Report Reveals CIA Conducted Mock Executions  —  A long-awaited report on post-9/11 interrogation tactics will reveal harrowing new details about treatment of suspected terrorists. … A long-suppressed report by the Central Intelligence Agency's inspector general to be released next week reveals …

Constitutionality of Health Insurance Mandate Questioned  —  President Obama has called for a serious and reasoned debate about his plans to overhaul the health-care system.  Any such debate must include the question of whether it is constitutional for the federal government to adopt and implement the president's proposals.

Obama to raise 10-year deficit to $9 trillion  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will raise its 10-year budget deficit projection to approximately $9 trillion from $7.108 trillion in a report next week, a senior administration official told Reuters on Friday.

'I've never seen anything like this'  —  MARIANNA, Fla. — Rep Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) is a skilled politician who has pretty much seen it all — a Deep South Democrat who's managed to dispatch all opponents in his conservative-leaning Panhandle district since winning election in 1996.

Critics Driven by Racial Bias, Paterson Says  —  ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson lashed out on Friday at critics who say he should not run for election, and he suggested that he was being undermined by an orchestrated, racially biased effort by the media to force him to step aside.

Lutheran Group Eases Limits on Gay Clergy  —  After an emotional debate over the authority of Scripture and the limits of biblical inclusiveness, leaders of the country's largest Lutheran denomination voted Friday to allow gay men and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as members of the clergy.

A Loyal Opposition  —  Defeating Obamacare and the Taliban.  —  Six months into the Obama presidency, conservatives and Republicans have occasion for some good cheer.  —  It's not simply that key and noxious elements of Obama's legislative agenda are in serious trouble.

Taliban Reportedly Cut Off Fingers of 2 Voters  —  An Afghan election monitoring group says Taliban insurgents have made good on their threat to chop off ink-stained fingers of voters.  Meanwhile, international observers are rendering a tentative verdict on the electoral process …

Milk Carton Campaign a Success!  Shea Porter to hold town meetings next Saturday  —  Multiple sources, including James Pindell at NHPoliticalReport.com, are telling GraniteGrok that our Congresswoman Carol Shea Porter has finally set up some town hall meetings where she will actually meet with real live constituents face to face.

Report details misconduct at VA department  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — While hundreds of thousands of disability claims lay backlogged at the Department of Veterans Affairs, thousands of technology employees at the department received $24 million in bonuses, a new report says.

Baucus defends bipartisan health reform  —  Sen. Max Baucus on Thursday defended his insistence on a bipartisan process for delivering a health care reform bill to the floor of the Senate, claiming that an approach involving both Republicans and Democrats has the best chance for success …

Liberal bloggers admit conservatives have upper hand on Twitter  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) - Liberal bloggers established online political activism, besting their conservative rivals during President George W. Bush's eight years in office.  But conservatives are now finding great success 140 characters at a time.

U.S. adds clerks to clear clunkers  —  Volunteers include FAA  —  The U.S. Transportation Department, billions of dollars behind in paying “cash-for-clunkers” rebates, has hired private contractors and solicited volunteers from the Federal Aviation Administration and its own executive ranks to work overtime to clear the backlog.

‘Tea Party’ Organizers Plan Anti-'Obamacare' Rallies Across the Country  —  The same groups who made the “tax tea parties” possible in April are planning anti-Obamacare rallies across the country Saturday in all 435 congressional districts.  —  FOXNews.com

Iran chooses wanted man for cabinet  —  Iran's new defence minister sought by Interpol for 1994 bombing of Jewish centre  —  A former commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards has been nominated by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, to head the country's defence ministry …

Obama's Big Bang could go bust  —  Barack Obama's Big Bang is beginning to backfire, as his plans for rapid, once-in-a-generation overhauls of energy, financial regulation and health care are running into stiff resistance, both in Washington and around the country.

Texas to revise history textbooks: liberals out, Limbaugh and Gingrich in.  —  The Texas State Board of Education review committee is preparing to vote on a draft of proposed standards for history textbooks.  Noting that the draft has “nothing about liberals,” the Houston Chronicle reported:

Politico Discredits Moral Case For Health Care Reform  —  Politico writes: … I would be quite curious to hear how the “moral” argument for health-care reform has been discredited.  Actually, I would be curious to hear how one would go about discrediting such a moral argument at all.