Will this man be fired?

Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. Will he be forced to hand over his resignation to President Bush because of the controversy involving the firing of 8 U.S. Attorneys? A lot of the political pundits are saying that things don't look good for Mr. Gonzalez.

This case is all about separation of powers. The struggle right now is whether Congress will issue subpoenas (court orders) to White House aide Karl Rove and former White House legal counsel Harriet Miers. The White House doesn't want them to have to testify under oath, with transcripts made of their testimony. They claim that under the doctrine of "executive privilege" a President's advice and consultation with his staff should be protected from Congressional oversight. Congress says it doesn't want conditions put on their testimony, and as a part of their oversight role, should be able to fully investigate whether prosecutors were being fired for not following Bush's political agenda.

Dispute Over Executive Privilege Divides Congress and White House

Panel Approves Five Subpoenas on Prosecutors

We will see how this continuing story unfolds....

Fourth Anniversary of the War in Iraq

One of the many stories I read about Iraq this past week cited a poll that over half of Americans now believe it was the wrong decision to take military action in Iraq.

Well, the decision has been made and the following stories continue:

• Is the troop surge making any difference?


• What action will the Congress take to bring an end to the American presence in Iraq?

Lots of protesters exercised their 1st Amendment rights around the country last weekend expressing their opinions on the war. What do you think about all of this? What would you like to see done now?

Some reading on this:
US public's support of Iraq war sliding faster now
House Democrats Weigh Plan for Iraq Withdrawal
Protesters Mark Fourth Anniversary of Iraq War

Bush Pleads for Patience in Iraq on War’s Anniversary

I'll try to add more links here - if you see some you like, pass them along.

"Bong Hits 4 Jesus" Case to Supreme Court

The "Bong Hits 4 Jesus Case" was argued before the Supreme Court today. Surely, James Madison and the rest of the Framers didn't have this type of "smart-ass" humor in mind when they adopted the First Amendment, but I think the student in question has a good case that he shouldn't have been disciplined for waving his banner.

This case is built on a 1960's student free-speech case known as Tinker v. Des Moines. In it, the Supreme Court did rule that students had a right to political expression. (Mary Beth Tinker, a high school student at the time of the Vietnam War was disciplined for wearing a black arm band as a sign of protest against the war.)

Check out the details on this case and let me know what you think. To read a preview of the case published last week, check out: Justices to Hear Landmark Free-Speech Case Next Week.

A story on the oral arguments today can be read at Court Hears "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case.

I read part of the 71 page transcript and it is pretty good (and entertaining). If you have Adobe Reader, you can check it out here: Read the transcript of Supreme Court oral arguments

The case has been named Morse v. Frederick.

Commentary on Khalid Shaikh Mohammed

After getting to read and digest some of the news about Khalid Shaikh Mohammed , my main reaction is disappointment in how our government has been handling the war on terror over the past several years. I found myself in agreement with a lot of the things written in this column by Newsweek's Micheal Hirsh: KSM case: How not to win the war on terror

Some Stories Catching My Attention this week...

Ok, I don't have much time to comment yet, but here are a few headlines I've found interesting:

The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, has reportedly confessed. I mentioned this in class today. He has taken credit for dozens of terrorist attacks. Here are some articles on the topic: Suspected Mastermind Of 9/11 Confesses; Terror Suspect Said to Confess to Other Acts; Can KSM's Confession Be Believed?; Mohammed Confession Leaves Room for Skepticism

Senate Debates Resolution Calling for Iraq WithdrawalKnight Ridder/Tribune News Service.March 14, 2007
WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans will buckle down Thursday to try to prevent passage of a Democratic resolution that calls for getting most American forces out of Iraq by March 2008

Pentagon Report Acknowledges 'Civil War' in Iraq
March 15, 2007 · The Pentagon's quarterly update to Congress on the Iraq war is out, and the assessment is grim. For the first time, it uses the term "civil war" to describe the violence in Iraq.

Committee Endorses Bill to Give D.C. Full Voting Rights in HouseThe Washington PostMarch 14, 2007
A congressional committee approved a bill yesterday granting the District a full vote in the House of Representatives, giving the measure its first victory in what will probably be weeks of fierce wrangling as it moves through Congress.

Report: Federal Spending on Children Dropping
March 15, 2007 · An Urban Institute report indicates that the share of the federal domestic budget devoted to children is falling. Researchers say the number could drop even more in coming years.

WASL Time: and the State Legislature is pondering what to do about the high-stakes test - Students start taking WASL; lawmakers debate its future

Other local and state issues: (Keep in mind bills must pass both houses of the legislature and be signed into law by the governor.)
Sex-education bill passes state Senate
Students return to school after suspended for praying
Ban on cellphones for drivers advances
State Senate passes a variety of education bills
House approves simple majority approval of school taxes
WA House passes measure to inform parents about HPV

UPDATES: Senate rejects timetable for troop withdrawal
Sen. Pryor: Attorney General lied to the Senate

Were Attorney Firings Political?

And if so, should heads roll?

The flap over the firing of several U.S. attorneys has grown bigger this week, and it seems to have a strong connection to things that went down right here in Washington State after the close race for governor in 2004. One of those fired was John McKay, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington. (Read below for details)

It has been front page news and these firings are looking more and more like they have been motivated by politics. One result is that several Democrats and one Republican in the U.S. Congress are calling upon Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez to resign, even though he testified before Congress and admitted mistakes were made.

Firings furor puts Gonzales on hot seat

McKay "stunned" by report on Bush

GOP chair called McKay about '04 election

Gonzales Vows to Fix Attorney System in Face of Criticism

Some News involving Constitutional Issues

Not all of these stories are the biggest news items of the week, but they involve some interesting Constitutional issues:

School district sued over graduation held in church03/08/07 The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Newark public school district, saying a school's decision to hold its graduation ceremonies in a Baptist church violated a Muslim student's religious freedom.

Another First Amendment issue involving the "establishment clause" is involved in this story: Conn. Supreme Court Hears Dispute Over Building of Buddhist TempleMarch 7, 2007 Is the Connecticut town denying religious expression or just upholding a reasonable restriction to keep the town from getting overcrowded. What do you think?

Is random drug testing of high school student-athletes an unreasonable violation of the Fourth Amendment's ban on illegal searches and seizures? This debate has been going on for a few years, but is in the news once again. N.J. Debates Effectiveness of Steroid Tests for High School AthletesMarch 8, 2007

What about police who refuse to obey a Court order that they conducted an illegal seizure? What happens when state and federal laws conflict? You can read or listen to this story from NPR: Court Orders Police to Return Medicinal Marijuana In Santa Rosa, Calif., a judge is holding police in contempt of court for not returning the medicinal marijuana they confiscated from a man during a raid. The case highlights the conflict between state and federal drug laws

Other big stories this week:
Did good government lawyers get fired because of their political affiliation? Some think so. Eight lost their jobs, leading Democratic lawmakers to try to rein in presidential powers. The battle over fired US attorneys

Heavy imprint of Libby verdict
The conviction Tuesday of onetime Cheney chief of staff I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby adds to a list of White House woes.

A huge story involved the poor conditions some Iraq & Afghan War Veterans are facing at home. A big expose was done on conditions of some of the buildings at Walter Reed Army Medical Base. US Army scrambles to clean Walter Reed 03/05/2007
Another look: The problems at the US Army hospital show how strained military resources have become - How decay overtook Walter Reed

NYC Bans the N-Word, Anniversary of Civil Rights March

The theme of race was in the news the last few weeks. It caught my eye, that although not an enforcable law, New York City has passed a ban on the use of the "N-word". (See Racial slur banned in New York.)

Does it make sense to you for a city government to take this action (especially in light of the fact that it is of questionable constitutionality given the First Amendment's protection of free speech)? Many in New York are disturbed that many young people believe it is okay to use the word as a friendly greeting, even those that are not African-American. I think that while this law will have little impact, it is good for government to make a principled stand on the use of what has been called the ugliest word in the English language. It remains a very offensive word to many.

The BBC reported on this, and had an accompanying article on the controversy over the modern usage of the word by the so-called "hip-hop" generation. It is written by a woman of mixed race that calls herself a "reformed n-word user". Check out her thoughts: Should racist word be rehabilitated?

In a related story, today (Sunday) was the anniversary of the attack on civil rights workers in Alabama in 1965. "Bloody Sunday" as it was called, and the outraged that followed the attack helped give momentum to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. (See Jubilant Crowd Recreates Selma March.)

Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton were on hand as both candidates are wooing the vote of African-Americans. (See Clinton, Obama Link Selma March to Present.)

Should Bush and Cheney Be Impeached?

For a long time, I'd been very supportive of this idea. I do think that terrible decisions, and more significantly, deceptive and selective use of intelligence data were used to get our nation into a seeminly endless war in Iraq.

But now that Bush can no longer count on a Republican majority to support his efforts, he is already less powerful. Also, he can't say that the majority of the people support his war policy. Without any sort of impeachment, he is already a president with significantly less power.

So is impeachment a wise thing to do in this case? Among those who don't is Seattle Times editorial writer Danny Westneat. Read his column here.

What do you think?