[Good liberals DiFi and Schumer throw Bush a lifeline. Nice work. Always good to see torture enabled. Leading to this kind of headline: Bush attorney general nominee gets boost. Way to go, DiFi, Chuck. I knew you could do it. I’m proud of you.]

Leahy’s going to vote No on the Mukasey nomination.

I hope this is on the grounds of Mukasey’s views on overweening executive power**, rather than merely (!!) on torture, though I congratulate the Democrats on actually managing to frame the “waterboarding” issue properly.*

Now, if we can just make sure the nomination never comes to the floor, I’d really be doing the happy dance.  Read more 

[Updates below on blogosphere, media coverage.]

The only problem with firing all the attorney’s who weren’t “loyal Bushies” and who were investigating Republicans—Lam—or wouldn’t smear Democrats—Iglesias?

The Explainer didn’t do his job. But then, does he ever? From Bush’s speech today at 5:45:

[BUSH] The Justice Department, with the approval of the White House, believed new leadership in these positions would better serve our country. The announcement of this decision and the subsequent explanation of these changes has been confusing and, in some cases, incomplete. Neither the Attorney General, nor I approve of how these explanations were handled.

I’ll bet.

We’re determined to correct the problem.

And how! Er, I mean, and how?

[BUSH] It will be regrettable if they choose to head down the partisan road of issuing subpoenas and demanding show trials when I have agreed to make key White House officials and documents available.

Sweet Jeebus! Since when is testifying under oath about potential obstruction of justice a “show trial?” Talk about overheated rhetoric! And since when does the executive determine who gets to testify before the legislative branch? And who said the exective gets to throw out chaff and then call it “unpredented disclosure”? Gosh, it’s almost like Bush wants to be the judge and jury in his own case, isn’t it?

Unbelievably, Bush takes questions. (So where’s “Jeff Gannon” when we need him to throw The Explainer some softballs? Under Karl’s desk?)

And speaking of obstruction of justice, Bush doesn’t speak of it:  Read more 

Via Jersey C, we find that the Black Day of October 17 was a little, well, more fascist than we first thought. Say it with me kids: “ICE Detention and Removal Operations.” At least Leahy complained about it. I’m sure the rest of the Senate was just too busy to be bothered to read the fine print:

Public Law 109-364, or the “John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007” (H.R.5122) (2), which was signed by the commander in chief on October 17th, 2006, in a private Oval Office ceremony, allows the President to declare a “public emergency” and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to “suppress public disorder.”

President Bush seized this unprecedented power on the very same day that he signed the equally odious Military Commissions Act of 2006. In a sense, the two laws complement one another. One allows for torture and detention abroad, while the other seeks to enforce acquiescence at home, preparing to order the military onto the streets of America. Remember, the term for putting an area under military law enforcement control is precise; the term is “martial law.”  Read more