We've thought for a long time that Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein is a conservative in sheep's clothing. For example, she is the prime mover of the ill-advised Victim's Rights Amendment making its way through Congress. Yesterday, she showed her true conservatism again by calling for the death penalty in a case involving the murder of a police officer in San Francisco--after the DA decided not to charge the case as a death case. She used the dead officer's funeral service as her vechicle to make her charge--causing further division and dissension in the community. Feinstein went even further, and said that had she known the DA opposed the death penalty, she probably wouldn't have endorsed her for the position.

DA Kamala Harris has promised to put the cop's killer in prison for life. San Francisco and Alameda County do not have great success with death cases:

The D.A. in Alameda County has sought the death penalty in no fewer than four police killings over the past two decades. The prosecution's batting average: zero. District Attorney Tom Orloff, who personally prosecuted one of the cop killers back in 1986, says there appears to be a common thread -- namely, jurors' reluctance to deal out the death penalty without clear proof that the defendant woke up that day with the idea of killing a cop...."Our juries are just like San Francisco's,'' he said. "(Imposing the death penalty) is not something they jump at the opportunity to do.''

From time to time people mention Sen. Feinstein as a vice-presidential candidate. Not in our book. Not by a long shot.

9/11 Commission member and former DOJ official Jamie Gorelick will prepare part of the draft of the final report of the 9/11 Commission:

Al Felzenberg, spokesman for the commission, said Ms. Gorelick's recusal applies to the time she was deputy attorney general at the Justice Department, so she is free to take part in the investigation and drafting of the report for anything that happened after she left. That, he said, includes the legal barrier known as "the wall," which prevented the sharing of information between law-enforcement and intelligence officials. "The wall as it existed after she left, the wall as it existed in the beginning of the Bush administration, she's perfectly free to ask questions about," Mr. Felzenberg said.

Background on the Ashcroft-Gorelick controversy is here.

Update: 11 Republican Senators are calling upon Gorelick to testify.

Bump and Update: Michael Jackson's lawyers respond:

Mr. Jackson and his attorneys remind the public that an indictment is merely a formal “accusation.” We also remind the public that Michael Jackson, like any other person accused of a crime, is “presumed to be innocent.” Mr. Jackson and his attorneys are confident that after a trial on these charges, Mr. Jackson will be fully exonerated and that the allegations contained in the indictment will be shown to be patently false. In this case, Mr. Jackson is not just “presumed” to be innocent but is in fact innocent. Michael is looking forward to his day in court and wishes to thank the millions of fans throughout the world who continue to support him during this difficult period.

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Original Post: 4/21 8 pm

ABC News reports that Michael Jackson has been indicted by the grand jury. This is news? Who would have thought otherwise? A grand jury is a one sided proceeding where the defense does not get to appear, present evidence or cross-examine witnesses. Hence, the old saying, a grand jury would indict a ham sandwich.

The stamp of imprimateur by the grand jury makes the case no stronger today than it was last week. What it does mean is that Michael Jackson will not be allowed a preliminary hearing at which to cross-examine the cops and experts who would testify against him--no way would the prosecution have called the young accuser at the hearing anyway. By going to the grand jury, the Prosecution doesn't have to give the defense an early shot at their witnesses, and the ability to lock them into a version of events, which would allow the defense to impeach them at trial if their testimony at trial varied from that given at the prelim.

A new Associated Press poll on how Americans think we're doing in the terror war finds the answer is not so good:

Half of Americans have concerns that terrorists might be winning the war on terrorism, and one in five feels strongly that way, according to an Associated Press poll that found many people pessimistic about their security. Fears about an attack against this country are high. Two-thirds in the poll said it was likely terrorists would strike before the November elections. And a third said it was likely there would be an attack at one of the political conventions this summer.

....two-thirds of Americans acknowledge some concern that terrorists may be recruiting faster than the United States can keep up. A third of those polled feel strongly this is the case, and another third say they have at least some worries.

Strangely, this seems to help Bush instead of Kerry:

As for the election campaign, President Bush has the advantage over Democrat John Kerry on people's trust to do a better job of protecting the country, 53 percent to 37 percent.

Poll results are available here.

Two weeks ago we wrote about a strange episode in New York involving former Enron CEO and now federal defendant Jeffrey Skilling, who was taken by police to a hospital after exhibiting some paranoid behavior:

Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was taken to a hospital early Friday after several people called police saying he was pulling on their clothes and accusing them of being FBI agents, a police source told The Associated Press.

The Houston Chronicle now reports prosecutors have charged Skilling violated the terms of his bond in New York:

Federal prosecutors say ex-Enron CEO Jeff Skilling violated his $5 million bond in New York City earlier this month by being severely intoxicated, trying to lift a woman's blouse looking for an FBI wiretap and attempting to steal a car license plate, according to a document filed in court today. Prosecutors want U.S. District Judge Sim Lake to consider further restrictions on Skilling as he awaits trial -- but don't say whether they want Skilling jailed or whether they will ask that some or all of his bond be forfeited.

We don't think Skilling's bond or liberty are in jeopardy at this point. It's more likely the Judge will add some new conditions, like alcohol or mental health treatment.

Skilling's lawyers previously told reporters that Skilling and his wife were attacked by two men who knocked her down and rendered her unconscious. The government's report indicates Skilling started the disturbance and admitted at the hospital that he accidentally knocked down his wife himself.

Apparently, Skilling still has lots of bucks. Not only did he post a $5 million bond, but while in New York, he stayed at the Four Seasons where the standard room rate is between $575 and $750 a night.

We received this by email:

Thanks to the release of Bush and Kerry's Vietnam-era military records, we now know more than we ever thought we'd needed to know about the condition of their buttocks.

John Kerry suffered multiple sharpnel wounds to his buttocks when an enemy mine detonated near his swift boat. Despite the wounds and intense sniper fire from both riverbanks, Kerry rescued a fellow soldier who had fallen overboard and earned a Bronze Star for his valor.

George Bush developed a hemorrhoid while flying a Texas Air National Guard jet to protect the shores of South Padre Island.

Is there any doubt about whose buttocks should be in the Oval Office on January 21, 2005?

The Revealer, a blog about religion and the press, continues to provide a daily collage of religion news from the war in Iraq. Today's feature is on Muqtada Al-Sadr, about whom the Revealer says:

Sadr sounds here like a kind of trickster figure, practicing verbal rope-a-dope on American journalists who, after all, are coming to the conversation with a distinct disadvantage: Sadr may have been watching the Americans on CNN for years, while "60 Minutes II" is parachuting into a culture it doesn’t understand.

A federal judge in California has ruled Ashcroft & Co. cannot prosecute medical marijuana clubs that provide pot to sick patients:

A judge on Wednesday ordered the federal government not to raid or prosecute a California group that grows and distributes marijuana for its sick members.The decision from U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose was the first interpretation of an appeals court's December ruling that federal prosecutions of medical marijuana users are unconstitutional if the pot isn't sold, transported across state lines or used for non-medicinal purposes. Nine states, including California, allow medical marijuana use, but the Justice Department contends that federal drug laws take precedence.

Fogel ruled that the federal government cannot raid or prosecute the 250 members of the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, which sued the government after the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2002 raided its Santa Cruz County growing operation and seized 167 marijuana plants....The marijuana group asked Fogel to issue the injunction after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in December ordered the federal government not to prosecute a sick Oakland woman who smoked marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. A 1996 California law allows people to grow, smoke or obtain marijuana for medical needs with a doctor's recommendation.

States with similar laws: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. All except Colorado and Maine are in the 9th Circuit.

68 Iraqis were killed, 17 of them children on schoolbuses, in the southern Iraqi city of Basra today.

Suicide bombers killed at least 68 people, 17 of them children incinerated in minibuses taking them to school, in coordinated strikes on police stations in Iraq's southern city of Basra on Wednesday.

Basra is a stronghold of Iraq's Shi'ite majority. It had been relatively quiet lately. President Bush has blamed al Qaeda for the deaths.

The Guardian has more.

DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe had this to say in response to numerous Republican attacks on John Kerry's military record:

"Since Bush himself is in no position to criticize John Kerry on his military service, he has opted instead to let others do his dirty work for him But whether he's making this charge himself or relying on surrogates, we welcome any opportunity to contrast Kerry's distinguished record of service as a Naval officer who faced combat and was wounded in Vietnam to Bush using his family connections to get placed in the Texas Air National Guard, requesting to not be sent overseas and then not even bothering to show up for duty or even fulfilling his required length of service. Simply put, Kerry has a proud record of sacrifice and service whereas Bush has a record of cashed-in connections and evasion."

Don't miss the DNC's side-by-side comparison of Bush and Kerry's military records (pdf.)

7 of the Apprentice candidates were on Larry King Live tonight. Donald Trump appeared by phone. He offered to put Troy through college. Very, very nice moment.

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The Judge in the Kobe Bryant case today denied Kobe's request for his accuser's medical and psychological records. The issue was whether the accuser waived her privilege in the documents by talking about her treatment with other people.

Larry Pozner, past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the defense still can seek testimony from people who have direct knowledge about the woman's purported suicide attempts and prescription drug use. "The defense has a bathtub full of evidence on her suicide attempts that is not in the medical records – it's just plain old-fashioned (eyewitness) testimony," Pozner said.

The Judge has not ruled yet on whether Kobe can introduce evidence of the accuser's other sexual encounters that allegedly occurred around the same time as the incident with Kobe. Kobe's defense is arguing that these acts, rather than acts with Kobe, maybe the cause of any claimed injuries. Hearings on the rape shield law and the suppression of Kobe's statements will resume Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday there will be hearings on a defense request for discovery and the accuser's request to set a trial date.

You can read the Judge's ruling here. (pdf)