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.

University of Colorado interim chancellor Phil Stefano announced at a news conference today that Ethnic Studies Professor Ward Churchill has received a notice of termination. His written statement is here.

The decision follows his review of the 20 page report on Churchill submitted by CU's Standing Committee On Research Misconduct and recommendations from the school's provost and a dean. The committee voted six to three that Churchill should be fired as opposed to suspended without pay.

Live blogging the Chancellor's statement:

The issues initially were did Churchill's statements exceed the boundaries of protected speech and did he engage in research or teaching misconduct or fraudulent misrepresentation?

The finding was that the content and rhetoric about 9/11 victims were protected by the First Amendment. The allegations regarding plagiarism and research misconduct were referred to standing committee. After referral, the committee found that allegations of ethnic misresprentation did not warrant further action.

Why am I not surprised? Justice Alito was the swing vote today in a decision that upheld Kansas's death penalty law that the Kansas Supreme Court had ruled unconsitutional.

Justices split 5-4 in the term's oldest case, which was argued in December before Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's retirement. A new argument session was held in April so that Alito could break a deadlock.....The state law says juries should impose death sentences if aggravating evidence of a crime's brutality and mitigating factors explaining a defendant's actions are equal in weight.

Justice David H. Souter, writing for the liberals, said the law was "morally absurd."...Souter said that "in the face of evidence of the hazards of capital prosecution," maintaining a system like the one in Kansas "is obtuse by any moral or social measure."

Via How Appealing: You can access the oral argument transcripts here and here. Additional information about the case is available at this link.

A really bad law will go into effect in Georgia on July 1. It prohibits anyone on the sex offender registry from living within 1,000 feet of any one of the hundreds of thousands of Georgia's school bus stops. (Text of law is here, in pdf.) As a result of this law, people will be forced from their homes and unable to live in urban and suburban areas.

The Southern Center for Human Rights filed a lawsuit on behalf of 8 offenders to block implementation of the law. Today, a Judge granted a preliminary injunction as to those 8 plaintiffs.

The law does not distinguish between offenders with a 20 year old conviction for having had sex with an 16 year old when they were 18 and violent sexual predators. Here are a sampling of the crimes for which the 8 plaintiffs were convicted (from the Complaint, in pdf ):

I'll make my point at the outset: Mainstream media will not weaken Daily Kos. Daily Kos is more than just Markos. It's a community of diarists whose views on issues may or may not mesh with his. What Markos has done is provide progressives, those who feel their government and the ideals of our country are being hijacked by the radical right, with a place to express themselves. If Markos retired to a remote island off of Fiji tomorrow, Daily Kos would continue for years.

Markos has never held himself out as the Pied Piper of the netroots. He repeatedly has expressed his discomfort at the media's attempts to cast him in this light. He has no ambitions of being the maestro or rock star of the movement. I have known Markos for 4 years. He designed TalkLeft. I've spent time with him and his family in San Francisco and at their home in Berkely. I've hung out with him in Washington, Boston, New York and Denver. Here's how I see him.

Update: Murray tells his story in his own words. Empty Wheel weighs in with some personal experience of her own.

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The intrepid reporter Murray Waas had a secret. He's decided to tell. Howie Kurtz in the Washington Post has the details. Murray is a cancer survivor. At age 26, he was told 90% of people with his kind of cancer are dead within two years. He sued the George Washington Medical Center and won $650,000, a verdict upheld on appeal, for failing to properly diagnose him. Happily, the doctors were wrong, and despite a recurrance in 2000, he is now cancer-free.

Just another reason to stop spending so much money on Iraq and take care of our own in need:

Thousands of U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are facing a new nightmare - the risk of homelessness. The U.S. government estimates several hundred vets who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan are homeless on any given night across the country, although the exact number is unknown.

The reasons that contribute to the new wave of homelessness are many: some are unable to cope with life after daily encounters with insurgent attacks and roadside bombs; some can't navigate government red tape; others simply don't have enough money to afford a house or apartment

[hat tip Patriot Daily.]