by TChris

Here's more on the demise of JeffGannon.com (reported here by TalkLeft).

Jeff Gannon, the reporter whose GOP connections, lack of conventional journalistic credentials, and softball questioning of President Bush raised questions about the White House's decision to grant him access to news conferences, abruptly quit yesterday after bloggers connected him to websites apparently devoted to gay sex.

Gannon wrote for TalonNews.com, "a website operated by a Texas Republican Party operative that has run articles skeptical of what it calls 'the homosexual agenda.'" Many of Gannon's reports "have been criticized for consisting largely of passages from official press releases reprinted verbatim."

Gannon came under scrutiny after Bush called on him during a rare and nationally televised news conference two weeks ago. Gannon's question attacked Democrats as having "divorced themselves from reality" and repeated an allegation against Senate minority leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, that turned out to be a joke by conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

Regardless of the ethics underlying the "outing" of Gannon's alleged non-political writings, it's worth asking how Gannon, whose real name is James Dale Guckert, became such a favored reporter at the White House.

by TChris

A former Atlanta police officer, once honored as "Officer of the Year," admitted in federal court that he was a lieutenant in the Diablos gang -- and that he assisted the gang with crimes such as robbery and drug trafficking -- while working as a cop. David Freeman entered a guilty plea to a federal civil rights violation that was based in part on his misuse of police authority "to help in the abduction of a rival gang member who was severely beaten."

by TChris

One might think a state supreme court justice would know better than to try this:

A Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice hid a small pocketknife in his carry-on bag after airport screeners told him it could not be carried on the flight, Harrisburg airport police said.

Justice Thomas Saylor, Jr. was reportedly offered a number of options after TSA found the knife, but "concealing the item in his carry-on bag was not one of them." Prosecutors are reviewing the case for possible charges, while the TSA may pursue a civil penalty.

by TChris

TalkLeft has frequently discussed the risks associated with the proliferation of Tasers as a police weapon. The latest example of that concern comes from Chicago.

A 14-year-old boy went into cardiac arrest after police shot him with a Taser stun gun, raising new questions about the weapon. ... The boy was regaining consciousness Wednesday but was not yet talking.

Police say that the boy lunged at an officer, but the facts are in dispute.

Cook County Public Guardian Robert Harris said his office is considering civil action after its investigation found the boy was no longer violent and sitting on a couch when police arrived. "I'm consistently hearing this boy never moved off the couch," Harris said. "If he did, it was after he got hit with the Taser gun." County officials said they have no information to indicate the boy attacked anybody.

The controversy surrounding Tasers hasn't stopped law enforcement agencies from asking for more of the weapons. Elected officials in a number of communities -- including Pittsburgh and the Illinois cities of Naperville and Canton -- will need to decide whether the risks outweigh the benefits. Those decisions may benefit from research (funded by a grant from the Department of Justice) into the effect of a Taser shock on the heart.

While it would be prudent to await the results of further research before buying (or approving the use of) Tasers, the problem may solve itself, as the continuing controversy has caused the value of the weapon's manufacturer, Taser International, Inc., to fall precipitiously. Investors have responded to reports that 84 people have died after being shocked by a Taser, and to news that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating the company's dubious claim that the weapon is safe.

In the last post I wrote about today's Congressional hearing on Booker and FanFan and possible fixes to the sentencing guidelines. I also mentioned that next week the U.S. Sentencing Commission will hold a similar hearing and Law Prof Doug Berman of Sentencing Law and Policy will be a witness (pdf).

That got me thinking about the time I was a witness at a Sentencing Commission hearing--in August, 1996--and how much I complained about both the federal sentencing statutes and guidelines. Here is the hearing transcript , my testimony begins at page 60. I told the Commission that our federal sentencing system had become "morally bankrupt." And I submitted a legislative fix--greeted favorably by one Commissioner. The chances of my being asked to speak today, in the Bush era, or speaking that boldly again: probably nil. Here's some of what I said (this is the oral testimony, not the prepared statement, with a few grammatical cleanups.)

It's a busy day Thursday at the House Judiciary Committee. In addition to the Immigration subcommittee taking up the Real ID Act, the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security will hold an oversight hearing on "The Implications of the Booker/Fanfan Decisions for the Federal Sentencing Guidelines."

Topics of Discussion:

• What is the likely impact of the Booker decision to the federal criminal justice system?
• How will federal judges exercise their discretion to ensure consistency and fairness?
• Is legislation needed?
• How would such changes impact public safety?
• What role, if any, should the United States Sentencing Commission continue to play in promulgating “advisory” sentencing guidelines?

This could be dangerous. We do not need new legislation at this time. We need to see how judges exercise their new discretion before we take it away. Of course, the Justice Department would like to make every crime have a mandatory minimum. We have to stop that from happening. Here's tomorrow's witness list:

The Real ID Act is bad policy and a bad law. It's dangerous and it is set for a House vote on Thursday. The White House threw its support behind the Sensenbrenner-sponsored bill today.

This is the bill that would allow the U.S. to send non-citizens back to countries that employ torture. The ACLU says:

Specifically, the bill would make it easier to send asylum-seekers back to the countries they are fleeing if they cannot provide written "corroboration" of their claims, a move contrary to international law. Federal law already gives officials ample discretion to deny improper asylum claims, and asylum applicants are subject to much more extensive scrutiny than virtually any other pool of non-citizens seeking entry to the United States.

Anytime you see groups as diverse as these uniting to oppose a specific piece of legislation, it's a pretty safe bet it's a bad law.

This is the brief from hell. Not because of the writing or research, but because of Tenth Circuit requirements on things like appendice, and this labor-intensive, highly technical mandatory electronic filing rule. I could be here all night. All of which means another open thread for you. Here's some things I would talk about, but the choice is your's.

• Jeff Gannon updates and Democrats demanding investigations. Americablog is all over it, and says: " The issue here is whether we might have a male prostitute (or pimp) asking questions of the president and being leaked internal CIA documents." Cable news will feature it as well.

• Congress' debating of the awful Real ID Act today

• LAPD's need for a new shooting policy in the wake of killing of 13 year old.

• The depraved scalping of the Idaho woman

I have a brief due today, so you're on your own. What's on your mind?

[Update. This thread has degenerated, it's being closed. Try the new one, and please, try a little harder to say something others might care to read.]

A federal immigration judge in Los Angeles has ordered Islamic charity fundraiser Abdel Jabber Hamdan deported. Hamdan has lived in Southern California for more than 20 years.

Hamden was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan. The Judge considerately didn't order him back there:

Judge Sitgraves said he could not be sent to Jordan, where he was born in a Palestinian refugee camp, because he would be at risk of torture by the Jordanian government because he has been accused by the American authorities of terror-related activities.

So where will we deport him to? This is one of the worst parts of our immigration system. People without a country end up in indefinite detention. The Supreme Court said in Zadvydas v. Davis in 2001 that if a person is not deported within 6 months after the order, the Government cannot continue to hold them. It issued a similar ruling a few months ago in a case involving Mariel Cubans.

Congratulations to Peter Daou, of the excellent blogwire Daou Report. It's part of Salon now. Peter was the online communications advisor to John Kerry's presidential campaign. I always appreciated receiving his e-mail updates.

Maybe someone will pick up Memeorandum next, they deserve wider reading as well.

JeffGannon.com is no more.

The voice goes silent.

Because of the attention being paid to me I find it is no longer possible to effectively be a reporter for Talon News. In consideration of the welfare of me and my family I have decided to return to private life. Thank you to all those who supported me.

World o'Crap has the background. I don't like this outcome. It's one thing to criticize a person's politics, even to question their journalistic credentials and ethics. It's another to force them underground.