I’d be quite surprised if it isn’t Lindsay Graham.

And through the night, a low chorus could be heard across the swamp:

“Joe…”

[ribbit, ribbit...]

“Joe…“

In a Feb. 9 “Hardball” interview with Chris Matthews, McCain compared his evolution to that of one of his political heroes, former Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater. “I believe that Barry Goldwater, to start with, regretted his vote on the 1964 Civil Rights Act,” McCain said. “I think that Barry grew, like all of us grow and evolve. In 1983, when I was brand-new in the Congress, I voted against the recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King. That was a mistake, OK? And later I had the chance to … help fight for … the recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King as a holiday in my state.”

In 1983, McCain voted against passing a bill to designate the third Monday of every January as a federal holiday in honor of King. Four years later, then-Arizona Governor Evan Mecham rescinded Martin Luther King Day as a state holiday, saying it had been established through an illegal executive order by his Democratic predecessor.

McCain said he thought Mecham was correct in his decision.

Two years after that, McCain’s viewpoint began to change, but only gradually. In 1989, he urged lawmakers to make Martin Luther King Jr. day a state holiday, but said he was “still opposed to another federal holiday.”

Wow, I can’t believe he voted against the Holiday to begin with. I never watch Hardball so I missed this.

I’d be quite surprised if it isn’t Lindsay Graham.

In my efforts to get to the heart of this story, and its possible consequences, I visited a judge and a prosecutor in a major European city, and guided them through all the materials pertaining to the Guantánamo case. The judge and prosecutor were particularly struck by the immunity from prosecution provided by the Military Commissions Act. “That is very stupid,” said the prosecutor, explaining that it would make it much easier for investigators outside the United States to argue that possible war crimes would never be addressed by the justice system in the home country—one of the trip wires enabling foreign courts to intervene. For some of those involved in the Guantánamo decisions, prudence may well dictate a more cautious approach to international travel. And for some the future may hold a tap on the shoulder.

Or the bums’-rush into a waiting police car…

The underlings, like Diane Beaver, Bybee, Feith, and Gonzo, will eventually be held accountable in an international court of law, although building the case will take a while before it works it’s way up the political foodchain to Rummy, and ultimately Bush.

There’s Bush’s legacy, to join the ranks of other national leaders who became war criminals, like Pinochet – although it will most likely occur after his death.

…the U.S. image abroad “has begun to improve after worsening for years…

Wohoo! The surge is working!

…but the United States is still viewed more negatively than the European Union, Brazil, China, India and Russia.” According to the new survey, 35 percent of the world believes the United States has a positive influence, but 47 percent still believe its influence is negative.

So?

Marie,

Sorry for the late response. Before you and katy posted, I thought of Ill. as an overwhelmingly democratic state. In my mind, I was probably confused by the fact that Chicago has such a strong national democratic presence, that the entire state was democratic. Not that the state isn’t an interesting one (a microcosm of America, is it called?). It must be a scenario where influence outweighs raw numbers, if there are more republicans than democrats in your state.

Good, on a regular basis, seems to face an uphill battle against those hungry for power and dominance. Couldn’t they pile on in some red states forever bound to be red?

In the Hague, that means nothing. They will be held to higher, international law standards – or they can enjoy a well-earned isolation in the US, as the pariahs they are.

Here, you widdle wepubwikans, we’w keep yew safe and warm and fuzzy. Aw it wiw cost yew is yerw biww of wights.

And yet another admission to Bush being a WAR CRIMINAL.

And he is still in office, we have become what we hate.

IMPEACH BUSH CHENEY
Hague Trials ‘09

Hah, what a euphemism for data mining. It’s all about amassing data in a single database and dig for “suspicious” behavior. Let’s say you travel a lot to NY by plane… well, your name was in one of these “fusion center” in the screen of someone, altogheter with your credit rating, your driving card, your SS number, your medical bills and all your accounts and shares and real property, with other assorted data.

Fusion center… heh.

Succinctly, Dunlavey described the mission Rumsfeld had given him. “He wanted me to ‘maximize the intelligence production.’ No one ever said to me, ‘The gloves are off.’ But I didn’t need to talk about the Geneva Conventions. It was clear that they didn’t apply.” Rumsfeld told Dunlavey to report directly to him. To the suggestion that Dunlavey report to SouthCom, Dunlavey heard Rumsfeld say, “I don’t care who he is under. He works for me.”

Dunlavey described Feith to me as one of his main points of contact. Feith, for his part, had told me that he knew nothing about any specific interrogation issues until the Haynes Memo suddenly landed on his desk. But that couldn’t be right—in the memo itself Haynes had written, “I have discussed this with the Deputy, Doug Feith and General Myers.” I read the sentence aloud. Feith looked at me. His only response was to tell me that I had mispronounced his name. “It’s Fythe,” he said. “Not Faith.”

Fred Says:
Inevitablility sets in: Bernanke warns of possible recession

L. Hussein Annie Says:
Amazing, isn’t it, Fred, that very nearly EIGHTY PERCENT of Americans knew that already…?

They have done so many things that they will now try to distance themselves from.

http://news.yahoo.com/ s/ ap/ 20080402/ ap_on_bi_ge/ bernanke_congress

Amazing, isn’t it, Fred, that very nearly EIGHTY PERCENT of Americans knew that already…?

And all those supposed Big Brains like Mr. Bernanke are so far behind the curve as to be rendered pretty much irrelevant…heh. Our tax dollars at work paying this fool.