"A federal judge ordered the Bush administration Monday to either charge terrorism suspect Jose Padilla with a crime or release him after more than 2 1/2 years in custody.

U.S. District Judge Henry Floyd in Spartanburg, S.C., said the government can not hold Padilla indefinitely as an "enemy combatant," a designation President Bush gave him in 2002."

It's about F-ing time. Actually it was about F-ing time two years ago. If Padilla is a POS terrorist, charge and try him. Or release him - thats the LAW. Can't help but wonder if the real reason the govt. is dragging their feet is that maybe their case is flimsy with a massive loophole that could let him walk.

While I agree totally with Judge Floyd's ruling, I expect it to be over turned by a higher court... and so it will start all over again. *sigh*.

LB

We'll see, I'm not so sure. These guys tend to go odd ways on some things, but I'm not sure the Supremes are willing to let anyone have that kind of power. Too bad it will still take a while before it gets there.

Judge 'Charge or Release Padilla'

] The problem comes, it seems to me, when we try to collate
] fairness with sameness, logic with theory, and social
] justice with scholarly taboos. Larry Summers may have
] said a foolish thing, but the fact that such innocuous
] words at a vaunted university of "liberal free speech"
] caused an uproar makes me wonder if we don't need to do
] some deeper thinking about the true principles of
] feminism.

This is one of the reasons I like Georgie. She manages to recast what was a polarizing comment back into a reasonable discussion. This is why she's that "nice old lady" and Ann Coulter is a screeching harridan.

DISCERNING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'FAIR' AND 'SAME'

] The tapes raised questions about mistreatment and
] misconduct, however, said the investigators, who
] suggested some clips needed more scrutiny to rule out
] abuse. The military has cited 10 substantiated cases of
] abuse at Guantanamo, and announced Tuesday an extension
] would be granted for an investigation to interview of
] witnesses in the United States and abroad.

Is anyone surprised?

AP: Videos Show Guantanamo Prisoner Abuse

] The Army is now planning to keep at least 120,000
] soldiers in Iraq for the next two years to train and
] fight with Iraqi forces against insurgents, a senior Army
] general said yesterday.

Quagmire doesn't begin to describe this debacle.

U.S. troop level likely at 120,000 for 2 years

] Police say that after two men robbed the woman, one of
] them called the victim on his cell phone to apologize and
] to ask her out on a date.
]
]
] The victim, 18, declined the request, instead giving the
] cell phone number to police, who arrested Brent Brown,
] 25, on Thursday.

And again, something with no real point, just funny.

ABC News: Cops: Alleged Robber Calls Victim for Date

] "It's not a terrible loss," Army Burns, spokesman for the
] Pentagon's Iraq Project and
] Contracting Office, told the Los Angeles Times.

Wait... the SPOKESMAN's name is Army Burns??? I think we've found our Bagdhad Bob!

Major US contractor withdraws from Iraq reconstruction effort: report

] The provision would apply to all schools, elementary
] through college, that receive federal aid. Education
] groups worry that the provision could be the opening
] wedge in a campaign by Washington to influence what
] schools teach.
]
]
] Byrd carries a copy of the Constitution in his breast
] pocket %u2014 over his heart %u2014 and often waves it on
] the Senate floor. He lamented in a recent speech that
] even some of his colleagues in Congress didn't know fully
] what it said. "An informed public is our best defense
] against tyranny," he said.

I'm not especially in favor of saying teach this or teach that, but this is one I'm 100% in favor of. Way to go Robert Byrd!

Yahoo! News - Mission to Mandate Teaching of Constitution Inserted Into Bill

] "The Bush Administration is spending millions of dollars
] on abstinence-only programs that mislead people at risk
] of HIV/AIDS about the effectiveness of condoms," said
] Rebecca Schleifer, another Human Rights Watch researcher.
] "Exporting these programs to countries facing even more
] serious epidemics will only make the situation worse."

"AIDS? Isn't that the gay disease?" Thanks W...

Groups Says Condom Limits Sap AIDS Fight

] But it's unclear whether a drawn out conflict will have
] an affect on military academies. While war can stir up
] patriotism and boost interest in military careers, the
] long, unpopular war in Vietnam was thought to have
] depressed application rates to West Point.
]
]
] "I really have seen it dwindle in the last year, and that
] to me is curious," Brenda Melton, a counselor at the
] Navarro Academy in San Antonio, said. "I think part of it
] is that the war is a major topic and they see people
] getting killed over there and not everyone is in
] agreement with it."

Curious, although not surprising.

Military Academy Admission Down

] The Bush administration announced Wednesday that it will
] run out of maneuvering room to manage the government's
] massive borrowing needs in two weeks, putting more
] pressure on Congress to raise the debt ceiling when it
] convenes for a special post-election session.

Lovely. Cut income taxes, cut corporate taxes, invent a "birth tax."

Yahoo! News - White House: Debt Ceiling Must Be Raised