Angry Over Hamadan

Ok, I can't quite express myself without four letter words that cannot be said in public. But let me for now, just register my anger that apparently 5 of our Supreme Court justices can't [curse word deleted] read the description of Lawful Enemy Combatants protected under Articles 3,4, and 5 of the Geneva Conventions.

(Article 4) "Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy"

* "Members of the armed forces"
* "militias...including those of organized resistance movements...having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance...conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war"
* "Persons who accompany the armed forces"
* "Members of crews...of the merchant marine and the crews of civil aircraft"
* "Inhabitants of a non-occupied territory, who on the approach of the enemy spontaneously take up arms"

(Article 5):"Should any doubt arise as to whether persons, having committed a belligerent act..." is a prisoner of war "...such persons shall enjoy the protection of the present Convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal."

Perhaps they were looking at Article 5. Except that this ruling specifically prevents military tribunal and insists on due process under US Civilian Law. So, just to make sure I've got it straight. Citizens and former citizens of US in open revolt (see Lincoln, 1861-64 or Clinton, OKC, 1995): habeus corpus may be suspended. Irregulars who routinely disregard the Geneva Conventions in prosecution of war against the US: habeus corpus applies.

Remind me to violate the Geneva Conventions when I start my revolt.

Damn, It hasn't been this hot since Jesus was Here...

According to a new study prepared by the National Academy of Sciences for the US CongressLink

"The National Academy of Sciences, reaching that conclusion in a broad review of scientific work requested by Congress, reported Thursday that the "recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia."

So, I have two thoughts:
A) Maybe my grandparents did walk uphill to school through the snow both ways.
B) This is just more proof that Jesus was tougher than AlGore. Nobody ever heard Jesus bitch about the heat. And it may have been hotter in Jesus' day. With no air conditioning. Out in the desert.

Bring Sunsets to Washington

via The Corner

Next week, the House is expected to consider both the line item veto bill as well as a sunset commission bill that evaluates whether federal programs are serving the taxpayers' interests. These important reforms complement the efforts we've already taken - including earmark reforms and the "rainy day" funds for disaster response - which support these efforts as well....

(emphasis mine)

I know that the representative from my former district in Texas, and friend of the family, Rep. Kevin Brady, has sponsored Sunset legislation for at least 8 years.

A review of all pending Sunset House Bills - there appear to be 3 of them - can be found here.

Rep. Brady appears to be the primary sponser of two of the bills, HR 3277 and HR3282.
Seeing that HR3282 has substantially more co-sponsors than either of the other two bills, it looks to my untrained eye like this is the one that is coming up for a vote.

Text of HR3282.

Good luck, Kevin. I hope this one finally gets through.

Alberto, al-schmerto

Looks like the first hurricane of the season was a bit of a tempest in a teapot. Instapundit is photoblogging from the area of my alternate HQ, and seems unimpressed by the storm.
Glenn Reynolds says: "[L]ots of noise on cable news and not much underlying substance."

Where's Frank J to defend the honor of Floridians against the evil PuppyBlender when we need him?