When Political Activism Gets Treated as Potential Terrorism
PA's Department of Homeland Security has employed an entity called the Institute for Terrorism Research and Response to monitor the web traffic of anti-drilling activists in that state. The effort was purportedly started to fulfill national…
As the White House Dithers on Warren, 525,000 Homes Have Been Foreclosed On
TPM captures the current state of play of the rumors that the White House will appoint Elizabeth Warren as interim head of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau:
Reports coming in that President Obama will name Elizabeth Warren as…
Eight Months after Putting Anwar al-Awlaki on Kill List, DOJ Considers Charges
Back in January, Dana Priest first revealed that Anwar al-Awlaki was on a JSOC kill list and was being considered for a CIA kill list. Now, eight months later, DOJ is considering charging him.
The Obama administration is considering filing…
Speaking of that Beacon of Hope in Iraq
Mark Hosenball first reported this back in July, then linked back to that report last week. But given yesterday's post on our what we've accomplished in Iraq, I thought it worth noting that the most inflammatory material in the next big Wikileaks…
What Bush and Ashcroft Meant By "If al-Qaida Is Calling"
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bmazTurns out “If al-qaida is calling” really meant a tragic game show of “Dialing for Detainees” and taking crank calls from batty old landladies. Based on this atrocious “evidence” human beings were detained without due process, beaten and abused. Right here in the “Homeland”. The new definition of “security”.
That Beacon of Hope We've Created in Iraq
As we discuss whether to abandon rule of law in Afghanistan under General Petraeus, we'd do well to consider how the war Petraeus "won" in Iraq turned out:
On a dull December day in 2009, Rabiha al Qassab, a 63-year-old Iraqi refugee living…
"The law enforcement approach ... mucks up our strategic interests."
I've been tracking the debate within the Administration over whether we should tolerate corruption in Afghanistan in the name of sustaining a war against someone--anyone--in Afghanistan or not for some weeks. Underlying the entire debate is…
A Way Towards The Rule of Law – An Answer to Cap’n Jack
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MaryJustice, what do you care about justice. You don’t even care whether you’ve got the right men or not. All you know is you’ve lost something and someone’s got to be punished. The Ox-Bow Incident.
Nine years after September 11 and eight…
Trash Talk: Big Blue v. Golden Domers, Other Football & F1
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bmazOkay, as promised, here is the real Trash Talk for the weekend. college and pro football, tennis and Formula One; what more could you ask for?
With Kagan On SCOTUS, We Are Still Down A Justice
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bmazWith the long anticipated retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens, it was important for President Obama to appoint and get confirmed a new justice so there would not only be a full compliment of justices on the court, but to insure the ideological…
Cap'n Jack's Crackerjack Logic!
Here's where Jack Goldsmith's op-ed, purporting to offer a solution to the Gitmo problem, breaks down (see Spencer's take on it here).
Civilian trials for terrorists have also proven difficult. They gathered disfavor when Attorney General…
Erik Prince's Long Form Graymail
Remember that Vanity Fair tell all in which Erik Prince offered new details about Blackwater ops? Though Michael Hayden has suggested Prince made up some of the details, it seemed to be a form of graymail targeted at those who approved Blackwater…
It's Geezer Time! The NFL Season Takes Flight Tonight
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bmazTake out yer false teeth mama, it is time for the hitting to begin again; it's the season opener in the NFL, Saints and Vikings!
Pakistan Promises to Arrest Three "Very Bad Boys" Tied to Times Square Bombing
Last week, the US put the Tehrek-i-Taliban Pakistan on its official terrorist lists and charged its leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, with something that was almost certainly not a crime. Oddly, though, DOJ did not charge Mehsud which actions they…
The Telenovelas Beat the Crappy Reruns
Almost a year ago, Obama offended DC's chattering class for appearing on Univision's Sunday show, Al Punto, but not appearing on Fox News Sunday. But as I noted at the time, Al Punto is actually a more popular show than Fox's Sunday swill.
And,…
Ceci Connolly Cashes In
Who knew the world of journalism had the same kind of revolving door as government does? But apparently, if you build a reporting beat entirely around portraying the views of top corporate representatives as the only views that count, and if…
Our Banana Republic
In 2002, I taught the Argentine film La hora de los hornos (it was a media and narrative class--I wasn't just proselytizing radical leftist ideology). The second most famous scene from the movie starts at 3:14, but it is very disturbing.
I…
9th Circuit: The Government Can Kidnap and Torture You and Then Hide It Under State Secrets
This--a decision in the Jeppesen Dataplan suit upholding the government's invocation of state secrets--is really bad news.
This case requires us to address the difficult balance the state secrets doctrine strikes between fundamental principles…
National Cathedral Thinks "Fuck the UAW" and "Fucking R****ds" Will Heal National Discourse
Faiz Shakir tweeted this:
Our national discourse is becoming increasingly shrill. We are faced with complex economic, social, and foreign policy questions that need a safe atmosphere in which to explore solutions that will work for the long…
Scooter Libby: "Back in 2003 There Was More That Might Have Been Done"
Someone decided now was a good time to roll out Scooter Libby to complain about stolen elections and Iranian nukes. The whole thing was basically an unmitigated blowjob -- thanks Monica Crowley!
Crowley: I know that you had been working…
