David Corn examines charges that the Bush forces stole the election in the new Nation. He concludes it's possible but there is no case as of yet. From the Nation's e-mail today:

Nation Washington editor David Corn looks at mounting charges of whether last week's election was stolen by the Bush forces. Corn writes, "Clear away the rhetoric, and what's mainly left are the odd early exit polls (which did show Kerry's lead in Ohio and Florida declining as Election Day went on and which ended up with the current national Bush-Kerry spread), troubling instances of bad electronic voting, and curious--or possibly curious--trends in Florida. This may be the beginning of a case; it is not a case in tself."

Ultimately, Corn concludes that a rigged election is conceivable, ut that "The system ought to be so solid that no one would have cause to even wonder whether an election has been stolen."

For those who want more on the charges, head on over to Blackboxvoting.

Bump and update: The ACLU hails the decision. More case information is available here. The decision is here. (TL)

**************
by TChris

An alien who is a permanent resident of the United States can be deported after conviction of "a crime of violence" that carries a potential sentence of at least one year. A "crime of violence" requires the use of physical force against another. The Supreme Court decided today (in a unanimous opinion by Chief Justice Rehnquist) that Josue Leocal, a Haitian citizen, cannot be deported despite his Florida conviction of causing injury by drunk driving because he did not "use" force when he negligently caused an accident.

Chalk this one up as a loss for John Ashcroft.

Post-election message to the south. It is very funny and angry at the same time, but if four- letter words offend you, skip it.

Congrats to the Rocky Mountain Innocence Project, based in Salt Lake. Bruce Dallas Goodman is expected to be released from prison today after serving 19 years for a rape and murder conviction vacated by new DNA evidence.

Live Pentagon press conference. There will be no body-counting. Lt. Gen. Tom Metz said the fight in Fallujah is far from over.

Casualties: Very Few
Friendly casualties: Light
Enemy casualties: Higher than expected
U.S. Casualties: about a dozen, won't state particular number.

Wounded: What we've experienced elsehwere throughout Iraqi Freedom. Won't get pinned down. The DOD will put out notices.

Here's what I would not want my lawyer-client testifying to in a trial accusing her of providing material support to terrorists. Either 7 days of questioning were too much for Lynne Stewart or, and I hope this is the case, the media is quoting her out of context.

Hopefully, her lawyer Michael Tigar will clear this up on redirect.

Here's why the Scott Peterson jury likely will return a verdict today. The jurors arrived at the courthouse well-dressed. On prior days, they were dressed down in sweats and jeans. Just my opinion, of course.

Peterson jurors arrived at the Redwood City courthouse Tuesday well-dressed and several were seen hugging their bus driver as if to say good-bye.

Yasser Arafat may be dead by the time you read this. He suffered a brain hemorrhage last night and has detoriated rapidly. He is expected to be dead within hours.

Update: Palestinian leaders say he is dead. The French say he is not.

by TChris

Almost 80 years have passed since Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan litigated the legality of teaching evolution in the Scopes trial, but those who want public schools to substitute religious dogma for science continue to exert their influence. The latest version of the Scopes trial is ongoing in Cobb County, Georgia, where the school board responded to a petition drive by placing "warning stickers" on science textbooks proclaiming that evolution is "a theory, not a fact." Apparently no warning stickers are required for relativity, although those who object to "moral relativism" may be printing up the stickers as you read this post.

Parents sued the school board, arguing that religious beliefs should not influence public education.

Two questions expected to be raised in the trial are:

• Is "intelligent design" a religious idea? A concept espoused by many opponents of evolution, intelligent design holds that the variety of life on Earth results from purposeful design rather than random mutation and that a higher intelligence guides the process.

• If the concept of intelligent design is found to be religious, do Cobb County's book disclaimers violate the separation between church and state?

The trial is expected to conclude this week.

Demarco McCullum was a star quarterback on one of Houston's high school teams. Now he's awaiting his execution tonight in Texas. His appeals have been exhausted. According to NCADP,

McCullum was sentenced to death based on the notion that he would continue to be a future threat to society in or out of prison. He has been in prison for 10 years and has been a model prisoner. McCullum accepts full responsibility for his actions and is truly remorseful for the crimes he has committed. There is every reason to believe McCullum could continue to live peacefully in a structured environment. McCullum’s attorney was quick to express his concern that the state was executing a reformed law abiding man who is very different today than he was at 19 when the crime was committed.

Tommorrow it will be Frederick McWilliams turn to die.

In Kentucky, Governor Ernie Fletcher just signed his first death warrant, for Clyde Bowling. The Governor is also a doctor. Groups contend he should not have signed the death warrant because he is bound by the Hippocratic oath. In additon,

A major American airline has been authorized by the TSA to arm air marshals with taser guns. The same taser guns that police use on criminal suspects. The same guns that are suspected of causing dozens of deaths.

Tasers are the stun guns that incapacitate their targets with 50,000-volt shocks, turning muscles into jelly. They've been used 45,000 times by police in the last five years. And although the weapons have been fingered in dozens of deaths, there's been no conclusive proof that the tasers were to blame.

In a press release Monday, stun gun maker Taser International announced that, for the first time, "the Transportation Security Administration of the United States Department of Homeland Security has approved a major international airline's application for the onboard use of TASER brand conducted energy weapons by specially trained personnel on flights to/from the United States."

.... Meanwhile, "Oakland police, facing lawsuits over tactics used last year against anti-war demonstrators, have agreed to stop using wooden or rubber bullets, Taser stun guns, pepper spray and motorcycles to break up crowds," says WTVU (via the Sunshine Project).

So if the terrorists don't get you, the Air Marshals may do the job instead. That's one airline I probably won't be flying on anytime soon. Here's the press release.

Crime and Federalism has put together this chart of Supreme Court death penalty cases, by issue, case and year, that shows how each Justice voted - whether for death or against it. The chart was in excel format, and at our suggestion, the author graciously converted it to html.