What A Surprise; The Activists On The Supreme Court Are The Anti-Activism Rightists

Will surprises — and the lying hypocrisy of the Right — never end….

Not yet it hasn’t.

The truth is in the facts.

This Makes Me Laugh

I always get a laff out of “Goofus and Gallant” parodies! Including this one.

President McCain: What A Wanker!

Two from Joe Conason: 1 2.

Today’s Reading

Seven years after al-Qaeda’s attacks on America, as the Bush administration slips into history, it is clear that what began on September 11, 2001, as a battle for America’s security became, and continues to be, a battle for the country’s soul.

In looking back, one of the most remarkable features of this struggle is that almost from the start, and at almost every turn along the way, the Bush administration was warned that whatever the short-term benefits of its extralegal approach to fighting terrorism, it would have tragically destructive long-term consequences both for the rule of law and America’s interests in the world. These warnings came not just from political opponents, but also from experienced allies, including the British Intelligence Service, the experts in the traditionally conservative military and the FBI, and, perhaps most surprisingly, from a series of loyal Republican lawyers inside the administration itself. The number of patriotic critics inside the administration and out who threw themselves into trying to head off what they saw as a terrible departure from America’s ideals, often at an enormous price to their own careers, is both humbling and reassuring.

Instead of heeding this well-intentioned dissent, however, the Bush administration invoked the fear flowing from the attacks on September 11 to institute a policy of deliberate cruelty that would have been unthinkable on September 10. President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and a small handful of trusted advisers sought and obtained dubious legal opinions enabling them to circumvent American laws and traditions. In the name of protecting national security, the executive branch sanctioned coerced confessions, extrajudicial detention, and other violations of individuals’ liberties that had been prohibited since the country’s founding. They turned the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel into a political instrument, which they used to expand their own executive power at the expense of long-standing checks and balances.

When warned that these policies were unlawful and counterproductive, they ignored the experts and made decisions outside of ordinary bureaucratic channels, and often outside of the public’s view. Rather than risking the possibility of congressional opposition, they classified vital interpretations of law as top secret. No one knows to this day how many more secret opinions the Bush Justice Department has produced. Far from tempering these policies over time, they marginalized and penalized those who challenged their idées fixes. Because the subject matter was shrouded in claims of national security, however, much of the internal dissent remained hidden.

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Really, Why He Can Win

 

What if he is?

I believe President McCain will be elected by scoring enough hearts. He will get enough people to go with their hearts and short circuit their minds. I mean, you have to be a true believer or Christofascist or really, really stupid to actually agree with his flip-flopping crap and not think he’s an utter idiot unfit to lead America and, to a lesser extent, the world.

But, despite all the media and partisan bashing, I’m not so sure O isn’t actually doing the same thing. I do believe there’s a big silent segment of voters or potential voters off Big Media’s radar screen that are ready to go for O big time.

Time will tell….

American Justice

Raw Story presents a story of judicial fairness:

The judge overseeing the criminal cases for the remaining Jena Six defendants was removed against his will Friday for making questionable remarks about the teenagers, theAssociated Press reported.

Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr. had acknowledged calling the teens “trouble makers” and “a violent bunch” but insisted he could be impartial. Defense attorneys disagreed and asked that he be removed.

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Freedom In Retreat; Your Leaders Destroy America

Federal agents may take a traveler’s laptop or other electronic device to an off-site location for an unspecified period of time without any suspicion of wrongdoing, as part of border search policies the Department of Homeland Security recently disclosed.

Also, officials may share copies of the laptop’s contents with other agencies and private entities for language translation, data decryption or other reasons, according to the policies, dated July 16 and issued by two DHS agencies, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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The Blind Artist

His story and more.

Little Nemo

I love “Little Nemo”. Winsor McCay gives a demo of how he did it….

Free Classic Movie!

Freaks!