Why Can't CIA Handle the Same Level of Oversight the Military Gets?

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emptywheel
Congress has managed to review all aspects of torture used in the military, with no untoward outcome. Yet CIA insists if the same happens for the torture used in the CIA, the sky will fall.

Greg Craig in Trouble ... But for What?

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emptywheel
I've disliked Greg Craig since the time--before Obama was elected--he insulted our intelligence by suggesting Obama had flip-flopped on FISA because FISA (and not the odious Protect America Act) was expiring. But I'm worried that Greg Craig's job as White House Counsel may be in jeopardy for the wrong reasons.

Consumers Can't Save $750 by Driving a More Efficient Gun to Work

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emptywheel
Everytime I do TV, there's one line I immediately wish I had used as soon as the opportunity passes, and that's the line I wish I had used to rebut Bob Franken's inane argument that we ought to replace the Cash for Clunkers program with the Gravy for Guns program. "Consumers can't save $750 a year driving a more efficient gun to work." I also wish I had had about 20

Is Robert "Gold Bars" Luskin Hoping for Real Estate in Antigua?

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emptywheel
Allen Stanford found the perfect guy to defend him even though his prospects of payment are slim: Robert "Gold Bars" Luskin.
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McCain Is A Clunker, Can I Trade Him In?

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bmaz
John Sidney McCain III, the blue blooded husband of a beer heiress, who cannot remember how many houses he owns, has decided he will be the Republican face of opposition to continuance of the wildly successful Cash For Clunkers program.

Breaking! Crazy Pete Hoekstra Wants to Refuse New Jobs for Michiganders

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emptywheel
Michiganders need jobs. Gitmo detainees need a new home. But Crazy Pete Hoekstra doesn't want to bring Gitmo's detainees to Michigan.

Lurita Doan: Still a Moron, Though Thankfully Not on Our Dime

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emptywheel
Lurita Doan tries to lecture Henry Louis Gates, Jr. But she sounds just as stupid as she has always sounded.
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The Stealing Wars: What's Good for Gawker Is Good for WaPo's Slate

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emptywheel
Ian Shapria rightly complains that Gawker appropriated huge chunks of his work without practicing good linking etiquette. But he ironically links to Slate doing precisely what she complains Gawker is doing.
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Army Responds to its Own Spy Program--by Investigating Lynndie England

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emptywheel
The Army says it's going to respond to the infiltration of peace groups by several of its employees--by investigating just one fo them.

Leon Panetta Begs and Threatens for Consensus Rather than Oversight

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emptywheel
Remember when the Obama Administration appealed to a "fundamental compact" between Congress and the Executive Branch when arguing the intelligence community didn't need more oversight? ("Fundamental compact, my ass," I thought was the best response.) Well, Leon Panetta's out with a similar appeal to inflated, but bogus, language in an attempt to avoid increased Congressional oversight.

Karl Rove: That's Why They Call It a Limited Hang-Out

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emptywheel
Now why do you suppose Robert Luskin went to the trouble of orchestrating a limited hang-out in the NYT and WaPo yesterday?

Senator Al Franken!

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emptywheel
Senator Al Franken has the proper manners of a party stalwart.

House Adds $2 Billion to Cash for Clunkers

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emptywheel
The House just put another $2 billion into the wildly popular Cash for Clunkers program; presumably, the Senate will follow suit before they leave today. From the comments made during the House discussion on this, it sounds like the program was wildly more successful than even reported yesterday--largely because (in spite of an arguably crappy design) it is working to do what it's supposed to:

A Fusion Center Before Its Time

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emptywheel
The military infiltration of peace groups in Washington makes me worried that the spy ring now being prosecuted in San Diego was used as a model for the expansion of fusion centers.

"Three Reporters," Is Right

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emptywheel
Athenae notes that the NYT had three people--three reporters!!--live-blogging the "beer summit."

Seven Days, 250,000 Cars

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emptywheel
The Cash for Clunkers program has already supported the trade in of 250,000 cars.

WaPo: Rove Spins His Role in US Attorney Firings

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emptywheel
The WaPo reveals that they had an hour-long interview with Karl Rove earlier this month--at which he tried to spin his role in the US Attorney firings. Apparently, though, his spin was debunked by documents the WaPo received.

The CIA Doesn't Want You to Know about Tom Cruise's Lobbying for Scientologists

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emptywheel
The CIA doesn't want you to know that its top-secret PDB sessions include discussions of what Scientologists have gotten personal meetings with the Vice President's Chief of Staff.