School Bus Driver Berates Child With Conservative Beliefs

The school bus driver called a little girl a "stupid little bigot" because she said she would never vote for Obama and that she believes marriage is between a man and a woman. The bus driver has not been disciplined and continues to drive on the little girl's route.

CIA prosecution--a lawyer's perspective

Article by Richard Goolsby, a Georgia attorney and former federal prosecutor.

In my opinion, Mr. Holder’s decision raises serious criminal law and Constitutional issues about the prospect of DOJ attorneys prosecuting CIA agents who were apparently following interrogation guidelines previously approved by other DOJ attorneys.

As a former federal prosecutor, (and currently, as a criminal defense attorney), I believe the Attorney General’s decision to open this new investigation, and any prosecutions that might follow, are also a colossal waste of government resources. Moreover, they are just plain wrong! No one should condone torture, but, in my opinion, unless the CIA agents engaged in a pattern of serious abuses beyond what has been publicized, no jury in this country will ever convict them. As I have indicated before in this blog, the government must prove criminal intent in any criminal case. But if these agents were following approved guidelines, they had no criminal intent. The CIA agents just did their jobs and, in the process, thankfully, saved innocent American lives.

And thankfully, at least CIA Director Leon Panetta is reportedly defending his agents. But this new investigation also raises other serious issues. In spite of Panetta’s support, how will the prospect of political witch hunts and prosecutions affect CIA agent morale? What will be its impact on future interrogations of captured terrorists? What has happened to the “war on terror?” And why have some government bureaucrats already forgotten about 9-11?

And can anybody remember how the terrorists beheaded Daniel Pearl?

There is something wrong with the news media

You know how the news the past week has been full of stories about the bombs in Gaza? This reminded me of something Trax and I talked about when we had lunch last month.

I was asking her how things were going where she lives, in the far north of Israel. Reminding her how worried I was about her a few years ago when they were being shelled from Lebanon. She said things were OK in the north, but the southern cities were being shelled from Gaza. "Oh, yes, of course," I mumbled, trying to cover for the fact that I had not known that. A flash of irritation. Why didn't I know that. Why does our news media not find it newsworthy when Israeli cities are shelled day after day after day. Why does the United Nations not find that worthy of condemnation. But let the Israelis defend themselves, after a long period of patience, more than most any nation on Earth would show, and they are roundly condemned for shelling Gaza.

Don't search for obscure stories that I missed and tell me that there was reporting about the early shelling. I'm talking about the mainstream American media. News stories going on and on that you cannot miss, even if you are not a new hound. Because that is what is going on now. And if you are not paying attention, you might think that Israel is the bad guy. And that's not fair.

Think of what would happen if Mexico started lobbing shells at San Diego. How fair would it be if we had to sit here day after day taking it, then when we decided to defend ourselves, the world suddenly took notice and condemned us?