Road Trip: Democratic National Convention Edition
emptywheel sets off for the Convention and to see Lake Superior and Mt. Rushmore along the way.
Maher Arar Gets A(nother) Day in Court
The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has decided to rehear Maher Arar's lawsuit against the government for sending him to Syria to be tortured.
Shorter WaPo: The Anthrax Case Sux
The FBI's explanation for when and how Bruce Ivins drove to Princeton to mail the anthrax continues to "evolve"--and even still, they can't come up with evidence that puts him in NJ.
Did Karl Rove Chat to Saakashvili about South Ossetia Too?
The White House has started to panic over a July 9 meeting between Condi Rice and Mikheil Saakashvili, desperate to suggest they didn't encourage Georgia's crack-down in South Ossetia. Given that panic, I wonder whether Karl Rove had any similar chats with Saakashvili when they were in Yalta together just days later?
No One Could Have Predicted, Republic of Georgia, the Follow-Up
Surprise! Condi Rice is now claiming "no one could have predicted" Georgia would incite the Russians. Surprise! Journalists still treat the claim credibly.
Once Again, the Federal Government Uses Valerie to Screw Joe
That the Appeals Court threw out the Wilsons' suit is not surprising. That the logic in Sentelle's opinion is so crappy and ignorant is. It basically argues that because Valerie Wilson has no recourse to the Privacy Act wrt Cheney and Libby and Rove, those thugs can violated Joe Wilson's First and Fifth Amendment rights too!
Hard Qweschins: What the TradMedia Will Never Ask McCain, But Should
So what questions would you like to see McCain asked, though it'll never happen?
I Hate to Say I Told You So...
The Bush Administration has known well how to avoid punishment for Hatch Act violations: simply to have those who commit those violations to quit. Therefore, it should be no surprise that Mukasey has announced Goodling and her friends will avoid any charges for their violations.
"No One Could Have Predicted," Republic of Georgia Edition
Was the Administration really surprised by the Georgian incitement of Russia in South Ossetia? Or were they more surprised that Russia didn't fulfill an apparent agreement about their inevitable response?
Okay, the Cookies Were Stupid and Silly, But Plagiarizing Your Foreign Policy Too?
For the third time this campaign season, McCain has gotten caught stealing his campaign materials. This time, though, the source was particularly pathetic: McCain stole content for his speech on Georgia from Wikipedia.
John Yoo: "It Sucks to Have Judges Protecting the Constitution"
John Yoo claims the Supreme Court has never before protected the Constitution.
The Fight against Poverty Was a Lie, Too
Shortly before John Edwards confessed that he risked all the Democrats' hopes for a Democratic president next year, he shut down his anti-poverty program.
Bush's Cover-Up
Murray Waas predicts that, after the two pending IG reports on politicization of DOJ come out, it'll increasingly appear that Bush is invoking executive privilege to cover up the White House involvement in that politicization. That may be right--but I doubt that's going to create the legislative firestorm that Murray predicts.
Habbush's Freedom Fries Forgeries
Ron Suskind writes about a letter created with the help of Tahir Jalil Habbush Al-Tikriti in The Way of the World. He doesn't mention, though, that the US seems to have planted two more letters from him.
Kill Game: The Path Of Destruction From The Amerithrax Investigation
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bmaz"Have you no sense of decency, ... at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?" These prophetic words were spoken on June 9, 1954 by Joseph Welch, attorney for the United States Army, at the nadir of the shameful McCarthy hearings. George Bush, being a failure as a student of history, and Dick Cheney simply disdainful of it, our government has deigned to repeat history by persecuting, oppressing and causing the death of people, many of them innocents, common citizens and bystanders, all over the globe. Was Bruce Ivins yet another one of them?
Google Maps Says Maybe, Maybe Not
The WaPo reveals that Bruce Ivins' supposed window in which he could have mailed the anthrax from Princeton was just barely long enough for him to have done so. That revelation offers more questions than it answers.
Release Ivins' Lie Detector Test
Apparently, Bruce Ivins passed a lie detector test in 2001. I realize people can sometimes game those tests. But we're talking about an emotional instable guy.
If the Questions Are So "Novel" Then How Can You Argue the Privilege Exists?!?!?
Fred Fielding, with a straight face, admits that he and the White House were just making shit up when they invented "absolute immunity."
Cheney and Your 3 Ounce Shampoo Bottles
Suskind provides details of how Bush and Cheney ordered up a torture scare just in time for elections. And as a result, you're still surviving off of hotel shampoo when you travel.
Your Expensive Commute Has Gone To Line Maliki's Pocket
Henry Waxman comes up with a stat that will definitely put the financial cost of the Iraq war in concrete terms.