I think adnoto is not so much a pessimist as a depressive realist. While he was wrong in saying that they will never be any investigations. There's always the possibility, however small, of that happening. But if one was a Vegas bookmaker, the odds would on the sidea of no investigations and prosecutions. Considering the track record of the Obama administration so far, I can't fault him for that. How many flip-flops has Obama pulled so far?

The difference between pessimism and depressive realism is one of certainity. A pessismist is certain nothing positive is going to happen. In this case criminal investigations of the Bush administration. While a depressive realist acknowledges the possibility of something happening, but also the probability of it not happening. The odds are against investigations and prosecutions of high-level Bush administration officials.

"I'm not saying that's what Obama is necessarily doing, just that your analysis laying it at the feet of his absent father or, even more inapropriately, in the lap of the mother who stepped up and carried the load, may be incomplete or biased."

-- Pedinska

Tough to argue with statement, in light of the fact that the child of a black man raised by a single mother was duly elected the most powerful man on the planet and the first African American to hold the post in history.

Obama's mother evidently did more than her fair share of effective child-rearing and I'm not sure the presence of a father in the home could have improved on that.

"To date, Holder has been the biggest disappointment of the Obama administration."

Obama has been the biggest disappointment of the Obama administration!

Here I tellu you what to 'do' adnoto -

This autumn there will be hundreds - probably thousand of people are 'Dancing against the Great Depression' - and you can be one of us - in New York - Washington - Berlin - London - Paris - or Rome - And if even prison inmates in the Philippines can 'do' it - you - and everybody on this blog can 'do' it too - (and I promise - you are going to feel so much better afterwards)

Here I tellu you what to 'do' adnoto -

This autumn there will be hundreds - probably thousand of people are 'Dancing against the Great Depression' - and you can be one of us - in New York - Washington - Berlin - London - Paris - or Rome - And if even prison inmates in the Philippines can 'do' it - you - and everybody on this blog can 'do' it too - (and I promise - you are going to feel so much better afterwards)

Thanks for that. None of my friends growing up lived with their fathers. If anything, such men have a perfect model for what people can accomplish under adverse conditions. For such people, their mother [even if they don't get along with them] is an endless source of inspiration.

A pessismist is certain nothing positive is going to happen. In this case criminal investigations of the Bush administration. While a depressive realist acknowledges the possibility of something happening, but also the probability of it not happening. The odds are against investigations and prosecutions of high-level Bush administration officials.

-- Conservativeslayer

Interesting. I know this. I know that when I am depressed it is because people either don't see or willfully ignore reality.:)

After all these years of thinking that I was just a malcontent. Reading this blog and the facts that it contains has proven to me that in fact our country is falling completely out of control. The values we once stood for are no longer. Obama, feh. We would of been better off with Palin - at least her values ARE transparent.

...but I've been chewing on possible answers to the Cheney "secret program" riddle. Most likely, it is something along the lines of political assasination, but what about a program of murdering civilians while making it look as if it was the work of the Taliban/al-Qaida? That sounds suitably Cheneyesque to me.

"After all these years of thinking that I was just a malcontent. Reading this blog and the facts that it contains has proven to me that in fact our country is falling completely out of control".

Do you know that we were all waiting for you!

I know that when I am depressed it is because people either don't see or willfully ignore reality.:)

I recently went through a period like this after my brother (the one in my family who most consistently benefitted from my father's active - such as it was - parenting) said to me "Republicans are for the Constitution and Democrats are not!". This, from someone who is well-aware of all of my activities and opinions, and equally aware of his own lassitude, just caught me like a sucker punch to the solar plexus.

I truly understand and share, to some extent, your disillusionment. Where we differ is on the possible solutions.

It seems like Holder has at least been consistent so far...The publicly announced statements he made seem to suggest a possible investigation that will look at "rogue" agents who went outside the govt. authorized techniques, and if Scott Horton in the update is accurate, then it would also include some who crafted the policy. I don't think that both of these reports are necessarily contradictory, but might be complementary.

Obama and Holder have both made statements that if there is clear evidence of criminal misconduct in the prior admin, then it would be investigated. The only group that they have explicitly ruled out prosecuting is agents that relied on govt. instruction in good faith. Now, there are reports of investigating "rogue" agents as well as the DOJ in the same weekend. Something is definitely brewing maybe even percolating.

omooex, "Do or do not", exactly!, quite good.

on the road to prosecutions is that then the Obama administration would have to admit, and take responsibility for the fact that the abuse/torture of detainees in US custody continues. Not much has been made of this situation.

It is no small wonder that Obama and Rahm are fighting this tooth and nail.

Many thanks to GG, Emptywheel, FDL, Scott Horton, et al, who refuse to let this issue go.