Apparently, our “national interest” in the credibility of the UN extends only so far as it allows us to bomb other countries, but not so far as it might expose our own treatment of detainees to independent evaluation.

Government officials and Quantico Marine base have blocked official visits to PFC. Bradley Manning by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Amnesty International, and the UN Special Rappateur on torture.

As recently as last January, Barack Obama reiterated his love of the Reagan zombie, when Time described a dinner Obama shared with a group of presidential historians: “And yet Obama was clearly impressed by the way Reagan had transformed Americans’ attitude about government.” If Obama really wants to emulate Reagan, I have a suggestion for how he could copy Reagan’s pioneering moves when Reagan appointed individuals with attitudes diametrically opposed to the mission of their agency and in line with Reagan’s radically conservative agenda. With Robert Gates’ impending departure there is soon to be an opening for Secretary of Defense. With some bandying Leon Panetta’s name for SecDef, that leaves a potential opening for DCI. I have Reaganesque suggestions for Obama: appoint Dennis Kucinich,who has been a big advocate for a Department of Peace, as Secretary of Defense and Daniel Ellsberg, who released the Pentagon Papers, as Director of Central Intelligence.

The Pentagon claims that an expansion of the no-fly zone will enable them to hand off control of the mission to coalition partners, and American sorties have shrunk in the past couple days. But that has not been enough for Congress, interestingly enough. I have maintained that Congress didn’t really want the responsibility to give authorization for the action in Libya, and that they were generally happy for the White House to take the burden. But they’re not acting like that.

A couple updates on various legislation in Congress. The House of Representatives passed their bill defunding NPR today by a 228-192 vote. One Republican, Justin Amash (R-MI), voted present, and seven Republicans voted no (Duffy, Gibson, Hanna, LaTourette, Reichert, Tiberi, Woodall). Not one Democrat voted for the bill. The full roll call is here. The White House statement of Administration policy strongly opposed passage, but did not mention a veto. I can’t see the Senate taking this up, however.

Obama says DOD has assured him everything they’re doing to Manning is standard. If so, then why are they fighting so hard to prevent a member of Congress from visiting him?

In short, a full month after the date when a member of Congress requested a visit with Manning, DOD is still stalling on a real response with bureaucratic buck-passing.

Too clever by half, the House GOP leadership allowed only 40 minutes of debate on the extension of the PATRIOT Act today, and brought the bill up for a vote under a rule allowing no amendments and requiring two-thirds of the body to vote YES.

Well, that didn’t happen. Apparently, the Tea Party Congresscritters discovered their love for the constitution, Amendments One and Four inclusive, while taking the opportunity to stand up to their leadership’s lackadaisical attitude toward the Act’s extension.

If you blink today, you may miss the House of Representatives passing an extension until the end of the year of several provisions of the Patriot Act that expire in February. They will try to pass it under the suspension of the rules, meaning that they will need a 2/3 vote, but also that nobody can offer amendments. And they will spend a whopping 40 minutes of debate on the topic.

Dennis Kucinich sent out a fairly frantic email to supporters, warning that his Congressional district could be eliminated for the 2012 election after a round of redistricting in Ohio.