Jeffrey Goldberg talks to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who following his appointment of a Muslim judge became a target of anti-Muslim conservatives he dismissed as "sharia crazies," saying "this sharia law business is crap." “I think al-Qaeda would like it to be a clash of civilizations. They want it to be everybody versus everybody. They are a terrorist movement that believes the only way to achieve their ends is through violence, and they don’t discriminate, they kill Muslims who disagree with them. They certainly didn’t worry about whether there were any Muslims in the towers on 9/11.” I asked him if he thought his denunciation of the “crazies” would hurt his standing in the Republican Party. “What happened was motivated by ignorance and political opportunism, but I think it’s actually bad politics, because most thinking and voting Americans think that no one should be excluded from office because of their religion,” he said. “A deep faith in God is part of what makes...

Following last Friday's post on the two separate torture civil cases former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is facing, a third case involving two more American citizens working for an Iraqi contractor who claim they were tortured while detained in Iraq was given the go-ahead by a federal judge. That makes three cases in which Americans -- not foreigners, who conservatives erroneously argue aren't entitled to constitutional protections -- are suing former Bush officials over the torture policies approved by the previous administration. Two of the three have been allowed to go forward, the third, filed by Jose Padilla, who was convicted of terrorism conspiracy charges was dismissed by a judge and is being appealed by the ACLU. As Josh Gerstein reports , Rumsfeld's attorneys continue to argue that Americans tortured by their own government aren't entitled to a remedy unless Congress explicitly says so: "Today’s decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals is a blow to the U.S...

Drew Westen's piece yesterday highlighting Obama's failure to tell an effective "story" that would have led to Congress laying down and embracing a more progressive agenda is probably a cathartic read for liberals disappointed with Obama. It does, however, have quite a few problems -- namely the notion that "the public was desperate for a leader who would speak with confidence, and they were ready to follow wherever the president led." I mean hardly -- mostly the country was relieved that Bush was no longer in office. But it doesn't actually matter what the public wanted. What mattered was what Congress was willing to pass. And Congress was willing to pass a watered-down stimulus. I'll say that I largely share Westen's critique that Obama bears a large degree of responsibility for failing to adequately address the country's economic problems. I think Obama should have started with a larger opening bid, and failing that, should have pushed hard for a second stimulus. The administration...

We probably won't all be killed by apes. The story of black Mormons. How to respond to the Somalia famine. The Jerusalem Post apologizes for its Islamophobic post-Oslo editorial.

Even if you're an American citizen, the government can detain you indefinitely and torture you, and there's nothing you can do about it. Cutting through the legalese, that's the gist of the argument lawyers for former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are arguing in two cases involving the indefinite detention and alleged abuse of two American citizens. One, Jose Padilla, who was convicted on terrorism charges, is well known. The other is a John Doe, a veteran and defense contractor who was detained in Iraq and subject to so-called enhanced interrogation techniques. Both men are suing Rumsfeld and the government over their treatment. The cases aren't entirely the same, but they share enough of the basic legal issues that they're worth talking about together. Earlier this week, Judge James S. Gwin ruled that Doe's case could go forward. Doe was on a marine base in Iraq when he was detained and was housed with suspected insurgents who were supposedly encouraged to attack him -- sort of...

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