Should judges with clear political beliefs recuse themselves from cases with obvious partisan dimensions? The DeLay case motivates a few reflections.

Then CLICK HERE and visit the always fascinating and content-heavy Carnival of the Liberated.

President George Bush has been sent a pointed message by the GOP-dominated Senate: give us detailed progress reports on Iraq, which include goals and progress so far. In reality, the message sent by the GOPers, in a bipartisan vote, amounted to the GOP leadership “stealing the thunder” of the Democrats who had been pressing for just this — except they also unsuccessfully sought a timetable...

When it comes to basic legal rights, there’s no room for moderation.

What is written at Marginal Revolution encapsulates my view as to why the position of the administration on making “exceptions on torture for extraordinary circumstances” is dead wrong: But it does not follow from the “ticking time bomb” argument that torture should be legal. The problem with making torture legal is that the government will abuse its powers. I do not trust the government,...

Here’s a bit more on Spain’s decision to investigate the rendition of prisoners by the U.S.: Apologists for America’s torture regime, from Vice President Cheney on down through Bill O’Reilly and his “folks,” will no doubt write this off as European anti-Americanism, Europeans gleefully sticking their noses into America’s affairs in order to make America (and her wildly...

One of many thoughts from Stephen Green, aka Vodka Pundit. A tiny taste (read it all yasself): Second-term Presidents usually have their eyes focused on their legacy – although most aren’t crass enough to talk about it as publicly and as constantly as Bill Clinton. If Bush wants a legacy, he’s going to have to do more than give us hawks a little pep talk every few months. He’s going...

Here is a link to Tom Toles’ editorial cartoon in the Washington Post: I note a resemblance to Pete Seeger’s famous song, “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy.” How Waist Deep in the Big Muddy Finally Got on Network Television in 1968 (From GIVE PEACE A CHANCE, An 1983 Exhibit at the Peace Museum in Chicago) Pete Seeger Complete Lyrics (copyright 1967 by T.R.O.): It was back in 1941. I was...

He just found himself here.

A MUST-READ POST BY KEVIN DRUM AT POLITICAL ANIMAL: Did the Bush administration mislead the country during the runup to the Iraq war? It’s true that they turned out to be wrong about a great many things, but that doesn’t answer the question. It merely begs it. Were they sincerely wrong, or did they intentionally manipulate the intelligence they presented to the public in order to mask known weaknesses...

At Majikthise, my fellow Tufts grad Lindsay Beyerstein has a good response to the allegedly sexist criticism of Dowd’s new book, Are Men Necessary? Far from making the personal political, Dowd made the political personal in a particularly self-absorbed way. She chose to set up her experience as if it were universal and to bolster her prejudices with spurious data and cherry-picked quotes. I previously...

It’s getting thornier for CIA agents overseas due to some countries prosecuting us for some of the techniques being employed in the war on terror — and this must-read article from Italy’s Corriere Della Sera carried on the great site Watching America is truly dramatic. A small part: The date is January 14, 2003. A man with a long beard wearing a light-colored djellaba [a long loose garment...

President George W. Bush, undaunted by the controversy over his Veterans’ Day Speech in which he suggested war critics (Democrats) were undercutting the war effort, has again gone on the offensive as a new Gallup poll shows his political stock going south as steadily as Long Island retirees in winter. U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday sought to counter Democratic critics of the Iraq war by turning...

Read it HERE and be sure to watch the video…

Sounds like he was pissed off..

Venezuela’s President manages to make a significant enemy.

The controversy continues to simmer and fester over the Graham Amendment. Note The Hill: Several retired military leaders are urging Congress to reject Senate-passed legislation that would nullify a 2004 Supreme Court ruling that gives detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the right to challenge their imprisonment. The upper chamber last Thursday passed Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) detainee amendment...

TMV’s Note: This ran yesterday afternoon and seemingly got buried quickly due to a slew of other posts. We’re reposting it today. This site always applauds ORIGINAL REPORTING done on weblogs, of all political persuasions. Blogging can be more than extended op-ed pieces. On Saturday morning, I had the real honor of speaking with the 1972 Democratic Presidential nominee, Sen. George McGovern (D-SD)....

Questions raised about U.S. handling of detainees aren’t only arising in the United States: they’re being raised and causing inquiries in Spain and elswhere, according to the New York Times: LONDON, Nov. 11 – On the Spanish island of Majorca, the police quietly opened a criminal investigation in March after a local newspaper reported a series of visits to the island’s international airport...

Well, certainly no one can remotely call Judge Samuel Alito, Jr. a “stealth” candidate on abortion anymore: Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., President Bush’s Supreme Court nominee, wrote that “the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion” in a 1985 document obtained by The Washington Times. “I personally believe very strongly” in this legal position, Mr. Alito...

Other people have been better at blogging the French riots, but I think there needs to be a bit more analysis on how French “universalism” is fueling the outrage we’re seeing.

Press Release: NEW FILM RELEASED — SACRED CHOICES AND ABORTION: TEN NEW THINGS TO THINK ABOUT Milwaukee, Wisconsin November 14, 2005 Contact: Ms. J Clements Outreach Director The Religious Consultation thefilmfarm@earthlink.net (for copies for review) The Religious Consultation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin has just released to the religious community the film Sacred Choices And Abortion. This documentary explores...

Check out yesterday’s discussion group topic at The Carpetbagger Report, one of the best liberal blogs out there: “Is the national media making a comeback? Are the days of passivity and stenography officially over? Or, conversely, is even the coverage we’re now getting too timid?” “Has the news media turned a corner? Will it last? What prompted the change?” ********** Much...

Not too long ago, I mentioned that al Qaeda was setting up shop in the U.K. If this story is true — and there’s no reason to doubt it — the threat continues to spread even as Iraq remains a question mark and the war on terrorism, now a war against Islamofascism, proceeds in fits and starts against a nebulous enemy. ********** And now, in the same vein, we have this: The Globe and Mail, drawing...

Some on the Left have accused NBC’s Tim Russert of being a tool of the Right with a GOP bias. Now he’s being accused of being a shill for the Left. (We don’t know why, but that’s deja vu to TMV…)