Fresh off calling upon the Lord to snuff out a few justices, televangelist and former GOP Presidential nominee Pat Robertson advocates nuking the State Department. I presume John Ashcroft and the FBI are conducting a full investigation of this possible terrorist threat.
Tag: War on Terror
Eyes on the Street.
Seen on CNN Saturday afternoon – Elaine Newton (whom long-term readers will remember as my ex-wife) discusses her online Camera Watch project at Carnegie Mellon. Hmmm…small world, and it appears to be getting smaller all the time.
Ashcroft Justice.
In keeping with his Judge Danforth-like predilections, Attorney General Ashcroft issued an edict that would limit plea bargains and lawyerly discretion over which charges to bring in a federal suit. Again, when will Ashcroft follow his own pronouncements, lock up his nephew, and throw away the key?
9.11.03.
“May I, composed like them of Eros and of dust, beleaguered by the same negation and despair, show an affirming flame.” In terms of memorializing what happened two years ago, I’d say what I posted last 9/11 still stands. So once again, here’s my original post, Auden’s poem, and a (perhaps-too-balanced) assessment of the Patriot Act two years later.
Hat in Hand.
While he’s still abusing the terrorism angle to hoodwink us on Iraq (As Howard Dean noted yesterday, the only indisputable thing Iraq has to do with terrorism is that we’ve now chosen it as the place where terrorists can attack us), Dubya at least admitted on nationwide television that unilaterally, we’re in over our head, which I suppose amounts to what alcoholics refer to as a moment of clarity. Yet, with the necessary Iraq funds — even lowballed as they are — threatening to blow the deficit to $525 billion, I do hope that the Bushies realize that the responsibility and sacrifice they’re expecting from the American people, our somewhat skeptical allies, and everyone but themselves in prosecuting this war should preclude any more discussion of a tax cut in the coming year. After all, why shouldn’t America’s wealthiest citizens also have to pay the heavy price for Dubya’s blundering, incompetent, and hubris-ridden diplomacy on the road to war?
Ashcroft Agonizes, Powell Punts.
Looks like it’s a bad day for imperious Dubya appointees. In the wake of Congress’s recent decision to limit the powers of the Patriot Act, a defiant Ashcroft wants his toys back. Also facing considerable bipartisan and public criticism, Michael Powell appoints a task force on media consolidation. As Copps notes in the article, next time perhaps it’d be better to do the fact-finding before you vote.
“Patriots” at Work.
The LA Times relates the sad story of Ansar Mahmood, who has paid a heavy price for being a Muslim in America after 9/11. In not-unrelated news, Ashcroft cracks down on lenient sentencing. Perhaps they’ll reconsider his nephew’s drug bust, then.
Who’s the Patriot?
The ACLU and six Muslim groups launch the first constitutional challenge against the Patriot Act. This should be one to watch. In related news, James Ridgeway examines the Clintonian antecedents of the Act.
Death-Dealing.
I know conservatives think free markets solve everything, but this is ridiculous. The Pentagon creates a futures market for terrorism in order to better predict possible attacks and assassinations. Um, somebody might want to tell the brass that these are basically called Dead Pools, and have been around for years now. Update: Well, that’s that, then.
Information Adjustments.
Not just theory anymore, an internal Justice Dept. report cites numerous civil rights violations under the Patriot Act. It was only a matter of time, wasn’t it?