Boston Globe: US picks Sept. 11 as launch date for controversial security system -- "A new security system that will fingerprint and photograph tens of thousands of foreign visitors upon their entry to the United States will be launched on the anniversary of last year's terrorist attacks, the Justice Department announced Monday." The article neglects to mention that Saudi Arabia is not on the list of countries.

Tom Tomorrow: Further proof that the Constitution of the United States of America is officially an anachronism -- "Do you get it yet? Do you begin to understand the implications here, when an American citizen can be arbitrarily declared a terrorist, held indefinitely as enemy combatant -- with no evidence to support the charges?" [Via American Samizdat]

If you want to get really paranoid, check out The Final Dots, an interesting compilation of players and unanswered questions regarding 9/11 and the anthrax attacks. For example, why were Bush and Cheney taking Cipro on Sept. 10?

Rule by a potted plant:
Following up on reader comments to his 'Bush Idiot or Bush Fiend' piece, Will Pitt writes: "The great majority of respondents, however, delineated a third prospect that is far more likely, one that I failed to mention. It seems most people believe Bush has as much control over the ways and means of governing as a potted plant has control over the ways and means of the sun."

Curiously, I had a similar thought earlier today, before reading Pitt's latest column. Is Bush really bright enough to have crafted this administration's twisted accomplishments? Think puppet. Who has their hand up the puppet's back? Lots of people. Pitt mentions two obvious names: Cheney and Ashcroft. But there are lots more (Perle, Wolfowitz, et al). While it may be not be correct to lay all the blame at Bush's feet, he's the one who's got to go before we can be rid of the rest. In the interim, perhaps Bush will come to his senses and fire John Ashcroft, since the General has managed to piss off the constituency whom his appointment was designed to placate: the religious right.

Later... I think the story below is bogus, since the post is no longer at BartCop. Somebody pullin' somebody's leg??

ABC yanks Bush 'summary execution' story
An alert BartCop reader posted the now-defunct ABC link and the accompanying blurb (by Reuters) which should make any American's skin crawl:

http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters200200811_493.html

Bush OK's Summary Executions Of Some Designated As Terrorists 8-12-2002

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a surprise move sure to raise outcries from foreign governments, civil liberties groups and others, The White House today announced with little fanfare that effective immediately, certain individuals whom President Bush or other high-level Administration members have designated as terrorists are subject to summary execution by either Homeland Security operatives, U.S. intelligence operatives, and in some cases by U.S. military personnel.

The presidential directive applies to both U.S. and foreign citizens, both within and outside the United States territory.

The White House gave notice of the new policy in as quiet a way as possible, making the announcement late Sunday evening from Crawford, Texas. The unprecedented move is thought certain to generate a firestorm of protest from numerous quarters.

I can't vouch for the veracity of this story, and I can't find it on reuters.com. I'll keep my eyes open.

Got an opinion? You're a terrorist:
For readers who shrug at the above and say, "So what?", go read the USA Patriot Act, carefully crafted long before 9/11, but rushed through at midnight without Congress having taken the time to read it:

Under sections 411 and 802 in the USAPA, a terrorist is loosely defined as anyone being "a representative of a foreign terrorist organization, as designated by the Secretary of State," and domestically, anyone engaging in "activities that - involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any state; APPEAR to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; TO INFLUENCE THE POLICY OF A GOVERNMENT BY INTIMIDATION OR COERCION..."

The inclusion of the word "appear" leaves interpretation of the law wide open to subjectivity and personal whim, as anyone can rightfully claim something "appears" to be intended for a particular purpose. Note also that our first amendment right to gather in protest against what we may see as unjust government policies could easily fall under the concept of "influencing" government policy by "intimidation or coercion."

This has long ago ceased to be funny.

Jonathan Turley: Camps for citizens: Ashcroft's hellish vision [from the Los Angeles Times] --

Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft's announced desire for camps for U.S. citizens he deems to be "enemy combatants" has moved him from merely being a political embarrassment to being a constitutional menace. Ashcroft's plan, disclosed last week but little publicized, would allow him to order the indefinite incarceration of U.S. citizens and summarily strip them of their constitutional rights and access to the courts by declaring them enemy combatants. The proposed camp plan should trigger immediate congressional hearings and reconsideration of Ashcroft's fitness for this important office. Whereas Al Qaeda is a threat to the lives of our citizens, Ashcroft has become a clear and present threat to our liberties.

If this does not meet the definition of creeping fascism, I don't what does. If anyone recalls, pResident Bush promised (as though his promises are worth manure) that military tribunals and such would never be applied to U.S. citizens. Guess again. Got your passport? Welcome to the Twilight Zone. Bush should fire Ashcroft now; we can worry about impeaching Oil Slick Dick and his pet chimp afterwards.

Our donkey came within an ace of killing my favorite dog today, which has left me badly shaken, as was the dog. The dog appears to be OK. I managed to settle down after a couple of hours. Then I came in and read (above) what Chancellor Ashcroft and his simian boss have in mind. Unless Congress, and particularly the Democrats, grow a spine, we are in deep shit.

"We were initially told in the early '90s, when they began to apply the military law heavily, that it would be used only against drug dealers and terrorists." ó Hisham Kassem, head of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights, after Saad Eddin Ibrahim, an Egyptian-American sociology professor, was sentenced to seven years in prison for "tarnishing the image of Egypt." From an interview on NPR. [Common Dreams]

Will Pitt discusses the paradox of Bush leadership: "There are two possibilities. Either George W. Bush is the dumbest, most incompetent, most utterly harebrained human ever to sit in the Oval Office, or he is some dazzling breed of Uberman fiend bent upon dominion over the earth. Either he's a total dimwitted dunderhead who cannot understand a threat when it is wagged in his face, or he is an evil genius who allowed the 9/11 attacks to take place so as to enhance his political power, and now plans to attack Iraq to further entrench that power."

CNN: 'Asian Brown Cloud' poses global threat -- "In the biggest-ever study of the phenomenon, 200 scientists warned that the cloud, estimated to be two miles (three kilometers) thick, is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths a year from respiratory disease."

AP: U.S. likely to move N.M. plutonium -- "Pending a final environmental review, the Energy Department is expected to move as much as several tons of plutonium and weapons-grade uranium from a federal research laboratory in New Mexico to Nevada because of security concerns, according to documents."

UPI: Terror threat overblown, says expert -- "The response of U.S. policymakers to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is based upon an overestimate of the threat of terrorism, and ignores the lessons that can be gained from an interdisciplinary approach to the problem, according to some think tank experts who are analyzing the issue." Statistically, you're probably at greater risk driving your car.

NY Times: Rumsfeld weighs new covert acts by military units -- Congress willing, special ops forces could secretly be sent anywhere in the world to take out al-Qaeda members.

Norman Solomon: Fending off the threat of peace -- "This is no time for the U.S. government to risk taking 'yes' for an answer from Iraq. Guarding against the danger of peace, the Bush administration has moved the goal posts, quickly pounding them into the ground."

CBS: Anti-Terror 'TIPS' Program On Hold -- "A Bush administration proposal for a network of anti-terrorism tipsters is being overhauled, thanks to harsh criticism that it would encourage Americans to spy on one another. . . .'We are not going to target any company or industry that has workers that are going inside people's homes or working around people's homes,' said a Justice Department official. . . . The official said the department is 'absolutely discouraging' tips on activities from within people's homes." That was, of course, General Ashcroft's original concept. Given the level of vitriol between conservatives and liberals, the overhaul still needs to address the issue of malicious informants or feuding neighbors.

The ever-puglistic John Walsh, of "America's Most Wanted," denies that TIPS callers are being routed to his show.

SF Chronicle: Justice Dept. Official Defends 9/11 Crackdown -- Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff thinks that his boss has gotten a bum rap. "You should not think you are dealing with a bunch of barbarians. Much more than people realize, the attorney general is very, very conscious of civil liberties. In our discussions, he said he wanted people to think outside the box, but never outside the Constitution." Gosh, this is certainly reassuring. When the Bill of Rights can be twisted around like one of Dubya's pretzels, and when we have five SCOTUS justices who essentially appointed the pResident, it gives one pause.

[Macro error: Can't locate an image object named "sunset802".]

Michael Novak tries to make political hay over miners' rescue -- Saving these men marks the triumph of 'compassionate conservatism' in Novak's book. Huh???

Unions fear 'war on terror' will overcome right to strike -- Threat to national security? [Common Dreams]

David Corn ponders whether Kissinger, Quayle, Gingrich and Perle should be administered lie detector tests over the leaked anti-Saudi Arabia briefing.

Thanks, Craig, for the link for the countdown timer. :-)

NY Times: Bush rolls back rules on privacy of medical data -- "The Bush administration today formally rolled back some major protections for the privacy of medical records adopted by President Bill Clinton. But at the same time, it also set new standards for the use of personal information to market prescription drugs and other health care products."

NY Times: U.S. seeks to limit conservation law -- "The Bush administration is arguing that a major environmental law does not apply to the vast majority of oceans under United States control, a move that environmentalists say could allow military maneuvers, oil and gas pipelines, commercial fishing, ocean dumping and scores of other activities to escape public environmental review."

Reuters: Bush - Iraq is an 'enemy until proven otherwise' -- "Bush, on a four-week working vacation, was asked if Americans were prepared for casualties in a war with Iraq. 'That presumes there is some kind of imminent war plan. As I said, I have no timetable,' he replied." Let's dodge the question.

Derrick Jackson: Too much secrecy in war on terrorism -- "Gladys Kessler is the hawk-eyed schoolmarm who is clearly irritated that she has to waste so much of her time catching the leaders of our country passing secret notes, secret guest lists, and secret prisoners among each other like immature classroom pranksters." [Boston Globe]

Ron Jacobs: Iraq: The Final Storm

The lack of other more humane and democratic leaders can be traced to the vacuum created by the Israeli/US policies around Palestine and their support of reactionary and autocratic regimes in the Middle East and around the world. At one time, there were a number of revolutionary organizations and leaders in the developing world who were not religiously connected or despotic. Now, after years of covert and overt operations designed to destroy these elements, all that remains are the religious radicals and Saddam Hussein. Interestingly enough, Mr. Bush's war on his "axis of evil" may bring these two elements together in their struggle against the US empire.

Carla Binion: Before the war with Iraq, consider this

Before this nation invests trillions of dollars and spills the blood of innocents over war with Iraq, Congress and the American people should consider the following. The first Bush administration lied to and manipulated Congress, the American public and the Arab peoples in order to win support for the Gulf war. Dick Cheney was then George H. W. Bush's Secretary of Defense, and Paul Wolfitz was a Defense Department aide.

The history of U.S. behavior in the Persian Gulf demands that Congress and the American people get second and third independent opinions before relying on the current Bush administration's "facts" about Saddam's intentions and capabilities. One good source on the subject is former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark's "The Fire This Time" (Thunder's Mouth Press, 1994.)

Geov Parrish: America's Most Frightening - John Ashcroft meets surreality television -- "Up until Dave [Lindorff] broke his story, the FBI was handling citizen tips by directing participants to give their information to America's Most Wanted."

Will Pitt: Lies, damned lies, and White House lies -- "The White House has denied ever being briefed by outgoing Clinton administration officials about terrorism, or their plans to attack it. The Berger quote predicting the Bush administration's focus on Al Qaeda has been floating around for a while now, yet no one saw fit to refute it until now. Someone is lying." (If you missed the Time report, check it out.)

Paul Krugman: The Memory Hole -- "Every government tries to make excuses for its past errors, but I don't think any previous U.S. administration has been this brazen about rewriting history to make itself look good. For this kind of thing to happen you have to have politicians who have no qualms about playing Big Brother; officials whose partisan loyalty trumps their professional scruples; and a press corps that, with some honorable exceptions, lets the people in power get away with it." (NY Times, free registration required)

MWO: "Mr. Krugman had been identified as 'ground zero for conservative commentators' by Lucianne Goldberg. There are daily, relentless attacks against him by Andrew Sullivan and others who cannot tolerate even one voice of dissent. The right is in a state of Krugman-induced panic, faced with the prospect of a journalist working at a major newspaper who not only knows how corrupt Bush, Inc. is - but knows how to convey it to the public and with no compunction toward apology or whitewash."

An MWO reader also wonders: If we are "at war," why is Bush taking a another one-month vacation?

George Monbiot -- "There is something almost comical about the prospect of George Bush waging war on another nation because that nation has defied international law. Since Bush came to office, the United States government has torn up more international treaties and disregarded more UN conventions than the rest of the world has in 20 years."

[Macro error: Can't locate an image object named "gwbDuh".] Time: Could 9/11 have been prevented? -- This pretty much puts the lie to the administration's insinuation that "it was all Clinton's fault." There were a lot of detailed plans presented to the new Bush administration as to how to deal with al-Qaeda; but the Bushies fiddled around, focusing instead on a missile shield in outer space, wasting time re-packaging the Clinton administration plans as "a Bush plan." Bah.

Robert Parry: Bush's conspiracy to riot -- "After the incident [when well-dressed Bush supporters roughed up Democrats in Miami during the recount], Bush personally thanked some of the participants at a celebration paid for by Bushís organization. Since taking office, Bush has further rewarded some of the participants with high-level government jobs. But the biggest reason for the very different government reactions to the Chicago Seven case and the Brooks Brothers Riot is obvious: the ultimate beneficiary of the Miami riot is now president of the United States." [Consortium News]

Donald Winters: Bush's words cast an Orwellian shadow across America

Indeed, George Bush's "War on Terrorism" is in many ways a reincarnation of America's "red scare" of the 1950s. It too was used to justify the growth of a war economy, suspension of democratic rights and the silencing of dissent.

The U.S.A. Patriot Act defines a "domestic terrorist" as anyone who "violates the law and is engaged in actions that appear to be intended to influence the government by intimidation or coercion." Such a broad definition might have been used against the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who in fact used civil disobedience to fight segregation and racism.

AP: Judge Orders Detainee Names Release -- "The order by U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler gives the government 15 days to comply and allows only two exceptions: if the detainee is a material witness to a terror investigation and if the person being held does not want to be identified." It will be interesting to see if this ruling is simply ignored, as other court decisions have been, or if it will appealed further by the Justice Dept.

The FBI, presumably under directions from (Attorney) General Ashcroft, wants to give members of Congress lie-detector tests in the wake of 'leaks' of information. "Investigators are trying to determine who leaked information to CNN about communications in Arabic that made vague references to an impending attack on the United States. The communications were intercepted by the National Security Agency on September 10." [CNN]

"The general consensus is that nobody is going to take them," one congressional source said. "I don't think anybody wants to start that precedent." [Reuters]

Be sure to read Rev. Rich Lang's April letter to George Bush:

The Spirit of Death rises, and nations tremble. We the people of the United States tremble. We discover how truly powerless we have become. Our military budget grows to obscene levels, bankrupting the social infrastructure from which our security and freedom rise. We see basic medical care costs increase, even as more and more Americans find themselves without health care. We see environmental treaties subverted, ignored, and disappeared, even as Mother Earth signals increasing distress. Labor rights are made secondary to the rights of corporations, resulting in wage reductions and growing financial insecurity. Homelessness exposes itself through tented cities. Education becomes the victim of budget knife cuts. A few benefit but the groan of the masses is growing. Whose side are you on, George?

U.S. pilots stay up taking 'uppers' -- "U.S. jet fighter pilots, responsible for at least 10 deadly 'friendly fire' accidents in the Afghanistan war, have regularly been given amphetamines to fly longer hours. The exact drugs pilots are given and how they're taken is outlined in a 24-page document obtained by The Star, produced by the Top Gun fighter training school and the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory in Pensacola, Fla." It is not clear yet if amphetamine use was involved in the incident in which four Canadian soldiers were killed by a U.S. bomb in Afghanistan. [Toronto Star]

Jeremy Scahill: The Saddam in Rumsfeld's Closet -- "Senior officials later told reporters they did not press for punishment of Iraq at the time [when Iraq used nerve gas against the Kurds] because they wanted to shore up Iraq's ability to pursue the war with Iran. Extensive research uncovered no public statements by Donald Rumsfeld publicly expressing even remote concern about Iraqís use or possession of chemical weapons until the week Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, when he appeared on an ABC news special."

Jim Crogan: Another FBI Agent Blows the Whistle -- "When FBI counsel Colleen Rowley dropped her bombshell, a now-famous letter to the director, detailing how bureau higher-ups thwarted attempts to investigate accused 20th hijacker, Zacarias Moussaoui, before the September 11 attacks, she set off a firestorm. The scorching produced a mea culpa of sorts in June from FBI Director Robert Mueller and a promise of reform. Now there's another whistle blower telling a similar pre-9/11 tale. And so far, the FBI has gone to great lengths to silence him." The interesting subtext to this story is the possibility that Timothy McVeigh acted in conjunction with Middle Eastern operatives, an idea that the FBI has denied and has apparently avoided investigating.

Harken Energy is revealed to have set up an offshore subsidiary in the Cayman islands during G.W. Bush's tenure. "...A Bush spokesperson justified the Harken offshore entity stating that, since Harken never made a profit, Harken never was able to use the offshore company to lower its taxes."

Dahlia Lithwick: What was Moussaoui's Crime? -- "No one is arguing Mr. Moussaoui is innocent. It's increasingly clear he was training for a different mission, and good lawyering will allow us to prosecute him for whatever he intended to do. But as egregious as Mr. Moussaoui's sins may be, our legal system must reflect the principles by which we live: no one should be found guilty of a crime he did not commit. Unless we intend to try every Qaeda member we can find with capital conspiracy for Sept. 11, we must try Mr. Moussaoui for whatever crimes he committed, and not for the crimes we wish we could avenge." (NY Times, free registration required)