The Fourth Circuit today delivered a big blow to Zacarias Moussaoui. While agreeing the Government improperly refused to allow him to interview witnesses being held as enemy combatants who may be able to show he was not a member of the 9/11 attack conspiracy, it said the Judge's remedy of preventing the Government from seeking the death penalty was excessive:

In affirming a lower court ruling, the three-judge panel found "that the enemy combatant witnesses could provide material, favorable testimony on Moussaoui's behalf." But the panel said the lower court's remedy of removing the death penalty was not the proper way to penalize the government for refusing to grant Moussaoui adequate access to the witness statements.

Rather, the court said, the solution should have been for the defense, the prosecution and the judge to decide, for presentation to a jury, statements that would support Moussaoui. The defense must have a major role in crafting a compromise, the court said.

The spin is so thick right now on Bush's military service I'm having a difficult time even understanding the arguments. First, Drudge. He has two new items up, and the first one I looked at was a photocopy of a typed document (PDF) that Drudge says is Bush's agreement with the National Guard, signed in 1968 by Bush and Captain William Hooper. In trying to figure out the relevance of the document, since I didn't see one from Drudge, I settled on Paragraph G, which says:

Provided I satisfactorily participate as a member of the Ready Reserve, I will be deferred from induction; if I fail to participate, I may be involuntarily ordered to perform 45 days active duty, and/or be certified for induction.

It also spells out what is "satisfactory participation."

I figured this was leaked by a Democrat, to show that because Bush failed to take his physical or take makeup classes in Boston, he should have been assigned to active duty and/or inducted, but since he wasn't, we should assume he got special treatment. Apparently, I got it all wrong.

By Anton Greg.

Larger version here.

In the "truth is sicker than fiction" department, Physician Tom Coburn, a former Congressman, is the Republican candidate for Senate in Oklahoma. Via Atrios,

A doctor who has performed abortions wants there to be the death penalty for those who perform them. He also sterilized a 20 year old woman without her consent, and then illegally billed Medicaid for the procedure. He said "That ["the gay"] agenda is the greatest threat to our freedom that we face today." He criticized NBC for showing "Schindler's List," saying that it promoted "irresponsible sexual behavior."

Don't think Coburn is only a danger to Oklahomans. Here's the sickest part:

Tom Coburn may be indispensable to the Republicans' effort to hold on to their majority in the U.S. Senate in November. "He is their best hope for keeping an Oklahoma seat Republican in the closely divided Senate," wrote conservative pundit Robert Novak.

What you can do. Give to Brad Carson, the leading Democratic challenger.

Instapundit has been talking about "pajama blogging" which appears to be short-hand for the level of trust one should put in blogger accounts of news as opposed to those of the mainstream media. Glenn says,

JUST CAUGHT Jonathan Klein debating Stephen Hayes about the CBS forgery scandal. Klein says that "Bloggers have no checks and balances . . . [it's] a guy sitting in his living room in his pajamas."

Non- "big media bloggers" may not have censors, bosses or editors, but that per se doesn't make them untrustworthy. As Glenn points out, bloggers use hyperlinks to source their posts--and generally are quick to admit a mistake and correct it. As I wrote in this recent op-ed about convention-blogging in the Denver Post:

Bloggers are not a substitute for the 5 o'clock news. We help complete the picture. We keep the media honest. If the media won't cover the real story, bloggers will. Just remember, a blog is only as credible as its author. With 3.5 million blogs now on the Web, choose carefully. It's read at your own risk.

The Inspector General has launched an investigation into the bogus arrest of Portland lawyer Brandon Mayfield last August, purportedly based on a fingerprint the FBI said connected him to the Spain train bombings:

The Mayfield investigation is focusing on how the fingerprint error was made and also on a complaint by Mayfield that the "FBI inappropriately conducted a surreptitious search of his home ... potentially motivated by his Muslim faith and ties to the Muslim community," according to Fine's report. The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility also is investigating the actions of prosecutors in the Mayfield case.

The inspector general's investigation was disclosed in a twice-a-year report to Congress on potential civil rights and civil liberties abuses by Justice Department officials. A copy of the report was obtained by The Associated Press on Monday, a day ahead of its scheduled public release.

All of our Mayfield coverage is accessible here.

TalkLeft does not support the renewal of the assault weapons ban. No matter how you view terrorism, the drug war or street violence, stripping citizens of 200 years of civil liberties is not the answer. However, if you disagree with us, then John Kerry is correct, you should be blaming Bush.

Democrat John Kerry rebuked President Bush on Monday for letting a ban on assault weapons expire and said his Republican rival paid for tax cuts by taking police off the streets and slashing anti-drug programs. The Democratic nominee, who will face Bush in the Nov. 2 election, said the president had chosen "his powerful and well-connected friends" in a secret deal with the gun lobby over the police officers and families he promised to protect.

Bump and Update: Noon Monday: Ivan is 70 miles from Cuba and after that looks like it is headed next towards the Florida panhandle, Louisiana, Mississippi and the Yucatan.

Bump and Update: Rather than having several threads on Ivan as we did for Frances, this one will periodically get bumped as news develops. There's a live report in the comments now. I hope those of you in Ivan's path will keep them coming

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Get your latest graphics on the advance of Hurricane Ivan here and here. Advisory is here.

The Florida Keys were evacuated as Ivan blasted towards Jamaica. It's now threatening the Grand Caymans and Cuba. Then it looks like it will bypass the Keys and Miami and head for the Panhandle.

Yesterday was bloody in Iraq. A news reporter was among those killed--on camera, as he was reporting:

At least 37 people were killed in Baghdad alone. Many of them died when a U.S. helicopter fired on a disabled U.S. Bradley fighting vehicle as Iraqis swarmed around it, cheering, throwing stones and waving the black and yellow sunburst banner of Iraq's most-feared terror organization. The dead from the helicopter strike included Arab television reporter Mazen al-Tumeizi, who screamed, ``I'm dying, I'm dying,'' as a cameraman recorded the chaotic scene. An Iraqi cameraman working for the Reuters news agency and an Iraqi freelance photographer for Getty Images were wounded.

Maimed and lifeless bodies of young men and boys lay in the street as the stricken U.S. vehicle was engulfed in flames and thick black smoke.

Today, the U.S. bombed a suspected al-Qaida hideout, killing 16.

Someone needs to tell the Los Angeles District Attorney's office that the state has a severe budget crisis on its hands. Apparently, the DA is living on Mars and hasn't heard.

Wesley Wheaton is a Canadian citizen recently paroled after serving nine years on a sex offender charge. He's up for deportation. The D.A. is objecting. He wants Wheaton civilly committed to the state mental hospital in California, instead of being sent back to Canada.

If I were a California resident, I'd be pretty angry. If I were Gov. Arnold, I'd pick up the phone and tell this DA to worry about how to solve the state's prison crisis rather than costing the state more money to house those who have done their time and will be saying goodbye to California courtesy of the immigration authorities.

How, you ask, can the state keep offenders in jail after they served their time?

California's Sexually Violent Predator Act, which took effect in 1996, allows judges or juries to commit repeat sex offenders to state hospitals after they finish serving their prison sentences. The process is twofold. After being paroled, an offender is transferred to a county jail, where he is arraigned and then participates in a hearing to determine if there is probable cause to believe he may commit new sexually violent crimes. If probable cause is found, the offender undergoes a full trial to determine whether he should be committed to a hospital for two years.

Canada is willing to take Wheaton back with the requirement that he attend a rehabilitative program.

Last week we wrote about a Guantanamo detainee who after three years imprisonment, became the first detainee to be declared by the military commission not to be an enemy combatant. He will be freed and returned to his home country.

What about the three years he unjustly spent at Camp X-Ray? Is he entitled to compensation? Maybe.

Legal affairs writer Vanessa Blum examines the issue and his possible routes to recovery:

Among the remedies available to detainees released from Guantanamo Bay are suits against private contractors under the Alien Tort Statute, claims against U.S. government officials under the Federal Tort Claims Act, or so-called Bivens actions, which allege civil rights violations by federal agents.

Ms. Blum concludes:

While each legal instrument presents obstacles, recent Supreme Court decisions may strengthen the detainees' hand....While to many the current situation seems less egregious than the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, observers on both sides of the Guantanamo issue agree that there is no legal barrier to prevent the government from voluntarily compensating released prisoners.

"It would be very nice if they paid the people released at least as much as they paid the bounty hunters for capturing them," says Shearman & Sterling partner Thomas Wilner, lead lawyer to 12 Kuwaiti detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

Opening September 14 at Times Square....the traveling museum of the DEA featuring ""Target America: Traffickers, Terrorists & You". Its basic spiel:

The DEA's describes the new exhibit as tracing "...the historic and contemporary connections between global drug trafficking and terrorism. Starting with the horrific events of September 11, 2001 and moving back in time to the ancient Silk Road, this exhibit…will present the visitor with a global and historical overview of this deadly connection. The visitor will have many opportunities to explore the often-symbiotic relationships that exist between terrorist groups and drug trafficking cartels and the personal impact those connections have on the visitor."

Oh really? Than why is the DEA spending more time busting medical marijuana growers and patients than terrorists?

'There have been more arrests for medical marijuana cultivation and distribution since September 11, than there have been for any acts of terrorism in California.' "

Instead of paying attention to the DEA's campaign, or worse, attending it, check out the Marijuana Policy Project's counter-campaign, Target America: The DEA and You.