Guest blogged by David Edwards

As we reported on Monday, President Bush categorically denied that the United States uses torture while implying that interrogators would use any means necessary in the name of protecting Americans. Meanwhile, John McCain has been advocating a bill, recently passed 90 to 9 in the Senate, outlawing torture in all cases.

Already, President Bush has threatened to veto the bill but that may not be possible given Bush's waning popularity. Vice President Cheney is now arguing to exempt the CIA from the torture legislation. So, how does the GOP explain this position to the American people... "We're against torture and we're against outlawing it (wink, wink, nod, nod)."

John Gibson hosts Fox News' Big Story. In this video clip Gibson interviews Reagan's National Security Advisor, Robert McFarland, who seems to agree with the new torture law. Of course, Gibson offers his own contrary yet confusing opinion about the torture bill. He starts by saying "I'm with John McCain on this..." and then goes on to confound his audience by saying: It has been revealed that the U.S. maintains a string of secret prisons (well, they're not secret now) in Eastern Europe where we have stashed captured Al Qaeda guys and I'm not in favor of telling these guys what we won't do to them. ... In my way of thinking, the benefit gained from telling the world that we have a law that forbids torture is outweighed by the bad guys knowing that we have a law that forbids torture. ... For the record, I'm against torture. I'm also against outlawing it. These are not mutually exclusive concepts. It may take a nimble mind to manage both ideas but I assure you, it's worth the effort. A nimble mind, indeed. Video in Windows Media format... Video in QuickTime format...

The White House press corps seemed to also pick up on the discrepancy between President Bush's torture denial and Vice President Cheney's desire for an exemption allowing torture by the CIA. MSNBC's Countdown put together this clip of reporters trying to get an explanation from White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan. Howard Fineman of Newsweek calls McClellan's attack on reporters "Nixonian". Video in Windows Media format... Video in QuickTime format...

Jon Stewart acknowledges the torture confusion. He asks Ed Helms about the "ticking time bomb" scenario. TV Shows like the Fox series 24 depict torture as the the dramatic solution while most experts believe that torture provides dubious intelligence under any circumstance. Who are you going to believe? Kiefer Sutherland's character, Special Agent Jack Bauer or "the experts"? Video in Windows Media format... Video in QuickTime format...

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This is a day or two old, but I'm in the mood for a bit of lighter fare at the moment after the last couple of days of various mayhem, so I thought I'd share it with you. From yesterday's LA Times account of Charles and Camilla's visit to San Francisco...

If the news was like this every day, I could retire.

(Hat tip to Desi, who just can't get enough of those lovable royals...and the Schultzes)

Guest Blogged by John Gideon of VotersUnite.org

Today was a typical "day after an election day" news day. Though many claim that everything went well, a look at the list of counties in Ohio, and elsewhere, proves that everything did not go well. Of course elections officials and the vendors are claiming that all of the problems were caused by the voter or poll workers. The problems are never the result of using the machines. Already a candidate is calling for a recount in Virginia after complaints that voters would vote for him and the votes would register for his opponent. And there are 45,000 questionable votes in Montreal, Canada...

Arnold's personally-declared Special Election (only the fifth one ever in history of state) was a multi-million dollar disaster for the Governator. Fortunately, California has plenty of money to spend on such larks, so no harm done just because every measure on the ballot was rejected. Every. Single. One.

Busy day today otherwise, so I'll throw it open to your thoughts on yesterday's election.

And a request to you folks in Ohio: Why do you suppose the Election Reform Initiatives failed so soundly in your state, while anti-Republican candidates and measures did so well every where else in the country? Is it because Ohio really really likes the way their elections have been handled up until now by SoS J. Kenneth Blackwell? Also, did you vote on Ohio's brand-spanking new Diebold Accuvote TSx machines (the ones that California's Sec. of State rejected because they failed 20% of the time in a recent massive mock election test)?

Due to a problem with Electronic Voting Machines in Los Angeles County, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was told he had already voted when he showed up at the polls today to cast his ballot in the Special Election that he himself declared for California today!

He was told he'd have to use a provisional ballot, but unlike most American voters, he was eventually allowed to use a regular ballot anyway.

Los Angeles County Registrar, Conny McCormack (a huge fan of Diebold machines, and a very good friend of their sales rep here in Southern California) is trying to mitigate the damage...big time...Though she admits that someone "breached protocol in advance of the election"

It should be further noted, that the Governator was attempting to vote in Brentwood (in Los Angeles County), but the "breach" --- which would have kept a normal non-Gubernatorial citizen from voting on anything but a provisional ballot --- occurred in Pasadena, about a 30 to 45 minute drive from Brentwood. Early voting, on paperless Diebold Touch-Screen Voting Machines, has been occurring in Los Angles County for the last several weeks.

From Los Angeles Times... [emphasis added]

(Thanks to John Gideon of www.votersunite.org for alerting us about this one!)

CORRECTION: The original version of this article had said that Schwarzenegger had voted in Sacramento. Schwarzenegger had, in fact, voted at his Brentwood precinct, which is in Los Angeles County. The BRAD BLOG regrets the error.

From Dayton Daily News... [emphasis added]

From WDBJ7... (video report included at link):

From the Toledo Blade...

Over the last 48 hours or so, the newest front of attack by the Republican Attack Dogs on behalf of the Bush Administration has become quite clear.

To defend against the indefensible leaking of the identify of a covert CIA operative in the TreasonGate affair, it is now clear that the Rightwing has begun an offensive to try and attack the CIA in order to define them as a "rogue agency" who was out to get the Bushies from the get-go.

The insinuation has been made quite clear over the last few days with coordinated lock-step efforts via newspapers, blogs, talk radio and congressional action to attempt to discredit the CIA. The latest strategy is now seen dropping unsupported accusations across the media spectrum to the effect that the intelligence agency's assignment of Ambassador Joseph Wilson to look into the now-discredited Iraq/Niger/uranium claims were all part of a long-term insidious scheme to try and discredit the Bush Administration.

Yesterday, I wrote about Carol Platt Liebau's recent efforts at HuffPo to fight back on behalf of the Bushies by attacking the CIA's motives in both sending Wilson on the mission and in releasing the information that they had requested a DoJ investigation into the outting of his wife Valerie's identify as a covert CIA op.

Liebau did little more in a blog item yesterday at HuffPo, titled "A 'Rogue Agency'" than copy and paste directly from an op/ed by Deborah Orin on these matters from the Rupert Murdoch-owned NY Post.

My reply to Liebau's article has yet to be posted on HuffPo. I'll update this item with the link once it's posted over there.

Today, Liebau is at it again. This time, she copies and pastes from an article from the wingnut Powerline blog, with further questions about the CIA's motives for the Wilson assignment and the recent information revealed by Washington Post concerning secret CIA prisons overseas.

Meanwhile, both talk radio and congress has also joined in the rightwing fatwa against the CIA.

Editor & Publisher is reporting today that Senator Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert have requested a congressional inquiry into "the leaking of classified information" which led to the article about secret al-Qaeda prisons run by the CIA in Europe. RAW STORY has obtained the actual letter requesting the inquiry by Frist and Hastert.

This morning, Rush Limbaugh continued the lockstepped new front in the war to salvage the Bush Administration by spending the first several hours of his radio show blasting the CIA for the exact same issues discussed by Liebau, Orin, Powerline Blog, Frist and Hastert.

He also let slip that "you won't be hearing George W. Bush speak about this directly," as if to indicate that this is "a war" to be carried out by Bush's advocates in the media so that Bush himself can remain above "the fray" while his sycophants carry out his dirty work for him.

What the effectiveness of this new P.R. effort will be remains to be seen. But when the wingnuts all get together and march from the same page of the same rulebook, the propoganda effect on the nation has proven to be very effective. Unfortunately, the Left simply doesn't have the same kind of organized media network that the Right does in order to effectively and quickly rebut such a coordinated all-out attack.

But at least you now know about it. Make no mistake: The effort to fight back by directly attacking the messengers --- in this case, the CIA (along with those of us who dare point out what really occurred in the TreasonGate matter) has now become very clear. It will be yet another phony war. This time, the CIA vs The Bush Administration.

UPDATE: Inquiry into who leaked info on secret prisons may bite Republicans in the ass. Trent Lott reports that it was a leak by a Republican after a meeting held recently with Dick Cheney and Republican Senators. Says Lott, "He was up here last week and talked up here in that room right there in a roomful of nothing but senators and every word that was said in there went right to the newspaper." RAW STORY has more...

Catching up on a few items from over the weekend that I didn't get to as I took the opportunity to take a few hours off here and there... (what was I thinking?!)...

Much more to come this week, of course. Especially with elections set for tomorrow in various states around the country, including a "Special Election" that Arnold has called out here to push through a bunch of initiatives to consolidate his power, and by-pass the Democratic state house in California...

Guest blogged by David Edwards

President Bush took a few questions while speaking today in Panama.

While campaigning in October of 2000, Bush said "We will ask not only what is legal but what is right. Not what the lawyers allow but what the public deserves." Today Bush was asked if he had upheld this promise to the American people. Instead of offering a straightforward answer, the president stonewalled with the familiar "We are cooperating with the investigation..." deflection.

Bush was also asked if the Red Cross would be allowed to inspect the "secret prisons" which have been recently reported in the Washington Post and other publications. While the president didn't answer this question directly, he took the opportunity to strongly imply that he supported torture as long as it was conducted via legal methods and loopholes. He seemed to give the impression that torture was necessary tool when used to protect the American people.

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Guest blogged by David Edwards

Over the weekend, Warren Beatty and his wife, Annette Bening, followed Gov. Schwarzenegger to several rallies. It was an attempt to bring attention to some negative aspects of the Governor's "reform" agenda.

Warren Beatty is troubled that the Governor will not debate anyone on the issues. Beatty says, "As near as I can tell, the broken system that he wants to change is called 'democracy'".

Since Schwarzenegger is not willing to debate anyone on his "reform" agenda, CNN put together a short virtual debate between Warren Beatty and the Governor.

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Guest blogged by David Edwards

A year after the legalization of gay marriage in Massachusetts, Ed Helms investigates to find out if the critics' worst fears have come true. Has gay marriage ruined Massachusetts?

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10,000 Argentinians would like to welcome you to Argentina, Mr. Bush...