A Step Too Far

The US Supreme Court ruled today that the military tribunals established by Pres. Bush to try prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility are unconstitutional. The Washington Post call the decision "a stunning rebuke to the Bush administration." At the heart of the Court's decision was the finding that "the trials were not authorized under U.S. law or the Geneva Conventions."

Personally, I am heartened, first, that Court agreed to hear the case and, second, that they found the tribunals unconstitutional. Regardless of the guilt or innocence of the prisoners at GitMo, they still deserve the basic human and civil rights set forth by US law (habeas corpus, trial in which they can cross-examine their accusers, etc.) and the Geneva Convention. Pres. Bush *did* overstep his authority in creating these military tribunals with parameters not in keeping with civil and/or military law.

First of all, these men have a right to question their imprisonment if no evidence can be produced to justify their continued detention. If there is sufficient evidence to justify their detention, they then deserve a fair trial either as prisoners of war (in which case, it would be a court martial proceeding) or as common criminals (trial in civilian courts.) Indefinite detention based on speculation with no recourse is unacceptable. It smacks of autocracy and political absolutism. And to go down that road is to become that which we claim to stand against.

The FBI hasn't Forgotten HUMINT

I was quite happy to read this news story, in which it is reported that the FBI arrested seven would-be terrorists who were allegedly planning to plant explosives in the Sears Tower and a federal building in Miami.

This pleases me for two reasons:

1. Due process. These alleged terrorists were arrested, not shipped off to Gitmo in the middle of the night.


2. HUMINT. The Feds broke this case with old-fashioned police work: they got a lead on the suspects, infiltrated their organisation, pretended to be Al-Qaeda agents, and recorded the baddies planning to do the dirt. Compare this effective investigation with how the NSA (isn't it just adorable that the NSA has a kids site?) and the CIA roll, so addicted to SIGINT that they forgo men (and women--this particular woman was my wife's high school English teacher) on the ground. The biggest problem with SIGINT is that data mining is hard, especially when searching for patterns that exist in very miniscule percentages of your data. The intel thus garnered suffers from an extremely poor signal-to-noise ratio, meaning that almost all leads generated are going to be dead ends. Indeed, this is just what the FBI has found when following NSA- and CIA-generated leads on terror suspects: none of the hundreds of leads actually point to anything useful.

As far as I am concerned, this was a textbook operation, and the FBI agents responsible deserve a big hand from us all for doing their job within the limits of the Constitution.

Just like Kima Greggs says in "The Wire", "a cop is only as good as his informants." Word.

Sean Gets Article Published

I thought I'd toot my own horn: today my opinion column on the recent Veterans Affairs data breach was published in Network World magazine. Yeah!

Pride

I have never been so proud of our US Mens National Team! In a situation in which they had to get a result, under tremendous pressure, against one of the best teams in the world, and, as it turns out, with the odds stacked incredibly against them... they held together. They played their guts out and held off Italy for a draw! With nine fucking men! No one can ever say this team has no heart. After suffering that embarrassing defeat against the Czech Republic, these guys came out to show they were here to play. And, even when the referee tried to take the game away from them by sending off Mastroeni and Pope, they didn't flinch. They dug in their heels and even created some memorable chances on goal. No matter what happens from here on out, this team has made its name in the World Cup. They've shown the world what the US is made of, that we can play, that we have heart and guts and courage and aren't afraid of anyone! Good on ya, lads! U-S-Fucking-A!!
(cross-posted to http://johnnylounge.blogspot.com)

Henry Rollins' Letter to Ann Coulter

This is pretty sweet. I definitely got a chuckle out of it.

Note: NSFW (there a couple "F" bombs...)

You Go, Ted!

I'm enjoying Ted Koppel as a senior news analyst for NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He's just sort of soothing to listen to, and pretty durn smart.

In other news, coffee has been linked to repairing liver damage caused by heavy alcohol abuse. It's time to buy a handle of vodka and a triple latte!

The Gay Marriage Threat

From the DC blog The Rock Creek Rambler, a post about gay marriage that made me laugh and shake my head.

Thoughts?

U.S. Occupation of Iraq & al-Zarqawi Death

Well, now that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is dead, the troubles in Iraq should be basically over, right? Oh wait, silly me... the insurgency is far from over, more American servicemen and women are destined to die in attacks, and we remain, as a nation, stranded in a foreign policy quagmire.

So, great. We got al-Zarqawi.

The Bush Administration appears to have no clearer exit strategy from Iraq now than it did before the killing. Which begs the question: when are we leaving Iraq?

Election Year = GOP goes after Estate Tax

Well, its that time of year again, election time! And you know what that means: the GOP has started its campaign against its two favorite go-to targets, homosexuals and taxes. Nothing gets the Red State base to the polls like gays near a church or the IRS near a rich guy's bank account.
Here's the most recent article about Republican efforts to create a permanent monied class right here in the home of the American Dream.

My favorite quote (besides Bill Frist - whose life has been built on Daddy's millions and whose son no doubt studies at Frist Hall on the Princeton campus - whining about the unfair "death" tax) is from Sen. Kyl of Arizona describing a new idea of a two tiered system where estates below $5 million for an individual ($10 mil for a couple) are tax free, those from $5 to 30 million (individual) are taxed at the capital gains rate (15%) while those above $30 million are taxed at 30%:

"That is a fair way to help the people at the lower end of the spectrum and yet collect the revenue from those very, very wealthy estates that we all agree can pay part of this estate tax," Kyl said.

Yes, those folks at the "lower end of the spectrum" (i.e those whose estates are valued at a paltry $5 - 30 million) are in DESPERATE need of help. Whatever will become of their children if they are forced to inherit only $2.5 - $15 million at the current 46% tax rate?? No doubt orphans everywhere are crying for these poor unfortunates.

And they don't even have the good grace to maintain the facade that they are trying to help "small businesses" and "farms" anymore (which, as always, could be carved out of any tax scheme - but somehow never are). Shameless majority.

Whatsa matter, Schmoliticians?

You've all been very quiet lately... too quiet. Are there coup plans afoot? Civil disobedience? Or is it summertime?

Some things/people/issues that have been peeving me (in no particular order):

• Hilary Rodham Clinton
• U.S. troops in Iraq
• Humidity
• Stupid bumper stickers about guns
• Violent crime on the National Mall
• Police riding Segways
• Traffic congestion in LA, NY, and DC

This last one bears some explanation: I experienced the worst traffic congestion this country has to offer in one 10-day period in May. Ugh.

I miss your crazy posts, everyone. Don't be shy!