A federal judge in Manhattan refused yesterday to reverse a ruling that Jose Padilla, who has been held for nine months in military custody, be allowed to meet with lawyers challenging his detention as an enemy combatant.

--New York Times

That judge must be a bleeding-heart, America-hating wimp, right? Well, it seems unlikely -- Judge Michael Mukasey is a longtime friend of Rudolph Giuliani who swore him in as mayor in 1998. Mukasey also presided over the trial in which Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and nine co-defendants were convicted.

(Thanks to Janet for pointing this out to me. She says, by the way, that Giuliani asked Mukasey to swear him in at both of his inaugurals.)