My Tortured Decision  —  FOR seven years I have remained silent about the false claims magnifying the effectiveness of the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding.  I have spoken only in closed government hearings, as these matters were classified.

Wiretap: The plot thickens in Harman drama  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was notified that intelligence agents had eavesdropped on Rep. Jane Harman's conversations three years ago.  —  This means the Speaker knew about the wiretap when she decided to stop Harman from becoming chairwoman of the House Intelligence Committee.

AP Poll: Americans high on Obama, direction of US  —  Featured Topics: - Barack Obama - Presidential Transition  —  WASHINGTON - For the first time in years, more Americans than not say the country is headed in the right direction, a sign that Barack Obama has used the first 100 days …

Pakistan Sends Special Police to Taliban-Held Area  —  ISLAMABAD — Pakistani authorities on Thursday deployed special constabulary forces to a strategically important district only 70 miles from the capital, Islamabad, that has come under the effective control of the Taliban in the last several days, police and residents said.

Lewis Testifies U.S. Urged Silence on Deal  —  Bank of America Chief Says Bernanke, Paulson Barred Disclosure of Merrill Woes Because of Fears for Financial System  —  Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and then-Treasury Department chief Henry Paulson pressured Bank of America Corp …

Shepard Smith Uncensored: “We Are America, We Do Not F**king Torture!”  (VIDEO)  —  Update: scroll down for Smith's uncensored comments  —  Fox News viewers witnessed a rather incredible scene on Wednesday as anchor Shepard Smith and Fox contributor Judith Miller (of CIA leak infamy) …

Obama at 100 Days: Strong Job Approval, Even Higher Personal Ratings  —  Better Ratings for Foreign Policy than Domestic Issues  —  As he approaches the 100-day mark of his presidency, Barack Obama's job approval ratings are higher than those of his most recent predecessors.

At Least 75 People Are Killed in Two Attacks in Iraq  —  BAGHDAD — At least 75 people were killed and 120 injured in two explosions in Iraq on Thursday that shook a quiet residential Baghdad neighborhood and a restive city north of the capital where Iranian tourists were targeted.

The President's Apology Tour  —  Great leaders aren't defined by consensus.  —  President Barack Obama has finished the second leg of his international confession tour.  In less than 100 days, he has apologized on three continents for what he views as the sins of America and his predecessors.

Rep. Joe Barton: I ‘Stumped’ Nobel Prize Winning Scientist  —  Oh the (rare, but occasionally exceptional) joys of Twitter.  Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX)—the ranking member on the House Energy & Commerce Committee—says (tweets?)  “I seemed [sic] to have baffled the Energy Sec with basic question - Where does oil come from?”

Obama's Budget Satire  —  Monday morning the government braced for austerity, as the government understands that.  Having sent Congress a $3.5 trillion budget, the president signaled in advance — perhaps so his Cabinet members could steel themselves for the new asceticism …

John Ensign's Unapologetic Critique  —  John Ensign wants to make one thing very clear: he's not sorry for saying it was “irresponsible” of President Obama to be seen laughing with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at last week's Summit of the Americas.  —  “That visual image is going to be used …

The Case for a Federalism Amendment  —  How the Tea Partiers can make Washington pay attention.  —  In response to an unprecedented expansion of federal power, citizens have held hundreds of “tea party” rallies around the country, and various states are considering “sovereignty resolutions” …

Fox News Stands Out as “Too Critical” of Obama  —  No One Network Singled Out as Too Easy  —  When Americans are asked to assess television news coverage of Barack Obama, Fox News Channel stands out from other networks for being too critical of the president.

Tarheel Fascism  —  6 people, presumably students, have been arrested protesting Virgil Goode's speech against illegal immigration at UNC-Chapel Hill.  They seem to be every bit as tolerant as the Carolina blue fascists that violently ended Tom Tancredo's attempted speech last week.

Sizing Up Obama's First 100 Days  —  The President almost seemed apologetic.  “This may be a slightly longer speech than I usually give,” he told his audience at Georgetown University on April 14.  “This is going to be prose and not poetry.”  What followed, as promised, was not poetry.

OBSERVER DECKED  —  EDITOR WALKS AS SALMON WEEKLY'S SALE RUMORS FLY  —  Longtime New York Observer Editor Peter Kaplan is exiting on June 1 amid rumors the newspaper's owner, real estate scion Jared Kushner, is trying to unload the salmon-colored weekly.  —  Kaplan, who has served …

Want to Prosecute the Lawyers?  Cite Ministries — Not the Justice Case  —  Scholars who believe that the individuals who wrote the OLC memos authorizing torture should be criminally prosecuted — as I do — normally cite the Justice Case, decided by the Nuremberg Military Tribunal (NMT) …

Democracy Kung Fu  —  Jackie Chan delivers a head-kick to free societies.  —  From today's Wall Street Journal Asia  —  Jackie Chan may be good at kung fu, but he sometimes takes aim at the wrong targets.  Take his recent head-punch to the democratic ideals enjoyed in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Presidential Poison  —  His invitation to indict Bush officials will haunt Obama's Presidency.  —  Mark down the date.  Tuesday, April 21, 2009, is the moment that any chance of a new era of bipartisan respect in Washington ended.  By inviting the prosecution of Bush officials …

WaPo hires Prospect's Klein  —  The American Prospect's Ezra Klein, one of the top bloggers on politics and policy, is heading to the Washington Post.  —  Rumors about Klein's upcoming move spread on Wednesday night during a reception thrown by The Nation magazine in honor of D.C. bureau chief Chris Hayes.

Iraq Officials: Al Qaeda Leader Arrested  —  Government Sources Tell CBS News Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, Leader Of Terror Group In The Country Has Been Detained  —  (CBS/AP) Iraqi officials told CBS News terrorism consultant Ali al-Ahmed Thursday that the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, had been arrested.