Happy 4th of July Weekend

Hamdan thought his goose was cooked. A conservative court no less. Some of these men (though many are innocent) are hardened fighters, no wimps, who gave no quarter and expected none. Hamdan's lawyer reported that his client was "awestruck" that the court would "give a little man an even chance."

The Supreme Court decision on military tribunals is the light of democracy. Not the invasion of Iraq. Never in a million years did a guy like Hamdan think a "little guy" would get a fair break in this world of powerful and ruthless men.

Behold America. It's not perfect, but yes, it is a great country.

Before the Nuremburg Trials some people were in favor of saving the expense,and summarily hanging Nazi war criminals or lining them up along a wall and having them shot, just like they would have done to us. But our message to the world was: We're not like them.

What rights did the prisoners at Gitmo win? The right to see the evidence against you. The right to be present at your trial. Real controversial stuff.

George Bush has been checked in his drive to do whatever he wants to anyone of us, including locking us up on his say-so and throwing away the key. The system works. Whatever truly increases our security, like securing ports and chemical plants, he's not interested in. Iraq is a trainwreck. Whatever increases his power in the name of 9/11, he pursues with a vengeance.

The Dueling Banjos Wing of the Republican party is positively foaming at the mouth, clueless that the rights upheld are their rights too. They would love nothing more than kangaroo courts with hooded judges to try these prisoners, stupidly unaware that someday, they could be the ones on the wrong side of the bar.

A conservative court! On this July Fourth, 2006, I have never been prouder to be an American.

"Justices, 5-3, Broadly Reject Bush Plan to Try Detainees" (New York Times)

World's Dumbest Terrorists

(Bloggers: On Your Marks)

Since we know Bush has been publicly crowing about finding and shutting-down terrorist financial connections since almost the day after 9/11, today's little skit against the New York Times seems aimed not so much at protecting "secret" programs as at turning Americans against their own Freedom of the Press. The NSA warrantless surveillance scandal gave us the Bush M.O.: use ridiculous arguments that leave everyone rolling their eyes except the vital Red State swing vote that never, ever reads a major newspaper, and gets everything they know from Fox News. Broadband is expensive and anyhow, who has the time? What with two-and-a-half jobs just to make ends meet in the Bush Tax-Breaks-for-Halliburton-Millionaires Economy?

The job for bloggers is to dig up video, audio, and news ink that shows just how stupid the Bushies believe us to be. To get things started, here's a photo of the high-profile FBI raid of the Muslim charity the Holyland Foundation in Richardson, Texas back in 2001. Which we are not supposed to remember until it's Great Victories in the War on Terror Day, rather than Bad-Guy Newspapermen Who Love Al Qaeda Day. Google like crazy until we have the video and audio clips of Bushies hollering that they will attack terrorist financial networks, like THIS ONE. Post it here. Swamp the Internets (sic) with it, so that even poor slobs in Cucamunga County, Ohio, or wherever, will have to see that they are being played for suckers, just like the rest of us poor slobs.

This smells like a set-up: at the next terrorist attack, Bush (through Cheney) can say it's the fault of the Free Press, and cook up evidence of a terrorist so dumb, he didn't know the U.S. was watching for him until he read it in a paper. Sort of like that gang of Goobers in Florida which was supposed to bring down the Sears Tower. My main gripe? Jeez, if you're going to insult my intelligence, I expect you to put a little more thought into it. First Faris, the guy who was supposed to bring down the Brooklyn Bridge with a blowtorch, then Jose Padilla, who was going to blow up a dirty bomb in New York until he was - oops! - actually going to blow up gas mains in an apartment building. We pay good tax money for these guys to keep us scared in the War on Terror. I want my money back.

Like always, incumbent Democrats grovel and cower, which only dignifies arguments which rightfully should be getting Republicans laughed out of the Capitol Building. Calls to investigate the "damage" done by the NY Times? Great! Why don't we hear calls to investigate the damage done by the betrayal of Valerie Plame? Who was a real, live intelligence officer doing real work on tracking weapons of mass destruction? Whose blown cover may yet make it easier for our enemies to attack us, unlike the blown cover that just tells us what we already know: that the Bushies are busy gathering little bits of dirt on EVERY ONE OF US, in case it might ever come in handy? Conspiracy? You steal two elections, start an unprovoked war, make all your buddies filthy rich beyond imagination...naaw, there's no conspiracy...

``Unless they were pretty dumb, they had to assume" their transactions were being monitored..." -Victor D. Comras , former US diplomat in charge of efforts at the UN to combat terror financing, ("Terrorist funds-tracking no secret, some say" Boston Globe)