Intelligence Report: Pelosi Briefed on Use of Interrogation Tactics in Sept. '02  —  ABC News' Rick Klein reports: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was briefed on the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” on terrorist suspect Abu Zubaydah in September 2002, according to a report prepared …

Hannity Attacks Obama For Putting Mustard On His Burger [UPDATED]  —  [Good Lord, this has become a full-blown “thing” now.  Please see utterly deranged updates, below.]  —  Oh hi, everyone!  Are we still doing that election year thing, where if a politician consumes anything other than box wine …

Obama To Fire His First Gay Arabic Linguist  —  Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and officer in the Army National Guard who is fluent in Arabic and who returned recently from Iraq, received notice today that the military is about to fire him.  Why?  Because he came out of the closet as a gay man on national television.

U.S. Banks' Not-So-Stressful Test  —  The government's bank stress tests deserve a B-minus.  —  To give a sustained boost to investor confidence, the tests needed demonstrable rigor.  They achieved that up to a point.  While worst-case loss rates look tough, certain loan portfolios …

Cheney: “Mistake” For GOP To “Moderate,” Glad That Detainees Were Waterboarded  —  Former Vice President Dick Cheney defended the Bush administration's use of waterboarding on Thursday, saying that, contrary to arguments made by Barack Obama, the techniques were a necessary last-resort measure to get information from detainees.

Under Restructuring, GM To Build More Cars Overseas  —  The U.S. government is pouring billions into General Motors in hopes of reviving the domestic economy, but when the automaker completes its restructuring plan, many of the company's new jobs will be filled by workers overseas.

White House Formalizes Supreme Court Short List  —  The White House has formalized its short list of Supreme Court contenders and asked six prospects to provide personal background information, with an intensive vetting process well underway, according to sources close to the process.

Dodgers' Manny Ramirez suspended 50 games after failing drug test  —  The suspension, for using what a source says is a female fertility drug, will cost him $7.7 million.  Ramirez takes responsibility, while the Dodgers support the testing program and back their star slu

Obama and the 9/11 Families  —  The president isn't sincere about ‘swift and certain’ justice for terrorists.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  In February I was among a group of USS Cole and 9/11 victims' families who met with the president at the White House to discuss his policies regarding Guantanamo detainees.

White House on defense over legitimacy of budget cuts  —  As congressional Republicans howled about what they view as fictional budget cuts and fuzzy math, the White House found itself playing defense over what President Obama said Thursday are $17 billion in cuts.

Friedman Resigns as Chairman of New York Fed  —  Stephen Friedman, the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, abruptly resigned on Thursday, days after questions arose about his ties to Goldman Sachs.  —  Mr. Friedman was chairman of the New York Fed at the same time he was a member of Goldman's board.

Teenage Bomb Threat Suspect Was Internet Prank-Call Star  —  A 16-year-old North Carolina boy arrested for allegedly making a bomb threat against Purdue University had a secret identity as a superstar in an unusual online subculture — one dedicated to making prank phone calls for a live internet audience, his mother admitted Thursday.

Sessions Subordinate: I Thought I'd Be Fired If I Objected To Being Called ‘Boy’  —  When it became clear that Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) was poised to become ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, we recalled this 2002 article by Sarah Wildman which addresses some of the controversies …

BLACK COMEDY.  RedState is reaching out to black people.  Don't believe it?  Here's the proof: … Unfortunately they're doing it at RedState, so very few African-Americans will read it.  Which may be just as well...  ...because they sound less like their friends and more like their parole officer.

Bids to Push States' Rights Falter in Face of Stimulus  —  BOISE, Idaho — Standing up for states' rights has not been easy this spring, even as many state lawmakers wince at the extended reach of the federal government.  With the recession sparing few corners of the country …