THE OTHER SHOE DROPS: Updates To Previous Posts
† Padilla Convicted On All Counts, But Was A Trial Necessary?: Judge Marcia G. Cooke of Federal District Court in Miami sentenced convicted “dirty bomb” conspiracist Jose Padilla to 17 years and 4 months in prison, rejecting the life sentence federal prosecutors had recommended, on the grounds that, “There is no evidence that these defendants personally maimed, kidnapped or killed anyone in the United States or elsewhere. There was never a plot to overthrow the United States government.” She also granted credit for the 3½ years Padilla spent in a naval brig in SC under “harsh conditions” after his 2002 arrest, which “warrant consideration in the sentencing.” She also reduced the 30-to-life sentences recommended by federal guidelines for Padilla’s co-defendants. Adham Amin Hassoun got 15 years and eight months; Kifah Wael Jayyousi, 12 years and eight months. Because neither has a prior criminal history and both are also expected to get credit for time served, they could each be out of prison in less than 10 years.
† The Part About “Illegal” Liberals Don’t Understand: MI Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land announced that illegal immigrants in that state will no longer be granted driver's licenses in order to comply with an opinion issued last month by Attorney General Mike Cox that the practice is inconsistent with federal law. Meanwhile, to comply with the federal Real ID law, MD is planning to issue different driver's licenses to illegal aliens than those citizens and legal residents will get. Illegals would have to prove they are state resident, have auto insurance and pass a driving test to get the license, which cannot be used to board airplanes, enter federal buildings or cross borders. NY Gov. Eliot Spitzer abandoned a similar two-tier licensing plan last year when voters across the political spectrum howled in protest. HI, MD, ME, NM, OR, UT and WA are now the only states that do not require drivers to prove they are in the country legally to get a driver’s license.
† Genocide Denial Shocks Genocide Denier: The Stiletto has taken Armenian Genocide denier and OpionionJournal.com editor James Taranto to task for repeatedly accusing Barack Obama of “countenancing genocide” in Iraq based solely on an inflammatory headline on an Associated Press article that did not include a single quote from the presidential candidate suggesting anything of the sort. A few days ago, the Obama campaign released a statement on his position about the Armenian Genocide – note that Obama forthrightly terms the slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Turks a genocide, as opposed to Turks and Armenian Genocide deniers like Taranto who prefer the code phrase “the events of 1915”:
I … share with Armenian Americans - so many of whom are descended from genocide survivors - a principled commitment to commemorating and ending genocide. That starts with acknowledging the tragic instances of genocide in world history. As a U.S. Senator, I have stood with the Armenian American community in calling for Turkey's acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide. Two years ago, I criticized the Secretary of State for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, after he properly used the term "genocide" to describe Turkey's slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915. I shared with Secretary Rice my firmly held conviction that the Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence. The facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an untenable policy. As a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106), and as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.
The rest of the statement notes that “the same brutal tactics - displacement, starvation, and mass slaughter” are being used in Darfur. The Stiletto disagrees with Obama on a whole range of issues, but these are not the words of a man who is indifferent to genocide. Perhaps if Taranto would trouble himself to read the entire Associated Press article on which his baseless accusations rest, he would finally retract them and give Obama a long overdue apology.
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