MORE ON THE SENATE JUDICIARY HEARINGS OF AG ALBERTO GONZALES: PROTESTER COVERAGE

WASHINGTON D.C.--I was watching all of the C-SPAN coverage of the Thursday hearings by the Judiciary Committee into the Bush administration's warrantless wiretaps, and hadn't heard anything about the protesters (4-or-5 of them, maybe more) at the end of the hearings. Amazingly, they were not arrested or led-out by Capitol Hill security! They got pretty-loud, but only once the hearings were officially over. One of the protesters was an older-man in an orange top, and another man around his age had a makeshift-sign made from a newspaper with something about Guantanamo. That seemed to comprise what most of their comments were about, and illegal-rendition. Interesting how most coverage omitted Leahy's comments on restoring Habeus Corpus, or the protesters. A curious omission for the overall-presentation of the hearings.

Most of their comments were directed-at Attorney General Alberto Gonzales after a brief off-mike exchange with Sen. Patrick Leahy, chair of the committee. Interesting. Leahy was impressive: he pledged restoring Habeus Corpus (traditional in English common law, and American law from 1215--Magna Carta. Interestingly, H. Ross Perot has one of the several-copies that were made at the time of Magna Carta, dispensed to the nobility). It's unclear how much enthusiasm his peers have for doing-so, but his appointment to the chair of the committee says he likely has the support. It's strange how little alarm and prioritization there is on the damage done to Habeus Corpus. Gonzales made the assertion that the Constitution doesn't insure the right to Habeus Corpus, something that Leahy told him he was remiss on.