ACSBlog: The Blog of the American Constitution Society

In Brief:

• American Bar Association Criticizes Musharraf
• Bush Administration Alleged to Have Stacked U.S. Civil Rights Commission
• Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Mukasey
• House Votes to Override Bush Veto
• Thousands Ask To Have Names Removed from Terrorist Watch List

The American Bar Association issued a statement urging President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan to rescind his suspension of the national constitution, detention of eight members of the Supreme Court, and arrest of more than 1,500 Pakistani lawyers, declaring the shutdown "will hurt, not help, the fight against terrorism."

Critics allege the Bush administration's 2004 appointment of two Republicans to the eight-member U.S. Commission on Civil Rights after two commissioners reregistered as independents "evaded" the law, which requires no more than half the members of the Commission be of one party, reported Charlie Savage of the Boston Globe. The Department of Justice approved the appointments the day before they occurred; the result has been a conservative bloc that has shifted the commission's emphasis "from investigating claims of civil rights violations to questioning programs designed to offset the historic effects of discrimination."

Despite concerns regarding his answers on torture, presidential signing statements and executive power, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted yesterday 11-8 to approve the nomination of Judge Michael B. Mukasey to the position of U.S. Attorney General, advancing his nomination to the full Senate.

The House of Representatives voted 361-54 to override President Bush's veto of the Water Resources Development Act, which if passed by the Senate by a two-thirds majority would become the first water system restoration and flood control authorization passed by Congress since 2000; it would also be the first time President Bush's veto has been overridden.

Since February, more than 15,000 people – including children and senior citizens – have requested their names be removed from the government's 750,000 name terrorist watch list, with an additional 2,000 requests each month, USA Today reports.