Michael Leon is a writer living in Madison, Wisconsin. His writing has appeared nationally in The Progressive, In These Times, and CounterPunch. He can be reached at maleon64@yahoo.com.
Friday, September 14, 2007 The Next Attorney General (1 comments)
The one person Bush will not nominate is an intellectually honest, rule-of-law individual who would actually investigate the administration's many misdeeds, and that is precisely who the country needs.
Thursday, September 13, 2007 Wisconsin US Atty Defies DoJ and Says He'll Testify Under Oath
Biskupic' readiness to testify on the Thompson prosecution, though of no assistance to the innocent Georgia Thompson now, is commendable, especially when considered against the attitude of the corrupt DoJ that may be the lowest disgrace yet of the Bush administration.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007 Salon Flops in Interview with Bush Biographer Robert Draper (1 comments)
Salon's interview with Draper by Rob Patterson is disappointing for employing the same lack of skepticism towards Draper that the establishment writer Draper employs towards the president.
Monday, September 10, 2007 Petraeus Says 'No Decision' as Americans Say 'No War' (2 comments)
The PR managers just want to be able to say next year during the campaign some version that that it (Iraq) wasn't their fault, they are bringing the (some) troops home, the politicians blew it and Bush just listened to the Generals in the field.
Sunday, September 9, 2007 Top Admiral Who Said Attacking Iran 'Will Not Happen on my Watch,' Splits with Bush on Occupying Iraq (2 comments)
As the administration attempts another bald-faced, lying PR campaign to continue the Iraq occupation and apparently plans for a military engagement with Iran, it's worth noting Adm. Fallon's reported words this February on striking the politically and militarily powerful Iran: An attack on Iran "will not happen on my watch".
Friday, September 7, 2007 Oral Arguments Scheduled in Jailed Vet Case, Harper's Mag Blasts Biskupic (1 comments)
But here's a first step: Biskupic, Canary and Martin, among the group of U.S. Attorneys who have sold their professional souls, need to be put in a jail cell for thirty days to read Robert H. Jackson's "The Federal Prosecutor."
Thursday, September 6, 2007 DoJ on Biskupic Prosecution: 'How in the heck did this case get brought?'
The examination of US Atty Biskupic is part of the House Committee's efforts scrutinizing prosecutions by several US Attys that directly targeted Democrats as part of a pattern of Republican political corruption of the DoJ.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007 VA Counsel Unilaterally Declares Law Protecting Vets 'Obsolete' in Gov Brief
Echoing Alberto Gonzales who decided that the Geneva Convention (which like federal regulations have the force of U.S. law on the land) is "obsolete" and "quaint," the VA's attorney (a political hack from a bottom-tier law school) argues that a VA regulation protecting vets is "obsolete."
Wednesday, September 5, 2007 Walmartopia Worth Seeing - Playing in New York (1 comments)
Taking aim at America's largest employer, Wal-Mart, among America's worst places to work, Walmartopia is the perfect entertainment anecdote to living during Bush's tenure.
Monday, September 3, 2007 National VA Director Pushed US Atty Biskupic to Indict Critical Veteran (4 comments)
U.S. Navy Airman Keith Roberts (1969-71) became the central figure in what is a cautionary, Alice-in-Wonderland tale, after U.S. Atty. Biskupic's and the VA's plotting resulted in Roberts being tried and convicted of receiving disability benefits from the VA (by wire transfer as the VA requires for all payments).
Saturday, September 1, 2007 Iran's Coming Disaster: The Partisan Tactic (3 comments)
Creating the conditions of unpredictability and disorder are precisely the aims of this desperate administration.
Saturday, August 25, 2007 Ray Nitschke and Bush's Iraq-Vietnam Speech (3 comments)
Even as the specter of another grand, foolish military venture dances around Washington scaring many of the testicularally-challenged democrats who appeased Bush on Iraq, Bush knows in his heart most Americans believe him to be wrong.
Saturday, August 18, 2007 Jose Padilla's Ideology and His Rights
The distinction between endorsing another's rights and another's views is obvious outside of authoritarian ideologies that view liberty with suspicion.
Thursday, August 16, 2007 Jose Padilla and America's Descent into Fascism (3 comments)
"At many of the points at which the government said 'dirty bomb,' there was no opportunity to respond for the reason that Mr. Padilla was in solitary confinement and no lawyer had been able to talk to him about the charges," says Diane Amann, visiting law professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
Although they seek a life sentence, prosecutors introduced no evidence of personal involvement by Padilla in planning
Wednesday, August 8, 2007 Supreme Court of 1972 Protected the 4th Amendment (1 comments)
In 1972, a unanimous Supreme Court shot down Nixon's similar attempt to legalize his monarchical claims of his presidency through warrantless wiretapping.
Monday, July 30, 2007 Brookings' O'Hanlon and Pollack, Crazy on Iraq (7 comments)
Michael E. O'Hanlon and Kenneth M. Pollack of the Brookings Institution have the most inane piece in today's New York Times.
Sunday, July 29, 2007 Decider Decides Not to Decide (3 comments)
The too-often-played song from the Bush administration's endless stream is that some other force is responsible for how to decide the dirty problems, even as Bush occasionally squawks that he is the decider.
Friday, July 27, 2007 Nam Vets Fight for Agent Orange Victims (2 comments)
In April 2000, the U.S. Congress authorized the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Commemorative Plaque, also known as the In Memory Plaque, to be added to the three-acre Memorial site on the National Mall. The plaque is intended to honor those Vietnam veterans who died after service in Vietnam
Sunday, July 22, 2007 Bush's New Exec Order Does What? (6 comments)
Steve Hanson at Uppity Wisconsin writes that "President Bush has signed yet another executive order allowing the blocking of property of - um - well - it sounds like damn near anybody that does anything that blocks our mission in Iraq."
Thursday, July 19, 2007 Aggression Not Standing
Peter Galbraith's piece also reveals the extent to which American imperial assumptions underlie liberal criticism (to say nothing of neocon praise) of the Iraq invasion and occupation.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 The One True Church (3 comments)
Less than one week after the Roman Catholic Church issued its degree that the Catholic Church is the "one true Church of Christ", the one, true Church agreed to a $660 million settlement in the clergy molestation/rape case in Los Angeles.
Monday, July 16, 2007 Why So Many Americans Are in Prison (5 comments)
Loury does make mention of a population "(s)toked by fear and political opportunism ... ," but in a depoliticized society like the United States where fear and lavish attention to the trivial and meaningless (celebrity, reality shows, sports and so on) continue, I think Loury needs to link the violent prison-industrial complex as a logical outgrowth of our depoliticized culture maintained by the corporate-media.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007 Nuclear Whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu Free on Appeal, Faces Prison Again
Vanunu is working for a non-nuclear world, non-violence, democracy and civil liberties, as Israel remains adamant in its position that Vanunu not be allowed to leave the country for his crime of alerting the world of Israel's development of nuclear weapons.
Monday, July 2, 2007 Outrage: Bush Commutes Libby Sentance (1 comments)
The reaction of the American people to this outrage will be revealing of the extent to which America remains a democratic republic as we head into Independence Day.
Thursday, June 28, 2007 Fighting the US DoJ and the VA in Two Courts at Once
Veteran Keith Roberts (1968-71) is fighting his legal battle not just against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), but also the U.S. Department of Justice in two different courts and two different cases simultaneously on the same factual and legal dispute in a bizarre case.
Monday, June 25, 2007 US Atty Biskupic and VA Defied US Law to Convict Wisconsin Veteran
In this Karl Rove/Dick Cheney age of politics when the governmental machinery is so politicized that Richard Nixon seems a progressive reformist by comparison, it's not surprising to find the United States Department of Justice ravaging a Vietnam-era veteran diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Saturday, June 23, 2007 Jerusalem Post: Israel Training for Air Strike Against Iran (5 comments)
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) has been training on long-range flights, including refueling in mid-flight, in preparation for potential strikes against Iranian nuclear targets.
Friday, June 15, 2007 Innocent Woman Jailed by Bush US Atty Biskupic Seeks Reimbursement (1 comments)
The US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit overturned the innocent woman's conviction in April, with one judge deriding the US Atty's evidence as "beyond thin," and ordered her freed in an extraordinary decision after oral arguments. Now the innocent is seeking money from the state for her ordeal
Thursday, June 14, 2007 Finkelstein Draws Flood of Support in Wake of Tenure Denial
Finkelstein has drawn praise from Raul Hilberg, considered the dean of Holocaust studies, Noam Chomsky, Amy Goodman and Sara Roy, but has drawn criticism from those committed to militarism and misuses of the Holocaust that almost killed Finkelstein's parents.
Thursday, June 14, 2007 TNR Embarrasses Itself Again on Mike Gravel (1 comments)
Mike Gravel, of-course, is the former Senator from Alaska who famously read into the congressional record the Pentagon Papers, that laid out the lies before and during the Vietnam War that ultimately cost some three million lives, and wreaks havoc even today on untold millions more, including 100,000s of Vietnam-era veterans whom the Veterans Administration is trying to shaft on VA beneits. That's a bad thing, TNR.
Sunday, June 10, 2007 Ann Coulter Compares Mexicans to Roaches (5 comments)
Ann Coulter in Human Events compares the immigrating Hispanics to roaches and America to a "roach motel".
Saturday, June 9, 2007 Free Paris Hilton (50 comments)
The media and indeed much of America got quite a laugh out of reports that Paris Hilton was sent back to jail in tears and emotional distress.
Friday, June 8, 2007 VA Source Blasts Jailed Wisc Vet Case, Alleges VA Retaliation
A source at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee contacted the Madison-based Lee Rayburn radio show after a June 6 broadcast on jailed Vietnam-era veteran, Keith Roberts, and blasted the US Atty Stephen Biskupic's prosecution of the Wisconsin veteran.
Thursday, June 7, 2007 More Dismantlement of Case Against Jailed Wisconsin Veteran (1 comments)
An analysis reveals more corroboration of the account of a Vietnam-era airman who witnessed a colleague's death in a gruesome C-54 aircraft accident in 1969 at a Naval Air Facility in Naples, Italy and is now imprisoned for wire fraud, for falsifying the account.
Monday, June 4, 2007 New Evidence in Jailed Vet Case
Critics and veteran groups accuse the Bush administration of the unprecedented politicalization of the Department of Justice and the VA, and see the indictment and conviction of Keith Roberts on charges of wire fraud (and other veterans) as a consequence of this politicalization that discourages Vietnam-era veterans from seeking PTSD benefits, per the views of the American Enterprise Institute.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 Military Document Corroborates Jailed Vet's Story (2 comments)
Every veteran who files for PTSD (especially Vietnam-era vets) is now at criminal risk if they cannot prove that their "stressors" exist to the evolving and high standard of the VA in these matters.
Monday, May 28, 2007 Memorial Day, Herb Kohl and Wis SeniorCare
"The drug coverage that seniors in Wisconsin have come to know and depend on is going to stay in place," Senator Herb Kohl said in a statement. "The delegation stuck with it, and we got the job done."
Saturday, May 19, 2007 Marine Betrayed by the VA
"I would have rather been shot on the battlefield than to have ended up with health problems from a shot that my own government made me take."
Friday, May 18, 2007 US Atty. Biskupic Praised Before Being Buried-Almost
The praise of US Atty. Biskupic in late 2004 deepened questions about why senior Justice Department leaders months later added his name to a list of U.S. attorneys who should be replaced for not putting enough emphasis on the priorities set by President Bush.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 VA Document Contradicts US Atty in Jailed Vet Case (1 comments)
Key document contradicts prosecuting attorney, Timothy Funnell of the US Eastern District of Wisconsin, who repeatedly portrayed Vietnam-era vet as engaging in a "scheme" to "fraudulently" obtain VA benefits motivated by greed.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007 Americans Believe More Often in Civilian Attacks (1 comments)
Three times as many Americans believe that attacks on civilians are sometimes justified (24 percent), as Pakistanis and Indonesians who believe that attacks on civilians are sometimes justified to defend Islam (eight percent).
Thursday, May 10, 2007 Vets Go to Mattresses for Jailed Vet, Rep. Baldwin Hits AG on US Atty Biskupic
Critics accuse the Bush administration of the unprecedented politicalization of government, including the Department of Justice and the Veterans Administration (VA), and see the indictment and conviction of Vietnam-era vet Keith Roberts of wire fraud as a consequence of this politicalization.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007 Urge Tammy Baldwin to Ask AG Gonzales about Jailed Vet (1 comments)
Many Opednews.com readers know that Airman Keith Roberts (1968-74) is battling political forces allied with VA Sec. Jim Nicholson whose department worked with US Atty Stephen Biskupic to imprison this Vietnam-ear vet for 48 months on a ludicrous charge of wire fraud for filin for VA benefits, now under appeal.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007 Report Issued on PTSD Cost to Mixed Reactions
The VA report came as criticism has mounted over VA Sec. Jim Nicholson's tenure that saw budget shortfalls, a backlog of 600,000 disability cases, staffing shortages at Vet Centers, security breaches, alleged neglect of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) cases, and even the criminalization of the VA benefit process.
Monday, May 7, 2007 Fight Is on to Free Wisconsin Vet (1 comments)
An informal group of veterans are offering advice and support to the jailed vet's family and their attorney. Most of the vets' descriptions of the VA under Secretary Jim Nicholson's tenure and US Atty Biskupic are profane, and on background.
Thursday, May 3, 2007 Vet Imprisoned for Seeking Benefits (3 comments)
In the administration where rightwing think tanks supply the intellectual essence for such government policy as health care and the Iraq war, the veterans' benefits bureaucracy also apparently takes its cue from the right.
Thursday, April 26, 2007 Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Flacks for US Atty Biskupic
The judicial opinion freeing the innocent Wisconsin state worker is being used by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel to provide political cover for US Atty Biskupic.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007 Robert Jackson and Prosecutorial Discretion
As the Bush administration has turned the DoJ into a political operation of the White House, and liberal district attorneys around the country (including Madison, Wisconsin, see Brian Blanchard, for example) engage in quests to prove their tough-on-crime bone fides, Robert Jackson speaks to us today with urgency.
Sunday, April 22, 2007 US Atty Biskupic Should Resign (2 comments)
Stephen Biskupic, US Atty for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, should never again be allowed to serve in public office, and should resign effective immediately.
Thursday, April 19, 2007 Gonzales Faces Inquiry on Biskupic and Many Issues (2 comments)
Gonzales is expected to face questions about several scandals. You can link to MAL Contends for continuous updates on the hearing.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007 Waco, Virginia Tech and Violence
Perhaps we could put in a little extra effort to stop the US occupation of Iraq where the Iraqis experience several Virginia Tech-like massacres a day.
Monday, April 16, 2007 NYT Editorial on US Atty Prosecution of Innocent Woman (2 comments)
Today's editorial in the New York Times by Adam Cohen, "A Woman Wrongly Convicted and a U.S. Attorney Who Kept His Job," blasts US Atty Steven Biskupic (Wis), advancing the story of an ever-increasing US Atty scandal.
Saturday, April 14, 2007 Biskupic Targeted by DoJ, Then Given Reprieve, McClatchy Reports
Now we know. McClatchy Newspapers reports that Wisconsin US Atty Biskupic "who prosecuted a state Democratic official on corruption charges during last year's heated governor's race was once targeted for firing by the Department of Justice, but given a reprieve for reasons that remain unclear. ..."
Saturday, April 14, 2007 Biskupic the Politician Emerges (1 comments)
US Atty Biskupic's statement does nothing to quell the controversy, and raises more questions about the nature of Biskupic's office that resembles more and more that of a desperate politician's out to save his hide.
Thursday, April 12, 2007 Nation's Eyes on Biskupic and Corruption
For more information contact Asst US Atty, Richard G. Frohling and
Criminal Chief Paul L. Kanter at (414) 297-1700. I encourage that we contact these agents of corruption, and let them know how we feel about the conduct of their office.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007 Rutgers Basketball-Politically Correct and Apolitical
In the annals of American athletes' contribution to social justice, Ali, Russell, Brown, B.J. King and Smith and Carlos at the '68 Olympics are in no danger of being upstaged.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 More Calls for Inquiry of Wis US Atty
Monday's call in the lead New York Times editorial for investigation into the U.S. Atty for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Steven Biskupic's dubious prosecution of a Wisconsin civil servant was joined by Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Madison).
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 Dem. Senators Write AG Demanding Biskupic/Thompson Docs (3 comments)
Via RobertInWisconsin at Daily Kos: Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have written Attorney General Gonzales demanding all documents related to the Georgia Thompson case. This one smells bad!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007 Why Only Democrats on Senate Biskupic/Thompson Letter
The lack of Republican cooperation from Committee members makes their party look more interested in a cover-up than a rendering of facts.
Monday, April 9, 2007 Times Calls for Inquiry of Wis US Atty
"The Chicago-based United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit seemed shocked by the injustice of her conviction. It took the extraordinary step of releasing Ms. Thompson from prison immediately after hearing arguments, without waiting to issue a ruling." NYT
Saturday, April 7, 2007 The Reluctantly Corrupt U.S. Atty from Wisconsin
"The great irony of the case is that having been wrongfully prosecuted for doing her job for allegedly political reasons, now the question is being asked whether the government engaged in this same behavior," - Attorney Stephen Hurley
Friday, April 6, 2007 Innocent State Worker Freed, US Atty Biskupic Takes Hit (1 comments)
This high-profile, politically charged case should never have come to court, and a cloud now hangs over the U.S. Atty for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Steven Biskupic, as a hard-working, innocent woman fights to get her life back together.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 Rovian Beats Dem in Wis Supreme Court Win
The Ziegler victory continues a virtual tie on the seven-member Wisconsin high court dedicated to the rule-of-law versus a faction doing the bidding of corporate interests and social right-wingers.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007 US's Plan to Kidnap Iran's Top Spook Prompted Hostage Taking
The attempt by the US to seize two senior Iranian security officers openly meeting with Iraqi leaders is somewhat as if Iran had tried to kidnap the heads of the CIA and MI6 while they were on an official visit to a country neighbouring Iran such as Pakistan or Afghanistan. - Reports CounterPunch
Friday, March 30, 2007 Anti-gay Hotel - Affordable Suites of America - Blasted
Affordable Suites hotel says it has a policy of not renting rooms to gay couples, reports AMERACAblog.com. Readers objecting can contact Affordable Suites at: (843) 235-8899.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 Wisconsin Supreme Court Race Critical
Wisconsin's Supreme Court race on April 3 will be decisive as to whether the seven-member Supreme Court will be composed of a majority of justices committed to the rule of law versus a Rovian, ideological agenda.
Sunday, March 25, 2007 An Honorable Republican US Atty
Republican U.S atty., Steven Biskupic, has demonstrated that independent service to the cause of justice and the American people is alive and well in the U.S. Atty's office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Friday, March 23, 2007 Bush Is a Howling Jackass
Affirming his commitment to kill, maim and destroy more Iraqi and American lives, Bush made no new allies and played the only the card (the "war president") that he has left.
Monday, March 19, 2007 Clinton U.S. Atty: No Political Pressure
"During my tenure of as an U.S. atty., I never personally nor did I know of any U.S. atty. who had those sorts of alleged (political) demands placed on him or her."
-Peg Lautenschlager, U.S. Atty. (1993-2001)
Thursday, March 15, 2007 Broder the Banal (1 comments)
David Broder continues his exhibited loyalty (to borrow a term from the Bush regime) to the GOP in a pair of columns in the Post this week, having long ago jettisoned honest journalism.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007 The American Conservative Hits Militarism Again
Just maybe, as Scott McConnell writes, the truism that not everyone objecting to U.S./Israeli militarism is an anti-Semite is becoming a more tenable political position, partly because of the blogosphere.
Thursday, March 8, 2007 Salon and the Nation Killed Piece on Israel (1 comments)
Salon and the Nation killed Christopher Ketcham's incendiary What Did Israel Know in Advance of the 9/11 Attacks expose. Too hot to handle? Significantly advancing this story could ignite a political tinderbox.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007 Fitz Delivers Blow to Sleazy WH Operation
Patrick J. Fitzgerald won his case that burning an undercover CIA agent in a false and ad hominem attempt to discredit a feared critic's arguments against the war and repeatedly lying about it are precisely what did occur.
Friday, February 23, 2007 Ghosts of Abu Ghraib
Americans should see it, record it, and contact two fundamentalist churches in their area and offer a free viewing.
Saturday, February 17, 2007 Vietnam Vet Sees Cause for Hope
"And yes, even broken (military)recruiters who sealed Faustian pacts deserve our respect. There is much hidden power in the voice of the people and the people are speaking out."
Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Gov. Tommy Thompson Is No Moderate on Iraq
Wisconsin Governor and U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson deserves no praise for political independence.
Sunday, February 4, 2007 Rita Wlodarczyk - An American Hero Passes (1 comments)
Rita Wlodarczyk, an American hero passed away yesterday. Rita Wlodarczyk will live along with Jefferson, King, Knoll, Muste, and all those thirsting for life, liberty and simple human kindness.
Thursday, January 11, 2007 America to Bush: No Way! (1 comments)
The premises of the Iraq war were always a series of lies, spin, and a cynical P.R. campaign, not the stuff of honor and nobility.
Sunday, December 17, 2006 The Progressive Magazine's Shame (10 comments)
This last July The Progressive Magazine disgraced itself, betraying the memory of LaFollette, Sam Day and the great pacifist journalist, Erwin Knoll (editor 1973-1994).
Wednesday, December 13, 2006 Writer Vindicates Rape Victim
Read "Cry Rape, The True Story of One Woman's Harrowing Quest for Justice," an account of one woman's victory for human rights against judicial arrogance and sexism in one of the most progressive cities in America.
Wednesday, November 8, 2006 Gay Marriage, Justice and Senator Herb Kohl
Senator Herb Kohl did nothing to stop the enshrining of bigotry into the Wisconsin constitution, though he was perfectly positioned to act, at no cost to himself.
Tuesday, November 7, 2006 Wisconsin Gets Huge Turn-out
Gay Marriage/Civil Union Ban Opponents' Mobilization Huge
Madison democractic headquarters and the pro-equal rights office were ablaze with volunteers and the energy level was euphoric early this morning.
Monday, October 30, 2006 Democratic Gov. Doyle Pounds Right Wingers in Wisconsin on Stem Cells
Republican politicians who build barriers against hope for medical treatments achieved through public funding are finding their private ideology a tough sell in this campaign season.
Saturday, October 21, 2006 Republican State Senator Tries to Suppress Criticism
Right wing Wisconsin State Senator Tom Reynolds' (R-West Allis, WI) legal threats against a critical blogger is a clumsy, bone-headed effort to shut down valid criticism.
Wednesday, August 9, 2006 Oliver Stone's Vital World Trade Center
As a depiction of the commitment that we have to each other creating a human "goodness," World Trade Center is a subversive, political action against the make-believe world of Karl Rove.
Friday, May 19, 2006 Hector Jordan - Trail-blazing Hispanic Hero
Amid the national mobilization of Mexican-Americans asserting their humanity, a Mexican-American hero was recognized today: Hector Jordan.
