The stock market is usually regarded as a “leading indicator” of economic activity, to wit, the traders and speculators who dominate it are usually placing bets on economic activity in the short and intermediate term futures… which makes it all the more worrisome as the market reacts by tanking (around 280 points in the Dow) to the priorities of the Federal Reserve re: “fighting inflation” in response to the current sub-prime mortgage and housing woes. Apparently, the seeming record decline in U.S. home prices — which overwhelmingly impacts those who are not super-rich– is less of a problem than inflation...

One begins to feel bad for George W. Bush, what with many of his childhood friends abandoning him left and right, particularly two important ones by the end of August– first Karl, and now, Alberto “Fuck You, Congress” Gonzales has announced his resignation as Attorney General. He’ll likely be replaced by Michael “Heckuva Job with Hurricane Katrina” Chertoff, our current Homeland Security Secretary, a tried and true proven Bush loyalist (the only criteria for service in the Administration). It was almost amusing, if not pathetic, watching Gonzales’s (few) defenders insist he was being treated “unfairly” by being asked questions by...

I’ll stop seething long enough to pass along this (hat tip to Mahablog’s Barbara): “this” being from Judge Michael Mukasey, who gives us this Rupert’s Journal op ed. Judge Mukasey outlines his case why, contrary to the actual historical facts and our legal, ethical and Constitutional principles, he contends that our justice system is just not up to trying terrrrrrrorists like Jose Padilla (you will recall that Judge Mukasey first issued the material witness warrant pursuant to which Padilla was first arrested, and originally handled Padilla’s first ill-fated habeas corpus petition in which the Supreme Court eventually found that the...

It should come as no surprise to anyone that there was a method to the unConstitutional madness that has fallen over Presidential events, i.e., the impressive absence of all dissent (the standard being “Hey, would Riefenstahl have filmed it?“). That method is laid out in a White House manual, obtained from the government in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of two irritating dissenters in God- and Bush-fearing West Virginia, as reported here by WaPo. All of those elements we have come to know and love– allowing in only pre-vetted gung ho...

I was quite literally “out in the wilderness” when the Padilla verdict came down (Hassan bar-Sinister phoned me while I was on a practice “run” on the Pikes Peak Marathon course). I think what matters, aside from the travesty of justice angle (Mona of Unqualified Offerings gives us some grounds for reversal) is the fact that the true significance of the Padilla case, which regular readers know that I consider the most important case of our lifetimes, indeed, a case so important that I actually interviewed two of Mr. Padilla’s attorneys (Donna Newman and Andrew Patel), will be deliberately obscured...

Sorry that some cat seems to have the talking dog’s tongue… blogging has been light non-existent of late, as your talking dog was on a personal physical and spiritual quest… to complete the Pikes Peak Marathon, believed to be one of the five hardest marathon races in the world, in an official time (i.e. less than ten hours, when the course is closed.) I am pleased to say… pointless mission accomplished! I trained extra hard, and had to leave the East Coast for the first time in six years… but in the end, when I was handed my finishers jacket...

Or some other fractured version of Shakespeare, that post-title seems to make about as much sense as the USA Patriot Act provision that removes the power to effectively determine the pace of state executions from federal courts, and hands it to… you got it… Attorney General Alberto “Fuck You, Congress” Gonzales. Defense attorneys are outraged. Like we care what they have to say! It is widely believed anathema to execute an innocent person. Except in the United States, where, let’s face it: if they were innocent, they would have been able to afford a decent defense attorney, now, wouldn’t they?...

From Rupert’s Journal, we give you this breaking news that Unindicted Co-Conspirator Karl Rove has announced his resignation from the government payroll, effective the end of August. Per how these things are done, he quite literally said “he wants to spend more time with his family”. Some highlights from the announcement, reflecting things that only Karl would have the nerve to say: In the interview, Mr. Rove said he expects Democrats to give the 2008 presidential nomination to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, whom he described as “a tough, tenacious, fatally flawed candidate.” He also said Republicans have “a very good...

Well, our friends at the Center for Constitutional Rights have brought suit in federal court in San Francisco to set aside the Protect America Act of 2007, a/k/a the bipartisan attempt to abrogate the Fourth Amendment by repealing FISA. Our interview with CCR’s President Michael Ratner may be found here, and the interviews of numerous attorneys working with CCR in representing Guantanamo detainees may be found on the side-bar (or check the end of this post, our recent interview with Mike Otterman). The CCR attorneys, of course, claim that their conversations were likely monitored, including presumably telephone calls overseas which...

Teddy Roosevelt said “Speak softly and carry a big stick”, presumably meaning (I think, anyway) that “actions speak louder than words…” or something like “if you have them by the balls, their hearts and minds are sure to follow.” George W. Bush’s mantra would be something like speak incoherently and bellicosely and bluff the ability to back it up, and failing that, just say “9-11” a lot. Or something. And spend ourselves into oblivion against enemies who pose no threat to us, opposing any conceivable good government could do for all but the super-rich on “philosophical” grounds… and otherwise run...