The end of habeas corpus and the official sanction of less than "grave breaches" of the Geneva Convention
New legislation on the treatment of terror suspects is now halfway to President Bush's desk.
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Habeas corpus amendment defeated
A few hours ago, the Senate defeated an amendment which would have allowed suspected terrorists to challenge their detentions in federal court (habeas corpus protection). The amendment, sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), lost by a 48-51 vote.
Moving Foreign Investment Forward: A Strange PR Pick for Iraqi Kurdistan
Some weeks are slow on Move America Forward's email list. Others are bustling. September 15 to 21, 2006, was an example of the latter. Six emails were sent, including two from "The Other Iraq," at the address "KDC@RMRWest.Net."
The emails are noteworthy because they illustrate synergy between two clients of the Republican-associated Sacramento public relations firm Russo Marsh & Rogers (RM&R): Move America Forward, a conservative cheerleader for the Bush administration's "war on terror," and the Kurdistan Development Corporation, an "investment holding and tradings company" formed in partnership with the Kurdistan Regional Government of northern Iraq (and presumably the KDC of the above email address).
The first of the "other Iraq" emails began, "We wanted to send you this short note to let you know that a delegation from Iraqi Kurdistan is back in the United States - continuing our campaign to tell the American public about 'The Other Iraq.'"
We've got your 2006 challengers right here
Well, right here, to be specific. Congresspedia is now tracking the congressional primaries in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the
Advertising on Trial: An Interview with Dr. Inger Stole
From the interviewer:
Update: Exposing Earmarks
It looks like it's close to endgame for earmark reform this Congressional session. Earmarks, the specific allocations of money to certain programs or organizations by Congress, has been a hot topic in Washington this year ever since the resignation of Rep.
Congress in 30 Seconds: When you think about your congressperson, what comes to mind?
Not content to wait patiently for the daily schedules of members of Congress to be released, the folks at the Sunlight Network have upped the ante on their Punch Clock Campaign.
As School Doors Open, Food and Beverage Industries Rush In
Ah, the sounds of School Year 2006-2007: the clatter of coins going down the pop machines to let loose a POWERade or an aspartame-sweetened diet soda -- maybe even a bottle of juice or milk. The rip of a new box of "reduced-sugar" Fruit Loops (or Frosted Flakes or Apple Jacks) at breakfast.
Willie Horton Redux: Karen Hughes Breaks Her Silence
Karen Hughes, the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, has been strangely silent this summer. The Bush confidante sworn in with much hoopla nearly a year ago to fix America's image overseas has had practically nothing to say recently about pressing issues of the day. Why? Was it a desire on her part to take a break from the demands of her job? Or did her lack of knowledge about the Middle East require her to be unheard if not unseen?
But now, upon the fifth anniversary of 9/11, Hurricane Karen, as she is known in Bush circles (or at least was until Katrina brought the President's poll numbers down), has chosen to let her views about the state of the world be better known, in a September 12 article in the national daily USA Today.
Unfortunately, Hughes's just published global tour d'horizon, reminiscent of a sanctimonious small-town sermon, reflects much that has been wrong with American public diplomacy with her at the helm. Her 928-word piece, "Where's the Outrage: A United World Must Resolutely Condemn Terror" shows Hughes — and her notions about America's place on our small planet — at their worst, for several reasons:
$1,000 bounty: How do your members of Congress spend their day?
Our friends over at the Sunlight Network kicked off their Punch Clock Campaign today, which is offering a $1,000 "bounty" to any citizen who can get a member of Congress (or $250 for their challenger) to publicly post their daily schedule on the Internet. It's an intriguing new twist on the citizen muckraking model exemplified by the blogger campaign to reveal the senators that placed a secret hold on the earmark transparency bill.
They've already gotten one response, from Texan Alvis Yardley, who says that Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) is refusing to release his calendar due to "national security concerns"—despite the fact that the pledge only asks for the previous day's calendar. Guess we can't let the terrorists know where Carter was yesterday.