I’m sleeping a lot better than people would assume.” — President Bush, in a new interview with People magazine.
Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen,
has been detained for four years without formal charges, much of it in solitary confinement. He is now a broken human being:
Saying that there was ‘sufficient cause” to conduct a competency hearing, the government, in papers filed yesterday, urged the judge to do so.
The government itself cited the affidavit of a psychiatrist for the defense, Dr. Angela Hegarty, who said that Mr. Padilla did not understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him and that he suffered “impairment in reasoning” as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder “complicated by the effects of prolonged isolation.”
Mr. Padilla’s lawyers said he opposed this request that his competency be evaluated. Dr. Hegarty, one of two mental health professionals who examined him, said Mr. Padilla was “fearful of being thought of as crazy.” She described him as “hypervigilant,” his eyes darting about, his face twitching into grimaces, his “startle response” on constant high alert.
The original accusations against him — “about the dirty bomb, Al Qaeda connections and supposed plans to set off natural gas explosions in apartment buildings — appear nowhere in the indictment against him.”
New Jersey approves civil unions.
“Lawmakers in the U.S. state of New Jersey legalized same-sex civil unions on Thursday to give gay and lesbian couples the same rights as marriage but would not allow such partnerships to be called ‘marriage.’” BlueJersey and Garden State Equality have commentary.
More on the War on White Christmas
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported today:
The average annual temperature for the contiguous U.S. will likely be the third warmest on record in 2006, according to scientists at the NOAA National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The year is noted for widespread drought and record wildfires, as well as heavy precipitation and flooding in some parts of the country. Following the warmest year on record for the globe in 2005, the annual global temperature for 2006 is expected to be sixth warmest since recordkeeping began in 1880.
This was the warmest January on record and an especially warm winter overall — more evidence that we will be seeing fewer and fewer White Christmases.
Yet, much of the mainstream media does not consider any of this newsworthy. See if you can find any mention of these records in your local paper tomorrow. Let Climate Progress know — we certainly want to give credit to those reporters who do cover this subject.
Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) update:
Admiral John Eisold, Attending Physician of the United States Capitol said, “Senator Tim Johnson has continued to have an uncomplicated post-operative course. Specifically, he has been appropriately responsive to both word and touch. No further surgical intervention has been required.”
Boehner, King Distort Pelosi Quote, Falsely Claim She Has Broken 9/11 Commission Pledge
Top House conservatives are attacking incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) over comments she made today about her new plan for intelligence reform, which involves creating a “hybrid” panel with members of the intelligence and appropriations committees.
The 9/11 Commission report called on Congress to overhaul the congressional intelligence system, but offered two options for achieving this goal (Pelosi chose the second):
For intelligence oversight, we propose two options: either a joint committee on the old model of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy or a single committee in each house combining authorizing and appropriating committees.
At a press conference today, Pelosi was asked why she had decided against “creating a joint House”‘Senate intelligence body.” Pelosi explained that the 9/11 Commission had provided multiple options for intel reform, and “if they are giving you different alternatives, then implicit in that is that you can’t do them all.”
The right wing has now jumped on this quote, claiming it is evidence that Pelosi has abandoned her pledge to enact all of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations.
Peter King (R-NY), the outgoing House Homeland Security Committee chairman, issued a statement claiming Pelosi had “admitted she won’t be able to enact all the 9/11 Commission recommendations,” and called it a “direct contradiction of statements Ms. Pelosi has made in the past.” Outgoing House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) referenced Pelosi’s quote and said he “appreciate[s] the candor she has demonstrated” with respect to her “promise of enacting all of the remaining unresolved recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.”
These claims are misleading and wrong. Pelosi’s intelligence proposal is in line with the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations. Already, 9/11 Commissioner Timothy Roemer has said Pelosi’s plan would “achieve the commission’s two major goals,” calling it “a major step forward.” House conservatives, meanwhile, refused to take such a step and earned a “D” for their efforts on intelligence reform from the commission.
Nene
I always claim the Nuggets as my Western Conference sentimental favorite, but in practice I rarely see them on television and hadn’t seen them live until last night’s schooling at the hands of the Wizards. Thus, a question: How come Nene isn’t starting? They gave the man a contract many regarded as implausibly generous in the offseason and K-Mart got injured. Nene’s listed as an F-C. So how come he’s just Camby’s backup? Doesn’t seem to make sense?
Laura Bush demanded the truth
about Iraq. WWE wrestlers deliver on Fox:
Michael Crichton is a Bad Man
This is really ridiculous. Indeed, it sounds positively made up, but truth is stranger than fiction.
A Unified Security Budget
It’s old, but I’ve been remiss in not linking to it before. Take a look at the proposed Unified Security Budget for the United States, 2007. The point is to try and look at defense spending in the context of a broader pool of security spending and call into question whether it wouldn’t make more sense to shift some emphasis away from the military box and into other ones.
