Probable Cause
I can't say I'm surprised by this news--that some courts are approving government use of cell phone GPS data without first requiring the government to demonstrate probable cause.
Federal officials are routinely asking courts to order cellphonecompanies to furnish real-time tracking data so they can pinpoint thewhereabouts of drug traffickers, fugitives and other criminal suspects,according to judges and industry lawyers.
In some cases, judges have granted the requests without requiringthe government to demonstrate
Thanksgiving Football Trashtalk Thread
Say, did you know that the last time the Detroit Lions won on Thanksgiving Day, they beat the Packers?
And if you want to answer the absurd quiz, click through to NFL.com, which apparently needs to have four entries for all of its quizzes. How else to explain the presence of Kitna who, though he has moments of inspiration, is not in the same league as the other guys, particularly not Manning
Stop Making Scottie McC Rich!!
Cannonfire is right. People have gotten way too excited over this Scottie McC "revelation." I'd advise you all to look closely at what John Dean had to say about the flap on Olbermann:
Dean: Well, there's very little that's specific in this. I actuallythought about calling the publisher today. He's a very ablepublisher--Peter Osnos, Public Affairs, good journalist.
Rove Is Rejected By Time
For the record, I heartily approve of both of Newsweek's recent pundit hires--Rove and Markos. After all, news outlets dump a lot of money to pay pundits whose predictions turn out to be wrong year after year. So why not hire two guys who at least have contributed historic innovations to elections--the guys who execute campaigns, rather than talk about doing so?
Radioactive DHS
There is not one but two articles in the WaPo today suggesting DHS' massive corruption is impeding its efforts to get protective scanners in place at our ports and border. The first article explains that implementation of the big radiation detectors designated for the borders will be delayed, again.
For more than a year, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoffand others have told Congress that the costly next-generation machineswould sharply improve the
GOP Offer Healthcare to All Those without Pre-Existing Conditions
According to the LAT, the GOP presidential candidates have come up with a brilliant way of offering insurance to the uninsured: leave out those with pre-existing conditions, including people with medical histories just like the candidates' themselves.
When Rudolph W. Giuliani was diagnosed with prostate cancer in thespring of 2000, one thing he did not have to worry about was a lack ofmedical insurance.
Today, the former New York mayor joins two other
Hey Senators! What About Immunity for Former Qwest Officials
As I pointed out in this post, the Senate Intelligence Committee used a remarkable argument to justify giving the telecoms immunity in their FISA bill. Basically, it argued the telecoms could neither prove or disprove whether they were entitled to immunity according to existing statutes, because the mean old Bush Administration had invoked State Secrets.
Scottie
As several folks have pointed out to me, Scottie McC is getting chatty:
The most powerful leader in the world hadcalled upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility helost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So Istood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare ofthe klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publiclyexonerated two of
Fieger Makes Allegations about Arkansas
I admit--I'm getting sucked into the Geoffrey Fieger case. I will have more to say, but the short version is this:
The government alleges that Fieger and his partner got employees from their law firm to donate to John Edwards in his 2004 election. And then, the government further alleges, they reimbursed those people.
Will Luis Posada Face Justice?
Back in May, a judge dismissed immigration charges against Cuban terrorist Luis Posada Carriles, arguing he had been tricked in the interview that led to his indictment. At the time, it looked like BushCo threw the case, not wanting to convict one of their favored terrorists.
But now, two of his associates have pled guilty to charges of obstruction of justice in connection with his case.
Two associates of Cuban exile Luis
No, Pakistan Was the Last Big Test. And We Failed It.
"Serious Person" Michael O'Hanlon and escalation surge architect Fred Kagan end their op-ed with the following words.
There was a time when volatility in places like Pakistan was mostly ahumanitarian worry; today it is as much a threat to our basic securityas Soviet tanks once were. We must be militarily and diplomaticallyprepared to keep ourselves safe in such a world.
Paulose Resigns
I think it's great that Rachel Paulose has resigned (h/t JF)
Rachel Paulose, the embattled U.S. attorney for Minnesota, will beleaving the post to take a position at the Justice Department inWashington, according to a Bush administration official and acongressional aide.
According to a news release sent by thedepartment of justice, Paulose has accepted a position as Counselor tothe Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy at the Department ofJustice in Washington, D.C.
Kafka Would Be Proud
The BoGlo reports what we already know--many of the people at Gitmo who have been determined to not be a threat in status review hearings remain in Gitmo. And, at the same time, some people who have been released to their home country have not undergone review hearings.
About a quarter of detainees who were cleared to leave GuantanamoBay prison after hearings in 2005 and 2006 remain in custody, raisingquestions among inmates
Fran Townsend Resigns
News via TP. Actually, you should click through and read the AP report, which is stark in its brevity (at least as of 8:49 today). I think they had to use a soft return to get the announcement long enough to take up two lines.
Which suggests it's not clear WTF to think of this.
What Are Newspapers Best For?
As you no doubt know, I appeared on a panel in Boston called "No News Is Bad News" over the weekend. It was a fascinating conference, with journalistic heroes like John Carroll and Anthony Shadid. Just as exciting, I got to meet phred, Selise, BlueStateRedHead, and others. And my own personal favorite--from my panel, at least--came when someone asked me what I would have done to prevent the Lewinsky scandal (and
Oil Bucks
I'm a determined skeptic about broadcast "accidents." But for the life of me, I can't understand the precise goal of allowing a discussion about not discussing the falling dollar at the OPEC summit to be caught on tape. Here's the Financial Times' version of events--which depicts it as disagreement about the underlying issue.
Immunity May Be Dead Anyway
As you've no doubt heard, yesterday Pat Leahy pulled some superb parliamentary maneuvers to ensure that the SJC version of the FISA amendment came out of committee without immunity for telecoms. He basically just severed the part which permits the wiretapping from the part that gives immunity. Voila!
Unfortunately, it still seems likely that Harry Reid will let the SSCI bill--the one we don't like--come to the floor of the Senate.
Shall, Part Two?
Back in June, I pointed out that, in case of disputes over the EO guiding classification, the head of the Information Security Oversight Office can ask the Attorney General to rule on the dispute.
This morning, when I read the famous Executive Order that Cheney claims to have exempted himself from, I noticed a key paragraph:
The Attorney General, upon request by the head of an agency or the Director of the Information
Boston: No News Is Bad News
Just a reminder that I'm headed for Boston for what promises to be an interesting conference. Here's the description:
No News Is Bad News
A freeand independent press is essential for democracy. The press has aresponsibility to inform citizens about both the policies and theactions of the government and about credible challenges to thosepolicies and actions, to report on conditions that may require new ordifferent government initiatives, and to raise timely questions
More on the FBI's Own Falafel
There's a bit of a squabble over how important Nada Nadim Prouty, the FBI/CIA agent who got unauthorized access to Hezbollah information at the CIA, was to the agency. Via Laura, NBC reports that she was very important.
Current and former intelligence officials tellNBC News that Nada Nadim Prouty had a much bigger role than officialsat the FBI and CIA first acknowledged.