Bush Administration Blocked Waterboarding Critic  —  Former DOJ Official Tested the Method Himself, in Effort to Form Torture Policy  —  A senior Justice Department official, charged with reworking the administration's legal position on torture in 2004 became so concerned …

Video: Clinton takes on Russert, says letter was no cover-up  —  "Breathtakingly" misleading.  That's what former president Bill Clinton called a question Tim Russert asked his wife at this week's Democratic presidential candidates' debate.  And boy was he mad.

The Long Run: Loyal to Kerik, Giuliani Missed Warning Signs  —  LOYAL TO KERIK, GIULIANI MISSED WARNING SIGNS  —  New evidence suggests Rudolph W. Giuliani overlooked disturbing information as he supported Bernard B. Kerik.

Kucinich Will Introduce Privileged Resolution To Force Up Or Down Vote On Cheney Impeachment  —  Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) announced today that he will be offering a privileged resolution on the House floor next week that will bring articles of impeachment against the Vice President, Richard B. Cheney.

The Petraeus Curve  —  Serious success in Iraq is not being recognised as it should be  —  Is no news good news or bad news?  In Iraq, it seems good news is deemed no news.  There has been striking success in the past few months in the attempt to improve security, defeat al-Qaeda sympathisers …

Pakistan's Musharraf declares emergency  —  ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday ahead of a crucial Supreme Court decision on whether to overturn his recent election win and amid rising Islamic militant violence.

It's official: Putin has just stopped pretending  —  It's safe to say that no one really expects this December's Russian elections to be a fair contest.  All the same, the Kremlin's decision to cut the number of international observers invited by two thirds is a particularly brazen demonstration …

The Toughest, Most Effective Web Ad I've Seen This Campaign So Far  —  It's very rare that I find myself in total agreement with Markos Moulitsas, creator of Daily Kos.  But he calls John Edwards' response to Hillary Clinton's "pile-on" video "devastating," and I have to agree.

Hot Air audio: University of Delaware professor speaks out; Update: Transcript added  —  Earlier today I interviewed Dr. Linda Gottfredson of the University of Delaware.  She and a colleague, Dr. Jan Blits, led the way in exposing and ultimately stopping the university's insidious indoctrination of students via on-campus housing.

My Favorite Menace  —  The Law of the Sea Treaty has become a hot-button item in the Republican presidential race.  —  Say what?  —  "One of the defining issues of our time," declared Mike Huckabee, who is leading an anti-treaty charge.  —  People, what do you think of when you hear "defining issues of our time?"

Sugar Industry Expands Influence  —  When U.S. sugar farmers needed help this summer defending a $1 billion, 10-year subsidy plan in a new House farm bill, they found it in some surprising places.  —  Among the 282 lawmakers siding with Midwest and Gulf Coast growers on a key vote …

One Hundred Routes to War, One Hundred Ways to Hell  —  Almost two years ago, in writing about the effects of any foreign intervention that is not a demonstrably necessary act of self-defense, I identified what I considered to be the most important principle regarding interventions of this kind.