Trash Talk: Phred's Hubcap for a Steal!!
Phred skipped town and forgot to take the hubcap she won last week, so you all have a chance to winning it off of her while she's not looking. (She did, however, leave her picks behind--going with the home teams--so you still all have her picks, if not her trash, to contend with.)
Before we get to the Conference Championship games, though, I have to send my apologies to masaccio for stealing
Hints That the FISCR Plaintiff Is an Email Provider
The plaintiff in the FISCR opinion is almost certainly an email provider.
BushCo: You Can't Have Scooter's and Turdblossom's Emails...
The Bush Administration is refusing to follow the order of the Circuit Court to look for Scooter Libby's and Karl Rove's emails before they leave town.
FISA + EO 12333 + [redacted] procedures = No Fourth Amendment
The recent FISCR opinion makes it clear that the government is not relying exclusively on PAA (or, presumably now, FISA) to wiretap Americans. Rather, it is using several measures kluged together to get around the 4th Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable search and seizure.
The Government Sez: We Don't Have a Database of All Your Communication
The government says they don't have a database of all their communications. But there's lots of reason to disbelieve them.
BushCo Drops All Charges against Andy Card's Cousin
BushCo just dropped all charges against Andy Card's cousin, whom they accused of being a spy for Saddam and/or crazy. And with the dropped charges, they may have succeeded in suppressing very embarrassing information from coming to light.
Turley Speaks Out On The Bush "Policy Of Crime"
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bmazBarack Obama and his new administration need to prosecute the malefactors in the outgoing Bush Administration for the crimes and crimes against humanity they perpetrated while in office; to set an example so it doesn't happen again. Tonight on on MSNBC's Countdown, Professor Jonathan Turley mad a passionate plea for accountability. Must see teevee.
Blagojevich's Lawyers Don't Do Impeachment
In what is almost certainly a stunt designed to hold up Blago's impeachment, his defense attorneys are refusing to represent him during the impeachment trial.
Citi, Morgan Stanley, Not Paying Their Taxes
Add one more thing to the "no one could have imagined" file: The GAO reports that Citigroup and Morgan Stanley have been sneaking their money off shore so as to avoid paying taxes.
The new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, released today by Sens. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Carl M.
Coming Soon: The O'Bama Heritage Center
The Irish, never missing an opportunity to capitalize on American tourist nostalgia, are turning the homesite of Obama's Irish ancestors into a tourist site.
This Miracle Brought to You by America's Unions
They're calling the successful rescue yesterday of 155 passengers aboard a US Airways jet a miracle. And that miracle was brought to you by union men and women.
Holder Nomination Hearing, Part Two
Sorry. Started a little late. I think Lindsey Graham is beating up on Holder because he once worked for Blago, but that's just a guess.
Magistrate Judge Calls "Bull" on WaPo's Gloss--Calls for More E-Mails
The WaPo presented a very credulous view of the status of lost emails in a story many of you have emailed to me--suggesting that "all" of the lost White House emails have been found. A Missing White House E-Mails Traced, Justice Aide Says
A Justice Department lawyer told a federal judge yesterday that the Bush administration will meet its legal requirement to transfer e-mails to the National Archives after spending more than
FISA Appeals Court Opinion
I'll get to these later. But if you want to start reading them, be my guest.
Opinion
Order
Eric Holder Hearing Open Thread
This should be the only really contentious one. Go to CSPAN3 or the Committee Webcast to see it.
Note, in a bit of timing jujitsu, Biden and Hillary are giving their farewell speeches on the floor of the Senate at 10 and 11, meaning CSPAN2 will be covering those speeches and not this hearing, meaning (in turn) that this hearing won't be available to most Americans watching on teevee.
The US Torture Regime - Where Is The Swift Justice?
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bmazEarlier, Marcy and Spencer wrote about the somewhat startling admission today by Susan Crawford that the United States tortured Mohammed al-Qahtani. Sounds like an admission against interest; I wonder when the war crimes trials will be starting?
An Appropriate Detroit Welcome for Bob Corker
Bob Corker came to Detroit today to suck up some more press attention.
The Inventory of Blagojevich Wiretaps
All told, we now know of at least seven taps and bugs that were used to monitor Rod Blagojevich in the weeks leading up to his arrest.
More Archiving Headaches for the Poor Bush Administration
This time, with a judge telling them to go look again for those missing White House emails.
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia today granted the National Security Archive’s emergency motion for an extended preservation order to protect missing White House e-mails. With the transition from the Bush Administration to the Obama Administration taking place in six days, and all the records of the Bush