The ACLU announced today it has obtained three key memos concerning the CIA's abusive interrogation techniques. You can view them here.

Among other things, they establish that the CIA was told to document the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, including who was present. The first memo shows waterboarding was an approved technique.

One of the documents obtained by the ACLU today is a redacted version of a previously undisclosed Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion from August 2002 that authorizes the CIA to use specific interrogation methods, including waterboarding.

[More...]

I've been in court and missed Obama's speech in Berlin today. 200,000 people turned out to hear him. Here's the transcript. He told the assembled crowd he speaks to them as a citizen of the world.

One message: Tear down the walls.

The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.

The German paper says it was clearly taken from Ronald Reagan:

Obama's speech was a clear echo of former US president Ronald Reagan's call to then Soviet leader Mikhael Gorbachev in Berlin in 1987 to "tear down this wall," before the fall of communism.

A big theme was the war on terror: [More...]

The City and County of Denver and the ACLU have reached a partial agreement with respect to a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Colorado seeking details of security purchases made by police for the Democratic National Convention. Denver has now provided details of the $18.2 million spent to date and those planning on protesting can rest a little easier:

The city also announced today that none of the equipment purchases include nonlethal weapons that discharge "slime" or "goo" to immobilize persons or vehicles or that use microwaves or sonic waves to induce pain or discomfort in targets.

The ACLU was relieved -- so much so that it agreed to wait until the convention is over to decide whether to return to court and seek more information.

Denver also disclosed that the police have no "mandatory arrest" policy -- meaning there is no list of offenses that will require arrest rather than the issuance of a citation.[More...]

There are probably good reasons to think that reducing the speed limit to 55 makes sense as gas prices continue to soar. Still, while I don't agree with all of the reasoning in this essay (particularly the notion that "liberal and green do-gooders" are standing in the way of our God-given right to pillage the planet's natural resources), I do agree with Sammy Hagar:

VoteVets will start running this ad on Friday.

While the top line number is familiar, 47-41 Obama, the story remains the voters' focus on Obama:

51 percent of respondents say they are focusing more on what kind of president Obama would be, compared with just 27 percent who say they’re focusing more on McCain. “This election is more about Barack Obama than it is about John McCain,” says Newhouse, the GOP pollster.

That is McCain's forlorn hope - to raise doubts about Obama. But we see that he and his campaign are just not good at it. Give the devil his due, Karl Rove knew how to play negative politics. McCain's team is terrible at it so far.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Good news for Australian journalist Peter Lloyd, arrested last week for trafficking in one gram of meth in Singapore. He's been released on bail.

He's still facing 20 years and up to 15 lashes of the cane.

I've been at work all day and still have motions to write and a hearing tomorrow to prepare for before returning to blogging.

Here's a place for you to keep each other up to date on the news and exchange some thoughts.

All topics welcome.

Via Politico, Columnist Bob Novak hit a pedestrian while driving to work today in his Corvette. He says he didn't know he hit anyone, didn't see anyone and drove away. A bicyclist saw it, followed him and stopped him. [More...]

Remember when the mighty Republican party was accusing Democrats of being obstructionists for using the filibuster and other tools to block the Republican agenda, particularly the confirmation of extremist judges? It's entertaining to see Harry Reid using Republican rhetoric against the opposition party.

Reid has found a way to overcome objections of the chief Senate obstructionist, Tom Coburn, who has blocked scores of popular bills that deserve to be passed. [more ...]

Yesterday, John McCain wanted more Media attention. Today, Matt Yglesias notes Ben Smith's piece on John McCain cancelling his press availability:

[McCain] hasn't explained what he meant by juggling the timeline on the surge and Awakening . . . ; whether he meant that Obama was deliberately selling out the country; whether he shares his campaign's grievance with the press; or what he thinks of his staff's genocide-themed attack. And now he's canceled the avail.

I guess McCain did not want more Media attention after all.

By Big Tent Democrat

Fred Hiatt has been a silly person for a long time. But his latest contortions on Iraq are not interesting in its disingenuous but in what Hiatt will say in December 2008 or January 2009. Why do I say that? Because Hiatt writes:

[Obama] says his aim is to "succeed in leaving Iraq to a sovereign government that can take responsibility for its own future. "What if . . . Iraqi leaders are right that this goal is not consistent with a 16-month timetable? Will Iraq be written off because Mr. Obama does not consider it important enough -- or will the strategy be altered?

Leave aside Hiatt's contortions about what the Iraqi leaders said. What happens to Hiatt's rationale in January 2009, when there will be no Bush Administration (and hopefully, no McCain Administration) to force Maliki to halfheartedly soften his request that the United States leave Iraq? What then will happen to Hiatt's silly argument? One more Friedman Unit and Hiatt and his ilk will have to think up some other rationale for why the U. S. has to stay in Iraq.

By Big Tent Democrat, speak for me only