Dorothy Height

R.I.P.

1912 – 2010

Diem Redux

I have seen this movie before and it didn’t turn out well. Our man in Kabul is reminiscent of our man in Saigon. I think that “Empire” just goes in that direction.

Alice Miller

R.I.P.

1923 - 2010

Poor Lloyd!

The FBI, downgrade and stock problems aren’t exactly working out for him. Not to mention that his performance in front of the Senate Committee wasn’t exactly helpful.

Benjamin Hooks

R.I.P.

1925 - 2010

No Kidding!

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the National Security Agency’s warrantless surveillance program was illegal, rejecting the Obama administration’s effort to keep shrouded in secrecy one of the most disputed counterterrorism policies of former President George W. Bush.

In a 45-page opinion, Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled that the government had violated a 1978 federal statute requiring court approval for domestic surveillance when it intercepted phone calls of Al Haramain, a now-defunct Islamic charity in Oregon, and of two lawyers who were representing it in 2004. Declaring that the plaintiffs had been “subjected to unlawful surveillance,” the judge said that the government was liable to pay them damages.

The ruling delivered a blow to the Bush administration’s claims that its warrantless surveillance program, which Mr. Bush secretly authorized shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, was lawful. Under the program, the National Security Agency monitored Americans’ e-mail messages and phone calls without court approval, even though the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, required warrants.

After The New York Times reported on the existence of the program in December 2005, the Bush legal team argued that it was lawful because the president’s wartime powers enabled him to override the statute. Jon Eisenberg, a lawyer represented Al Haramain, said Judge Walker’s ruling was an “implicit repudiation of the Bush-Cheney theory of executive power.”

“Judge Walker is saying that FISA and federal statutes like it are not optional,” Mr. Eisenberg said. “The president, just like any other citizen of the United States, is bound by the law.”

The Justice Department said it was reviewing the decision and had made no decision about whether to appeal it.

So, I guess this is “Change” we can’t believe in.

Oh No!

Please let Obama nominate someone with the intellect and balls of Justice Stevens. If not we are so screwed. So far it seems unlikely. Sad day for us?

Drill, Baby, Drill 2.0!

Does Obama really think that giving in to the “Drill, Baby, Drill” Crowd will win him any votes on Climate Legislation? If so, he apparently missed the whole “healthcare reform” debate and how that worked out. And no, the ecological disaster taking place and unfolding in the Gulf will not have any effect on their votes either.