Democrats and Republicans alike agree that they want an independent Attorney General, who will serve the rule of law rather than just the Bush administration.

When outgoing Alberto Gonzales testified before Congress in his January 2005 Senate confirmation hearing, he claimed that if confirmed, he would be Attorney General for not “only the White House,” but also “the United States of America and its people“:

With the consent of the Senate, I will no longer represent only the White House; I will represent the United States of America and its people. I understand the differences between the two roles.

Gonzales completely failed to follow through on his pledge. When the Bush administration nominates the next Attorney General, the Senate must make sure that he or she not only says they are independent, but actually acts that way. Here’s the test for the next nominee: Alberto Gonzales answered yes to the following questions, would you have said “no”?

- Would you have said “no” to Bush’s warrantless wiretapping?

- Would you have said “no” to legalizing torture?

- Would you have said “no” to the partisan firings of U.S. attorneys?

- Would you have said “no” to the politicization of the Justice Department?

- Would you have said “no” to Bush’s abuse of Presidential signing statements?

Write to your Senators and demand they ask the next Attorney General nominee if they would have said “No” to these policies. Take action HERE.

About a week ago, the new law school at the University of California at Irvine hired Erwin Chemerinsky, a well-known constitutional scholar, as the school’s inaugural Dean. But yesterday, Michael V. Drake, Irvine’s chancellor, fired him, “saying that he had not been aware of how Chemerinsky’s political views would make him a target for criticism from conservatives.” Chemerinsky confirmed his firing to the Wall Street Journal today:

The chancellor “said he hadn’t expected that I would be such a target for conservatives, a lightning rod. It’s clear that significant opposition developed,” though the chancellor didn’t specify where it was coming from. [...]

“Obviously I’m sad because it’s something I was excit[ed] about. I’m angry because I don’t believe anyone liberal or conservative should be denied a position like this because of political views.”

(HT: Atrios)

UPDATE: The LA Times notes that April 2005, Chemerinsky “was named one of ‘the top 20 legal thinkers in America’ by Legal Affairs magazine.”

hailed their sons for speaking out. The fathers of Omar Mora and Yance Gray, the two soldiers from the 82nd Airborne who drafted a New York Times editorial criticizing the rosy assessments of the war, said they were proud of them for voicing for their opinions. New York Times Deputy Editorial Page Editor David Shipley, who worked with the seven soldiers who drafted the op-ed, had this to say about them:

“They said from the get-go they did not want to be paid for this,” Shipley said, declining to reveal his payment scale, but said most freelance columnists are paid several hundred dollars. “It was a definite statement from them.”

A new study from the International Institute for Strategic Studies said climate change “could have global security implications on a par with nuclear war unless urgent action is taken.” The report said “global warming would hit crop yields and water availability everywhere, causing great human suffering and leading to regional strife,” adding that “65 countries were likely to lose over 15 percent of their agricultural output by 2100.”

Neil Volz, former chief of staff to Rep. Bob Ney, was spared jail time today and instead sentenced to two years probation, a fine of $2000, and 100 hours of community service for his role in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Volz had earlier argued that he should be spared prison time because he had “endured harsh criticism, including abusive phone calls” from Ney when his ex-boss suspected he was helping investigators.

UPDATE: TPMmuckraker has more.