memeorandum: Perino: We Don't Torture Because We Say We Don't Torture (Paul Kiel/TPMmuckraker)

9:15 PM ET, October 4, 2007

Top Items:

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:

Michael Goldfarb / Weekly Standard:

Trivializing Torture — Andrew Sullivan is yet again calling the president a "war criminal." This time in response to today's New York Times article revealing that the Bush administration has subjected terror suspects captured abroad to 'severe' and 'brutal' interrogations.

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Lede and bustardblog

Paul Kiel / TPMmuckraker:

Perino: We Don't Torture Because We Say We Don't Torture — For fans of circular reasoning, today's press gaggle was a classic. Here's White House spokeswoman Dana Perino reacting to this morning's New York Times blockbuster that revealed secret Justice Department memos that authorized brutal interrogation techniques:

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Huffington Post, Washington Wire, Salon, Last Left Turn …, Cliff Schecter, Obama'08, The Democratic Daily, Comments from Left Field, Political Radar, Balkinization, Preemptive Karma, The Swamp, The Carpetbagger Report, Liberty Street, The Heretik and The Politico

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 and Wake up America

Terry Frieden / CNN: Debate rages over secret torture memo

Associated Press:

Obama Dropped Flag Pin in War Statement — Obama Stops Wearing Flag Pin, Says He'll Show Patriotism Through Ideas — An eagle-eyed reporter for the ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, noticed something missing from Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama's, D-Ill., lapels.

Discussion: CNN Political Ticker, Sister Toldjah, The Carpetbagger Report, Comments from Left Field, Hot Air, Liberty Street, Atlas Shrugs and Sweetness & Light

WCSH-TV:
National Guard Troops Denied Benefits After Longest Deployment Of Iraq War

Discussion: Think Progress, Riehl World View and Alternate Brain

Mike Glover / Associated Press:
Obama stops wearing flag pin

Discussion: Captain's Quarters, michellemalkin.com, Stop The ACLU and MSNBC

U.S. Senator Larry E. Craig:

Craig Reaction to Court Ruling — WASHINGTON, D.C. - Idaho Senator Larry Craig issued the following statement in reaction to today's ruling by the State of Minnesota District Court Fourth Judicial District allowing the guilty plea to stand: — "I am extremely disappointed with the ruling issued today.

Discussion: The Politico, The Swamp, The Caucus, Washington Wire, Outside The Beltway, Los Angeles Times, The Carpetbagger Report, DownWithTyranny!, On Deadline and The Daily Background

CNN:

Sen. Craig not resigning despite judge's ruling — (CNN) — Sen. Larry Craig on Thursday said he was not resigning from the Senate despite a Minnesota judge denying his request to withdraw his guilty plea stemming from his arrest in a sex sting at an airport men's room.

Discussion: The Carpetbagger Report, The Politico, Comments from Left Field, Dick Polman's American Debate and Blue Girl, Red State

CNN Political Ticker:
Judge won't let Craig withdraw guilty plea

Discussion: CQPolitics.com, Daily Kos, The Swamp, New York Times and MyDD

Huffington Post:
Craig Vows To Stay In Senate Until End Of Term

Discussion: Think Progress and Wonkette

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 …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Comments from Left Field, Blue Crab Boulevard, RIGHTWINGSPARKLE and Of Arms and the Law

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: Pandagon, The Atlantic Online, Shakespeare's Sister, AMERICAN DIGEST, DownWithTyranny!, IMAO, WIMN's Voices and Eunomia

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.

Discussion: Election Central, Three Wise Men, New York Times, The Atlantic Online, RIGHTWINGSPARKLE, Hot Air, Vox Popoli, Blue Jersey, Blue Crab Boulevard, Right Voices, TIME: Swampland, Donklephant, Liberal Values, MyDD and The Right's Field

Mike Dorning / The Swamp:

McCain trails in fundraising — Republican presidential candidate John McCain is again trailing top-tier competitors in quarterly fundraising results. — McCain's campaign announced a few minutes ago that the Arizona senator had raised $6 million in contributions during the past three months.

Discussion: The Politico and CNN Political Ticker

The Politico:
Romney attacks Giuliani on economy

Discussion: The Swamp and TBogg

CNN:
Giuliani edges Romney in fundraising

Discussion: Captain's Quarters and Mitt Romney For President News

Dana Blanton / Fox News:

FOX News Poll: Nearly 1 in 5 Democrats Say World Will Be Better Off if U.S. Loses War — NEW YORK — Nearly one out of every five Democrats thinks the world will be better off if America loses the war in Iraq, according to the FOX News Opinion Dynamics Poll released Thursday.

Discussion: Power Line, Confederate Yankee and THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS

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 …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Daily Kos, TPMmuckraker, Washington Monthly and MoJoBlog

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: First Draft and Open Left

Ben Smith / The Politico:

Elizabeth Edwards attacks Rush on draft — An Air America producer just sent over some transcript from an interview their Richard Greene (not our Richard Greene) conducted with Elizabeth Edwards, in which she questioned Rush Limbaugh's Vietnam exemption:

Discussion: Air America Radio, The Corner, The Huffington Post and The Radio Equalizer