Bush evil. Cheney evil. Black helicopters are everywhere. And yet this thread is still just a work in progress. Isn't it time for the Salon conspiracy theorists to make the case that 9/11 was an "inside" job? That would really ice the proverbial cake, after all. Oh, and speaking of delicious and indulgent food, I'm afraid it's time for more important things -- like some Saturday night BBQ. Buh-bye, poor tortured souls.

Just as we have acknowledged our past regarding internment camps for Japanese Americans, the Slavery of Blacks, and the woefully inhumane treatment given to Native Americans, we must investigate allegations of wrong doings undertaken by the previous administration. Torture is at the top of the list.

Bush deserves SOME credit for keeping us safe. I know you all can't bring yourself to admit it but we HAVE NOT been attacked since 9/11 and Obama is continuing many of the programs and procedures that you fools find so abhorrent. So yes, thankfully Obama was elected....and not some national security-weak democrat like Pelosi, et al.

Nice try to bail out Pelosi, but even a cursory reading of the NY Times article shows that the CIA has some discretion in when it reveals certain things (hence your charge of "lying" is serious overstatement) and the fact that the program never went fully operational, making your charge even more absurd.

More to the point, Pelosi said the CIA specifically lied about her being briefed on waterboarding, which is provably untrue, since other congressmen were present and all agreed that not only did Pelosi acknowledge that the CIA was presently at that time using waterboarding, but she was among several who asked what more they could do to help the CIA.

Pelosi was caught in a lie, and now Joan Walsh is part of her enablers who are desperately trying to twist the facts to bail her out.

Pathetic.

When will it be time to go straight to jail? Cheney's time is approaching fast. There is a related post at http://iamsoannoyed.com/?page_id=588

do we get rid of the CIA? Aren't they the "intelligence" we pay for and never benefit from? (9/11 f'ing boxcutters and watch lists, where in the world is OBL? just to name a few choice AND missed "national security" issues.

Reduce their budget, early retire the status-quo, phase it out. Do the same with the FBI. Then START OVER with a new paradigm: ONE agency. WITH a CRACKERJACK computer system. The agents could do the job at home in their PJs.

Erase. Brainstorm. Find a new way. Ask a successful manager. Bill Gates? Steve Jobs? Oprah? Warren Buffet? Rachel Maddow? Michael Jordan? Amy Goodman? Susan Sarandon? Sean Penn?

How about all of them? The brain power alone beats the entire US Congress, right?

The CIA is broken and obsolete. Dump the CIA.

This comes as no surprise what so ever and find it more amazing that so many are stunned. Considering planes flying into buildings and such, am not surpised one bit.

The surprising thing is how much more is going on that so many have no clue about.

Clearly, lots of people would be really, really surprised if they knew just a little of how much they no not know and/or how long these sort of activities have been going on.

Sad fact is, there are people is this country who do need to be watched and/or escorted out of the country.

Ms. Walsh,

Thanks for your concise and lucid writing on this subject. It's a painful subject for me, and it requires ongoing and intense scrutinization.

When I voted for Obama, I did so realizing three things. First, he could never live up to the campaign hype; no politician can. Second, he inherited-- easily-- the greatest mess in American history. And third, the voter projects their wants and desires onto a candidate, ignoring evidence to the contrary.

Knowing those three things, I can rationalize Obama's actions regarding warrantless wiretaps, covert illegal CIA stuff, and the actions of Cheney's "shadow government". While Obama's margin of victory was impressive, he's facing a wealthy, entrenched enemy in the form of a pervasively right-wing media. Additionally, his own party is so fractured on virtually every issue that consensus is pretty much illusory right now. And as he is without question an incredibly savvy politician, one can deduce his (in)actions have a hidden depth and background we're not seeing.

Regardless, there is a compelling need for investigation and, if needed, criminal prosecution in these areas. Such actions are the only thing that can adequately correct the illegal excesses of the Bush Administration. Without this, Obama, not to mention our concept of a transparent representative republic, will lose its moral legitimacy.

Please, keep up the good work-- especially when it involves news I don't want to hear.

The Bush deserves credit meme is so trite and easily punctured as the lame rationalization for torture and desecration of the Constitution that it is, by relating two simple refutations.

First, think of it like the old joke about the guy who auto-eroticizes frenetically on the bus every morning on the way to work. Of course, this disgusts and alarms the other passengers, and the man is arrested.

Part of the offender's treatment is to see a psychiatrist for a mental evaluation. The first question the clinician asks the scofflaw is: "Why do you feel the need to masturbate in public"?

The obviously deranged man replies: "Because, Doctor...it keeps all of the wild lions and tigers away from me."

"Lions and tigers", the astonished psychiatric professional replies..."...there aren't any wild lions and tigers withing thousands of miles from here"!

Knowingly, the man replies: "See how good it works"?

Second, uh...how did the Bush administration do keeping us safe his first year in office?

The dems were handed a solid majority in '06 to deal with this shit. They now have control over the executive and a lockdown on the HOR. Now, we see that Paneta was led to. What's the excuse now dems? Afraid that Darth Chenney will say bad things about you? That Rush and Newt will kick and scream? Talk about no balls...