Picking and Choosing Which Journalistic Outlets to Treat as Journalistic Outlets
Tuesday, Philip Shenon reported that Wikileaks wanted the Defense Department's help reviewing the next batch of documents it will release for names that should be redacted.
Julian Assange wants the Pentagon’s help.
His secretive WikiLeaks…
Will DOD Ban Itself for Publishing Joshua Claus' Name?
Carol Rosenberg tweets:
Just got formal notice: Pentagon publicly naming Interrogator No. 1 who testified remotely to #Guantanamo as ex-Army Sgt. Joshua Claus
Army Maj. Bradsher read me a Pentagon policy statement that said Claus' "own actions"…
BREAKING NEWS: Court Overturns Prop 8; Joy For Marriage Equality
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bmazThe decision from Judge Vaughn Walker is in and the hatred and discrimination of California's Proposition 8 has been overturned and declared unconstitutional.
Canadian Judge: Omar Khadr's Brother Was Illegally Held and Interrogated
Omar Khadr is set to go on trial starting Monday, August 9.
Today, his brother went free in Canada.
A judge ruled that he could not be extradited to the US because the confessions on which his extradition request was based had been collected…
Prop 8: Fighting about the Stay Already
You know how the Defendant-Intervenors submitted a premature request for a stay in the Prop 8 case yesterday?
Well, the plaintiffs have now asked Judge Walker not to issue a stay without giving plaintiffs a time to weigh in.
Dear Chief Judge…
Holding Up Intelligence Reform, Clapping to Administration Demands
So after a last minute dance with three Republican holds, James Clapper is poised to be confirmed as Director of National Intelligence. As I noted before, this means someone most Senators either have or have had concerns about will be approved…
Expect a Win for Plaintiffs and Marriage Equality in Perry Prop8 Case
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bmazFrom a knowledge of court procedure, and the fact that Defendant Intervenors have already lodged a Motion For Stay Pending Appeal, it is quite clear that Judge Walker's opinion will be a victory for gay marriage and a loss to the Proposition 8 H8ters. Proposition 8 is going to be held to be unconstitutional.
Perry v. Schwarzenegger Prop 8 Decision Tomorrow
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bmazPerry v. Schwarzenegger Prop 8 Decision will be issued by Judge Vaughn Walker tomorrow
Is the Government Using OFAC to Prevent Due Process?
The ACLU and CCR just had a conference call to talk about their suit challenging the licensing scheme the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control uses to prevent lawyers from representing those on OFAC's designated terrorist list.…
ACLU, CCR Sue to Protect Anwar al-Awlaki's Right to a Lawyer
Some weeks ago, the ACLU and Center for Constitutional Rights had planned to sue the government on behalf of Anwar al-Awlaki's father. But in remarkable bit of timing, the government designated Awlaki a specially designated terrorist, meaning…
Dick Cheney's Chief Apologist Advocates Kidnapping Leakers
This is a rather stunning suggestion coming from the chief apologist for the guy who ordered Valerie Plame's identity to be exposed.
The United States should make clear that it will not tolerate any country -- and particularly NATO allies…
The "Maverick" Is Back!
That guy who used to use parliamentary maneuvers to be an out-and-out shit and get a lot of credibility for being a "Maverick"? He's back.
Sen. John McCain might delay confirmation of President Obama's next national intelligence director, a…
Adam Schiff Advocates Gutting Miranda
Adam Schiff--a CA Democrat (!)--just filed a bill aiming to not only give prosecutors 4 days to question "terror suspects" before bringing them to court, but also expressing the will of Congress to let them delay Mirandizing suspects "as long…
A Smart Obama Immigration Policy In The Face Of Political Cowardice
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bmazA refreshing immigration proposal from the Obama Administration.
Blago Goes Quietly Into The Night
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bmazDespite all the noise and antics in the months leading up to his criminal trial, Rod Blagojevich has gone quietly into the night and put on no defense whatsoever.
SSCI Unanimously Approves Nominee They Don't Like
As expected, SSCI just approved James Clapper's nomination to be DNI. Surprisingly, though, there were no dissenters. Not Russ Feingold, with his worries about transparency on DOD covert ops. Not Tom Coburn, who was concerned about the timing…
Jay Rockefeller's Surveillance Machines
I don't mean to be churlish. After all, Jay Rockefeller tried to conduct some kind of oversight over Bush's illegal wiretap program. He even went so far as to write out by hand a letter to Dick Cheney telling him the wiretap program sounded…
Obama Administration Wants to Make Domestic Surveillance Power Grab
The White House wants to add just four words to the law that empowers the government to collect information on you w/o a warrant. But it would represent a huge expansion of the what the government could (legally) collect on you.
The administration…
James Clapper Hedges on Providing Ongoing Updates on Special Ops Activities (and Other Disconcerting Answers)
As Josh Rogin and Marc Ambinder note, James Clapper is scheduled to get a vote tomorrow in the Senate Intelligence Committee on his nomination to be Director of National Intelligence. Ambinder reports that Kit Bond is most dissatisfied with…