Last year, the Danish Navy thought a Somali boat was approaching the Ely Maersk, a Danish merchant vessel off the coast of Somalia, shot at it and arrested the occupants. They were brought to Denmark to face piracy charges. They were appointed counsel. The Danish Prosecutor For Special International Criminal Cases decided not to file charges and released the men back to Somalia.

The Danish counsel for the men has now sued for damages for unlawful detention and the destruction of their boat and property.

The Danish Navy's Esbern Snare has seized 200 suspected pirates, all of whom were later released. "Somali pirates are currently holding some 28 international vessels and 587 hostages."

[Note: my headline is hyperbolic in that some of the Senators were not in office in December. But I think we can confidently state that everyone of them would have voted for the The Deal, that cut taxes that increased the debt by trillions, and surely will again.] Via Atrios and Steve Benen, 64 Senators have redefined chutzpah:

Dear President Obama:

As the Administration continues to work with Congressional leadership regarding our current budget situation, we write to inform you that we believe comprehensive deficit reduction measures are imperative and to ask you to support a broad approach to solving the problem.

[. . . W]e urge you to engage in a broader discussion about a comprehensive deficit reduction package. Specifically, we hope that the discussion will include discretionary spending cuts, entitlement changes and tax reform.

(Emphasis supplied.) More . . .

The middle part of the country—the great red zone that voted for Bush—is clearly ready for war. The decadent Left in its enclaves on the coasts is not dead—and may well mount what amounts to a fifth column - Andrew Sullivan

I do not see the American national interest in a military intervention in Libya. But it can not possibly be compared to the Iraq Debacle, the worst decision in recent American Presidential history. When you supported the Iraq Debacle and assailed in vicious terms anyone who opposed it, a little humility is in order. Andrew Sullivan is incapable of such humility. Coupled with his hatred of anything Clinton (did you know that Hillary Clinton tricked Obama into the Libya action?), it produces this:

Set your DVR's tonight to watch the new HBO documentary, Triangle: Remembering the Fire.

It's been 100 years since the March 25, 1911 infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Fire on the lower East Side of New York which killed 146 garment workers, most of them young, female Jewish and Italian immigrants. Many were burned alive on the upper floors of the ten story building, others jumped to their death. So many of these deaths were unnecessary -- caused by unsafe working conditions. The stairways were narrow, doors were blocked, the fire escapes were faulty and the sprinklers were inadequate. [More...]

Jury selection begins tomorrow in Barry Bond's trial on charges of lying to the grand jury and obstruction of justice stemming from his testimony before a grand jury investigating steroid use.

Bonds denied using steroids and denied that his trainer, Greg Anderson, injected him with steroids. Bonds has gotten some good rulings on pre-trial motions. The judge barred the introduction of his drug tests and Anderson's doping calendars.

Anderson will not be a witness against Bonds. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, prosecutors will be able to introduce one steroid test from 2003. "When retested, it showed Bonds was using "the clear" and "the cream," prosecutors say. They have listed 52 witnesses.[More...]

The U.S. is going to turn over control of military operations in Libya to either a UK-France coalition or Nato, probably within days.

The Wall St. Journal says U.S. involvement in Libya show "the Obama doctrine" in action, and that it's consistent with what he said on the campaign trail in 2008. It also says it's not a position that sits well with many Republicans:

Facing off against then-fellow Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in a debate for the Democratic primary, Mr. Obama said he didn't want to just end the war in Iraq. "I want to end the mind-set that got us into war in the first place," he said.

In contrast to his predecessor, President George W. Bush, who invaded Iraq in 2003 despite opposition from many allies and Democrats, Mr. Obama is taking pains to receive unambiguous legal authority through the United Nations, getting clear support from Arab states and then letting others—France and Britain —lead the military charge.

[More...]

A new Pew Research poll shows voters are increasingly disapproving of Congress. The reason is because Congress, even after the November election, has failed to do anything on the basic issues everyone cares about.

Republicans and the Tea Party promised change, but haven't delivered. So it's not really a surprise that:

Pew surveyed 1,525 adults from March 8-14. The poll's findings suggest the political losers so far have been Republicans, who rode a wave of voter irritation to win control of the House of Representatives last fall.

After the election, 35 percent said Republicans had a better approach to the deficit, expected to reach a record $1.65 trillion this year. This month, that number has plunged to 21 percent.

Patience is wearing thin with the Tea Party: [More...]

I always feel like the Sunday before the Sweet Sixteen for MArch Madness generally turns out to be a non-"Mad," chalk filled day. Form holds. So I pick accordingly. Today that means the following plays:

North Carolina -5 (2 units) over Washington; Syracuse -4½ (2 units) over Marquette; Ohio State -11½ (3 units) over George Mason; Duke -11½ (5 units) over Michigan; Kansas -8½ (2 units) over Illinois; Texas -6½ (2 units) over Arizona; Purdue -9 (2 units) over Va Commonwealth; Notre Dame -5½ (2 units) over Florida State.

It's very hard to explain to clients (and the public) that when a federal defendant goes to trial, unless he is acquitted of every count, he risks being sentenced not just for the counts he was convicted of, but also for the counts on which the jury found him not guilty.

Sentencing for acquitted conduct is expressly authorized by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

The absurdity of the policy is illustrated very well by a sentence handed down this week by a federal judge in the District of Columbia. Antwuan Ball was convicted on a single count of distributing 11 grams of crack cocaine for $600.00. He was acquitted of racketeering, conspiracy, and every other crime, including murder.

The judge held Ball accountable for the conduct the jury found he did not commit, and sentenced him to 18 years. The Government had asked for 40 years, even though had Ball taken a plea deal before trial, and pleaded guilty to counts he was later found innocent of, it would have asked for 25 years.

This is stuff straight out of Alice in Wonderland. As Ball's lawyer wrote in a sentencing memo (available on PACER): [More...]

While states like Arizona are working hard to pass anti-immgrant bills, the LA Times reports Utah is bucking the trend.

Gov. Gary Herbert last week signed a bill that would give illegal immigrants who do not commit serious crimes and are working in Utah documents that, in the state's eyes at least, make them legal residents. For the law to work, however, the Obama administration would have to permit Utah to make it legal to employ people who entered the United States illegally — a federal crime.

Even if the law is symbolic, perhaps it can reshape thinking on the issue in other states:

"Utah is proof that there is a true silent majority of decent, level-headed Americans," said Paul Mero, head of the conservative Sutherland Institute here. "Conservative Republican members of Congress will be able to take a step back, not be so knee-jerk and caught up in the fear-mongering, and say, 'Look at Utah, the reddest of the red.' "

I've been to Snowbird, Alta and Salt Lake City, all of which I like a lot. Park City is on my list. Moab is also very popular. If you have some tourism dollars to spend, I hope you consider Utah.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Carlos Pascual is resigning. Pascual's cables, critical of the Mexico President Calderon's handling of the drug war, were among those released by Wikileaks.

The Wikileaks cables on Mexico and the drug war are accessible here.

Susana Martinez, New Mexico's new Republican Governor and a former prosecutor, campaigned on a tough-on-immigration platform.

With her support, including ads paid from leftover campaign funds, a bill to repeal a law allowing undocumented residents to get driver's licenses passed the state house.

Today, the New Mexico Senate has rejected the bill.

Some law enforcement groups opposed the repeal, saying it would result in tens of thousands of unlicensed and uninsured drivers.

Immigrant rights groups are also happy with the bill's defeat:

"This goes to show that you come in with a radical, extremist agenda, you're going to get push-back because New Mexico is not a radical extremist state," said Marcela Diaz, head of immigrants rights group Somos un Pueblo Unido.

[More...]