Top Items:
Washington Post:
White House Denies Torture Assertion — Bush administration officials acknowledged today that the Justice Department issued a secret legal opinion in early 2005 allowing specific interrogation techniques to be used on CIA terrorism suspects, but denied that the tactics violated earlier government decrees against torture.
Discussion:
TPMmuckraker, TalkLeft, Wake up America, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly and Corrente
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Andrew Sullivan / The Atlantic Online:
War Criminal — After reading the full investigative piece in the NYT today on how this administration decided on breaking America's historic ban on torture and then pursued a long, corrupting policy of ensuring that the interpretation of the law was politicized to keep torture alive, it is hard to disagree with Marty Lederman:
Adam Zagorin / Time:
Selective Justice in Alabama? — On may 8, 2002, Clayton Lamar (Lanny) Young Jr., a lobbyist and landfill developer described by acquaintances as a hard-drinking "good ole boy," was in an expansive mood. In the downtown offices of the U.S. Attorney in Montgomery, Ala., Young settled into his chair …
Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:Perino: We Don't Torture Because We Say We Don't Torture
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Swamp, Firedoglake, The Politico, Think Progress and The Carpetbagger Report
Jonathan Turley / USA Today:
A liberal's lament: The NRA might be right after all — This term, the Supreme Court may finally take up the Voldemort Amendment, the part of the Bill of Rights that shall not be named by liberals. For more than 200 years, progressives and polite people have avoided acknowledging that following …
Rasmussen Reports:
27% of Republicans Would Vote for Pro-Life Third Party Instead of Giuliani — If Rudy Giuliani wins the Republican nomination and a third party campaign is backed by Christian conservative leaders, 27% of Republican voters say they'd vote for the third party option rather than Giuliani.
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James C. Dobson / New York Times:
The Values Test — REPORTS have surfaced in the press about a meeting that occurred last Saturday in Salt Lake City involving more than 50 pro-family leaders. The purpose of the gathering was to discuss our response if both the Democratic and Republican Parties nominate standard-bearers who are supportive of abortion.
Garance Franke-Ruta / American Prospect:
COULTER COMES OUT AGAINST WOMEN VOTING. — Most of the time I ignore aging would-be pin-up Ann Coulter, but this week she came out with a whopper that could be as much of a gift to the Democratic Party as MoveOn.org's advertisement on Gen. Petraeus was for the G.O.P. More of a gift, even.
Discussion:
Shakespeare's Sister, AMERICAN DIGEST, IMAO, The Carpetbagger Report, TPMCafe blogs, Lawyers, Guns and Money and Jezebel
CNN:
Judge rejects Craig's bid to withdraw guilty plea — (CNN) — A Minnesota judge has denied Sen. Larry Craig's request to withdraw his guilty plea to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge stemming from his arrest in a sex sting at an airport men's room. — Hennepin County District Judge …
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Roger Cohen / New York Times:
The New L-Word: Neocon — A few years back, at the height of the jingoistic post-9/11 wave, the dirtiest word in the American political lexicon was "liberal." Everyone from President Bush to Ann Coulter was using it to denote wimplike, Volvo-driving softies too spineless for dangerous times and too given to speaking French.
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John Harwood / Wall Street Journal:
Republicans Grow Skeptical On Free Trade — WASHINGTON — By a nearly two-to-one margin, Republican voters believe free trade is bad for the U.S. economy, a shift in opinion that mirrors Democratic views and suggests trade deals could face high hurdles under a new president.
Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:
Obama, Others Nix Deal on Voter Fraud Guru … Obama earlier called von Spakovsky an "unacceptable nominee." For a rundown for why Dems would find von Spakovsky so objectionable, see here and here. — Rick Hasen has more on where things might go from here over at the Election Law Blog.
RELATED:
Edward T. Pound / National Journal:
Questionable Contracts — In April last year, Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson traveled to Dallas to deliver a speech to a group of minority real estate executives. The event should have been pretty routine stuff. But Jackson — and these are his words — shot off his mouth by describing …
Discussion:
Open Left
Pol Watcher / Colin McEnroe:
This Is Your Elephant on Drugs — The new official logo of the 2008 Gop convention. I'm not kidding.
George F. Will / Washington Post:
The Democratic Economist — CHICAGO — In his curriculum vitae, Austan Goolsbee lists as his "other interests" — other than teaching at the University of Chicago — two activities: triathlons and improv comedy. Evidently he is a masochist with a sense of humor, so he is suited to participate …
Mike Glover / Associated Press:
Obama stops wearing flag pin — WATERLOO, Iowa - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says he doesn't wear an American flag lapel pin because it has become a substitute for "true patriotism" since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. — Asked about it Wednesday in an interview …
Discussion:
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