Arthur at Light of Reason is asking freedom fighters to come to LA. The latest planned assault on liberty and the presumption of innocence: a plan to seize and keep the cars of suspected drunk drivers . Arthur says:

Just accuse someone of a crime -- a now a growing list of crimes -- and grab their property. It's becoming the American way.

Read the sourced column too, it's great.

California's Supreme Court has upheld the state's fetal murder law:

The state Supreme Court strengthened California's fetal-murder law Monday, declaring that the killing of a pregnant woman counts as two homicides even if the perpetrator was unaware the victim was pregnant. The 6-1 decision overturns a 2002 lower court ruling that said a killer must know the victim was pregnant to be guilty of murdering the fetus.

San Francisco's medical pot guru Ed Rosenthal won a civil suit and damages as a result of a pot club owner turning his plants (grown with a local license) over to the DEA. Rosenthal was tried in federal court, convicted and given a one day sentence. The jurors complained to the judge afterwards that they weren't told Rosenthal had a state license:

On Friday, San Francisco Superior Court Commissioner Catherine Lyons ruled that pot club owner Bob Martin must pay Rosenthal $4,500 for medical marijuana plants confiscated by the federal government in February, 2002 during a Drug Enforcement Administration raid at a Sixth Street medical pot club.

Here's the two sides, first Martin, then Rosenthal:

As the U.S. is poised to deliver its promised revenge for the horrible deaths of Americans in Fallujah last week, the Dreyfuss Report says:

Where is the Bush administration? They haven't a clue. The unconscionable war between neocon imperialists and conservative realists that has split the administration since Day One goes on. "This administration, as far as I can tell is at odds with itself, being pulled apart," says Sen. Joe Biden, the Delaware Democrat, in an interview with The New York Times today. "One portion [is] saying we're going to keep [Iraq] under our tent, the other half saying, 'Let's give it to the UN.'" And not only are they still split, but the main focus of the White House is not on Iraq but on Richard Clarke and the 9/11 commission, which will hear from Condi on Thursday. Within days, the United States could find itself fighting a full-scale war of survival in Iraq, and there isn't a ghost of a plan emerging from Washington.

The Miami Herald has the results of a new Herald/Zogby poll showing John Kerry has a wide lead over George Bush among latin voters in Florida. It downplays the import, saying that Kerry needs a wider lead, but we think it's significant.

Tre Arrow says he's an activist. The FBI says he's a terrorist. A fugitive for the past 19 years, Arrow is now in a jail in Vancouver awaiting trial. The charge: shoplifting bolt cutters. More serious charges await him in Oregon, on which he's fighting extradition. He's also begun a hunger strike:

Arrow is accused in Oregon of use of fire to commit a felony, destruction of vehicles used in interstate commerce and use of incendiary devices in a crime of violence. The charges carry combined penalties of up to 80 years in prison.

To the "environmental militants", he's a folk hero. The FBI thinks he's more than an activist and has links to the ELF.

"As an activist, I stand tall. I hold my head high," Arrow said in an interview with The Associated Press at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre. Arrow, 30, was born Michael Scarpitti but says the trees told him to change his name. He gained notice by scaling the offices of the U.S. Forest Service in Portland in 2000 and perching on a narrow ledge for 11 days to protest logging on Mount Hood. Arrow says he is not a terrorist.

Bump and Update: The second article in the series is out today, Attorney Profited, But his Clients Lost

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Original Post 4/4/04

The Seattle Times is doing a series on the pitiful state of the public defense system in Washington. Today's article, For some, free counsel comes at high cost, is a must-read. How lawyer Guillermo Romero ever got to be a contract public defender is beyond us, but he did, and he's not the only one.

In a rape case, he once filed a motion seeking "D and A testing." What he meant was DNA. He gave lousy advice, according to disciplinary officials. You can't appeal, he told one client, when the client certainly could. You can leave the country before trial, he told another, when the client certainly could not. He allowed the state to take liberties. He didn't object when a prosecutor compared his client to Hitler. He didn't object when the same prosecutor argued that everyone who goes to rock concerts uses drugs. He didn't object when police transcribed the tape-recorded statement of a teenage murder suspect and inserted damning words the boy never uttered. Romero couldn't object, because he had never bothered to listen to his client's taped confession. ....Twice, reviewing courts ruled that he was so incompetent, the adversarial system had collapsed.

One of the problems with the Washington State system is that 2/3 of the counties use a contract system for indigent defense.

Warnings about such contracts have been sounded for three decades, but the state has refused to enforce public-defense standards or to help fund indigent defense at the trial level except in extraordinary cases.

There is so much more to this article, please read the whole thing.

He was 16 years old. He came to this country when he was 12 to escape a gang. He pleaded with the U.S. for asylum, saying he would be killed if returned to Guatamala. His request was denied, he was sent back. 17 days later he was shot and killed by the gang he tried to escape. World Wide Rant has more.

by TChris

With all the bad news reported from Iraq, the Office of Strategic Communications has a difficult task.

One of the main goals of the Office of Strategic Communications - known as stratcom - is to ensure Americans see the positive side of the Bush administration's invasion, occupation and reconstruction of Iraq, where 600 U.S. soldiers have died and a deadly insurgency thrives.

Finding the positive side of chaotic violence is a challenge, but the administration found loyal supporters to do the job.

Dan Senor, a former press secretary for Spencer Abraham, the Michigan Republican who's now Energy Secretary, heads the office that includes a large number of former Bush campaign workers, political appointees and ex-Capitol Hill staffers. More than one-third of the U.S. civilian workers in the press office have GOP ties, running an enterprise that critics see as an outpost of Bush's re-election effort with Iraq a top concern.

Which New York Times op-ed columnist are you? Take the quiz. Jeanne D'arc of Body and Soul is Maureen Dowd. We're Bob Herbert:

You are Bob Herbert! You're not the most sparkling writer, but one of the most solid and selfless on the Op-Ed staff. You focus on New York politics, the poor, race issues, and civil liberties. You like to quote others, and rarely place yourself in your columns. You keep it real. Seriously.

by TChris

This isn't a headline the Bush administration wants to see:

Leaders of 9/11 Panel Say Attacks Were Probably Preventable

We have a new candidate to cheer about and hope you reward him with generous donations. He is Jeff Seeman, a progressive candidate for the House in Ohio. He just took out an ad on Daily Kos, and says it's because of the controversy. Here's just a portion of what he has to say about the Daily Kos controversy:

Our campaign has decided that because of the recent events we will step in and advertise on www.dailykos.com. We have made this decision for two reasons: 1) We firmly believe in the First Amendment and everyone's right to say whatever he or she chooses on their own website. 2) We refuse to allow our campaign to be bullied by the right wing like they bullied Kos' previous advertisers.

We entered this campaign for Congress based on courage and the desire to stand up to the Republicans who are destroying our country with huge deficits, unjustified wars, and a blatant disregard for Americans and the challenges they face in their daily lives. We understand that the decision to launch this advertising campaign will attract attention, both positive and negative. We will make no statement regarding the actual content of Kos' controversial statement, but we will always stand up for his right to dissent. Furthermore, we are campaigning to return this country to a Democratic majority in Congress and we will not allow our message to be written or altered by our opposition.

Candidate Seeman is seeking $20 donations. Go give now. Here's his issue statement on civil rights: