Syria broke off cooperation ties with the U.S. today over the War on Terror.

Imad Moustapha told CNN that Syria's decision came in the wake of recent "unfair and inaccurate" statements by U.S. officials that Damascus was allowing foreign fighters to cross Syria's border to aid in the insurgency in Iraq. "This is actually the state of the affairs. Today, we are not cooperating with the United States," Moustapha told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

If you are going to be in Denver Wednesday and support marijuana reform, head over to the Rialto Cafe on the 16th St. Mall (934 Sixteenth Street) at 6:30 pm.

On Wednesday, May 25, Marijuana Policy Project Executive Director Rob Kampia is hosting a fundraiser at the Rialto Cafe. The money raised at this event will stay in Colorado and help fund a signature drive to place a marijuana initiative on the Denver citywide ballot this November. This initiative, if passed, would make the private, adult possession of less than one ounce of marijuana legal under city ordinances.

Rob will speak around 7:00 pm. It's in the "Gallery Room." There's a suggested $50 minimum contribution to attend. SAFER needs $5,000 more to ensure they have the resources necessary to qualify for the ballot. Cash bar and appetizers. Please call MPP’s Jaycee Dempsey at 202-462-5747, ext. 107, or e-mail her at jdempsey@mpp.org to RSVP.

Here is Rep. Diana DeGette's press release which I just received by e-mail:

Behind the near-unanimous support of Democrats, the U.S. House of Representatives today passed HR 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, authored by U.S. Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO). The legislation will expand the number of embryonic stem cell lines eligible for federal research funding through the National Institutes of Health by removing the arbitrary August 9, 2001 date and impose strict ethical controls on the research. The bill passed by a vote of 238 to 194.

"Today, a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives took a critical step to helping extend or save the lives of potentially millions of Americans. By passing legislation, we are moving to reassert America's ethical and scientific leadership on embryonic stem cell research," said Rep. DeGette.

Bump and Update: The House passed the Stem Cell Research bill, over objections by Tom DeLay, Bush and the radical right fringe. Congratulations, Diana DeGette!

Is DeLay a little out to lunch, or what?

Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, said the embryonic research bill would force taxpayers to finance "the dismemberment of living, distinct human beings."

Bump and Update: The House is voting today on the bill. Here what Bush's chose for his photo op:

At the White House, Bush appeared with children who were "adopted" by their parents as frozen embryos leftover from fertility treatments.

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Original Post

Sen. Russ Feingold just gave this speech on the Senate Floor on the nomination of Priscilla Owen. The first half discusses the use of the filibuster, and the second is his detailed reasons for opposing Owen. From the first half:

The idea that the filibuster has been used over the past several years as a tool to block all the nominees that the minority oppose is ludicrous. There were, and there continue to be, very good reasons to block a certain small number of nominees. Nothing that occurred last night changes that one iota. I will continue to vote against cloture only in extraordinary circumstances. I did that when we voted on cloture on the Owen nomination in 2003, and each subsequent time. And I have done it again today. For the majority to have created this constitutional crisis over what came down to five nominees was wrong. It was an abuse of power. The American people did not support it and they will not support it in the future.

The radical right fringe today threatened three Republican Senators who signed onto the nuclear option compromise:

There were a few defectors, a few sellouts and that's troubling," said Tony Perkins, head of the Family Research Council. He mentioned three of the seven Republican senators who compromised with Democrats _ Sens. Mike DeWine of Ohio, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John Warner of Virginia _ and said, "There will be repercussions."

Good news! The Texas House has passed a bill, approved by the Senate last month, that provides for a life without parole option for juries considering death sentences. Under the current system, because the only choices are death or life with parole, jurors may be more likely to vote for death.

Rep. Harold Dutton, D-Houston, also got an amendment on the bill to ban the execution of persons who committed their crimes as minors. Supporters have said the option is needed for killers who are 17 and cannot be executed, according to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, as well as for other mitigating circumstances.

A final vote on the bill is scheduled Wednesday. If approved, the bill will be sent back to the Senate, where the sponsor will decide whether to accept the amended version.

Background is here.

I'll be adding to this as I find other bloggers whose views I agree with on the Compromise:

• Liberal Oasis:
  It is the same old conservatism with the same old centrist mask.

• Maxspeak:
  I'm more interested in whether it is a victory for the Dems. The point of opposition is to obstruct outrageous legislation and appointments. As far as I can see, the Dems have failed to do this, in return for a vague commitment from the GOP to forego a procedural vote that they can always take in the future, in the event opinions differ on the meaning of "extraordinary." Ultimately, it is a recasting of the absurd deal we had heard about before: you retain the right to filibuster as long as you don't do so."

• Skippy (R.J.Eskow):
  So now we learn that the democrats have achieved a "compromise" that is, in fact, a surrender. they avoided a shootout by throwing themselves face-down in the dirt. it's not their first "compromise." if there's one thing they've learned, it's how to compromise.

The ACLU will be in federal court in New York today arguing for the release of documents and photographs concerning the abuse and torture of prisoners held by the U.S. at military bases and other detention facilities overseas. (From their e-mailed press release):

At the hearing, the ACLU will argue that the CIA has improperly withheld memoranda relating interrogation methods and a Presidential directive authorizing the CIA to set up secret detention centers in other countries. Although the documents have been referenced in media reports, the CIA has refused even to confirm or deny that the documents exist.

The ACLU will also argue that the Defense Department has improperly withheld photographs that depict the abuse of prisoners and documents containing Defense Department discussions pertaining to concerns raised by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

More on the ACLU's FOIA request for documents, as well as the documents obtained so far, is available here.

William Myers and Henry Saad are the "fall guys" in the New Senate compromise. Unlike Owen, Rogers Brown and Pryor, they may or may not receive up or down votes. The Denver Post describes William Myers today as:

Myers has no judicial experience, nor has he ever tried a case before a jury. In a two-year stint as Interior's solicitor, Myers wrote just two formal opinions and - though cleared of legal wrongdoing - was the subject of three ethics investigations by the department. The American Bar Association gave the Boise, Idaho, resident its lowest passing rating as a nominee.

Some of Myers' actions as Interior solicitor indicate that he may have found it difficult to divorce himself from his years as an advocate of industry.

He is opposed most by environmentalists.

Say hello to our new advertiser, Images of Justice , which has taken out ads on several blogs on Blogad's newly formed Law Blog Advertising Network. Artist Trevor Goring attends almost all of the continuing legal education seminars and meetings of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL.) I've viewed his art up close for years and can highly recommend it. I also consider Trevor a friend.

Trevor Goring's work is represented by the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society. He has written and designed two successful art books, lectured on the history of law in Paris, painted the portraits of leading litigators and Supreme Court Judges and appeared on radio, television and in numerous publications. His works are to be found in hundreds of private, corporate and public collections.

Al-Qaeda is reporting that Al-Zarqawi has been wounded. The U.S. has not been able to confirm.