President Obama met today with Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi. One outcome: Italy will take three Guantanamo detainees.

Thank you, Italy

I will be participating in the TPM Book Club discussion of Eric Boehlert's Bloggers on The Bus. Eric wrote an opening post. Also particpating will be Jay Rosen, Atrios, Greg Mitchell, Amanda Marcotte and Ari Melber. Should be interesting.

Via the Chicago Tribune, Congressman Mark Kirk is introducing a bill to set penalties at up to 25 years for some pot offenses, that would apply to first time offenders:

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk will call for legislation Monday that would toughen drug-trafficking laws regarding a highly potent form of marijuana, with penalties of up to 25 years in prison for a first-time offense. The law would target offenders who sell or distribute marijuana that has a THC content exceeding 15 percent.

Paul at NORML has more. You can send Rep. Kirk your thoughts here.

"War, children, is just a shot away."

A demonstrator has been killed by gunfire at protests in Iran. Huffington Post is live-blogging events. The violence continues. Follow the twitter feeds for the fastest updates. [More...]

Sen. Russ Feingold has written this letter (pdf)to President Obama, calling upon him to renounce the warrantless wiretapping. It begins:

I am writing to reiterate my request for you to formally and promptly renounce the assertions of executive authority made by the Bush Administration with regard to warrantless wiretapping. As a United States Senator, you stated clearly and correctly that the warrantless wiretapping program was illegal. Your Attorney General expressed the same view, both as a private citizen and at his confirmation hearing. It is my hope that you will formally confirm this position as president... [More...]

Little did I know one weekend in June, 2002, when I converted TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime, a little known website I created in 1999, into a weblog, I would spend hours every day for the next seven years on it. But, that's what I've done. Somehow, the years just flew by, and today, TalkLeft is 7 years old.

In an interview for a legal website a few years ago, I was asked what would happen to TalkLeft if a Democrat became president in January, 2009. My answer was: [More...]

President Obama enjoyed great support from trial lawyers in his presidential campaign. Even though, as I wrote here, he voted for a very bad tort reform bill.

So no one should be suprised he's now looking at reining in medical malpractice suits as a way to cut health costs. It's another one of his "middle ground" with Republican stances.

In closed-door talks, Mr. Obama has been making the case that reducing malpractice lawsuits — a goal of many doctors and Republicans — can help drive down health care costs, and should be considered as part of any health care overhaul, according to lawmakers of both parties, as well as A.M.A. officials.

He's not addressing capping lawsuit awards...at least not yet. [More...]

These conclusions by [Bush CIA] Director Hayden . . . have been reinforced by an additional review – following the panel decision in this case – at the highest levels of the [Obama]Department of Justice. - Obama DOJ Brief

Recent days have been filled with apologists for the Obama Justice Department's brief in the California DOMA case. Expect new defenses now for the Obama DOJ brief seeking en banc rehearing (PDF) of the 9th Circuit's Jeppesen state secrets decision (PDF). In my view, what is most disturbing about the Obama DOJ's brief is not that it adopts in toto the radical Bush Administration position on the state secrets doctrine (bad enough), it is its blatant misleading description of what the Jeppesen panel decided. The Obama DOJ writes:

The National Drug Intelligence Center issued its annual "market analyses" on illicit drug seizures, arrests, and trends in the 32 so-called High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs).

Drug Market Analyses examine the market dynamics and the trafficking, distribution, and abuse patterns associated with cocaine, heroin, marijuana, MDMA, methamphetamine, and other dangerous drugs within United States High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTAs).

[More...]

On "Face the Nation" today, Mitch McConnell said that Republicans could filibuster Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation vote if they decide to oppose the president's Supreme Court nominee. On May 19, 2005, the very same Mitch McConnell said this:

Because of the unprecedented obstruction of our Democratic colleagues, the Republican conference intends to restore the principle that, regardless of party, any President’s judicial nominees, after full debate, deserve a simple up-or-down vote.

McConnell argues that the filibuster is an acceptable alternative because Democrats established that precedent. It's all so clear now. Republican "principles" are meant for Democrats to follow, not Republicans.

The basic premise of the NYT piece is this: is the Bruno character--a flamboyant Austrian TV host--a homophobic caricature and will the Bruno film be seen by audiences as a re-affirmation of stereotypes or as an Out Magazine editor tells the NYT, a "two hour lecture" about the perils of homophobia served in an easy to digest comedic form?

I find this whole discussion strange and uninteresting on a number of levels: [More..]

The John Ashcroft-Alberto Gonzales Justice Department advanced an obvious agenda: expand federal executive branch power while limiting the ability of individuals to resist its exercise. On his last day in office, Michael Mukasey furthered that agenda by stripping immigrants of a right that the Board of Immigration Appeals has protected since 1988 and that seven federal courts of appeals recognize: the right to the effective assistance of counsel in immigration proceedings. As a matter of "administrative grace," Mukasey generously [sarcasm alert] granted immigration judges the discretionary power in exceptional cases to reopen a hearing and grant relief to an immigrant who was prejudiced by his attorney's ineffective representation, provided the immigrant complies with the burdensome new procedures and heightened standard of proof that Mukasey put in his way. As a failsafe measure to assure that an immigrant won't prevail if the Justice Department wants him gone, Mukasey's decision allowed the Department to carry out the deportation while the immigrant's request to reopen a hearing is pending.