The vote on Alberto Gonzales confirmation as Attorney General has been postponed until next week. Democrats say he hasn't finished answering their questions. In related news, the latest documents disclosed by the White House show that Gonzales signed off on memos that said:

Officers of the Central Intelligence Agency and other nonmilitary personnel fall outside the bounds of a 2002 directive issued by President Bush that pledged the humane treatment of prisoners in American custody.

and,

... a separate Congressional ban on cruel, unusual and inhumane treatment had "a limited reach" and did not apply in all cases to "aliens overseas."

Presumably, "overseas" includes Guantanamo. Here's the import of the new disclosures:

There is no crisis in Social Security. Spread the word. Brought to you by BlogPac.

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that Bush enters his second term without a mandate and amidst continued division:

President Bush will begin his second term in office without a clear mandate to lead the nation, with disapproval of his policies in Iraq and with the public both hopeful and dubious about his leadership, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Alberto Gonzales could be confirmed as Attorney General this week. Sen. Arlen Specter has said it might occur before the inauguration. Sen. Edward Kennedy said Sunday he may vote against him.

He had conversations with the Justice Department; he couldn't remember those," Kennedy said. "He couldn't remember many different kinds of facts. . . . This nominee is the principal architect, it appears, for the development of the changes in the Geneva Convention, and torture. And he has an opportunity in response to these questions to explain it. I don't think he did."

The Washington Post is less than thrilled with Gonzales. Don't miss David Corn's article about Gonzales and his confirmation hearing in LA Weekly.

There's also an article about Judge Michael Chertoff, soon to be chief of Homeland Security, and his days in New Jersey.

This is a scandal more journalists should be covering. It involves the Riggs Bank, money laundering charges, a $25 million fine imposed by Congress, and suspicious cash withdrawals by Pinochet. There's also the bank's relationships with Saudi ambassador Prince Bandar, and Federico Obiang, of Equatorial Guinea. And the bank's relationship with the C.I.A.

The Public Accountability Initiative, which researches fraudulent relationships between business and government, has been covering the story. It advises:

The official Inaugural website lists the corporate donors to Bush's inaugural celebration.

The donations are raising eyebrows in the media.

Critics call the arrangement too cozy, while others say the lavish spending is inappropriate in a time of war and as South Asia recovers from a devastating tsunami.

Bush told reporters Thursday he sees no problem with either how the money is raised or how it is spent. "There's no taxpayer money involved in this," he said.

Who pays isn't really the issue. It's what they expect to recoup from their investment.

by TChris

Entrepreneurs searching for a way to assure the world that they didn't vote for Bush are marketing similar products to those who share their sentiments: blue bracelets.

Rothchild, 35, is selling blue bracelets that say "COUNT ME BLUE," while Laura Adams, of Fairway, Kan., offers blue bracelets that say "HOPE." The McKnight family, of Moscow, Idaho, is even more direct; their black bracelets proclaim: "I DID NOT VOTE 4 BUSH."

Some of the profits from each venture will be contributed to a worthy organization.

The New York Times today reports that Michael Chertoff, Bush's nominee for Homeland Security Chief, may have to answer questions about John Walker Lindh . On Tuesday, we wrote:

Chertoff is probably smooth sailing for Bush. But, there were some delay at his judicial nomination hearing over whistleblower Jesselyn Radack. Radack had been employed in the Justice Department's Professional Responsibility Advisory Office, and claimed she was forced to resign after writing an opinion that the FBI could not interrogate "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh without his counsel present.

The New York Times goes deeper today, reporting:

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) today called for Democrats to go progressive. He said Democrats didn't talk enough about values in the election.

"We were remiss in not talking more directly about them - about the fundamental ideals that guide our progressive policies," he said. He added that Kerry's loss also showed that Democrats must communicate better with voters on issues of deep conscience, including abortion, without yielding the party's support for a woman's right to choose.

Kennedy has a progressive agenda ready for the taking:

I've now participated in blogger conference calls with both Simon Rosenberg and Howard Dean. They are my two favorite candidates for Chair of the DNC. Both appreciate the importance of grass roots activism and the ability of the Internet to empower people and bring them into the political process. Both emphasize the importance of diversity and the politics of inclusion. Both stress the need to focus on local and state political races and organizations.

Until the call with Dean today, I had expected that he would be more focused on issues or the Democratic message while Rosenberg would be more into the technology and organizational structure. Not so. Both believe that the role of the DNC chair is not to establish policy but to create the machinery that will win elections.

My question to Dean today was along the lines of:

I see the difference between you and some of the other candidates as being your willingness to advocate progressive positions on issues. Other candidates have said the DNC Chair job is mostly about increasing our technological and organizational abilities. Do you think we can win elections if we don't focus on the issues? How important is it for the DNC Chair to speak out on the issues?

I had expected him to say it was important to remind Democrats of our progressive positions on issues. But, I was wrong. He said,to paraphrase,

The Hill reports that John Kerry is reaching out to candidates for the Democratic National Committee Chair and asking them "to be neutral" with respect to 2008. The Hill says Kerry is signaling his intent to run in 2008.

Kerry's stepson, Chris Heinz, endorsed Simon Rosenberg for DNC Chair. So has former Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi. The article says Kerry has not contacted Rosenberg, but his conversations with Howard Dean have increased. The article says strategists put Dean as the front runner.

I was on a blogger conference call with Mr. Rosenberg last week and was very impressed. Later this afternoon I'll be on a similar blogger conference call with Howard Dean. I'm undecided at this point - but very grateful to Blogpac for putting together these calls with the candidates.

The vote is February 12.

Much like House leadership races, every declared candidate will be on the first ballot, with the list winnowing by one with each round of balloting.....The candidates are continuing to contact the 447 DNC members who have a vote, with several candidates claiming to have spoken with more than 200.

Bump and Update: The ACLU, which does not take a position on cabinet appointments, weighs in:

We are troubled that his public record suggests he sees the Bill of Rights as an obstacle to national security, rather than a guidebook for how to do security properly.

More updates and reactions at the end of this post, scroll down.

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original post:

Third Circuit Appeals Judge Michael Chertoff is President Bush's new pick for homeland security chief. Chertoff was a Bush nominee to the Court.

Chertoff was a career prosecutor. He's been United States Attorney of New York and New Jersey and Assistant AG at the Main Department of Justice. He argued the case against Zacarias Moussaoui being allowed access to Al Qaeda witnesses for his trial. He also served as counsel to the Repbulican Whitewater committees investing the Clintons. In fact, the only vote in the Senate against Chertoff's confirmation came from Hillary Clinton.