At the Peabody Awards yesterday, New Orleans TV reporter Lee Zurik took home a Peabody for his investigation into a city-run program called NOAH (New Orleans Affordable Home Ownership.)

NOAH was supposed to fix and remediate Katrina wracked homes but Zurik's investigation--which was kick-started by reporting from a New Orleans blogger named Karen Gadbois--found that NOAH charged the city for work they did not do and for addresses that did not exist. [More...]

When we last checked in with Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu, he had just pleaded guilty to fraud relating to one of his investment schemes, probably hoping to keep those allegations out of his trial for making fraudulent campaign contributions.

It didn't make a difference. After less than a full day of deliberations, a Manhattan jury has convicted him of violating campaign finance laws by using straw donors to get around limits.

Hsu's defense argued he was framed by investors who cut deals with the government to avoid prosecution.

Updated news article here.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today ruled the White House does not have to turn over millions of e-mail records from the Bush Administration. Its reasoning:

The White House Office of Administration is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

Your turn.

This is an Open Thread.

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right . . . to be confronted with the witnesses against him . . . - Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Via TPM's David Kurtz, the Obama Administration says:

Mr. Obama’s statement on Friday said that “the use of hearsay will be limited.” . . . A memorandum describing the administration’s changes that was filed with the military judges said that such “hearsay admissibility remains much broader than in domestic courts” in the United States. One of the senior administration officials said that although federal courts bar many kinds of hearsay evidence, “the hearsay rule is not one of those things that is rooted in American values.”

On military commissions, a plethora of cliches screams out - lipstick on a pig -- meet the new boss, same as the old boss. What a disappointment Obama is on these issues.

Speaking for me only

In Alabama, Johnny Holly, Jr. has been freed after serving 30 years of a sentence of life without parole. His crime: he stole a toolbox. His sentence was the result of a three-strikes law.

How did he get free?

He is free today only because the Legislature changed the repeat-offender law early this decade.
The change in the law allowed for the possibility of parole. Even so, it took him several years to be resentenced and to get out.

Who helped him ? The prosecutor and a host of prison guards.[More...]

Today is Amnesty International's Global Day of Action. More than 100 protests are planned. Among them is one in Georgia for death row inmate Troy Davis, who has a compelling case for innocence.

Amnesty asks you watch the video and forward it on to a friend.

The AP has an analysis today of President Obama's "shift to the center" on economic and national security issues. The most disconcerting line:

Afghanistan "could well be Obama's Vietnam, eventually," said James Thurber, a political scientist at American University.

Another analyst says:

"Obama calls himself a pragmatist. That often ends up with fairly centrist policies," Shapiro said. "In the end, the progressives, the left in Congress, will support the president even on getting a half loaf in health care rather than a full loaf," he added.

[More..]

As if we need more rules when flying... but we're getting them.

TSA is implementing its Secure Flight Program. Among the first new changes: Now you are supposed to buy airline tickets in the same name as your Government ID. They say they won't automatically bump you if you don't, but they "strongly encourage" you to do so.

Starting August 15, you'll have to supply your gender and date of birth when purchasing an airline ticket.

Supposedly the new rules, which will be fully operational by 2010, will cut down on misidentifications on the No Fly and Selectee lists.

Steve Benen just flagged a post from Greg Sargent who links to a clip of a Fox News correspondent admitting that criticism of Nancy Pelosi for claiming that she was misled by the CIA is a useful tool in reframing the torture debate:

“Instead of this debate being about national security, what is and isn’t torture, what the Bush administration should and shouldn’t have allowed and whether anybody in that administration should now be prosecuted, the Republicans are now able to frame this debate as to whether Nancy Pelosi is fit to continue as Speaker. So they are not about to let their foot off the gas in any way, shape, or form.”

[More...]

The TV season is winding down. Tonight is the last competiton on Dancing With The Stars (Go, Melissa!) and the finale of "24." Will Jack Bauer really die or get a last minute transfusion from his daughter?

The new season of The Bachelorette begins tonight with Jillian (#3 from Jason's season) meeting 30 guys and sending 10 home.

What are you doing and thinking about tonight? This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Update: As I've mentioned before, rather than continuing to write about TV here, I decided to start a new site for my tv and movie posts. I just put it up today, so if you're interested, come on over to PopLeft.com. It's a work in progress, let me know what you think.

Some good news in the medical marijuana area today. The Supreme Court has refused to hear challenges by San Diego and San Bernadino counties to California's medical marijuana law.

The high court on Monday refused to hear appeals from San Diego and San Bernardino counties, which say the justices have never directly ruled on whether California's law trumps the federal controlled substances laws.

[More...]