Mitt Romney Names Two Torture Lawyers to "Justice Advisory Committee"
The headline news about Mitt Romney's new advisory committee of 63 lawyers is that Robert Bork is co-chairing it.
But even more troubling is that he has named two of the lawyers that okayed torture--Steven Bradbury and Tim Flanigan--to it.
Bradbury,…
The "Pivot to Jobs" Will Be an Attempt to Sell Trade Deals
A number of liberals are sitting around today puzzling through the deal that just happened yesterday. And one thing they're asking is, "how will Obama pivot to jobs?" One of the many lame excuses the White House has offered for the urgency…
Shock Doctrine International
In the middle of the debt ceiling debate yesterday, Naomi Klein tweeted a link to this article, describing how the sovereign debt crisis in Europe is eroding democratic and labor rights.
The economic, and democratic, crisis in Europe raises…
Links, 8/1/11
Our dying economy
Hendrik Hertzberg catches Louie Gohmert stealing Leon Trotsky's dustbin.
HSBC is closing a bunch of branches in the US, apparently having decided the US is not longer the land of opportunity for profit.
Yves Smith…
Is Mark Warner the Designated Social Security Killer?
The propaganda the Administration has put out to spin the debt capitulation as a win--"victory!" "bipartisan!" "compromise!"--would be amusing if the deal weren't so dangerous. In addition to all the language claiming that cutting expenditures…
Yet More Proof Big Business Is Unamerican
The WaPo notes with some curiosity that the business community did almost nothing to get the debt ceiling passed. It's a remarkable story: perhaps unintentionally noting that while our banana republic status was being confirmed, the Chamber…
The Unstated Constitutional Problems With Obama "Using the 14th"
As about everyone knows by now, the great debate is still ongoing on the issue of the debt ceiling. The frustration of those on the left with the intransigence of the Republican Tea Party, coupled with the neutered Democratic Congress, has led…
Grijalva: We Just Got Thrown Under the Bus
My biggest complain about this statement from Raúl Grijalva is that he doesn't say who threw Democrats and the people they champion under the bus: President Obama.
That said, his comments about the crossroads facing the Democratic Party…
Third Cave's a Charm
Kudos to Ezra for admitting he was dead wrong last year when imagining the Republicans might allow a deal that would let Bush tax cuts lapse.
A year ago, I was less concerned about the Bush tax cuts. I assumed, as did many in Washington, that…
Richard Ben-Veniste Calls out Obama for Spiking the Privacy Board
I just watched a scintillating panel at the Aspen Security Forum. It featured former LAPD Chief Bill Bratton, Alberto Gonzales, ACLU's Anthony Romero, John Yoo, and David Cole, moderated by Dahlia Lithwick.
The panel itself was notable…
F1 Hungarian Grand Prix and The Return of Football Trash!!!
Well, you knew sooner or later the Masters of the Football Universe (MOTFUs) would prove their superiority to the mental midgets in Congress and get the deal done so as to not cook the golden goose. For once, Daniel Snyder is looking better…
Links, 07/29/11
bmaz is working on trash. Here's a highlight of what I'll be talking about.
Justice and Injustice
Two developments in the Thomas Drake case. First, Josh Gerstein has posted the excerpt from the transcript where Judge Richard Bennett…
FBI Doesn't Consider Amerithrax among Its WMD "Highlights"
The FBI's WMD Center turned 5 on Tuesday and to celebrate, DOJ has released an interview with Dr. Vahid Majidi. (Part One, Part Two)
The interview is not all that interesting. I'm much more interested in the list of WMD cases Majidi offers…
Addington's Useful Idiots
KagroX, who just got named one of Politico's top tweeters yesterday, just asked this question:
Has there ever been a populist movement cheering for default & austerity?
We've seen default situations around the world, and austerity programs…
Links, 7/28/11
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Here's Melissa Harris-Perry talking about the Pew study on net worth from the other day.
Our Dying Economy
Nicholas Shaxson (the author of Treasure Islands) has…
The Solution to this and the Next Economic Crisis
I long meant to do a piece looking at how the Japanese earthquake exposed the problems with our current supply chain. Matt Stoller has taken what happened after the earthquake as an opportunity to reflect on the possibility of systemic failure…
Goldman's Latest Scam: Turning Empty Space into Riches
Who knew that Detroit was so commodity-rich it was ruining entire segments of industry?
Only, I presume Detroit gets little to none of the fortune Goldman is making by hoarding aluminum in warehouses in the city, thereby driving the price…
Links, 7/27/11
Apparently, the ducks that live in the Grand River think we should "Give peace a chance." McCaffrey the MilleniaLab and I saw this on our walk this morning.
Justice and Injustice
All my complaints that DOJ won't indict banksters? Well,…
DOJ's Twisted Notion of Rule of Law Is Poisoning Our Country
Yesterday, Tim DeChristopher was sentenced to 2 years and a $10,000 fine for his successful efforts to expose an improper BLM drilling auction.
At his hearing, DeChristopher rebutted the prosecution's claim that he needed to face a tough…
Four Mobs: Yet More Bizarre Thinking Behind Administration's Transnational Crime Program
Robert Chesney took a look at the Executive Order associated with the Administration's roll-out of its Transnational Crime Organization program yesterday, which basically blocks the property of a group considered to be a TCO (note, in some places…