• Appeals Court Invalidates Detainee’s ‘Enemy’ Status

  A federal appeals court in Washington has invalidated the Bush administration’s finding that a detainee held for more than six years in the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba is an “enemy combatant,” and has ordered the government to release him, transfer him or offer him a new hearing.

  Oh, and the White House pooh-poohed legal advice saying he risked judicial scrutiny of detention policies.

• Report Says Partisanship Reigned in Justice Department Hiring Program
  

  High-ranking political appointees at the Justice Department labored to stock a prestigious hiring program with young conservatives in a five-year-long attempt to reshape the department’s ranks, according to an inspector general’s report to be released today.

  Wow, there’s a surprise. After firing US Attorneys that didn’t toe the Bushies’ line, who’s surprised by this?

• McCain: No Habeas for Bin Laden, Right to the Gallows John McCain says:
  

  …After enthusiastically embracing the Supreme Court decision granting habeas in U.S. civilian courts to dangerous terrorist detainees, he is now running away from the consequences of that decision and what it would mean if Osama bin Laden were captured. Senator Obama refuses to clarify whether he believes habeas should be granted to Osama bin Laden, and instead cites the precedent of the Nuremburg [sic] war trials…There was no habeas at Nuremburg [sic] and there should be no habeas for Osama bin Laden.

  ..Let me be clear, under my administration Osama bin Laden will either be killed on the battlefield or executed.

  Just to be clear here, does anyone seriously believe bin Laden would set foot on American soil. Pulease! Meanwhile, Al Qaeda grows more vocal online.

• The new FISA bill now in the Senate gives “wholesale approval for NSAt o conduct bulk monitoring of electronic communications.
• Bush Administration shoots down plan to overhaul army contract oversight. After all, why be accountable for nearly 5 billion charged in fraud or another 5 billion spent without documentation?
• Wexler points out how the McClellan testimony points to the Bush Administration crimes, and calls for accountability

This is really why the American electorate should not be so dumb about their constitutional rights. I have just listed six separate stories published in one day, all pointing to the utter disregard this administration has for basic civil rights guaranteed by our Constitution.

While the mainstream media stokes the fear that Iran will attack, participating once again in the administration’s plan to keep us in line by keeping us afraid, no one is paying attention to the true goal of Bush and the neocons: To erode civil rights and the constitution so deeply that Americans will not understand what they have surrendered through ignorance, nor what they have lost.

Silent, that’s where. On a day where he announces (wisely) that he will decline public funding, the Democrats in Congress bow backwards to the GOP and say ‘put it right here’. Not only that, but they ‘compromise’ on FISA in such a way that telecoms will receive their immunity according to the bought-and-paid for agreement.

The agreement would settle one of the thorniest issues in dispute by providing immunity to the phone companies in the Sept. 11 program as long as a federal district court determines that they received legitimate requests from the government directing their participation in the warrantless wiretapping operation.

With some AT&T and other telecommunications companies now facing some 40 lawsuits over their reported participation in the wiretapping program, Republican leaders described this narrow court review on the immunity question as a mere “formality.”

“The lawsuits will be dismissed,” Representative Roy Blunt of Missouri, the No. 2 Republican in the House, predicted with confidence.

The proposal — particularly the immunity provision — represents a major victory for the White House after months of dispute. “I think the White House got a better deal than they even they had hoped to get,” said Senator Christopher Bond, the Missouri Republican who led the negotiations.

The White House immediately endorsed the proposal, which is likely to be voted on in the House on Friday and in the Senate next week.

They’re going to let impeachment die, they bow low and scrape before Lord Bush while selling us down the river for the price of a few lawsuits and the 4th amendment.

And Obama says…nothing? Time for some leadership. Especially if you want those grassroots contributors to keep contributing.

Is this a case of moving to the center? Triangulation? What happened to CHANGE?

I am perfectly willing to retract everything I’ve just written if someone — anyone — can offer me a reasonable explanation for this. I see several other alternatives including renewing the Protect America Act, not allowing telecom immunity, or tightening the provisions for requesting warrants, since it’s been PROVEN over and over again that there is a complete abuse of discretion in how these are requested.

C’mon, let’s have some transparency. Tell us why you feel compelled to subvert the US Constitution.

I’m waiting.