Um, that was pretty much breathtaking.

I honestly believe that because the way forward is so crystal clear, and the consequences for those in power are so obvious, and so dire, the only alternative they see to save themselves is by redefining law as policy. In my world, law can produce policies, but policies do not produce law. One can desire a policy, and write a policy, and enact a policy, but that policy is still subject to law. The degree to which this circumstance has been perverted and distorted, and the intellectual contortions our press seems obliged to make it appear otherwise, ought to be a great collective shame. We should be embarrassed for our government, our institutions, and ourselves. And, I am. By allowing this circumstance to persist we, collectively, are unprincipled cowards. Intellectual, emotional, spiritual, moral cowards.

What happens when you decide that looking forward affords you the same view as looking backward? When the view out the windshield is precisely the same as that in the rear view mirror? Or, is inducing the inability to distinguish forward from backward the objective?

A pattern is developing with respect to the Afghanistan war. No one who advises Gen. Stanley McChrystal on his 60-day strategy review — results coming soon! — thinks the war effort is adequately resourced.

http://washingtonindependent.com/53205/gen-mcchrystals-freaked-out-advisers

Khaled Al Mutairi, a Kuwaiti seized in Pakistan in 2001 and held at Guantanamo Bay ever since, on Wednesday became the 28th Guantanamo detainee to win his habeas corpus case.

http://washingtonindependent.com/53167/another-gitmo-prisoner-wins-habeas-case-score-stands-at-detainees-28-u-s-government-5

Late this afternoon, as expected, the Justice Department filed its brief defending its claim that it can continue to hold Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Jawad, even though it hasn’t produced any admissible evidence that he committed a crime.

http://washingtonindependent.com/53156/government-takes-a-different-tack-in-jawad-case

We have informed the judge in this case that we will not contest the writ of habeas corpus and that we are not detaining Jawad in order to conduct a criminal investigation of his actions. Instead, we have informed the court that there are a number of steps the government must undertake to comply with Congressional reporting requirements before any transfer can take place. In the meantime, Department prosecutors are investigating whether they can make a criminal case against Jawad, an effort that is proceeding separate and apart from his habeas case.

http://washingtonindependent.com/53161/more-from-the-justice-department-on-jawad

Meantime...

Casualties of War, Part I: The hell of war comes home

http://www.gazette.com/articles/iframe-59065-eastridge-audio.html

Casualties of War, Part II: Warning signs

http://www.gazette.com/articles/html-59091-http-gazette.html

I've all but lost the ability to distinguish the Bush presidency from the Obama presidency. One of them came from a privileged, white, old, east coast family, the other is nearly the antithesis of that. The voters at least demonstrated the ability to evolve to a point where they could imagine a woman or a black man as president, and put a black man in the White House over either the white man, or the white woman. I'd call that forward. Anyone see any evidence of forward anywhere else?

Yglesias via DeLong...

Every time I read an exchange like this, I feel like the parties are speaking past each other. The question-asker is basically observing that there’s a double-standard in which nutty conspiracy theories that are backed by the conservative movement get media play that is denied to other nutty conspiracy theories. The reporter then pushes back by explaining the reason that the press is treating the situations differently. But what the audience wants isn’t an explanation but a justification of the media’s conduct. Typically, though, press figures when faced with a specific complaint will wave the complaint off by noting that the output in question was generated according to the prevailing conventions. The question, however, is whether the conventions are producing decent results.

I frequently here [sic] journalists complain that Media Matters or Glenn Greenwald “doesn’t understand how the press works.” Which is probably true. But the point is not to understand the details of how it works but to ask whether or not it’s working well.

http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/07/the-audience-wants-justification-not-explanation-for-media-behavior.php

ondelette's latest is here:

http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/6477

I'm watching to see if he puts up something new about Aafia Siddiqui in the next couple of days.

Republicans are less supportive of Democratic executive excesses, me thinks. I believe we've witnessed where they have little problem with the executive excesses of their own... unfortunately, the Democrats have don't have much trouble with GOP executive excesses, either.

Pitch perfect!

When someone writes,

Obamas weak-knee approach on health care and the Bush crime family will not drive me to the evil party, but it sure as hell will keep me home on next 2 elecion days. That,s a fucken promise. - jarrettw

Note: weak-knee approach on health care (which Glenn is reluctant to write about - for good reason) and Bush crime family (on which Glenn has written extensively), and the follow up is,

Congratulations. The real world doesn't matter. All that matters is that Glenn was right arguing his case in his imagined court of mythical law on a cloud somewhere. - WinSmith [emphasis mine]

I figure you pretty much have to invent a category that didn't exist before.

Is being stupidly disingenuous even possible, or is it merely a reading comprehension problem?