Congress is voting tomorrow on an amendment, introduced by U.S. Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), to bar the U.S. Justice Department -- which includes the DEA -- from spending taxpayer money on raiding, arresting, and prosecuting patients who are using medical marijuana in the 11 states where it's legal.

Action Alert time: Go here and let your Congressperson know how you want them to vote.

If you agree that sick and suffering patients should not have to live in fear of armed federal agents breaking down their doors, this is your chance to do something about it. The bipartisan Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment would prohibit the U.S. Department of Justice -- which includes the DEA -- from spending taxpayer money to arrest or prosecute medical marijuana patients in the 11 states where medical marijuana is legal.

Via NORML:

Eighty percent of the American public supports the physician-supervised use of cannabis as a medicine, and they do not wish to see their tax dollars wasted by those in Congress who would target the sick and dying in their overzealous war on drugs. Last year, 161 members of Congress voted in favor of Hinchey-Rohrabacher, but we need 57 more members to join with them to stop Washington's war on patients.

Score one for the Constitution. The Senate, by one vote, rejected a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning.

Here's the vote tally.

The ACLU says:

"The Senate came close to torching our constitution, but luckily it came through unscathed," said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "We applaud those brave Senators who stood up for the First Amendment and rejected this damaging and needless amendment.

Last year we wrote a lot about former Texas DA Rick Roach who while prosecuting drug defendants was secretly shooting up. He ran for DA using a get tough on drugs platform.

Today Roach was sentenced to 18 years in jail.

Monday's plea is one of the final trial proceedings in Roach's case, which began with his arrest by FBI agents in a Gray County courtroom in January 2005.

A federal grand jury later indicted him on four charges of possession of methamphetamine, cocaine and guns. Roach resigned from office in February, pleaded guilty to a federal weapons charge and was sentenced to federal prison in June 2005.

Well, he had to act, being shamed by a court order. But let's hope he does some good.

In a speech at a convention of prosecutors in Newport Beach, Schwarzenegger said that the state prison system has reached "a crisis point" and that he will call a special legislative session this summer to confront the problem. Only the federal prison system is larger than California's system.

Schwarzenegger, who is running for reelection this year, made his speech a week after a federal investigator released a report chiding the governor's administration for not carrying out reforms. U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson has already placed the prison medical system under federal receivership.

If he failed to act, the whole prison system could end up under federal control.

Bump and Update: The doctors may face investigation in Rush's Viagra case.

State attorney's office spokesman Mike Edmondson said his office also will look into whether Limbaugh violated that agreement with prosecutors. Prosecutors also will examine the possibility of "any doctor being complicit and the possibility of doctors being charged as well."

Update: Are the doctors really in trouble? Perhaps not. This is grounds for discipline:

® Prescribing, dispensing, or administering any medicinal drug appearing on any schedule set forth in chapter 893 by the physician to himself or herself, except one prescribed, dispensed, or administered to the physician by another practitioner authorized to prescribe, dispense, or administer medicinal drugs. Fla. Stat. § 458.331

If one doctor prescribed it to another doctor instead of to Rush for privacy reasons. what then? According to the Orlando Sentinel:

It is generally not illegal under Florida law for a physician to prescribe medication in a third party's name if all parties are aware and the doctor documents it correctly, said Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the state attorney in Palm Beach County. He would not discuss specifics in the Limbaugh case Tuesday.

Here's an open thread for today since I'll be running around and TChris is still, lucky guy, in Europe.

• Congrats to Peter Daou who is leaving Salon and the Daou Report to work his magic for Hillary, who is very wise to have selected him. Back in 2004, he did a great job doing outreach and managing the online rapid response for the Kerry-Edwards campaign.

• Noah at Defense Tech: The best source of Pentagon intel may be the tv.

Update: Squeaky's Sightings

• Laura Rozen on Pumping up the Iran conflict w/Feith, Franklin, Rhode, Leeden and Ghorbanifar

• Via Crooks and Liars: John Stewart on the Miami Seven

• Arthur Silber on the traitorous press [link fixed]:

The Senate Judiciary Committee this morning began examining President Bush's use of signing statements. The ACLU says (press release received by e-mail, but will be up on their site shortly):

"President Bush needs a lesson in Civics 101," said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "The executive is supposed to enforce the laws Congress passes, and respect the separation of powers that define our country. But in this president's mind, he is above the law. His lack of respect for the rule of law and his abuse of power are evident, and we hope that today's hearing will highlight this administration's disregard for the law."

President Bush's signing statements have in most cases said that he will refuse to enforce part of a law because it conflicts with his extraordinary claims of presidential powers. The statements have covered numerous issues, including a congressional ban on the use of torture, affirmative action rules, protection for the integrity of scientific research and whistleblower protections. Such steps, the ACLU noted, defy the constitutional powers of Congress, and undermine the system of checks and balances.

The Senate began debate on the flag-burning Amendment yesterday. It's within a vote or two of passing and already has passed in the House. If it passes by a 2/3 vote in the Senate, it must be ratified by 38 states during the next seven years and then will become the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The Constitution is not a rough draft. We don't need to amend it, particularly for something that would serve as precedent for further restrictions on our First Amendment rights.

This is the first edition of TalkLeft's Late Night Music Club which I am shamelessly stealing (with permission) from John Amato at Crooks and Liars, who is a very accomplished musician in his own right. I am not. My selections will be performances I can watch over and over, either because I love the music or the words or because I just love watching the face of someone in the band.

I may not do it every night, but since YouTube is a becoming a new addiction, I hope to make it a regular thing. Feel free to use the comments to talk about your own favorite music.

Tonight's pick is the Goo Goo Dolls playing Iris and (Tom Petty's) American Girl at the 9/11/2001 Concert for New York City. I remember taping it at the time, and watching their version of American Girl over and over.

Update: Video removed from You Tube.

U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr. has issued an order preventing Missouri from executing prisoners due to the "unconstitutional pain and suffering" the inmate may experience from the drug cocktail used.

Until satisfactory changes are made, the Judge says no more executions can take place. The Department of Corrections has 15 days to come up with a new protocol.

And this takes the cake: The lone doctor mixing the drugs has dyslexia:

New motions were filed by the defense in the Duke lacrosse players' alleged rape case. You can read them here and here.

The accuser's name does not appear to be blacked out in the motions, but please don't use it in the comments.

The video of the American Constitution Society's panel conference on leakers and the press is now online.

On June 17, ACS hosted a panel at the 2006 National Convention exploring the consequences of leaks of confidential and classified information by government employees and potential related prosecution. Panelists discussed government attempts to prosecute leakers and assertions that it can prosecute members of the press who report based on classified information. The panel also examined whether greater protections should be afforded journalists in protecting sources and the effect of leak prosecutions on debate in a democratic society.

The video is here. In the photo (larger version here): 9th Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt, me and conservative law professor Maimon Schwarzschild. Also on the panel were moderator and Law Professor Geoffrey Stone and media attorney Laura Handman. Happily, Professor Schwarzschild was outnumbered.