Me and Shauna Kaye.

KAOS959.com

MP3 here.

The heroic James Bovard reminds us just how thin the “rule of law” really is. According to the President’s lawyers:

“The necessity defense may prove especially relevant in the current circumstances.

First, the defense is not limited to certain types of harms. Therefore, the harm inflicted by necessity may include intentional homicide, so long as the harm avoided is greater (i.e., preventing more deaths).

Second, it must actually be the defendant’s intention to avoid the greater harm….

Third, if the defendant reasonably believed that the lesser harm was necessary, even if, unknown to him, it was not, he may still avail himself of the defense….”

Pardon me for insisting that this is not okay.

Professor of Middle East History Juan Cole explains some of what is going on in Iraq, with an emphasis on Bush’s claims about Iran’s behavior there.

Juan R. I. Cole is Professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History at the University of Michigan. He has written extensively about modern Islamic movements in Egypt, the Persian Gulf, and South Asia. His most recent book is Sacred Space and Holy War. His blog, Informed Comment, is a widely read source for Middle East news and commentary.