In wake of the 6 year sentence imposed on Australian David Hicks by a military tribunal jury last week, lawyers for "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh are seeking a reduction of his 20 year sentence.

"It is a question of proportionality. It is a question of fairness, and it is a question of the religious experience John Walker Lindh had," attorney James Brosnahan said. "And it was not in any way directed at the United States."

Lindh is seeking a commutation from President Bush. Fat chance it will be granted. In 2004, he sought a commutation arguing he shouldn't be treated more harshly than Yaser Hamdi, who served three years. As I said at the time he was sentenced, he didn't deserve 20 years. It was a trophy sentence for the Ashcroft Justice Department. I still don't see what crime he committed against the United States.

Dick Cheney is scheduled to be the commencement speaker at Brigham Young University in Utah. Brigham Young Democrats had received permission to conduct a three hour protest Wednesday. Only, they were not allowed to speak. The university limited their protest to sitting on the sidewalk and carrying signs.

The protest, attended by hundreds of students, proceeded more or less one would expect, until the end.

NPR left. The local TV news cameras left. The newspaper reporters packed their things and left. And the only people around to document anything were students and our film crew. Our cameras kept rolling to witness what happened next.

As soon as 1:00 hit and the time for free speech expired, after an impromptu performance of the Star Spangled Banner by the BYU Democrats, men from BYU dressed in suits and sunglasses with Secret Service-style earpieces roughly rounded up all of the signage and banners. "You'll be able to use it all again. We're just going to keep it for you. So you don't carry it around campus, we'll take it to a safe place until the next designated protest."

It was like Daddy deciding that the kids had had enough play time and was taking their toys away.

Who knew free speech has a time limit -- or that it prohibits speaking?

Paul Wolfowitz, President Bush's former Deputy Secretary of Defense, is now President of the World Bank. Murray Waas reports a scandal is brewing over whether his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, was promoted in contravention of bank guidelines and given a raise to more than double the amount the bank's rules allowed.

Bank regulations disallow bank employees from supervising spouses or romantic partners, but Wolfowitz reportedly attempted to circumvent the rules so he would be able to continue to work with Riza. Informed by the bank's ethics officers that that would not be allowable, the problem appeared solved when Riza was detailed to work at the State Department's public diplomacy office in September 2005--even though her salary was still to be paid by the World Bank.

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The 15 captured British sailors are in flight back to Britain.

Mr Ahmadinejad said no concessions had been made by the British government to secure the releases, but that Britain had pledged "that the incident would not be repeated".

Later, television pictures showed the president smiling, chatting and shaking hands with the crew at his palace in Tehran. An unidentified crew member said: "I'd like to say that myself and my whole team are very grateful for your forgiveness. I'd like to thank yourself and the Iranian people... Thank you very much, sir."

Was there a prisoner swap?

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Congrats to Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, one of TalkLeft's legal heroes, for winning re-election Tuesday with 84% of the vote. Oscar is one popular mayor. I hope he runs for Governor next time around.

Oscar Goodman, a former mob lawyer and self-proclaimed "happiest mayor in the world," breezed to a third term as mayor of Las Vegas. The Democrat won 84 percent of Tuesday's vote with all precincts reporting, easily avoiding a June run-off. His nearest competitor had just 2,170 votes to Goodman's 26,845.

"I just pity anybody who gets in my way," Goodman joked.

For issuing this apology

He murdered my first language.

Amnesty International released a new report today, "USA: Cruel and Inhuman -- Conditions of Isolation for Detainees in Guantanamo Bay."

More than 80% of the 385 detainees are held in isolation, "a reversal of earlier moves to ease conditions and allow more socializing among detainee." While some detainees are held in solitary confinement at Camp Echo and Camp 5, conditions are worst at Camp 6, which opened in December.

Detainees are reportedly confined for 22 hours a day to individual, enclosed, steel cells where they are almost completely cut off from human contact. The cells have no windows to the outside or access to natural light or fresh air. No activities are provided, and detainees are subjected to 24- hour lighting and constant observation by guards through the narrow windows in the cell doors. They exercise alone in a high-walled yard where little sunlight filters through; detainees are often only offered exercise at night and may not see daylight for days at a time.

Many of these detainees have been held for more than five years without charges.

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Our imperial president is up to his usual tricks.

President Bush today made three controversial recess appointments, bypassing the need for Senate confirmation.

The president used recess appointments to install Sam Fox, a major Republican donor from Missouri, to be ambassador to Belgium; Andrew G. Biggs of New York to be deputy commissioner of Social Security, and Susan E. Dudley of Virginia to be administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the office of Management and Budget.

One, Sam Fox, was a financier of the Swift Boat circus against John Kerry. The Administration had withdrawn his nomination in March.

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I just received a copy of "The Italian Letter: How the Bush Administration Used a Fake Letter to Build the Case for the War in Iraq" by investigative journalists Peter Eisner and Knut Royce. I'm really looking forward to reading it.

The book traces the history of the forged letter that listed the sale of 500 tons of uranium from Niger to Iraq. It also explains how the letter played a critical role in the trial of Scooter Libby.

Among the books findings:

• A simple google search by the CIA on the "verbatim text" of the accord it received from the Italian Embassy on Feb. 5, 2002 could have changed history. The text is full of errors including incorrect names and dates. Had the CIA done a simple information search, the hoax would have been discovered and died then and there.

• There's another Scooter Libby story, and it's one that says Libby took the fall for Karl Rove. The authors also say Rove floated the idea to conservative supporters of dropping Dick Cheney from the 2004 ticket. Cheney found out and was far from pleased.

• Cheney had been told many times by intelligence operatives over a period of years there was no evidence of an Iraqi nuclear program or operational ties between Iraq and al-Qaeda.

Co-Author Peter Eisner discussed the book online at the Washington Post yesterday.

Digby cited to some real insight on the Bush calculus on the Iraq supplemental funding bill from Gene Lyons and then added some of the special Digby insight. It got me to thinking, and hopefully adding some insights of my own. But first, Gene Lyons:

Here’s a puzzle: If President Bush really thinks he’s holding all the cards in his impending showdown with congressional Democrats over Iraq funding, why bother with a veto ? On previous occasions when Congress passed laws Bush found irksome, he’s quietly issued “signing statements” declaring in essence that the president is a law unto himself. . . . Two somewhat paradoxical reasons. First, the stakes are too high, because everybody’s watching. Bush may be commander-in-chief, but the United States isn’t yet a military dictatorship. Second, some Republicans have convinced themselves they’ve got the Democrats where they want them.

The first is the right answer. Too many people have become convinced that Bush can do anything and get away with it. Only if Dems LET him. Look at Gonzogate The second I think is not true. I do not believe there isa Republican in the United States that does not believe Bush is leading them towards an unprecedented electoral disaster in 2008. I think Lyons is wrong on 2. Then why will the GOP not jump off of Bush's political kamikaze mission? I'll tell you why I think they aren't on the flip.

True Majority, a group begun by Ben and Jerry's ice cream, is offering a free year's worth of ice cream to the reader who accurately predicts the date and time Alberto Gonzales will step down as Attorney General.

Gonzales is now in DC, having canceled a family vacation, to be prepped for his testimony,before a Senate panel on April 17.

A lot of money collected by Obama:

Sen. Barack Obama raised at least $25 million dollars during the first quarter for his presidential campaign, a total surprisingly close to the $26 million collected by his chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. . . . Obama raised $6.9 million—more than a quarter of his total—over the Internet from more than 50,000 online donors, the Illinois Democrat's campaign said from Chicago this morning. Overall, Obama received contributions from more than 100,000 individuals, his campaign said.

The question is this for me - Obama, the political rock star, raised alot of money. Obama the wishy washy pol, the one we have seen on Iraq, will he remain as popular? Will he raise as much money? We'll see.