So far, I hear a whole lot of hot air, but not a single lawyer in the country has done one thing to disbar or impeach these guys.

Lost in this nonsense is the actual role of government lawyering. Perhaps the most important reason we have government lawyers is to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed" even when laws are ambiguous and especially when no one is looking.

The politicization of the Justice Department and of the rule of law was among the worst offenses of the Bush administration. How to make it right or "accountable"? I thought prosecution was the best answer until I heard Elizabeth de la Vega on KO's show today make a point about how a special counsel and grand jury might "close off the public narrative." How accountability is achieved she didn't say (she's a committed progressive), but she seems to think there is no slam dunk on indictments, just as happened with Libby whom Fitz got on perjury but nothing of substance. The whole Plame case went under the rug. Documents related to torture and illegal surveillance would fall under GJ secrecy as well, so we might end up blind and without any accountability at all.

De la Vega believes this is happening now with special counsels looking into the CIA tape destruction and the US attorney firings. They are ways of taking these cases off the public front burner, shutting them up and burying them. A truth commission, however, seems to me toothless.

This is mildly off thread, then yet again it opens an area right to the point that needs further debate as raised by Mr. Shane.

"This is an amazing performance . . . . In defining `severe pain' for emergency health insurance purposes, Congress was presumably creating a very narrow entitlement to fill a hole in a much more comprehensive scheme of health insurance. This has nothing to do with levels of brutality appropriate to military detainees. Looking at health insurance statutes to determine the meaning of torture is a little like defining the rules in a `court' of law by looking up the rules that apply to a basketball `court.'  It is more of a play on words than serious lawyering."

Here is what jumps out at me with this Professor's statement and which seems that he is a person of compassion looking for "natural laws" that help the electorate. Showing American in this article how the government does create standards. Here, through torture, a forced principle to define insurance guidelines in the American free market! Yikes, Very extraordinary and is this the real reason for the defense of water boarding. Sheesh, likely America needs to look at all those government standards Bush and Company installed.  

But when I  watch Joe Scarbough on MSNBC presenting his arguments  with what seems to be the attitude of ha, ha I know something you don't know. Which he does know, a great deal, and has known for some time. As in this latest issue of torture, the news organizations being embedded in the war  and making a definition, with forced interrogation is striking, astounding and morally diminishes the basic American dream. He is a fool for avoiding to  report this very important fact. Americas morality in the free market freedom of speech has breached the basic meaning this discussion, totally is evidence of how free speech treachery by corporate entities is wrecking America.    

More over this coupled with the national election data bank information MSNBC and the two CNN, and FOX on a continuous bases showed during the election the American news networks ability to identify the economic categories  with very instant demographic reliable reports are definitely controlling the news. What I am trying to say is these reporting agencies these networks know what is happening in this inner circle of the political struggle yet always appearing to ask questions like they do not know what is ahead or what is going on. This is the perfect evidence of the networks complicity with powerful political connections to be able to govern through media persecution. They do it every day which is wrong.

These network have brought America to this point in this crisis especially now defining insurance rules for emergency health care! My God, My God My God...these issues needs to be totally transparent, everyone involved needs to fess up. Thank you Jeralyn, and thanks to all on this blog to present this in a rational and functional way. This has to be that high stake Bush was taking about. Bush has to have the worse mind anyone in politics could have for centuries...

They made stuff up as they went along to nourish their delusions.