The New York Times presents its list of winners and losers in the election.

John Zogby is listed in the loser column, for inaccurately predicting John Kerry would win. He responds:

by TChris

Linda Greenhouse provides an update on the workings of the Supreme Court in the absence of the Chief Justice.

Information from official channels has been minimal. The court's press office would not say whether the chief justice was present for the justices' regular Friday morning conference, at which they review new cases and decide which to grant. (He was not.) Nor would the press office say whether, if he did not attend, he sent in his votes. (He did.)

If the Chief Justice decides to retire while the Senate is in recess, Greenhouse suggests that the President might use a recess appointment to bypass Senate confirmation of the appointment.

by TChris

Last month, TalkLeft reported the release of Ernest Willis from death row in Texas, where he spent 17 years for a crime he didn't commit. A sharply written story in San Antonio's Express-News exposes the grim details of this tragic injustice.

The state of Texas had prosecuted him with scant and flawed proof. It had tried him while he was unknowingly drugged — hence the eerie, vacant gaze in court. And, after all that, it wanted him dead.

This compelling report of Willis' wrongful conviction concludes in tomorrow's Express-News.

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.]