by TChris

Strangest statement by an Idaho bureaucrat so far this week:

"The result in Idaho is that you could theoretically be a convicted cannibal and still have a hunting license," said Ed Mitchell, a spokesman for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game in Boise. "But if you are a convicted cannibal, you cannot legally own a bent BB gun in the state of Idaho."

Do a large number of convicted cannibals apply for hunting licenses in Idaho?

by TChris

There are so many flaws in Georgia's administration of the death penalty that it took the ABA 323 pages to recount them all. The ABA wants Georgia to impose a moratorium on the death penalty until it resolves those problems. It's predictable that Georgia's Republican governor meets that suggestion with a yawn; it's distressing that the Democratic candidate for that office is equally unconcerned.

An ABA panel said it found seven weaknesses in the state's application of capital punishment. They included no guarantee of counsel at a habeas corpus appeal based on constitutional or procedural grounds; confusing jury instructions; and what the panel considered an unfair standard of proof for defendants to show mental retardation.

The jury has been selected in the Enron trial of Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling. Eight women, four men, and alternates. For those who want the play-by-play, down to the kinds of muffins served to jurors, check the Houston Chronicle trial blog, written by lawyers in attendance.

Lay and Skilling have their own defense tables in the courtroom. The Judge told the jurors,

"We have some of the finest lawyers in the United States trying this case."

Dominatrix Mistress Lauren M was acquitted of manslaughter and dismemberment of a body today in Massachussetts.

Prosecutors said that 53-year-old Michael Lord suffered a heart attack in 2000 during a bondage session in a "dungeon" in Asher's condominium and that Asher did nothing to help him for five minutes for fear authorities would find out about her business.

Asher had her boyfriend chop up the body of the 275-pound retired telephone company worker, and they dumped it behind a restaurant in Maine, prosecutors said. His remains have never been found. Prosecutors said Asher confessed to police, but the alleged confession was not taped, and investigators testified they did not save their notes.

Defense attorney Stephanie Page argued there was no proof Lord was dead -- "no body, no blood, no DNA."

The good news is Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll is alive. Another video of her has been released, in which she is veiled and crying and asks for the release of the remaining Iraqi prisoners.

25 Senators stood proud today and voted to extend debate on Judge Sam Alito. They deserve your thanks and your praise. Here's the list:

Bayh, Evan (D-IN)
Biden, Joseph R., Jr. (D-DE)
Boxer, Barbara (D-CA)
Clinton, Hillary Rodham (D-NY)
Dayton, Mark (D-MN)
Dodd, Christopher J. (D-CT)
Durbin, Richard (D-IL)
Feingold, Russell D. (D-WI)
Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA)
Jeffords, James M. (I-VT)

By a vote of 75 to 25, the Senate today ended debate on the nomination of Judge Sam Alito to the Supreme Court. The final vote is tomorrow, and over 40 Senators are expected to vote against his nomination.This means Alito will receive more "no" votes than any other confirmed Supreme Court nominee in the last 100 years, other than Justice Clarence Thomas. (via Save the Court)

TalkLeft offers many thanks to the courageous band of 25 who stood firm, did not yield, and voted their consciences which told them that Judge Alito was outside the mainstream and not an appropriate choice for a lifetime appointment to our nation's highest court.

From People for the American Way (received by e-mail, no link yet):

Al-Qaeda top deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri released a new tape with new threats of attacks. He called Bush the "butcher of Washington."

Al-Zawahiri, shown in the video wearing white robes and a white turban, said a Jan. 13 airstrike in the eastern village of Damadola killed "innocents," and he said the United States had ignored an offer from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden for a truce.

Bush undoubtedly will use this tape and Osama's tape of a few weeks ago to remind us during SOTU that we must win the war on terror. He probably won't remind us that his war on terror and curtailing of our civil liberties did not produce either one of these two top terrorists despite the passage of more than four years since Sept. 11.

Republican Lincoln Chafee will vote against Alito but for cloture. Too bad. Lieberman has not yet decided on cloture, despite what CNN said. Call or fax his office now.

Jeffords will vote against cloture. Keep those calls and faxes to all who oppose Alito, particularly those in the Gang of 14, now. It's not over till it's over.

Let's send Judge Alito back to New Jersey. Numbers are below the fold, thanks to Reddhedd and Armando who are way out in front on this:

by Last Night in Little Rock

Suppose you are an official in a country that espouses free Democratic elections around the world, but when an election comes in a place critical to the balance of world peace and the vote is counted, a rogue government is elected contrary to your expectations? What do you do?

No. I'm not talking about the election of George Bush, although the shoe fits.

This is, of course, about Hamas, and its coming to power in the recent Palestinian election.

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice admits that Hamas' strength in Palestine was misunderestimated, where the Fatah party of the late Yassir Arafat came in second in the election.

Our first response: "We don't deal with terrorists." But what happens when an organization whose name is often associated with terrorism suddenly gains respectability? Why should our first response to the election be relabelling Hamas as a terrorist organization when it holds a majority of the legislative seats in Palestine? As shown by the news yesterday, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan's pronouncement last Wednesday ("We do not deal with Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization. Under current circumstances, I don't see any change in that.") may have to change as Rice recognizes reality.

The Baltimore Sun has an expose of the failure of the National Security Agency's trailblazer program.

A program that was supposed to help the National Security Agency pluck out electronic data crucial to the nation's safety is not up and running more than six years and $1.2 billion after it was launched, according to current and former government officials. The classified project, code-named Trailblazer, was promoted as the NSA's state-of-the-art tool for sifting through an ocean of modern-day digital communications and uncovering key nuggets to protect the nation against an ever-changing collection of enemies.

I usually stay out of the fray between journalists and bloggers. But this one, picked by Nation Editor Katrina Vanden Heuval against the liberal blogosphere, and Ezra Klein in particular, I just can't pass up. I agree with Crooks and Liars and Jane.

If it was just Ms. Vanden Heuval's comments justifying the Democrats' choice of Virginia Governor Tim Kaine to give the SOTU response, even though I disagree with the pick, I'd probably demur. But she attacked my pal Ezra, and I don't like when my friends are attacked and she's just flat out wrong, or as Jane says, blind.