This is the First Ever Episode.....

... of What BooMan Said!

Stevens Convicted?

CNBC is reporting that Stevens was convicted on all counts. Haven't seen it elsewhere yet. Will update!

UPDATE

Here's Reuters

and WaPo

Habeas Corpus? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Habeas Corpus!

Well, we get anyway. The Supreme Court, over the STRENUOUS objections of the Chief (in)Justice and his gang of Italian legal thugs, decided that even suspected terrorists are required to be covered by 900 year old legal traditions. Yeah Supremes!

Top Ten Legal Whoppers

Steve Benen, subbing for Kevin over at Political Animal, points us Dahlia Litwick's top 10 list of Bu$hCo's most egregious legal lies of the year. Solon weeps.....

More Unbefreakinglievable!

Apparently, we can 'rendition' anyone.... yup, they hate us for our freedoms all right!

Mukasey Confirmed

In a victory for something un-American, the Senate confirmed Michael Mukasey as AG, 53-40. Go torture! Blah!

Mukasey Mullings

Froomkin sums it up (as usual) in one pithy (no, not PISSY!) sentence:

So it's come to this: A promise to enforce the law (in most cases) is enough to get an attorney general nominee confirmed by a Democratic-controlled Senate.

Torture Bad

Trials hard… er impossible?

The FBI is quietly reconstructing the cases against Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and 14 other accused Al Qaeda leaders being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, spurred in part by U.S. concerns that years of CIA interrogation have yielded evidence that is inadmissible or too controversial to present at their upcoming war crimes tribunals, government officials familiar with the probes said.

The process is an embarrassment for the Bush administration, which for years held the men incommunicado overseas and allowed the CIA to use coercive means to extract information from them that would not be admissible in a U.S. court of law -- and might not be allowed in their military commissions, some former officials and legal experts said. Even if the information from the CIA interrogations is allowed, they said, it would probably risk focusing the trials on the actions of the agency and not the accused.

WooHoo!

Didn't even need activist judges! It seems the Proposition to split CA's electoral vote is more or less dead. Internal squabbles, lack of money, Dem pushback all contribute to the downfall. Yay Us!

Time to Ditch Feinstein?

Diane Feinstein is my Senator. This used to make me happy. Lately, it's made me sick. Let's find an alternative.

I LOVE the funding-hijack idea. Bypass the Dem organization entirely and contribute only to worthy candidates directly, until the party as a whole pulls its head out.

Judicial Activism!

YAY! Two provisions of the PATRIOT Act (god, I hate that title) ruled unconstitutional. That's not judicial activism,t hat's strict constructionism. Take that, wingnuts!

UCI Relents

I don't have a link (try the OC Register or LA Times) but it appears UCI Law School has changed its mind (again) and decided to make constitutional law expert Erwin Chemerinsky its Dean. I guess being a laughingstock for most of a week was enough to change their minds.

Restore Habeas

At least for furriners..... sign up!

NSL's Declared Unconstitutional

A judge has ruled that the government can not issue National Security Letters (a provision of the Patriot Act that demand information and silence thereafter.) The decision will surely be appealed, but it's a good start.

The Slippery Slope

This IS what we are talking about!

ACLU Wiretap Case Tossed on Appeal

I'd say more about this, but apparently, I don't have the standing to comment.

Has Dershowitz Lost It?

Okay, admittedly, I am not a renowned constitutional scholar, and Alan Dershowitz is. Over the years, I've thought he was insightful, intelligent, and thoughtful. This posting today in HuffPo makes me question my sanity and judgment.

UPDATE: the estimable Hunter at DKos smacks AD around as well

Orville Redenbacher's Gonna Get Rich

Leahy was on Press the Meat today, and, well, as Josh points out, 'This could get ugly.'

Copyright Inanity

The re-writing of copyright laws recently, and the whole insane expansion of the intellectual copyright thought-police, has driven me crazy. Apparently, they're trying to drive me competely over the edge.

This is Scary

Cheney's lawyers argued in court today that, basically, he was untouchable, period, end of sentence. Every night I pray for a War Crimes court SWAT team to swoop down and carry him off to the Hague.