Toward a Greater Separation of Power

Nolan Chart.com:

"I propose that, instead of three branches of government, we adopt three (or more) completely independent and non-territorial governments. I make this proposal because it is not the concept of checks and balances that has failed, but the inadequacy of the particular system in place that is the source of our problems. I know this is a radical proposal, but no more radical than the constitutional republic that we live under now was when it was first proposed. A radical solution is called for because, in my opinion, attempts at incremental reforms have been no more effective than efforts to liberalize the mafia or the Ku Klux Klan would be. It is simply not in the nature of a territorial or monopoly state to relinquish its power or operate in a non-coercive fashion."

Not a good idea. As Ayn Rand pointed out in the 60s (yes, I'm quoting Rand: she wasn't totally loony), what do you get with "competing governments," which is what happens when you have governments seeking to increase their power base, i.e., population and commerce.

Israel kills Hamas leader and his family with one-tonne bomb - World news, News - Belfasttelegraph.co.uk

"Medics say a total of 13 members of Rayyan's family were killed by the airstrike on the residential neighbourhood."

Bomb. Residential neighborhood. Thirteen dead. That's usually called terrorism.

"At least 420 people have been killed and 2,100 injured since Israel's aerial bombardment of the Gaza strip began six days ago."

Where is the army the Israeli Defense Forces are supposedly facing on "the battlefield"? How many enemy soldiers have been killed by this six-day foray into military tyranny? Is an overwhelming army in numbers and weapons bombing a house to kill 12 "collateral casualties" an act of bravery and legitimate defense, or is it a craven cowardly attempt to instill terror... the act of a terrorist?

Drug Companies & Doctors: A Story of Corruption - The New York Review of Books

"Perhaps the most egregious case exposed so far by Senator Grassley is that of Dr. Charles B. Nemeroff, chair of Emory University's department of psychiatry and, along with Schatzberg, coeditor of the influential Textbook of Psychopharmacology.[2] Nemeroff was the principal investigator on a five-year $3.95 million National Institute of Mental Health grant—of which $1.35 million went to Emory for overhead—to study several drugs made by GlaxoSmithKline. To comply with university and government regulations, he was required to disclose to Emory income from GlaxoSmithKline, and Emory was required to report amounts over $10,000 per year to the National Institutes of Health, along with assurances that the conflict of interest would be managed or eliminated.

But according to Senator Grassley, who compared Emory's records with those from the company, Nemeroff failed to disclose approximately $500,000 he received from GlaxoSmithKline for giving dozens of talks promoting the company's drugs. In June 2004, a year into the grant, Emory conducted its own investigation of Nemeroff's activities, and found multiple violations of its policies. Nemeroff responded by assuring Emory in a memorandum, "In view of the NIMH/Emory/GSK grant, I shall limit my consulting to GSK to under $10,000/year and I have informed GSK of this policy." Yet that same year, he received $171,031 from the company, while he reported to Emory just $9,999—a dollar shy of the $10,000 threshold for reporting to the National Institutes of Health."

Webb Sets His Sights On Prison Reform

Washington Post.com:

"In speeches and in a book that devotes a chapter to prison issues, (Senator James) Webb describes a U.S. prison system that is deeply flawed in how it targets, punishes and releases those identified as criminals.

With 2.3 million people behind bars, the United States has imprisoned a higher percentage of its population than any other nation, according to the Pew Center on the States and other groups. Although the United States has only 5 percent of the world's population, it has 25 percent of its prison population, Webb says.

A disproportionate number of those who are incarcerated are black, Webb notes. African Americans make up 13 percent of the population, but they comprise more than half of all prison inmates, compared with one-third two decades ago. Today, Webb says, a black man without a high school diploma has a 60 percent chance of going to prison." (Emphasis Mine.)

Oh, yeah, the system's fair. Of course it is. Uh-huh. Sure. No question. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. Now how about you sell Me some more of that swamp land in Lower Bumhole?

at-Largely: One of my sources died in a plane crash last night...

"I don't usually reveal sources, but I think this is incredibly important. Michael Connell died in a plane crash last night. He was a key witness in the Ohio election fraud case that I have been reporting on. More importantly, however, he had information that he was ready to share.

You see, Mike Connell set-up the alternate email and communications system for the White House. He was responsible for creating the system that hosted the infamous GWB43.com accounts that Karl Rove and others used. When asked by Congress to provide these emails, the White House said that they were destroyed. But in reality, what Connell is alleged to have done is move these files to other servers after having allegedly scrubbed the files from all 'known' Karl Rove accounts.

In addition, I have reason to believe that the alternate accounts were used to communicate with US Attorneys involved in political prosecutions, like that of Don Siegelman. This is what I have been working on to prove for over a year. In fact, it was through following the Siegelman-Rove trail that I found evidence leading to Connell. That is how I became aware of him. Mike was getting ready to talk. He was frightened."

There's more: Michael Connell's family is requesting protection due to alleged Karl Rove threat. This on the heels of the stalled Ohio 2004 State Elections case, where Connell was a key figure, being reopened under the Corrupt Practices/RICO act. Significance? Ohio was the deciding state in the Kerry-Bush election, with extensive evidence--some of it provided by Connell--that the election results were rigged to favor Bush.

From The Free Press.org:

"Ohio Republican Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell hired Connell in 2004 to create a real-time computer data compilation for counting Ohio's votes. Under Connell's supervision, Ohio's presidential vote count was transmitted to private, partisan computer servers owned by SmartTech housed in the basement of the Old Pioneer Bank building in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Connell's company, New Media Communications worked closely with SmartTech in building Republican and right-wing websites that were hosted on SmartTech servers. Among Connell's clients were the Republican National Committee, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and gwb43.com, that housed at one point Karl Rove's missing emails. Rove's email files have since mysteriously disappeared despite repeated court-sanctioned attempts to review them... 

...At 12:20 am on the night of the 2004 election exit polls and initial vote counts showed John Kerry the clear winner of Ohio's presidential campaign. The Buckeye State's 20 electoral votes would have given Kerry the presidency. 

But from then until around 2am, the flow of information mysteriously ceased. After that, the vote count shifted dramatically to George W. Bush, ultimately giving him a second term. In the end there was a 6.7 percent diversion---in Bush's favor---between highly professional, nationally funded exit polls and the final official vote count as tabulated by Blackwell and Connell."

Katrina's Hidden Race War

The Nation

"Over the course of an eighteen-month investigation, I tracked down figures on all sides of the gunfire, speaking with the shooters of Algiers Point, gunshot survivors and those who witnessed the bloodshed. I interviewed police officers, forensic pathologists, firefighters, historians, medical doctors and private citizens, and studied more than 800 autopsies and piles of state death records. What emerged was a disturbing picture of New Orleans in the days after the storm, when the city fractured along racial fault lines as its government collapsed. 

Herrington, Collins and Alexander's experience fits into a broader pattern of violence in which, evidence indicates, at least eleven people were shot. In each case the targets were African-American men, while the shooters, it appears, were all white. 

The new information should reframe our understanding of the catastrophe. Immediately after the storm, the media portrayed African-Americans as looters and thugs--Mayor Ray Nagin, for example, told Oprah Winfrey that "hundreds of gang members" were marauding through the Superdome. Now it's clear that some of the most serious crimes committed during that time were the work of gun-toting white males. 

So far, their crimes have gone unpunished. No one was ever arrested for shooting Herrington, Alexander and Collins--in fact, there was never an investigation. I found this story repeated over and over during my days in New Orleans. As a reporter who has spent more than a decade covering crime, I was startled to meet so many people with so much detailed information about potentially serious offenses, none of whom had ever been interviewed by police detectives."

The Real News Network - UN official calls Israel 'Apartheid'

Given the situation, the label "apartheid" does apply. And given that the U.S. has basically supported this situation with barely any semblance of condemnation or push to amend it, there probably isn't anything the U.N can actually do to make Israel change.

Falling in Love is Now Called Rape in America as teens by the thousands end up in jail for having consensual sex with their girlfriends.

Change For America.org

You can't stop teenagers--as a group--from engaging in sexual behavior. But to condemn more and more of them to prison and a lifetime sex-offender status for a natural act is ludicrous. Where is the church-centered outrage on this level of condemnation?

Oh, that's right: they are the ones you believe in eternal damnation. As for the rest of Us, where's the outrage at the excessive punishment.

Obama Doesn't Plan to End the Iraq Occupation - by Jeremy Scahill

AntiWar.com

"Anyone who took the time to cut past Barack Obama's campaign rhetoric of 'change' and bringing an 'end' to the Iraq war realized early on that the now-president-elect had a plan that boiled down to a down-sizing and rebranding of the occupation. While he emphasized his pledge to withdraw US 'combat forces' from Iraq in 16 months (which may or may not happen), he has always said that he intends to keep 'residual forces' in place for the foreseeable future.

It's an interesting choice of terms. 'Residual' is defined as 'the quantity left over at the end of a process.' This means that the forces Obama plans to leave in Iraq will remain after he has completed his 'withdrawal' plan. No matter how Obama chooses to label the forces he keeps in Iraq, the fact is, they will be occupation forces."

IDF preparing options for Iran strike | Iran news | Jerusalem Post

If your sworn enemy is fully supported by the biggest, dumbest bully on the block, when that sworn enemy hits you and runs for cover to the bully, you get pissed off. Royally. 

Welcome to the Arab world's (simplified) perception of Israel. If you think this will get better with Obama as President, think again: His Chief of Staff is an avowed pro-Israeli hawk.

The longer We meddle in the Middle East, as clueless blunderers with huge firepower, the bigger the chances We will screw things up. 

A new tack on drug policy could save the state billions - Opinion Blog on syracuse.com

"While New York reels from the most severe budget crisis since the Great Depression, Gov. David Paterson and the Legislature are scrambling to close ever-expanding deficits. So let's stop spending over $500 million every year on ineffective, wasteful policies like the Rockefeller Drug Laws.

These laws represent a misguided and ineffective regime for addressing drug use and addiction -- health issues, not criminal issues. Imagine if we incarcerated people for being addicted to cigarettes, or for having diabetes.

Passed in 1973, the laws mandate harsh, mandatory-minimum prison terms for even low-level drug offenses; people convicted of first- and second-time drug offenses often receive eight to 20 years. There are shocking, inexcusable racial disparities -- more than 90 percent of the people incarcerated are black or Latino, though whites use and sell illegal drugs at equal or higher rates." (Emphasis Mine.)

It is more than obvious that these laws are not working. It isn't the money: it's the social strife these laws exacerbate, rather than relieve.

From this same article, a damning statistic: 

"The state spends hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars every year on policies that both criminal justice and public health experts -- as well as the majority of New Yorkers, according to the polls -- say don't work. It costs over $35,000 a year to keep someone in prison. Factor in policing and court costs, and that number rises to nearly $50,000."

According to the College Board, the average college tuition in 2007 ranged from $2,402 (public 2-year college) to $25,143 at a private 4-year college. As a society, We would rather place large amounts of money in incarcerating people than in providing them with education. You tell Me what that says about Us.

Alex Jones' Infowars: Cheney, Gonzales Indictments Dropped

"A judge in Raymondville, Texas has dropped indictments against Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Judge Manuel Banales, after surviving a motion to have him removed from the case, threw out eight of the indictments brought by Willacy County District Attorney Juan Guerra, including those against two special prosecutors, two district judges, and a district clerk.

Judge Banales ruled the grand jury returned the indictments against Cheney and Gonzales unlawfully. Banales also tossed an indictment for corruption against State Senator Eddie Lucio Jr., a Democrat.

Charges were brought against Vice President Cheney and former AG Gonzales for blocking the investigation into a prisoner’s murder in a private prison in Raymondville."

No surprise here, really. But did this happen to block future attempts? The easiest way to keep the hyena cabal out of the courts is not to seek to suppress the legal actions, but to shame them. It's an old neo-con tactic (Rush Limbaugh, anyone?) and I bet it moves into high high gear in the coming weeks.

Think Progress: Kristol Calls On Bush To Pardon Torturers And Wiretappers, Reward Them With Medal Of Freedom

We can call this the Special Olympics, where every (moron) gets a medal...

Boy, 16, Branded for Life for Sex with G/F; Teacher Who Often Had Sex With Student? No Sex-Offender Status

Crimes Against Children

It's not a justice system, it's simply a messy system of conflict resolution. Looking for justice in that system is like looking for foi gras in a dumpster.

Jealous lover who blinded woman with acid will be blinded with acid, Iranian court rules | Mail Online

Somehow I can't find any desire to argue against this decision...

Hearing on Cheney indictment turns chaotic - International Herald Tribune

Hearing on Cheney indictment turns chaotic - International Herald Tribune

Makes Me wonder if this is some sort of "flaky pre-emptive strike" to avoid further prosecutions? A tell: If Guerra suddenly appears at some high-level post...with Republican ties to that post.

Below The Beltway: Is Hillary Ineligible To Be Secretary of State ?

"[S]pecifically, Article One, Section Six (of the Constitution), also known as the emoluments clause. (”Emoluments” means things like salaries.) It says that no member of Congress, during the term for which he was elected, shall be named to any office “the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during his term.” This applies, we’re advised, whether the member actually voted on the raises or not.

In Clinton’s case, during her current term in the Senate, which began in January 2007, cabinet salaries were increased from $186,600 to $191,300."

The only other attempt (if this one is made) to circumvent this stricture was made by Nixon. Will this one pass, since Democrats hold Congress? Or will it fail and thus leave an "out" for what could be one of the most internally-divisive nominations of Obama's Cabinet?

Pardon Me! Is Bush Considering Pardoning His Administration? Foolocracy: Government by fools, silliness and unintelligent people

"Widespread pardons have been done in the past. George Washington pardoned the conspirators of the Whiskey Rebellion. Andrew Johnson pardoned Confederate soldiers. Jimmy Carter pardoned Vietnam War draft dodgers.

George Bush just might pardon his administration. His excuse would be these people were carrying out official policies in a time of war when excesses occur, but should be forgiven.

The criticism would be enormous, but what does Bush have to lose? He is at the end of his political career. His approval ratings cannot drop much lower. The criteria that history will judge him by has already been set. With that in mind, the scenario exists for Bush to issue a blanket pardon."

LiveLeak.com - George W. Bush Outed CIA Agent Valerie Plame

According to civil law, military law and tradition, this is treason, not to mention possible accesory to murder if Plame had been killed before or after her forced return to the States.

The Global Financial Crisis Batters Chávez - BusinessWeek

"But while (Venezuelan President Hugo) Chávez built his 'Socialism for the 21st Century' on a foundation of crowd-pleasing gestures, he scrimped on traditional investments—the ones that pay economic returns. So traffic crawls on Caracas' crumbling highways. An overtaxed power grid has led to three nationwide blackouts this year. Businesses, fearful of revolutionary taxes and confiscation, have trimmed investments to the bare essentials. And while the government says oil production tops 3 million barrels per day, industry sources think it's fallen to a mere 2.4 million barrels, down by a quarter from 1999.

As long as the price of oil rose, none of this bad news held back Chávez or his revolutionary ambitions. He was flush. As it turns out, it took the Wall Street collapse and the specter of the worst global recession in decades to drag down the oil market and hit Venezuela where it hurt.

The question now is how Chávez will respond to the economic constraints. Will he trim back his revolution and warm up to private investors—perhaps using the arrival of the Obama Administration to seek détente with the U.S.? Or will he bull ahead, seizing on economic unrest to nationalize more industries and establish authoritarian rule?"