With her kids now in school, Maria Schriver has become an active participant in Arnie's campaign. Statements like this can only help him:

"He's one of the most gracious, supportive, open-minded men I have ever met," the TV journalist said at an appearance in Santa Monica last week. "I've known him since I was 21 years old, and I know I would not be where I am today in my career, as a woman, without his support."

Some background on Maria.

On paper, Shriver, 47, has the kind of background that could help her husband at the polls. She is a niece of President Kennedy, and a career woman with four children, ages 5 to 13.

A 1977 graduate of Georgetown University, she has been with NBC since 1986 as an anchor, correspondent and, most recently, as part of "Dateline NBC." She is on leave from the network during her husband's campaign. She built her career as a hardworking journalist who preferred serious news over fluff.

We met Maria last year at a party we attended for the swearing in of LA Police Chief Bill Bratton. We talked for ten minutes or so about our aging mothers and how difficult it is for them. There had been several recent news articles about her mother's declining health. We liked Maria a lot. She and Arnie stayed at the party for well over an hour. (We met Arnie too, but did not have a chance to speak with him.)

We still say vote "no" on recall. But we think Maria has had a liberalizing effect on Arnie and that should he win the election, she will continue to make her voice heard. That's good.

Update: Maria's mother, Eunice Shriver, sister of JFK, came out today and endorsed Arnold:

I think he'd be a very good governor. He's been committed to people all his life, since the day he first arrived here, he's been a success with people," Shriver, 82, told reporters before Schwarzenegger met with experts on education policy.

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Peter Uberroth has dropped out of the California recall election. He said he crunched the numbers and can't win. Who will benefit from his support? Arnie or McCLintock? If Arnie picks up his support, is Bustamante in trouble? Could his dropping out reduce support for the recall itself and assist Gray Davis?

A North Carolina court has stayed the Friday execution of Henry Lee Hunt so that his claim that the state plans to use an illegal drug, potassium chloride, in killing him can be reviewed by the courts. Potassium chlorid stops the heart from beating. The North Carolina statute specifies the use of two drugs for executions, a barbituate and a drug that causes paralysis. The ruling could impact all the prisoners on death row.

Potassium chloride is a very caustic and burning drug if given while the person is still awake. Here is more on the lethal cocktail of execution drugs.

Hunt claims he is innocent. In 1989, a co-defendant signed an affidavit admitting to the killing and stating that Hunt was not involved in the murder. The Judge refused to hear that claim. But now that a stay has been granted, his lawyers will appeal the ruling.

We thought Gephardt had the major AFL-CIO union endorsement locked up. Not so. Check this out:

Dean wows union rank-and-file at convention:

The former Vermont governor was greeted with earsplitting cheers and numerous, lengthy standing ovations from the nearly 1,500 rank-and-file members. The audience several times clapped and chanted in unison.

"This time the person with the most votes is going to be the president of the United States," Dean roared. Afterward, he was mobbed by union members seeking autographs and pictures, as well as the media.

The analysis:

The Democrat who has the most at stake is Gephardt, who covets a laborwide endorsement from the AFL-CIO next month. The Missouri congressman has 12 union endorsements so far, and is the only candidate to get backing from an international union. But he needs support from a few more large unions, such as SEIU[the 1.6-million-member Service Employees International Union], to win over the AFL-CIO.

....The SEIU is the nation's fastest-growing union and among the most progressive and diverse, making it an enticing prize for Democrats seeking labor support. Its members are janitors, nursing home workers, home health care workers, hospital nurses, and government employees. Many are Hispanic.

Via Atrios, we find this CNN regularly updated site with a list of U.S casualties in the war in Iraq. Look at their pictures.

There have been 337 confirmed coalition deaths in the war as of September 8, 2003. The casualty list below reflects the names of the U.S. and British soldiers, Marines, airmen and sailors whose families have been notified. This list is updated regularly.

337 have died so far. A recent Time poll shows approval for Bush's war down to 52%. Let's get it down to single digits.

Take a look at this new Columbia University poll showing that confidence in the government's ability to respond to a terrorist attack has dropped:

The Columbia University study, released Monday, found 46 percent of those surveyed believed authorities could "respond effectively" to a biological, chemical or nuclear attack, down from 53 percent last year. The drop was most dramatic among New Yorkers, from 53 percent to 36 percent.

Update: Read this, it will make you cry. Bring our troops home now.

People for the American Way have just released an in-depth report on the Administration's Attacks on Civil Liberties and on Civil Rights Protections since the first anniversary of Ashcroft assuming office. (They had already issued a report on his first year.)

The report is available for download here.

The report outlines the Ashcroft Justice Department’s dangerous tactics in the war on terrorism, its disturbing civil rights record, its participation in the administration’s judicial nomination strategies, and its attacks on the First Amendment, the role of career prosecutors and judicial independence. “The record is clear. Ashcroft and the Justice Department have gone too far. I’m heartened by the recent actions of members of Congress and the American people opposing Ashcroft’s assault on our freedoms,” Neas said. “Together, we’re sending a clear message to the attorney general that the Bill of Rights is not optional in wartime.”

bq.The report details the Justice Department’s conduct in the war on terrorism, from attacks on the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment to the Justice Department’s own inspector general’s account of civil rights abuses of prisoners rounded up after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Also covered are congressional efforts to check the DOJ’s power as well as resolutions passed by more than 150 American cities, towns and states speaking out against attacks on civil liberties.

Update: Cato v. DOJ, Round 2

It's coming to an airport near you. Soon. CAPPS--the color coded passenger risk system.

In the most aggressive -- and, some say, invasive -- step yet to protect air travelers, the federal government and the airlines will phase in a computer system next year to measure the risk posed by every passenger on every flight in the United States.

The new Transportation Security Administration system seeks to probe deeper into each passenger's identity than is currently possible, comparing personal information against criminal records and intelligence information. Passengers will be assigned a color code -- green, yellow or red -- based in part on their city of departure, destination, traveling companions and date of ticket purchase.

The system works just like a traffic light. If your code is green, you've got nothing to worry about. If your code is yellow, proceed to the next security checkpoint for more scrutiny. If you get a red....sorry, you can't board at all.

The military is demanding that the thousands of army and National Guard reserve troops in Iraq stay for a year.

Here's the difference in policy. Up until now, reserve troops were called up for a year but a chunk of that time was spent in the U.S. training to go overeseas, and in debriefings upon their return. So much less than a year was spent in Iraq.

Under the new policy, the reservists will have to spend a full year in Iraq or neighboring countries.

The new deployment policy, which is still being disseminated to Guard and Army Reserve units, is already prompting concerns by troops and their advocates, who said uncertainty about the length of deployments can have a highly negative impact on morale. The Army issued the new policy late Friday night, but made no formal announcement of the change.

There are 122,000 Army personnel in Iraq, including 3,000 National Guard soldiers and 5,000 reservists, Army officials said. Another 5,000 Guard soldiers and 7,000 reservists are serving in Kuwait, they said.

Sometimes, what goes around, comes around. Maybe we'll start seeing a comeback of "Hell No, We Won't Go." Maybe by the time of the national conventions for 2004, Bush will be considered as vile as Nixon. Already there are plans for massive demonstrations in New York when the Republicans convene --how great a stretch is it to think that New York next summer could turn into a scene from Chicago in 1968? One can only hope.

Attorney General John Ashcroft winds up his Patriot Act tour in New York Tuesday.

He was met by protesters in Buffalo Monday, some carrying signs that read, "One Nation, Under Surveillance."

That about says it all.

Oliver Willis says Rumseld should resign.

So does David Obey (D-WI), the highest ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. Obey also calls for the resignation of Wolfowitz.

The Capital Times joins the call in this editorial.

After talking with military and diplomatic experts, assessing reports from Iraq, and visiting with his constituents in northern Wisconsin, U.S. Rep. David Obey, D-Wausau, came to the conclusion that Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz must go. Obey, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, argues that the shift is necessary to restore relations with allies whose help is needed to stabilize Iraq and begin a serious process of turning power over to the Iraqi people. Additionally, Obey argues that changing the bosses at the Defense Department will help renew confidence in the administration's pronouncements.

Obey's assessment is rooted in genuine concern for America and Iraq. The Bush administration ought not reject this wise counsel. It is time to replace Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz.

Yale Law Prof Jack Balkin has some advice for Bush and Rumsfeld--learn the value of dissent.

The Judge in the Kobe Bryant case has ruled that cameras will not be allowed in the courtroom for Kobe's preliminary hearing.

Colorado rules do not allow cameras in the courtroom during pre-trial proceedings, other than at the advisement and arraignment.

The best part of the decision is that the Judge based his ruling on the Colorado Code of Judicial Conduct --which means it cannot be appealed.

Preliminary hearings are conducted under relaxed rules of evidence and prior to suppression hearings. They are loaded with hearsay evidence and evidence that may not be admissible at trial. We think it is incredibly prejudicial to the defendant to televise such a hearing.

The DA also opposed the cameras, arguing it would be unfair to both the accuser and Kobe.

It's official: The Justice Department is using the Patriot Act in criminal cases as well as terrorism investigation. Michelle Mittelstadt has a through report in the Dallas Morning News, available without subscription, here:

Though the government has not revealed most of the details of how it has applied the Patriot Act, the Justice Department told Congress in May that it is using the law in criminal cases, not just terrorism investigations.

Federal agents have used the new tools to seize a con man's assets; track down computer hackers and a fugitive; identify the hoaxster who made a school bomb threat, and monitor kidnappers' communications, the department advised the House Judiciary Committee.

In-house documents show that prosecutors are exploring other ways to use Patriot Act authorities in criminal investigations....In a May 2002 bulletin to the nation's 94 U.S. attorneys, a staffer in Justice's Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section wrote enthusiastically about the Patriot Act's reach beyond terrorism cases. "Indeed, investigations of all manner of criminal conduct with a nexus to the Internet have benefited from these amendments," the trial attorney wrote.

Two bills have been introduced in Congress to try and take back some of the Patriot Act's new powers. The first, by Russ Feingold (D-WI), the lone senator to vote against the bill, would "limit records searches by requiring the FBI to show that the documents pertain to a suspected terrorist or spy."

The second bill, introduced by Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) has broad bipartisan support.

[It] would limit a number of Patriot Act authorities specifically to terrorism investigations, including the much-criticized "sneak-and-peek" searches. It also would increase judges' powers to scrutinize warrants and other authorities granted under the law, narrow the definition of domestic terrorism, and raise standards for records and wiretap requests.

Passage of these bills would help, but are not a cure-all.

"It's a good first start," said Denver attorney Jeralyn Merritt, treasurer of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. "It places what I would call modest checks and balances on the most troublesome provisions."

On a related issue, don't miss law professor David Cole's analysis of Ashcroft's Patriot Act tour in the new issue of the Nation. And the Washington Post addresses the secrecy aspects of the use of the Patriot Act here.