Weekend Suggested Reading -- 8/25-26/07

Washington Whispers: Maybe Trading Up Soon at Justice
From the story: "The buzz among top Bushies is that beleaguered Attorney General Alberto Gonzales finally plans to depart and will be replaced by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. Why Chertoff? Officials say he's got fans on Capitol Hill, is untouched by the Justice prosecutor scandal, and has more experience than Gonzales did, having served as a federal judge and assistant attorney general."

Not really sure Skeletor Chertoff would be a step in the right direction, here. In any case, don't get too excited -- it's just a rumor.

Raw Story: Terrorist watch list ineffective, prone to misuse, say privacy advocates
From the story: "Questions have arisen over the United States government's use of its terrorist screening database, reports the Washington Post today.

While the database 'flagged' people as suspected terrorists about 20,000 times in 2006, few were arrested or barred from entering the country as a result of being on the list.

"...From a civil liberties standpoint, privacy advocates are alarmed by the massive amounts of data being collected on the thousands of people being added to this list when relatively few arrests are being made as a result. 'This really confirms the long-standing fear that this list is inaccurate and ultimately ineffective as an anti-terrorism tool,' says David Sobel of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, also citing the high possibility of 'false positives.'"

So, not only is it a violation of civil liberties, but it doesn't even work.

Associated Press: Iraq Body Count Running at Double Pace
From the story: "This year's U.S. troop buildup has succeeded in bringing violence in Baghdad down from peak levels, but the death toll from sectarian attacks around the country is running nearly double the pace from a year ago.

"Some of the recent bloodshed appears the result of militant fighters drifting into parts of northern Iraq, where they have fled after U.S.-led offensives. Baghdad, however, still accounts for slightly more than half of all war-related killings - the same percentage as a year ago, according to figures compiled by The Associated Press."

Making progress...

DefCon Blog: Ben Stein the Creationist?
From the story: "Next time you feel the urge to watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off, remember that apparently Ben Stein is a proponent of Intelligent Design. According to a press release put out yesterday, Ben Stein is the star of an upcoming movie, put out by the same studio who produced The Passion of the Christ, called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed..."

It pays to remember that, despite his minor fame as an actor and game show host, Ben Stein's real claim to fame is as a speechwriter for Richard Nixon. Like most Nixonian figures, Ben's far right wing.

Politico: This is not George W. Bush's convention
From the story: "...The outgoing president's appearance tonight has caused some nervous hand-wringing in Republican circles. Convention organizers have struggled for weeks over the question of how to use the event to spit-shine the Grand Old Party brand yet still pay homage to the president under whose watch it got tarnished."

What a quandry -- how to acknowledge that the GOP's been kissing GWB's ass for six years without admitting that the GOP's been kissing GWB's ass for six years. Suck to be Republican.

TPMMuckraker: Senior DoJ Official Resigns from Civil Rights Post
From the story: "Yet another resignation from the Justice Department. Wan Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, announced today that he'll be leaving at the end of the month, according to a statement from the Justice Department.

"Kim took the helm at the troubled Civil Rights Division in late 2005, just at the tail end of the stormiest period in the Division, when lawyers left the voting rights section, and other sections, in droves. Kim, like his predecessor, Alex Acosta, has never been anywhere near as controversial a figure as Division appointees Bradley Schlozman and Hans von Spakovsky, the two fingered by former Department lawyers as leading efforts to politicize the Division, the voting section in particular."

There sure are a lot of people leaving the Bush administration lately. Especially a big shakeup at Justice.

Maine Sunday Telegram: Kennebunkport Antiwar Protest Attracts 600
From the story: "Separated from Walker's Point by security barricades and a light fog over the cove, about 600 protesters on Saturday called for an immediate end to the Iraq war.

"The rally near the Bush family compound followed a slow, 90-minute march through the town center. It coincided with President Bush's first trip here in two years."

Seems the president is unwelcome pretty much anywhere he goes.