"I have been a little distressed to note that Glen's responses to posters (including me) have been needlessly rude and overly sarcastic..."

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I sent him an email asking for clarification (about the "without any oversight" PAA assertion), and got a quick but testy response, asking me exactly what I was asking -- which was right there clearly IN the fucking letter.

Dude, we're all busy, and we're all on the same team here trying to defend our Constitution. Even us Little Unimportant Peeps.

bgladd.blogspot.com

"The Bush administration announces that we better change our definition of "privacy" -- no more anonymity from our own government. That seems like a significant announcement, and it thus received no attention. I wonder if a single television news or cable show mentioned it."

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That was actually the Deputy Director of National Intelligence who said that.

It's the kinder, gentler Nazi'ism -- for the most part. ID you and your circumstances through the breadth of your data, without cause, permission, or even your knowledge.

Full-throated U.S. neo-Nazi'ism would be where authority could simply accost anyone in public and demand ID and an explanation as to one's doings at that moment.

We're getting there. Proposals now abound to permit random searches on buses, subways, and trains, all in the name of "fighting Terrah."

The 4th Amendment is now dead.

"Can't do drug testing in schools? Why? peeing into a cup is now a violation of civil liberties? Police cannot shoot at people shooting at them?"

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That's gotta be some of the lamest crap I ever hear.

I have the dispositive take on the stupidity of drug testing right here:

www.bgladd.com/drugwar

Ten years old now (and that's about 80% of the final cut), but no less relevant.

BTW- I've lived in Vegas 15+ years now. Metro will blow your ass away on the street if you so much as reach toward your pocket while an officer is interested in you. Still batting 1,000. Every inquest comes back "justifiable," usually in minutes, notwithstanding the egregious particulars of any given shooting.

Sophomoric Fallacy of Perfectionism 101. Were Barack to walk on water, you peeps would point it out as evidence of his inability to swim. Give it a break, Joan.

How about a steadily declining trend line with an R-Square in the 90's, you war criminal?

Monica didn't have a MySpace page, with some original tunes on it.

requires a net 2/3 Senate vote (the "Advise and Consent" thingy, Article II, Section 2). [1] Show me where the Vienna Conventions were ratified by such a vote, and [2] explain why Bu'ush had Condi Rice publish a letter a while back saying the U.S. was wthdrawing from it anyway.

If it's not legitimately binding, then it can't be forced on a state, putative moral and/or utilitarian attributes notwithstanding.

In the end, anything that circumscribes Bu'ush's grandiose claims of plenary power has to be a good thing. The Supremes look like they slapped his ass down on this one. But, maybe the whole thing was a kabuki dance.

No, I am not confused one whit. I read the ruling. Bu'ush, as is his wont, was trying to have it both ways. But, again, maybe the whole thing is is a Bu'ush-Roberts ruse.

"Surprisingly, the WH was arguing in favor of the treaty..."

Yeah, the one he had Condi state we were withdrawing from. Of course, Bu'ush would never stoop to disingenuous tactics.

The thing I don't in the decision is the assertion that treaties are not valid absent congressional enabling legislation. Not in the Constitution, but, IANAL, and maybe it's out there in case law.

From wiki:

Article 36 of the VCCR (Vienna Conventions on Consular Relations) requires that foreign nationals who are arrested or detained be given notice "without delay" of their right to have their embassy or consulate notified of that arrest. The notice can be as simple as a fax, giving the person's name, the place of arrest, and, if possible, something about the reason for the arrest or detention. The police must fax that notice to the embassy or consulate, which can then check up on the person.

In March of 2005, the United States pulled out of the Optional Protocol to the convention, which allows the International Court of Justice to intervene when detained foreign nationals are denied access to consular officials when imprisoned in a country that is a signatory to the convention. In June 2006, the Supreme Court ruled that foreign nationals who are deprived of the right to consular notification and access after an arrest may not use the treaty violation to suppress evidence obtained in police interrogation or belatedly raise legal challenges after trial (Sanchez-Llamas v. Oregon)

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So, what's new here, other than Bu'ush's customary dishonesty?

The future of humanity. A ~90% die-off, coming relatively soon.

Barry's full Christian name is Sheik bin al BaraBlackHusseinMadrassaOsamaBama, thank you very much.

Do your homework. Get it right.

Are you snark-challenged or just being snarky?

LOL!

It's simply about covering Bu'ush and Cheney's asses. Really that simple. How could it be otherwise? The telecoms have all sorts of low hanging fruit legal outs to use in stepping on the airhoses of civil lawsuits. But, not before some discovery efforts somewhere revealed Bu'ush/Cheney et al criminality (like, uh, say, spying on everybody but "terrists", for domestic political purposes).

which is, as Michael Lewis ("Liar's Poker") wryly observed:

"The firm made money, and the broker made money. Two outa three ain't bad".

The financial markets simply must return to "normal," i.e., "The firm made money, and the broker made money. Two outa three ain't bad." (props to Michael Lewis)

"Americans more ready for a black president than a woman?"

No, just this particular woman.

has everything to do with her transparent dissembling, her padded resume, and the failures in the actual one. Period. Doesn't have shit to do with gender or race.

Sniper fire was the tipping point for me.