If you're going to be in New York August 23, check out the International Film Festival which will be showing "Legacy: I never left my village" as part of the film section "Jewish Experience in Latin America." From its website:

The 72-minute "Legacy" — produced by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation which tells the story of 820 Jews who escaped the pogroms of czarist Russia in 1889 and landed in Argentina aboard the steamship Wesser. Upon arriving in Argentina, these Russian immigrant Jews, who later became know by some as "Jewish Gauchos," settled in Entre Rios, Santa Fe and Buenos Aires, where they founded colonies with the aid of European Jewish philanthropist Baron Hirsch. Deep religious values, an intense cultural life and a strong focus on educating their children suffused the immigrants' daily struggle to tame the inhospitable brushwood.

by TChris

Parents -- not public schools, and certainly not judges -- should decide what, if any, religious beliefs should guide their children. Religious extremists may be disappointed with the Indiana Court of Appeals, but it made the right call in reversing a divorce court decree that ordered a custodial parent -- a practicing Wiccan -- to shelter his son from "non-mainstream religious beliefs and rituals." The boy's mother, also a Wiccan, joined the father in urging the appellate court to reverse this judicial interference with their choice of religion.

by TChris

In July, members of the Bush administration reviewed files at the National Archives concerning Judge Roberts' writings on affirmative action. Now, when Senate Democrats want to review the files, they've gone missing. The National Archives staff is taking the heat for the "clerical error," and claim they can reconstruct the file, but a suspicious mind might wonder why documents concerning a contentious issue disappeared after the administration reviewed them.

by TChris

Cindy Sheehan's protest is taking on its own life as her supporters held more than 1,500 candlelight vigils across the country last night.

Some 250 supporters gathered for a vigil in Somerville, Mass., north of Boston, while 150 people turned out in White Plains and 200 people assembled in a field next to the expressway west of downtown Chicago. In New York, people gathered at 106th Street and Broadway, and in Riverside Park.

Disgust with the president's war will continue to spread as soldiers continue to die. Four soldiers were killed today by a roadside bomb.

by TChris

In 2003, after serving 21 years in a North Carolina prison for a rape he didn't commit, Leo Waters was released. New DNA testing proved his innocence. Yesterday, Gov. Mike Easley granted Waters a pardon on the ground of actual innocence.

The pardon came as authorities charged another man with the rape. The new suspect has been identified as a serial rapist, leading one to wonder whether his other victims would have been spared if the police had conducted a thorough investigation rather than focusing on building a case against the first suspect to cross their path.

Anonymous Liberal lays out a case for charging Karl Rove with obstruction of justice (second paragraph) instead of perjury. Personally, I think a false statement charge under 18 U.S.C. 1001 would be easier to prove, but AL makes a good argument.

Also, if the Government charged and proved a false statement charge, it could get a bump under the guidelines for obstruction of justice, without ever having to charge or convict Rove of the actual crime of obstruction.

In any event, Anonymous Liberal's post is well worth a read.

It's definitely the dog days of summer. Ad revenues are down, probably due to Congress being on hiatus, but blogging continues. There's RoveGate, Judge John Roberts, Cindy Sheehan and Republican fundraiser scandals to attend to - no vacation for us. There's also site hosting and outside subscription fees to pay. If you're in a position to contribute a few dollars, now would be a very good time. If you're not, no problem, no excuses are necessary.

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Update: Thanks to all who gave so generously. I'll be sending out thank you e-mails over the next several days. You really helped me and Talkleft out a lot and I greatly appreciate it.

For criminal defense lawyers....Post-conviction and sentencing expert Alan Ellis has released his latest newsletter filled with post-Booker sentencing tips. If you're a federal practitioner, this is for you. You can download it free here (pdf).

by TChris

New details are emerging regarding the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, the Brazilian who British police misidentified as a terrorist.

Leaked documents, believed to be from the IPCC inquiry suggest Mr de Menezes was sitting calmly in the Tube carriage, surrounded by surveillance officers, moments before police stormed in and fired eight bullets into him.

The Police Commissioner reportedly tried to subvert an independent inquiry into the shooting, arguing that the law requiring the inquiry should give way to the interests of national security. The Brazilian's family wants answers that the inquiry could reveal, including "who issued the shoot-to-kill order and who incorrectly identified him as one of the suspected would-be bombers from the failed attacks on July 21."

Ohio Governor Taft is the first sitting Ohio Governor to be charged with a crime while holding the office. He was charged today with four misdemeanors for failing to report rounds of golf he received as gifts.

The charges were outlined at a press conference this afternoon with Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien and Columbus City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr. If convicted on the first-degree misdemeanor charges, Taft faces a maximum fine of $1,000 and up to six months in jail on each count.

Taft's lawyer says the omissions and errors were inadvertant. Following the story: Grow Ohio and Hypothetically Speaking. The latter has been on this for weeks and has been doing a great job.

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former Senator and VP nominee John Edwards, has written a letter of support to Cindy Sheehan. It's beautifully written and quite moving, please read the whole thing.

[Via Crooks and Liars]

Elaine Cassel examines Judge John Roberts and what his confirmation might mean for death penalty jurisprudence. It's not a pretty picture.