June 28th, 2007
Posted by Drew at 3:20 pm
My friend, Jeff Rosen, was among 50 Presidential Scholars who presented President Bush with a signed letter protesting “violations of the human rights” of terror suspects when they met with him earlier this week.
After reading the letter, President Bush denied that the United States practices torture.
The letter began, “We have been told that we represent the best and brightest of our nation. Therefore, we believe we have a responsibility to voice our convictions. We do not want America to represent torture.”
All of us at Blue State Coffee applaud the Presidential Scholars for their courage and conviction.
Read the CNN article here.
Watch three of the Scholars discussing the letter on CNN here.
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June 23rd, 2007
Posted by Drew at 2:25 pm
Steve Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists’ government secrecy project, said that if Cheney’s office is not part of the executive branch, “they’re going to have to rewrite the textbooks.”
Vice President Cheney’s office has refused to comply with an executive order governing the handling of classified information for the past four years and recently tried to abolish the office that sought to enforce those rules, according to documents released by a congressional committee yesterday.
Since 2003, the vice president’s staff has not cooperated with an office at the National Archives and Records Administration charged with making sure the executive branch protects classified information. Cheney aides have not filed reports on their possession of classified data and at one point blocked an inspection of their office. After the Archives office pressed the matter, the documents say, Cheney’s staff this year proposed eliminating it.
The dispute centers on a relatively obscure process but underscores a wider struggle waged in the past 6 1/2 years over Cheney’s penchant for secrecy. Since becoming vice president, he has fought attempts to peer into the inner workings of his office, shielding an array of information such as the names of industry executives who advised his energy task force, costs and other details about his travel, and Secret Service logs showing who visits his office or official residence.
Read the entire article here.
The White House has come to Cheney’s defense:
The White House defended Vice President Cheney yesterday in a dispute over his office’s refusal to comply with an executive order regulating the handling of classified information as Democrats and other critics assailed him for disregarding rules that others follow.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Cheney is not obligated to submit to oversight by an office that safeguards classified information, as other members and parts of the executive branch are. Cheney’s office has contended that it does not have to comply because the vice president serves as president of the Senate, which means that his office is not an “entity within the executive branch.”
Read the article here.
Congressman Emanuel is hitting back hard: he introduced an amendment that would cut off funding to Cheney’s office until Cheney acknowledges that he is part of the Executive branch. In an email to supporters, Emanuel wrote:
“The Vice President has a choice to make. If he believes his legal case, his office has no business being funded as part of the executive branch. However, if he demands executive branch funding he cannot ignore executive branch rules. At the very least, the Vice President should be consistent. This amendment will ensure that the Vice President’s funding is consistent with his legal arguments. I have worked closely with my colleagues on this amendment and will continue to pursue this measure in the coming days.”
All Americans should be thankful that the Democrats now control Congress. Otherwise, the Vice President would have been able to continue defying the law, completely unchallenged.
Posted in General news, News round-up, Politics | No Comments »
June 19th, 2007
Posted by Drew at 2:13 pm
Justice Scalia justifies his extreme conservative views with…Jack Bauer?
Justice Antonin Scalia is one of the most powerful judges on the planet.
The job of the veteran U.S. Supreme Court judge is to ensure that the superpower lives up to its Constitution. But in his free time, he is a fan of 24, the popular TV drama where the maverick federal agent Jack Bauer routinely tortures terrorists to save American lives. This much was made clear at a legal conference in Ottawa this week.
Senior judges from North America and Europe were in the midst of a panel discussion about torture and terrorism law, when a Canadian judge’s passing remark - “Thankfully, security agencies in all our countries do not subscribe to the mantra ‘What would Jack Bauer do?’ ” - got the legal bulldog in Judge Scalia barking.
The conservative jurist stuck up for Agent Bauer, arguing that fictional or not, federal agents require latitude in times of great crisis. “Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles. … He saved hundreds of thousands of lives,” Judge Scalia said. Then, recalling Season 2, where the agent’s rough interrogation tactics saved California from a terrorist nuke, the Supreme Court judge etched a line in the sand.
“Are you going to convict Jack Bauer?” Judge Scalia challenged his fellow judges. “Say that criminal law is against him? ‘You have the right to a jury trial?’ Is any jury going to convict Jack Bauer? I don’t think so.
“So the question is really whether we believe in these absolutes. And ought we believe in these absolutes.”
Read the entire article here.
It’s this same “Jack Bauer” ideal that led us into Iraq: President Bush wanted to shoot first, and ask questions later (or never). We may hope that our spies and soldiers are as tough as Bauer, but the kind of cavalier, cowboy attitude he and the Bush Administration embody has no place on the world stage–or in the Supreme Court.
Posted in General news, Politics | No Comments »
June 13th, 2007
Posted by Alex Payson at 9:07 am
Improved hybrid, electric, and fuel cell vehicles are definitely coming soon as gas prices continue to rise, and oil reserves start running dry.
For the time being however, most commercially available vehicles that are eco-friendly are incrementally better than previous options. While small steps are vital, it is always exciting to read about people who are leaping ahead.
Check out this article about a retired engineer who converted his truck into a completely electric vehicle. Expect to read about (and see) a lot more vehicles like this in the coming years.
I can not wait to have a car that breaks the 100 miles/gallon barrier.
Posted in General news, Our causes | No Comments »
