CIA Confirms: Waterboarding 9/11 Mastermind Led to Info that Aborted 9/11-Style Attack on Los Angeles  —  (CNSNews.com) - The Central Intelligence Agency told CNSNews.com today that it stands by the assertion made in a May 30, 2005 Justice Department memo that the use of “enhanced techniques” …

Obama Open to Inquiry in Interrogation Abuses  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday left open the door to creating a bipartisan commission that would investigate the Bush administration's use of harsh interrogation techniques on terrorism suspects, and he did not rule out taking action …

Prosecutors Considering Dropping Espionage Charges Against Former AIPAC Lobbyists  —  Review Comes Amid Reports That Rep. Harman Was Overheard on Wiretaps Agreeing to Seek Lenient Treatment for Them  —  Federal prosecutors are considering whether to drop the charges against two former pro …

Civil War Raging in Right-Wing Blogosphere  —  Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, jazz musician and Web designer Charles Johnson has devoted his blog, Little Green Footballs, to exposing Muslim extremism in and outside the United States.  His targets have included the Council …

America's Newest Profession: Bloggers for Hire  —  In America today, there are almost as many people making their living as bloggers as there are lawyers.  Already more Americans are making their primary income from posting their opinions than Americans working as computer programmers, firefighters or even bartenders.

GWS  —  I am not angry Mr. York.  I am afraid.  Afraid of the hatred for this President generated by the likes of FOX news and this newspaper.  I know that MSNBC is in the bed with the Democrats, but FOX is married to the Republicans.  Promoting this tea party is a prime example.

McCain facing 2010 primary  —  Social conservatives tolerated John McCain as the party's nominee, but never trusted him, and he now appears to be facing a serious primary from the right in Arizona next year.  —  Chris Simcox, the founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and a prominent figure …

Is Cheney Panicking?  —  The one thing you saw most plainly in the Plame affair is how obsessed Dick Cheney is with public image, the chattering classes and spinning stories that might reflect poorly on him.  The act is the elder statesman, authoritatively reviewing the world scene …

THIESSEN RATIONALIZES MUSLIM TORTURE... Just 48 hours after President Obama was inaugurated, former Bush chief speechwriter Marc Thiessen said Obama “is already proving to be the most dangerous man ever to occupy the Oval Office.”  With a record like this, it's probably unwise to expect …

McCain demands White House apology  —  (CNN) - A recent report from the Department of Homeland Security is downright “insulting” to veterans, Arizona Sen. John McCain said Monday.  —  In an interview on FOX News, the Vietnam veteran and former Republican presidential candidate …

Criminalizing Conservatism  —  Many liberals don't just want to defeat conservatives at the polls, they want to send them to jail.  Toward that end, they have sometimes tried to criminalize what are essentially policy differences.  President Obama hinted at another step in that direction …

Fatties cause global warming  —  Scientists warned that the increase in big-eaters means more food production — a major cause of CO2 gas emissions warming the planet.  —  Overweight people are also more likely to drive, adding to environmental damage.  —  Dr Phil Edwards …

Into the Dark  —  A long time reader chimes in ...  It sort of baffles me too.  I think a lot of people just fooled themselves about Cheney's politics.  But I've had enough people (with sufficient proximity to speak with some authority) say things like this that I think it's possible …

Judge tells Blagojevich he can't go to Costa Rica for reality show  —  Rod Blagojevich enters Dirksen Federal Building four a court hearing Tuesday morning.  (Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)  —  A federal judge said that former Gov. Rod Blagojevich cannot go to Costa Rica to film a reality show.

The OLC “torture memos”: thoughts from a dissenter  —  I first gained access to the OLC memos and learned details about CIA's program for high-value detainees shortly after the set of opinions were issued in May 2005.  I did so as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's policy representative …

THE POLIITICAL LEFT: UNITED IN HATE WITH AMERICA'S FOES  —  Cliff May reminds us that there is a reason why the political left in this country has made common cause with Militant Islamists: … In the few short months that the dedicated leftist Barack Obama has been in the White House …

How to Understand the Disaster  —  A Failure of Capitalism: The Crisis of '08 and the Descent into Depression  —  Harvard University Press, 346 pp., $23.95  —  No one can possibly know how long the current recession will last or how deep it will go.  That is because the dangerous combination of the …

Media Literacy 101: The Ethics of Photoshopping a Shirtless Obama  —  The web is buzzing about The Washingtonian magazine's choice to put a paparazzi photo of a buff and shirtless President Obama on the cover of its May issue.  —  The frenzy of comments about The Washingtonian's decision …

It Begins  —  Noted global warming denier James Inhofe, who once insisted that the United States base its foreign policy on the book of Genesis, announced on the Senate floor yesterday that he will filibuster the nomination of Judge David Hamilton to the Seventh Circuit.

A sincere warning to big-government Republican politicians  —  As I've said, before we focus on winning back majority status, the first priority must be reforming the Republican Party.  - Jon Henke  —  Shortly after I wrote this quick piece for the Alabama Republican Liberty Caucus website …

Go Organic — No Artificial Blogging.  Support Marcy Wheeler!  —  Yesterday, Marcy Wheeler made the front page of the New York Times with her scoop about about Khalid Sheik Mohammed being waterboarded 183 times in one month.  Her liveblogging of the Libby trial was one of the seminal moments …

Meghan McCain Gives Rave Review to Eminem's Video Depicting Sex with Faux Sarah Palin  —  Okay, I had wanted to stay away from further focus on the Twitter exploits of Meghan McCain, the daughter of the 2008 presidential candidate.  But sometimes you just can't tear your eyes away.

Religious right defends Rudy  —  The religious right, which vehemently opposed Rudy Giuliani's 2008 bid for the Republican presidential nomination, is rallying to the former New York mayor's defense against attacks from gay rights groups.  —  The skirmish began when Giuliani in an interview …