Devra over at Talk A Blue Streak says she's getting paranoid about things. Here's a sample of her concerns:

We have a President who embraces Fundamentalist Christian theology as a guide to governing in Foreign Policy. And who rejects 'Christian Charity' as a guide to governing in Domestic Policy. We have a Commander In Chief who is knowingly driving our government into bankruptcy. What does this add up to? A president who seeks to undermine us. I'm not inclined to paranoia - I'm just paying attention.

If you are a Fundamentalist Christian, you are probably perfectly comfortable with the idea that the government should be 'Faith Based' - provided that Faith is a Christian, Bible-centered one.

But how is this any different from the many 'Faith Based' Muslim nations of the world? The Taliban does come to mind, here, as does Saudi Arabia.

We are a secular nation. That is our strength. Why do we sit by, afraid to ask questions of a president who seeks to turn this into a bankrupt Christian nation. I wonder, what do Christian militias think of George W. Bush? Do they think he's on the right track? Bankrupt the Federal government, strengthen private industry, weaken labor, turn over social services to churches, privatize privatize privatize ... what's next? Dismantle government, and the individual protections it promises. Good god. It's like I'm living the prologue of a dystopian science fiction novel. And then there's the War.

And after that, the Moonies. Go read, and let her know she's not alone in her anxiety.

Via The Agonist, a link to the blog Uzbekistan Diary, "A year in the life of a North American Journalist working in Uzbekistan."

The most recent post is yesterday. It begins,

We are in the middle of a fight with the US Embassy. There are certain un-named factors in the US Embassy that want my organization to trumpet all the good things the US is doing here. And they want us to make our UZ journalists tell those stories on UZ TV.

This presents a conflict of interest for me.

Sure, as a private US citizen, I would like the world to know about the good things my country does. But as a director of a press organization, I do not see it as my job to do PR for the United States, even though my salary comes from US taxpayer money. My job -- my mandate -- is to promote a free and independent press. It is not to promote and create an UZ press that tells the stories the US government wants them to tell.

[Note: We incorrectly identified the blog's author as a "He"--so we have changed the title of this post. Thanks to Sean-Paul for letting us know.]

A federal court in Florida today issued an order preventing the state of Florida from blocking nude anti-war activists.

As has been occurring in other cities, a group of women planed "to gather in a state park, strip nude and form a peace symbol with their bodies in protest of a U.S. war on Iraq."

"U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks wrote an eleven-page order stating that "nude overtly political speech in the form of a 'living nude peace symbol' is expressive conduct well within the ambit of the First Amendment."

The demonstration took place Friday morning at John D. MacArthur Beach State Park on Singer Island, north of West Palm Beach. Two dozen men and women took off their clothes, lay down and formed a peace symbol.

Why the nudity? "Organizer T. A. Wyner said the protesters stripped because it shows vulnerability and calls attention to their lack of weapons."

No one was arrested. The best comment we've seen on it:

Marilyn Weil, who brought her three young grandchildren to the Singer Island beach Friday morning, said she was warned before she reached the sand about the protest. "It's a little bizarre, but it's freedom of expression and that's what this country is all about," Weil said. "I'd rather have them see that than a bunch of dead bodies on the television screen, which is what we'd see if we bomb Iraq."

Us too.

Update: You can view photos from the various protests here. [link via Buzzflash]

This may be the funniest thing we've read all week. It's written by The Farmer, a commenter over at Atrios . The topic is MSNBC's new lineup.

Ok, I'm no network program exec, but...... Listen up MSNBC,

Please keep up the good work.

I really enjoy the weekend "news" stories. Especially the exposes on fat people who aren't fat anymore. Please make more dieting documentaries. For instance; I'd like to see Al Rochers arms and legs surgically removed on television. Is that feasible?

Also..... I would like to see more stories about cats. Any kind of cats will do. (Enough with the pretentious inbred dog shows.) And more car chases ....with car chases, you can't go wrong.

Here are some more subjects/ideas I think MSNBC should consider. Especially on weekends, when there is no actual news because everyone goes home and stops making up news.

1- More shows about designer penis enlargement medications like the old ones starring Bob Dole. I know, prostate surgery is in this season. But I miss the hearty old time bounders.

2- More shows about prostitutes and strippers. Especially child prostitutes. America loves child prostitutes! Doesn't really matter about the kinds of strippers or prostitutes actually, America likes them all. Housewife prostitutes?
Strippers for God? Obese lesbian prostitutes on diets! You know what I mean? Fancy Lady stories. More Fancy Lady stories.

3- More celebrities gone bad shows. Like those former child-star exposes about once popular and beloved personalities who grow up into rogue adult miscreants and prostitutes. America likes celebrity prostitutes too. People are sick of Michael Jackson. People are begining to think that you are paying Michael Jackson to act weird just so you can report that Michael Jackson is acting weird. Its getting old. Whats Gary Condit up to? Can't you go bother Gary Condit some more. Does Gary Condit know any prostitutes?

Clara Harris was sentenced by the jury to 20 years for husband's murder.

A Houston jury Friday sentenced Clara Harris to 20 years in prison for murdering her husband with her car after catching him with another woman. The 45-year-old dentist and mother of two appeared to collapse in the grasp of her attorneys when the verdict was announced after six hours of deliberation. The same jury of nine women and three men Thursday convicted Harris of murder. The jurors could have sentenced Harris to life in prison but ruled she acted with "sudden passion," which provided for a reduced sentence, but they then gave her the maximum 20 years provided under that provision. She could have received as little as two years in prison.

That's outrageous. What about her twin sons? They grow up with no parent? George Parnum, Harris's defense attorney,

... said during a news conference this evening that he will appeal the case, and said there were numerous grounds for such action, including evidence that was not allowed to be admitted.

That included an audiotape made by police of Clara Harris the night of the killing. Parnham describe his client as "incoherent and rambling" and it would have shown her state of mind had it been allowed.

"This fight is not over," he said.

We're glad to hear it, but we don't have much faith in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Another case where everyone loses.

South Knox Bubba has had an epiphany on what's wrong with the Democratic Party. Don't forget to read the comments. [link via Atrios.]

Journalist, author and blogger David Neiwert makes a lot of sense in trying to figure out what's "so new" about the material reported this week in the Associated Press on McVeigh and Oklahoma, and in his description of what could use further investigation:

Well, a lot of it has to do with the investigation itself. As I've explored in some depth in Salon, there are still some very important unanswered questions about the case. Some of them -- particularly the credibility of, and the circumstances surrounding, the eyewitness identifications of McVeigh and Nichols during the bomb-building phase in Kansas -- cut deeply against the government's own conclusions.

If you are interested in the Oklahoma bombing case, and you haven't yet read David's Salon piece, you should. He really nails the problems with the Government's eyewitnesses and its insistence that "John Doe 2" was not a co-conspirator.

A hearing began yesterday on a lawsuit brought against the Mississippi Department of Corrections by six death row inmates and the American Civil Liberties Union.

The suit alleges that MDOC officials have knowingly subjected death row inmates to inhumane conditions leading to pain, suffering and mental instability and violated their constitutional rights...

Death row inmate William Holly said he knows he is not on Unit 32 at Mississippi State Penitentiary to be made comfortable, "but I didn't know it involved torture.".."There is the filth, with feces bubbling up in my toilet when those next to me flush their toilet," said Holly, 28.

Expert witness James J. Balsimo...testified that insects, filth, lack of water and showers, high temperatures and a lack of fans are among the shortcomings.

He also criticized the absence of a maintenance schedule to prevent water and sewer failures. Balsimo said the lack of a maintenance plan was evident when Unit 32 was without water and sewer for almost a week in June 2002.

The ACLU Capital Punishment Project is sponsoring a Youth Death Penalty Conference. If you know any students that may be interested in attending, please send out an email.

The DC/MD/VA Student Convention will take place on Saturday, February 22nd from 11-5 at Howard Law School in Washington, DC. The conference's purpose is to bring youth together, educate them about the death penalty, and start planning for youth action in these states and on key issues like the juvenile death penalty.

If you would like to attend, help with the conference or help mobilize students to attend (high school, college and grad school students) please contact Josh Noble at the ACLU Capital Punishment Project: dpconf2003@hotmail.com, 202-675-2319, or go here.

EPIC has a critical analysis of Patriot Act II's provisions. Bottom line:

The draft touches on a number of areas of law, including wiretapping, law enforcement access to business records, freedom of information, search and seizure, encryption policy, and immigration law. When the language was leaked, the DOJ immediately issued a press release minimizing the importance of the draft. However, the draft indicates that DOJ intends to continue to increase executive police power while either limiting or eliminating congressional or judicial oversight.

Why is the mainstream media barely reporting on Ashcroft's Sneak Attack on Liberties ? FAIR explains.

Update: Jake Tapper at Salon writes this article about Ashcroft's grand plans for more eavesdropping, privacy invading powers.

The ACLU also has analysis of the bill up.

Robert Chambers, the N.Y. 'Preppie Murder' inmate has been freed after serving his full 15 year sentence.

This was a very highly sensationalized murder case in New York--even without cable news networks discussing it nightly. In 1986, Robert Chambers, a young and handsome guy who had dropped out of college, met Jennifer Levin, a student at an elite private high school in Manhattan, at a trendy bar on the Upper East Side. They then went to Central Park, had sex, and she ended up strangled to death.

Chambers said it was an accident, they had been having consensual rough sex. The DA, Linda Fairstein (remember her from her role in the interrogations of the five wrongfully convicted youths in the Central Park Jogger case? She's now a fiction writer) argued Chambers killed Jennifer in a rage.

Chambers was represented at trial by the very excellent New York criminal defense lawyer Jack Litman. After nine days of jury deliberation without a verdict, Chambers plead guilty to manslaugher--which angered the Levin family and polarized the community.

On the eve of his release, Chambers issued a statement of regret through his lawyer.

"There has not been a day since Jennifer Levin's death that I have not regretted my actions on that day," the one-paragraph statement said. "I know that the Levin family continues to suffer her loss, and I am deeply sorry for the grief I have caused them."

In the statement, Chambers also said he would like to pursue a college degree and begin paying the $25 million wrongful death settlement awarded the Levin family. He said he would not grant interviews after his release.

Chambers incurred several disciplinary infractions while in prison, resulting in him having to serve the full 15 years. Obviously, it was not easy time for him. But because he did the whole sentence, he doesn't have to be on or under supervision.

[comments now closed]

Remember Madelyne TooGood? The Irish Traveler caught on videotape striking her child in her car in a parking lot?

Now that the media has died down, and the DA of the county, who said he wouldn't offer TooGood a deal lost his re-election bid in November, a deal has been reached.

TooGood pleaded guilty to a felony battery charge. She received a one year suspended sentence, a year's probation and a $500 fine. The more serious charges against her were dismissed.

We think this is an appropriate resolution to the case. It is equivalent to what other defendants receive when charged with the same offense-- whose stories do not end up in the media. The court and the new DA rose above the lynch mob mentality and should be commended.