How the Mighty Are Falling

Jason Miller wrote this incredible piece for C&L today:

Somebody tell Karl Rove to drop the applause sign. The minions he manipulates are cheering for an America that does not exist. That abstract concept of America, and its embodiment of liberties and human rights, is a fiction. Norman Rockwell's portrayal of America was an idealistic perversion of a landscape, which for many, has been littered with oppression, bigotry, greed, torture and even murder. Goya's brutal painting "Duel with Cudgels" comes closer to capturing the essence of the underlying mean-spiritedness of that is very much a component of this nation.

Bush, his Neocons, and the obscenely wealthy Oligarchs, who finance Republicans and Democrats alike, embody the face of America which is seldom portrayed by our flag-waving mainstream media. Yes, there is a dark, brutish aspect to this self-proclaimed beacon of freedom and liberty, and I am going to delve into it. Read on if you dare to take an introspective look at the darker aspects of our national identity....please read on

Maybe this sinking feeling in my gut would go away if anyone in the Obama administration bothered to explain the specifics of why they believe indefinite detention is necessary. How can you be so sure someone is too dangerous to release, and yet not have enough evidence to prosecute them?

The Obama administration, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, is drafting an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely, according to three senior government officials with knowledge of White House deliberations.

Such an order would embrace claims by former president George W. Bush that certain people can be detained without trial for long periods under the laws of war. Obama advisers are concerned that bypassing Congress could place the president on weaker footing before the courts and anger key supporters, the officials said.

After months of internal debate over how to close the facility in Cuba, White House officials are increasingly worried that reaching quick agreement with Congress on a new detention system may be impossible. Several officials said there is concern in the White House that the administration may not be able to close the facility by the president's January deadline.

White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said there is no executive order and that the administration has not decided whether to issue one. But one administration official suggested that the White House was already trying to build support.

"Civil liberties groups have encouraged the administration, that if a prolonged detention system were to be sought, to do it through executive order," the official said. Such an order could be rescinded and would not block later efforts to write legislation, but civil liberties groups generally oppose long-term detention, arguing that detainees should be prosecuted or released.

Big Tent Democrat and Glenn Greenwald reactions here.

KAKE.com: (h/t J)

No criminal charges will be filed in the death of a Goodyear worker, who passed away after being tased by Shawnee County Sheriff's deputies.

Shawnee County District Attorney Robert Hecht released his report Tuesday on the March 29th death of 59-year old Walter Haake. The report says Haake had suffered a head injury in a fall at his home the night before his death. It says Haake had been incoherent at work and fellow workers tried to deter him from driving when he left the plant. Shawnee County Sheriff's Deputies were called in when Haake refused to get out of his vehicle.

"Mre Haake physcially resisted removal, leaving the officers in the position of simply leaving him in the vehicle and letting the medical condition play out or using such force as may be required to remove him," Hecht wrote in the report.

The deputies chose to remove Haake by tazing him, then restraining him. The coroner ruled that an existing heart condition, combined with the compression to his chest when he was placed on the ground to be handcuffed, led to his death. Read on...

We posted this story back in April, and it appears the tragedy has gotten even worse. Haake was guilty of being injured and refusing treatment -- nothing more. That no charges will be filed against these officers is a travesty of justice and its a slap in the face of his poor family. This man's civil liberties were obliterated and I hope his family files a civil lawsuit. This case deserves national attention, as it sets a very dangerous example.

Prairie Weather: It's all about timing

The Smirking Chimp: Lobby This, John Sidney: Another McCain aide out over Myanmar ties.

Tomgram: The defining moment for climate change

Cranky Cindy Changes the World: Helen Thomas is my hero.

The Poor Man Institute: The Amazing League of Pundits!

The Opinion Mill's Bookchat: George F. Will refutes himself while trying to refute Rick Perlstein's Nixonland. How a government attempt to silence a wartime dissident created an uproar -- and sparked the American Civil Liberties Union. How to explain Dick Cheney to your children.

Sen. Larry "I am not gay, I have never been gay" Craig's legal team has opted for a new tactic, given that their initial attempt to have Craig's guilty plea withdrawn was essentially laughed out of court. Now they are opting to try to invoke something that Republicans haven't seemed too concerned about in the last few years: constitutionality.

MN Star-Tribune: Sen. Larry Craig will argue before an appeals court that Minnesota's disorderly conduct law is unconstitutional as it applies to his conviction in a bathroom sex sting, according to a new court filing.

This is the first time Craig's attorneys have raised that issue. However, an earlier friend-of-the-court filing by the American Civil Liberties Union argued that Craig's foot-tapping and hand gesture under a stall divider at the Minneapolis airport are protected by the First Amendment.

Funny thing about that Free Speech argument, you never know who is going to use it...like maybe a man who described a rather crude and fumbling assignation with Craig twenty years ago, culminating in Craig taking out a twenty dollar bill and saying

‘Remember, I can buy and sell your ass ten thousand times over. You were never here. Don't try to come back here. You don't know me.'

Charming to the last, Larry.

Reuters Via Yahoo:

A U.S. soldier who said his Christian beliefs compelled him to love his enemies, not kill them, has been granted conscientious objector status and honorably discharged, a civil liberties group said on Tuesday.

Capt. Peter Brown -- who served in Iraq for more than a year and was a graduate of the elite U.S. Military academy West Point -- said in a statement issued by the New York Civil Liberties Union that he was relieved the Army had recognized his beliefs made it impossible for him to serve.

"In following Jesus' example, I could not have fired my weapon at another human being, even if he were shooting at me," said Brown, who plans to continue seminary classes he began by correspondence while in Iraq. Read more...

This story hasn't gotten a lot of attention, but I believe it will pave the way for many other soldiers who object to the tragedy in Iraq to get out. This sets an interesting precedent. If other soldiers choose to follow suit in big numbers, it could mean serious trouble for President Bush and an Army already failing to meet recruiting goals.

Oh that slippery slope of civil liberties lost just got a little steeper.

The phrase doesn't make any sense, and it wasn't supposed to. 18 year old high school senior Joseph Frederick unfurled the 14 foot banner on a public sidewalk across the street from the high school during a non-school event. High school administrator Deborah Morse confiscated the banner and suspended Frederick for "advocating drug use" evidently in view of other high school students.

And yesterday, the Supreme Court backed her up and said that Frederick's right to free speech did not include reasonably interpreted discussion of drug use in a high school setting.

As was the other decisions that came down yesterday, the Court was divided 5-4 with the conservative gang of Roberts, Alito, Scalia, Thomas and Kennedy in the majority. What's more interesting is the opinions of the minority and they attest to a court that doesn't even agree with what they are entrusted:

"The message on Frederick's banner is cryptic," Chief Justice John Roberts said. But the school principal who suspended him "thought the banner would be interpreted by those viewing it as promoting illegal drug use, and that interpretation is plainly a reasonable one," Roberts said in the majority opinion.[..]

In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens said the ruling "does serious violence to the First Amendment."[..]

Former independent counsel Ken Starr, whose law firm represented the school principal, called it a narrow ruling that "should not be read more broadly."[..]

Justice Stephen Breyer said the court should not have decided the First Amendment issue, but should have simply held that Frederick's claim for monetary damages because school officials have qualified immunity in carrying out their duties.

You know that there's a problem when a Justice openly asks, "Why are we even hearing this case?"

ACLU:

The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal lawsuit against Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., a subsidiary of Boeing Company, on behalf of three victims of the United States government's unlawful "extraordinary rendition" program. The lawsuit charges that Jeppesen knowingly provided direct flight services to the CIA that enabled the clandestine transportation of Binyam Mohamed, Abou Elkassim Britel and Ahmed Agiza to secret overseas locations where they were subjected to torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

In addition to filing this lawsuit on behalf of these three--two of whom remain imprisoned--the ACLU has also filed a petition for Supreme Court review of the Khaled El-Masri. You think the Roberts court will agree to hear it?

Last night Keith interviewed Lanny Davis, the only Democratic member of the president’s civil liberties watchdog board, who recently resigned after the Bush administration made “substantial” edits to the board’s annual report to Congress.

Download | play Download | play

John Amato: What was he expecting? Did he think being ole Lieberman's pal would make the WH act in a different way on our civil liberties? And of course---he sticks up for the President and blames Congress.

Remember the incredibly bigoted and hate-filled on air statements of "Gunny Bob" Newman?

Progress Now has compiled a list of Newman's advertisers so that you may express your distaste for his advocation of stripping away civil liberties from US citizens on the basis of their ethnic/religious background. Or you can sign their "Don't Pay For Hate" petition. For those of you ready to cry "censorship", let's be clear: No one is stopping him from saying what he wants to say, but he should be prepared to deal with the consequences of that kind of speech too. NO ONE is entitled to use public airwaves to perpetuate hate and bigotry.

Full information available from BudMan's diary at Daily Kos. As he reminds you, nasty-grams are far less persuasive than polite letters.