We wish all celebrants a great holiday--and non-celibrants a wonderful respite.

American-Muslim youth react to their recent treatment by the INS in Is This a Way to Ease Muslim Fears?. We hope Bush and Ashcroft and Rumsfeld read their stories and are ashamed of themselves. And if not, we're very ashamed for them.

Sixteen-year-old Hossein Ahmadi is an Iranian-born British citizen who lives with his mother in Encino, Calif. Ahmadi said he was working on his literature homework while waiting to speak to an immigration official but 30 minutes later he was led away in handcuffs as his 7-month pregnant mother watched.

"They sat me in a tank with three other boys and I was the only INS case," said Ahmadi. "I asked them what they were doing in there. One of them had done a burglary and one of them had stabbed someone. Just being among them, I felt like a criminal."

"I thought this was the place of freedom — a place where I could come and become someone. But the last couple of days, my mind has really changed about the United States," said [Shawn] Eliaspoor, who was 6 when his family moved to Southern California from Iran.

Eliaspoor's changed outlook follows his detention by Immigration and Naturalization Service officials in Los Angeles last week. It's an attitude that surprises those who view Eliaspoor as a typical 18-year-old American.

Hal Kay, 22, was born in Iran, but is a Canadian citizen who has lived in the United States since age 16. Also held last week by the INS, he also feels betrayed by the government of the country he considers home. "I really didn't know the INS was this backward. It felt like in America there are situations where it's practically like it is in Iran," Kay said.

Like hundreds of other Middle Eastern males, Eliaspoor, Kay and Ahmadi lined up at a federal building in Los Angeles to register voluntarily for a new INS database to track foreigners who enter and leave the country on tourist, business and student visas. Dec. 16 was the deadline for male visa holders ages 16 and older from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan and Syria.

Those who showed up to register on the deadline day expected to be released within a few hours. Instead, according to INS figures, they were among 400 men arrested. Most of them were born in Iran.

"I thought I was doing something good for myself," said Eliaspoor. "Something for the country. But they tricked me."

From today's New York Times:With Dog Detectives, Mistakes Can Happen

Experts on explosives detection say that when dogs' handlers are excited and stressed, the dogs may overreact and falsely suggest that explosives are present when they are not. False alerts are better than missing a live bomb, they say, but it is better for the dogs to be accurate. More rigorous training and certification standards and more research into the way dogs detect scents and the relationship between them and their handlers are needed to avoid these problems, said Dr. Lawrence J. Myers, an expert on dog olfaction at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.

If true for explosive searching dogs, it should also be true for dogs searching for drugs following the routine traffic stop.

The Chicago Tribune wisely calls for a review commission in its editorial, Four More Terrible Mistakes. In the case under discussion, four men were imprisoned for a murder authorities now know they didn't commit. These were not death penalty cases.

"These were the largely unexplored next layer of the onion, suggesting once again that problems exist throughout the criminal justice system, not just in the way capital punishment is administered." "The case seemed airtight. One man confessed. Two pleaded guilty after they had spent four years in jail awaiting trial. A key witness had provided many details implicating the men."

Only now it turns out the men could not have committed the murder. The confession was junk and the key witness is now charged with making false statements.

"All of these cases cry out for safeguards that must be implemented across the state."

"One is the videotaping of interrogations and confessions taken in police stations. A videotape of the entire questioning process may have provided critical information that would have prevented the wrongful convictions in some of the cases cited above."

"The other is the need for a formal, public review process to examine these accumulating cases of wrongful convictions and other cases where a conviction might be suspect."

"Models already exist. The United Kingdom and Canada appoint retired judges and others to conduct extremely thorough investigations of wrongful convictions. They are accorded subpoena power and stage exhaustive public hearings on various issues that arise from each case."

"County prosecutors in St. Paul, Minn., San Diego and Austin, Texas, have undertaken their own reviews of violent crime cases...."

"Perhaps the best model for Illinois is the National Transportation Safety Board. When planes crash, the independent NTSB swoops in, conducts a thorough investigation by experts and reveals its findings to the public."

This is what Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld and Jim Dwyer called for in their book, Actual Innocence. It's more than high time we do it.

On Monday, a U.S. federal judge endorsed the decision by a Magistrate Judge on Friday to release of one of four brothers in Texas who were arrested last week and charged with aiding the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Judge and Magistrate Judge found that the government had not proven the man to be a flight risk.

A second brother was ordered released Friday. but will stay in detention because like a third brother, he is also charged with overstaying his visa. They will appear in court again on January 10.

"The four brothers run a computer company called InfoCom Corp. and live in suburban Dallas with their families." There is a fifth brother, but he is already in jail, serving a sentence in an unrelated matter.

You can read the Indictment here.

President Bush has granted seven pardons --the first of his administration. Almost all were for minor offenses. Here's who got pardoned:

"A Mississippi man who tampered with a car odometer; a postal employee who stole $10.90 worth of mail; a Tennessee man sentenced in 1962 for making untaxed whiskey; an Oregon man convicted in 1966 in a grain-theft conspiracy; an Iowa man sentenced in 1989 for lying to the Social Security Administration; a Washington state man sentenced in 1972 for stealing $38,000 worth of copper wire; and a Wisconsin minister who refused to be inducted into the military, sentenced in 1957."

Out of all the people who applied, these are the only people worthy of Bush's compassion? He doesn't deserve to use the word.

The Washington Post feels the same way, but phrases it much more charitably:

"The federal inmate population today is larger than it has ever been; the role of pardons should be bigger than ever. Yet Mr. Bush could not find a single inmate who deserved clemency. By issuing an average of 3.5 pardons a year -- none of which carries consequence other than forgiveness for individuals who long ago served their time -- he announces, in effect, that the American justice system requires no check, just a Christmas card."

Los Angeles Celebrity Sleuth Anthony Pellicano appeared in court today, and denied weapons charges and charges related to his knowing Steven Seagall.

"Celebrity sleuth Anthony Pellicano on Monday proclaimed his innocence to federal weapons charges stemming from a police probe into the alleged harassment of a Los Angeles Times reporter."

Fortunately for Mr. Pellicano, he has an outstanding defense lawyer, Donald Re, also of Los Angeles. "Re, called the felony and misdemeanor charges "outrageous" and "inappropriate," and said Pellicano, 58, had "a legitimate reason" for having the weapons."

Pellicano faces up to 11 years in federal prison if convicted on both counts. His trial is scheduled to begin on Feb. 11.

The National Law Journal picks its Lawyer of the Year based on an evaluation of an attorney's impact during the previous 12 months. This year's selection: "New Mexico law professor James Ellis, who helped build a national consensus against the execution of mentally retarded criminals and convinced the U.S. Supreme Court of it."

"Next semester the whole country can get a lesson in Bill Clinton."

"The C-SPAN public affairs cable network will broadcast every class of "The Clinton Presidency," a new course at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock that will examine the former president's achievements and scandals."

"Guest lecturers will include longtime Clinton lawyer David Kendall, Clinton confidant and counsel Bruce Lindsey, former NATO commander Wesley Clark and the former president himself. Clinton critics, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, also have been invited."

The class, which begins January 16, will be taught by political science professor Margaret Scranton and will focus on "Clinton's impeachment, his campaign style and his rise from a Southern governor to a political powerhouse, as well as issues such as foreign policy, health care and the economy."

Bob at Politics in the Zeros reports that the mass INS arrests are not just happening in LA, but in Houston and Cleveland as well. He's got the whole story.

The ACLU says that Ashcroft's immigrant registration program is merely a pretext for mass detentions. Many of the arrested are not being allowed calls to lawyers and lawyers are being refused information on their client's whereabouts.

"Given the evidence, there is no alarmism in saying this is a round-up," said Lucas Guttentag, Director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. "Attorney General Ashcroft is using the immigrant registration program to lock up people who already have provided extensive information as part of their green card applications," he said. "Therefore the purpose is clearly not to get information but rather to selectively arrest, detain and deport Middle Eastern and Muslim men in the United States."

We got an e-mail last night asking us to read a message forum where some folks have been posting about being unfairly treated after being stopped at a roablock by state and federal law enforcement in Arizona . The forum directed us to the Roadblock Registry, a site "dedicated to the subject (and elimination) of roadblocks on public streets, roads and highways", sponsored by the National Motorists Association, "North America's most outspoken defender of drivers' rights." We like the site and are spreading the word about it.

The group's position on roadblocks is straight-forward.

"We oppose the use of roadblocks, period. The only justification for stopping citizens under a roadblock scenario is to warn them of an unseen peril that could cause injury or death to an unsuspecting motorist. So-called "sobriety check points," or seat belt checks, or the myriad of other excuses the government concocts to harass and intimidate its citizens through the use of roadblocks are, in our opinion unconstitutional and in direct contradiction to any honest definition of freedom."

Here is their mission statement:

"The goal of this web site is to permanently eliminate the use of roadblocks, no matter their purpose or sponsorship. Initially we will provide information on how to avoid roadblocks, by listing their locations (with your assistance). We will also develop a portfolio of information and court cases that will educate our visitors on their rights and the limitations the courts have placed on roadblock operators. Finally, through the National Motorists Association and the National Motorists Association Foundation we will promote legislation, support litigation, and sponsor publicity all aimed at eliminating the use of roadblocks for public policy and political agendas."

The site has a state-by-state listing of known and announced roadblocks, and invites readers to contribute their knowledge of others.

It also tells readers what their rights are when stopped for a roadblock. We aren't vouching for the accuracy of the information, and we don't give legal advice to the general public, but if you're interested in the topic, especially as roadblocks will be in high gear through New Years, you might take a look .

As to the unfortunate person who was stopped at the roadblock in Arizona, you can read his story here.

The Rocky Mountain News rocks today. First is an editorial supporting the revival of presidential pardons. Yesterday the News came out for free speech in the Virginia cross-burning case: "Once the government gets into the business of suppressing odious messages, where does it stop?"

The Boulder Daily Camera is on top of it as well, check out Civil Extremists: If Dissent is a Crime, Just Lock Us Up.