Oh my god, that is such a bullshit legal argument. I can't believe our government would actually pull this. Well, actually, I can believe this administration would.

Quoted: The Bush administration told the CIA in 2002 that its interrogators working abroad would not violate U.S. prohibitions against torture unless they "have the specific intent to inflict severe pain or suffering," according to a previously secret Justice Department memo released Thursday.
Quoted: The interrogator's "good faith" and "honest belief" that the interrogation will not cause such suffering protects the interrogator, the memo adds.

Definitely a positive development.

Quoted: Iraq's national security adviser said Tuesday his country will not accept any security deal with the United States unless it contains specific dates for the withdrawal of U.S.-led forces.

Quoted: The current threat posed by Iran is exaggerated by conflating it with the potential, but far from certain, future threat.

This doesn't sound too good. Must be time for another surge.

Quoted: Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is establishing a new fighting force to battle U.S.-led troops in Iraq, he said in a letter read in some Iraqi mosques Friday.

If the US Attorney firings weren't enough to get Rove, this well could be.

Quoted: The subpoena issued Thursday orders Rove to testify before the House panel on July 10. He is expected to face questions about the White House's role in firing nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 and the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman of Alabama, a Democrat.

When did Alcohol consumption become a major election issue? Props for picking PBR. Good for blue collar voters, and a dog-whistle for college kids.

Quoted: At the Raleigh Times bar in downtown Raleigh yesterday, Mr Obama arrived in the late afternoon with his wife Michelle only to find himself momentarily beerless. "Where's my beer?" he asked, loud enough for the reporters to hear. He eyed an array of fine micro brews on tap, from the amber Maharaja IPA to the "naturally cloudy" Blanche Bruxelles. He zeroed in on the mass market. "PBR," he said, choosing Pabst Blue Ribbon, an inexpensive lager, before working the crowd.

Yup.

Quoted: Remarks by the President from the USS Abraham Lincoln At Sea Off the Coast of San Diego, California

Bush says we don't torture. But evidently we kill.

Quoted: In the week in which Diaz received the Ridenhour Prize, another Pentagon “secret” was disclosed. This “secret” was a memorandum made to order for William J. Haynes II, Rumsfeld’s General Counsel, and the man at the apex of the Pentagon’s military justice system that tried, convicted and sentenced Diaz. The memo was authored by John Yoo. This memorandum was designed to authorize the introduction of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading interrogation techniques to be used upon prisoners held at Guantánamo, and ultimately also used in Afghanistan and Iraq. The memorandum authorized waterboarding, long-time standing, hypothermia, the administration of psychotropic drugs and sleep deprivation in excess of two days in addition to a number of other techniques. Each of these techniques is long established as torture as a matter of American and international law. The application and implementation of these techniques was and is a crime.

Quoted: The exact circumstances surrounding the dealings between Haynes and Yoo that led to the development of this memorandum are unclear. However, it is clear that Haynes had previously authorized the use of the torture techniques, and had secured an order from Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld authorizing them.

Quoted: Following the implementation of these techniques, more than 108 detainees died in detention. In a large number of these cases, the deaths have been ruled a homicide and connected to torture. These homicides were a forseeable consequence of the advice that Haynes and Yoo gave.

Quoted: The Country He Inherited, The Country He Leaves Behind