Terry Kindlon, criminal defense attorney and former U.S. Marine Sergeant who fought in Vietnam, responds to one of Talkleft's conservative commenters:

Whenever I read one of your comments in support of "the war" I truly wonder what planet you're living on. As a former Marine Sergeant who was seriously wounded during the Tet Offensive in Vietnam, and as the father of one son who's an active duty Marine Captain, and another son who's worked for the UN in both Iraq and Afghanistan over the past two years, it is my opinion that you don't have the slightest idea of what you're saying. If you had ever seen the smashed body of a decapitated little civilian girl, or carried the still warm dead body of an 18 year old Marine in your arms, as have I, you would know better than to stand on the sidelines yakking about statistics and cheering while my Marine Corps, the best military force this country has ever assembled, is consistently misused by a delusional civilian administration for highly questionable purposes of very questionable morality.

It is at times like these that I want to say to guys like you that if you love the small of napalm in the morning (you wouldn't, incidentally, because it stinks) and if you think this war is such a great idea, why don't you go fight in it! If you're too old, or too scared, send your son. They have lots of openings, and I'll be happy to cook you up a nice, warm cassarole. Semper fi, pal...Terry Kindlon

Thanks, Terry, for your service past and present.

You think your week was depressing? Try this on for size, "My Hands Are Tied, by Brian Lonegan in Sunday's New York Times Magazine:

I'm an attorney with the Legal Aid Society, the only free legal-service organization in New York City that provides assistance to people who are in ''removal proceedings,'' what used to be called deportation, because of a criminal conviction. There are crimes people should be deported for -- murder, robbery, rape -- but the way the law is written now, people are being deported for shoplifting or for jumping subway turnstiles or for possession of a joint of marijuana. New York's detainees are held in county jails in New Jersey. There are several hundred immigration detainees in these jails at any given moment. And there's only one Legal Aid attorney available. That's me.

Here's what it's like:

These guys all want to tell me their life stories, but I have to cut to the chase with potential clients and figure out what legal remedies they have. Most have none. Detainees call me collect from jails, and I give them advice. My hotline number is now in every jail cell between here and Pennsylvania.

Here's how it got that way:

by TChris

Several comments in response to this recent post question the wisdom of hate crimes laws. An editorial in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review argues that basing punishment on motive results in a denial of equal justice:

Even more egregious is the consideration that some victims are more deserving than others based on their race, religion, national origin, color or sexual orientation. Therefore, all are not equal before the law.

Punishment is imposed to meet the needs of society, not of the victim. Victims have no entitlement to equal punishment.

A better argument: hate crimes laws come dangerously close to punishing thought, and freedom of thought is the foundation for all other freedoms.

Tonight is the third Rocky Mountain Blogger Bash at Falling Rock Tap House, 1919 Blake St, Denver. Now here's the cool thing for those of you too far away to attend....you can watch us on this webcam which is updated every second. Thanks to Colorado Conservative Darren Copeland for organizing the event.

There doesn't seem to be a start time, but 7:00 or 8:00 should do it. Liberals will be in very short supply, and you don't have to have a blog to attend, so come on down if you can.

by TChris

Sexual assault accusations made by small children are often uncritically accepted -- by social workers, police officers, prosecutors, and juries. The conventional wisdom is that young kids lack a sufficient knowledge base from which to invent a story about sexual activity, and that they never have a motive to lie.

That unfortunate attitude deprived Sylvester Smith of twenty years of his life. Only now is the truth being told.

The victims, who were 4 and 6 when they made the charges, testified that they falsely accused Smith, 53, who was the boyfriend of one of the girls' mothers. One victim said that the real abuser was a cousin who was 9 at the time. She said their grandmother, who has since died, pressured them to accuse Smith rather than the boy, [District Attorney Rex] Gore said.

The younger woman said she concealed the truth for the last two decades because she was afraid she wouldn't be believed. The other woman said she decided to recant now because "I wanted to get something off my chest."

Credit the current district attorney for admitting that his office made a mistake twenty years ago, and for asking the court to dismiss the charges and to set Smith free. Smith had been serving two consecutive life sentences.

The case was prosecuted in 1984 by Mike Easley, who was just reelected as the Governor of North Carolina.

It's all but certain Attorney General John Ashcroft will resign. Two of the top replacement possibilities, former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, who reportedly recently accepted a job with Texaco, and Rudy Guliani have said they don't want the job.

Who's left? Possibly White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales. Or Marc Racicot, Bush's campaign manager and former Governor of Montana.

Everyone is very Kobe Byranted out, I'm sure, but this is really fascinating. The Los Angeles Times, in a long investigative piece based upon statements by prosecutors and the accuser's civil lawyers, as opposed to anonymous sources or legal analysts, reports that the accuser performed so badly during a cross-examination at a mock trial held just a few weeks before the scheduled start of the real trial, that both prosecutors and her civil lawyers knew she had to fold.

It tells the story behind the apology negotiations, conducted by her civil lawyers and local defense lawyers who were on the team but not members of Haddon and Mackey's firm; the bitter feuds between the prosecutors which left two of them not speaking up to the week the trial was set to begin and the details of the mock cross that was devasting for the accuser. Almost all of the quotes are from the prosecutors and civil lawyers involved.

The only lawyers not commenting are Pam Mackey and Hal Haddon, who have consistently refused to speak with the press, citing ethical reaons. This article sounds like a prelude to a book on the case, and for once, much of what the reporters say rings true.

It began with Howard Dean, but John Kerry raised Internet campaign contributions to an art form, collecting $82 million from online supporters. Bush only raised $14 million.

To put it in perspective, consider that Al Gore's total individual donations in 2000 amounted to $50 million.

Mr. Bush raised about $273 million, while Mr. Kerry raised about $249 million. The amount Mr. Kerry raised online virtually ensures that few presidential and Congressional campaigns will develop in the future without the Internet in mind.

"This is arguably the most powerful tool for political engagement we've ever seen," said Simon Rosenthal, president of the New Democratic Network. "It made it easier for the average citizen to participate in politics. Every moment they interact with the campaign can be a direct-response moment. They can watch a speech on TV, get motivated and give money."

The blogosphere's own Daily Kos gets a top mention in the New York Times:

The Internet pioneer MoveOn.org, which advocated Mr. Bush's defeat, raised millions. At the popular liberal Web log Daily Kos, its founder, Markos Moulitsas, directed more than $750,000 to the Democratic party and candidates from 6,500 contributors. Just a mention on the blog was worth thousands to a campaign.

Wait till they see what we do between now and 2006. Get ready for BlogPAC. As Molly Ivins said Friday, "Don't mourn, Organize."

Knights Ridder reports that Marine officials are preparing for casualties at "levels not seen since Vietnam." At the same time, Doctors Without Borders is pulling out of Iraq due to the increased level of violence. [links via Cursor.]

The meme since Tuesday, which we heard first on NBC, has been that the youth vote didn't materialize. New reports say the opposite:

Under-30 voters came through in big numbers this year, with more than 20 million casting a ballot for president, researchers found. The turnout bested their 2000 showing by more than nine percentage points and heartened activists who worked to get young voters to the polls.

Researchers at the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement at the University of Maryland found that 18- to 29-year-old turnout was up by 4.6 million voters from exit poll data from the 2000 election. They based their calculations on exit polls done for The Associated Press and others by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International.The figures also beat exit poll numbers from 1992, the last time the youth vote spiked amid an otherwise general decline in turnout since 18-year-olds first got the chance to vote in 1972.

The young voters preferred Kerry to Bush:

The Tank in New York City was home to Democratic bloggers, including us, during the Republican National Convention. If you're can make it to New York next weekend, the Tank is hosting a conference for online activists about the election:

The election is over. The campaign cannot end. What do we say after the mourning on the Morning After?

THE MORNING AFTER ­ A Symposium ­ November 13-14.

A day-and-a-half of conversations, panels, working groups and more.

Hosted by Cosmopolity at The Tank - 432 W 42nd St NYC.

Why? The 2004 election saw an explosion of grassroots activity, online organizing, voter registration initiatives, new forms of media and progressive unity. We fell short on November 2, but the movement, the organizations, their members and our progressive energy are as important as ever.

Senate Democrats did themselves proud today. Richard Durbin (D-IL) will be the new Senate Minority Whip when the new Congress begins in January:

DURBIN STATEMENT REGARDING SENATE LEADERSHIP

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) made the following statement regarding the Senate Demaocratic leadership for the 109th Congress:

“I have spent the last few days talking with, and listening to, my Democratic colleagues in the Senate. In the course of those conversations we have discussed the direction in which we would like to see the Democratic Caucus move and what we would like to accomplish in the next few years.”

"As a result of those conversations, I have asked for my colleagues’ support to serve as Democratic Whip, the second spot in leadership, and now have more than a majority of members pledged to vote for me. I am deeply honored that my Senate colleagues are willing to entrust me with this responsibility. Our caucus is a diverse one, as is my home state of Illinois. I am confident that the lessons I have learned in working to address the broad range of concerns of my state will also help me in meeting the challenges of serving as Whip of this extraordinary Caucus.”