The President Ties His Own Hands on Terror  —  The point of interrogation is intelligence, not confession.  —  The Obama administration has declassified and released opinions of the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) given in 2005 and earlier that analyze the legality …

Veterans a Focus of FBI Extremist Probe  —  WASHINGTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier this year launched a nationwide operation targeting white supremacists and “militia/sovereign-citizen extremist groups,” including a focus on veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan …

In Texas, 31% Say State Has Right to Secede From U.S., But 75% Opt To Stay  —  Thirty-one percent (31%) of Texas voters say that their state has the right to secede from the United States and form an independent country.  —  However, the latest Rasmussen Reports poll in the state finds …

Tedisco asks to be declared winner  —  COLUMBIA COUNTY — 20th Congressional District candidate Republican Jim Tedisco submitted a petition to the Dutchess County Supreme Court Thursday asking the judge to declare him the winner of the extremely close special election race …

We Are Now Indonesia  —  Greenwald points to this nugget: … And this is, in fact, the Bush-Cheney position.  Because America did these things, they are not torture.  This is also, by the way, the position of the news reporters and editors at the New York Times and the Washington Post.

Green Shoots and Glimmers  —  Ben Bernanke, the Federal Reserve chairman, sees “green shoots.”  President Obama sees “glimmers of hope.”  And the stock market has been on a tear.  —  So is it time to sound the all clear?  Here are four reasons to be cautious about the economic outlook.

Stiglitz: Blame Summers … First Krugman, now Stiglitz; let's call it “When Nobel Prize winners agree with Barry” day.  —  Over the past few months, I have criticized CEA director Lawrence Summers “Sacred Cows/Save the Banks” approach, rather than a save the financial system approach.

The Memos: Torture Redefined  —  A screen shot of page 2 from the August 1, 2002 secret memo that details harsh interrogation techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency.  To see the other memos released by the Justice Department today, go here.  —  The Justice Department …

New gun law aimed at asserting sovereignty  —  Gov. Brian Schweitzer has signed into law a bill that aims to exempt Montana-made guns from federal regulation, adding firepower to a battery of legislative efforts to assert states' rights across the nation.  —  “It's a gun bill …

Tinklenberg v. Bachmann redux?  DFLers already eyeing 2010  —  Michele Bachmann represents the most Republican-friendly congressional district in Minnesota.  John McCain carried the area by eight percentage points in 2008 — the largest spread in the state.

Dodd faces steep road to reelection  —  Conn.'s senior senator trails 3 Republicans  —  HARTFORD - The election is still more than 18 months away, but US Senator Chris Dodd is barnstorming Connecticut this week like an incumbent in trouble.  Voters who have supported him for 29 years …

Do We Hate Credit Default Swaps for The Wrong Reasons?  —  There's a lot of crazy ignorant hating on CDSs out there, especially from certain political journalists who displayed no interest in learning about the financial community until they found that pronouncing the words “credit default swaps” …

Dean, Emanuel bury the hatchet  —  The feud between Howard Dean and Rahm Emanuel appears to be over.  —  Dean told The Hill that he recently had lunch with the White House chief of staff, signaling a thaw in their once icy relationship.  —  Dean, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee …

Barack Obama's ‘New Foundation’ - a Sting in Four Parts  —  Franklin Roosevelt gave us the New Deal.  John Kennedy gave us the New Frontier.  In a major domestic policy address at Georgetown University this week, Barack Obama promised — eight times — a “New Foundation.”

Obama Averages 63% Approval in His First Quarter  —  Highest first-quarter average since 1977  — USA - Government and Politics - Presidential Job Approval - The Presidency - Americas - Northern America  —  PRINCETON, NJ — Barack Obama's first quarter in office concludes on Sunday …

Christopher Hill: Deep Kimchee for Iraq  —  Of the many things that will be written about North Korea this week, the least likely of these is, “Now there's the kind of diplomacy we need more of.”  Consider just the events of the last few days: the missile test itself, which may have hit closer …

Alternative Fuel Folly  —  Every so often Washington throws out a controversy that brilliantly illustrates everything wrong with Washington.  Consider the brewing outrage over “black liquor.”  —  This is the tale of how a supposedly innocuous federal subsidy to encourage “alternative energy” …

The Million Taxpayer March  —  Hey, how about an analysis of the Tax Day Tea Party movement that doesn't involve sexual jokes or RAAAAACISM?  Here's my syndicated column on what Republicans in elected office — and fiscal conservatives unhappy with double-talking GOP politicians — need to take away from this week.

White House Cheat Sheet: Influencing the Influencers  —  President Obama ran against the chattering class politics of Washington but since coming into office has effectively manipulated this elite group of influencers using a variety of techniques from small group sitdowns to opinion pieces …

Maersk crew member on how they gained control over the pirates: 'We're union members.'  —  Yesterday, NBC Nightly News interviewed the brave crew members of the Maersk Alabama, who all survived an attack by Somali pirates.  They discussed how they managed to capture one of the bandits and bind him up …

Tea Party Nonpartisan Attendance Estimates: Now 300,000+  —  I promised that I wasn't going to put much more work into estimating crowd sizes for yesterday's tea party events, but here is one last update.  The important thing is that we now have a credible estimate for Atlanta at 15,000 persons …

Ex-McCain aide to call for gay marriage support  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Steve Schmidt, a key architect of John McCain's presidential campaign, is making his first public return to Washington a bold one.  —  Schmidt will use a speech Friday to Log Cabin Republicans, a gay rights group …

Authorities Investigate Payments by Rattner  —  Steven Rattner, the leader of the Obama administration's auto task force, was one of the executives involved with payments under scrutiny in a probe of an alleged kickback scheme at New York state's pension fund, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Blind Amputee Has to Fight AIG for New Plastic Leg, Wheelchair  —  While Executives Get Bonuses, John Woodson Gets “Cheapest They Could Get Away With”  —  An Oklahoma man who lost an eye and a leg in Iraq says the giant insurance company AIG refused to provide him a new plastic leg and fought …