Secrecy makes our criminal acts work! Only International communications! We have career pros doing this secret stuff! The NSA has safeguards! Lawyers look at stuff! I've been told it's all perfectly ethical. You bastids knew about this stuff. We told you! The president is consistent with the constitution..."

That's it. Fuck live blogging. It's 9:15 AM and I'm going to start drinking.

Maybe I'll take a swig everytime the little shithead averts his eyes. I'll be passing out in about twenty minutes. God, I hate this crap.

Thank Bob Orin Hatch is up. Poppa needs him aq softball break!

If Teddy can make Al cry, it will be worth the hangover.

In the interim, Senator Session trots out a 911 widow and she just loves spying on America and informing the public that Bushco is spying kills our freedom.

That's it. I'm really done for the day. I never cared for dog and pony shows.

If you really want to be tortured by Torture Boy and all the gang, watch the live hearings on C-SPAN or stream them on the Internet at: http://c-span.org

Suddenly, someone called out something from outside and it was over. They began rushing to leave the house, almost as fast as they’d invaded it. Doors slamming, lights dimming. We were left in the dark once more, not daring to move from the sofa we were sitting on, listening as the men disappeared, leaving only a couple to stand at our gate.

"Where’s baba?" J. asked, panicking for a moment before we heard his slippered feet in the driveway. "Did they take him?" Her voice was getting higher. Ammoo S. finally walked into the house, looking weary and drained. I could tell his face was pale even in the relative dark of the house. My aunt sat sobbing quietly in the living room, T. comforting her. "Houses are no longer sacred.. We can’t sleep... We can’t live... If you can’t be safe in your own house, where can you be safe? The animals... the bastards"

We found out a few hours later that one of our neighbors, two houses down, had died. Abu Salih was a man in his seventies and as the Iraqi mercenaries raided his house, he had a heart-attack. His grandson couldn’t get him to the hospital on time because the troops wouldn’t let him leave the house until they’d finished with it. His grandson told us later that day that the Iraqis were checking the houses, but the American troops had the area surrounded and secured. It was a coordinated raid...

Baghdad Burning

Mind you, I'm just a writer. I report on industry trends, computer technology and legal issues that affect the professionals in my field. Just the same, I've seen my share of disgusting photos. While there's a lot of porn that I don't like, I have learned to accept that as long as the models are paid, contracts are signed and all the participants are adult human beings, what people do in the privacy of thier own homes is none of my concern.

That being said, I think I have an expert opinion on what is and what is not obscene. I'm not much of a fan of the Miller Test. I would much rather be judged by community standards than let the SCOTUS define obscenity for an entire nation. I don't give a shit what Antonin Scalia says. The Constitution is a living document and the rules change with every generation.

The Sydney Morning Herald has released 15 new photographs from Abu Ghraib. I looked at them and then I got good and drunk. I can't stand this anymore. What we did to those people is obscene. It's torture. It's wrong and there is no way in hell that those soldiers would have tortured those prisoners unless they were following orders. I may not know much, but when it comes to obscenity, I know it when I see it.

This is pornography:

This is obscenity:

Any fucking questions?

In addition to the drinking and the adultery, my ex-brother-in-law was a gun collector. When I visited their house, I would estimate the man owned at least twenty assorted handguns and rifles. He even had a little assembly area where he made his own bullets. I know he went on hunting trips but I can't recall if he ever actually bagged any game. Just the same he was proud of his guns. He claimed to be an expert marksman and made much of his attention to gun safety.

According to my sister, one night, my ex-brother-in-law was cleaning one of his rifles in the den. My twin nieces and my sister were in the room as well. As my ex-brother-in-law was cleaning his rifle, the gun went off. He had neglected to make sure his gun was unloaded. The shot missed one of my niece's head by inches. The marriage was over.

We're against guns in my family. We lost one of my cousins to a gun. My cousin was playing cops and robbers with a friend. They had my uncle's gun. My cousin was the robber and his friend was the cop. The gun was loaded and my cousin died.

My father was a good shot. He learned this when he worked as a jailer. He was required to test his shooting skills as part of his job and he always scored very well. However, my father believed that most people have no business owning guns. He was also a police reporter for our local newspaper. He wrote too many stories about fools that had shot themselves in the foot or killed a loved one by accident. When dad worked as a jailer, the first thing he did when he came home was take his gun out of it's holster, unload the weapon and lock the thing in a box. I was never tempted to play with that gun. It held no appeal for me. Having it in our home did not make me feel safe.

When I heard that Dick Cheney shot his hunting companion, I was reminded of my sister's story about the night she decided to divorce my ex-brother-in-law. The 24-hour delay between the incident and the reporting of it screams cover-up. It's possible that Mr. Cheney mistook Harry Whittington for a covey of quail. It's possible that alcohol played a part in the mess. It's less likely that a load of birdshot, fired from a distance of 30 yards could pass through a hunting vest, skin and muscle.

While I'm sure Mr. Cheney never intended to shoot Harry Whttington, I don't believe the "victim covered by shooter who was swinging on game" explanation. I think the real story is stupider than that. My guess? Cheney dropped his gun and it went off.

Yes, I know. It's just a hunting accident. It's not like Dick Cheney got a blowjob. It's a non-story story with a non-apology apology response from the Vice President.

The real story is Dick Cheney's disregard for the responsibilities of his job as a public servant. Dick Cheney doesn't care for the press. Tough shit. If he didn't want the press around, then he shouldn't have chosen himself for the position. Dick Cheney works for us. He's our bitch. Not the other way around. It's about damned time we remember that.