Study: Money Flooding into Campaigns for State Judgeships

By GottaLaff

If only we could rid ourselves of the practice of buying justice and government officials:

In rare public remarks last week, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said the money involved in electing judges remains one of the most pressing concerns facing the American court system. And she joined her former colleague, Sandra Day O'Connor, in calling for reform. [...]

Yet money has continued to pour into the campaign accounts of state judges around the country, and ABC News has obtained an advanced copy of a study showing the amounts involved are unprecedented.

There's a whole lot more. Just follow the linky.

ACLU ad equates/morphs Obama with Bush

By GottaLaff

Ouch. The ACLU took out an ad in the New York Times that morphs President Obama into Bush. I can't think of a bigger insult or a worse juxtaposition:

The military commissions are seriously flawed and unprepared to handle these complex cases. If President Obama reverses his attorney general’s principled decision under political pressure, it will strike a devastating blow to American values and do serious damage to our nation’s credibility. We urge the president to do the right thing and keep these cases in federal court, where they belong.”

Personally, I don't like to equate President Obama with Bush, even in cases like this one. It's too harsh, even if there are similarities. IMHO, Bush is a war criminal, so I reserve comparisons to him for other thugs.

I do, however, agree with the points the ACLU is making.

They also wrote a letter to the president. You can read the whole thing here (click on images to enlarge):


The ad's full text:

What will it be Mr. President?
Change or more of the Same?

Candidate Barack Obama vowed to change the Bush-Cheney policies and restore America’s values of justice and due process. Many of us are shocked and concerned that right now, President Obama is considering reversing his attorney general’s decision to try the 9/11 defendants in criminal court. Our criminal justice system has successfully handled over 300 terrorism cases compared to only 3 in the military commissions. Our criminal justice system will resolve these cases more quickly and more credibly than the military commissions.

President Obama can vigorously prosecute terrorists and keep us safe without violating our Constitution.

As president, Barack Obama must decide whether he will keep his solemn promise to restore our Constitution and due process, or ignore his vow and continue the Bush-Cheney policies.

Tell President Obama not to back down on his commitment to our justice system, and to try the 9/11 defendants in criminal court.

Remind the world that America stands for due process, justice, and the rule of law.

I've written extensively about this subject; you can track all my posts here.

The ACLU took a tough, clear stand. Somebody had to.

AUDIO- A Jewish Soldier Witnesses Nuremberg: "We found it in ourselves to give the worst of men due process"

By GottaLaff

I have posted and re-posted about the injustice and cruelty at Guantanamo Bay, about Fayiz al-Kandari, and his attorney Lt. Col. Barry Wingard.

I have also posted and re-posted about why today's military commissions are inferior to U.S. civilian courts.

Kids often ask why they need to study history in school. After all, it's ancient stuff, stories that have been told, times past that couldn't possibly affect them now.

Wanna bet?

Via NPR:

Sixty years ago, the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg handed down its first verdict against Nazi war criminals. The Nuremberg trials were structured as a blueprint for something new in international law law... "crimes against humanity" and "crimes against peace". [...]

Commentator Clancy Sigal was a sergeant in the American army of occupation in Germany. [...]

Evidence which included the shrunken heads of tortured prisoners and lampshades made of human skin. [...]

The U.S. War Department was determined that Goering and the other Nazis leaders would receive a fair trial. At Nuremberg, there would be no secret evidence or closed proceedings. The Allies believed that would betray their ideal of restoring democracy in Germany. [...]

Today, in the midst of a national debate on how to treat captured terror suspects, my mind flashes back to Room 600 at Furtherstrasse 22. We gave Goering and the other war criminals a chance not only to defend themselves but in some cases, preach hate and violence.

In a ruined Germany, where so many corpses still lay buried in the rubble, and life seemed so very fragile, we found it in ourselves to give the worst of men due process.

Those unfeeling, brutal Nazi beasts were terrorists... terrorists who killed millions of innocents.

It's time the GOP starts trusting our legal system instead of playing politics, playing with lives. Our democracy is at stake, as well as our international standing.

Why is that so hard to grasp? And why on earth would the Obama administration even consider caving to the GOP... again? Maybe they should all give a listen to this audio.

H/t: Dave_von_Ebers

Evangelist Alamo sentenced to 175 years on sex charges

By GottaLaff

Occasionally, real justice is done:

Evangelist Tony Alamo is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison after an Arkansas judge sentenced him to 175 years in prison Friday on charges that included taking minors across state lines for sex, according to prosecutors.

Who is this Tony Alamo they speak of, you ask?

Tony Alamo (born Bernie LaZar Hoffman on September 20, 1934^[1][2]) is an American preacher, singer, entrepreneur, religious evangelist, and convicted child sex offender. He and his late wife Susan are best known as the founders of a nominally Christian organization currently known as Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. [...]

On July 24, 2009 Alamo was convicted in the Federal District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, sitting in Texarkana, Arkansas, on 10 counts of Interstate Transportation of Minors for Illegal Sexual Purposes, Rape, Sexual Assault and Contributing to the Delinquency of Minors.

Good riddance.

VIDEOS- Jane Mayer: "U.S. rights thrown out the window", Bush warned "This may be criminal"

By GottaLaff

This is Part 28349239 in my series, primarily about an innocent prisoner held for the past 7+ years at Gitmo, Fayiz al-Kandari, as told to me by his military attorney, Lt. Col. Barry Wingard.

All previous posts can be found here; That link includes audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.

This post introduces you to Jane Mayer, for those who haven't yet seen her or read her book:

August 15, 2008

There has been significant debate about the United States' tactics in the fight against terrorism and how they have undermined America's moral authority. Recently, I spoke with two authors who have new books out on the subject. Jane Mayer is an investigative reporter for The Yew Yorker. Her book is called The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals. Philip Gourevitch, editor of the Paris Review, co-authored the book Standard Operating Procedure.

Here’s another in our series of short video interviews, each running a minute (give or take), with PBC authors. This one’s with Jane Mayer, author of The Dark Side, which tells the inside story of how the US government shredded the Constitution after 9/11, adopting “war on terror” policies —indefinite detention, rendition, torture—that violated the most basic and cherished American values.

Our system of justice is broken. Military commissions rely on coerced confessions and hearsay, something Jane Mayer covers in great detail in her book..

If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.

If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.

Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.