Microbiologist Gerry Andrews points to additional weaknesses in the publicly disclosed evidence against Bruce Ivins:

Dr. Ivins, for instance, was asked to analyze the anthrax envelope that was sent to Mr. Daschle’s office on Oct. 9, 2001. When his team analyzed the powder, they found it to be a startlingly refined weapons-grade anthrax spore preparation, the likes of which had never been seen before by personnel at Fort Detrick. It is extremely improbable that this type of preparation could ever have been produced at Fort Detrick, certainly not of the grade and quality found in that envelope.

Does the FBI have a credible theory to explain where and how Ivins weaponized the anthrax? Could he have done it on his own? Some scientists think not. [more ...]

Couldn't resist. Here's John Edward's birth chart. And yes, I used to be one too, although I was always taught it's the wise man who rules his stars and the fool who obeys them.

Here's an open thread for you, all topics welcome.

As TChris wrote last night, retired Georgia Judge Hilton Fuller, who once presided over the death penalty trial of accused Atlanta courthouse shooter Brian Nichols, spoke at an American Bar Association conference yesterday and said the prosecution in that case was responsible for driving the costs up.

The Nichols trial should be used to shine a light on how the prosecution's case affects the cost of an adequate defense in death penalty cases, Fuller told an American Bar Association panel on capital cases.

''There's a relationship between what the prosecution spends and what the defense needs,'' Fuller said.

More...

With each new detail, the John Edwards-Rielle Hunter saga continues to raise more questions than it answers.

First, there's Newsweek reporter Jonathan Darman's new article about his relationship and many meetings with Rielle Hunter. She's very new age -- astrology, auras, energy fields, etc. He was covering Edwards in Iowa in 2006 when he met Rielle and they stayed in touch and met several times. Very strange story.

Then, there's the real mystery man in all this: Bob McGovern. He's the guy who separately drove both Rielle and Edwards to the Beverly Hilton for their meet-up. Edwards told Nightline that McGovern was the one who called him that afternoon and asked for the meeting. Edwards also told Nightline that he only agreed to the meeting if McGovern would be there too.

Edwards' never said how he knew Bob McGovern. So who is Bob McGovern? Apparently, a new age healer from Santa Barbara. [More...]

Prosecutorial overkill is a factor in the high cost of death penalty trials, a point made by retired Superior Court Judge Hilton Fuller, commenting upon the upcoming death penalty trial of Brian Nichols, the defendant in the Atlanta courthouse killings.

Prosecutors presented a 54-count indictment, including four murders, for crimes that took place at 13 separate crime scenes, and they identified 487 witnesses, Fuller said.

As Fuller pointed out, prosecutors could prove their case with ten witnesses. So whose fault is it that defense attorneys needed to interview 474 unnecessary witnesses to defend their client? Fuller suspended the trial when defense funds were cut off, and was later removed from the case. Unsurprisingly, the State of Georgia learned exactly the wrong lesson from the $1.8 million bill submitted by the defense:

State lawmakers approved new measures this year to ban senior judges such as Fuller — who do not face re-election — from hearing death penalty cases. They also tightened the public defender system's budget.

These are the costs of being labeled a suspect, or, almost as bad, a person of interest by the FBI:

When Perry Mikesell, a microbiologist in Ohio, came under suspicion as the anthrax attacker, he began drinking heavily, family members say, and soon died. After a doctor in New York drew the interest of the F.B.I., his marriage fell apart and his practice suffered, his lawyer says. And after two Pakistani brothers in Pennsylvania were briefly under scrutiny, they eventually had to leave the country to find work.

Not to mention Steven Hatfill. Maybe Bruce Ivins had something to do with the mailing of anthrax, although the lack of evidence that he was in Princeton when the letters were mailed is a glaring hole in the FBI's theory. [more ...]

Are you watching the Olympics? What events impressed you the most?

If you're not watching and want to talk about the news or what you had for dinner, that's fine too.

This is an open thread.

The Democratic Party Platform Committee agreed on a platform for the Convention. It comes closer to Hillary Clinton's view of health insurance than Sen. Barack Obama's but it does not mandate insurance coverage at government expense. The final version reads:

All Americans should have coverage they can afford; employers should have incentives to provide coverage to their workers; insurers and providers should ensure high quality affordable care; and the government should ensure that health insurance is affordable and provides meaningful coverage. As affordable coverage is made available, individuals should purchase health insurance and take steps to lead healthy lives.

On criminal justice, it's a bit disappointing. While it stresses prevention and drug treatment, including more drug courts, there's a lot of emphasis on more cops and nothing criticizing mandatory minimum sentences. See pages 48 and 49 (pdf).

[More...]

Rielle Hunter's ex-husband is a lawyer who is also the son of former Boulder District Attorney Alex Hunter, infamous for his handling or mishandling, depending on your view, of the JonBenet Ramsey murder. Rielle Hunter and Alexander "Kip" Munro Hunter III were married for 10 years.

Here's more on Fred Baron, the Dallas lawyer and former John Edwards campaign chief who provided relocation funds (his own, not the campaign's) to Hunter and Andrew Young to relocate.

Hunter also was the inspiration for the Alison Poole party-girl character in Jay McInerney's book, Story of My Life. More on Hunter here.

The New York Times tries to figure out why politicians go on TV to do mea culpas.

Narcissism doesn’t lead politicians to believe that they can have an affair and get away with it. It leads them to believe that they can go on television and dispel it.

More...

Starting today, entries from George Orwell's diaries (annotated by Orwell scholar Peter Davison) will be posted online. The first entry, from August 9, 1938, is a brief description of Orwell's encounter with a snake. Future entries promise to be more enlightening:

What impression of Orwell will emerge? From his domestic diaries (which start on 9th August), it may be a largely unknown Orwell, whose great curiosity is focused on plants, animals, woodwork, and – above all – how many eggs his chickens have laid. From his political diaries (from 7th September), it may be the Orwell whose political observations and critical thinking have enthralled and inspired generations since his death in 1950. Whether writing about the Spanish Civil War or sloe gin, geraniums or Germany, Orwell’s perceptive eye and rebellion against the ‘gramophone mind’ he so despised are obvious.

The City of St. Paul is installing 45 new cameras to monitor the area around the Xcel Energy Center during the Republican National Convention.

The $2 million system is funded with money from the Department of Justice to the Republican Convention. All of the cameras will stay in St. Paul after convention visitors leave, though some of them will be moved to other parts of downtown.

The good news is that feeds from the cameras will be streamed over the internet so that the public can see what Big Brother is seeing. While the cameras are supposed to help the police keep an eye on protesters, the video streams will help the public keep an eye on the police. Protesters have learned the value of video.

Protesters have trained at least 70 people to carry camcorders, too. "It's very important that we have evidence showing police misconduct if it does happen," said Rachael Bengston, a lawyer with the National Lawyers Guild. She said a group of legal observers will log the video and keep it in case of any legal action.

It seems clear that the quality of life is improving for Baltimore residents, and that Mayor Sheila Dixon shares responsibility for that happy development.

Baltimore's murder rate is down 37% so far this year, compared with the same period in 2007. Many credit Ms. Dixon, who brought in a new police commissioner and directed the force to shift focus to the most-violent repeat offenders and away from petty crimes. The mayor has launched a program to combat homelessness, imposed a smoking ban and formulated a plan to use a land bank to acquire vacant properties and return them to use.

It's less clear whether Dixon violated any laws as a member of the city council before she became mayor. A federal investigation ended without an indictment, and the City's Board of Ethics cleared her of misconduct allegations. That hasn't stopped Republican state prosecutor Robert Rohrbaugh from continuing an investigation he started in 2006. Is this another example of Republicans targeting Democrats for political purposes? [more ...]