October 10, 2009, Self-absorption
The flip-side of the failure of "change we can believe in" to actually close Guantanamo Bay on time is that those brave souls who have volunteered to represent GTMO detainees on their own dimes have to put up with not only right-wing abuse, but probable spying on them by our government. Wilner v. NSA is one such case, and quite frankly, as I have communicated with the majority of plaintiffs at some point, maybe I should be a party too (for all I know, the government is spying on me for no other reason... and perhaps you for no other reason than reading this blog... ) The point is... who knows? The government will not confirm or deny that it is brazenly violating our Constitution by eavesdropping on attorney-client communications... or otherwise committing crimes... because that "might jeopardize national security." I attended the argument before New York's Second Circuit Court of Appeals, and both sides argued eloquently, though I do wish that the plaintiffs' counsel had, in response to a question from the Court to the effect of "You're not suggesting that the Obama Administration is trying to use "national security" to cover up the crimes of the Bush Administration..." the answer I hoped for was "Your Honor, the answer isn't yes... it's HELL YES!" But... we'll wait and see... I have no particular hope we will see much "transparency," whether court-ordered or not.
And, since on this blog, it's always about me, I finished the Baltimore Marathon today in my not unexpected traditional finishing range (the 20 minute window between 5:20 and 5:40), notwithstanding a difficult fall preparation season thus far. Well, marathon 24 and state 13... check. New York in three weeks, and the JFK 50-miler three weeks after that... Lucy, we got some trainin' to do...!
Still not sure what I think of the President's Nobel Peace Prize; I mean, I like Barack, and I fully expect to do what I can to help him get reelected... but giving him the peace prize for "not being Bush"... seems... excessive.