Democrats in a Face-Off Before Facing Jeb Bush

"If elected, Ms. Reno said she would work to provide prescription drug benefits to the elderly by negotiating rebates with manufacturers, enforce Florida's environmental protection laws more strictly and appoint an experienced child welfare manager to head the troubled Florida Department of Children and Families. A celebrity candidate who has become somewhat of an improbable pop culture figure with her dance party, fund-raisers featuring the former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell and campaign appearances with the actor Martin Sheen, Ms. Reno generates headlines and had the least to prove in the debate tonight."

Go Janet!

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Breakage

"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made."  F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby.

The Bushes come from the same class as Tom and Daisy Buchanan, but they have a whole country to smash.

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Court Calls For Open Detainee Hearings (washingtonpost.com)

"A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that the press and public must be allowed to witness immigration hearings for suspects detained in the Sept. 11 investigation, strongly rebuking the Bush administration for its policy of maximum secrecy in the war on terrorism."

This story, and the one following, illustrate the Bush administration's fundamental contempt for democracy and open government.  It would appear that Bush would prefer to govern after the model of the Roman emporers, in secret and by fiat, with the courts transformed into a rubber stamp and the legislature reduced to an impotent body of nattering old men.  Sadly, our president, such as he is, seems to have no appreciation for the constitutional structure of the country he governs, or any notion that the executive should show deference to the constitution and govern in a manner that respects the rights of the people.  Perhaps this is not surprising in a politician who was hoist into office on a minority vote.

As Bush prepares to sideline the Congress again in order to lead us precipitately into war, it is past time for the courts and the Congress to show must some courage and assert the primacy of democratic principles and the law over even the highest official in the land.  Failing that, we may well find ourselves headed for the fate of the Roman Republic.

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Bush Seeks Secrecy For Pardon Discussions (washingtonpost.com)

"The stance, taken in opposition to a lawsuit filed by the nonprofit group Judicial Watch for access to Clinton pardon records, represents a hard line that the government has never taken. In the past, executive privilege has been recognized for advisers who operate within the White House. Bush's lawyers say it covers officials in any part of the government who are asked for input about pardon requests. . . .

"In the past, even pardon recommendations sent directly to the president from the Justice Department have been routinely made public by government archivists after several years. But in response to other recent requests for historical files, separate from the Judicial Watch suit, the Justice Department under Bush is asserting the same privilege to maintain the secrecy of pardon records as far back as 75 years ago. One set being withheld on instructions from the White House deals with the clemency granted Marcus Garvey, leader of the back-to-Africa movement, who was released from prison in 1927 after his conviction for stock fraud."

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Hassell Elected Va.'s First Black Chief Justice (washingtonpost.com)

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Lord Macaulay on Virtue

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Hewlett-Packard Drops Microsoft Works in Favor of WordPerfect [New York Times: Technology]

WordPerfect has long been my word processor of choice.  I'm just sorry that they abandoned their foray into Linux.