by TChris

You know it's an election year when politicians take time away from the pressing issues of the day to promote amendments to the Constitution that lessen our rights.

Approved 6-3 by a Judiciary Committee panel on the Constitution, the amendment reads: "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States."

Other efforts to take away rights we're likely to hear about this summer:

The flag measure is one of several constitutional amendments Republican leaders are advancing to energize conservative voters even though none of them is likely to clear the Senate. Others include outlawing abortion and banning same-sex marriage.

The ACLU responds here to the extreme view that symbols of freedom are more important than actual freedom.

by TChris

Apart from Jeralyn's informative observations here at TalkLeft, some of the most interesting takes on the Duke lacrosse case have come from sports columnists. In a piece headlined "Justice is getting lost in Duke case," the Kansas City Star's Jason Whitlock argues that it's time for sensationalists to take a step back and look at the evidence:

The fact that one of the arrested suspects seems to have an airtight alibi -- a cabbie, cell phone records, an ATM receipt and record of entrance into his dorm room -- is completely ignored. So is the fact that the other stripper clearly has questionable motives and is interested in seeing if she can "spin" this tragedy to her advantage and possibly make a little cash.

Criminal accusations, Whitlock reminds us, should be judged on their merit, not on preconceptions about the likely behavior of privileged white men and black female college students of significantly lesser means. Deeper societal issues of racial injustice may or may not be showcased in a particular trial, but they can't be remedied in a criminal prosecution. Prosecutions depend on facts, not stereotypes. It is unjust to base opinions about the merits of an accusation on the race or social status of the accuser or accused.

Again, I don't know what happened inside that house. But I do know that Martin Luther King Jr. and many, many others of all races did not die so that the poor, black and oppressed could surrender the moral high ground and attempt to inflict injustice on the privileged. ... We're far better served being on the side of justice at all times and complaining when it doesn't arrive at our doorstep rather than rooting for injustice to befall the privileged.

by TChris

From a recent speech by Massachusetts Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, who grew up fighting apartheid:

"Anyone familiar with the history of oppression in any part of the world knows that silence is a facilitator of injustice"

by TChris

Clyde Kennard was railroaded. He was sentenced to seven years in a Mississippi prison for possessing $25 worth of stolen chicken feed. The only witness against him later recanted his testimony. His real crime was his attempt to enroll at the University of Southern Mississippi after four years in the service.

His temerity drew the ire of segregationist leaders who were determined to fight integration at USM.

Kennard died years ago, but those who want to set the record straight were hoping that Gov. Haley Barbour would award him a posthumous pardon. Not gonna happen.

"The governor hasn't pardoned anyone, whether they be alive or deceased," Barbour spokesman Pete Smith said Thursday.

After all, mere innocence -- not to mention race discrimination -- shouldn't stand in the way of preserving a criminal conviction. Law and order guys like Barbour don't want to set a precedent. Next thing you know, all the other wrongly convicted prisoners would think they deserve a pardon too.

by TChris

Donald Rumsfeld speechless? Hard to believe, isn't it?

Speaking in Atlanta today, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was sharply questioned about his pre-war claims about WMD in Iraq. An audience member confronted Rumsfeld with his 2003 claim about WMD, "We know where they are." Rumsfeld falsely claimed he never said it. The audience member then read Rumsfeld's quote back to him, leaving the defense secretary speechless.

Think Progress has the video.

by TChris

Laws punishing peaceful dissent are contrary to the letter and the spirit of the First Amendment. As we listen to pundits proclaim that dissent is unpatriotic, that criticism of a Republican government gives aid and comfort to the enemy, we should draw lessons from mistakes made in response to similar sentiments in the past.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed a pardon yesterday of 78 persons who were convicted of violating Montana's sedition law during and after World War I.

Montana's sedition laws served as a model for the federal sedition laws also passed in 1918. Other states had such laws, but none was more vigorous in pressing them than Montana.

Remarks that were labeled seditious -- in one case, the observation, "This is a rich man's war" in a saloon -- carried fines approaching $20,000 and sentences of up to 20 years in jail.

Zacarias Moussaoui gave a political lecture at his sentencing today. He mocked victims who spoke, saying the U.S. is hardly the country of peace and love. He said the U.S. lost an opportunity to find out why people like him and Mohammad Attah hate America so much, and if we won't listen, we will feel it..again, they will be back. Of course, there was a "long live Osama." (no link yet, I heard this all on tv.)

The Judge told him that his comment yesterday about winning was wrong, that everyone in the courtroom will be free today to leave and go where they want, smell the fresh air, see the sunlight, and he will be locked in a tiny supermaximum prison cell.

He is going to Supermax at Florence, the media doesn't know when since that's up to the Bureau of Prisons. I remember that after McVeigh's sentencing, he was on his way to Florence either that day or the next. Of course, Denver is a lot closer to Florence but still, now that Moussaoui has been sentenced, I think they will get him out of Virginia very quickly.

by TChris

This is what the House of Representatives, by a mostly party-line vote of 217-213, thinks it can sell the public as "lobbying reform":

The new bill would require lobbyists to disclose more of their activities, increase financial penalties for violations and require lawmakers and their aides to attend ethics training. It also aims to discourage earmarks by requiring House members who write spending bills to disclose them, a move lauded by fiscal conservatives who complain that earmarks waste taxpayer money and drive up the cost of legislation.

That's it. The bill doesn't ban members from accepting private trips on corporate jets. It doesn't stop members and their staffs from becoming lobbyists a year after leaving Congress. It allows members to accepts gifts and meals worth $50. As reform goes, the House bill is weak tea.

I won't be by a computer most of the day, but I will try to check in. Here's your space to talk about whatever you find interesting today.

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Bump and Update: (TL) I just got to my destination. When the driver turned on the radio in the car leaving the airport, I asked about Moussaoui. He told me the jury came back with life and I shouted "Yes!" and threw my arm up in the air. I proceeded to tell him for the next 20 minutes how proud I was of the defense team in this case and what they had to work against -- not only the investment of the country in a death verdict to retaliate against someone for 9/11 -- but their own client who hated them and not only wouldn't assist them, but tried to sabotage them at every turn. Their dedication and professionalism is astounding. I've read every public filing in the case and they did such an incredible job for this crazy, bumbling holy warrior.

I then launched into a lecture about what was facing Moussaoui when he got to Supermax in Florence, where he will spend the rest of his days. Then we listened to the news and I heard that Moussaoui's words after the verdict were something like "America Lost, I Won" and I said to the driver, "He'll eat those words when he gets to Florence." It's not called Alcatraz of the Rockies for nothing. Without lawyers visiting him and sending him pleadings to read, and with virtually no human contact, lights shining on 24/7 as his every move in his tiny, windowless cell is monitored (at least for the first few months), he'll realize he got the short end of the stick pretty quickly.

by TChris

The latest entry in the American Constitution Society's series of white papers is Police Reform: A Job Half Done (pdf) by Richard Jerome, a former Deputy Associate Attorney General who now provides legal and consulting services that include police and civil rights issues. The paper examines the need for police reform (shining a spotlight on racial profiling), explores the federal response to police misconduct, and questions whether the Justice Department's enforcement efforts have weakened in recent years. It concludes with an overview of policies that law enforcement agencies should implement to help officers comply with professional standards.

Readers who have followed TalkLeft's coverage of the Taser controversy might be interested in this snippet from the paper:

by TChris

It's time for another Ohio election, which means it's time for more ballot problems:

Election officials had trouble printing ballot receipts, finding lost votes and tabulating election results in Tuesday's primary. Some election workers were late or did not show up at all in Cleveland's Cuyahoga County, the state's largest. Others could not figure out how to turn on the machines.

Couldn't figure out how to turn on the machines? Good grief.

And then there's this: