Lots of readers ask us why we don't endorse Cruz Bustamante for Governor of California. We oppose the recall--and Prop 54--but are not taking a position on who should be elected if the recall passes. LA Weekly has this less than flattering profile of Bustamante, which just adds to our unease about him. Just vote "no" on recall. If enough people vote "no" and the recall is defeated, it's a moot issue. [edited for clarity]

Who is Cruz Bustamante, this generally conservative, pro-business Democrat -- ” the most prominent California backer of conservative Democratic presidential candidate Joe Lieberman, longtime chairman of the anti-liberal Democratic Leadership Council -- ” who, without credentials, is running as a reinvented left-liberal in this recall election? And would Bustamante, who has read his only two policy speeches of this campaign word for word, even exist politically without his controversial political consultant and lobbying string puller, Richie Ross?

....Since the lieutenant governor has little power and few duties, it is unclear to many Capitol observers what Bustamante has been doing for much of the past five years. Friends say that he keeps busy. “He has lots of meetings,” says one. “He works at staying visible. ....

There's lots more.

The California Supreme Court had bad news for Andrew Luster today--he can't appeal his convictions or 124 year sentence due to his flight.

The so-called "fugitive disentitlement doctrine" generally prohibits or limits fugitives from appealing federal or state convictions. Not allowing Luster to challenge his conviction "offends fundamental notions of human dignity and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment," attorney Roger Diamond wrote in court briefs to the California justices, who on Wednesday refused to hear the case. "He should have a right to go ahead with the appeal," Diamond said in an interview.

Diamond will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now we just need Mexico to leave Dog the Bounty Hunter alone.

The Washington Supreme Court has ruled that police need a warrant before installing a Global Positioning System tracking device on a suspect's car. It is the first court in the country to rule this way.

"Use of GPS tracking devices is a particularly intrusive method of surveillance, making it possible to acquire an enormous amount of personal information about the citizen under circumstances where the individual is unaware that every single vehicle trip taken and the duration of every single stop may be recorded by the government," Justice Barbara Madsen wrote in the unanimous decision

She raised the prospect of citizens being tracked to "the strip club, the opera, the baseball game, the `wrong' side of town, the family planning clinic, the labor rally." The closely watched case had evoked worries about police using the satellite-tracking devices like Big Brother to watch citizens' every move.

Doug Honig, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, said ... Attaching a GPS device to a car is "the equivalent of placing an invisible police officer in a person's back seat," Honig said. "Our state constitution has very strong protections for privacy. Some other states also have very strong protections for privacy. This will be a strong precedent for them to look at and for any law enforcement agency around the country."

Our first thought: Scott Peterson, accused of murdering his pregnant wife Laci, will be very happy to hear this--although if the ruling was based on Washington's state constitution as opposed to the Fourth Amendment, it may not be adopted by California. Washington's state constitution has very strict privacy protections.

We don't have anything unique to say about today being the anniversary of September 11. Our reader TK says, "light a candle."

Stephen Green of Vodka Pundit says he is angry, but not terrorized. Stephen is a terrific writer, and while most of the time we find we don't share his political beliefs, we respect him and always appreciate when he offers up a good read, as he does today.

For our part, we will stick to what we know, and continue to point out that the Administration's anti-terror laws do not make us safer, only less free.

Greg Palast: Bush Resignation Hailed by World Leaders:

The surprise resignation of the forty-third President of the United States, George W. Bush, on the second anniversary of the terrorist attack on America, was hailed by chiefs of state throughout the world. Mr. Bush announced that after, "two years of bloodshed, economic devastation, and spreading fear in America and abroad," he saw no choice but to accept that, "I have held a title which I did not win, and for which I have proven unqualified."

Read the text of the former President's September 11 address to the nation.

Ten inmates facing texecution will get new hearings to determine if they are mentally retarded.

The Supreme Court banned executing the mentally retarded in June, 2002. Since then, 28 Texas death row inmates have been granted rehearings.

New Michael Moore book coming out in October:

A description:

In case anyone in Washington hasn't noticed, Americans are fed up with the status quo. In this, the first shot fired over the bow of the 2004 Presidential election, Michael Moore aims to unseat the man who slithered into the White House on tracks built by the bloody hands of Enron and greased with the oil of his daddy.

DUDE, WHERE'S MY COUNTRY? tells us precisely what went wrong, and, more importantly, how to fix things. In a voice that is fearless, funny, and furious, Moore takes readers to the edge of righteous laughter and divine revenge. Tapping into the collective and widespread discontent of everyday Americans, DUDE, WHERE'S MY COUNTRY? provides an incisive look at Republicans, Democrats, and the robber barons of corporate America as it maps out what regular citizens can do to storm the halls of power and reclaim their stolen country.

Dude, Where's My Country
by Michael Moore

As we wrote last year on this day,

What a day to have a birthday. Not fun, we bet. Both Daily Kos and Mad Kane begin another year of life today, we hope you'll go over and extend good wishes.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals Monday issued a decision upholding the contemptible procedure of perp walks:

A federal appeals court has unanimously approved police "perp walks," in which handcuffed, camera-shy defendants are paraded before cameras, claiming it may sway others from attempting crimes similar to those charged to the defendants.

"The image of the accused being led away to contend with the justice system powerfully communicates government efforts to thwart the criminal element, and it may deter others from attempting similar crimes," said the opinion authored by Circuit Judge Fred I. Parker and released Monday, four weeks after he died Aug. 12.

The tradition does not violate a prisoner's civil rights so long as it is not "an inherently fictional dramatization" staged solely to satisfy press curiosity, a panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 in a New York case.

Perp walk: Think Lee Harvey Oswald who was shot to death during it. Timothy McVeigh, who wasn't even provided a bullet-proof vest. Here's our description of McVeigh's perp walk (taken from our brief asking that eyewitness identifications of him be suppressed from trial):

The Washington Post reports that Howard Dean has asked Wesley Clark to join his team if Clark decides not to run for President. The two met in California last weekend and discussed the vice-presidency.

Clark, in a telephone interview yesterday, said he did not want to comment about the private meeting. Asked about reports that the two men had discussed a wide range of issues, including endorsing Dean, joining the campaign, possible roles in a Dean administration and the vice presidency, he said only, "It was a complete tour of the horizon."

Smart move by Dean. It sounds like Clark is still undecided about jumping in the Presidential race. He is expected to announce his decision September 19 when he makes a speech in Iowa. Dean and Clark have met four times. Stay tuned.

Update: Noah Shachtman of Defense Tech has an article in today's New York Times on Wesley Clark --and the company he leads which is making a 21 speed bike.

The retired general has been devoting much of his time to running a company making a new kind of electric motor that does not require gears or a transmission, but uses computer algorithms to maximize torque and efficiency. The company, WaveCrest Laboratories of Dulles, Va., hopes to put these motors into hybrid gas-electric cars or even hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars one day. But for now, WaveCrest is focused on bikes.

Update: Momentum Builds

Ben Glisan, originally charged in 24 counts of a 109 count Indictment naming him and Enron ex-execs Andrew Fastow and Dan Boyle, was sentenced today to five years in prison. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud without a cooperation agreement (meaning he didn't rat out the others) - and got the maximum term for the count. He was taken into custody immediately.

The judge recommended a minimum-security facility for Glisan.

Legal experts who watch the Enron cases see the plea arrangement as a minor win for both sides: Prosecutors show momentum in the huge slow-moving case by finally putting an Enron official behind bars, while Glisan gets a sure, swift sentence, cutting the risk that he could receive a far greater sentence after a protracted and expensive trial.

....Robert Mintz , a New Jersey-based attorney and former federal prosecutor who has followed the case, said he thinks this plea arrangement will set the bar for the sentencing of others. "It lays out a five-year standard. It's not likely the government will offer something more lenient to someone who was more culpable and isn't cooperating," Mintz said.

Glisan was a top-level executive at Enron.

Buzzflash interviews Paul Krugman, New York Times Journalist and author of the new book The Great Unraveling: Losing Our Way in the New Century.

Buzzflash writes:

Thank God for this Man! A Princeton University professor who pens a column for the New York Times, Krugman is probably the most visible mainstream media commentator, among a handful, who "gets it." He views the Bush Cartel as "revolutionary power...a movement whose leaders do not accept the legitimacy of our current political system." In short, Krugman understands that the Bush gang is anti-democracy at its core.