Goodbye Posse Comitatus: Army Begins Permanent "Dwell Time" Missions Oct 1

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Wednesday September 24, 2008 · 7:36 AM PDT

2008/09/24 · 07:36

According to the September 8 Army Times, the Army will deploy its first ever full-time combat unit within the borders of the United States, starting October 1. While troops have previously been mobilized within the US, as they were to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, employing combat troops in any extended capacity to serve as domestic law enforcement is in open violation of the Posse Comitatus Act as it has been historically interpreted from its passage in 1878 until its dismantling under the Bush Administration.

Still, there has not been a full-scale deployment of troops within the borders of the United States since the end of the Reconstruction. This 130-year restriction on the use of military for civilian policing will end on October 1, 2008. As noted in the Army Times article:

thisniss

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Wednesday September 03, 2008 · 8:34 PM PDT

2008/09/03 · 20:34

I just got a text from a friend in Baton Rouge, who asked me to help him get the word out about what's happening in the wake of Hurricane Gustav. Since the press has moved on to the GOP convention and HurriMcCain Palin, they don't seem interested in covering the after-effects of the storm in the Gulf Coast. In the meantime, 700,000 people throughout the Gulf region still don't have electricity. And while the response to this hurricane is incomparably better than the "heckuva job" done during Katrina, the need to make things look good for the GOP may be causing some problems, too.

thisniss

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Wednesday April 09, 2008 · 10:04 AM PDT

2008/04/09 · 10:04

If you're looking to gauge Obama's chances of winning the NC primary, there is certainly no shortage of polling to suggest that he will carry the state. But if you want solid proof that North Carolina is Obama Country, consider this: Michelle Obama's appearance in Raleigh yesterday drew a record-breaking crowd of over 5,500 people.

From UNC-Chapel Hill's The Daily Tar Heel:

Dan Leistikow, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, said the event attracted 3,000 more people than Michelle Obama had ever before brought in when speaking by herself.

thisniss

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Friday February 29, 2008 · 2:54 PM PST

2008/02/29 · 14:54

It's been an exciting week in the North Carolina Senate race! Jim Neal filed his candidacy papers yesterday, declaring his intention to seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Elizabeth Dole's re-election in the fall. This diary is a link-heavy, narrative-light list of "updates" on the Jim Neal campaign for supporters and those who would like to know more. I will try to do a better job of filling in the story later, but for now I wanted to make sure that folks knew the following:

Jim will be liveblogging over at firedoglake tomorrow at 2:00PM EST, to celebrate his endorsement by Blue America PAC. This will be a great time to get to know what this campaign is about, so please come by.

thisniss

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Tuesday January 29, 2008 · 6:46 PM PST

2008/01/29 · 18:46

According to this article, John McCain is considering withdrawing from public financing, leaving John Edwards as the only candidate still in the race who has agreed to run his campaign on FEC public funding.

The Politico piece goes on to discuss Senator McCain's rationale for considering this retreat from public finance - one which would obviously damage his credibility, given his long-standing record on the question of campaign finance reform. Apparently, the principle concern for the McCain campaign rests on the fact that the funds will not be available until well after Feb 5. Although both Edwards and McCain qualified for matching funds in December, 2007 (around $8.8 million and $5.8 million respectively), the funds are disbursed from the "$3 Tax Checkoff" program - which means that the money becomes available as 2007 tax returns begin to trickle in. (I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm a perpetual April filer... )

thisniss

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Tuesday December 06, 2005 · 12:04 PM PST

2005/12/06 · 12:04

Just wanted to say today that I love my representative, David Price (NC 4th, the dark blue island in a mostly red state). Yesterday, he joined David Obey, Barney Franks, and Tom Allen in unveiling a major reform proposal. You can read about it at Price's website: Cleaning (the) House, or go to Think Progress to read/view an interview with the "Reform Four" (my new nickname -- does it sound superheroish enough?)

My favorite Price quote from the interview:

It certainly isn't a matter of the two parties being equally culpable here. The Democrats have pushed every step of the way for ... a process that is truly bipartisan with an equal division of members in authority on that ethics committee and Republicans have resisted every step of the way. It's a good thing that the press is finally paying some attention to this and I hope the result will be, if nothing else, to shame them into doing their job.

thisniss

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Saturday November 19, 2005 · 7:49 PM PST

2005/11/19 · 19:49

I wanted to share this posting ("Hello, Mom? What Makes a Source Reliable?") by the NPR Ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin, in which he responds to a question about NPR's sourcing practices. In his reply, Dvorkin lays out a standard for sourcing that I would love to see endorsed by the mainstream media as a whole. (not holding my breath).

I am not a journalist, but a lowly grad student and instructor at an "R1" public university (big, highly-ranked, state-funded). Public universities, like public radio, serve the public as their primary function; my job is to help my students learn to think critically so they can fully participate in public life as citizens of a democracy. Beyond raising heartrates and ire, the Plame scandal has brought to the surface of our collective American consciousness some vital questions about information and transparency in our government and media (or more accurately, about disinformation and the lack of transparency). The question of "sourcing" is a reflection of these larger sore subjects. Read More

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Goodbye Posse Comitatus: Army Begins Permanent "Dwell Time" Missions Oct 1

Gustav's Full Impact NOT Sufficiently Reported

Michelle Obama's record-breaking NC crowd

UPDATED: Jim Neal: NC-Senate

Will Edwards be the only matching funds candidate?

I love my Congressman: Democrats for House Reform

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