and Obama is never wrong.

"The most noteworthy point was her explicit statement (at 17:50) that "the role of a news organization is to lay out the debate"; rarely is the stenographic model of "journalism" -- "we just repeat what each side says and leave it at that"..Glenn

Yes Glenn this is called "balanced" journalism. They are not taking sides, as you do. It's NEWS, your positions are 'Opinions', not news. That's the distinction.

One of the controversial moves of the controversial CPB head, Kenneth Tomlinson, was to write out a set of very strange rules for hiring ombudspeople. He was dumped, but his successor, Cheryl Halpern, is, in many ways, just as conservative. It would not be beyond belief that Ms. Halpern, during who's watch Alicia Shepard was hired, may have used or modified those strange rules. Perhaps she should be asked.

Dear fellow Americans,

Remember that really important word your President was looking for in a Supreme Court Justice? The word was "Empathy." Well check it out-I looked it up on dictionary.com and here is the definition:

"the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

of another."

Cool definition huh? Well anyways, I was wondering if you had ever thought of trying it out for yourself? My guess is no for a couple of reasons:

1) Have you thought about how it would feel to be acquitted of charges yet still retained in jail because someone who doesn't even know you thinks you could be dangerous?

2) Have you thought about how it would feel to have your family bombed by a drone missile even though they had not been involved in any militaristic activities against the US?

3) Have you thought about how it would feel to have been removed from your partner's deathbed or removed from the military because you were gay?

4) Have you thought about how it would feel to die or our go bankrupt because of unavailable healthcare?

5) Finally, have you ever thought about how it would feel for an American to endure 8 years of lawlessness and treachery from a President, then promised "Change" and the resumption of our liberty, humanity, and pride only to be lied to and stabbed in the back

We are hypocrites and shame on us and ourself daily with our actions.

In Virginia, people are detained post-acquittal all the time: it's called "Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity." Although most are eventually reintegrated into the community, persons acquitted by insanity face the possibility of indefinite detention.

Glenn or any other of you accomplished JD's that routinely post here; who pray tell are the progenitors of these legal concepts?

The idea that somehow the executive possesses this power can't simply reside in DOJ, somewhere out here there has to be some 'learned professorial minds' that believe and teach this stuff. Excuse me, but even I don't think this is found in Constitutional Law For Dummies. Who are they? Where can I find them?

And if they be just some renegade cadre of political appointees within your 'profession' wouldn't it be your obligation to immediately out them?

obamanoids - you've been had. Repeatedly. Not just with regard to gitmo, but with the broad notion of "transparency" in government.

eric holder should be investigated. Immediately. I think I read somewhere at salon that legal opinions such as those espoused by obama (detention after acquittal) are grounds for all kinds of negative repercussions. Holder's got to go.

And you thought cheney was evil. With cheney you knew where he stood, with obama...?

. . . meanwhile, with the help of the dumbocrats in congress, we are generating a massive debt that may very well make last fall's "economic crisis" look like a picnic. . . maybe if congress set aside a week or two to allow the public to review the spending bills, and conduct a public debate . . . nah, that's not in their personal interest.

And it is that interest alone, that drives them.

Things are going to change. Sooner rather than later.

"Everyone knows why politicians welcome lobbyists and why lobbyists exist."

Yes, and even the ACLU has lobbyists. You are a 'lobbyists' when you write you representative.

I believe it is time to put the word "justice" in scare quotes when used in reference to the Obama Administration. Today's post becomes:

The Obama "justice" system

That almost obviates the documentation Glenn proceeds to provide.

Thanks for the information.

"we just repeat what each side says and leave it at that".. Glenn

Yes Glenn this is called "balanced" journalism. --bernbart

What if Woodward and Bernstein had reported "Some say that the Watergate burglars were hired by the President's re-election campaign, but the Administration denies that" - would that be your idea of "balanced" journalism?

What about investigation? What about the truth?

it is not "balanced" journalism when NPR refuses to call it torture when the US does it but will call it torture when other countries do it.

that would be an opinion. she thinks america did it "for good reasons" so she won't call it torture.

that is her opinion.

"The US certainly does owe a lot of money to other countries and one being China but China can't call in their loans either causing our economy to collapse. Why? Because their economy is too dependent upon selling us lots of their goods and trading with us for things they need. So it's more a bad marriage of economic convenience to both countries to continue this way."

Agree in part, but if our trade deficit continues apace it's a zero sum game. That's why I mentioned further down that Obama was attempting to alleviate the trade imbalance by further aggregation of wealth among the banksters. China, in turn, is trying to get ahead of that strategy by doing the next best thing to calling in our debt: obliterating the dollar as the world's reserve currency. And THAT is what will ultimately bankrupt us.

Breton-Woods gave us a nice headstart in the looming economic war of this century, but those days are gone. Hoovervilles are the order of the day, so a wise thing for the ordinary citizen to do is come up with ways to create value locally, lest ye be snuffed out by corporate fascism.