A disgrace of historic proportions

Glenn Greenwald strikes again. Imagine spending 1/3 of your life in jail with not even the minimum of Constitutional guarantees...

A disgrace of historic proportions

Why do People Take Republican Congresspeople Seriously?

Never Mind that they had their chance to play nice and help out, and that they were given unbelievable deference in helping to draft serious proposals to the bill that they nevertheless spent months opposing violently and then proposing an "alternative" that didn't cover any more people than now and cost more than the Bill that passed. The fact is America Wants the minority bill, which is why they voted for Democrats in the last election. The proof, of course, is that reactionist idiots who follow Fox News as though it's gospel shout loudly against health care reform and people start to believe the uninformed crap they spew. Otherwise, if they looked, they'd realize that the law that passed is actually quite conservative, and very similar to the GOP proposal from 1993.

GOP moves to repeal healthcare law - TheHill.com

ALong with everything else...

Can't we use this as further evidence that we elected George Bush III in our last election? And seriously, can we cut down on the "antichrist" rhetoric, just a little?

Palin Duplicity

While I'm not exactly the biggest fan of Sarah Palin, I'm definitely not her biggest detractor. For an example of how Palin likes to cherry-pick lines that support her or show her as being simpatico with those she used in her rise to the top, I present: Mudflats

And the search continues

I had one interview today at a temp agency that does staffing for short-term document review projects.

In addition, I stopped by two other firms where I'd sent resumes. I received a kindly "no" at one and was unable to get any information from the other as the attorney was out of the office. This one I'm kind of crossing my fingers for, though, as it might be what I am looking for...

That's about it at this time. Hope all is well with you guys!

Not to get My Hopes Up

But perhaps I'm moving towards something again here soon...

Random Quote

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants. It is the creed of slaves." - William Pitt

A Great Wonkette Article

There are a couple concerns here, but I think the most unbelievable part of this Wonkette article is that Republicans trashed a public school classroom, then called the principal of the school (a guy named McCarthy, no less) to complain about various un-American items found, such as THE CONSTITUTION!

I understand that you can't paint an entire party by the actions of a few individuals. But it would be an error to completely dismiss this action, as well as so many others taken under the Republican umbrella over the past several years.

Gotta love the embrace of Tea-Party talking points for a Republican Platform, too.

Thursday Morning

I've had a couple busy job searching days. I've even driven out to various law firms to offer my services. Nothing has really borne fruit, of course, but I'm definitely moving through different options.

The Boy's concert is tonight. I'm looking forward to hearing the band and how much they've improved this year.

So tired.

New target of rights erosions: U.S. citizens

I've complained in the past about how the US treated its detainees, the abuse of habeas corpus, the denial of legal counsel, indefinite detention, etc. Part of the reason is my concern for ceding too much power to the Government in the name of "security." I, of course was not alone in my complaints, and several others do a much better job at pointing out the dangers than I. One of those individuals is Glenn Greenwald.

He does such an outstanding job summarizing the steady erosion of rights taken from us in the name of Security. Of course, many people support these changes, because "it's not going to happen to me." The problem, of course, is that once everyone else is eliminated, you are what's left to go after. Do we really need legislation stripping citizenship of Americans ACCUSED of being terrorists? Of course, it's unconstitutional, but who cares about that? We have to worry about children seeing the Lion King in Times Square.

Random Quote for Monday

In the wake of recent discussions I've had with friends regarding profiling and other short circuits of Due Process and the Constitution:

The Constitution of the United States is a law
for rulers and people, equally in war and in peace,
and covers with the shield of its protection
all classes of men, at all times, and under all circumstances.
No doctrine, involving more pernicious consequences,
was ever invented by the wit of man than
that any of its provisions can be suspended
during any of the great exigencies of government.
Such a doctrine leads directly to anarchy or despotism,
but the theory of necessity on which it is based is false;
for the government, within the Constitution,
has all the powers granted to it,
which are necessary to preserve its existence;
as has been happily proved by the result
of the great effort to throw off its just authority."
Justice David Davis
(1815-1886) U.S. Supreme Court Justice 1862-1877
Source: Ex parte Milligan 71 U.S. 2 (1866)

There are Days

Where I'm not entirely sure we didn't elect another President Bush in the last election. I think in many respects, President Obama has done rather well, but on National Security, Civil Rights, and if this report is accurate, selecting Harriet Mierses for the Supreme Court nomination are very Bushesque.

You know, when President Obama ran for office, he made constant mention about moving away from the excesses of the Bush Administration, particularly with respect to the Constitution and the Rule of Law. I don't understand how advocating for Miranda-lite might possibly work toward that end. It seems like an embrace of Bush-era inexcusable encroachments is the norm, and that's not what I would consider change.

Though it does show the hypocrisy of those who embraced Bush yet condemn Obama...

Random Quote

It is better, so the Fourth Amendment teaches us, that the guilty sometimes go free than the citizens be subject to easy arrest. - William O. Douglas

Just a Quick Thought

Has anyone noticed how, when President Obama does take action on something, a bunch of talking heads on the Right complain that he's doing too much, taking control of the country, etc., yet when he takes his time on acting, trying to let individual actors set everything right, he's criticized by the same Right as "not doing enough?"

One might suggest he could do nothing right according to the Right. And Lieberman.

Random Rant

I don't watch Survivor. I don't know that I've ever seen more than 10 minutes of any one episode of the show. I think if it was a case where people were rewarded for being the best contributors to a team or punished for not pulling their weight it would be a better quality show. I know that this wouldn't translate to ratings, necessarily, but I'd prefer it to the crap they have listed as "Survivor."

Now, even though I haven't ever watched Survivor, that doesn't mean that I've not been inundated with "Russell." I can't stand the guy. I don't understand what kind of control he exerts over anyone. I think he looks like the Dwarf from Lord of the Rings and really can't understand what he charisma/appeal is...

Mostly, though, I'm sick of hearing his name on all the commercials. I actually prefer Boston Rob to the guy and I REALLY can't stand Boston Rob.

Lunch Today

I had lunch at Chacho's today with Jamie. It's been a while since we got together for lunch. Definitely a nice chance to reconnect.

Still no job offers, but I have gotten some leads out. We'll have to see how everything goes.

Citizenship

Senator Lieberman is advocating for stripping the citizenship of Americans accused of being Terrorists, an unconstitutional bill, but that doesn't matter when it's emotionally charged...

Glenn Greenwald touches on this and several other topics, including how the potentially illegal predator drone attacks on pakistani civilians may have led to Faisal Shahzad's alleged "attack." I say attack in quotes because it was non-explosive and covered in useless wires. One could argue that the attempt was actually not to inflict actual damage but rather to do what actually has happened, which is irrational frothing at the mouth...

It's Thursday!

And I've applied to more jobs this week than I have in any week for about a month. Not to say I've not been applying a lot, but I've definitely done more this week than in others, and I'm not done yet, either.

There's a lot going on right now, I'm just not exactly a part of it yet...

Hopefully I'll be back in the employment group here soon enough.

Gerson First Wrote This

But I think it bears repeating. Defenders of Arizona's Illegal Immigration law need to recognize that they went on the record in defense of a law that was so overbroad and blatantly racist that even the drafters of the law had to change it.

What Gerson wrote: It must be awkward to have risen to the vigorous defense of legal language that even its authors, in the end, could not defend. But the law’s advocates are making the best of things out on their sawed-off limb. The law is now more “explicit” about its true intention. It is a “clarification.” But this isn’t a clarification; it is retreat. The authors of the Arizona law initially wrote it as broadly as they thought they could get away with. But they were caught. Their retreat does not confirm their intentions were good. It confirms that the original law was deeply flawed -- a dramatic, disturbing overreach.

He goes on to note that "lawful stop" can still be quite broad, as it allows investigation for violations of community ordinances, property or rental codes, such as having a car on blocks...

In addition to all this, someone needs to address how this new law will impact border security or prevent illegals from crossing the border, it just serves to harass those who are already here, both legal and illegally.

IOKIYAR

Senator McCain came within 7 Million votes of becoming President. He's now openly lamenting if a criminal suspect may have had his Miranda Rights read to him.

Rep. King probably says it all: "I know he's an American, but still..."

Does anyone need to hear anything else to understand today's Republican Party?

Republicans warn against Miranda rights for terror suspect - Kasie Hunt - POLITICO.com

Interesting Thoughts

On Monday the Supreme Court reportedly asked President Obama his opinion on laws that bar felons from voting and whether they violate the federal Voting Rights Act.

Years and years ago, circa 1793, President Washington asked the Supreme Court (specifically John Jay) to opine on the 1778 Franco-American Treaty and America's obligations stemming therefrom. John Jay sent a letter to President Washington at the time declining to offer an opinion unless there was an actual controversy - the Court was the "Court of last resort," and could not offer advisory opinions, which generally speaking, the Court has done a decent job of respecting.

I think the question on whether a felon should be deprived their right to vote is an interesting one. As a general principle, I don't object to stripping felons of the right to vote. I think that this should serve as a strong deterrent to committing felonies. I also understand that voting is a "Fundamental right" and as such is a right available to all American Citizens. I do think there could be some precedent against denying the vote to convicted felons. There's an old case from the last century involving forced sterilization of people convicted of 3 felonies in Oklahoma. The statute was struck down because of the technicalities in filing charges - stealing chickens could be either a misdemeanor or a felony depending on certain circumstances (this is a VERY abbreviated version of the case). I would think that this case which involved a fundamental right would be pertinent to the instant question...

I guess I'm split. I like the idea of denying the vote to people who show such disdain for our laws that they commit felonies, but on the other hand, I think there's a strong question about the Constitutionality of the ban...

Tuesday

I've applied to more jobs than I like to think about. I've received about 10% response. It's a bit frustrating.

If I had the financial resources to do so, I'd like to volunteer with Lawyers Without Borders as a legal observer in Africa or something like that. I think that would be a terrific opportunity.

More job searching today.