Judge: administration engaging in illegitimate exercise of executive power in Guantanamo

[No Elephants]

The administration appealed, but then dropped the appeal.

U.S. drops appeal of Guantanamo ruling

Published: Dec. 15, 2012 at 9:22 PM

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- <snip>

The department filed a motion Friday asking the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for permission to withdraw its appeal, Politico reported. The courts generally grant such requests.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled against the Obama administration, which wanted the power to set rules for lawyers for Guantanamo inmates who have not been formally charged and are not currently seeking release. Lamberth said the administration was engaged in "an illegitimate exercise of executive power."

<snip>

During his 2008 presidential campaign, Obama had promised to take a different approach to Guantanamo and the detainees held there.

Okay, supposedly, Congress would not let him close Gitmo, but Congress has not been stopping him from running Gitmo lawfully.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/12/15/US-drops-appeal-of-Guantanamo-ruling/UPI-68851355624532/?spt=hs&or=tn




In 2007-2008, I was so elated that a Constitutional lawyer was running, given how Bush had shredded the Constitution (with the help of Congress).

How young and naive I was! How much I have aged in only a few years!

[Enthusiast]

1. We expected big change.

Didn't happen.

[No Elephants]

2. To be fair, some things changed for the worse.

[Enthusiast]

4. True. And that is hard to fathom.

One has to completely reorganize their way of thinking to wrap the mind around it.

I have some theories on this. But I chose to keep them to myself. Mostly.

[formercia]

3. There hasn't been a Democratic President since Jimmy Carter

and the 'Boys' fucked him royally.

[No Elephants]

5. I don't know enough about Carter's administration, but what I do know makes me think that

he was underrated.

For one thing, while it took a long time, he did get every one of those hostages back alive without starting a war.

Everyone seems to focus on how long it took, but wars take years as well, along with lots of blood and treasure. I focus on the absence of a war.

And then there was his attempt to wean us off fossil fuels, especially foreign oil.

Too bad the Department of Energy that he created to fulbill that purpose went the way of most government agencies, namely to aid the job creating companies who love our dependence on fossil fuels.

And I admire his post-presidency, including the Jimmy Carter Center at Emory University.

Some Democrats say that he was too conservative.

I'd take him in a heartbeat over any Democrat I know of in office today, though.

At least, he was not anti-poor.

Speaking of which, I wonder what the U.S. would be like today if Robert Kennedy had not been assassinated.