Senate Finally Allows Guantanamo Trials In U.S., But Not Homes For Innocent Men

After railing against Senators and Representatives for their cowardly, uninformed and unacceptable attempts to prevent President Obama from bringing any Guantánamo prisoner to the US mainland for any reason — even for trials — I’m delighted to report that, last Tuesday, the Senate finally saw sense, voting, by 79 votes to 19, as part of a $42.8 billion bill for Homeland Security, to accept that the administration can bring prisoners to the US mainland to face trials.

Presidential Power Grows: Will You Love Every Future President?

Presidential power has been on a pathway of expansion beyond what the Constitution outlined, and what a government of, by, and for the people requires, since George Washington was president. That expansion, which hit the highway after World War II, got a turbo boost during the co-presidency of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.

Our Neighbors’ Keeper: Local Cops Want to Create a Nation of Snoops

Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton and other big city cops are calling for a new system of “citizen watch” programs, allegedly to help them spot hidden terrorists. I view this new call for a nation of private spies with a deep suspicion born of experience with the LAPD and its historic penchant for spying on law-abiding residents of that city.

On Guantanamo, Lawmakers Prove They Are Still Dick Cheney’s Pawns

I like to believe that, despite studying Guantánamo for four years, I still have a sense of humor, but last Thursday I lost it, after 258 members of the House of Representatives (including 88 members of President Obama’s own party) voted for an idiotic, paranoid and unjust motion proposed by Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ken.), which was designed to “Prohibit the transfer of GITMO prisoners, period” (those were his exact words).

It’s Congress: Don’t Forget to Wash Your Hands After Hearings

I’m reminded of this incident by the recent efforts in Congress to produce a health care reform bill—especially of the efforts in Sen. Max Baucus’s Senate Finance Committee, which yesterday, after weeks of allegedly painful negotiating among the so-called Gang of Six and several weeks more of discussions among members of the whole committee, produced a bill that essentially leaves us with the status quo, except with some rather smelly additions.

Guantanamo Envoy: U.S. Should Have Taken Cleared Prisoners

In an interview for Radio 4’s Today program, which was partly filmed and televised on BBC News, Fried gave Jon Manel a largely spin-free account of the problems he faces, some of which have been exacerbated by the US government’s unwillingness — or inability — to resettle some cleared prisoners on the US mainland.

Watchdog Group Releases List Of ‘Most Corrupt’ Members Of Congress

Democrats dominate a government watchdog group’s annual list of the most corrupt members of Congress. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said it’s list of the Most Corrupt Members of Congress provides a detailed analysis of the unethical and sometimes illegal activities of 15 congressmen and women who have most egregiously betrayed the public’s trust.

Rep. Joe ‘You Lie’ Wilson Still Insists Healthcare Bill Would Cover ‘Illegal Aliens’

Labor Day: The Unknown Holiday

It’s Labor Day, and that means millions of Americans are celebrating. Most Americans have no idea what Labor Day is, other than self-serving political speeches, hot dogs, burgers, a pool party, and the last day of a three-day holiday. Few even know that Labor Day exists to allow people to remember and honor the struggles for respect, dignity, and acceptable wages and working conditions for the rank-and-file employees.

‘My Fellow Americans…’ The Address Obama Should Give to Congress Next Week

My Fellow Americans. I stand before you a chastened president. I made a mistake. Two mistakes really. I thought that Congress could do its job and through the deliberative process, produce a health care reform plan that would win broad support across the aisle and among all of you. But I’m afraid that I was wrong.