memeorandum: Spanish AG says no torture probe of US officials (Paul Haven/Associated Press)

12:35 PM ET, April 16, 2009

Top Items:

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

Obama's huge test today: do we believe in secret law? — (updated below - Update II) — Today is the most significant test yet determining the sincerity of Barack Obama's commitment to restore the Constitution, transparency and the rule of law. After seeking and obtaining multiple extensions …

Discussion: Unqualified Offerings, TalkLeft and Outside The Beltway

New York Times:

Officials Say U.S. Wiretaps Exceeded Law — WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

The NYT's predictable revelation: new FISA law enabled massive abuses — (updated below) — In The New York Times last night, James Risen and Eric Lichtblau — the reporters who won the Pulitzer Prize for informing the nation in 2005 that the NSA was illegally spying on Americans on the orders …

Discussion: TalkLeft, The Plum Line and The Washington Independent

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish: Checking The Blogosphere

Wall Street Journal:
Portions of CIA Memos Expected to Be Released

Discussion: RebelReports, The Raw Story and American Prospect

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

“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.

Discussion: Denver Post, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, skippy the bush kangaroo, Political Machine, Donklephant and Democratic Strategist

Sinfonian / Blast Off!:

DFH blogger speaks at Pensacola Tea Party ... and lives to tell the tale — If you were following my livetweeting today from the Pensacola Tea Party, then you already know: I gave a little speech. Hey, I'm a sucker for Open Mic Night ... what can I say? — Seriously — I didn't realize …

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Huffington Post, Shakesville, Whiskey Fire, The Impolitic and First Draft

Chris Good / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Tea Pary Turnout: A Rundown of Estimates

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Mark Krikorian / The Corner:
I Think We're Going to Need a Bigger Umbrella

Discussion: TigerHawk, Gateway Pundit, Vanity Fair and The Foundry

Donald Douglas / American Power:
Orange County Tax Day Tea Party

Discussion: Orange County Register, Pajamas Media and Moe Lane

Paul Haven / Associated Press:

Spanish AG says no torture probe of US officials — MADRID - Spanish prosecutors will recommend against opening an investigation into whether six Bush administration officials sanctioned torture against terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, the country's attorney-general said Thursday.

Discussion: The Daily Dish, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Jules Crittenden, The Raw Story, Sister Toldjah and Barcepundit

Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Spainmas a bust — Earlier this week, news that Spain intended …

Discussion: Moe Lane

Al Goodman / CNN:
Prosecutor: Drop case against Bush officials

Discussion: D-Day, Newshoggers.com and Prairie Weather

George F. Will / Washington Post:

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.

Discussion: Swampland, Lean Left and The Washington Independent

Steve Benen / Washington Monthly: WILL TACKLES FASHION.... The Washington Post's George Will tends …

James Joyner / Outside The Beltway:
George Will - Never in Blue Jeans

Discussion: The American Scene

Fox News:

Napolitano Apologizes for Offending Veterans After DHS Eyes Them for ‘Rightwing Extremism’ — Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano apologized to veterans in a FOX News interview after a DHS report labeled returning troops at risk for embracing right-wing extremism. — FOXNews.com

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, Washington Post, Political Machine, Illinois Review, JammieWearingFool, Right Wing News and Taylor Marsh

Matt Corley / Think Progress:

Politico's Mike Allen claims that author of DHS report on right-wing extremism couldn't be from ‘real America.’ — On Tuesday, the Washington Times revealed a recent Department of Homeland Security assessment that warned about increased activity by “rightwing extremists.”

Discussion: Infinite Monkeys

Mike Madden / Salon:

“On 9/11, I think they hit the wrong building” — A woman participates in a Tax Day rally in Lafayette Park in Washington Wednesday. — WASHINGTON — The gathering in Lafayette Square, in honor both of tax day and of a generalized fury at Barack Obama, his budget, the Federal Reserve …

Discussion: Infinite Monkeys, Shakesville, Brilliant at Breakfast and Comments from Left Field

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:
Obama Is Just Not Their Cup of Tea

Discussion: Washington Times and White House Watch

Geoff Earle / Associated Press:
THAT'S TAX, WITH A TEA

Discussion: NewsBusters.org and The Foundry

Edwin Mora / CNSNews:

Georgetown Says It Covered Over Name of Jesus to Comply With White House Request — (CNSNews.com) - Georgetown University says it covered over the monogram “IHS”—symbolizing the name of Jesus Christ—because it was inscribed on a pediment on the stage where President Obama spoke at the university …

Discussion: The Swamp, Power Line, Lean Left, National Review, Townhall.com and TigerHawk

Associated Press:

Gov. Rick Perry: Texas Could Secede, Leave Union — HuffPost has comprehensive coverage of the Tax Day Tea Party protests. Click here for the latest photos and video. — AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Rick Perry fired up an anti-tax “tea party” Wednesday with his stance against the federal government …

Alexander Mooney / CNN:

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 …

Discussion: Below The Beltway, The Politico, Feministe, Pharyngula and Pajamas Media

Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:

Republicans and the Tea Parties — The U.S. went 15 years without a federal tax increase. — Yesterday was Tax Day, and it was marked by large numbers of Americans turning out for an estimated 2,000 tea parties across the country. This movement is significant.

Discussion: Ross Douthat, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, New York Times, The Note, And So it Goes in Shreveport, Pajamas Media and Think Progress

Directorblue / Doug Ross:
Tea Parties, Code Pink and the sickness of the MSM

Discussion: Dr. Melissa Clouthier, Wizbang, Cold Fury, Ace of Spades HQ, Pajamas Media, Power Line and Fausta's Blog

CBS News:
Katie Couric's Notebook: Tea Parties

Discussion: PoliGazette

New York Post:

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.

Discussion: Michael Calderone's Blog and Sister Toldjah

JammieWearingFool: ‘The Whole Meeting Was Really Kind of Creepy’

ginandtacos.com:

ED GOES UNDERCOVER TEABAGGIN' — So my good friend Scott pointed out that for all of my talk about Teabaggin', I was strangely ambivalent about the opportunity to see one in the flesh. Well, my inner anthropologist and innate love of freaks won out in the end.

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
Race at the Tea Party

Discussion: TalkLeft and Brendan Nyhan

fra.dot.gov:

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.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and AMERICAblog News

Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias: Obama's High-Speed Rail Plan

Robert Stacy McCain / The Other McCain:

The World's Worst TV Reporter — Via Michelle Malkin and Hot Air. — Ace of Spades offers some important biographical info on CNN's Susan Roesgen. NTTAWWT. — UPDATE: Linked at Memeorandum and Red State, and Vodka Pundit suggests “that vacuous Anderson Cooper guy” is worse than Roesgen.

Discussion: RedState, Gateway Pundit and theblogprof

Michelle Malkin:
CNN beclowns itself

Discussion: NewsBusters.org, Hot Air, Gateway Pundit, Sound Politics, Infinite Monkeys, Wizbang, theblogprof, Weekly Standard, Founding Bloggers and TVNewser

Carl Schreck / themoscowtimes.com:

Hair Stylist Keeps Armed Robber as Sex Slave — In what is either the weirdest Russian crime story of the year so far or a new low in yellow crime journalism, a female hair stylist in the Kaluga region is suspected of holding an armed robber in captivity as a sex slave for two days …

Andy Barr / The Politico:

Jindal to Cheney: Lay off Obama — Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) suggested Thursday that former Vice President Dick Cheney should tone down his criticism of President Barack Obama. — Cheney has repeatedly criticized the president's national security policy, saying recently on CNN's …