Senator Cardin: vote "no" on Mukasey
I strongly second this conclusion by Scott Horton (Harper's Magazine):

If the Bush Administration wants to turn torture into a litmus test, so must Congress. The question therefore ultimately becomes one of principle and not personality. The Judiciary Committee should not accept any nominee who fails to provide meaningful assurance on this issue. And, though it saddens me to say this, Michael Mukasey has not.

(Emphasis added. Via Marty Lederman at Balkinization.) My own Senator on the Judiciary Committee, Ben Cardin, has not yet said how he'll vote on the Mukasey nomination; maybe he's waiting to see what Senator Leahy says this afternoon. At any rate, I'm calling him to urge him to vote "no" -- as I did on Tuesday at Heather Mizeur's fundraiser, where I learned he'd already seen the New York Times op-ed by Yale Law School's Jed Rubenfeld, which closed:

If Judge Mukasey cannot say plainly that the president must obey a valid statute, he ought not to be the nation’s next attorney general.

Despiting only posing a few written questions to Mukasey, one of Cardin's was particularly interesting to me:

2. As Attorney General, will you order the Justice Department to prosecute of [sic] individuals who have participated in conspiracy to commit torture?

Mukasey's answer was typical of his other answers: superficially comforting, but actually just promising more of the same, shall we say, tortured parsing that has nearly derailed his nomination:

ANSWER: As I noted, the Department of Justice has an obligation to enforce all valid criminal statutes, and the conspiracy to commit torture would certainly be a crime under federal law. With respect to particular prosecutions, I would consider them on a case-by-case basis and examine the facts and applicable law in each situation.

More on this particular issue another time. Mukasey is probably a decent guy, but he has not been able or willing to distance himself from this administration, adopting their situational ethics view of torture to study issues that require no further study. The Senate Judiciary Committee has the opportunity to repudiate this administration's repugnant policies and its unconstitutional view of its powers. The committee should do its duty and take that opportunity by refusing to confirm Mukasey for Attorney General.


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UPDATE, 11/2: Possibly on the heels of Senator Leahy's "no" announcement, I just got an e-mail from MoveOn asking me to contact Senator Cardin and tell him to vote "no" on Mukasey. It's possibly a nationwide campaign, or at least to states with Senators on the Judiciary Committee, but there's no web page to go by (yet?), other than a form to record your call. Please do so; I'm big enough to share the credit with MoveOn. :) Via the e-mail, Alliance for Justice (AfJ) has released a concise critique of Mukasey's answers to Senators' written questions.

UPDATE 2, 11/2: Mentioned in the AfJ piece, but not commented on per se, was this:“[A]s a general matter, different legal standards would apply to protect American soldiers than would be available to members of al Qaeda.” The question had to do with the Army Field Manual's reciprocity rule of thumb test -- if al Qaeda did such things to American soldiers, would it be considered abuse? Mukasey's written answer notwithstanding, as a matter decided by the Supreme Court, "enemy combatants" -- including suspected al Qaeda members -- are entitled to Geneva Conventions protections. To be fair, this is a point Mukasey makes himself in other written answers -- which still invites concern about why he would raise the "different legal standards" idea at all.
posted by Thomas Nephew at 12:30:00 PM -- |    

 
Scary Halloween
Ewww... there's a vice president on my doorstep.

Scary Halloween
Originally uploaded by Thomas Nephew.

Impeach the pumpkinhead!!!

With apologies to Richard McGuire and The New Yorker. This one's obviously a little blurry; couple more photos here.

UPDATE: here's a recipe that's related, in a cucurbit-Hannibalish way. Mmm, good; I add a little Bay seasoning myself. Happy Halloween! posted by Thomas Nephew at 9:31:00 PM -- |    

 
Optical scan voting penciled in to Maryland budget
I attended a fundraiser for Maryland District 20 (Takoma Park/Silver Spring) Delegate Heather Mizeur tonight. In her remarks to everyone she said she'd been assigned the job of getting the corporate tax and loopholes part of O'Malley's budget plan* through as a separate bill in the Assembly during the two week special session that began yesterday. Despite her support for that part of O'Malley's plan, she also said that she'd be strongly opposing slots legislation, and that if it were passed it would be something Marylanders would regret for a long time to come.

She also said she'd be working for paper ballots as provided for in the regular session earlier in the year -- turns out she'd noticed me in the crowd and knew that was something I've been following.

I asked her about it, once I had a chance, and she had some good news: money has been allocated to optical scan voting in the budget submitted by Governor O'Malley to the joint Spending and Affordability Committee. As Ways and Means Committee chair, District 20 Delegate Sheila Hixson is on this committee. That's good; Delegate Hixson was the sponsor of last session's HB18 calling for a optically scannable paper ballots by 2010, which passed unanimously in the House of Delegates. However, the joint SB392/HB18 measure put up a final hurdle, making implementation of optical scan voting "contingent on the appropriation of sufficient general, special, or federal funds in the State budget no later than fiscal year 2009..." So getting optical scan funding into the first draft of the budget was critical -- and it got in.

But that's just the first step, so it's still important to contact your state delegates and senator about this. A key argument at this point is that optical scan is cheaper than electronic voting machines -- far fewer machines are needed, as TrueVoteMD's Shazia Anwar pointed out earlier this year:

The best solution to our current voting problems is to implement a precinct-based optical scanner system with a ballot-marking device for disabled voters. This will ensure the creation of a paper record of your vote that will be the official record during a mandatory audit and any recount. Computer experts and election reform advocates agree that this is the most secure system available, and it is also the most fiscally responsible solution, since it would require less machines (2000 optical scanners and 2000 ballot marking devices versus 24,000 electronic voting machines + printers) and thus less operating costs for our counties.

For more information on optical scan vs. electronic voting, see TrueVoteMD's side by side comparison. Make sure your Maryland legislators know: optical scan voting means more secure voting for less money. We're on the verge of closing the deal on a much, much better voting system for Maryland.


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* See "The O'Malley roadshow - Part I: budget," 10/25.
UPDATE, 11/7: Maryland switch to optical scan imperiled?
posted by Thomas Nephew at 10:26:00 PM -- |    

 
No, no, no, Rep. Conyers, not that kind of "oversight"
Your House Judiciary Committee at work:

A while back the HJC set up a web tipline for tipster with information on politicization and wrongdoing at the Bush DOJ. Today the committee sent an email to all the tipsters alerting them to extremely tight safeguards in place to keep their identities and stories confidential. Unfortunately they put the 150+ email address in the "to:" field in the email, not "bcc:". So everyone's email got sent to anyone else. And probably because of pranksters one of the addresses those emails got sent to was none other than the vice president's office.

-- Josh Marshall ("Talking Points Memo"). Paul Kiel has more.

I have to admit I've sent an e-mail to a large e-mail list using the "to:" field instead of the "bcc:" one. I was mortified. But I take some small comfort in that my mistake didn't threaten anyone with losing their job or maybe even prosecution -- and that I didn't send it to the vice president's office.


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UPDATE, 10/30: A 2d Paul Kiel post reports that the mistake was due to a nonpartisan clerical employee misunderstanding a Microsoft Outlook option. The Committee released a statement noting that it "stands ready to assist any whistleblower who feels that they are in any jeopardy as a result of this mistake or for any other reason. We have not yet been contacted by any such whistleblower in this regard." Certainly not by e-mail, anyway. posted by Thomas Nephew at 1:23:00 AM -- |    

 
Write to Adel Hamad, and for Abdul Hamid al-Ghizzawi
I just got this e-mail:

Dear Thomas Nephew,

We are writing today because there is a simple act you can do that can make a world of difference.

We recently sat down with the lawyers of Adel Hamad to get an update on his situation. We learned that the newest head of Guantanamo has moved the vast majority of the detainees into 22 hour total lock down. This is complete isolation from human contact with a mere 2 hours of "recreation time" occurring in a small concrete room, not outdoors, and often in the middle of the night. Needless to say, more and more cases of psychosis and other significant psychiatric conditions are arising from indefinite detention under these conditions.

Fortunately Adel Hamad is one of about 50 detainees not in lockdown but morale is still at an all-time low. He has watched many detainees, some of whom have actual evidence against them, get released simply because the United States has good relations with their home countries (Britain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia etc.). Others like him—where the government has produced no evidence-- hospital administrators, fruit vendors, people turned in because of bounties offered by the U.S. or Pakistanis simply for being foreigners or looking different-- remain at Guantanamo for no other reason than the U.S. is not friendly with their country of origin.

Hamad's lawyers have just now learned, from their recent trip to Sudan, that he was cleared for transfer in November of 2005, TWO YEARS AGO. The U.S. government never shared this information with his own defense team and obviously do not seem to feel any obligation to expedite the release of a man that they have charged with no crime.

But we aren't writing you to share yet another piece of depressing news you can do nothing about. For the last 10 months we have been encouraging Project Hamad members to write Adel Hamad at Guantanamo, to make sure the U.S. government knows he has not been forgotten. We were operating under the assumption that he might never see the letters. But he mentioned them to his lawyers as the only bright spot in an otherwise grim existence.. A parish from the midwest that had organized a letter writing campaign on his behalf, has received letters back from Hamad, thanking them, and wishing them well.

We are hoping that you will take a moment, with the two year anniversary of his "transfer approval" approaching, and write Adel Hamad.

Adel Hamad (ISN 940)
Camp Delta
P.O. Box 160
Washington DC 20053
USA

Thanks,

Laura, David and Ben
Project Hamad
http://projecthamad.org

I plan to do so, because this seems likely to do a particular someone some particular good. It reminds me of what Amnesty International supporters do for people unjustly imprisoned or persecuted in places like Burma, Zimbabwe, or Belarus... speaking of which:

Guantánamo detainee Abdul Hamid al-Ghizzawi has been diagnosed with hepatitis B and tuberculosis. Amnesty International fears that he may not have access to appropriate medical care to treat his illnesses. [...]

Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language:

- expressing your serious concern that Abdul Hamid al-Ghizzawi may not be receiving appropriate medical care for his illnesses...

...as well as urging that he be visited by independent medical personnel, that he be removed from Camp 6, that he be allowed contact with his family, and that Guantanamo detention facility be closed and the detainees there be released or charged and brought to civilian trial. (Mr. al-Ghizzawi was initially judged not to be an enemy combatant by the US military due to lack of persuasive evidence; that judgment was later reversed.)

Pretty fine company we're in.

The addresses of the appropriate military personnel to send your letter to are provided at the link ("The Guantanamo Blog"), as is background about the case and Guantanamo. (Via The Talking Dog; happy belated birthday!) posted by Thomas Nephew at 6:15:00 PM -- |    

 
The O'Malley roadshow - Part III: Takoma Metro development
O'Malley looked a little better on the other major local issue of the night: the Takoma Metro development project, a.k.a. the "EYA Project." EYA is the name of the townhouse development company that has drawn up the plans so many residents on both sides of the DC/Maryland line (including me) are objecting to.

First and foremost among the objections -- at least from my point of view -- is that the EYA plan calls for 85 2-car garage townhouses right next to a Metro station. This unnecessarily adds as many as 170 cars to a neighborhood that is already struggling with the impact of other developments sprouting around the Metro station.

Other details of the plan are also unattractive, as a sample letter (Word .doc) developed by "DC-MD Neighbors for Takoma Transit" indicates: the plan drastically reduces green space, mixes the townhouse traffic with Metro bus system traffic, and actually makes handicapped Metro customers go further to reach station platform elevator access than they do now.

As one of the leaders of the opposition, Chris Simpson, put it in her remarks to Governor O'Malley, we're not "NIMBY"s ("not in my back yard"). It's a good thing to have people live closer to mass transit -- as good alternative plans like the one by Friends of Takoma Transit acknowledge. But this is not a good plan, it's a very unpopular one -- and the WMATA (Washington Metro Area Transit Authority) board of directors ought to know it: at meeting after meeting, voices against the plan have vastly outnumbered supporters. The political difficulty has been that the Takoma Metro station is just on the DC side of the DC/Maryland border, and the Metro board typically defers to those from the governing jurisdiction.

However, "Takoma DC" neighborhood residents also oppose the plan, for the same reasons the Maryland community does. Yet while local "area neighborhood council" (ANC) leadership opposes the plan, DC's City Hall supports it; DC Deputy Director of Planning Rosalynn Hughey claims the plan "strikes a balance" between the character of the community and economic viability according to a Thursday Washington Post report by Ann Marimow. Takoma Park residents have been focusing on urging the governor to wield his influence with Maryland representatives on the WMATA board to delay approval of the EYA plan.

So when Takoma Park, Maryland resident Chris Simpson rose at the end of the Wednesday evening to ask the governor to do that, it wasn't the first time he'd heard about the issue. Simpson reminded O'Malley that Montgomery County votes had helped him win last November, and asked him to use his influence with the Maryland WMATA board members to delay approval of the EYA plan. Unlike with other questioners, O'Malley actually engaged Simpson about the issue, getting specific objections like the 2-car garages and poor handicapped access.

And unlike with other questioners, O'Malley agreed to help, saying he would call for a delay and would call DC Mayor Adrian Fenty about the issue. He got a lot of applause and cheers for that; it was a good ending to the evening both for local residents and the governor, who'd said "tough crowd" at the beginning of the evening when some in the audience got impatient with his "how many here think I was an A, B, or C student?" routine.

Compared to the hard feelings around the ICC, it seemed almost too easy -- and maybe it was. Coming home from the meeting, I learned from Ms. Simpson that the city of Takoma Park has presented an alternative plan to WMATA, designed by the Nelson/Nygaard company and described on a "Takoma Metro Development" city web page set aside for the issue. The plan came with powerful support -- a cover letter signed by County Executive Ike Leggett.

Whether it was the governor's intervention, the alternative plan, or both, the WMATA board indeed voted to delay a decision on the Takoma Metro development by two weeks. A vote on the project will be held on November 8. From the Washington Post:

Takoma Park City Council member Bruce Williams said the project would lead to a chaotic mix of cars and buses at the station's roundabout and constrain transit operations.

"You have neither heard nor received our message. We're frustrated, and we're angry," he told the Metro board.

Williams' opposition carries extra weight -- he'll be Takoma Park's mayor by the time the WMATA meeting is held, as he's running without opposition in the November 6 election.

While the Nelson/Nygaard plan seems to address some of the concerns with the EYA plan, it also seemed to catch anti-EYA activists by surprise -- not a good thing now that the community's back is up about Takoma Metro development. Seth Grimes wrote a neighborhood listserv late last week to say the DC-MD group has problems with the alternative plan, and has asked the city not to push it.


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PREVIOUSLY: Part I: budget; Part II: ICC.
EDIT, UPDATE, 10/29: mention of and link to Friends of Takoma Transit plan added. posted by Thomas Nephew at 9:25:00 PM -- |