David Safavian, a Bush administration official who enjoyed golfing with Jack Abramoff in Scotland on Abramoff's dime, will be taking an 18 month break from the links. In June, Safavian was convicted of making false statements to government agents and of obstructing the Abramoff investigation. At yesterday's sentencing, Judge Paul Friedman vented his frustration with the culture of corruption in Washington, but resisted the government's pitch for a three year sentence.

The 18-month sentence fell halfway between the defense's recommendation that he serve between zero and 12 months, and a Justice Department recommendation for 30 to 37 months.

The government wanted Judge Friedman to enhance Safavian's sentence for perjury it believes he committed during his trial. Judge Friedman made a generous finding that Safavian might actually have believed his false testimony to be true, saving Safavian from a longer sentence. Safavian's refusal to acknowledge wrongdoing convinced the judge that Safavian deserved a short stint in federal custody.

A good ad from Lamont

Dozens of prison inmates helped fight two fires in Napa Valley this week. One of them suffered respiratory problems as the result of his heroic work. California inmates are also helping firefighters battle a raging fire in Riverside County.

Work release programs (common in jails, less so in prisons) are a useful way to help prisoners remain integrated with society, and inmates who are typically bored out of their minds might relish any opportunity to avoid the mundane life that prisons offer. It's tempting to wonder whether California allows inmates to do this dangerous work because it attaches little value to their lives, but it's reassuring to know that the inmates at least receive training in firefighting before they're put to work.

California's motivation for the program appears to be related less to rehabilitation than to a shortage of California firefighters. Given the overcrowding in California's prisons, the state should consider an early release program for inmate firefighters who prove their value to society -- and communities should commit to hiring them after their release.

George Allen and his campaign hit men this week chose to again attack Jim Webb and his military experiences, this time by taking passages from Webb's novels to try to suggest that the explicit war time experiences Webb writes about are demeaning and repugnant.

I like the fighting instinct but I think Jarding and Saunders miss the negative branding opportunity. James Carville does not:

[B]ook burning is not the greatest tactic in American politics in 2006. And I think it's going to draw attention to the fact that Webb is one of the most decorated veterans of the Vietnam War, and Allen sat it out.

. . . Webb has got some pretty good answers. I'm saying to the Webb people, get out in front of this. Go take every interview you can. Challenge Allen to debate your record. Challenge to debate whether or not literature should be censored. Say: You know what? When I do vote on a Supreme Court justice, I'm going vote on somebody that allows people to write about the horrors of war, without the fear of -- of censorship.

Yesterday, NPR's "Morning Edition" took a non-celebratory look at the twentieth anniversary of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 -- the law that responded to mindless fear about crack cocaine by creating harsh mandatory minimum sentences for crack, and by irrationally designating crack as 100 times more evil than powder cocaine (i.e., a gram of crack gets the same sentence as 100 grams of powder). The story (about four minutes of listening time) quotes Eric Sterling, who helped write the law for the House Judiciary Committee, and who now speaks out (pdf) against the unfair sentences that the law compels.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission wants Congress to fix the crack-powder sentencing disparity (pdf). Even conservative Senator Jeff Sessions wants to implement a partial reform. The ACLU weighs in with this comprehensive report (pdf).

You got to give this National Review guy the chutzpah award:

Stop it Chris Matthews. You and people who share your weird, racial paranoia are poisoning the national debate and hurting the country.

Hahahahaha. The Rich Lowry Loves Race Baiting Magazine can actually print that. Hilarious.

I'm on the road until Monday and will be blogging sporadically. Here's an open thread to keep you going.

Here's Scribe's diary on the Scooter Libby hearing yesterday concerning Libby's proposed memory expert.

700 miles of fence will be built along the Mexican border. President Bush signed the legislation Thursday. But that's not all:

The new law also provides for more vehicle barriers, checkpoints and advanced technology to bolster border security. A previously enacted domestic security spending bill provides $1.2 billion for the fence and the accompanying technology.

A mere $1.2 billion. Republicans must think money grows on trees. Hopefully, the American public will teach them it doesn't on November 7.

The border fence will not keep out the undocumented.

Omaha....somewhere in middle America.
Starts at 1:27 in.

That's where I'll be until Monday afternoon. Mostly at the jail, but I'll try to get some blogging in.

Of course, Sheryl Gaye Stolberg is too lousy a reporter to notice but President Bush ripped the NJ Court for agreeing with him on gay unions:

Yesterday in New Jersey, we had another activist court issue a ruling that raises doubts about the institution of marriage,” Mr. Bush said at a luncheon at the Iowa State Fairgrounds that raised $400,000 for Mr. Lamberti.

Except the NJ court adopted the view Bush espoused in 2004:

President Bush said in an interview this past weekend that he disagreed with the Republican Party platform opposing civil unions of same-sex couples and that the matter should be left up to the states."

The Paranoid Style and the Politics of Hate remain the GOP staple, Bush's prior statements notwithstanding. Despicable.

John Cole has some choice words for, believe it or not, a friend of mine from Red State:

[S]ince Leon wants to lecture me about making Republicans honest, how about he start with Red State? How about a few less front page posts to videos in which you pose as a question whether or not Harold Ford’s called someone a cracker? Sure, he didn’t really call anyone a cracker- but the truth isn’t really what matters at Red State. Winning is what matters, because, as they will tell you any time you listen- the Democrats are worse. Or how bout some more defenses of Rush Limbaugh attacking Michael J. Fox? Watch the video- he was just asking legitimate questions, right? Or how ‘bout some more links to videos of a talking fetus- pretending that is same thing as an embryonic stem cell would fall under honesty, right?

I am a partisan too in case you have not noticed. But like Cole, I like to think I can keep my integrity at the same time. Witness my criticism of Harold Ford's gay bashing.

Barack speaks:

Ned Lamont has waged an impressive grassroots campaign to give the people of Connecticut a choice in the November Senate election. He has a vision for his state and country, and his campaign has been about presenting that vision to Connecticut voters.

Ned Lamont and I share a commitment to bringing our troops home safely from Iraq, to achieving energy independence, to helping all our citizens realize the American dream, and to empowering the American people to reclaim their government. Ned Lamont’s campaign is about delivering on these goals in Washington.

The November 7th election is right around the corner. Please join me in supporting Ned Lamont with your hard work on-the-ground in these closing weeks of the campaign.