ACLU intervenes as anti-Blackwater protesters are convicted

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has spoken out on behalf of radical activists who were convicted and sentenced for trespassing and vandalizing Blackwater property.

In order to avoid having the activists turn his courtroom into a media circus, the judge closed the proceedings to the public after convicting and sentencing the first militant. The others were convicted behind closed doors, according to the Virginian-Pilot.

"It’s a clear violation of constitutional rights, not only of the defendants but the press and public,” an ACLU official complained. “They have a right to a public trial, so any trial that goes on behind closed doors is a farce.”

Schakowsky's felon husband looks back on prison life

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky's crooked husband, observing a year since being released from the slammer, says from his "insider's view" that "everyone wants the time to pass."

Felon husband Robert Creamer (pictured) served time in 2006 for tax evasion and bank fraud. (A tame story in the Chicago Sun-Times says Creamer was guilty only of "writing bad checks.")

Among Mr. Schakowsky-Creamer's observations: "Even though all of the inmates are men, there is no nakedness in your sleeping area or washrooms. The norm is to change your pants in the privacy of a shower stall."