes, about an antique dealer who gets killed dead.

…will need to boogaloo to keep warm over here tonight…looks to be about 30* and heading south

hey, Suzanne. check out Ernest Ranglin

ES, do you read mysteries? Marcia Muller’s PI, Sharon McCone, is an SF gal. I believe she mentions Nikki’s in Edwin of the Iron Shoes, about an antique dealer who gets killed dead.

That’s creepy…

hey spidey, forking cold all of a sudden for sure

Night cold sleepers!

sweet! ear candy!!! thanks, pun

hey spidey…

Haven’t read a mystery in years and I love a good mystery. I must have spent a few hundred nights in Nikki’s over ten years of living in SF and owning a shop just a block away.. I never had a mediocre evening there.. They were all fun. It helped knowing all of the street locals and being on good terms with them when it came time to exit after 2 am.

Ernest Ranglin – Ball of Fire

Ms spiderpaws, It’s supposed to get down to 13 here tomorrow night.

This one sneaked up on us… who knew ET would send his unwanted artic blasts our way on such short notice…can hardly move with all the REI ski clothes I have on…over in the Bershires where my sister lives, they are having a foot of snow…still, it’s warmer there.

sweet

Heh, all the joys of the cold, but, alack and alas, none of the snow…! Can I say that I’m shivering too… ;-)

spidey, its that frickin damp cold that goes right through my multiple layers and heads right for the bones. i think my arthritic joints are a favorite haunt tonight.

pun, that guy is so good. he is definitely being added to my stash and who knows, you could see him front paged here on one of my posts one night…

Wow, not just a great listen, but a ton of fun!

You can.. but don’t expect sympathy.. I’ll bet you aren’t even wearing socks..)

…oops, left out a few letters, my lips are numb…
Ball fo Fire very cool punaise

dang, i have no idea how that last sentence got added to my last comment…. deleted – geez, too many open windows i fear

Am Too! I had to bust out the sweatshirt… Brrr… ;-)

oops again…giving up and heading for a hot bath…got any astro questions?

I wish there were more youTubes available. He’s basically a pretty polished Charlie Hunteresque jazz guitarist working in the Jamaican back-beat idiom. Check out the disk “Below the Bassline”.

only one? let us know when you are ready to play in the big leagues wearing at least 3

spidey, do ya see any cosmic thingies about that asteroid that may strike mars, the planet of war, next month?

Don’t miss Digby’s BiPartisan Zombies post from earlier today. It’s a keeper, bigtime.

Now, really, g’nite!

these california shacks just don’t cut it in the cold.

Any Justice in the stars to be meted out to Shrub and/or Darth? 8-)

I found those cosmic thingies in my popcorn tonight…sorry

December was the best shot for impeachments tries and we have only one day left, so no, sorry

probably around 23 or so in my spot in west michigan. With yet more snow falling, though its a nice bit of flurries, nothing heavy. So the Lake Michigan snow factory hasn’t kicked in again–yet. We’ve already had the first blizzard of the season.

*tugs blanket around self and contemplates jasmine tea or hot chocolate.*

I’ll be sure to send Miz Pelosi a thank you note for her efforts…! 8-(

Spidey, I have a cosmic question for you – did you see peony’s comment to Ian yesterday?
Ian, regarding the statement that history does not repeat, perhaps not always and in precisely the same way, but I would argue that planetary archetypes express themselves through history and culture with a kind of regularity that is unmatched by any other means that I am aware of. To give you one example, there is one configuration that has manifested consistently and was operative during both the First and Second World Wars, the beginning of the Vietnam War, the Cold War, every major war in the Middle East from the War of Independence in 1946, the Suez War in 1956, the Six Day War in ‘67, the Yom Kippur War in ‘73, and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982, the Iran/Iraq War 1981-1984, the war in Bosnia, 911 and the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

My question is: is there a similar configuration that follows the one she’s talking about and if so, what’s it all about?

Maybe the meteor will miss mars which would mean no more war..but more war crimes trials.

sorry for the cosmic thingies bit spidey – my biorhythm chart shows me in a low cycle mentally = my brain feels rather foggy still

I saw this classy dame, Betty Carter, every chance I got – 4 times, in intimate clubs from DC to Hollywood (Vine Street Bar and Grill was the best venue).

She was a masterclass for young jazzmen later in her life. Her bass players, pianists and drummers rotated frequently, not because she was a diva but because she believed in young jazzmen and wanted to give them a good start.

what configuration was she talking about, do you know?
Planetary configurations right now are pretty interesting…we have a pluto/jupiter conjunction at the same degree as the galactic center, and we have Pluto moving into Capricorn in late January, a major happening. Not to mention til then (late Jan) Pluto is at 29* Sagitarius for almost a month, the most intense fanaticism we could conjure up. Fasten your seat belt.

Naw, she didn’t elaborate. I reprinted her entire comment.

…am willing to share the thingies tho suzi, here grab a handful…or maybe an espresso choco would beef you up
am just gorging on carbs to keep warm

…but what did Ian say back? Did he have any idea about the configuration? He must know something or she wouldn’t have asked him such a big question.

spidey, i’m eating those heat up for 5 sec in the microwave gourmet chocolate smores. i figure chocolate is always good for what ails ya (laughing)

well, the chocolate hippies seem to think so, they have dedicated their life to chocolate : )

I love Betty Carter.

In the Ancient Symbols, the last day of december, the 31st, is ruled by the Joker card – only this one day. The story goes that you can take on any disguise or personality or role for the day – or several – which explains why new years eve is always such a wacky day especially after one of the most emotional days of the year – today (in the Symbols)
You may notice the energy changes drastically at 1 minute after midnight tonight. Just wait.

change in a good way?

Oh great, and it would have to be a Monday…!!! ;-)

sort of like anything goes, alittle good, a little bad
but don’t worry, it already seems like most of the bad puppies have toddled off to bed.

General Musharraf, Al Quieda or whomever killed Bhutto is a bigger fool than GW why? Cause her son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is now taking her place. The guy is hot, educated at Oxford and has a huge sympathy vote thing going on cause his Mom, 2 Uncles and Grandfather were all killed. Good looks do matter in elections, a good story matters in elections and carrying on in your Mom’s place is a lot better story than the General’s story which is It wasn’t me!
Musharraf is tring to blame Al Quieda but nobody seems to be listening to him. Al Quieda likes to send video tape to brag about this sort of thing, but maybe they realize that they have gone to far by killing a woman intentionally.
I think Musharraf, Al Quieda, Bush, and Condi it doesn’t matter who gave the order they all expected to benefit from scenario (a) Bhutto dies the General blames Al Quieda and rallies the people around him against Al Quieda to win the election. Al Quieda in turn ignores the General. Bush gets to keep his puppet in Pakistan. Condi claims the Pakistani elections are a model for the middle east.
This scenario depended upon the Pakistani people buying the Al Quieda story. They unlike our MSM know that Bhutto’s grandfather was hung by the army and her 2 brothers were also likely killed by the army.
So Musharraf has replaced an aging former leader with political baggage like corruption charges with a good looking young man with no baggage and a huge sympathy vote. Plus he’s not a woman I wonder how many Al Quieda types agreed with her ideas but wouldn’t vote for her because she is a woman?
I fear the General or whomever is afraid of democracy in Pakistan will realize what I said and try to kill again, even if it means more riots.

personally I think it is the most exciting day of the year…anything is possible…after midnight the jokers will appear

I feel sorry for him, he is another family martyr

ThingsComeUndone – When are the elections scheduled? If in January, that’s before the end of the 40 day mourning period for Mrs. Bhutto. Also I wonder if that will be enough time fro the opposition to get the word out. What about his age? Most of all, I would think since most judges and lawyers are in jail..the election rigging is in the bag.

ES, January 8th!

I can’t find a utube of my fav of her tunes – Moonlight in Vermont (swoon)

Can’t find the original of this song by Dave Frishberg, but Suz this is for you, sung by Blossom Dearie.

Pakistan’s Intelligence Service created Al Quieda. The Pakistani Army won’t let us go after Al Quieda in Pakistan, So they are in effect protecting Al Quieda. Both the Pakistani Intelligence Services and Army are part of the Pakistani government run by General Musharraf.
Now why the Hell! is Bush giving the government that created Al Quieda and is protecting Al Quieda to this very day billions of dollars and advanced military weapons!
The GOP can spin this all they want the MSM can ignore it but the World laughs and wonders why are we paying TRIBUTE.

Have you Boogalood at Nikkis BBQ?

Not to crash your conversation, but the best BBQ I ever had was in Kansas City, Missouri. Terrific!

Minneapolis, Minnesota also had great food, but I didn’t have any BBQ there.

Maybe we should have a thread composed entirely of…

The best place to get **** (food) is in ***** (city).

Pakistan’s Intelligence Service created Al Quieda.

Yes, the ISI did, but, the House of Saud played an integral role too…

thanks mommybrain – she looks almost like token’s sister, goldie

Oh one doesn’t Boogaloo with food at Nikki’s BBQ. Food service ends after lunch time, Boogaloo begins at 10 pm.

Sure you can rig an election but that might cause even more riots, I think Musharraf wants to postpone the elections until after tempers cool down. His age might be a consideration but I’m sure he could find a puppet of his own to represent him.

Bhutto’s husband announced tonight that the son was going back to Oxford to finish school, after all he said “he is of tender age”.

Eureka,

What got my tail wagging today was teh feeling that 2007 sucked when it came to the new Democratic national legislature. But I’ve got a hunch that a wave is going to hit Congress in November. Ours.

spidey, isn’t the son only 19?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMulbSv22q4

Yes’m, you heard correctly!

yes, 19 and not finished his studies in England and Papa is quite adamant he goes back there and finishes.

Waving Niters & Sweet dreams dear Teddy! -

Yep Funding thats were Ossama came in and considering all the help the Saudis have been I think we should freeze the Saudi royal families assets. Does anyone remember that story after 9/11 about people who shorted airline stocks huge before 9/11 what ever happened to that story?

fly me to the moon

There is no doubt and no dispute about the fact that Musharraf failed to provide his opponent adequate protection — and, he declined her requiest for such protection. In fact, today it came out that he refused Visa’s for outside protection to enter the country. That makes him guilty as surely as if he had pulled the trigger himself. The only question is whether someone else shares in his guilt. And, if so, who?

Damm! the General probably made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

What got my tail wagging today was teh feeling that 2007 sucked when it came to the new Democratic national legislature. But I’ve got a hunch that a wave is going to hit Congress in November. Ours.

Absolutely!

BTW, I want to second TSF’s recommendation of digby tonight.. Wow

Hi all. Can’t sleep.

Bush, Condi for sending her there, I’m sure they said we will talk to the General about getting you some Blackwater Nazi’s of your own don’t you worry democracy is on the march!

Got any good carbs floating around loose tex?

your usual spot was kept warm in case ya came back, tex.

Daddy brain gave me the remastered DVD of Guys and Dolls for Christmas.
my two faves

15 of the 19, 911 Hijackers were Saudis and the bulk of the ‘Foreign’ fighters operating in Irak are Saudis… Interesting… One would think the House of Bush would’ve asked the House of Saud to back off a tad…

brownie cookies ok?

ET, May I ask if your post @ KOS sparked any contact with/from Markos?

Betsy, how is the new bed?

Thank you kindly friend.

yum yum yum

mostly wonderful, but i am doing some med change stuff right now since i am not working, and just can’t fall asleep.

Also, Glenzilla has an excellent post that cites Digby’s for part of its case that we’ve fallen victim to an oligarchy.

and a tidbit for suzanne

We need to figure out how to turn grandma nancy into julia sugerbaker, or find a julia to replace her.

thanks, tex pecan and cherry :)

sort of like anything goes, alittle good, a little bad
but don’t worry, it already seems like most of the bad puppies have toddled off to bed.

Who are the bad pups?

i didn’t do the boogaloo at Nikki’s,
but i learned the mashed potato at Rooky’s!

Every single congresscritter should be forced to read and comment on Glenn’s article.

Every single congresscritter should be forced to read and comment on the Constitution too.

I think she’s still eating the cookies.

are those medicinal brownies or the kind with the nuts? nice.

The Dean’s threat is a third party run by Bloomberg! Uh the economy has taken over as America’s #1 concern, sending in a business type to run for President in the anticorporate mood in America today will split the GOP vote not ours.
Mitt and Rudy are trying to run as businessmen already but have they brought any voters in to the GOP at all? You would think they would have if the Dean’s words were to carry any whisper of a threat to us at all.
Huck is taking his fundamentalists and splitting the party already. Ron Paul is raising huge amounts with real grass roots support he could go third party without the Dean or Peggy’s help. Plus Ron will take the Racists the GOP needs to win in the South with him unless he gets Vice President or something else big.
When the Dean is not lying or insulting us he is funny in a just escaped from the hospital sort of way.

ET, May I ask if your post @ KOS sparked any contact with/from Markos?

I didn’t expect it would. It hasn’t. I’d be happy if he did, though.

I’m at the “back away from the keyvoard, kid” state, but everyone has to think “do it right” right now, rather than merely get ready to say “Victory.”

Scrutiny of the C.I.A.’s secret detention program kept building. Later in 2003, the agency’s inspector general, John L. Helgerson, began investigating the program, and some insiders believed the inquiry might end with criminal charges for abusive interrogations.

Mr. Helgerson completed his investigation of interrogations in April 2004, according to one person briefed on the still-secret report, which concluded that some of the C.I.A.’s techniques appeared to constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under the international Convention Against Torture. Current and former officials said the report did not explicitly state that the methods were torture.

One thing that amazes me is all this dancing around 18 USC 2441, which was altered by the MCA of ‘06, but, since there is no ex post facto, they’re still abundantly guilty… (it does include the death penalty, btw!)

Ron Paul will take the racists?

time for me to grab my broom and do some house work.

see ya’ll tomorrow nite for New Years Eve, Late Nite and Late Late Nite style.

Some leftover Christmas cookies. We should eat them before they get stale.

Sleep well suzanne.

Ron Paul will take the racists?

He can have them.

nite suz

(munching leftover cookies) Goodnite Suzanne…throw your extra S’Mores my way on your way out the door.

Bonne Nuit, Ma Cheri!

Master of Understatement! The Saudis fund religious schools all over the world in places like Pakistan that serve as recruitment spots for Al Quieda. Didn’t Musharraf have to send in troops to one school cause they took hostages.
We need a President who will stand up to and not make excuses for Saudi Arabia and so far none of the GOPers are that man.

Ron Paul would like to do away with the Federal Reserve too, Spidy. He was on the new $1.00 coin his cronies put out.

The Liberty Dollar.

oh my gawd, those xmas cookies are adorable…who could eat them? (munch munch)

Good night, Suz!

nationalizing the banks might be a good thing.

I’m at the “back away from the keyvoard, kid” state, but everyone has to think “do it right” right now, rather than merely get ready to say “Victory.”

Well, the post was excellent. I thought it was very much in the spirit of doing it right, at a very good time. I want to say don’t give up trying there..but then again I trust your instinct a great deal. I know I will be sending some $$ to Diane Benson next week.

well that explains why my neighbor is so crazy about him…isn’t he embarassed by that gold dollar? scheeeesh

Wahhabism, is the malignant strain of Islam they preach… An especially orthodox version…

Forget banks. Use your Credit Union. I do not understand why people use banks…

Nite suz, nite everyone, stay warm spidey.

what IS my credit union? didn’t know I had one

convenience?

Do astrologers have a credit union?

She knows I work for a school system. We have a credit union.

Nite, Ma’am! I shall bow out too, I bid thee all a fond adieu! Aloha Oe!!!

It’s just down the street from the hillbilly credit union.

Dang, Suz? Next time you see the tech fixers, ask them to let us link when we have to edit our posts cuz we did premature commenting?

Stay Warm, spidey

nite mommybrain
nite tuttle

i second that

If you don’t have a credit union locally, use the google. Have your paychecks automatically deposited and do all of your banking electronically. Not much need to go to the bank or credit union these days. I just had a check deposited to me via email through ING. Kewl!

The GOP needs the Racists if Ron takes them in a third party bid then he splits the vote and we take the South! The Dean is projecting his fears for his party onto us.
George Will, Peggy the Washington cocktail weenie set doesn’t even want Huck’s Fundamentalists to have a voice in the GOP.
But considering the party is at 30% why is the GOP picking fights with Huck and kicking Ron out of the Fox News debate? They need everybody they can get now its almost like they want to lose big?

First Cosmological Credit Union – or FCCU?

wow nice stove there mommybrain…if only…one good thing, the rats are gone from the attic it’s so cold.
Heh

I’ve long complained that progressives will not take back the nation until they defeat Ronald Reagan, which they’ve never done. But defeating Reagan, I mean defeating Reaganomics, that long-discredited, laissez-faire economic anarchism that Ron Paul and his friends at the Cato call “economic freedom,” and that the Marxists I used to drink coffee with called “the unseen-hand job.” IMHO, now is the time to go for the jugular on this issue. We have the chaos subprime-mortgage crisis that resulted directly from the removal of regulation. And we have the health-care issue, where more regulated systems around the world are delilvering better care more efficiently.

Well, good news, even the MSM is starting to question the gospel according to St. Ronald, e.g., this by Peter S. Goodman in yesterday’s New York Times:

But now the invisible hand is being asked to account for what it has wrought. In this country, many economic complaints – from the widening gap between rich and poor to the expense of higher education – are being dusted for its fingerprints.

After two decades of disappointing economic growth, several Latin American countries have spurned the I.M.F. while embracing the finance and thinking of Venezuela’s avowedly Socialist leader, Hugo Chávez. China’s leaders, though still devoted to “reform and opening,” are keeping tight control on the value of the currency while steering capital to powerful state-owned companies, concerned that freer markets could throw millions of peasants out of work.

[…]

“Untethered market forces lead to bad things,” said Mr. Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute. “You simply can’t run an economy as complicated as ours on ideology alone.”

Such articles are a start, but Ron Paul’s candidacy, the housing meltdown, and the health-crisis are a perfect opportunity for us to attack Attack ATTACK !

my little part time jobs and one of my tutoring students pay with checks. but there is a credit union in town.

Credit Unions take everyone now. Banks are getting pissed off about it too. Tried to shut down the Credit Unions a couple of years ago in CA. Credit Unions are owned by the depositors, not by the New York Stock Exchange.

They don’t have Rove to tell them what to do, what do you expect?

Clever!!! Night, MB!

Out of context, if there is a context, but what the hell.

Secrets of Book Publishing Video

sleep well mommybrain

If only the D’s in congress would attack! We would have their backs like never before.

Must get some sleep. G’ nite all fabulous firedogs.

sleep well eureka

Uh, Firedoglake? I’ve notiiced lately you’ve been sort of, um, distant? Trouble with eye-contact – distracted by, uh, expanded right side-bar? Y’know? Or did I stumble into Huffington’s place again? Sorry.

Here’s the best editorial of the year (that I can remember) from the NYT. Comments are welcome.

nite eureka!
great tunes and talk tonight

You, too, Betsy. I hope your dreams find the pillow soon.

thanks for the tip PeterPierce

Maybe because with the 150 channels that some people get there’s still nothing to watch?

Good night, and thanks, ES.

As to the election that I’ve heard whispers is coming–something about Iowa and some Caucauses–Jane and Jerilyn Merritt in Iowa–how many Americans can differentiate the Iowa caucauses from primaries or can name all the candidates running? Firepups of course can and many layers of analysis more, but average Americans–hah–ask ‘em in the streets. They know that Jamie Lynn Spears is with child though, and have an idea how it happened. You betcha. Know Patriots won too. That’s the main reason that Ed Gillespie, Addington, and Fielding tell Bush they can do whatever they want and people are too stupid to know or care. And watch them doing just that.

Where They Stand: Major Positions of the Candidates

The Great Divide: Commentary on the Positions by Paul Krugman

I’ve looked into that a bit, and I found a Supreme Court ruling that allowed ex-post-facto decreases in penalty.

They tried with the MCA to gut the War Crimes Act of 1996 (i.e., Section 2441), but I couldn’t find where they succeeded after a fair amount of scrutiny. (But, IANAL, and I couldn’t find that the MCA took habeas corpus away from citizens. Robert Parry, I think it was, had to point out exactly how and where.)

That MCA was deliberately written to be obscure, e.g., some of the changes are made via references to other law, such as McCain’s 2005 Detainee Treatment Act, which is equally obscure.

Yes! we need a Lefty Economics we must bring Keynes back! We must prime the pump by putting people back to work at high paying jobs.
Fix the bridges, Fix the roads, high speed monorails! Tax the rich so they can’t afford to send us to another war tell them that no we the middle class and Poor will not pay for your mistakes.
Shrink the army and get a peace dividend. Start closing down army bases we don’t need to save money, I’m pretty sure the Indian wars are over so we don’t need so many army bases in the center of our country. Hey the army agreed with Bush every step of the way and we lost, so maybe a few generals should go on unemployment.
Alternative power means no fuel cost cause wind and sun are free! If nuclear power is so safe then the White House and Congress can be moved directly over the nuclear waste storage site.
If we had a French, Cuban etc system of healthcare everyone could be treated at less cost than we do to only treat some. (Sicko is at Blockbuster now). Socialized Medicine means less taxes.

Wow. Thank you, Loo Hoo.

This part needs six words added to the first paragraph:

These are not the only shocking abuses of President Bush’s two terms in office, made in the name of fighting terrorism. There is much more — so much that the next president will have a full agenda simply discovering all the wrongs that have been done and then righting them.

We can only hope that this time, unlike 2004, American voters will have the wisdom to grant the awesome powers of the presidency to someone who has the integrity, principle and decency to use them honorably. Then when we look in the mirror as a nation, we will see, once again, the reflection of the United States of America.

Those words are: “by bringing the perpetrators to justice.“

Wigwam–

I’m not sure what S. Ct. opinion you refer to, but unless they’re brain dead, and that depends on your definition of brain dead, you’d expect the Supremes to come out with an opinion in June that settles this from the argument in good ‘ole

Boumediene/Al-Odah_v._Bush

As you and most people here know:

At issue is the Military Commissions Act, passed by Congress in 2006. Chemerinsky called it “one of the worst laws in all of American history with regard to civil liberties.” The provision before the court yesterday says that no non-citizen held as an enemy combatant shall have any access to federal courts, including by writ of habeas corpus. They can go through a military proceeding–if one is convened by the government – and then they can get reviewed by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit.

The key issue, Chemerinsky said, “is there’s nothing in the Military Commissions Act that requires that a military proceeding be convened. The government can hold all of these people for the rest of their lives without ever bringing them before a military tribunal. Then the have no ability ever to go before a federal court.” And no matter how long they are held, they can’t come to federal court with a writ of habeas corpus.

If Hilary gets 3rd in Iowa then Penn is done fired and Hilary will either have to move toward our position to get votes or she keep aiming the Titanic toward the iceberg of I don’t care I want all the troops out of Iraq now and I want healthcare like the French have.
But the fun starts if Huck and Ron do better than expected on the GOP side. Then we have both parties front runners the Centerists failing and the radicals taking over.
Well our positions on the issues while to the Left of the GOP and many of our candidates our the majority position. Now if we can get Hilary and our other candidates to go Left and then they start winning. Then we will be controlling the story.
The GOP is afraid that their base 30%ers is all thats left we need Huck and Ron to win to make America aware of and afraid of their base.

That opinion, one of the most important in a decade or even a century, will probably be 5-4 and most certainly won’t be delivered before mid June.

The stupid John Yoo driven and many others who wrote terror memoranda (some who are US Attorneys whom DOJ has refused to allow to answer subpoenas from the complete wussies on Senate Judiciary and House Judiciary) argument of course is that granting terrorists the right to a regular trial in a regular court would hamper the war on terror and give aid and comfort to the enemy.

The whole problem is obviously, they make the moronic assumption that all the detainees are terrorists, and we know that not to be the case already.

Erwin Cherminsky has a client who has been at Gitmo for five years and no one knows why the hell he’s there, including constitutional lawbook author and Dean of a law school Chemerinsky.

Trial by Biblical Jury

Condemned killer says jury consulted Bible

from Star-Telegram

By MICHAEL GRACZYK

Nearly a decade after an East Texas man was gunned down during a burglary of his home, the death sentence of the Waco man convicted of the slaying remains under scrutiny because jurors at his trial had Bibles with them when they decided he should be executed.

Khristian Oliver, now 30, was condemned by a Nacogdoches County jury in 1999, a year after authorities said he and three companions were involved in the break-in of the home of 64-year-old Joe Collins, who was shot and beaten.

Oliver’s three accomplices received prison terms ranging from five to 99 years. He got the death penalty and in his appeals lawyers are contending jurors improperly consulted Scripture that called for death as punishment for murder.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month upheld Oliver’s conviction and denied his request for a federal evidentiary hearing on the Bible-related claims, but agreed to consider written arguments on the matter and then hold oral arguments.

“This is headed toward a showdown on a very fundamental question on the use of the Bible,” Winston Cochran, Oliver’s lawyer, said.

Worse yet, the MCA gives them the power to do the same to U.S. citizens. I forget the details, but I think they are all here as #1 of Project Censored’s Top-25 Censored Stories for 2008.

I meant to add that the idiots like Yoo say to trust the military which has a complete circus going on at Gitmo as to law and investigations and access by lawyers, and Chereminsky has made the point repeatedly that instead of trusting the military, we should trust the Constitution, a document that used to be around prior to Bush, Cheney, Addington and Gillespie, which is very distrustful of the Executive Branch.

We have a superlative example of why going on in the West Wing unchecked by Congress in the least, every day. Things will get much worse in 2008 and the appellate Courts, particularly the D.C. Circuit, full of Bush chumps, have shown themselves willing patsies in this equation.

Whatever the Supremes decide, this issue is going to churn back at the district court level for years, and the detainees and their constitutional law scholar attorneys will continue not to know why the hell they are detained for years tragically.

Yes. You’re absolutely right, given the nebulous, ridiculous way the MCA has been written. That’s a huge issue, and when I replayed Senate Judiciary’s bullshit I had DVR’d I came as close as I ever have to throwing a heavy bookend through my TV.

The key vote will be Kennedy, who is a bit flakey but wrote an excellent opinion in Hamdan.

Yes indeedy. And in the coming months you are going to see long law review articles on the nature of Kennedy’s swing vote, how it has replaced O’Conners, and tons of material on the MCA and this very important case that will probably be remanded to churn into infinity. Gitmo is a horrendous place to be incarcerated, particularly when you are innocent.

Local lawyers have written extensively on trying to get access to their clients and to represent them, and these include some of the best and brightest in “ordinary situations.”

Here is Robert Parry’s very insightful analysis of the MCA showing that U.S. citizens are every bit as vulnerable as foreigners to Bush’s kangaroo courts.

I appreciate your links very much, and I’ll take a look at them tomorrow. I’ve been collecting a few analyses of the MCA and the Supreme Court argument on December 5 whcih pitted the SJ in the Clinton admin against the current SJ at oral argument and on briefs. As you know, a good bit of dissecting of the MCA and this case has been ongoing at Empty Wheel, with some great comments and you may have been there. It was bad enough when there were only newspapers to keep up with. Now the blogs are much better, but there arte so many that are worthwhile, and I have a computer hobby that has it’s own set of thousands of extensive blogs.

Sorry I meant the Solicitor General–SG–not SJ.

Waxman v. Clement in Boumediene v. Bush

I mispell a lot here, substitute hononyms ridiculously often, and it’s not that I don’t know how to spell the words, but I often hit this site in the wee hours of the morning if I get a chance.

Thanks. I gave up trying to figure out the MCA about a month after it was passed; nobody seemed so all that interested in discussing it. Here are two diaries that I posted at DailyKos analyzing the MCA:

- http://www.dailykos.com/storyo…..263/251955

- http://www.dailykos.com/story/…..140/252094

In retrospect, I should have followed Marcy’s discussions more closely.