by DFA Staff [courtesy of Blog for America]

Yale law professors, Bruce Ackerman and Oona Hathaway, writing in the Washington Post take a look at the legal underpinnings of the War in Iraq:

A crucial yet overlooked deadline looms over the Iraq debate: Unless further action is taken, the war will become illegal on Jan. 1, 2009.

...

The most recent U.N. resolution expires on Dec. 31, and the administration has announced that it will not seek one for 2009. Instead, it is now negotiating a bilateral agreement with the Iraqi government to replace the U.N. mandate.

Whatever this agreement contains, it will not fill the legal vacuum. That's because the administration is not planning to submit this new agreement to Congress for its explicit approval. Since the Constitution gives the power to "declare war" to Congress, the president can't ignore the conditions imposed on him in 2002 without returning for a new grant of authority. He cannot substitute the consent of the Iraqi government for the consent of the U.S. Congress.

Danny
Communications Director

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Former California State Senator Jackie Speier has announced that she will be running for the 12th congressionaldistrict seat. Tom Lantos has represented the 12th district since 1981,but announced on January 2 that he would not seek a 15th term.

As the presidential campaign trail leads through California, women and Latino voters will be particularly key in choosing the candidates, according to theSan Francisco Chronicle. Another factor is the fact that California'sGOP leaders decided to prevent independents from voting in the primary.Sorry McCain.

The California Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by former Lockheed Martin workers who alleged that chemicals used intheir jobs made them sick -- after initially agreeing to hear theappeal, the court found that four of the seven justices had a financialinterest. The case has law professors and lawyers dumbfounded.

There's more... 

Image courtesy of the LA Times