To: You From: The United States of America

An Oregon lawyer wrongly arrested and accused of involvement in the 2004 Madrid train bombings has settled a lawsuit against the U.S. government for $2 million. Brandon Mayfield was arrested in Portland, Oregon, on a material witness warrant in May 2004, less than two months after the train bombings.

The FBI identified Mayfield's fingerprint on a blue plastic bag containing detonators found in a van used by the bombers. However, the FBI's fingerprint identification was wrong and Mayfield was released several days later.

Mayfield and his family later sued the U.S. government for damages. The Portland-area attorney contended that he was a victim of profiling because he is a Muslim convert.

The settlement includes not only a $2 million payment, but an apology, said Mayfield's attorney, Elden Rosenthal.

The written apology reads as follows:

"The United States of America apologizes to Mr. Brandon Mayfield and his family for the suffering caused by the FBI's misidentification of Mr. Mayfield's fingerprint and the resulting investigation of Mr. Mayfield, including his arrest as a material witness in connection with the 2004 Madrid train bombings and the execution of search warrants and other court orders in the Mayfield family home and in Mr. Mayfield's law office."

Added Rosenthal: "Mr. Mayfield and his family felt it was in their best interest to get on with their lives. No amount of money can compensate Mr. Mayfield for being held as a prisoner and being told he faced the death penalty."

Well done America for owning up to your Patriot Act induced arrest-first-ask-questions-later frenzy. And let me just say I think it's extremely classy of the Bush administration to apologize on behalf of all of us--the whole country--for something the FBI (under his ever watchful gaze) seems to have done. It'll go a long way towards assuring the rest of the world that dissent does not exist here in the good old US of A, and that every single one of us stands behind all of the country's actions, good or bad. Screw the red/blue state disparity I say! We all stand together where fuck-ups are concerned.

One-person, one-vote, part II

From the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON - A small group of Democrats agreed Thursday to force House and Senate debates on Election Day problems in Ohio before letting Congress certify President Bush's win over Sen. John Kerry in November.

"I have concluded that objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the only immediate way to bring these issues to light by allowing you to have a two-hour debate to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's election," Senator Barbara Boxer wrote in a letter to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, a leader of the Democratic effort.

The action seems certain to leave Bush's victory intact because both Republican-controlled chambers would have to uphold the challenge for Ohio's votes to be invalidated. But supporters of the drive hope their move will shine a national spotlight on the Ohio voting problems.

Click here to read more.

One-person, One-vote

Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) announced 12/23/04 that she will introduce an amendment abolishing the Electoral College when Congress reconvenes. She said the bill will be co-sponsored by Senator Lincoln Chaffee (R-Rhode Island).

Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16th) introduced a similar proposal in the House, and plans on reintroducing it again when Congress reconvenes.

"The Electoral College is an anachronishm, and the time has come to bring our democracy into the 21st century," Senator Feinstein stated.

It takes a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress followed by ratification by 38 states for a constitutional amendment to become law.

"He thinks scruples are money in Russia, and morals are pictures painted on walls."

House Republicans are considering changing ethics rules so it would be harder to bring complaints against fellow members.

One proposal requires that a majority of committee members must approve any investigation of a House member. Currently, investigations can move ahead even if the committee is deadlocked. Another proposal has been criticized for making it more difficult to enforce ethics rules.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Illinois) is also trying to remove ethics committee chair Rep. Joel Helfley (R-Colorado), who oversaw Rep. Tom DeLay's recent spanking.

Freedom is on the March, part III

According to the Washington Post, the Pentagon and CIA have asked the White House what they want to do about 550 "enemy combatants" currently detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo). Detainees include suspected terrorists who they don't plan on setting free, officially charging with a crime, or allowing "due process" by going through a military tribunal because the lack of evidence against them would result in their release. So far, 510 hearings have been completed, and continued detention has been repeatedly ordered.

One proposal being kicked around is to transfer detainees to prisons in their home countries and under State Department oversight. In the meantime, the Department of Defense wants to build a $254 million 200-bed prison at Gitmo, dubbed Camp 6. The facility would be "designed for prisoners the government believes have no more intelligence to share."

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) "suggested" on Fox News Sunday that holding suspected terrorists for life may be "unconstitutional" and a "bad idea" to boot.

Detainees have filed lawsuits requesting that federal judges order the Pentagon to let them have lawyers at tribunal hearings, see secret evidence against them, and exclude evidence gained by torture or to have civilian U.S. courts hear their cases.

While claiming there has been no torture at Gitmo, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Brian Boyle acknowledged that military panels would consider evidence gathered by torture of detainees in foreign countries, even though such statements have been barred from U.S. courts for 70 years because of unreliability.

Asia Quake and Tsunami Victims

Just a quick link to Senator Barbara Boxer's Aid Information page to send donations to victims. There's also a phone number if you're trying to locate American citizens in the area:

http://boxer.senate.gov/quake.cfm

But how many households were originally Deaniacs?

As of 2003, 54.6% of all households had internet access.

Those states with the highest percentage of households with internet access include:
AK (68%), NH (65%), CO (63%), CT (63%), UT (63%), MN (62%), WA (62%), NJ (61%), OR (61%) and VA (60%).

Of these 10 states surpassing 60%, Kerry carried 6 of the states to Bush's 4.

Of the five states with the lowest percentage of internet households (MS, AR, LA, NM and SC), Bush carried all five.

- U.S. Census Bureau

The Buck Stops Over There

"If I thought a change at the top of the Pentagon would change the policy of this administration, I'd be all for it. I was opposed to going to war unilaterally. I voted against that because I thought it was a mistake...

"So I've had a lot of differences with Secretary Rumsfeld. I'm a critic of much of his rhetoric. I think he does try to pass the buck, but that pass-the-buck philosophy starts right at the top in the White House. That's where the buck should stop. That's where the policies are made. And as far as I'm concerned, unless those policies change, which is a presidential decision, it's not going to help just simply to change the leadership in the Pentagon."

- U.S. Senator Carl Levin, "Meet the Press", 12/19/2004

Senator Levin is the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.