Jen Banbury, writing in Salon, interviews former Brigadier General Janis Karpinski of Abu Ghraib notoriety about her experiences and her new book, "One Woman's Army: The Commanding General of Abu Ghraib Tells Her Story."

Karpinski makes a strong argument that she was made a scapegoat by George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, her immediate bosses and military intelligence commanders. Frustratingly, Karpinski never steps up and takes responsibility, in any way, for what happened at Abu Ghraib. Yet, despite her lack of accountability or mea culpa, the book is an often shocking, guns-a-blazing indictment of the inept occupation of Iraq, and of the men who planned it and continue to run it today. Salon reached Karpinski by phone this week to talk about the Gitmo-ization of Abu Ghraib, the policy that keeps thousands of innocent Iraqis behind bars, and the reasons that the people truly responsible for Abu Ghraib are still in power.

by TChris

It's convenient for marijuana buyers to pick up a bag at the neighborhood convenience store, but a 19-year-old who allegedly sold weed at a 7-Eleven store was arrested after a customer called the police to report that the store was empty. The police found the store clerk sleeping in the back office next a quarter-pound of pot, a scale, and a smaller bag.

by TChris

Two articles today raise questions that Judge Alito must address at his confirmation hearing. This Boston Globe article reports that Alito failed to recuse himself from a case in which his sister’s law firm represented a party.

In a written response to questions from the US Senate during his 1990 confirmation hearings to be an appeals judge, Samuel Alito promised: "I would disqualify myself from any case involving my sister's law firm, Carpenter, Bennett & Morrissey of Newark, New Jersey."

Rosemary Alito left the Carpenter firm in 1994, when she joined McCarter & English. That firm represented a bank seeking a rehearing before the Third Circuit. Court records indicate that Judge Alito didn’t recuse himself, but voted to deny the rehearing. Judge Alito says he doesn’t remember the case.

It's a court day for me, which means an open thread day for you. All topics are welcome.

by TChris

Those who want to protect us from vulgar discussions on the radio -- as if we can’t protect ourselves by turning the dial -- continue pressuring the FCC and Congress to do more to police the public airwaves. This article suggests that the FCC (no matter who has headed the agency) has been ineffective in its efforts to impose and collect fines, often cutting deals with broadcasters that prevent “indecency” findings from being used against the broadcaster when the FCC considers renewal of the broadcaster’s license.

The current FCC chair, Kevin Martin, has promised to clean up the backlog of indecency investigations. The larger question is whether the FCC should bother.

[T]he guiding 1978 indecency statute is increasingly irrelevant in an era of 200 unpoliced cable and satellite channels that do not fall under the law. Some groups say the government should no longer monitor the nation's airwaves because technology -- such as the V-chip and cable and satellite blocking systems -- allows parents to determine what their children watch.

In an internet posting, al Qaeda has taken credit for the Jordan blasts that killed 59 people.

The AP is reporting that a U.S. citizen was killed in the attacks and two were injured.

I'm already wearying of all the Judith Miller news and commentary, but here are two pieces I found interesting and recommend.

• Lynn Duke of The Washington Post spent three hours interviewing Judith Miller last week. Her article is long, and filled with quotes from Miller.

• Gabriel Sherman at the New York Observer writes about the negotiations between Miller and the Times.

• Journalism Prof Jay Rosen writes After Miller, Let There Be Light.

A new Wall St. Journal- NBC poll (free link)shows Bush's ratings have slipped to their lowest level yet.

Just 38% of Americans now approve Bush's job performance, while 57% disapprove, the poll shows....Fully 79% of respondents call the case "a serious matter." Americans now view Vice President Dick Cheney negatively 49%-27%, his worst-ever showing and a significant deterioration since January....53% of Americans overall, including 23% of Republicans, say he is facing a longer-term setback "from which things are unlikely to get better."

....Nearly six in 10 Americans say they believe President Bush "deliberately misled people" about the case for war to oust Saddam Hussein from power. A comparable number say it's time to reduce the level of U.S. troops there.

What can Bush do about it? I think the first thing he has to do is clean house. Libby's resignation is not going to be enough. Bush has to prove to Republicans that he is still a leader by delivering the honor and ethics in his Administration he promised voters when he ran for re-election.

Who will go first? My money's on Karl Rove.

There are two sides to every story. Judith Miller has created a website with her letter to the New York Times as well as a response to Maureen Dowd's column.

[hat tip Raw Story.] You can also read her letter here at the New York Times website. Jane at FiredogLake provides analysis.

Something I just noticed: The article at the Times website about Miller's departure from the paper is headlined, "Reporter Agrees to Leave Paper." That is a further slam to Miller in that it implies she was asked to leave and agreed. If the departure was her idea, wouldn't the headline simply read "Reporter Leaves Paper"? Kathryn Seelye who wrote the article may not have written the headline, but still, shouldn't someone have noticed this? I bet Judith Miller will.

The Denver Film Festival opens tomorrow and runs through November 20. If there's one film I hope people will see it is Fighting For Life in the Death Belt which will have its Colorado premiere on Thursday, November 17 at 6pm at Starz FilmCenter at the Tivoli.

The film considers capital punishment in the U.S. through the eyes of Stephen Bright, who has served as the Director of the Southern Center for Human Rights for the past 20 years. Bright is a hero to the criminal defense bar for his unwavering commitment to defending death row inmates in the heart of the "death belt" - the Southern states where 90% of America's executions take place.

The film follows Bright and the Center's 11 lawyers and 10 investigators as they prepare for a capital trial in one case while fighting to save another client from execution. The trailer is here.

Nancy Goldstein has a new article on the forgotten and left behind children of the incarcerated - undeserving casualites of the War on Drugs.

The surge in the US prison population has nothing to do with an increase in violent crime: homicide, rape, robbery, and assault have all declined steadily since 1993. Its source is the so-called “war on drugs,” which cost taxpayers a cool 12 billion in 2004 alone, and has done nothing to reduce illegal drug use or availability.

....the number of women incarcerated in state facilities for drug-related offenses rose by 888% between 1986 and 1999, far outpacing the number of men imprisoned for similar crimes.

Goldstein's article is a review of journalist Nell Bernstein’s new book, All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated.

by TChris

British lawmakers, unmoved by scare tactics and reluctant to sacrifice civil liberties, declined to adopt Tony Blair's proposal to authorize police to detain suspected terrorists for 90 days without filing charges.

Instead, lawmakers, including some from Blair's own Labour Party, voted for a maximum detention period of 28 days without charge.

A 28 day detention based on nothing more than suspicion is egregious, but at least it's less draconian than three months behind bars. Sadly, Blair doesn't get it.