Do you have things on your mind other than what we are writing about today? Here's a place to vent them.

Earlier, Big Tent Democrat wrote "What Now?" describing what he will blog about here on out. He also posted (more) perspectives on sexism.

I'm glad to see TChris is back with his informative posts on continuing injustices.

The message if there is one: We will all survive. I plan to use Obama's promise of change to make specific requests on how to bring it about. I'm not a party activist. I'm an advocate for causes I believe in. I am going to support Barack Obama, but I'll be nudging him along every step of the way to do more. No free passes for anyone.

I'll be back tonight.

Comments now closed.

While most of us will file this under "old news," this story nonetheless reminds us of one of the many important issues at stake when it comes time to vote in November: how long the misguided mission in Iraq will be allowed to continue.

In a report long delayed by partisan squabbling, the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday accused President Bush and Vice President Cheney of taking the country to war in Iraq by exaggerating evidence of links between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda in the emotional aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Here's the report (pdf).

1st Lt. Andrew Grayson was acquitted yesterday by a military juy on charges he covered up information from the Haditha killings.

He was accused of telling a sergeant to delete photographs of the dead from a digital camera and laptop computer.

Grayson, of Springboro, Ohio, was acquitted of two counts of making false official statements, two counts of trying to fraudulently separate from service and one count of attempt to deceive by making false statements. He would have faced as many as 20 years in prison if convicted of all counts.

Grayson was the first to go to trial. Other trials will follow. [More...]

Robert Smith, the district attorney of Hinds County, Mississippi, dismisses concerns that the death penalty is disproportionately imposed on nonwhite offenders. His evidence?

"I've visited Parchman [a maximum security prison]. It was when I was with the public defenders office and we toured death row, and I saw a lot of white guys," he said.

Well, if he saw "a lot of white guys," the system must be fair, right? Apparently he didn't notice the black guys.

Of the 64 inmates on death row now, 32 are black, 31 are white and one is Asian, according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections' Web site.

The actual evidence that the death penalty disproportionately burdens nonwhite offenders contradicts the conclusions drawn by the DA after his stroll through death row. Smith's insistence that the death penalty is an effective crime deterrent is similarly based on perception rather than facts. (more ...)

Are states finally starting to understand that our flawed criminal justice system makes it too easy to convict the innocent? This post yesterday noted the formation of a task force in New York to study the causes of wrongful convictions in that state. There's more good news today, this time from Texas:

In reaction to the growing number of exonerations across the state, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals announced Wednesday that it is creating a Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit to investigate and address weaknesses in the criminal justice system.

Texas has a particularly bad history of convicting the innocent, as the court recognized:

John Cole of Balloon Juice is a a fervent Obama supporter. One of the most fervent in my estimation.

He writes a post today that is interesting in terms of its Rashomon-like quality about things political. But most importantly to me, it also is telling evidence of the malign acceptance of sexism and misogyny that pervades our society. John writes:

At his arraignment today, Khalid Sheik Mohammed sang in court, praised Allah and said he welcomed the death penalty so he would be a martyr.

He has rejected his attorneys and says he wants to represent himself.

My shield is Allah most high," he said, adding that his religion forbade him from accepting a lawyer from the United States and that he wanted to act as his own attorney .

Shades of Zacarias Moussaoui, who having been tried in federal court, is now serving life at Supermax. Moussaoui has a chance to appeal. If Mohammed stays on this course, he'll be dead. [Update below]

Alleged "9/11 Mastermind" Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is being arraigned today at Guantanamo. The ACLU is on scene and will be reporting.

The ACLU has committed $15 million to a joint project with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to provide adequate representation to Mohammed and other Gitmo detainees facing unfair trials under the Military Commissions Act.

Trial by military commission permit convictions based on secret evidence, hearsay, and evidence derived from torture – including waterboarding, a technique the government admits was used on Mohammed. [More...]

In an act of supreme self absorption, I will and, for myself only, not for Talk Left, answer the following question:

I wanted you to be one of the first to know: on Saturday, I will hold an event in Washington D.C. to thank everyone who has supported my campaign. Over the course of the last 16 months, I have been privileged and touched to witness the incredible dedication and sacrifice of so many people working for our campaign. Every minute you put into helping us win, every dollar you gave to keep up the fight meant more to me than I can ever possibly tell you.

On Saturday, I will extend my congratulations to Senator Obama and my support for his candidacy. This has been a long and hard-fought campaign, but as I have always said, my differences with Senator Obama are small compared to the differences we have with Senator McCain and the Republicans.

MORE . . .

Here's an open thread for you.

We got a new script implemented today that automatically closes threads at 200 comments.

Our servers cannot handle more than that, particularly when we have 10,000 page views an hour and everyone is refreshing the thread to see the latest ones.

All topics are welcome, with the exception we posted the other night. If you want to smear a candidate with anticipated right-wing attacks, you will have to do it elsewhere.

Comments closed

Unlike Big Tent Democrat, I don't care about a joint ticket with Obama and Hillary. As I said this morning, if Hillary wants it, I think he should offer it to her. If she doesn't, she certainly should not feel obligated to take it just so she brings him more votes.

That said, here are three reasons I think Obama will not offer it to her regardless of what she wants. I don't agree with a single one but I'lll raise them for your reactions:

1. Both racism and sexism are very much alive in this country. He fears there are too many voters who who would never vote for a woman and another set who wouldn't vote for an African-American candidate. He wants time to conduct polling and if the polling shows his campaign would suffer by giving both groups a reason to leave the Democratic party, he won't choose Hillary. [More...]