Even though the trial judge, a conservative, called the 55 year sentence of Weldon Angelos excessive, the Supreme Court let it stand today.

Angelos' crime? Carrying a handgun during three 8 oz. marijuana sales.

The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a mandatory 55-year prison sentence, condemned as excessive by the federal judge who imposed it, for a man convicted of carrying a handgun during three marijuana deals.

It didn't matter than he never brandished or used the gun.

Record producer Weldon Angelos received the minimum sentence under the law - a harsher sentence than a child rapist or a terrorist who detonates a bomb aboard an aircraft would receive, according to his attorneys. The justices, without comment, left the prison term undisturbed.

Sal Magluta, the last of the cocaine cowboys, was resentenced Thursday to 195 years in a federal prison. There will be an appeal.

I think The Sal Magluta - Willie Falcon case is one of the most fascinating cocaine cases in South Florida's history. I have been following the case since it was first brought ten years ago, through the trials, appeals and ancillary actions.

He was acquitted of the most serious charges against him, ordering murders of prospective witnesses. His conviction for bribing a juror in his first trial was later overturned on appeal. Thus, his only convictions were for non-violent money laundering crimes, each of which carry a 20 year sentence. The judge stacked the sentences.

Bloggers are weighing in on the torment of Jose Padilla.

Digby:

I know that all the tough guys on the right will say that Padilla is just being a typical whining malcontent but I have a feeling that most of them would crumble into blubbering babies after five minutes in his position. This treatment is extremely inhumane. They basically blinded, deafened and then isolated him, essentially destroying his mind. There is no reason on earth to put those goggles and earphones on him to go to the dentist in the prison in South Carolina except to keep him from ever feeling like a normal human being, part of the natural world. It's sick.

John Bolton has resigned. Even he knew the votes weren't there.

Lawyers for alleged "dirty bomber" and Bush-declared enemy combatant Jose Padilla have filed a new salvo in his Miami federal court terror case with new details of the torment and physical deprivation to which he was subjected during his three years in the South Carolina military brig.

Here's how he got taken to the dentist for a root canal:

Several guards in camouflage and riot gear approached cell No. 103. They unlocked a rectangular panel at the bottom of the door and Mr. Padilla’s bare feet slid through, eerily disembodied. As one guard held down a foot with his black boot, the others shackled Mr. Padilla’s legs. Next, his hands emerged through another hole to be manacled.

Wordlessly, the guards, pushing into the cell, chained Mr. Padilla’s cuffed hands to a metal belt. Briefly, his expressionless eyes met the camera before he lowered his head submissively in expectation of what came next: noise-blocking headphones over his ears and blacked-out goggles over his eyes. Then the guards, whose faces were hidden behind plastic visors, marched their masked, clanking prisoner down the hall to his root canal.

The point:

This article previews legislation, in addition to a minimum wage increase, that might be expected to make its way to the president's desk soon after Democrats take control of Congress. The list includes:

• Easing restrictions on travel to Cuba.
• Ending tax breaks for companies that set up offshore.
• Creation of a housing trust fund.
• Providing for the inspection of cargo and increased transportation security.

President Bush might play obstructionist with his veto pen, but that problem disappears in two years.

Community activists in Houston are demanding a review of police use of tasers. Why? The numbers.

Nearly two-thirds of those shocked with the high-voltage weapons over the last two years were black.

By the numbers:

• 23% of Houston's residents are African-American
• 50% of arrestees are African-American
• 620 of the 982 suspects tasered since 2004 were African American

More taser stats here.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitutional reported Sunday in the SWAT shooting case Police recording reveals urgency after shooting. The press finally got the tapes after an open records request.  The officers appear concerned for themselves and not for the elderly person they shoot during the drug raid.

Donald Rumsfeld said our strategy in Iraq isn't working. He's gone, but Stephen Hadley said Sunday Bush will consider his suggestions, as well as those from the Iraq Study Group which are due on Wednesday.

The Wall St. Journal now reports(free link) that many senior Pentagon officials are at the opposite end of the spectrum -- saying more troops and more money is the only way to win in Iraq.

Outside the military, most of the debate is focused on a U.S. troop withdrawal. But inside the Pentagon, the recent dismissal of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has given some new life to arguments by military officers who say the U.S. must pour more troops and money into the country to expand the Iraqi army -- the one institution in Iraq that has shown some promise -- and stabilize the capital.

Hillary Clinton has begun discussions with New York Democratic leaders about running for President in 2008.

I think she will run. She remains a favorite in early polling, but will it last?

I think a Hillary/Obama ticket would be a formidable one. Who else can you think of as a vice-presidential candidate for Hillary?

Also today, Evan Bayh of Indiana announced an exploratory committee to decide whether he will run for President. The Wall St. Journal has more on Hillary and Bayh.

Update: The New York Times reports on the Obama complication. And Arianna is not impressed by the Times coverage.

It doesn't surprise me that Hugo Chavez won by a big margin in Venezuela.

With 78 percent of voting stations reporting, Chavez had 61 percent to 38 percent for challenger Rosales, said Tibisay Lucena, head of the country's elections council. Chavez had nearly 6 million votes versus 3.7 million for Rosales, according to the partial tally.

Turnout among the 15.9 million eligible voters was 62 percent, according to an official bulletin of results, making Chavez's lead insurmountable.

Here's more on Chavez and his promises for his next administration.

I know we're headed into a 1 week lame duck session of Congress, but this lame duck of a bill is just a stupid time waster.

The House has scheduled a vote on [NJ Rep. Christopher H.]Smith's fetal-pain bill, which, among other things, would require abortion providers to inform patients of the controversial assertion that the procedure may cause pain. Providers would also have to offer anesthesia for the fetus, which the patient would have to accept or reject in writing.

But GOP leaders put the measure on the fast track to passage, which means it will need the vote of two-thirds of the House. Even if the bill wins that much support, it will go nowhere in the Senate, Republicans concede.

Sen. Arlen Specter is still trying to pass a warrantless wiretapping bill. Happily, that looks like a no-go as well.

This is interesting: