Others have made the case more eloquently than I. The Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld cabal sold this war to the American people with lies and fear. It has cost, to date, some $748 BILLION dollars, 4500 American lives and the deaths of countless innocent Iraqis.  As a lawyer, I always hear that we are a nation of laws. Then now let those laws be enforced. Let those who avoided service when it was their turn now be accountable to the American people for this tragic farce.

Attorney General Holder: Go to work.

Now I admit to being something of a Constitutional nerd. I hand copies to each new class I teach and tell them how vitally important it is that they get acquainted with it. Well, in getting ready for the forthcoming semester, I am reminded of Article VI, Clause 3, which reads in relevant part:

“…no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or Public Trust under the United States.”

Tricky document that Constitution.

In a criminal case, a jury must render a unanimous verdict for either acquittal or conviction. When a jury cannot reach a unanimous verdict, the result is a hung jury, or in legal lingo, a mistrial.

When there is a mistrial, the law allows the prosecutors a do-over. That means the bumblers in the U.S Attorney’s office get to spend our money to try the case all over again. And no, the doctrine of double jeopardy does not apply to mistrials. Almost as soon as the result was announced, the lead prosecutor, a hot shot named Patrick Fitzgerald, said how he was going to retry Blago.

Prosecutorial behavior often amazes me. Because they are armed with our money, every time they have an axe to grind they can just try, try and try again. I’m no fan of Blago, a bungling clown in his own right, but I question the motives of a prosecutor who could only get a guilty verdict on 1 of 24 counts. If he wants to pout because his slam dunk case just bounced off the rim, let him do it…but on his own dime.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFC8mNdxV0c

Of course other cops showed up. Then they realized it was one of their own who pulled the gun. He got away. With a police escort.

Shame.

Health care. During the campaign the President was a proponent of universal health care. Not anymore. The President offered no plan of his own, leaving it to that impotent debating society known also as Congress. The health care bill we’re about to get does nothing to reform health insurance, where the true change is needed.

The economy. Unemployment at 10%? Continued bailouts? Stimulus? Who stimulated what for whom? The same old crew who oversaw the economic collapse is still in charge. Wall Street rebounds while regular folks keep getting laid off. Again, instead of genuine economic reform, all the current leadership seems to be doing is looking to restore the status quo ante.

The war(s). Escalation in Afghanistan? Secret incursions into Pakistan (can you say Cambodia 1970?). And a Nobel Peace Prize?

His TV commercials are very misleading. His offer is too. So, as my old Latin teacher used to say, “caveat emptor” (let the buyer beware).  And don’t try his product.

There is something Teddy, quoting his brother Jack, said that helped me clarify my own political philosophy. It also helped me clarify my view of the world. They are words to live by. I put those words here today in the hope that they will continue to inspire me, and perhaps others.

“If by ‘Liberal’ they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal,” then I’m proud to say I’m a “Liberal.”

RIP.

Well Penn State University, the 11th member of the Big Ten, has a solution. According to the Associated Press, the Nittany Lions have promulgated new tailgate party rules. So when you head up to State College this fall you’d better be sure to pay close attention. As a public service to our readers, here is the rule in a nutshell:

If you party on the concrete parking lots, you can drink. If you party on the grass parking lots, you cannot drink.

Forewarned is forearmed.

What does this have to do with Chester County? Up until earlier this year our county had a program in place designed to address drug policy on several fronts. Known as Recovery Court, this was a demanding program that combined punishment (including incarceration), very strict supervision and rehabilitation. Recovery Court brought together law enforcement and the health-care community. It was successful in punishing offenders while rehabilitating them and deterring drug use in our county.

So what happened? The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania stopped funding the program. Recovery Court was well regarded by citizens, the district attorney, health-care professionals, even defense lawyers. It was a model of optimum cooperation among various competing constituencies. It is, for now, extinct. We all realize that Harrisburg is not a bottomless well for funding programs like these. Recovery Court was not glamorous. It wasn’t a job creator, or a revenue generator. What it did do was address the drug problem, head-on, from all the necessary perspectives. It helped clients of mine.

What does this have to do with poppy planting in Afghanistan? Our federal government funds an Afghan government that is, effectively, the world’s largest drug dealer. American men and women die in support of that government. Meanwhile, an effective anti-drug program goes under for lack of money. I know there is a difference between federal and state funding. But couldn’t the two just get together once in a while. It just might save some American lives from the darkness of drug addiction.

In a soon to be released book (doesn’t that figure), Ridge states that President Bush’s political operatives wanted the threat index raised just before the 2004 presidential election. Ridge concedes this was based on political opportunism rather than the security of our nation. How’s that for a blinding glimpse of the obvious? Of course, Ridge didn’t quit or go public. That makes this tardy admission irrelevant, immaterial and useless. He, like Colin Powell, knew the Bush administration was playing fast and loose with the truth about national security. And Ridge, like Powell, did nothing to stop it.

So, if you bother to buy this book, or borrow it from the library, remember this: Tom Ridge is no political hero.