Say hello to "Driving While Muslim."

A bill with bi-partisan support has been introduced in New York to allow police to engage in racial and ethic profiling:

The proposed legislation would authorize law enforcement officials to "consider race and ethnicity as one of many factors that could be used in identifying persons who can be initially stopped, questioned, frisked and/or searched."

This is a mistake. The law will be misused. From Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union:

"Racial and ethnic profiling has been shown time and time again to be not only anathema to principles of equality, but it's bad law enforcement," she said in a telephone interview. Lieberman likened targeting people as possible suspects based on race or ethnicity to "tactics used by the Bush administration - like the roundup of Muslims, or special registration of immigrants."

Oklahoma joins South Carolina today in approving the death penalty for second time child molesters.

Oklahoma on Friday became the fifth state to allow the death penalty for certain sex crimes, although legal scholars questioned the constitutionality of the new state law. Under the measure signed by Gov. Brad Henry, anyone convicted twice for rape, sodomy or lewd molestation involving children under 14 can face the death penalty.

South Carolina's governor signed a similar law on Thursday allowing the death penalty for offenders convicted twice of raping children younger than 11. Louisiana, Florida and Montana also have laws allowing the death penalty for certain sex crimes.

Musab al-Zarqawi did not die instantly. He died on a stretcher awaiting medical help.

President Bush said he was "thrilled that Zarqawi was brought to justice."

Since when is assassination bringing one to justice? I thought bringing someone to justice meant bringing him or her before a court of law to judge their guilt and imposing sentence after the suspect has an opportunity to present a defense.

This is like a scene out of Alice in Wonderland: "No, No" said the Queen. "First the punishment, then the verdict."

And who will get the $25 million reward? The al Qaeda member who turned on Zarqawi? The U.S. is going let al Qaeda have access to $25 million? Some defeat for al Qaeda.

by TChris

Despite the testy letter that Sen. Arlen Specter wrote to Vice President Cheney, and despite this article's description of Specter as a "subpoena-wielding member of Congress who is ready to force a showdown over what he sees as the Bush administration's intrusion into legislative territory," Specter has reportedly "modified his stance" on the administration's warrantless spying on Americans by proposing "legislation that would give President Bush the option of seeking a warrant from a special court for an electronic surveillance program such as the one being conducted by the National Security Agency."

Complying with FISA would be an "option"? How often would this lawless administration choose that option? The administration doesn't feel bound by FISA now, given the president's belief that he has the inherent, king-like authority to decide which laws apply to the executive branch and which can be ignored.

Specter said "he just wanted to move the bill forward so it can be amended later to insert more safeguards." The current law -- FISA -- has plenty of safeguards. What's the point of introducing bad legislation to replace good legislation that the president feels free to disregard?

by TChris

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon will play two lawyers in a movie that dramatizes the wrongful conviction and eventual exoneration of John Thompson. The case may convince viewers, as it did this Philadelphia columnist, that the risk of wrongful conviction is too great to justify death as a penalty.

If you're on the fence about capital punishment, as I have been - vacillating between horror at the growing number of death-row inmates who turn out to be innocent, and rage at the brutal killers responsible for the daily carnage in our streets - this case may settle the issue for you. It did for me.

The case against Thompson seemed clear. He was found with the victim's ring and the murder weapon, making it easy for the police, prosecutors, and the jury to jump to the conclusion that Thompson was the killer.

by TChris

North Carolina District Attorney Michael Parker will ask a special prosecutor to decide whether two former prosecutors should be charged with obstruction of justice or subornation of perjury. As TalkLeft reported here and here, the North Carolina Bar concluded that the former prosecutors withheld evidence and encouraged a witness to commit perjury during the murder trial of Jonathan Hoffman. Parker was urged to hand the investigation to a neutral party given his relationship with the former prosecutors, one of whom is now a judge.

Lots of people e-mailed me about Orlando federal judge Gregory Presnell's written order to two bickering civil lawyers that they resolve where to take a disposition by meeting at the courthouse and playing a game of "rock, paper, scissors."

Fed up with the inability of two lawyers to agree on a trivial issue in an insurance lawsuit, a federal judge in Florida this week ordered them to "convene at a neutral site" and "engage in one (1) game of 'rock, paper, scissors' " to settle the matter.

Childish lawyers are commonplace, but the use of children's games to resolve litigation disputes is apparently a new development. The judge, Gregory A. Presnell of Federal District Court in Orlando, wrote that his innovation was "a new form of alternative dispute resolution."

Judge Presnell is no kook. I included a lengthy section of an opinion he wrote in March in a brief I filed last week. In the opinion, he decries the disparate sentencing guidelines for crack vs. powder cocaine.

Other commitments and time constraints prevented TalkLeft from attending Yearly Kos. I'd be there if I could.

Also not there: Crooks and Liars and Sideshow. We'll all be blogging through the weekend.

Meanwhile, for those who need their Daily Kos fix, check out C-Span and Air Amercia Radio who are broadcasting live.

And check out "Misson Accomplished Man," Will Keenan's new video promo for Yearly Kos..

Also, while I'm on videos, don't forget G.A.G., a gangsta rap for the Bush Administration.

TalkLeft commenters have been on top of the new defense filing for hours, but I'm just getting to it. Check it out, the defense tells the court Dancer #2 said the accuser's allegations were "a crock," there was no physical evidence of rape, the rape examiner was a trainee who only found signs of edema and did not attirbute it to a cause, and the accuser's father says the accuser is under the care of a shrink and in no condition to testify.

Murray Waas has a new article on PlameGate with the inside scoop on why Ashcroft recused himself in the Valerie Plame leaks investigation.

Shorter version: The FBI had evidence Libby lied about where he first heard about Plame (his handwritten notes showing it was Cheney who told him) and suspected Karl Rove and Bob Novak made up a cover story as early as October, 2003. It's a great read.

What's taking so long for the investigation to conclude? I wonder whether Fitz still isn't looking for evidence (or a confirming witness) to show Cheney's involvement was not limited to instructing others to attack Wilson's statements on uranium, WMD's and Iraq but that he also instructed aides to attack Wilson personally and tell reporters his wife worked for the CIA and the trip was nepotism.

Update: Larisa at Raw Story has more details. David Corn weighs in on Bush and Zarqawi.

*******
Original Post:

The U.S. military has confirmed that it killed Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi in a military air strike.

Gen. George Casey, the US top commander in Iraq, said the hunt for the leader of Iraq's insurgents began two weeks ago and his body was identified through ....fingerprints, facial recognition as well as scars and tattoos.

US military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell showed a picture of al-Zarqawi's face after the air strike with his eyes closed and blood spots under him. He said a DNA test had been carried out on his body the results of which would be released in 48 hours.

The U.S. says al-Zarqawi's "spiritual advisor" led them to him. Here is video of the air strike and video of the Iraqi Prime Minister's announcement with comments by Rumsfeld and Tony Blair.

by TChris

Conservative lunacy month in the Senate is off to a poor start. Republicans couldn't muster even a bare majority to support a constitutional amendment to prohibit gay marriage. Turning their attention from their ultra-whacky base to their ultra-wealthy base, Republicans tried again -- despite an expensive war and rising deficits -- to repeal the estate tax. When it became apparent that the effort would fail, some senators tried to negotiate a compromise that would have exempted more estates from a tax that already affects fewer than 2 percent of all estates. Only 57 senators voted to cut off debate, three votes short of the number needed to move the legislation forward.

"Repealing the estate tax during this time of fiscal crisis would be incredibly irresponsible and intellectually dishonest," [Sen. George] Voinovich said.

Next up in conservative lunacy month: the flag burning amendment. This NY Times editorial worries that this one might actually have a chance of passing, thanks in part to Democratic senators who are willing to sell out the Constitution to pander to people who believe a symbol of freedom is more important than actual freedom.