Dike and a crack in the dike

Faux News reports:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is receptive to the idea of prosecuting some Bush administration officials, while letting others who are accused of misdeeds leave office without prosecution, she told Chris Wallace in an interview on "FOX News Sunday."

"I think you look at each item and see what is a violation of the law and do we even have a right to ignore it," the California Democrat said. "And other things that are maybe time that is spent better looking to the future rather than to the past."

That looks suspiciously like a crack in the dike formerly known as "impeachment is off the table." Mind you, impeachment never made it to the table throughout the Bush Reign of Terror. Nonetheless, this is a hint that Pelosi might consider SOME form of accountability by the Bush regime.

Dike (Δίκη) is Greek for "justice" and the name of the daughter of Themis who is the divine personification of Justice. The illustration above is from an amphora and depicts "Dike (justice personified) beats Adikia (injustice) with a hammer." It is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum,
Vienna, Austria, and the illustration comes from www.theoi.com.

Dike cannot abide with Adikia. Justice cannot tolerate injustice.

There has been an outcry from the American People. Obama put up a website - change.gov - where people have been able to identify their priorities for the incoming administration. Alert folks helped place the appointment of a special prosecutor as the top vote-getter (above accountability in the bank bailout and healthcare).

The Obama administration and the Congress may be taking note, finally, of how important this is to the citizens of this nation. This requires them to ignore, for a while, their own timid sheep-think and the nattering of the beltway pundits who think we must move on and focus on the future.

Ralph Lopez put up a diary today at Daily Kos on Pelosi's seeming about-face, which inspired me to write here. At this point the diary concludes with this update:

Push the snowball

We know what Pelosi is, but politicians make statements like this for a reason, pressure coming from somewhere. But we are not passive observers, if everyone reaches out and gives the little snowball a push it turns into a big snowball. Nevermind if you think she is serious or not, CALL YOUR CONGRESSPERSON AND ADD TO THE CHORUS! They have their fingers to the wind and we are the wind...Until she is trapped into following up on her words. Just leave a message right now, the capitol switchboard is 24/7 and will connect you to your congressman's office answering machine. (202) 225-3121 Say "I want you to keep this investigation-prosecution talk going..." We're just farting around on our computers anyway, may as well make a call...

(202) 225-3121

[Emphasis mine]




I saw Frost/Nixon this afternoon (the movie based on Peter Morgan's play). Those David Frost interviews of Richard Nixon were done at a time in my life when I had withdrawn from the larger culture to pursue financial survival and my personal identity. I cannot say I even remember now (prior to this film coming out) that Frost interviewed Nixon, though I am certain that I was aware of it at the time. I do remember how elated I was when Nixon left office in disgrace (see, I was a vindictive type even then).

Though I feel Michael Sheen worked better for me as Tony Blair in The Queen than he does as David Frost, I am impressed by Frank Langella's performance as Nixon, especially the work he must have done to shift his voice into a register and gruffness that sounds quite a bit like Nixon did. The conclusion of the fourth interview has stunning acting by Langella - in a close-up of his face - that simultaneously humanizes Nixon and allows the horror of it all to sink in.

Historical accuracy aside (and one may read some of that discussion at Wikipedia), I found myself wanting to shout a few times during the film, making comments on its current relevance.

Dick Cheney may be chief among those who felt that the whole Watergate fiasco and Nixon's resignation were overblown and damaged the presidency. Cheney has relentlessly lead the crusade to restore presidential power and take it even further than Nixon did (cf. the whole "unitary executive" bullshit theory).

I would contend that (1) most of the criminals in Watergate and other Nixon misdoings got away with it, setting the stage for the idea that presidents and their staff may break the law with impunity and (2) not dealing adequately with this issue back then has allowed, and even almost created, the disaster of Bush's imperial presidency.

That is why I consider it so necessary to have accountability now. If we do not, we almost certainly guarantee a recurrence of such abuses in the future. Nothing less than our constitutional government is at stake - a theme I have harped upon here numerous times.

The Cheney-Rove-Bush administration has consistently, and with considerable success, sought to undo the questioning (and, to them, licentiousness and anarchy) of the 60s, the congressional restrictions on the presidency at the end of Nixon's time, and the New Deal.

We lefty bloggers - the DFH (or dirty fucking hippies) - have named their misdoings and cried for a stop to them, thus making us "the enemy." We also take democracy into our own hands by circumventing approved power structures to make our views known and raising huge amounts of campaign money, most of it a few dollars at a time. The political establishment has not liked this. The media establishment has not liked this. Fortunately, soon-to-be President Obama does "get" democracy and technology and the role of the American People.

May Dike triumph and Adikia fail.

Oh, and the number to demand hearings, once again, is (202) 225-3121.
--the BB

The ultimate, corporate-pleasing, Southern Strategy lethal weapon

Pepe Escobar has a nice farewell to Chimpy McCokespoon at the Asia Times:

Coming close to destroying a superpower and the global economy virtually single-handedly is not bad for someone born with a silver spoon in his mouth who never held a steady job until the age of 45 - until "turd blossom" Karl Rove, the little, fat, bald Machiavelli, engineered him as the ultimate, corporate-pleasing, Southern Strategy lethal weapon, and Bush family consigliere James Baker turned a massive electoral fraud, mostly in Florida and Ohio, into a hijacked mandate via the Supreme Court.

h/t to Lithium Cola
--the BB

Una vez más

Да, мы можем.



Oui, on peut.


Sí, se puede.




Yes, my fellow Americans.

We can.

Power to the People!

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

--the BB

A fair trial in a valid court of law

It is not controversial nor is it unpatriotic to say that anyone our government is accusing of a crime deserves a fair trial in a valid court of law, and that the American justice system is capable not only of conducting those trials, but also of meting out justice to any who might be convicted. There really is no valid excuse, political or otherwise, to not close Guantanamo and end military commissions immediately.

--mcjoan

To which I say, Amen!
--the BB

May we have a better patriotism, please?

Thanks to Susan Russell at An Inch at a Time, I wish to share this patriotic music video with you.



It seems Norman Lear has launched the Born Again American movement (web site here).

I signed the pledge:

--the BB

Worth it?

If you ever find yourself wondering whether the invasion and occupation of Iraq has been worth it, just remember the Dick Cheney thinks so. Billmon provides links and clues as to why he might think that.

--the BB

Well, that sums up a lot of it

Here is a 9:27-minute retrospective of the Bush years, compiled mostly by segment producer Jonathan Larsen and delivered by Keith Olbermann:



h/t to thereisnospoon. You may read the transcript here.

639

01/15/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
Spc. Keith E. Essary, 20, of Dyersburg, Tenn....died Jan. 8 in Maywand, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when their dismounted patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment...

01/15/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
Sgt. Joshua L. Rath, 22, of Decatur, Ala...died Jan. 8 in Maywand, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when their dismounted patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment...

01/15/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
Spc. Jason R. Parsons, 24, of Lenoir, N.C...died Jan. 9 in the Zabul Province of Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle in Jaldak.

01/15/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
Spc. Joseph M. Hernandez, 24, of Hammond, Ind...died Jan. 9 in the Zabul Province of Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle in Jaldak.

01/15/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
Maj. Brian M. Mescall, 33, of Hopkinton, Mass...died Jan. 9 in the Zabul Province of Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle in Jaldak.

01/15/09 :
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Lance Cpl. Daniel R. Bennett, 23, of Clifton, Va., died Jan. 11 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force...

4227 - updated with photo

01/16/09
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty

Sgt. Marquis R. Porter, 28, of Brighton, Mass., died Jan. 11 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force...

UPDATE:

William Jackson, one of Porter’s four older siblings told the Boston Herald, “ He was a very friendly....loving person and a nice guy who did anything for anyone. His dream was to be a Marine.”

Sgt. Porter grew up in the Fidelis Way projects of Brighton, MA according to the Herald. He graduated from the private college preparatory Beaver Country Day School and joined the Marines in 1998. He had already served two tours in Iraq and in Japan at the time of his death.

He would have been 29 on January 16. (Additional information from IGTNT)

May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

Glad to see him go

Juan Cole has numerous choice words as Bush prepares to depart:

... W. was just another spoiled rich kid who refused to grow up and threw up on the shoes of the rest of us while singing the praises of brutal militarism and unrestrained capitalism.

...

W. is a frightful combination of ignorant, dull, and pigheaded when to succeed in the Middle East he needed to be well-informed, bright and intellectually agile.

Those were my stomping grounds; I knew them the way W. knows Houston. But when I objected to his policies at this little weblog, my mailbox was flooded with hate mail from people who thought W. knew best about the Middle East. As if you could get experience, knowledge and wisdom about the world from 20 years of bar hopping in Texas. Did the man even have a passport?

It is a rather wonderful, if dispiriting, tour of the Bush legacy. I believe we need to lay these word to heart.

We have the opportunity now, to choose truth over propaganda, responsibility over recklessness, compassion over brutality, altruism over self-interest, and ability over incompetence. We have the opportunity to repudiate the past 8 years, and to transcend them once and for all, to redeem ourselves as a nation.

Savor the writing by reading the whole thing here.

--the BB

One of my other long-time pet topics

No, I have not posted on FISA for quite a while, but that doesn't mean the issue has vanished. Au contraire, mes amis, where opportunity exists Bush crime will thrive - especially when we are unaware or not paying attention.

Mcjoan (yes, I am a huge fan of hers) also has a post up titled "A Case Study in 8 Years of Lying and Ignorance." She begins with a great quote from Glenn Greenwald (from whom she took the post title):

Ever since The New York Times, on December 16, 2005, first reported that President Bush ordered spying on Americans without the warrants required by FISA, the clear illegality that was unveiled -- FISA said that X was a felony and Bush admitted to doing X -- was continuously obscured by a combination of deceit on the part of Bush followers and ignorance, sloth and confusion on the part of the media.

[Emphasis in the original]

There you have it, stripped of all the obscuring verbiage. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act proscribed certain activities that George W. Bush admits doing.

Read my lips: Bush. Broke. The. Law.

What part of "Bush broke the law" seems hard to grasp?

The true believers (kool-aid drinkers) and Village pundits are working hard to say that the recent FISA Court of Review decision vindicates Bush, which is simply not true. It addressed the authority of Congress to pass certain laws that might contravene the Fourth Amendment. It did not address real or potential criminality in the White House.

So don't let the Bush apologists (whether conscious apologists or enabling twits) sell you some bill of goods. Glenn Greenwald, Mcjoan, and I are trying to whack this misconception down before it becomes received wisdom.

As Greenwald writes:

The ruling had nothing whatsoever to do with the central question at the heart of the NSA controversy: namely, whether Bush committed felonies by ordering warrantless eavesdropping in the face of a Congressional statute that explicitly made such eavesdropping a felony.

Did I mention that Bush is a self-admitted felon?

And should have been impeached.

Good.


--the BB

Get it up quickly!

This is the official White House photo of soon-to-be President Obama (courtesy of Americablog).

I am so looking forward to seeing it in the lobby at work (I am a contractor for a government agency). In my off-and-on career there (since 2005) I have had to deal with Bush's face in the lobby. Given the setting, I have managed - so far - not to scream or flip off the portrait of Bush, though mostly I avoid walking past it.

But oh, it will be sweet to see this in the lobby instead.

I hope this is one instance when government bureaucracy is swift and efficient. If I walk past a photo of Bush on January 21, I might utter something I really shouldn't.

--the BB

Finally

Something you would never hear uttered by any Bushie:

"Waterboarding is torture."

Those words were uttered by Eric Holder in his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

We've known it all along. It has always been considered torture. We tried and executed Japanese for doing it.

And we know it has been done in our name, sanctioned at the highest levels (i.e., by George Walker Bush and Richard Bruce Cheney).

Every time Dubya or Condi has said "the United States does not torture" I have wanted to scream to the high heavens, "The fuck we don't, you criminals!"

For contrast with nominee Holder, consider the confirmation hearings of Mealymouth Michael Mukasey, the current pathetic excuse for an Attorney General who could not bring himself to acknowledge that waterboarding is torture. As summarized at the NYT on All Saints' Day 2007:

Mr. Mukasey has adamantly refused to declare waterboarding, a technique that simulates drowning, illegal. In doing so, he has been steering clear of a potential legal quagmire for the Bush administration: criminal prosecution or lawsuits against Central Intelligence Agency officers who used the harsh interrogation practice and those who authorized it, legal experts say.

I hasten to underscore "those who authorized it."

Back on 21 December 2004 The New Standard had an article noting this:

Dec. 21, 2004 – Repeated references in an internal FBI email suggest that the president issued a special order to permit some of the more objectionable torture techniques used at Abu Ghraib and other US-run prison facilities around Iraq. The email was among a new batch of FBI documents revealed by civil rights advocates on Monday. Other documents describe the initiation of investigations into alleged incidents of torture and rape at detention facilities in Iraq.

The email, which was obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union, represents the first hard evidence directly connecting the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal and the White House. The author of the email, whose name is blanked out but whose title is described as "On Scene Commander -- Baghdad," contains ten explicit mentions of an "Executive Order" that the author said mandated US military personnel to engage in extraordinary interrogation tactics.

...

The specific methods mentioned in the email as having been approved by the unnamed Executive Order and witnessed by FBI agents include sleep deprivation, placing hoods over prisoners? heads, the use of loud music for sensory overload, stripping detainees naked, forcing captives to stand in so-called "stress positions," and the employment of work dogs. One of the more horrifying tools of intimidation, Army canines were used at the prison to terrorize inmates, as depicted in photos taken inside Abu Ghraib.

All that is bad enough, but waterboarding? Let's go to the horse's ... mouth:



"I asked, 'What tools are available for us to gain information from him?'"

So the Decider Guy all but says, "I authorized torture." It's really not very subtle and it sounds as though he is daring the world to do anything about it. After all, he got "legal opinions."

[There is an especially nasty ring of the Inferno reserved for Yoo and Bybee and their ilk.]

As for the results from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, David Rose reported in Vanity Fair (16 December 2008 web edition):

As for K.S.M. himself, who (as Jane Mayer writes) was waterboarded, reportedly hung for hours on end from his wrists, beaten, and subjected to other agonies for weeks, Bush said he provided “many details of other plots to kill innocent Americans.” K.S.M. was certainly knowledgeable. It would be surprising if he gave up nothing of value. But according to a former senior C.I.A. official, who read all the interrogation reports on K.S.M., “90 percent of it was total fucking bullshit.” A former Pentagon analyst adds: “K.S.M. produced no actionable intelligence. He was trying to tell us how stupid we were.”

Jonathan S. Landay wrote this for a McClatchy Newspapers article that appeared in The Olympian on 4 January 2009:

WASHINGTON—Vice President Dick Cheney has confirmed that U.S. interrogators subjected captured senior al Qaida suspects to a controversial interrogation technique called "water-boarding," which creates a sensation of drowning.

Cheney indicated that the Bush administration doesn't regard water-boarding as torture and allows the CIA to use it. "It's a no-brainer for me," Cheney said at one point in an interview.

"Good programs." "Sound decisions."

An angel of light.

By contrast, let's return to the confirmation hearing of Eric Holder:

"No one is above the law," Holder said, "and we will follow the evidence, the facts, the law, and let that take us where we should."

Mcjoan, my ever reliable source on torture updates, comments at Daily Kos:

And while that sounds promising, Holder also said he didn't want to "criminalize policy differences," which would run contrary to the pledge to follow the law, wherever it leads. After all, if waterboarding is torture and the Bush administration admits that they used waterboarding, we clearly aren't talking about mere policy differences. Time will tell.

You knew I was not going to let this topic go, no matter how infrequently I post these days.


Yes, given the opportunity I would gleefully dance on Bush's grave. Not that you doubted it. And I don't think a 2x4 upside the head is uncalled for in the case of those who have enabled this narcissistic sociopath in his reign of destruction. If you voted for him in either election and see me walking down the street with a big piece of wood, avoid me. Some are feeling charitable as he leaves office and I am not among them.

Frankly, I did not think we would get this far without attacking Iran. There are a few days left but it is highly unlikely at this point. I am very relieved to admit I was wrong.

--the BB

Wonderful news

I just got an e-mail from my friend JoAnne.

Dear Friends,

I just hung up from the chair of the search committee proclaiming by unanimous vote of the vestry an invitation to become the new rector of ____. I'm so excited and scared at the same time.... Please pray for me because I need it on all levels.

With Love,
JoAnne

With great joy let us hold her and the people before God.

JoAnne did her field ed at St Cuddy's while in seminary and became a dear friend. She is also an artist and I have a lovely painting by her of a female nude in my living room. She is a person of great heart and dedication. Her life in the church has had the challenges, heartbreak, and frustration that many vicars know - and yet she has the most resilient joy and trust in God.

May heaven open and pour every blessing upon her and the congregation with whom she will minister.
--the BB

Heart thread - 01/16/2009

David@Montreal has forwarded a prayer request for Pastor Tanzil Zafar:

LONDON (Religious Intelligence) - The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org is reporting that a young Anglican priest who was kidnapped on Friday evening by unidentified men was found badly injured near the gate of Saint John's Cathedral Church on Sunday night in Peshawar, Pakistan.

Pastor Tanzil Zafar, a 28-year-old pastor of the Church of Pakistan and father of two children, is being treated at Mission Hospital Peshawar. Munawar Rumalshah, the Anglican Bishop of Peshawar diocese, said, "He was badly traumatized and his body was swollen when we found him near the Cathedral gate."

Almighty God. we hold Tanzil before you and beseech you to uphold him and fill him with your grace, that he may know the healing power of your love. Guide and direct those who minister to him and sustain your faithful servants during times of danger and uncertainty. Amen.

Another thing that perhaps has not changed

I don't know where it came in y'all's education but you probably had some point where the school had you take all kinds of aptitude and interest tests and ran you through some exercises to explore potential vocations. For us it was in the ninth grade.

Whether I can do anything or not, I am terrific at taking most tests, so my aptitude for damn near anything seemed evident. Inclination was another matter altogether. I think I was in the 99th percentile for mechanical aptitude and I distinctly remember being in the 1st percentile for mechanical interest. In other words, 99% of the population is more interested in mechanical relationships than I am, though only 1% conceptualizes mechanical relationships more easily. The contrast could hardly be greater. I could grasp how things worked in the purely physical realm but it really did not make my juices flow. Time has mellowed this. I remain as disinterested as ever, for the most part, but I don't even track it much either.

You do not want me to repair anything in your house, your vehicle, or anywhere else. Almost all the men in my family are "handy" but I decidedly am not.

Anyway, the career I pondered as I neared my fifteenth birthday was the law. My teachers thought this was a good idea because I was constantly arguing with them and usually won. If it was about ideas and logic and persuasion, you could count me in.

I loved Latin phrases too--and still do--so I know that de minimis is NOT spelled "de minimus," no matter how it is pronounced in common parlance, and I know this because I understand it. De minimis non curat lex. The law does not concern itself with minimal matters. Or, in the vulgar tongue, "Don't waste the court's time arguing over mouse turds."

In accountancy we call that the principle of materiality. There may be minor errors in the books but we are only concerned with material errors that make a difference worth fretting about.

A couple of items came together today that led me to reflect on the vocational unit in the 9th grade.

At work someone called about making selections that included alphanumeric combinations that looked to me like legal references. When USC does not refer to the University of Southern California (ugh! Go Bruins!), it must mean the US Code. At least that was my instinct. And the instinct was right. In between answering phone calls I looked up the three codes involved, taking advantage of the Cornell University law sources online (to which I made a donation last year because I use it as a reference for this blog).

Then tonight, as I looked over the news and my posts on findings in various courts and my passion for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and the rule of law - equally and impartially applied - well, it seems that a certain passion has perdured over almost half a century. It is mostly peripheral, but it is there.

So this post is about pausing to consider one more theme in the longer trajectory of my life.

IANAL is an online acronym for "I am not a lawyer," usually prefacing an observation with this disclaimer to learned knowledge of the law and how it is, or ought to be, applied. So my ramblings here must always be taken in the light that IANAL. But as a a citizen with no legal training, I find the law - especially its larger principles - fascinating. It is a means for seeking and applying justice with some impartiality, a tool to move us from the whims of the powerful to social equity. I think that's a good thing.

Oh, and in the summer following that academic year, God shook up my world and set me on a very different path. But that is another story and this late night ramble has gone on long enough.

Sleep well, kittens.
--the BB

The US military tortured - Judge Crawford

THE official in charge of the military commission process at Guantanamo Bay has become the first senior Bush Administration figure to publicly admit that a detainee was tortured.

Judge Susan Crawford, who was in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees — beginning with Australian David Hicks — to trial, has concluded that the US military tortured a Saudi Arabian who allegedly planned to take part in the September 11, 2001, attacks.
--The Age cited in article by SilentPatriot at Crooks and Liars

This came out in an interview Bob Woodward had with Judge Crawford. It is good to see such revelations / confirmations coming out just as Bush leaves office, lest some folks forget the great evils he has perpetrated.

Mcjoan, who has followed the torture issue for a long time and often been a main source of information for me, notes that "a former military prosecutor filed a declaration in federal court yesterday in support of a petition on behalf of one of the Gitmo detainees who was just a teenager when first captured and held."

The whole sorry history of torture by the United States is incredibly tragic. It has tainted all testimony and consequent trials, trashed our international reputation, and pretty much done sod-all for security - Richard Bruce Cheney's allegations to the contrary notwithstanding. It is a grave moral failure.

Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) has indicated that although Obama may not be in a position to prosecute the crimes of the Bush regime, "...I think we in Congress have an independent responsibility, and I fully intend to discharge that responsibility." (Think Progress, cited by markthshark at Daily Kos)

We shall see what eventuates. In the meantime, if you can support Congress to hold Bush accountable, please do so.

One last time, because the thought, however vain, never ceased to delight me:



--the BB

The results of inbreeding

Twittus insularis

Glenn Greenwald penned a couple of righteous paragraphs today anent the clamor in the Village that prosecutions not take place.

The word "liberal" has undergone a remarkable transformation over the last eight years. All that has been necessary to qualify is a belief in such radical, exotic and fringe-leftist concepts as search warrants before the Government can eavesdrop on our communications; due process before the state can encage people for life; adherence to decades-old Geneva Conventions restrictions which post-World-War-II America led the way in implementing; and the need for an actual, imminent threat from another country before we bomb, invade, occupy and destroy it.

Now added to the pantheon of "liberal" dogma is the shrill, ideological belief that high government officials must abide by our laws and should be treated like any other citizen when they break them. To believe that now makes you not just a "liberal," but worse: a "liberal score-settler." Apparently, one can attain the glorious status of being a moderate, a centrist, a high-minded independent only if one believes that high political officials (and our most powerful industries, such as the telecoms) should be able to break numerous laws (i.e.: commit felonies), openly admit that they've done so, and then be immunized from all consequences. That's how our ideological spectrum is now defined.

Put me down as shrill, OK?

And don't forget to add "liberal score-settler" whenever you speak of me.

I can deal with that.

[For those new to national political discussion, "the Village" refers to the insular inside-the-Beltway world of Washington, DC, pundits whose social and intellectual lives are closely intertwined (and inbred), who consider themselves experts on all things and are frequently, and egregiously, wrong. But that doesn't matter as they agree among themselves.]
--the BB

We've got yer legacy right here

Dday reminds us (at Digby's Hullabaloo) that Bush's real legacy is the Supreme Court, then goes on to discuss how "[T]he Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that evidence obtained from an unlawful arrest based on careless record keeping by the police may be used against a criminal defendant."

Dday explains:

The case itself is noteworthy. Bernie Herring had an adversarial history with a cop in his Alabama town. His truck was impounded and he went to the sheriff's office to pick it up. The cop ran a check for outstanding warrants and found what he thought to be one, he arrested Herring. The officers detained Herring, and found a gun and traces of methamphetamines on him. Minutes later, the officers discovered that the arrest warrant was faulty. Nevertheless, he was tried for drug possession and sentenced to 27 months(!).

And the Supreme Court now has ruled that the evidence, gained through what amounts to a warrantless search, is admissable.

And reminds us:

That right-wing bloc on the Court is relatively young, incidentally. Weep not for George W. Bush. He's got a legacy. Not content just to screw us for eight years, the pain will be felt for decades.

So there's yer legacy for ya, my friends.

Just to refresh your memory on what is at stake:

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Regime change comes not a moment too soon. We're not even certain yet that it has come soon enough.

Deus, in adjuvandum nos festina!

[This post marks a recurrence of Thursday Constitution Blogging.]
--the BB

The Hidden Reasons to Straighten Myself Out

Peterson Toscano explains why he tried to go ex-gay.




h/t to Towleroad who got it from Truth Wins Out
--the BB