Norquist. No jail time.

* tpmm:

"The worst that could happen to Norquist, according to Sloan, would be for the IRS to crack down on ATR. His group would lose its 501(c)3 status. That would result in hefty fines, and his donors would be mighty upset, since their contributions would suddenly become taxable. One of the pillars of the modern conservative movement would be disgraced. Pretty bad. But there's not really a criminal case to make against Norquist. No jail time."

boooo

* emptywheel:

"While the actions that led to this decision (Hudson v. Michigan) are different than the actions that led Bush to issue one after another Executive Order allowing all manner of surveillance of the American people (except insofar as Bush nominated Alito), they're both the end-products of a deliberate attempt to shift the law to allow more authoritarian practices. For a lot of people, though, the government tapping your communications or datamining your call data or combing through your bank records is really abstract. Apparently, the notion of cops just barging in your house, warrant in hand, is more concrete. The sanctity of the home, after all, feeds into all the stern daddy self-perception of many on the right. So I think as we try to arouse those on the right to do something about increasing surveillance, this is the example we ought to highlight.

I strongly believe the push for more conseravtive judges has more to do with an interest in expanding corporate rights and government powers than it does choice. Maybe this case will make it easier to demonstrate to moderate Republicans the consequences of their campaign to change the judiciary."

* AP:

"The Iraqi government declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew Friday after insurgent gunmen set up roadblocks in central Baghdad and opened fire on U.S. and Iraqi troops just north of the heavily fortified Green Zone.

With just two hours notice, the prime minister ordered everyone off the streets of the capital from 2 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Saturday. U.S. and Iraqi forces also were engaged in firefights with insurgents in the dangerous Dora neighborhood in south Baghdad."

good grief.

* ron at RawStory:

"The Senate Democratic Policy Committee (DPC) will be holding a special oversight hearing on pre-war intelligence relating to Iraq Monday, RAW STORY has learned.

"If we're going to get things right when it comes to Iran, North Korea, and other national security threats, we need to learn what went wrong in the case of Iraq," DPC chairman Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said in a statement."