Friday, February 23, 2007

Military Genius Vice President Kamikaze Custer Cheney (11:09 am)

He’s whining that Nancy Pelosi isn’t being held accountable for the consequences of her policy proposals.

posted by Brian Zick | start the discussion

Supreme Court Denies Plea of Accused for Explanation of Charges Against Him (7:34 am)

Literally out of Franz Kafka’s The Trial. The Supreme Court of the United States has declared that the accused is not allowed to know precisely what the charges are against him.

Lyle Denniston for SCOTUSblog reports:

The Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon refused to order the Pentagon to provide to a Guantanamo Bay detainee, Yemeni national Sharaf Al Sanani, information on why he is being held as an “enemy combatant.” The application (Al Sanani v. Bush, 06A797) had been filed with Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. He referred it to the full Court, and it was then denied — without an opinion and with no indication of any dissent.

The Justice Department had urged the Court to deny any relief to Al Sanani, and that was the effect of the Court’s brief order. Here is the text of the order: “The application for an injunction requiring the production of a factual return, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. sec. 2243, pending the filing and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court, is denied.”

Because there was no explanation, there is no way to interpret the Court’s rationale, including whether it acted for its own reasons or because of some or all of the Justice Department’s contentions — including an argument that the Court should not be involved in overseeing the day to day processing in District Court of habeas matters, and an argument that the federal courts had lost jurisdiction over habeas cases under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, as the D.C. Circuit Court ruled on Tuesday in pending habeas cases. The impact of the MCA on the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction will be an issue in a forthcoming appeal from the D.C. Circuit by detainees’ lawyers.

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Vilsack Is Out (7:17 am)

Thomas Beaumont for the Des Moines Register reports:

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack withdrew from the 2008 presidential campaign today, saying it was clear he would not be able to raise enough money to compete.

via Trapper John at dailykos

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Thursday, February 22, 2007

Democrats Planning to Repeal Bush’s War Authorization Resolution (6:46 pm)

Shailagh Murray and Jonathan Weisman for WaPo report:

Senate Democratic leaders intend to unveil a plan next week to repeal the 2002 resolution authorizing the war in Iraq in favor of narrower authority that restricts the military’s role and begins withdrawals of combat troops.
(…)
In both chambers, Democratic lawmakers are eager to take up binding legislation that would impose clear limits on U.S. involvement in Iraq after nearly four years of war. But Democrats remain divided over how to proceed. Some want to avoid the funding debate altogether, fearing it would invite Republican charges that the party is not supporting the troops. Others take a more aggressive view, believing the most effective way to confront Bush’s war policy is through a $100 billion war-spending bill that the president ultimately must sign to keep the war effort on track.
(…)
“I’ve had enough of ‘nonbinding,’ ” said Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), who is helping to draft the new Democratic proposal. The 2002 war resolution, he said, is an obvious target.

“The authorization that we gave the president back in 2002 is completely, completely outdated, inappropriate to what we’re engaged in today,” he said.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) began calling for a reauthorization of the war early last month and raised it again last week, during a gathering in the office of Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.). Participants included Kerry, Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (Mich.), Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.),... read more

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DreamWorks Apologizes for Mistaken Public Perception that “Dreamgirls” Was About Motown (9:29 am)

Steve Gorman for Reuters reports:

Bowing to pressure from Motown, makers of the Oscar-nominated film “Dreamgirls” said in ads on Wednesday that the musical was a work of fiction and apologized for any confusion with the legendary record label.

The full-page advertisements paid for by DreamWorks Pictures were published on Wednesday in Hollywood’s two major “trade papers” — Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter — a day after voting on the Academy Awards ended.
(…)
The film, adapted from the hit Broadway musical of the same name, is loosely based on the story of one of Motown’s greatest acts, Diana Ross and the Supremes. But the film has rankled a number of recording artists, writers and others connected with the label who felt Motown was falsely depicted in a negative light, Motown spokesman Paul Freundlich told Reuters.

Their objections led to “amicable discussions” between representatives for Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr., 77, and executives from DreamWorks and its parent studio, Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc., Freundlich said.

Those talks, in turn, resulted in the ads taken out by DreamWorks. The timing of those ads ensured that any misgivings or other fallout from the studio’s unusual disclaimer could not affect the outcome of the Oscar race.

posted by Brian Zick | 1 comment

Joe to Go to the GOP? (8:57 am)

E&P reports:

Lieberman calls jumping to the Republican side, and tilting the Senate, “a remote possibility,” which means there’s at least a chance of that. Time seems to push Lieberman in this direction, as the article concludes: “Lieberman’s GOP flirtation has its risks—and a time limit….The longer he waits to capitalize on his moment, the greater the danger that he’ll be tagged as one of those politicians for whom having power is more important than using it.”

Josh Marshall foresees calls for Lieberman’s resignation if he were to make the jump.

via Greg Sargent at TPM

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Camp Obama Has Bad Case of Stupiditis Too (8:23 am)

Jerome Armstrong at MyDD directs attention to Obama spokesperson, the odious Robert Gibbs.

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Camp Hillary Escalates the Stupidity (7:28 am)

After having told the vast number of Democrats, who believe a vote for Bush’s war resolution was a huge mistake, that she doesn’t want their vote, Hillary Clinton’s blithering idiot campaign spokesman Howard Wolfson then managed to distract the entire press corps from its Anna Nicole coverage to focus its attention on Clinton’s pathetic and desperate whining crusade against Barack Obama. Wolfson is even promoting a Barack-orchestrated conspiracy against Clinton.

Someone oughta remind Senator Clinton that she actually needs Democrats to vote for her in primary elections, in order to gain the party nomination for President, and being an obnoxious petulant whiner is not exactly helpful in winning the hearts and minds of the folks who will be casting votes. If anyone should get dumped from a campaign, it’s Wolfson, for his terminal fatuity.