by Last Night in Little Rock

In a story posted on Sports Illustrated's website (SI.com) this evening, San Francisco Giants "slugger" Barry Bonds will be indicted next week for perjury and tax evasion charges. But no steroids charges. See Indictment on deck? Lawyer: Bonds may face tax evasion, perjury charges. The grand jury's eighteen month term ends next week, so there is reason to believe it is coming then.

Barry Bonds' legal team is preparing for the San Francisco slugger to be indicted as soon as next week and has begun plotting his defense.

Attorney Laura Enos told The Associated Press on Friday that Bonds, second on the career home run list, could be charged with tax evasion and perjury.

Enos, Bonds' personal attorney, also said the lawyers believe the grand jury investigating the star player will expire next Thursday.

"We are very prepared," Enos said. "We have excellent tax records and we are very comfortable that he has not shortchanged the government at all."

by Last Night in Little Rock

A police sergeant in Bloomington, Illinois, home of Illinois State and Illinois Wesleyan Universities, was charged today with four rapes dating back to 2002, according to a story via AP on CNN.com. Sgt. Jeff Pelo, a 17 year police veteran, was also charged with stalking on Wednesday "a woman who found him lurking outside her home."

Two of the rape victims identified Pelo from a photo lineup, and police found a mask, pry bar and other items in his home that appeared to have been used in at least one of the assaults, Assistant State's Attorney Mark Messman said.

Prosecutors have said the attacker was armed with a knife in one case and a gun in another.

Steve Skelton, Pelo's attorney, called Friday that the identifications were suspect.

No word about any possible DNA links to the accused, but bail was set at $2M.

Via Stand Down:

Tonight on PBS is a special, Do No Harm.

A new controversy about the death penalty focuses not on the convicts, but on doctors and nurses who help end their lives. NOW asks the question: Should medical professionals play a part in state executions?

You can watch a live stream of the show after it airs if you are not by a tv.

CBS reports that residents of Haifa in Israel have been ordered into bomb shelters due to bombings:

Residents of Haifa, Israel's third largest city and a major port, were ordered into bomb shelters as evening fell Friday, following rocket attacks throughout the day, even though Haifa is some 18 miles south of the border with Lebanon.

Residents were shocked when the first attacks hit Haifa Thursday: No guerrilla rocket had ever reached that far into Israel.

Iran weighs in:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned Israel against extending its assault into Syria and said the Jewish state couldn't harm Iran, which also backs Hezbollah.

Israel today bombed and demolished the residence of Hezbollah chief Sheik Hassan Nasrallah. Here is the Sheik's response:

by TChris

Inmates are frequently forced to make collect calls if they want to talk to family members. Shockingly, jail and prison authorities are happy to sign contracts that permit telephone carriers to charge outrageous tolls for those calls, on the condition that the jail or prison gets a kickback from the overcharging. Burdening the ability of inmates to stay in touch with their families so that the government can turn a profit is ultimately counterproductive because it inhibits rehabilitation, as TalkLeft noted in this story about a lawsuit that tried to end the practice in New York.

The lawsuit, filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights, was dismissed, and that dismissal was affirmed on appeal. There's still reason to hope for a just outcome, however, as the New York Court of Appeals has agreed to hear the case.

by TChris

The Maricopa County Sheriff's aggressive approach to the arrest of undocumented aliens resulted in a protest in downtown Phoenix this morning. About 300 people attended the rally.

"This is an injustice. We're not criminals, so we're here to show them that we have courage and that we're worthy of respect," Nadia Meza, 30, of Phoenix, a member of the group Immigrants Without Border that organized the rally.

by TChris

While many Americans deny that race discrimination continues to be one of society's leading problems, only 33 Representatives in the House were willing to pretend that the Voting Rights Act is an anachronism. The other 390 voting Representatives approved the Act's reauthorization yesterday. Rep. John Lewis spoke to the depressing reality that racism is not dead:

"Yes, we've made some progress; we have come a distance," he added. "The sad truth is, discrimination still exists. That's why we still need the Voting Rights Act, and we must not go back to the dark past."

Fortunately, the Act came up for renewal in an election year.

(Guest posted by Big Tent Democrat)

Richard Hofstadter was the most perceptive observer of our political history since DeToqueville. So perceptive was Hofstadter that even though he passed away 36 years ago, he still is more clear headed and penetrating than some of our finest current historians. Professor Sean Wilentz, one of our finest living historians and an extremely gifted writer, has written a wonderful quasi-review of a newly released biography of Hofstadter by David S. Brown that demonstrates his gifts while also showing that even the best we have today do not measure up to Hofstadter. Even Wilentz graciously recognizes this:

David S. Brown claims in this illuminating biography, Hofstadter retains an enormous mystique today, thirty-six years after his death from leukemia at the age of fifty-four. Phrases and concepts that Hofstadter invented to describe and to analyze American politics--"status anxiety," "the paranoid style"-- remain in currency among high-end journalists and pundits. His best books, The American Political Tradition and The Age of Reform, remain on graduate reading lists decades after their publication, models of dazzling prose and interpretive acuity. All but one of his half-dozen other major works remain in print.

In some respects, indeed, Hofstadter's standing has risen since 1970. His fascination with the history of what he called "political culture," the quirks in American politics beyond official platforms and speeches, is now very much in vogue. And no historian of the United States with the same combination of intellectual heterodoxy, literary brilliance, and scholarly sweep has replaced him. Amid the current dizzy political scene--with its snake-oil preachers, and anti-Darwinian Social Darwinists, and Indian casino rip-off artists, and a president whose friends say he thinks he is ordained by God--Hofstadter's sharpness about the darker follies of American democracy seems more urgently needed than ever.

Indeed, understanding Hofstadter is desperately needed. And not just by historians. By pundits, politicians, bloggers and citizens. Because failing to understand Hofstadter's analysis causes us to fail as analysts, historians, pundits and, most importantly, as politicians, especially politicians like Barack Obama.

I've been wondering why the Wilsons chose today to file their civil lawsuit against Cheney, Libby, Rove et. al. (Background here.)

I figure it has to do with the statute of limitations. July 14, 2003 was when Bob Novak's column outing Valerie Plame was published. So, there must be a three year statute of limitations lurking somewhere.

It's not that easy to determine. The lawsuit is a Bivens federal civil rights lawsuit. Bivens is a judicially created remedy that does not have its own statute of limitations. Usually, Bivens actions borrow the limitations statute in the state where the action arose. And, while state law establishes the statute of limitations, federal law determines when the federal Bivens claims accrued.

Under federal law, the statute of limitations on a Bivens claim "begins to run when the plaintiff knows or has reason to know of the existence and cause of the injury which is the basis of his action." This would seem to be the date Novak's column was published.

Some of the Wilsons' claims allege a violation of their 5th Amendment due process rights. The Supreme Court has recognized the due process clause and its equal protection component as being valid for Bivens claims.

Skippy the Bush Kangeroo, one of my longest standing friends in blogtopia (y.s.c.t.p.) turns four today. Congrats Skippy and Skippy community bloggers, keep up the great work.

Say hello to KnowWar.com

Know War is a not for profit project that aims to help us understand the reality and the impact of war. The first part of this project is seen above, a photograph of what the American death toll looks like.

In addition to the photographic memorial, Know War's mission is to generate an archive of personal testimony and reaction to war. Many of us feel fundamentally disconnected from the reality of combat. Know War aims to create a forum through which to share our experience. We seek firsthand accounts, essays, combat journals, letters home, interviews, photographs, and any of your thoughts regarding war. Please submit emails or Word documents, PDFs, JPEGs or Quicktime attachments and specify whether you request anonymity. All submissions will be posted on Know War.

On July 14 at 10:00 am Joseph and Valerie Plame Wilson will announce the filing of civil lawsuit against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice-President Richard Cheney and Karl Rove. Via Christy at Firedoglake.

Update: Here is the Wilson's latest press release, the lawsuit has been filed, you can read the complaint here.

Also, if you'd like to lend them a hand.

Contributions to the Joseph and Valerie Wilson Legal Support Trust can be given here or sent to P.O. Box 40918, Washington, D.C. 20016-0918. [link fixed]

Some excerpts from the complaint: