We hold that although Congress authorized the detention of combatants in the narrow circumstances alleged here, due process demands that a citizen held in the United States as an enemy combatant be given a meaningful opportunity to contest the factual basis for that detention before a neutral decisionmaker.

Yaser Esam Hamdi v. Donald H. Rumsfeld

"The following discussion addresses the requirements of international law, as it pertains to the Armed Forces of the United States, as interpreted by the United States. As will be apparent in other sections of this analysis, other nations and international bodies may take a more restrictive view, which may affect our policy analysis and thus is considered elsewhere."

Defense Dept. Torture Memo

This is a good study, and sharply revealing about the extent to which most people seek positive reinforcement and fail to question their views.

CNN and Fox are to news as MTV and VH1 are to music, on several levels.

In a country increasingly divided into red and blue states, the media are taking on a more partisan coloration as well -- at least in the eyes of those who read and watch.

Republicans have come to distrust the media in greater numbers since President Bush took office. Democratic views are mostly unchanged.

26 percent of Repulicans say CNN is credible. 45 percent of Democrats say CNN is credible.

CNN was quick to declare victory. "We're obviously pleased -- once again we've been voted the most trusted news organization in America."

CNN and Fox News should be deeply ashamed -- not pleased -- by these results. Instead they simply spin the numbers to reinforce their own self image, which is really a microcosm of the way most of the audience interacts with the media.

On eBay, when considering whether to bid on an item, you may be inclined to review the past performance of the seller, as measured by those who've conducted prior business.

If you found that 74% of previous buyers found the seller's claims about the product to be not credible, would you place a bid?

The Average American selling bric-a-brac on eBay is more credible than "America's most trusted news source." Hrm.

I know! -- how about an eBay for news? Like, a small-town swap meet instead of a Simon mall. Wait a minute ...

The survey also uncovers what might be called the Iraq effect, with 52 percent saying they track international news closely, not just when important developments occur, compared with 37 percent two years ago.

Tom, you're feeling the Iraq effect.

Trust Matters. MemeStreams Builds Trust. MemeStreams Matters.

Fewer Republicans Trust the News

Those who disagree with Mr. Gore should challenge him on his facts. Those who agree must look for ways to defend the honor and perhaps the very identity of the United States as we've known it.

Bob Herbert says "Gold Star!"

A Speech That's No Joke

Mr. Secretary, I have enormous respect for your character and ability. But your loyalty to the President goes too far.

This is the text of John Brady Kiesling's letter of resignation to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. Mr. Kiesling is a career diplomat who has served in United States embassies from Tel Aviv to Casablanca to Yerevan.

US Diplomat's Letter of Resignation

The resignation on principle is electrifyingly rare. Cyrus Vance, over Carter's ill-advised rescue mission in Iran; William Jennings Bryan, over Wilson's tough line toward Germany: that about does it for the twentieth century. It will make you a national figure, part of a trend of women whistle-blowers.

The Resignation Principle

Tom gave this speech a gold star. Although I do not give this speech my own gold star, I am glad that Tom chose to do so, and I'm also glad I made the suggestion about gold stars.

This speech is a mixed bag. It is significant and newsworthy, so it is worth reading for that reason on its own. Gore also makes several good points that are worthy of further discussion and consideration.

However, he alternates frequently (and frustratingly) between roles. At one moment, he plays the honest American citizen who is deeply concerned about the (mis)behavior of his government. At the next, he is jockeying for political position, blatantly playing for cheers and ovations from a partisan NYU audience. A speech half as long would have been twice as good if he had been willing to put politics aside and speak thoughtfully, honestly, candidly, and critically to the American public. If he then found himself with time left over, because the talk was of a predetermined duration, it would have been a pleasant surprise to hear him offer some concrete, constructive ideas. The closest he gets is to hearken back to the fundamental (but abstract) principles of American democracy, talking about "the founders" and quoting Jefferson.

Without directly saying it, he gives the impression that he would repeal the Patriot Act if he were in power. Yet it was the Clinton-Gore FBI director who recently made the case for ever more expanded authority in this regard, including the reinstitution of bans on the export and use of strong cryptography.

In the absence of this speech, I would not have thought to criticize Al Gore because he did not have the Answer to our Problems. It is never easy to develop a solution to a complex problem, and it is even harder to make that solution succeed in practice. But it is disappointing to see him make this speech, which (notwithstanding its truth) is so uniformly and unflinchingly negative and critical of the Bush administration, without offering anything resembling a coherent alternative beyond a laundry list of "Don'ts." Sadly, this only serves to diminish the sincerity and impact of the valid, important questions he has asked. His prescription can be summarized in a single word: Change. Thanks, but I kind of already knew that.

I was both surprised, and on some level, impressed, I think, by his call for Tenet's resignation. It gave me pause to reconsider the basic problem with the common interpretation of a resignation in the modern world. I have been quite conflicted of late regarding the notion of a Rumsfeld resignation, and it was refreshing to see a public figure call for the resignation of a friend while still retaining respect for that person.

Anthony Zinni was on Charlie Rose earlier this week, and the hour-long interview should be up on the web within the next few days. It is well worth the time, and I highly recommend it. I would consider giving the interview a gold star if not for ... [ Read More (0.2k in body) ]

Gore Speech

The Undersigned

Abolish the Ghettopoly Mentality!

"Conservative institutions have been more dogged and focused in their approach than liberal ones." This is certainly so; greed and selfishness are great motivators.

The mistake of small and large "d" democrats was to think that society had gotten past them, and to stop fighting vigorously for such equally durable counter-ideas as fairness, justice, equality and reason.

Liberals don't suffer from a lack of ideas of how to change our nation for the better. But we have been losing ground because so many of us have chosen an approach that leaves us thinking "I need to convince my representative how important (name of political issue) is" instead of choosing to run for office ourselves.

You might call it The Petition Mentality.

Liberals Are Down but Not Out

The person who charted the course into Iraq and who bears ultimate responsibility is not Mr. Rumsfeld but Mr. Bush -- and his bosses will get a chance to fire him in November.

Sticking Up for Rumsfeld