New York Magazine this week has a section with comments by friends of Martha Stewart and Peter Bacanovic. One thing we learned was that Martha and Peter had their own rooms on the 4th floor of the courthouse, where they could visit with friends, have food brought in, etc. Christopher Mason, a loyal friend of Bacanovic's who expected to testify but was not called as a witness, had this to say:

For five weeks, Peter’s and Martha’s friends and family had been crowded into the front left row of the courtroom, which was reserved for guests of the defendants. ....Upstairs in adjoining private lunchrooms on the fourth floor, there was a notable class divide when it came to refreshments. The fare in Peter’s room extended only to chicken salad and cheesecake. In Martha’s room, there was a veritable emporium of goods supplied by Russ & Daughters, the famous Lower East Side deli that’s been featured on Martha’s TV show. Here we found brisket, corned beef, and pastrami sandwiches; coleslaw; and delicious green-tomato pickles. The domestic diva wandered from room to room, chatting with Peter’s distraught parents, inviting everybody to try the macaroons.

We wonder what kind of clout it takes and with whom to be able to get two rooms in a courthouse set aside for use of the defendants. We didn't have it for the Don King trial in the same NY courthouse--we all went up to the cafeteria, same as everyone else. During the McVeigh and Nichols' trials, we had attorney's lounge rooms set aside where we could also eat, but the defendants were in cells, not with us. We find it interesting to read about special arrangements made for some defendants. It clues us in on what to ask for the next time around.

We've seen some criticism of the media's mention that Susan Lindauer, accused of spying for the Iraqis, is related to Bush advisor Andrew Card. Some accounts say they are distant relatives, others say they are second cousins. It's obvious that Card is crucial to the case--he's the one who reported her to authorities:

The indictment said Ms. Lindauer delivered a letter early last year to a United States government official listing her access to and contacts with Saddam Hussein's government. Investigators said the official was Mr. Card, one of President Bush's closest associates and a participant in nearly every high-level Oval Office meeting. White House and law enforcement officials described Ms. Lindauer as either a second cousin or a distant relative of Mr. Card.

....Investigators said Ms. Lindauer had gone to Mr. Card's home in Washington around Jan. 8, 2003, more than two months before Mr. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq, and dropped off the letter in what the indictment said was "an unsuccessful attempt to influence United States foreign policy." Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, said that Mr. Card had not seen Ms. Lindauer since around the time of Mr. Bush's inauguration in 2001 but that Ms. Lindauer had tried to reach him a number of times subsequently. Mr. McClellan said Mr. Card "brought to the attention of the appropriate officials the various attempts by her to contact him."

The case sounds like much ado about nothing to us--so far:

Federal law enforcement officials said that despite Ms. Lindauer's extensive contacts with the Iraqis, there was little evidence to suggest that she had harmed national security by passing any sensitive intelligence to the Hussein government. Instead, she was largely perceived, even by some law enforcement officials, as a woman who fancied herself a peacemaker. "She thought maybe she could do more than she really could as an intermediary" between Washington and Baghdad, said a law enforcement official.

We hope you all like our new text box. We've been wanting to make one for a long time, but every time we tried, we got stumped by the coding. We owe a huge thanks to Meg of Mandarin Design for helping us out. Their site has more good blogging tricks and tips than any other we've come across and they are all free. We'll be tweaking it some more in the coming days, but so far we are very happy with it. For some reason, we don't see it in AOL, only in Internet Explorer, so if you're using the AOL browser, you may not get it.

We've gotten some e-mails that after our rebuild, commenters are having to re-type their user info with each comment. Let us know in the comments or by email if that's happened to you recently--or if you are getting popup ads for video surveillance cameras when you open TL, and we'll try to get it fixed.

Enough about us. Check out Mad Kane who's got an ombudsman fact-checking her anti-Dubya work.

Hesiod at Counterspin has the latest on the arrest of former Congressional staffer and journalist Susan Lindauer. We've read elsewhere that she's waiting for a lawyer to be appointed for her, which would indicate she's indigent, but heard on the news that she was released on a $500,000.00 bond. Seems a little inconsistent.

Instapundit suggests sending flowers to the Spanish embassy at 2375 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. - Washington, D.C. 20037. The Embassy phone number, which you'll need to enter for Internet orders is 202.452.0100. Glenn used 1-800-Flowers.com. We'd like to see an address for sending money for blood, supplies, funerals, family aid, etc., so if you come across such info, please leave it in the comments. Also per Glenn, here's a list of all the Spanish consulates in the U.S. so you can see if there's one in your area.

Finally, if you're going to be in Washington, DC, tomorrow:

The Embassy of Spain convenes a silent demonstration tomorrow, Friday, March 12th, to express its outrage for today's terrorist attack perpetrated in Madrid, in which approximately 200 people have died and 900 have been injured. The demonstration will take place at the Washington Circle (Pennsylvania Ave and 23rd St NW) at 12 pm.

This is a jury we'd love to have. First, it acquits the defendant of the charged crime. Then, it writes the judge and prosecutor and asks that the co-defendant who pleaded guilty in exchange for testifying against the defendant it acquitted be allowed to withdraw his plea because he didn't commit a crime either. To top it off, it was a terrorism-related case, where the defendant ran an anti-terrorism school.

Six of the jurors who acquitted David Hudak, owner of an anti-terrorism training school near Roswell, have asked a federal judge to allow Hudak's co-defendant to withdraw a guilty plea. As a condition of that plea, Michael Payne was a prosecution witness against Hudak, a Canadian charged with conspiracy and training foreign soldiers without State Department approval. Jurors said they found Payne "a loyal American without the slightest inclination whatsoever to do damage to our country."

Six jurors wrote U.S. District Judge John Edwards Conway to "beseech" him to let Payne withdraw his plea. They sent copies of the letter to New Mexico U.S. Attorney David Iglesias and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. Payne, a decorated 20-year veteran of the Army Special Forces, last July pleaded guilty to violating federal law by teaching soldiers of the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. ally, classified anti-terrorism techniques, tactics and procedures at Hudak's school.

The link above is to an editorial in the Albuquerque Journal, supporting the withdrawal of the plea.

[Prosecutor] Iglesias has decided to oppose any withdrawal or change of plea while the U.S. Department of Defense investigates whether Payne's teachings damaged U.S. interests and security. That's a reasonable decision for now. But the government should expedite its investigation and, if there is no finding of harm, Iglesias should not oppose any plea withdrawal request....A jury clearly rejected the government's federal case against Hudak. In the interest of justice, Payne deserves the same consideration.

Editorial writer Jac Wilder VerSteeg of the Palm Beach Post cuts Rush no slack:

...it is not the case that Mr. Limbaugh, who has not been charged, would be the first to face prosecution for doctor-shopping. Nor would he be the last. But in Florida and elsewhere, it is likely that the people who face prosecution won't be able to afford defense lawyers of Roy Black's caliber. Under the provisions of Senate Bill 1064, the state would pay much closer attention to Medicaid patients' prescriptions. Medicaid patients who lied to get drugs would be denied benefits. The bill also would make it easier to discipline doctors who fraudulently prescribe drugs to Medicaid patients. Patients who sell fraudulently obtained OxyContin and other prescription drugs on the black market would be guilty of a felony.

Mr. Limbaugh, who has admitted his own addiction, seems to favor leniency for people addicted to prescription medications.....The compassion is new. What would Rush Limbaugh, before confessing to his own addiction, have said about Medicaid patients guilty of doctor-shopping for OxyContin? Mr. Black points out that hypocrisy is not a crime. He said he doubts that Florida would jail Medicaid patients who go doctor-shopping solely to feed an addiction to prescription pills. I think he's wrong about that last part. Perhaps Mr. Limbaugh should get a pass because Medicaid patients are ripping off taxpayers while Rush, even if he was doctor-shopping, spent only his own money. Regardless of who pays, though, doctor-shopping is a crime....If the state is determined to crack down on Medicaid recipients suspected of doctor-shopping, it is only fair to crack down on everyone suspected of doctor-shopping. Mr. Limbaugh's public-relations defense is "poor me." In that case, prosecutors should treat him the same as the state intends for them to treat the poor.

Two wrongs don't make a right. We don't think the state should go after anyone who takes pills for pain, whether they doctor shop or not. We think doctors must be free to prescribe whatever amount it takes to alleviate their patients' pain. Ashcroft is wrong to go after doctors; Florida is wrong to go after Medicaid recipients; and Florida is wrong to go after Rush, hypocrite or not.

From Ryan Lizza's Campaign Blog at The New Republic, describing the newest Bush campaign ad, dubbed by one of their readers as the Muhammed Horton ad:

ANOTHER CAMPAIGN FIRST: Bush's first round of ads became immediately famous for using images of Ground Zero and a flag-draped body being carried away from the rubble of the World Trade Center. His newest spot, "100 Days," might soon become famous for another campaign first. It is the first ad to use the image of a dark-skinned man who is obviously meant to be a terrorist.

The ominous slow-motion footage comes about halfway through the 30-second ad. A female voiceover darkly warns about John Kerry's agenda, charging, "On the war on terror: weaken the Patriot Act used to arrest terrorists and protect America." On the left of the screen flash the words "John Kerry's Plan." On the bottom a red box warns, "Weaken Fight Against Terrorists." If you look closely, on the right side of the screen you can see an airplane taking off.

The center of the screen is filled with three different rectangles of slow-motion video. In the top panel travelers at an airport study the arrivals and departures monitor. In the center panel there is a shadowed image of a person wearing a gas mask. And on the bottom there is a close-up of a swarthy, somewhat sinister-looking man with darting eyes who slowly turns toward the camera. He is clearly the terrorist in this scary montage.

Daily Kos reports the Bush campaign says the terrorist in the ad is not Arab. You decide. We just saw the ad on Fox and think the depicted "terrorist" is clearly Middle Eastern.

Update: Poor Man has the complete story board.

California's Supreme Court put the kabosh on gay marriages today--but it will revisit the issue in May or June. In San Francisco, more than 4,000 same sex couples were married during the past month. In Oregon, 1,800 couples have requested licenses since March 3. The practice is spreading around the country. Yet, religious leaders say they have been marrying same-sex couples for some time:

In New York, a group of religious leaders said they would challenge the state's interpretation of the law on same-sex marriages in the coming weeks. Jewish Rabbis and Christian ministers told a news briefing that some of them had officiated at religious marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples for 23 years but were barred by law from issuing civil marriage licenses.

The group responsible for the Madrid bombing which has claimed the lives of more than 190 people, and injured another 1,400 remains in doubt. Spanish officials seemed confident earlier today that the Basque separatist group ETA was responsible. But, a letter has been received taking responsibility that is purportedly from an Al Qaeda group.

Did the two groups collaborate? It doesn't seem likely but it is not being ruled out either. Bin Laden has previously mentioned Spain as a country that could be attacked. It would be a very disturbing development, according to one analyst we heard on CNN.

Al Qaeda also sent a letter to a newspaper today saying that another attack on the U.S is "90% ready."

We've closed the comments to our earlier thread on the Spain bombing, so as to move on to the new developments.

The defendants in the Tulia, Texas drug sting will share a $5 million settlement.

The agreement with the city of Amarillo, announced Wednesday, was cheered by the NAACP and attorneys representing people who were snared in the Texas Panhandle town of Tulia by Tom Coleman, the task force's only undercover agent.

Attorneys said it was not just a victory for the 46 people arrested in 1999 - most of whom are black - but also a blow to law-enforcement task forces that they allege allow police misconduct to go unchecked.

"It's not simply that Tom Coleman was a rogue officer," said Vanita Gupta, an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund who also represents the plaintiffs. "The city of Amarillo has recognized that federally funded task forces are ineffective tools of law enforcement and they operate as rogue task forces because they are unaccountable to any oversight mechanism."

You can access all of our Tulia coverage here.

In only 9 days, a jury has been seated for the Oklahoma murder trial of Terry Nichols. We find this shocking. Even with a change of venue to Denver, and a trial in federal court-- which is known for limited voir dire as compared to that allowed by state courts-- jury selection lasted a month in Terry Nichols' case and three weeks in the case of Timothy McVeigh.

With so much prejudice against Nichols in Oklahoma, the short jury selection process--with most of the questioning done by the judge--gives us very little confidence that this will be a fair trial.

Big win for Kobe Bryant today. The Colorado Supreme Court has declined to hear (PDF) a prosecution appeal of the trial court's order allowing the defense to question the accuser at a closed door hearing about her past sexual history.

Here is an example of the very best in lawyering - from an article from The Daily Oklahoman. Fern Leona Holland, dead at 33, was a graduate from the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa Law School. She worked for a prestigious Tulsa law firm and set up legal clinics in Guinea and Iraq to work for women's rights. Her's was a life well-lived. We're sorry we didn't know her.

Fern Leona Holland, 33, was killed as she traveled near the town of Hillah. Holland, along with another civilian and a translator, were stopped at a checkpoint where they were shot by gunmen posing as Iraqi police, a military source said. Holland's family said she was the leader of Iraq's women's rights movement, a brilliant woman who loved democracy. "She believed in freedom," said her sister Vi Holland of Oklahoma City. "She believed that every man and woman born should enjoy the right of freedom."

Fern Holland had been working in Iraq as a member of the Coalition Provisional Authority. She was investigating human rights violations, setting up women's rights conferences and assisting with the new constitution.

After Guinea, the U.S. hired her to set up women's clinics in Iraq.

Holland set up women's centers across Iraq and organized a trip in October for a group of Iraqi women to travel to the United States and meet President Bush...."She wasn't military, she wasn't a soldier," [a former partner] said. "She was over there working for human rights, and because of that, those people assassinated her."