Abuse of Power: The Bush Administration's Secret Legal Memos  —  On April 16, 2009, the Department of Justice released four secret memos used by the Bush administration to justify torture:  —  A 18-page memo, dated August 1, 2002, from Jay Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, OLC, to John A. Rizzo, General Counsel CIA.

“Tea Party” Protests Appear to Draw At Least 250,000  —  This is an update and probably the last one.  Those of you who are interested in extending the analysis (there are undoubtedly many events missing, although most of the major ones should now be covered) are encouraged to do so at Wikipedia or elsewhere.

Texas governor says secession possible  —  (CNN) — Texas Gov. Rick Perry isn't ruling out the possibility his state may one day secede from the nation.  —  Speaking to an energetic and angry tea party crowd in Austin Wednesday evening, the Lone Star State governor suggested secession …

High-Speed Rail  —  Vision of High-Speed Rail in America  —  President Obama proposes to help address the nation's transportation challenges by launching new an efficient, high-speed passenger rail network in 100-600 mile corridors that connect communities across America.

CNBC SWEATS ‘OBAMA-BASHING’  —  THE top suits and some of the on-air talent at CNBC were recently ordered to a top-secret meeting with General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt and NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker to discuss whether they've turned into the President Obama-bashing network, Page Six has learned.

House Democrat Leaders: Tea Partiers Are Racist, Nazi, Gun Nuts  —  If the Obama administration has taken flak for suggesting that conservative groups might be home to domestic terrorists, it looks like some House Democrat leaders are willing to go even further:

America's Bad Jeans  —  On any American street, or in any airport or mall, you see the same sad tableau: A 10-year-old boy is walking with his father, whose development was evidently arrested when he was that age, judging by his clothes.  Father and son are dressed identically — running shoes, T-shirts.

Gotcha TV: Crews Stalk Bill O'Reilly's Targets  —  When Bill O'Reilly's camera crew ambushed Mike Hoyt at a bus stop in Teaneck, N.J., a few months ago, the on-camera confrontation and the microphone in his face reminded him, oddly enough, of the “60 Minutes” interviewer Mike Wallace.

NY-20: A WINNER EMERGING?  —  From NBC's Domenico Montanaro  —  Is Democrat Scott Murphy moving closer to winning the still very close 20th congressional district race in Upstate New York?  —  This morning, the state elections board, updated its numbers and now shows Murphy widening his lead to 167 votes …

The Dangers Of The Drinking Age  —  The government pressured states to raise it to 21.  So why didn't the move save lives?  —  For the past 20 years, the U.S. has maintained a Minimum Legal Drinking Age of 21 (MLDA21), with little public debate about the wisdom of this policy.

Frum on Conservative Paranoia  —  David Frum's Spectator article on the political challenges facing the modern Republican Party has a nice ditty on the tide of extreme paranoia sweeping the conservative mediaverse: … Now to be fair, during the Bush years more than one person passed me this …

Election 2009: Virginia Governor Election  —  GOP's McDonnell Pulls Further Ahead in Virginia Governor's Race  —  Republican Bob McDonnell has lengthened his lead on all three Democratic hopefuls in the race to be Virginia's next governor, but it's a long way to Election Day.