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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

LGF on Glenn Beck  —  I still don't have a working cable TV connection in my new top-secret underground facility, so I missed Glenn Beck's show today (I wouldn't have been watching anyway, to be honest), but I understand from several lizardoid reports that Beck had some things to say about me.

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.

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.”

Control of Cybersecurity Becomes Divisive Issue  —  WASHINGTON — The National Security Agency has been campaigning to lead the government's rapidly growing cybersecurity programs, raising privacy and civil liberties concerns among some officials who fear that the move could give the spy agency …

For The Record  —  No mention of the torture memos appears right now on the Drudge Report (which provides news of a prank at Dominos pizza), Instapundit (which mentions the new DVD for the Lord of The Rings trilogy), Pajamas Media, or Michelle Malkin.  They are reacting to the evidence …

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” …

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.

New Mexico Gov. Richardson Sets Aside Political Aspirations — for Now  —  After His Abortive Cabinet Bid, N.M. Governor Says He's Content to Leave Washington Behind  —  SANTA FE, N.M. — If all had gone according to plan, Bill Richardson would be at center stage in Washington, wheeling …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …