VIDEO: Keith Olbermann uses Mukasey ruling to counter GOP talking points

By GottaLaff

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Rachel Maddow and Keith were on a roll last night. They both showed those wronger than wrong right wing talking points the door.

VIDEO-- Report: White vigilante groups blockaded small town in post-Katrina New Orleans and murdered blacks

By GottaLaff

Via Think Progress:

...A.C. Thompson of The Nation revealed that after Hurricane Katrina, white vigilante groups patrolled New Orleans, blockaded streets, and shot at least eleven black men. [...] Color of Change is organizing a campaign to tell Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and state officials to investigate the shootings, as “Louisiana’s broken law enforcement agencies have refused to investigate these crimes.”

Some very disturbing, memorable quotes from the video:

"You do what you had to do... If you had to shoot somebody, you had to shoot somebody."

It was great! It was like pheasant season in South Dakota! If it moved, you shot it.”

"He understands the "N Word" now."

"In this neighborhood, we take care of our own."

And some of the most disheartening:

"It's like a race war or something."

"They got me lookin' at white people with a different perspective now... I don't look at 'em the same."

I've signed this petition:

Color of Change is also sending messages to Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Attorney General nominee Eric Holder. Sign the petition here.

This is beyond scary. Sadly, it seems to fit right into the bigotry theme of way too many recent posts here at TPC.

BREAKING: Attorney General Mukasey has collapsed

By GottaLaff

He collapsed while giving a speech, per CNN. That's all they have.

UPDATE FROM PADDY-

WASHINGTON – Attorney General Michael Mukasey collapsed during a speech Thursday night and lost consciousness, a Justice Department official said.

The 67-year-old Mukasey was rushed to George Washington University Hospital, where his condition was not immediately known.

Mukasey was delivering a speech to the Federalist Society at a Washington hotel when "he just started shaking and he collapsed," said Associate Attorney General Kevin O'Connor. "They're very concerned."

Mukasey was 15 to 20 minutes into his speech about the Bush administration's successes in combatting terrorism when he began slurring his words. He collapsed and lost consciousness, said O'Connor, the department's No. 3 official, who was traveling at the time and was alerted to what had occurred.

Eyewitness account here from TPM.

Special Prosecutor Named in Attorney Firings Case

By GottaLaff

Another story that's getting overlooked:

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey appointed a special prosecutor on Monday to investigate whether criminal charges should be brought against former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and other officials in connection with the firings of nine of United States attorneys in 2006.

The move came as the Justice Department released a report by its inspector general severely criticizing the process that led to the firings.

The inspector general has been trying since last year to determine who in the Bush administration ordered the firings, whether the dismissals were intended to thwart investigations, and whether anyone had broken the law in carrying out the firings or in testifying about them. Critics have said the firings were politically motivated.

The 392-page report released on Monday was blistering in its assessment .[...]

Nora Dannehy, acting United States Attorney in Connecticut, will lead the investigation, Mr. Mukasey said.

Will there ever be justice at Justice?

Add Mukasey to those who should be impeached

By GottaLaff

In case you haven't heard, Mukasey won't pursue the politicization of the justice system any further, being the top notch legal mind that he is:

Attorney General Michael Mukasey on Tuesday rejected the idea of criminally prosecuting former Justice Department employees who improperly used political litmus tests in hiring decisions, saying he had already taken strong internal steps in response to a “painful” episode.

"Painful"? That's how he characterizes this appalling mess?

“Where there is enough evidence to charge someone with a crime, we vigorously prosecute,” he said. “But not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime,” he said. As the inspector general’s report acknowledged, the hiring violations were such a case, because the wrongdoing violated federal civil service law, but not criminal law, he said.

“That does not mean, as some people have suggested, that those officials who were found by the joint reports to have committed misconduct have suffered no consequences,” Mr. Mukasey said. “Far from it. The officials most directly implicated in the misconduct left the Department to the accompaniment of substantial negative publicity.

I see. So bad press is punishment enough. Fine. Then eliminate all those pesky fines and call CNN. If their reporting is negative enough, that should take care of everyone under suspicion of misconduct. Case dismissed.

“Their misconduct has now been laid bare by the Justice Department for all to see,” he continued. “As a general matter in such cases, where disciplinary referrals are appropriate, they are made. To put it in concrete terms, I doubt that anyone in this room would want to trade places with any of those people.”

Can someone get me O.J. on the phone? No? Then leave him a message. He no longer owes that $33 million dollars. It's on the house. His frowny sourpuss expression and furrowed brow are signs that he's already paid a hefty price for those two murders.

Mr. Mukasey also said it would be unfair, and possibly illegal, for the department to go back and reassign or dismiss those lawyers and other employees who were hired in part because they were seen as trusted conservatives. “Two wrongs do not make a right,” he said.

A stitch in time saves nine. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Have a good day!

Like I said, what a fine legal mind. His sense of fairness and justice has me... reeling.