Today's Question

post from TalkLeft on 18 January 2008 11:49:00 PM. © TalkLeft

Since President Bush doesn't believe that lying to federal investigators or grand jurors really deserves punishment (at least in the case of his friend and fellow rascal Scooter Libby), do you suppose he'll commute the sentences of Pro Bowl defensive lineman Dana Stubblefield or Olympic medalist sprinter Marion Jones?

Oh, and to all the disgruntled Republicans who complained that nobody gets charged or convicted or punished for what Scooter Libby did -- tell that to Stubblefield and Jones.

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Axelrod Responds

post from MyDD on 18 January 2008 11:33:36 PM. © MyDD

The rally just ended and guess what's back? "Fired up! Ready to go!" Somewhat annoying but it makes sense since it originated in South Carolina and now it's going to serve as the "onward to South Carolina" rallying cry. Overall, the rally, (now that I've[...]

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Death Sentence Commuted After Lawyer Receives
Permission to Reveal Misconduct

post from TalkLeft on 18 January 2008 11:33:00 PM. © TalkLeft

If there is a nightmare that haunts criminal defense attorneys, it is being forced to remain silent when speaking out would prevent an innocent man from going to prison ... or worse. That was Leslie Smith's dilemma after he watched prosecutors coax his client, William Jones, to change his story so that it would match other evidence. Prosecutors used Jones to convince a jury that Daryl Atkins shot a man to death, resulting in a death sentence (later vacated) for Atkins.

“As he began to describe the positions of the individuals and the firing of the shots,” Mr. Smith said last month, referring to his client, a prosecutor “reached over and stopped the tape recorder.” ... The problem was that Mr. Jones’s account did not match the physical evidence. “This isn’t going to do us any good,” Ms. Krinick said, according to Mr. Smith.
For 15 minutes, Mr. Smith said, prosecutors coaxed and coached Mr. Jones to produce testimony against Mr. Atkins that did match the evidence.

After being told by ethics authorities for years that he could not reveal the prosecutor's misconduct, Smith finally received approval from the state bar's ethics authority to tell what he knew.

His testimony caused a state court judge in Yorktown, Va., to commute the death sentence of Daryl R. Atkins to life on Thursday, citing prosecutorial misconduct.

Smith's pursuit of the right result saved Atkins from facing the possibility of a second death sentence. Let's hope both Smith and Atkins can finally sleep easy.

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Open Thread

post from Crooks and Liars on 18 January 2008 11:30:35 PM. © Crooks and Liars

“Bush wants to believe” [click image for larger] by Darkblack, whose work is occasionally way too hotfor open thread, ha. Open Thread below….

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Open Thread and Diary Rescue

post from Daily Kos on 18 January 2008 11:16:21 PM. © Daily Kos

(Tonight's selections are brought to you courtesy of the Rescue Rangers. SusanG)

This evening's Rescue Rangers are plf515, watercarrier4diogenes, Got a Grip, dadanation, ezdidit, YatPundit, Louisiana 1976 and joyful, with Patriot Daily as editor.

Tired of the candidate wars and hacks? Rangers to the rescue of some outstanding diaries:

In a passionate story with plenty of evidence and statistics, Vyan indicts our criminal justice system with examples of racism and slavery in Guilty Until Proven Innocent. (ezdidit)

Chris Rodda continues his discussion of the truth behind our nation's religious history in More Reasons To Fight H. Res. 888. (YatPundit)

With his diary, The U.S. Economy in Decline: What Stagflation Tells Us, Geenius at Wrok ponders if this economic disaster was planned. (ezdidit)

smokeymonkey brings us up-to-date on The Status of the Polar Bear in its fight for survival hampered by big oil interests. (joyful)

Public transportation is important for both people and the environment, and nclefty notes some of its benefits in Rail: Stimulus where we need it. (joyful)

Telecom immunity: two edges to the blade, from Randgrithr, clarifies several questions, pointing the way to a reading list of unclassified information for your review. (ezdidit)

First-time diarist wils02 shines some light on a problem that affects far too many of our soldiers in Concussions in Combat. (Got a Grip)

markthshark explores another abomination being visited on yet another unspoiled habitat at the hands of our government in Alaska's Emerald Isle is Losing its Soul. (Got a Grip)

Not that we didn't see this coming, but Lefty Coaster gives us the damning specifics on why Bush's Middle East trip is a resounding failure. (watercarrier4diogenes)

Here's another great addition to Teh Orange Dialog. Seth Pearce speaks intelligently (and acts even more so) on The Student's Role in American Education. (watercarrier4diogenes)

BenGoshi packs a lot of story into not a lot of diary in Apprentice Torquemadas in Spaaaaaace! which details more of the insanity of the Bush Administration's war on science. (dadanation)

MsSpentyouth sends the Bush Administration a Dear John letter in her adorable Hon, we need to talk. (joyful)

YatPundit tells the story of NAS New Orleans, our first Reserve Air Training Center, and the University of New Orleans, in Gentilly Friday And NOLA Kossacks Open Thread. (Louisiana 1976)

Come enjoy the whistle of wind, the crunch of ice, and other wonders of nature as shruticounseling shares The Sounds of Winter On Our Homestead. (joyful)

va dare has Top Comments 1.18.08 Got Mail?

Enjoy and please promote your own favorite diaries in this open thread.

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Late Night Music Club with Aswad

post from Crooks and Liars on 18 January 2008 11:00:49 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Americans aren’t that familiar with Aswad. People in the rest of the world are. These British reggae/r&b rockers have released over 20 albums since the 70s. “Don’t Turn Around,” one of their biggest hits, came out in 1988– although the Ace of Base cover became even better known. Most C&L readers are probably aware that [...]

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Late Night FDL: W[h]ither Rush

post from Firedoglake on 18 January 2008 11:00:00 PM. © Firedoglake

You may have been wondering why conservative stalwart Rush Limbaugh is so enthusiastic about a candidate who was, until recently, a pro-choice socialized-healthcare-supporting not-evangelical-christian government-interventionist tax-raising moderate[...]

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Tom Ridge: 'Waterboarding is torture'

post from AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth on 18 January 2008 10:28:00 PM. © AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth

Thanks. That much is obvious to anyone with a brain but where the hell was this guy when times were tough? It's great to hear people like this speak out but I've about had it with them all saying nothing when we really need them. What, does he want to get a new job or something? Is that why he's now talking? My lasting memory of Ridge is him scaring the American public with ridiculous terrorist warnings that turned out to be false, time after time. Great for election victories, but not so great for the supposed leader of the free world.

"One of America's greatest strengths is the soft power of our value system and how we treat prisoners of war, and we don't torture," Ridge said in the interview.

Wonderful, but I always thought one of our greatest strengths was telling the truth and not just leaning on the word "democracy" when it was convenient. Where was our value system when Ridge was at Homeland Security? What an ass.

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Brief Thoughts on the 4th Annual Young People For
Summit

Drinking Liberally Shot of Truthby Josh BolotskyI am biased when it comes to Young People For -[...]

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Bill Clinton's Final Case For Hillary

I just got back from a Bill Clinton townhall at a local community center where he eloquently and passionately (what else?) made the final case for Hillary. It was a relatively small crowd, 200 or so people, and far more male than I was expecting,[...]

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