Secret U.S. Endorsement of Severe Interrogations  —  When the Justice Department publicly declared torture "abhorrent" in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations.

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.

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.

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.

Romney's Religion  —  When Mitt Romney appeared last week (via closed circuit from California) before the Council of Retired Chief Executives meeting in Washington, he faced kindred souls: rich Republicans who had managed big enterprises.  Yet the second question from the audience inquired …

Iraqi Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain al-Qaeda financier, one other  —  Multi-National Corps - Iraq  —  Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory  —  APO AE 09342  —  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  —  RELEASE No. 20071004-02  —  Iraqi Forces, U.S. Special Forces detain al-Qaeda financier, one other

Iraqis to Pay China $100 Million for Weapons for Police  —  Experts Fear More Will Go to Insurgents  —  Iraq has ordered $100 million worth of light military equipment from China for its police force, contending that the United States was unable to provide the materiel and is too slow …

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 …

Another Dimension Of The Thomas Smear  —  I spent some time last night reviewing some of the transcripts from the "high-tech lynching" delivered by the Senate Judiciary Committee to Clarence Thomas, just to refamiliarize myself with the actual testimony and evidence.

Phony Democrats  —  In the recent past prominent Democratic officeholders have made remarkably insulting and/or counterfactual statements about our soldiers and their leaders.  Among the recurring themes are the proposition that our troops are stupid and their leaders are liars.

MITT ROMNEY AND THE SUPREME COURT  —  Douglas W. Kmiec is a professor of constitutional law at Pepperdine University.  He served as Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel, U.S. Department of Justice under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

When is Patriotism a Virtue  —  As promises yesterday, a post on patriotism, nationalism, left and right.  Now it's true that you have some people on the left — and some people on the libertarian right — who adhere to genuinely post-national cosmpolitan views, but I think that's pretty rare.

This Is Your Elephant on Drugs  —  The new official logo of the 2008 Gop convention.  I'm not kidding.