President Bush says the United States does not engage in torture. A new report by the DOJ Inspector General today does not agree. The full report is here.

Some of the techniques used violated Defense Department policy at the time.

F.B.I. agents complained repeatedly, beginning in 2002, about the harsh interrogation tactics that military and C.I.A. interrogators were using in questioning terrorism suspects, like making them do dog tricks and parade in the nude in front of female soldiers, but their complaints appear to have had little effect, according to an exhaustive report released Tuesday by the Justice Department’s inspector general.

The report for the most part praises the FBI.

“In sum, while our report concluded that the F.B.I. could have provided clearer guidance earlier, and while the F.B.I. and DoJ could have pressed harder for resolution of F.B.I. concerns about detainee treatment, we believe the F.B.I. should be credited for its conduct and professionalism in detainee interrogations in the military zones in Afghanistan,” in Iraq and at Guantánamo Bay, the report said. DoJ refers to the Justice Department, the bureau’s parent agency.

The ACLU sees it differently: [more...]

Mohammed al-Qahtani, the Guantanamo detainee the Pentagon alleges was to be the "20th hijacker" attempted suicide in April, according to his lawyer, who was not allowed to reveal it until today due to the need for the Pentagon to clear her notes.

Mohammed al-Qahtani cut himself at least three times and had to be hospitalized at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba, attorney Gitanjali Gutierrez said. Al-Qahtani made the suicide attempt after learning military prosecutors filed capital charges against him and five other Guantanamo prisoners for their alleged roles in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"I cannot accept this injustice," the lawyer quoted him as saying. "If I have to stay in this jail, I want to put an end to this suffering."

The Center for Constitutional Rights represents al-Qahtani and has much more information on his case and newly disclosed documents. Their press release today is here.

The torture techniques approved against al-Qahtani are below the fold:

This is bad news:

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor. Doctors for the Massachusetts Democrat say tests conducted after Kennedy suffered a seizure this weekend show a tumor in his left parietal lobe. Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the cause of the seizure as a malignant glioma, they said.

His treatment will be decided after more tests but the usual course includes combinations of radiation and chemotherapy. His doctors said in a statement released to The Associated Press that he has had no further seizures, is in good spirits and is resting comfortably.

Malignant gliomas are a type of brain cancer diagnosed in about 9,000 Americans a year -- and the most common type among adults. It's a starting diagnosis: How well patients fare depends on what specific tumor type is determined by further testing.

Our thoughts are with the Liberal Lion of the Senate.

I am no Roger Simon fan. In fact, I am a Roger Simon critic. But I think this article was excellent. And as someone who has to eat crow on absolutely underestimating David Axelrod, it also made me feel good about the Obama campaign team and their skills. Here is a snippet:

“After we lost the New Hampshire primary,” Axelrod says, “the next day, on about three hours of sleep, [Obama] said, ‘I think what happened yesterday was right. When you are the new guy, it is not supposed to be easy. It was like Icarus flying too close to the sun. We have to earn this. But it persuaded me this is the right battle.’”

Good on Obama. Good on Axelrod. And good on Simon for this very good article.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

After her anticipated win in Kentucky tonight, despite the turning of some superdelegates in recent weeks and the media proclaiming her candidacy doomed, Hillary Clinton will have won four of the last six primaries. Her supporters are not accepting that the nomination has been decided and she insists she's going forward.

Whether she succeeds or not, it's clear her supporters are particularly upset about the sexist coverage of the campaign.

In Kentucky Sunday, Hillary Clinton was asked about sexism and racism in this year's presidential campaigns:

In an interview after church services in Bowling Green on Sunday, Clinton for the first time addressed what women have been talking about for months, what she refers to as the "sexist" treatment she has endured at the hands of the pundits, media and others. The lewd T-shirts. The man who shouted "Iron my shirt" at a campaign event. The references to her cleavage and her cackle.

[More...]

SUSA predicts Clinton 62-31, with other (Edwards is on the ballot) 5. The demos are Clinton winning whites (89% of the vote) 67-26-6 and Obama winning African Americans (10% of the vote) 82-18 (Edwards gets zero).

SUSA has in the past underestimated the African American vote and the margins by which Obama will win them. So I will adjust those numbers to 12% of the vote and a 90-10 win for Obama. But I think Edwards gets a lot less of the white vote than predicted too. I give Clinton half of his vote. so, doing my adjusted math, my Kentucky prediction is Clinton 63.4, Obama 33.4, Edwards 3.2.

Give us your Kentucky predictions and any other thoughts. We'll do an Oregon thread later. This is an Open Thread.

Oh this is funny as hell. You know what offended Publius and John Cole about Richard Cohen's column? An insult to Robert E. Lee. I kid you not.

By Big Tent Democrat

A NY Times editorial urges Congress to appropriate full funding to the Second Chance Act. Especially noteworthy is the reminder that some state governments are already making a serious effort to reduce recidivism with programs that help offenders build a new life after their release from prison.

In Illinois — where the inmate population has doubled since the late 1980s — Gov. Rod Blagojevich has begun a promising re-entry program that could become a national model. The comprehensive plan includes drug treatment, job training and placement and a variety of community-based initiatives designed to help newly released inmates forge successful postprison lives.

Illinois is also revamping its parole system by hiring more parole officers and changing regulations so that parolees who commit lesser violations are dealt with in their community — with counseling, drug treatment or more vigilant monitoring — rather than being reflexively sent back to prison.

It was once a common belief that offenders who "paid their debt to society" were entitled to a second chance. Those feelings have been overtaken by a "lock 'em up forever" mentality, but the reality is that prisoners are released every day even as prison populations continue to grow. If we don't help them build new lives, we increase the risk that they will commit new crimes. Funding the Second Chance Act is a no-brainer.

Richard Cohen is especially silly today. His entire column is ridiculous, but this is the best (as in worst) part:

I, too, have taken my shots at Clinton. I have done so not because of any sexism but for reasons having to do with character.

Yes we remember Dick. Bob Somerby told us about it:

Kentucky demographics favor Hillary Clinton.

Obama has a slight chance in Louisville, an urban area, but very little elsewhere in the state.

Trade with China is important to KY since its farmers grow tobacco for China and sell them a lot of Maker's Mark and Wild Turkey bourbon. About $300 million a year's worth.

Kentucky, like other states, will set a record for voting tomorrow, but new registratons are lower there than we've ssen in other states.

A record 2.8 million Kentuckians are registered to vote in the primary election. Of those, 1.6 million are Democrats. And, despite the close presidential primary, the number of new registered voters hasn't skyrocketed. In the past six months, 16,000 people have registered, 13,000 of them as Democrats.

A map of Kentucky is below the fold.

Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, in association with the Republican media firm Greener and Hook, recently completed a survey of rural voters in 13 battleground states, on behalf of the Center for Rural Strategies. The results:

• Hillary - McCain: tied (46% each)
• McCain - Obama: McCain by 9 (50 - 41%)

The message the Republican pollsters have for Republicans:

The competitiveness reflects the on-going national problems facing the Republican brand, as well as the deep economic anxiety that is particularly acute among rural families on one hand, balanced against doubts about Obama’s values.

Among the key findings:

The Supreme Court established a rule in 1950 that became known as the Feres Doctrine:

The United States is not liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for injuries to members of the armed forces sustained while on active duty and not on furlough and resulting from the negligence of others in the armed forces.

Whatever merit the Feres Doctrine might have when applied to ordinary negligence claims, there is little reason to exempt military doctors from the same malpractice standards that permit civilian patients to recover compensation when a physician's careless acts or omissions cause harm or death.

Motivated by the death of Carmelo Rodriguez, whose skin cancer was misdiagnosed as a wart and left untreated, Rep. Maurice Hinchey will introduce a bill to permit those who serve to bring claims against the military for medical malpractice. (more ...)

Hillary Clinton isn't falling for the media meme that Obama will have the nomination sewn up tomorrow night.

"You can declare yourself anything, but if you don't have the votes, it doesn't matter," Clinton said Monday in a satellite interview. "This is nowhere near over."

Hillary's campaign is right behind her:

"Senator Obama's plan to declare himself the Democratic nominee tomorrow night in Iowa is a slap in the face to the millions of voters in the remaining primary states and to Senator Clinton's 17 million supporters," said Clinton communications chief Howard Wolfson. "Premature victory laps and false declarations of victory are unwarranted."

More...