Top Items:
ACLU:
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.
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Mark Mazzetti / The Caucus:
Obama Releases Interrogation Memos, Says C.I.A. Operatives Won't Be Prosecuted — Updated After a tense internal debate, President Obama officially announced this afternoon that his administration would not prosecute C.I.A. operatives for carrying out controversial interrogations of terrorist suspects …
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, Wall Street Journal, Salon, Washington Monthly, UN Dispatch, Hullabaloo, AfterDowningStreet.org and The Plum Line
Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Obama to release OLC torture memos; promises no prosecutions for CIA officials — (updated below - Update II) — In a just-released statement, Barack Obama announced that — in response to an ACLU FOIA lawsuit — he has ordered four key Bush-era torture memos released, and the Associated Press …
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
Obama Explains Memo Release Decision — In sum: he's decided to redact the identities of the CIA officers who conducted the interrogations, but everything else will be released without censorship. The full statement is after the jump; here's the part that reflects, I think, what Obama really thinks:
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
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:
CNN
MSNBC:
CIA employees won't be tried for waterboarding — Former CIA Director says torture memo release endangers the country — WASHINGTON - Seeking to move beyond what he calls a “a dark and painful chapter in our history,” President Barack Obama said Thursday that CIA officials …
Discussion:
Christy Hardin Smith
US Department of Justice:
Department of Justice Releases Four Office of Legal Counsel Opinions — In connection with ongoing litigation, the Department of Justice today released four previously undisclosed Office of Legal Counsel ("OLC") opinions - one that OLC issued to the Central Intelligence Agency in August 2002 …
New York Times:
Obama Rules Out Charging C.I.A. Agents in Interrogations — WASHINGTON — The Justice Department made public on Thursday detailed memos describing harsh interrogation techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency, as President Obama said that C.I.A. operatives who carried out the techniques would not be prosecuted.
Associated Press:
No charges against CIA officials for waterboarding
No charges against CIA officials for waterboarding
Discussion:
Agence France Presse, Reuters, Political Machine, RebelReports, Swampland, Associated Press and Little Green Footballs
Marc Ambinder / The Atlantic Politics Channel: CIA Officers Granted Immunity From Torture Prosecution *** UPDATE ***
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.
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David Neiwert / Crooks and Liars:
Shepard Smith blows the ‘DHS is picking on the Tea Parties’ meme out of the water — You can view this video right here by getting the latest version of Flash Player! — Shepard Smith brought that rarest of things to Fox News yesterday: amid the cacophony over the Tea Parties, he actually committed an act of journalism.
Eric Zimmermann / The Hill's Blog Briefing Room:
Schakowsky: Tea parties ‘despicable’ — Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) blasted “tea party” protests yesterday, labeling the activities “despicable” and shameful. “The ‘tea parties’ being held today by groups of right-wing activists, and fueled by FOX News Channel, are an effort to mislead …
Fox News:
Cable Anchors, Guests Use Tea Parties as Platform for Frat House Humor — Cable anchors and guests covered the anti-tax tea party protests by cracking a litany of barely concealed sexual references. — FOXNews.com — For thousands of Americans, Tax Day was a moment to protest …
Ross Douthat:
The Tea Parties — They resemble nothing so much as the anti …
The Tea Parties — They resemble nothing so much as the anti …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Outside The Beltway, Whiskey Fire, The League of Ordinary … and The Liberty Papers
Brian Beutler / TPMDC:
Fox News Anchor: We Did Public Relations For Tea Parties
Fox News Anchor: We Did Public Relations For Tea Parties
Discussion:
Washington Monthly
Byron York / www.washingtonexaminer.com:
Small-town rally shows true meaning of tea parties
Small-town rally shows true meaning of tea parties
Discussion:
Hot Air
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
Republicans and the Tea Parties
Republicans and the Tea Parties
Discussion:
Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Reason, New York Times, Daily Kos, USA Today, And So it Goes in Shreveport and Pajamas Media
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.
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The White House:
A Vision for High Speed Rail
A Vision for High Speed Rail
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias, Environment and Energy, The Corner, Jack & Jill Politics, Climate Progress, Wonkette and MoJo Blog Posts
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 …
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Go Rick! — MSNBC is now picking up on the story of Gov. Perry …
Go Rick! — MSNBC is now picking up on the story of Gov. Perry …
Discussion:
Open Left
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.
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:
Washington Monthly, Outside The Beltway, The Plank, The Washington Independent, Shakesville and PoliGazette
Brian Stelter / New York Times:
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.
Myglesias / Matthew Yglesias:
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 …