Madison Free Thought Org Hits Anti-Semitism in Air Force

The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation is among a group of notable signatories to a September letter demanding a new "investigation into charges of religious coercion and proselytizing at the United States Air Force Academy."

Foundation co-presidents Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker join notables signing the letter, including Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, and Bobby Muller, Nobel Peace Prize winner.

The demand stems from Mikey Weinstein, president and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, and range of other activists objecting to what is typical conduct at the Colorado Springs-based Air Force Academy that includes Holocaust jokes and coercion of cadets to practice Christianity and display signs of fidelity to the Christian faith, "practices that discriminate against non-Christians in the military."

Incredibly, one Colonel Donald P. Higgins, Jr. (USAF ret), (recounted and documented by Weinstein) the "key, on-scene Inspector General investigator for the Department of Defence/United States Air Force" into the conduct at the Air Force Academy, transmitted "several outrageously denigrating and anti-Semitic emails" to Weinstein himself in an apparent attempt to harass and intimidate Weinstein. These emails can be found at the bottom of the page of this link: Letter Attachments - Electronic Version.

Who is this Higgins? And who is responsible for letting this guy operate in the capacity of an investigator for the DoD's Inspector General?

Weinstein has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Higgins and is considering legal action.

Annie Laurie Gaylor and Dan Barker should be proud to be the John Hancocks, the first signatories, of the demand letter calling for a serious investigation of this continuing outrage.

Issac Passes

Conyers and Sánchez: Rove Must Appear Before the House Judiciary Committee

The United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary is keeping up the pressure on its commitment to investigate political prosecution by the Bush DoJ.

From last week's press release:

(Washington, DC)- Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Subcommittee Chairwoman Linda Sánchez (D-CA, Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee) sent a letter to Robert Luskin, attorney for former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, confirming their expectation that he appear and testify before the subcommittee on July 10. Committee staff had been negotiating with Luskin, but the discussions reached an impasse, with Luskin only offering to provide off-the-record interviews with Rove about the prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. The subpoena was issued for testimony regarding the broader issue of politicization in the Justice Department, including the Siegelman matter.

Robert F. Kennedy's Address on Dr. King's Death

Robert F. Kennedy's Address on Dr. King's Death (April 4, 1968)

Engaging speech, heartening to listen to a political giant vis a vis a self-important, arrogant and divisive ass like Hillary Clinton, a small person who we wish would just go away.

House Comm. Slams US Atty Biskupic in DoJ Prosecutions Letter

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr., D-Mich. has requested from U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales documents and information concerning the prosecution of former democratic Gov. Don Siegelman (pictured at right) in a letter released yesterday.

Siegelman is widely believed to be a victim of a Karl Rove-engineered prosecution.

The letter was signed by four members of the House Committee on the Judiciary, including Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

The letter slams and asks for information about three a total of three prosecutions, including the infamous Georgia Thompson prosecution.

The letter reads in part:

In order to assure the public that everyone, no matter their political affiliation, is treated equally under the law, we are initially requesting documents relating to the Department's handling of three cases, and in particular any memoranda, analysis, or other communications discussing whether and to what extent criminal charges should be and were pursued against the individuals listed below.

On April 5, 2007, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, citing "evidence [that] is beyond thin," threw out the federal conviction of Georgia Thompson, a Wisconsin state procurement officer. The office of the U.S. Attorney in Wisconsin, Steven Biskupic, had won a jury conviction of Ms. Thompson, claiming the career civil servant impermissibly awarded a contract to a travel agency whose director was a political contributor to Democratic Governor Jim Doyle. The U.S. Attorney proceeded with the prosecution even though the travel agency that won the contract submitted the lowest bid, and tied for first place on the complicated merit score that ranked all contract bidders. Additionally, there was no evidence that Ms. Thompson was aware of or interested in the political contributions by the head of the travel agency.

Steven Biskupic's name appeared on a March, 2005, list that was compiled by Department of Justice staff which named U.S. Attorneys who could potentially be ousted. In January, 2006, Mr. Biskupic indicted Ms. Thompson; that same month, Mr. Biskupic's name had been removed from the DOJ list of U.S. Attorneys who might be replaced. After Ms. Thompson's conviction in June, 2006, the campaign of Gov. Doyle's Republican opponent, U.S. Representative Mark Green, seized on the conviction as a means to paint Gov. Doyle as corrupt. The Court of Appeals, finding that no crime had been committed, acquitted Ms. Thompson, declaring her "innocent," but of course, the political damage had been done and could not be rectified.

On April 10, 2007, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy and several other senators requested documents regarding the Georgia Thompson case, including documents regarding contacts between White House personnel, Main Justice, or outside parties and the United States Attorney's office handling the prosecution. Our Committee joined that request the following day. On May 17, 2007, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard Hertling responded by producing some documents relevant to other requests made in that letter, but did not produce any documents regarding the Thompson case. Mr. Hertling explained that "processing [the Thompson] documents would require an extensive commitment of resources and time." Mr. Hertling's letter further noted that the Department was in the process of searching for evidence of communications between Main Justice and the local U.S. Attorney's office, and that he expected 'that there were [such] communications during the investigation and prosecution of the case." Finally, Mr. Hertling's letter explained that the search for relevant communications regarding the Thompson case continued in "the Criminal Division, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General." The two months that have passed since Mr. Hertling's letter have not assuaged our concerns regarding the Thompson prosecution, and we are renewing our request that the documents related to that matter be promptly produced as well as the other documents requested in this letter.

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