Bush Screwed Up Military Tribunal Law

Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court declared Bush's military tribunals to be unconstitutional. Instead of observing human rights, and trying the Gitmo detainees in American courts that would protect their rights and the rule of law, Bush again tried to create a system that would convict the detainees as he wanted.

He got Congress to pass a new military tribunal law that wouldn't bother with trifling matters like human rights. But it looks like he screwed it up again.

Yesterday in Guantanamo, two separate military judges threw out the charges against the only two detainees that had charges. It seems that Bush's new law declared the tribunals had juristiction over "alien unlawful enemy combatants". But there are no "alien unlawful enemy combatants" in Guantanamo. Years ago, the military had declared the detainees to simply be "enemy combatants". This caused the two military judges to throw out the charges because they had no juristiction.

The prosecution said they would appeal the decisions. However, the military court to which they would have to appeal doesn't exist. Evidently Bush never thought the prosecution might need to appeal, so the appeals court was never organized and staffed. After all, he didn't want the detainees to be able to appeal.

So now he's stuck with a new law that doesn't grant appropriate juristiction (and was probably unconstitutional anyway). And we are back to holding 380 people who are imprisoned without charges or rights. The whole situation just keeps getting more embarrassing by the day for America.

Bush may try to pass another unconstitutional law to try and railroad these prisoners, but now he has a Democratic Congress. Hopefully they will stop him, and force him to abide by our Constitution.

If we have proof that these men are terrorists, then by all means take then to court and give them a fair trial and punish them. If not, then we should release them immediately.

Hopefully we have passed the bad days when Bush could imprison anyone he didn't like without charges, rights or trials.

Is An Execution A Place For Jokes ?

Is an execution the place for telling jokes? Patrick Knight believes that it is. Knight is scheduled to be executed on June 26th for the killing of his Randall county neighbors, Walter and Mary Werner, about 16 years ago. Now he says he wants his last words to be a joke.

Knight is asking for jokes to be mailed to him, and says he'll tell the best one just before he is executed. But Randall County Sheriff Joel Richardson, who investigated the murders, is not happy with Knight's decision to tell a joke in the death chamber. He said, "The whole thing is not a joke to anybody here unless it is to him. This tells you a little bit about the guy's character, anyway."

But Knight, who says about 250 jokes have been sent in so far, said, "I'm not trying to disrespect the Werners or anything like that. I'm not trying to say I don't care what's going on. I'm about to die. I'm not going to sit here and whine and cry and moan and everything like that when I'm facing the punishment I've been given. I'm not asking for money. I'm not asking for penpals or anything like that. All that I'm asking for is jokes."

Knight went on to say, "I know I'm not innocent. They think they're killing me. They think they're punishing me. They've already punished me. I've already had 16 years of punishment. They're releasing me. They're letting me go. That's helping me out. That's the way I look at it."

Knight said he got the idea of telling a joke at his execution from fellow inmate, Vincent Gutierrez, who remarked as he was strapped to the gurney, "Where's a stunt double when you need one?"

There have already been 14 executions in Texas this year. In addition to Knight, there are four more scheduled for June (including one female). So far, there are ten more scheduled this year after this month.

Most of us would not think it appropriate to tell jokes in the death chamber, but it is not our execution. Personally, I would prefer that Texas not engage itself in legalized killing. But if we must do it, then it is only decent to let the condemned say whatever they want as their last words.

Patrick Knight has chosen to use his last statement to tell a joke. That is his right.

FBI Investigates Potter County Sheriff

There have been whispers around Potter county for the last few months that the FBI was investigating some government official in Potter county. Matters came to a head yesterday, when Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Ken Farren held a press conference to announce his resignation.

Farren said, "I am announcing my resignation, because, ethically, I don't feel I can work there anymore based on some allegations made recently and in the past." Farren would not reveal just what the FBI was investigating, but did reveal the allegations were concerning Potter County Sheriff Michael Shumate.

County commissioners Joe Kirkwood and Lacy Borger admitted after Farren resigned, that they knew of an investigation by the FBI concerning Sheriff Shumate. They said the investigation has been going on since last Fall. They also refused to disclose the nature of the allegations.

They did say though that the FBI has turned the results of their investigation over to federal prosecutors. That doesn't sound too good for the sheriff. If federal prosecutors have been brought in, then federal charges may soon follow. Maybe then we'll find out what these allegations are all about.

Farren has tossed his hat in the ring to replace Sheriff Shumate saying, "I feel that Sheriff Shumate can no longer effectively run the department, and I think that I am the most qualified candidate for the job." He joins two others who have already announced they are seeking the job -- APD Cpl. Brian Thomas (Amarillo Crime Stoppers coordinator) and Robert Taylor (who has previously run against Shumate).

Looks like things are starting to get interesting here in Amarillo.

We're Still Losing The "War On Drugs"

There is new evidence that we continue to lose the "war on drugs". Prior to his visit to the U.S. next Wednesday, Columbian President Alvaro Uribe admitted that a new White House survey shows that coca production in Columbia has risen again for the third year in a row.

The United States, in conjunction with Columbian authorities, have waged an agressive campaign to wipe out coca production in the country since 1999. However, coca production from 1999 through 2006 has risen about 27%. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy survey used satellite imagery to conclude that in 2006, coca production rose by about 8%.

In 2005, there were 355,831 acres of coca production. In 2006, the number of acres had grown to 385,484. Couple this with the fact that in the last year, cocaine in the U.S. has dropped in price and risen in purity, and it becomes pretty obvious that we are not winning this "war".

This is not the fault of our police agencies. They are doing the best they can. Last year here in Texas, the Department of Public Safety once again seized a record amount of cocaine and other drugs.

The fact is that this is a war that cannot be won. If people want drugs, there will always be someone to supply it to them. Wherever there is a demand, there will be a supply.

We need to attack this problem in a different way. We must realize that this is not a legal problem, but a medical and societal problem. Our money should be going into drug education and rehabilitation, rather than in policing efforts.

This is just not a problem that can be solved by our legal system.

Second Democratic Debate Is Better

While not perfect, this was a much better run debate that the MSNBC debacle held earlier. CNN tried to be fairer and get to all the candidates, but they also failed in this task. There was a definite tendency to go toward the "major" candidates.

Some will say that more time should be spent on the candidates that are leading in the polls. I disagree. That might be a valid consideration when we get closer to the primary elections, but we are still at least six months from the first primaries and caucuses.

This early in the race, all candidates should be treated equally. Otherwise, we put ourselves in the position of having the media tell us who our candidates should be, by choosing to only question and cover a few candidates. The candidates should not be chosen by the media, but by the people who vote.

Although CNN did a better job of getting to more candidates, I think that each candidate should have had the opportunity to answer each question. Once again, that did not happen.

As far as the candidates, I thought they all did well when given the chance. No one made any serious gaffes, and I think any of the eight would make a much better president than the current one, or any of the possible Republican candidates.

My own favorite, Bill Richardson, aquitted himself well on most of the issues. But there was one issue on which he, and most of the others, disappointed me. It seems like at least six of the candidates (Gravel did not get to talk on this) want to leave insurance companies in charge of our healthcare system.

Dennis Kucinich was the only candidate who seems to realize that the insurance companies are a big part of what is wrong with the healthcare system. He had the courage to come out in favor of a single-payer system. Hopefully, the other candidates will see the error of their healthcare views, and catch up with Kucinich on this.

Another improvement over the first debate was allowing voters to ask some questions. Frankly, I thought their questions were better than those posed by the media.

14 US Soldiers Killed In Iraq In The Last Three Days

Both the Republicans and Democrats should be ashamed of themselves as they continue to play political games over the war in Iraq. Because while they treat the war as a political argument, things get steadily worse for our soldiers over there.

April was the fourth bloodiest month for our soldiers since the start of Bush's war. But the violence got even worse in May. Last month, there were 127 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, making it the third bloodiest month for our troops.

Now it looks like June may be even worse. In the first three days of June, 14 U.S. soldiers have been killed. There have now been 3,494 U.S. military casualties in Iraq. And what has been accomplished?

Other than the removal of Saddam Hussein (who was the only thing keeping the peace in Iraq), the only thing we have accomplished is:

- started an extremely violent civil war that kills thousands each month.

- created millions of Iraqi refugees who have fled their country in terror because no one will protect them.

- installed a puppet government that has already demonstrated it cannot control the country.

- created ill will toward the U.S. around the world because of our unneccessary invasion and unjust occupation of Iraq.

Surely this was not the desired result! But then, except to steal Iraq's oil resources, I don't know what the desired result was. Did Bush and his buddies really think they could force American-style democracy on another country at the point of a gun? Anyone with eyes can see that we have probably insured that Iraq will become a theocracy -- not a democracy.

If there was the slightest hope of protecting the Iraqi people or actually creating a democracy there, then it might be worth leaving our troops there for a while, but there isn't. Even with 150,000 troops there, we are not able to protect the Iraqi citizens, and any hope for a democracy to survive there is just a pipe-dream.

It is time for Democrats and Republicans to stop playing their political games with the lives of Americans (and Iraqis). Cut off all funds for this war immediately and force Bush to bring our troops home -- all of them. Don't leave a single U.S. soldier in Iraq!

Texas Leads Nation In Carbon Dioxide Emissions

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, but Texas still leads the nation in the production of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. Last year, Texas produced 670 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. (Each metric ton contains 2,204.6 pounds of pollution.)

Texas produces so much more pollution that the second place state (California) produces 281 million metric tons less carbon dioxide than Texas does. Here are the top ten polluting states in millions of metric tons:

1. Texas -- 670

2. California -- 389

3. Pennsylvania -- 271

4. Ohio -- 266

5. Florida -- 244

6. Indiana -- 235

7. Illinois -- 230

8. New York -- 214

9. Michigan -- 185

10. Louisiana -- 179

Those should be some pretty embarrassing numbers for Texans. Even California and New York don't produce near the pollution that Texas does. There is only one reason for this. The Texas Republican party has put corporate profits above Texans' health and the nation's environment.

I know some of you might be thinking that Texas has a pretty large population, and our pollution numbers probably would look better when considered per capita. But even divided per capita, Texas does only slightly better, producing 30 metric tons per person (the national average is 20). Here are the top ten states per capita:

1. Wyoming -- 125

2. North Dakota -- 80

3. Alaska -- 69

4. West Virginia -- 63

5. Louisiana -- 40

6. Indiana -- 38

7. Montana -- 36

8. Kentucky -- 35

9. New Mexico -- 31

10. Texas -- 30

Texas produces 30 metric tons (or 66,138 pounds) of pollution for each person living in the state. Isn't it time to elect some officials that will clean this mess up?

Bush Lies About Border Fence

After all the lies told by Bush and his cohorts since he took office, I guess I should be getting used to them by now -- but I'm not. Each time I get upset and wonder how America can keep putting up with a president that continually lies to us.

Last week, Bush gave an interview to McClatchy Newspapers. He discussed the proposed border fence to be built in Texas. Bush said he realized that a lot of Texas ranchers thought the fence was a bad idea, and said, "I presume we're not going to build a fence on places where people don't want it."

It took less than a week for Homeland Security director Michael Chertoff to show us Bush was lying again. On friday Chertoff said, "This is a national issue that requires a national decision. This is not a local issue." Chertoff said he would listen to local communities, but the communities would not have a veto on where the fence was going to be built.

In the final analysis, the fence is going to be built whever the Border Patrol wants it to be built. The economic impact on border farmers, ranchers and communities does not matter. The environmental impact on wildlife in the area does not matter. The relationships between Texas and Mexican cities do not matter.

The only thing that does matter is for the Republicans to look good to their bigoted supporters by building a fence. Then without accomplishing a thing, they can claim they've done something about homeland security and immigration.

Why would Bush lie about this? Bush is not very bright, and he gets flustered when he's asked the hard questions. I think he just gives the easiest answer, whether it's even close to the truth does not matter.

He's been getting away with lying to the American people for several years. Why would he change now?

Steve Gilliard Will Be Missed

He ran one of the best blogs out there. A day on the internet was incomplete without a visit to The News Blog. From the Iraq war to race issues, his words were always on target and invaluable to those of us here at jobsanger.

His absense leaves a gaping hole in the internet.

Our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

An Unrepentent Dr. Kevorkian Is Released

After serving 8 years in prison, the infamous "Dr. Death" has been released, and he is still supporting physician-assisted suicide for the terminally ill. It is believed that Dr. Jack Kevorkian has helped around 130 terminally ill patients end their lives with his "suicide machine" that allowed the patients to administer a lethal dose of potassium chloride to themselves.

Kevorkian had never been convicted of anything until he allowed himself to be videotaped and televised while giving a patient a dose of the lethal drug himself. He did this to bring the issue of physician-assisted suicide to the forefront, in the hope of getting new laws passed to legalize the procedure.

One state did legalize it -- Oregon. Between 1997 and 2006, Oregon has had 292 physician-assisted suicides, an average of about 32 deaths per year. Opponents of the procedure had claimed it would lead to widespread euthanasia, but the Oregon statistics don't support that view.

The Oregon law stipulates that three elements must be present for an assisted suicide to take place. Two doctors must determine the patient is terminally ill, the patient must have less than 6 months to live, and the patient must make the request 3 times.

Kevorkian is still pushing passage of Oregon-style assisted suicide in other states. He said, "It's got to be legalised. That's the point. I'll work to have it legalised, but I won't break any laws doing it."

I have to agree with Dr. Kevorkian. If a patient is of sound mind and has less than 6 months to live, they should be allowed to determine the time and manner of their death. It is inhumane to force someone to go through a very painful and prolonged death.

You do not help a terminally ill person by making them endure a torturous, undignified and interminable path to their death. I'm glad Dr. Kevorkian is back. Since he was sent to prison, there has been very little discussion of physician-assisted suicide. Maybe now the issue will receive the public debate that it deserves.

Welcome back, Dr. Kevorkian!

Tooting Our Own Horn Just A Little

I hope you readers will forgive me if I toot our own horn just a little today. It seems that someone was kind enough to nominate jobsanger for Best New Blog of 2006 in the Koufax Awards. Thank you to the person or persons who nominated us. You have made our day!

We share this honor with four other great Texas blogs:

Para Justicia y Libertad
Dig Deeper Texas
North Texas Liberal
Texas Kaos

I love all four of these blogs, and am proud to be included in the same category with them. If you're not already a reader of these blogs, please go check them out. They are all listed in our blogroll.

Congratulations, you guys! You deserve it.

Bush Still Not Serious About Greenhouse Gases

Yesterday, the Bush administration continued their public relations game on global climactic change, saying, "The United States takes this issue seriously." He then called for the 15 major nations to come up with a target for reducing emissions by the end of next year (which coincidently is also the end of his term as president).

But then he immediately showed he's not serious by rejecting any caps on the emissions of greenhouse gases, or agreeing to keep the temperature rise to no more than 3.6 degrees.

Instead, he wants each nation to set a "target" for reducing emissions, and then try to get to it by encouraging new cleaner technologies (even though he would not mandate the use of these cleaner technologies). This is only a stalling tactic, and not a serious effort to combat greenhouse gases. He just wants to curb any criticism before the upcoming G-8 summit.

But I think most people serious about curbing greenhouse gases know that Bush is just playing games. Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said, "All that President Bush is willing to do is engage in fruitless discussions until the very end of his administration, leaving his successor with the task of actually doing something."

If Bush was serious about controlling greenhouse gases he would sign the Kyoto Protocol, put caps on emissions and agree to a temperature rise of no more than 3.6 degrees. But these actions would force some of his corporate buddies to actually spend some of their windfall profits to benefit society. He will not do that.

Don't fall for this latest publicity stunt. Bush is no more serious about controlling greenhouse gases than he's ever been.

He's a poser, not a doer.

Casino Gambling Coming To Texas, Like It Or Not

It's widely known that Texas residents pour millions (perhaps billions) of dollars into gambling enterprises in other states, especially Louisiana, Oklahoma and Nevada. During the last campaign, some candidates supported keeping much of that money in Texas by legalizing casino gambling in the state.

But in our recent legislative session, the Republicans who control our state decided Texas didn't need the new tax revenue or the ecenomic benefits that casino gambling could bring. They quickly quashed all efforts to legalize casino gambling here.

Gamblers are going to spend that money somewhere, and killing the legalization of casino gambling did not prevent any gambling. It just assured that other states, and not Texas, will get that money.

But it looks like the efforts to kill casino gambling in Texas may have failed, at least in part. The federal government has given preliminary approval for the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas to expand its legal gambling activities on its reservation near Eagle Pass.

The tribe was limited to poker and bingo, but now can offer many other casino games such as blackjack, roulette, keno, dice games and parimutual off-track betting on horses or dogs. The only form of gambling not allowed would be slot machines, and the tribe is still fighting for that.

This sets up a battle between the state and the federal government. Texas has filed suit to overturn the ruling. Personally, I'd bet on the federal government in this fight. Texas already has several legalized forms of betting (lottery, horse racing, etc.), and will probably not be able to justify why only certain forms are prohibited.

The state government needs to stop this fight, and bring in casino gambling on its own terms, so as to get the maximum benefit from it. Fighting it means it may come under terms not advantageous to our state.

Besides, Texas can certainly use the huge new tax revenues.

New Class-Action Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart has been hit with another class-action lawsuit by its employees, claiming they were denied meal and work breaks and were forced to work off the clock. This time it's in New Jersey.

A trial judge and an appellate panel had denied class-action status, saying the plaintiffs had access to the state's Division of Wage Collection at little cost to them. But the New Jersey Supreme Court disagreed, and gave the lawsuit class-action status. It is believed that the class will contain about 80,000 workers.

The New Jersey Supreme Court said many of the low-wage workers would be hesitant to file a claim because of "legitimate fears concerning employer retaliation, lack of resources, or a sense of powerlessness when confronting their would-be corporate adversary. We cannot ignore the reality that if the proposed class is not certified, thousands of aggrieved employees will not seek redress for defendant's alleged wrongdoing."

Wal-Mart has already had to pay out big money in several other states for these kinds of employee abuse including:

$78.5 million in Pennsylvania,

$172 million in California and

$50 million in Colorado.

How many more states will it take to award judgements like this before Wal-Mart learns its lesson? All they have to do is pay a decent wage and stop making employees work off the clock. Many other American companies don't seem to have any problem doing this.

I don't understand why companies like Wal-Mart think the best place to lower costs is always to abuse their employees (except for management). They seem to have forgotten that a happy employee is a much more productive employee, while an abused employee is just trouble waiting to happen.

Wal-Mart already has falling sales numbers and a bad reputation. How much more trouble do they want?