National Security Archive Update, April 17, 2008 – Ruling on Preservation of White House E-Mails Awaited; New Law Proposed to Address Destruction of Electronic Records
For more information contact:
Meredith Fuchs – 202/994-7000
Washington, D.C., April 17, 2008 – Today, the White House sought clarification from the court concerning its ability to restore missing records from backup tapes that are currently being preserved. The White House inquiry comes as the National Security Archive continues to await a ruling by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on its pending motion to extend an e-mail preservation order against the Executive Office of the President (EOP) and to depose relevant witnesses about the state of the White House’s e-mail archiving system.
A new bill to establish procedures to assure the preservation of electronic federal and presidential records was introduced this week by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D-MO), and Rep. Paul W. Hodes (D-NH) (H.R. 5811), but that bill would have no effect on the e-mails that are the subject of the pending lawsuit. A new chronology of events in the White House e-mail lawsuits was also published on the Web today by the Archive.
Visit the Web site of the National Security Archive for more information about today’s posting.
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Library of Congress – Constitutional Law: State Secrets Privilege
Constitutional Law: State Secrets Privilege
The Law Library of Congress is proud to present four constitutional law items focusing on the State Secrets Privilege. The two articles, one statement to Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, and one statement to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary are available in their entirety in PDF on our Web site.
Louis Fisher, “The State Secrets Privilege: Relying on Reynolds,” 122 Pol. Sci. Q. 385 (2007). The George W. Bush administration has invoked the state secrets privilege as an absolute bar to litigation whenever the administration determines that the disclosure of agency documents would harm national security. The cases involve such areas of law as NSA surveillance and extraordinary rendition. This article analyzes the Supreme Court case relied on primarily by the administration, United States v. Reynolds (1953), which for the first time recognized the state secrets privilege. The Court’s decision did great damage to the integrity of the judiciary, the rights of private litigants, and the constitutional system of checks and balances.
Statement by Louis Fisher, presented to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of the House Committee on the Judiciary, “Reform of the State Secrets Privilege,” January 29, 2008. Following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, assertions of the state secrets privilege pose a greater threat to constitutional government and individual liberties in such cases as NSA surveillance and extraordinary rendition. Even if it appears that the administration has acted illegally, the executive branch advises federal judges that a case cannot allow access to documents without jeopardizing national security. Self-interested executive claims may override the independence of the federal judiciary, the corrective mechanism of checks and balances, and the right of private litigants to have their day in court. Congress needs to enact legislation to strengthen the adversary process that we use to pursue truth in the courtroom.
Statement by Louis Fisher, appearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, “Examining the State Secrets Privilege: Protecting National Security While Preserving Accountability,” February 13, 2008. The state secrets privilege is now a central issue and Congress is the appropriate branch of government to supply much needed procedures and governing principles. It is critical that we be able to rely on an independent judiciary to weigh the competing claims of litigants and preserve the adversary process. No litigant, including the executive branch, should be presumed in advance to be superior to another. The executive branch is not entitled to “utmost deference” or even “deference.” In the past, federal courts have been misled by executive claims about national security, including in the seminal case of United States v. Reynolds (1953).
Louis Fisher, “People v. State: Security Secrets Must be Weighed Against American’s Broader Interests,” Legal Times, October 1, 2007, pp. 66-67. In recent cases involving state secrets, federal judges typically put the plaintiff’s interest on one side of the scale and the government’s interest (or “national interest”) on the other. Under this test, the individual can be guaranteed to lose every time. Judicial analysis following this standard protects neither the plaintiff nor the nation. There is no national interest in picking up the wrong person (Khalid el-Masri, for example) and keeping him in prison for five months. El-Masri was not merely presenting his own interests. He represented every individual, U.S. citizen or alien, who wants to avoid a similar fate. Judicial deference to executive claims does not protect the national interest or the system of checks and balances.
http://tinyurl.com/4e73kg (www.loc.gov)
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Baloch Nationalism and the Geopolitics of Energy Resources: The Changing Context of Separatism in Pakistan
Authored by Dr. Robert J. Wirsing.
The author examines the energy context of the simmering Baloch separatist insurgency that has surfaced in recent years in Pakistan’s sprawling Balochistan province. In particular, he looks at how Pakistan’s mounting energy insecurity–a product of rapid increase in demand coupled with rising scarcity and the region’s intensified energy rivalry–has both magnified the economic and strategic importance of this province while at the same time complicating Pakistan’s efforts to cope with the province’s resurgent tribal separatism. The author concludes that Pakistan’s government needs to overhaul its counterinsurgent policies to avoid protracted conflict and to enlist the Baloch as partners in energy development, not antagonists of it.
http://tinyurl.com/4o7elq (www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil)
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Gas Will Be $4.50 Per Gallon By August In Georgia
If gas companies already know what the price of gas will be in August, isn’t that “price fixing?”
By William Cormier
http://tinyurl.com/5xsm27 (/www.opednews.com)
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U.S. gasoline prices to rise despite slowdown: EIA
16 Apr 2008
Drivers should not be fooled into thinking a weak economy and less gasoline use will help lower pump prices any time soon, the federal Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. [LOL, of course! See: Exxon Mobil CEO gets $21.7 million pay package after record year 10 Apr 2008 Exxon Mobil gave chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson an 18% raise to $21.7 million.
http://www.kten.com/Global/story.asp?S=8148522 That's according to an analysis of a proxy statement filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Irving-based Exxon Mobil's $40 billion profit last year again broke the record for a U.S. company.]
At:
http://tinyurl.com/4gnw7e (www.reuters.com)
From: CLG News
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Why Are Global Food Prices Soaring?Energy costs, investment in … and more
Slate – USA
In 2006, 14 percent of the total corn crop in the United States was converted into ethanol; by 2010, that figure will rise to 30 percent.
…
http://www.slate.com/id/2187882/
Time for Second Thoughts on the Ethanol Mandate
Heritage.org – Washington,DC,USA
by Ben Lieberman
America’s energy policy has been on an ethanol binge, and now the hangover has begun. The federal renewable fuels mandate is an unfolding …
http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/wm1879.cfm
U of M: Worldwide leader in ethanol debunking
Minneapolis City Pages – Minneapolis,MN,USA
Several studies at the University of Minnesota are cited to show the impact of widespread Ethanol demand. A study by University of Minnesota ecologist David …
http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2008/04/u_of_m_worldwid.php
End the Ethanol Scam
Liberty Maven – Reston,VA,USA
The latest from DownsizeDC.org urges us to tell congress to stop wasting our tax dollars on the devastating scam of ethanol production. …
http://www.libertymaven.com/2008/04/07/end-the-ethanol-scam/1016/
Ethanol, Oil and Corn
By Richard K. Perrin
When will ethanol plants stop being built? Ethanol plants under construction in Nebraska will have the capacity to grind over 40 percent of the Nebraska corn crop by the end of 2007, and nearly 60 percent by the end of 2008. …
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/agecon_cornhusker/304
Ethanol’s lie
Tribune Review – Pittsburgh,PA,USA
From Time magazine to the Internet blogosphere, critical analysis is revealing ethanol not only as a useless fuel alternative but also as an environmental …
http://tinyurl.com/4re9nj (www.pittsburghlive.com)
Guest letter: It turns out ethanol is more of a problem than a …
Minneapolis Star Tribune – Minneapolis,MN,USA
Since 1986, Minnesota lawmakers have actively encouraged the development of a sizable state ethanol industry. We now have 17 operating ethanol plants in the …
http://www.startribune.com/local/west/17593319.html
Ethanol subsidies a double-whammy
DAVID A. RIDENOUR:
Belleville News Democrat – IL, USA
Move over “Bridge to Nowhere,” there’s a new poster child of congressional waste and avarice – ethanol, the “Fuel to Nowhere.” Ethanol leads only to higher …
http://www.bnd.com/285/story/313547.html
End the ethanol folly for food’s sake
By SHNS
To paraphrase the late, great William F. Buckley, Jr., someone must stand athwart the federal ethanol program yelling, “Stop!” The emergency brake should be pulled – NOW – before ethanol wreaks further havoc. read more.
http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/32438
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Business Outlook Survey: Manufacturers Report Continued Weakness – FRB Philadelphia
The following information is now available on the Philadelphia Fed’s website:
Manufacturers Report Continued Weakness
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia today released April’s Business Outlook Survey. Activity in the region’s manufacturing sector continued to weaken this month, according to the firms polled for this survey. In the special questions, firms were asked about changes in demand and plans for capital spending since the beginning of this year.
http://www.philadelphiafed.org/econ/bos/
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Boortz: Teachers unions “do more damage to this country than all the drug pushers together”
Neal Boortz asserted that “the single most dangerous entity, group of people in this country right now are the teachers unions,” adding that “[t]hey do more damage to this country than all the drug pushers together. … If I had a button right now, two buttons — push this button and it gets rid of all the drug dealers; push this button, it gets rid of the teachers unions — I’m getting rid of the teachers unions.”
Read More
http://mediamatters.org/items/200804170009?lid=242166&rid=6952125
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Borowitz Report – Debate Shocker
Gibson Trounces Stephanopolous in Crucial Debate
Asks Twice as Many ‘Gotcha’ Questions as TV Rival
In what many considered a must-win contest for the two ABC News personalities, Charles Gibson handed rival George Stephanopolous a resounding defeat in last night’s televised debate.
With over ten million viewers watching, the stakes were high for the two ABC rivals to see who could pepper the candidates with the most so-called “gotcha” questions.
Gibson drew blood first, smothering the presidential candidates with so many trick questions that he immediately seemed to put Stephanopolous on the defensive.
An aide to Gibson later summed up the secret to the ABC anchor’s decisive victory: “He didn’t let the candidates talk too much, and he made sure that this debate would be about Charles Gibson and nothing but Charles Gibson.”
After the debate, a downcast George Stephanopolous tried to put the best face on his own performance, telling reporters, “It’s not the quantity of gotcha questions you ask, it the quality, and I think my gotcha questions were better than Charlie’s gotcha questions.”
For his part, Gibson seemed to relish drubbing his ABC colleague.
“George can spin it anyway he wants,” Gibson said. “But anyone who saw that debate knows I kicked his little ass.”
Andy’s Only West Coast Appearance – April 24
Andy makes his only scheduled West Coast appearance Thursday, April 24 at University of California, Santa Barbara. 8 PM at Campbell Hall. Tickets available at https://artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.eduAndy with Calvin Trillin, Susie Essman and Jonathan Alter – May 13
Andy hosts “Countdown to ’08″ on Tuesday, May 13 at 8 PM at the 92nd St. Y with his special guests Calvin Trillin (bestselling author, The New Yorker), Susie Essman (HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Jonathan Alter (Newsweek, MSNBC). The Y is located at 92nd St. and Lexington Avenue. For tickets, go to www.92y.org .Andy at Mark Twain’s House – May 28
Spend “An Evening With Andy Borowitz” at the Mark Twain House and Museum in Hartford, Connecticut on Wednesday, May 28. Event begins at 6 PM. For tickets and information call Janet Youmans at 860-280-3113 or email Janet.youmans@marktwainhouse.org
http://www.borowitzreport.com/
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three thousand words
Deb Milbrath: I thought I might have to kiss his ring
http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoons/MilbrD/2008/MilbrD20080418_low.jpg
Dick Locher: you, too?
http://img.slate.com/media/58/080417_ed.gif
Ann Telnaes: how will I exist without affordable fuel??
