Top Items:
CNSNews:
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” …
Discussion:
BBC, Gateway Pundit, Pat Dollard, PoliGazette, Flopping Aces, Macsmind, NewsBusters.org, Pundit & Pundette and Jules Crittenden
RELATED:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Banned Techniques Yielded ‘High Value Information,’ Memo Says — WASHINGTON - President Obama's national intelligence director told colleagues in a private memo last week that the harsh interrogation techniques banned by the White House did produce significant information that helped the nation in its struggle with terrorists.
Discussion:
Associated Press, RedState, The Politico, Wizbang, AmSpecBlog, Political Punch, Don Surber, Sister Toldjah, PrairiePundit and TalkLeft
New York Times:
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 …
Discussion:
The Politico, Washington Post, CBS News, Fox News, Right Wing News, The Plum Line, Politics and Critical Thinking, Crooks and Liars, Hugh Hewitt's TownHall Blog, Political Machine, Salon, Chris Floyd Online, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, DownWithTyranny!, Newshoggers.com, PERRspectives, PoliGazette and Shakesville
Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:
Source: Despite Claim, Cheney Didn't Really Ask CIA To Release Torture Intelligence — Did Dick Cheney really “formally” ask the CIA to release reams of intelligence allegedly showing that the torture program worked, as Cheney claimed last night on Fox News?
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, New York Magazine, Emptywheel, Salon, Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly and The Politico
Fox News:
Analysts Question Legality of Targeting Lawyers in ‘Torture’ Inquiry
Analysts Question Legality of Targeting Lawyers in ‘Torture’ Inquiry
Discussion:
Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
CIA: We stand behind our actions — and the results
CIA: We stand behind our actions — and the results
Discussion:
Gateway Pundit
Jerry Markon / Washington Post:
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 …
Discussion:
The Cable
RELATED:
NPR:
Harman ‘Outraged’ Over Alleged Wiretapping — Listen Now — · This week, Congressional Quarterly and later The New York Times reported that the National Security Agency had recorded a telephone conversation between Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) and someone who was seeking Harman's support …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, TPMMuckraker, MyDD, The Plum Line, Mondoweiss and Gawker
CNN:
Rep. calls alleged wiretap ‘abuse of power’ — WASHINGTON (CNN) — A key Democrat who reportedly was overheard on a National Security Agency wiretap discussing a deal with a suspected Israeli agent has called the wiretap an “abuse of power.” — Rep. Jane Harman, D-California …
Discussion:
The Swamp
David Weigel / The Washington Independent:
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 …
Discussion:
Liberty Street, Gates of Vienna, Little Green Footballs, The Other McCain, Sadly, No! and American Power
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:
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 …
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Tom Maguire / JustOneMinute:
Not A Lawyer (Or Even A Clear Thinker) — Although it seems awfully late in the debate, the Daily Dish defines torture: — It is to subject captives to such levels of physical or mental pain or suffering that they “have reached the limit of their ability to withhold [information] in the face of psychological and physical hardship.”
Discussion:
Pajamas Media
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
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.
RELATED:
ABCNEWS:
RFK Jr. Blasts Obama as ‘Indentured Servant’ to Coal Industry — Critics Say Clean Coal Is a Boondoggle; ‘Clean Coal Is a Dirty Lie’ — “Clean coal is a dirty lie,” says environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who calls President Barack Obama and other politicians who commit taxpayer money to develop it …
RELATED:
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air:
Robert Kennedy: Obama “indentured servant” to coal industry
Robert Kennedy: Obama “indentured servant” to coal industry
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
Alexander Mooney / CNN:
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 …
Dr. Sanity:
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 …
John Cook / Gawker:
Matt Drudge Goes Into Hiding — Days after Matt Drudge popped up to tell New York magazine about how he doesn't enjoy having sex with men, The New Republic looks into his descent into Howard Hughes-like isolation. — As Gabriel Sherman puts it, Drudge fears the media …
Discussion:
New York Magazine
www.washingtonexaminer.com:
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.
Bernie Becker / The Caucus:
Presidents 42 and 43 Team Up for a Chat — Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are headed up north for a little friendly back-and-forth. — The two will appear at the Metro Toronto Convention Center on May 29, in their first public appearance together since Mr. Bush left office in January.
Discussion:
Connecting.the.Dots
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
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 …
Susan Moeller / The Huffington Post:
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 …
Gene Healy / Cato Institute:
Of Course It Was Torture — This article appeared in the DC Examiner on April 20, 2009. … On Thursday, the Obama administration released previously classified memos detailing interrogation techniques used against enemy prisoners. In the memos, Bush administration lawyers assured the CIA …
Discussion:
Upturned Earth
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
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 …
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com, Crooks and Liars, The Atlantic Politics Channel, The Moderate Voice, MSNBC and The Opinionator
Ian / Overruled:
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.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Think Progress, The Huffington Post, DownWithTyranny! and Firedoglake
Brian Knowlton / New York Times:
Report Gives New Detail on Approval of Brutal Techniques — WASHINGTON — A newly declassified Congressional report released Tuesday outlined the most detailed evidence yet that the military's use of harsh interrogation methods on terrorism suspects was approved at high levels of the Bush administration.
Discussion:
The Politico
Lionel / The Huffington Post:
What Would You Not Do to Stop a Nuke? — Assume, arguendo, this hypothetical. — It is Inauguration day. President Obama is about to be sworn is as 44. Virtually everyone in federal office is there. Congressmen, Senators, the Supremes, the new cabinet. Get the picture?
Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
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 …
Discussion:
Wonk Room
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Just Out — Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse predicted on MSNBC the release of a DOJ report on torture memos is imminent, and the report will be “devastating.” — A poll of New York state voters shows that 59% support legalizing gay marriage. — Calling out the DOJ for “gross abuse of power,” …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
David G. Savage / Los Angeles Times:
Supreme Court hears arguments in school strip-search case — The justices' questions suggest they're reluctant to limit administrators' ability to look for drugs, even in the case of ibuprofen. — Reporting from Washington — The Supreme Court gave a skeptical hearing Tuesday to lawyers …
Discussion:
JustOneMinute
The Campaign Spot:
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.
Ben Jackson / The Sun:
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 …