Archive - Jun 4, 2007

Commenting problem update

Posted June 4, 2007 - 3:39pm by Will Hinton

I know some of you who are not registered users have had problems with your comments disappearing. I won't get into the gory technical details, but I believe that this problem has been fixed for good. In order to keep comment spam off the site, I will be moderating comments. But legitimate anonymous comments should now be working. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Thrown Out of Court

Posted June 4, 2007 - 2:13pm by r.johnson

Oh, you have got to love this.

The Bush administration's efforts to circumvent the Geneva Conventions are well documented. If you recall, the attempts to circumvent the conventions were based on the argument that those held were "unlawful combatants", not prisoners of war, so therefore, the Geneva Conventions did not apply. By transferring detainees to Guantanamo Bay, the theory was that the United States could create an enclave where neither US domestic law nor international law applied, and the US could do at it wished without interference from pesky things like treaties and rights. The plan hit a snag when the US Supreme Court made it clear, in no uncertain terms, that the detainees did have rights in the US Court system. In the wake of the ruling, Congress, which has the power to regulate the jurisdiction of the inferior courts, then drafted and passed Bush's wet dream, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which attempts to give the illegal treatment of detainees the appearance of fairness. Its a kangaroo court.

The Bill Richardson Experience

Posted June 4, 2007 - 10:59am by Encyclopedia Brown

Expat has declared his support and official advocacy for the presidential campaign of New Mexico governor Bill Richardson. Expat, I hope you will receive this post in a goodnatured way, for it's an opportunity for you to make your case. (By the way, I have no problem with you posting and being an advocate, as long as you issue the disclaimer, which you did.) So why hasn't the Bill Richardson campaign gotten more traction? We have here a former ambassador, a former cabinet secretary, a governor of a Western state, and one who can appeal to the growing Latino population in the United States. Granted, he's gotten a little Joe-mentum in some polls, but he's certainly not treated as a top-tier candidate yet.
I think one answer to this question may be found in Richardson's recent debate and interview appearances. In a nutshell, uh, things haven't gone so well in the eyes of pundits who play an instrumental role in shaping perceptions about candidates.

Good Will Hinton Weekly Podcast - Congressman Hank Johnson

Posted June 4, 2007 - 10:28am by Will Hinton

21:44 minutes (8 MB)

This week's podcast features Georgia 4th District Congressman Hank Johnson. Hank and I discussed Iraq, his new committee assignments, and the Democratic presidential primary among other things. Big thanks to Congressman Johnson for taking time out of his busy schedule for this interview.