In the strongest language of any governmental entity to date, the Montana legislature has "just said no" to the Patriot Act.

Senate Joint Resolution 19, sponsored by Sen. Jim Elliott, D-Trout Creek, says that while the 2005 Legislature supports the federal government's fight against terrorism, the so-called Patriot Act of 2001 granted authorities sweeping powers that violate citizens' rights enshrined in both the U.S. and Montanan constitutions.

The resolution, which does not carry the weight of a law but expresses the Legislature's opinion, encourages Montana law enforcement agencies not to participate in investigations authorized under the Patriot Act that violate Montanans' constitutional rights. It requests all libraries in the state to post a sign warning citizens that under the Patriot Act, federal agents may force librarians to turn over a record of books a person has checked out and never inform that citizen of the request.

Montana becomes the 5th state to say no to the Patriot Act. The Bill of Rights Defense Committee is keeping track.

Fred Korematsu died at 86 this week.

Fred Korematsu, 86, who unsuccessfully fought Japanese American internment camps during World War II before finally winning in court nearly four decades later, died March 30....

Mr. Korematsu became a symbol of civil rights for challenging the World War II internment orders that sent 120,000 Japanese Americans to government camps. His conviction for opposing the internment was overturned in U.S. District Court in 1983.

Mr. Korematsu helped win a national apology and reparations for internment camp survivors and their families in 1988. He was honored by President Bill Clinton in 1998 with the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He was an unsung hero.

His legacy is the reminder that the Constitution must protect basic rights, even in wartime.

The SanFrancisco Chronicle approvingly notes California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a change will take place in the California Department of Corrections, through a shift from focusing on punishment to rehabilitation. He will even change the name from California Department of Corrections to California Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections.

Compared to Gray Davis, Schwarzenegger has a far better record of allowing parole for some who have been convicted of murder.

In only 15 months, he has already released 94 "lifers" -- 15 times more than Davis did during a much longer period....Schwarzenegger's willingness to release even those convicted of capital crimes is a significant step with broad national implications. It will reinforce an emerging national movement to make rehabilitation rather than punishment a central focus of the criminal-justice system.

... At the same time, the lifers whom Schwarzenegger has released still leave more than 27,000 inmates serving indeterminate life terms in California. It is an astonishingly high number. Incarcerating them costs the state nearly $1 billion a year.

The Independent reports that newly released documents show that Lt General Ricardo Sanchez authorized coercive prisoner practices banned by the Geneva Conventions. It appears that Sanchez may have committed perjury in prior testimony by denying that he authorized the techniques:

Documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reveal that Lt General Ricardo Sanchez authorised techniques such as the use of dogs to intimidate prisoners, stress positions and disorientation. In the documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, Gen Sanchez admits that some of the techniques would not be tolerated by other countries.

When he appeared last year before a Congressional committee, Gen Sanchez denied authorising such techniques. He has now been accused of perjury.

The ACLU says the authorization for the abuse doesn't stop with Sanchez, it goes up to Rumsfeld:

The Justice Department has admitted it was wrong in interpreting wiretapped calls pertaining to a pension fraud investigation and Rev. Al Sharpton. Remember the wiretaps on Philadelphia Mayor John Street right before the election? The feds were investigating whether city contracts were bartered for campaign contributions.

Part of the investigation focused on now deceased Democratic fundraiser Ronald A. White. White's calls with Sharpton were taped. Based on the tape, the feds got an order to videotape a meeing Sharpton attended. According to today's Posts,

"The bottom line is that we thought something may have been going on with the New York pension fund that we were not accurate about," Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Zauzmer said Saturday.

CNN reports that Pope John Paul II has died. May he rest in peace.

Update: There will be no other stories this weekend on the cable news channels. TV Newser reports on the schedules:

by TChris

Government employees, apparently seeking to further the government's plan to bury nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, acknowledge in emails that they made up facts and withheld data in reports to quality assurance inspectors. A subcommittee of the House Committee on Government Reform released redacted copies of the emails yesterday.

The chairman of the panel that released the messages, Representative Jon Porter, Republican of Nevada, pointed out that the Energy Department and the White House had repeatedly said that their recommendation of the Yucca Mountain site was based on "sound science."

"If the project has been based upon science, and the science is not correct, it puts the whole project in jeopardy," said Mr. Porter, a longtime opponent of Yucca Mountain plan. "I believe these e-mails show science is not driving the project; it's expedience to get the job done."

The subcommittee plans to hold a hearing on the Yucca Mountain plan on Tuesday.

Insurgents stormed Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq today, leaving 18 American casualties. Casualties includes wounded as well as dead. [Via Atrios.]

This should be an April Fool's joke, but it's not. Colorado state Representative Jim Welker of Loveland, Colorado (same neck of the woods as U.S. Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, chief proponent of the Federal Marriage Amendment that would ban gay marriage) warned his fellow legislators, with a straight face, that if we allow gay marriage today, we'll be inviting marriages between humans and animals tomorrow.

"Where do you draw the line?" Rep. Jim Welker asked. "A year ago in India, a woman married her dog."..."A guy in Boulder tried to marry his horse a couple years ago," Welker said.

These weren't even back-room comments....he made them at a press conference supporting a state constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

And people think Ward Churchill is dangerous?

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has struck back at pharmacists who think it's okay to play the morals card at work:

Gov. Rod Blagojevich filed an emergency rule Friday requiring pharmacies that sell contraceptives to fill prescriptions for birth control quickly, following recent incidents in which a Chicago pharmacist refused to fill orders for contraceptives because of moral opposition.

"Our regulation says that if a woman goes to a pharmacy with a prescription for birth control, the pharmacy or the pharmacist is not allowed to discriminate or to choose who he sells it to or who he doesn't sell it to," Blagojevich said. "The pharmacy will be expected to accept that prescription and fill it ... No delays. No hassles. No lectures."

[link via Atrios.]

During the three days I was gone, the trolls and chatterers have taken advantage. Since I want to return to posting and not have to spend time monitoring comments, I'm liberally using the delete key and banning offending IP addresses. For those who are limited to four comments a day, please know I will be strictly enforcing the limit and deleting excess comments.

Update: Additional description of troll comments appear on Daily Kos today:

"Trolling" refers to the act of intentionally making incendiary or offensive comments, in hopes of provoking an indignant response. The term is also applied to outright attacks on a community that attempt to make it unusable.

Matt Welch, writing at Reason Magazine, says we will never see the remainder of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse photos. The ones that were going to make us all sick to our stomachs:

The images, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Congress, depict "acts that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel, and inhuman." After Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) viewed some of them in a classified briefing, he testified that his "stomach gave out." NBC News reported that they show "American soldiers beating one prisoner almost to death, apparently raping a female prisoner, acting inappropriately with a dead body, and taping Iraqi guards raping young boys." Everyone who saw the photographs and videos seemed to shudder openly when contemplating what the reaction would be when they eventually were made public.

What's the excuse? Officials have provided two reasons: