Michael Scheuer, C.I.A. agent and author of Imperial Hubris, has been gagged by the CIA and prevented from speaking out to criticize Bush's intelligence policies and failures.

It is inappropriate for CIA personnel to comment on current events unless specifically sanctioned to do so," a CIA official, who spoke on condition they not be named, told United Press International. The official said that since Wednesday, Scheuer -- whose best-selling "Imperial Hubris: Why The West Is Losing The War On Terror" was published last month -- had been required to give five business days notice to the public affairs office of the CIA of any interviews he intended to conduct, and submit "a detailed outline of what he plans to say for approval."

He has been effectively gagged," said Scheuer's editor, Christina Davidson, of Brassey's Inc., who published "Imperial Hubris," and Scheuer's first book, "Through Our Enemies Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America." "This is clearly an effort to stop him from saying what a lot of people in the CIA think about the president's proposals for reform (of the intelligence community)."

TChris wrote about the book here. You can order it here:

Imperial Hubris:
Why the West is Losing the War on Terror

The Judge presiding over the Oklahoma state trial of Terry Nichols sentenced him today to 161 terms of life without parole, to be served consecutively. The jury had rejected the death penalty for him.

Nichols spoke at his sentencing, but if anyone was expecting he would answer lingering questions about involvement of others in the bombing, it was not to be. Nichols apologized and told everyone to believe in God.

Nichols' lawyers are encouraging him not to appeal. If he were to be retried, the death penalty could be on the table again. So, it looks like the OKC bombing cases finally have come to an end. That's good. The families of the victims have closure and can now move on.

My view: The state trial was an unnecessary waste of resources. Nichols was already serving life without parole on his federal conviction of conspiracy to kill the 8 federal workers who died in the blast. He will now return to the maximum security wing at Florence, Colorado to serve out the rest of his sentence. Gain to the state and people of Oklahoma by virtue of this trial: none.

Update: Here is the text of Terry Nichols' statement at sentencing today.

They live here. They work here. They pay taxes and support the community. Why shouldn't they be allowed to vote in local elections? The New York Times reports on the push to give non-citizens the right to vote. It has a lot of support in D.C., and is on the ballot in November in San Francisco.

We support this movement. No taxation without representation. Democracy for all.

Truly, Linda Lyons--a jailhouse librarian--stands shoulders and heads above the remaining prison guards. A prison riot erupted at Crowly, Colorado, which is run by a private Company in Tennessee. The prison guards ran away, and forgot they had left a woman librarian behind.

As inmates at Crowley County Correctional Facility grew restless and agitated in the exercise yard on the evening of July 20, officers of the private company charged with managing the prison withdrew to regroup. "They ran," said inmate Robert Horn, serving five years for passing bad checks. "They just abandoned the place." All but one.

As a peaceful protest devolved into arson and riot over five hours, prison librarian Linda Lyons kept sole watch over 37 male inmates. Although she radioed her location, her supervisors from the private Corrections Corporation of America made no move to retrieve her. They then failed to notify an elite anti-riot team from the Department of Corrections that she had been left behind.

Well, as TalkLeft forewarned here, that didn't take long. Only now it's official. The new Iraqi Governing Council (appointed by the U.S.) has reinstated the death penalty.

Iraq reinstated capital punishment for people guilty of murder, endangering national security and distributing drugs, the government announced Sunday, saying the death penalty was necessary to help put down the country's persistent insurgency.

Capital punishment was suspended during the U.S. occupation. Under Saddam's regime, some 114 offenses could garner the death penalty. The new law was more restrictive than that had been....Many Iraqis also wanted the death penalty reinstated so it could be applied to Saddam, who faces trial on war crimes charges. It was not immediately clear how the new law would effect Saddam.

Happy Third Blogiversary to Instapundit. Instapundit was one of the first blogs we began reading regularly, and Glenn was an especially gracious, early and frequent linker to TalkLeft. You'd be surprised at some of the important issues we agree on....but not if you knew deep down he has a libertarian heart. He's not the ultra-conservative many on the left make him out to be, although, on the war and Kerry, I sure wish I could change his mind. Hey, he even said he might vote for Gary Hart if he ran. In any event, no Instapundit-bashing allowed in the comments. At least not today.

Drug War Rant is celebrating its first blogiversary. Pete writes the best blog devoted to the insanity of the drug war. If you haven't been reading him, you should start now. He's just started an election guide that tracks the candidates' positions on drugs.

If the drug war is your topic, also don't miss Last One Speaks, by Libby Spencer. Libby is now doing double duty blogging politics for the Detroit News.

And congrats to Eli at left i on the news who just celebrated a first blogiversary.

And of course, there's Skippy, who not only turned two recently but hit the half-million visitor mark as well. And he got a bloglift- (y.w.c.t.p.) -not only does he not use caps, he now uses different colors for letters in the same word. And he's still funny.

Avedon Carol at Sideshow weighs in on the new terror alerts. She disagrees with Kevin Drum but agrees, in part, with Lambert. She says,

Don't you guys get it yet? Why do you think that the most secretive government in our lifetime is constantly announcing to the media the one thing that everyone has always agreed government should be secretive about? The color codes, the showy Homeland Security apparatus, the whole bunch of it is just a charade - they are doing it instead of doing their jobs. It's all political. Good security is not showy; it happens where nobody sees, and nobody knows until the threat is over.

Update: Left Coaster says Bush and Ashcroft knew of current terror threat information three years ago.

Except it now turns out that John Ashcroft’s Justice Department had in its possession as far back as March 2003 video evidence of Al Qaeda casing out landmarks here in the US.

The Washington Post has a long article on truck bombs, and how the U.S. is ill-equipped to catch them.

Here's an update on the Vote for Change rock tour.

With military-like precision, some of the most powerful managers and agents in the music business have plotted a groundbreaking exercise in political activism: the pioneering Vote for Change tour. The eight-day tour begins Oct. 1 in Pennsylvania. It will number up to 40 shows, with several concerts in each of nine key "swing states" taking place at separate venues on the same night.

The acts involved -- Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M., Dixie Chicks, Pearl Jam and others -- are united in the common goal of voting President Bush out of office in November. "These artist citizens all feel the need to speak out," Jon Landau, longtime manager of Springsteen, told Billboard. "They will do that respectfully and intelligently, then let the chips fall where they may."

I put my name in on MoveOn's website for a chance to buy advance tickets. Chances are pretty slim I'll get them. Here are the shows I'd like to go to. If any of you have connections or an extra ticket, I'm there.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band / R.E.M. / John Fogerty / Bright Eyes

• Friday, Oct. 1 Philadelphia, PA
• Saturday, Oct. 2 Cleveland, OH
• Sunday, Oct. 3 Ann Arbor, MI
• Tuesday, Oct. 5 St. Paul, MN
• Friday, Oct. 8 Orlando, FL

Here's the full schedule for all the bands. The artists are waiving their fees--so are
many of their managers. I can't begin to imagine the logistics, especially with such short lead time. Good for them. This is a shot in the arm the Democrats sorely need.

Iraq has issued arrest warrants for Ahmad Chalabi and his nephew Salem Chalabi. The charge against Ahmad is counterfeiting and possibly money laundering. Salem, who is head of the tribunal responsible for trying Saddam, is charged with murder.

Chalabi told CNN from Iran where he is attending a conference that the charge is bogus. He also says he intends to go back and submit to the Iraqi justice system. I'd think long and hard about that if I were him. Especially since Iraq's new Government reinstated the death penalty yesterday.

Salem also denied the charge. Both said they learned of the warrants through the media and that the charges are politically motivated. If so, why go back? Won't the trial be as farcical as the charges? Why not seek asylum in another country?

Via Atrios, we find this article listing prominent politicians and their military service. It compares the Democratic and Republican tickets, and those in the Bush Administration with those in the Clinton Administration (since Kerry doesn't have an Administration yet and that was the last Democratic administration.)

In addition, the author picks somes journalists, pundits and bloggers to compare. It's striking how few of them served. Until you see how many were of Vietnam age. Can't say I blame them.

Update: Markos of Daily Kos (who served in Gulf War I) has some astute analysis.

Ralph Nader failed to make the ballot in California.

State election officials said Nader fell far short of the 153,035 signatures needed by Friday's deadline. The consumer activist submitted 82,923 with 56 of the state's 58 counties reporting, said Lauren Hersh, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state's office.

Ralph, do the right thing. Endorse Kerry-Edwards. If Dennis Kucinich can do it, so can you. As we've said before, Kucinich's positions on the issues most closely match our own. Some day we hope mainstream America opens its minds to his ideas. Nader, on the other hand, is past-tense to us. He's not progressive, he's focused on his own particular issues and apparently is incapable of putting the good of the country above his own platform.

Nader was great in consumer affairs in the 70's. But what has he done for us lately?

Where's the pictures of the happy couple? Jeb's son gets married, the President goes fishing and attends the rehearsal dinner but not the reception, and the big news is Jenna caught a fish?