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Talk is Cheap With North Korea, But Trade ...

Alexandra GutierrezNov 19, 2009

Today, Obama leaves Asia having made no headway on the issue of North Korean denuclearization. In Japan, China, and South Korea, the president reaffirmed each country's commitment to bring North Korea back to the Six-Party Talks. But it's not clear how much good that would do: Pyongyang remains as unpredictable as ever. For the past decade, North Korea has participated in eight rounds of these negotiations -- a process aimed toward ending DPRK's nuclear program that also involves the United States, Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea -- and it's been rewarded with gradual loosening of economic sanctions. The outcome? A trail of broken pledges and two nuclear tests, the most recent one in May.

Faith and the Stupak Amendment.

Sarah PosnerNov 19, 2009

The Catholic bishops have gotten a lot of attention for the role they played in pushing the Stupak amendment -- and the House health-care bill -- over the finish line. While there's no doubt the bishops applied the midnight pressure, their role is just one piece of how Democrats yearn for the godly imprimatur.

Conservative Populists Don't Need Time Travel to Be Incoherent.

Tim FernholzNov 19, 2009

socialism_trickleup.jpgMatt Yglesias observes the appealing incoherence of the Right, in contrast to the coherent but politically unpleasant and morally questionable policies that the administration has been forced to carry on to prevent economic collapse.

Obama, Holder, And Due Process.

Adam SerwerNov 19, 2009

I think Daphne Eviatar is exactly right to point out that Eric Holder's comment that "failure is not an option" in the 9/11 trials sounds eerily similar to one made by Pentagon General Counsel William Haynes on the military commissions prosecutions years ago. Haynes' statement that “We can’t have acquittals. If we’ve been holding these guys for so long, how can we explain letting them get off? We can’t have acquittals. We’ve got to have convictions," was used by civil liberties groups at the time to argue that the military commissions were reverse engineered to ensure convictions.

Andy McCarthy vs. Thomas Paine.

Adam SerwerNov 19, 2009

Yesterday, during Attorney General Eric Holder's appearance before the Senate, the right-wing blogosphere crowded around National Review "legal expert" Andy McCarthy as he exposed the "whoppers" in Holder's testimony. Let's take a look at these -- I'll excerpt as much as possible since McCarthy's post is long.

The "tragic shooting" at Ft. Hood. What happened at Ft. Hood was a jihadist massacre — a terrorist act, not a tragedy.

Benedict Tells Leaders Food Insecurity is a Moral Failing.

Nancy ScolaNov 18, 2009

pope_benedict_451.jpg

Former Bush Official Defends Civilian Trial For KSM.

Adam SerwerNov 18, 2009

I just got off a conference call held by the Council on Foreign Relations, featuring former adviser to Condoleeza Rice, John B. Bellinger, and National Security expert Steve Simon. Simon has an op-ed in the New York Times today supporting the decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed in civilian court.

Eric Holder: "We Are At War."

Adam SerwerNov 18, 2009

Attorney General Eric Holder is set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, and his prepared remarks focus heavily on justifying the decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed and the other alleged 9/11 conspirators in federal court. Holder points out that civilian courts have been used very successfully over the years to prosecute terrorists, that the Classified Intelligence Procedures Act will prevent sensitive information from leaking out of a trial, and that KSM's hollow indictments of the United States will be no less present in a military commission than they would be in a civilian court.

The Return Of The Fifth Category.

Adam SerwerNov 18, 2009

Marc Ambinder points to this Washington Post article that appears to describe exactly how many detainees at Guantanamo Bay fall into the so-called fifth category, those detainees who are "too dangerous to let go" but against whom we have scant evidence to prosecute:

Time to Try Government as Employer of Last Resort.

Alexandra GutierrezNov 17, 2009

With the unemployment rate the highest it's been in 25 years, The Roosevelt Institute asked historians, economists and other public thinkers to reflect on the lessons of the New Deal and explore new, big ideas for how to get America back to work. TAPPED will be cross-posting the 10-part series with the New Deal 2.0 blog. In this installment, Marshall Auerback calls for government to step in as employer of last resort.

D.C. Board Of Elections And Ethics Rejects Gay Marriage Referendum.

Adam SerwerNov 17, 2009

Over at DCist, Sommer Mathis gives us the latest from the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, which was asked to consider whether a referendum on gay marriage would violate D.C.'s human-rights law by putting the civil rights of the LGBT community up to a vote. Like the question of whether recognition of gay marriage from other states should be subject to a referendum that the Board considered earlier this year, the answer was a no-brainer:

Jim Wallis Inevitably Steers the Debate on Stupak to Religious Persecution.

Scott LemieuxNov 17, 2009

I've already written too much about Jim Wallis' apologia for the odious Stupak-Pitts amendment. Suffice it to say that if we were to take Wallis' argument seriously, we wouldn't need health-care reform at all: After all, the current system doesn't literally ban private insurance for people who can't afford it, so access must not be a problem, right? Still, this strawman demands a response:

New York On Terror Trials: We Ain't Neva Scared.

Adam SerwerNov 17, 2009

Eric Kleefield looks at the results of a new Marist poll showing a narrow majority of New Yorkers like the idea of trying the alleged 9/11 plotters in the city:

"Do you think it is a good idea or a bad idea to have this trial located in New York City?" the poll asked. The answer is 45% good idea, 41% bad idea, with a ±4% margin of error.

Also, New Yorkers don't seem to be quite as frightened as the GOP about potential security problems:

Could Khalid Sheik Mohammed Be Released? No. Not Ever.

Adam SerwerNov 17, 2009

Yesterday on MSNBC, Sen. John Cornyn suggested that it would be safer to try 9/11 suspects in military commissions because -- I'm paraphrasing here -- you wouldn't have to worry about them "being released." He then added, without irony, that military commissions could "protect the rights of terrorists." Orwell lives: Under what circumstance is a procedurally assured conviction protecting the rights of the accused?

Annals of the Senate Moderates: Blanche Lincoln.

Tim FernholzNov 17, 2009

blanche_Lincoln.jpgBlanche Lincoln merits the profile treatment in the Post today, and boy, she is having trouble making up her mind about health care. We can talk about where she is on the facts (absent) -- "I would not support a solely government-funded public option," Lincoln says.

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