by TChris

Since his nomination, TalkLeft has cautioned that Brent Kavanaugh, a former aide to Ken Starr, should not be appointed to a judgeship on the influential D.C. Circuit. (TalkLeft background here here here.)

Clay Risen argues that Kavanaugh is driven by political ambition, not by ideology. According to Risen, "Kavanaugh's only consistent guiding principle seems to be an abiding dedication to the Republican Party--and to his own career." Whether a judge advances a right wing ideology or a right wing political agenda might be academically interesting, but the viewpoints will intersect in most cases. Whether driven by ideology or politics, we don't need more judges who will further the more extreme interests of the right wing. Kavanaugh will be one of those judges, and for that reason, his nomination must be blocked.

by TChris

David Nevin, the attorney for Sami Al-Hussayen, wonders why the government is using an expert witness who did the same thing his client is accused of doing. Hussayen, who was a month away from earning his doctorate in computer science before being arrested for providing expert assistance to terrorist organizations, is accused of maintaining a website that promoted terrorism.

Al-Hussayen's attorneys argued that government witness Mohammed Aleem, of Tjara Networks Co., maintains an Internet site [www.Islamicity.com] carrying the same kind of material Al-Hussayen is accused of promoting.

Nevin argued that the information on the Tjara Networks site is indistinguishable from the material prosecutors claim Al-Hussayen has made sure was posted on the assembly's and associated sites — yet no attempt has been made to prosecute Tjara operators. Aleem's "organization has done essentially the same thing that Mr. Al-Hussayen has been accused of doing," Nevin said, and yet "he's here as a government witness, sponsored by the government."

Nevin wasn't allowed to cross-examine Aleem about the website because his questioning would have gone beyond the scope of the government's direct examination, but Nevin intends to call Aleem as a defense witness.

Recent TalkLeft coverage of the trial is here.

by TChris

A broadcast on Voice of America scheduled for tomorrow, part of a series on American history, quotes Andrew Jackson. He was speaking in 1832, but his words ring true today.

"It is to be regretted," he said, "that the rich and powerful bend the acts of the government to their own purposes. Differences among men will always exist under every just government. Equality of ability, or education, or of wealth cannot be produced by human institutions. Every man has the equal right of protection under the laws. But when these laws are used to make the rich richer, and the powerful more powerful, then the more humble members of our society have a right to complain of injustice."

Hmm. The rich and powerful bending the acts of government to make the rich richer and the powerful more powerful. Sound familiar?

We didn't see President Bush's appearance on Arab tv today, but Skippy gives it a good dissing.

Your thoughts?

by TChris

Some of the President's friends in the media world are doing their best to suppress information that might cause voters to wonder whether Bush deserves to be reelected. First Sinclair decided not to carry a Nightline episode that honored American soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq. Now Walt Disney Co. has directed its Miramax film studio not to distribute Michael Moore's new documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11," that is critical of the Bush administation's response to 9/11 and of "ties between the Bush family and prominent Saudis, including the family of Osama bin Laden."

Miramax doesn't seem pleased.

Miramax spokesman Matthew Hiltzik declined to comment on Disney's actions. But he said, "We're discussing the issue with Disney. We're looking at all of our options and look forward to resolving this amicably."

Disney's beleaguered CEO, Michael Eisner, is reportedly "concerned the film would endanger tax breaks that Disney receives for its theme parks and other properties in Florida, where President Bush's brother Jeb is governor."

by TChris

Those who attend the Tribeca film festival in New York City will have a chance to see "Every Mother's Son" this afternoon at 4:30 p.m. or Saturday at 6:00 p.m. The film focuses on the mothers of three men who were killed by police officers.

For this task the film makers chose Kadiatou Diallo [mother of Amadou Diallo, an unarmed man who was gunned down by the police in 1999 in the Bronx], Iris Baez (her son, Anthony, was killed when a cop applied an illegal chokehold), and Doris Busch Boskey. Her son, Gideon Busch, a Hasidic Jew, was shot outside his home in Brooklyn.

Director Tami Gold wanted her film to address a large problem through the lens of three very personal experiences.

"It’s not about dealing with a few bad cops," Gold said. "The problem of police brutality is a systemic one...we both felt that it was not enough to make a documentary about police brutality alone. We wanted it to deal with the critical issues surrounding policing, but also to have a human component and an aspect of hope."

Those who can't catch the film this week will be able watch it on PBS’s P.O.V. series. The documentary is scheduled to air on August 17.

by TChris

In the Bush administration, image is everything. The administration always hopes that voters won't notice the disconnect between image and reality, so it shouldn't be surprising that the President is rarely on the bus as he makes his celebrated bus tour of Ohio.

The dirty little secret of President Bush's bus tour is that he didn't spend much time on the bus. An hour or so on Tuesday was all he logged, though that seemed plenty for the startled residents of some small towns in rural parts of Ohio, who had never seen a motorcade quite like this one. After all, it is not every day you see three buses moving along on back roads, preceded and followed by Chevy Suburbans carrying men with large guns, and helicopters overhead. One woman who was mowing her lawn ran indoors, leaving the lawn mower idling in her yard.

Since the President's reelection efforts are impeding traffic and scaring the locals, it's probably a good thing that he isn't on the bus all that often. The best take comes from Craig Kilborn:

"President Bush has traded in Air Force One for this customized bus to campaign in the swing states of Ohio and Michigan. Nothing convinces people that the economy's good like a President riding the bus."

by TChris

The ugly practice of racial profiling in traffic stops continues.

A study has found that nearly three out of four Massachusetts police departments engaged in racial profiling of minority drivers, prompting the state to launch a probe.

Police in Boston, Springfield, and Worcester were the worst offenders.

So far, there is no plan to end the practice. Instead, some police departments will be required to collect more data about the reasons for their traffic stops, a rather insignificant burden that the police chiefs' association predictably labels a "witch hunt." The data will be analyzed again after another year.

TChris wrote last night about a new Justice Department report warns of infiltration by Al Qaeda in U.S. prisons:

Groups promoting extremist brands of Islam have gained a foothold in American prisons, and counterterrorism officials believe Al Qaeda are likely to try to use the prisons "to radicalize and recruit inmates," according to a Justice Department investigation.....the investigation found that the problem of "radicalized" prayer sessions was less a reflection of the chaplains than of unsupervised inmates who were allowed to lead their own worship meetings.

Muslim leaders are wary of the report.

Muslim leaders say they have been subjected to unfair scrutiny and criticism because of their religious beliefs. Several groups that have trained Muslim chaplains have vigorously denied charges of terrorist links, and Muslim leaders point out that charges linking a military chaplain at Guantánamo Bay to possible terrorism largely collapsed.

The report acknowledges the problem isn't widespread. The freedom to practice religion extends to inmates. We don't see how the feds can fairly and constitutionally place limits on Muslim inmates that they don't place on Christian, Jewish, or Buddhist inmates. The inmates must also be free to speak in their language of choice. Any limits on groups of prisoners associating with each other in prayer groups must apply across the board to prisoners of all denoninations or not at all. We think "not at all" is best.

And if faith-based prisons, which we oppose, here are some reasons, are to be tolerated, they must include programs for Muslims, not just Christians.

North Carolina is having a death penalty crisis. The state bar association reports that of the state's 190 death row inmates, more than 35 were represented by lawyers who were disciplined or disbarred. Two wrongfully convicted men were recently released from death row. There is a growing support for two-year moratorium on executions.

TChris wrote about this a few days ago here and here.

Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking, recently made these remarks.

The death penalty is really about 98 percent political," Prejean said during a visit to Salem College. "A moratorium is a graceful way for politicians to get out of the death penalty."....The United States is unique among death-penalty countries in that it justifies the practice by saying it is carried out to honor the victims, Prejean said. If that were true, then most families of victims are being ignored because only a small percentage of murderers end up on death row, she said. "It's a political ploy," said Prejean....

The vast majority of executions in the United States are carried out in states that had long ties to slavery, and often involve poor black defendants and white victims, she told an audience of more than 500 people at Salem College last night.

She said the school's religion department should have a course titled "God Is Sneaky," because so much of what she has learned over the years about social justice, civil rights and death row came to her in experiences she was not looking for and was unprepared to handle....I feel really bad for the victims' families," she said. "But what we have is a culture that tells them the way to honor their family member is by sitting on the front row and watching the execution. It's a culture of vengeance.

Want to weigh in? Go over to 2000 Moratorium Org.

by TChris

A Justice Department inspector general's report theorizes that Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations are likely "to radicalize and recruit inmates." While the IG acknowledges that the problem of terrorism in prisons isn't widespread, the report contains a classified addendum that purports to contain evidence that "people leading prison prayer sessions — including authorized chaplains, volunteers and inmates — may have ties to terrorist groups."

The IG is relying on information supplied by counterterrorism officials. Keep in mind that counterterrorism officials wrongly accused a Muslim chaplin at Guantánamo Bay of aiding terrorists. The IG's office says that "volunteers leading prayer services had been linked to people who showed up on terrorist watch lists," but the addendum is classified, so there's no way to determine whether the information is reliable or whether the "links" are meaningful.

Prison officials say they'll pay closer attention to the people who lead prayer groups, but they're concerned that they won't recognize a call to jihad if they hear one.

Although some chapel services are videotaped, prison officials admitted that they might not be in a position to detect radical religious messages. "Not a whole lot of folks are in tune with that stuff," said an associate warden quoted in the report.

Maybe the prison officials are sleeping through the sermons.

by TChris

When a driver has a blood alcohol content of .24, the driver should expect to be arrested for driving under the influence. James Michael Farris was arrested in Lawrence County, Alabama, but wasn't jailed. Nor was he prosecuted for DUI. Some wonder whether Farris was treated differently because his father is the chief jailer in Lawrence County.

As a responsible governmental official, James Michael Farris' father, James Farris, provided a complete explanation.

James Farris declined to say if he took his son home instead of booking him. "It's a city matter and I suggest you take it up with the city, and that's all I have to say," James Farris said.

Okay, so it wasn't all that complete.

The chief of police acknowledges that he directed the officer who arrested James Michael to write him a second ticket for reckless driving. James Michael entered a guilty plea to that ticket and the DUI was dismissed because ... well, nobody can explain why.

Moral of the story: it's good to have a dad who can check you out of jail.