When it comes to child molesters for example, I can see the right arguing that we should know all of the victims not just the one they were caught with.  What better way to make sure they are prosecuted for every crime they committed than to extract the name of every victim?  After all, it is not torture, and you are protecting children.  If the molester is only convicted of one assault, he/she will be released in a couple of years and every child in their proximity is at risk.  In order to protect our children we should make sure we interrogate as progressively as possible without torture and if water boarding is not torture.....

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The American Automobile Association of California says some drivers are now paying $4 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline.

Crude oil prices hit an all-time high Wednesday, above $98 a barrel and analysts say with worldwide oil demand rising -- it is still not clear just how high prices will go.

In Salinas, AAA recorded an average of $3.39 per gallon. Santa Cruz is at an average of $3.37 per gallon.

KSBW checked and found gas in Gorda, south of Big Sur, is even higher. Drivers there are paying $5 for gas.

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration blocked a Marine Corps lawyer from testifying before Congress today that severe techniques employed by U.S. interrogators derailed his prosecution of a suspected al Qaeda terrorist.

IMO opinion this obsession is far more interesting than missing white girls.

Here is the gist:

Defense attorneys for death row inmate Damien Echols say they have uncovered forensic evidence that could spare their client's life and help clear his co-defendants as well.

3 teenage boys were convicted of murdering three 8 year olds, tying their hands and feet together with a shoelace, and leaving them in a drainage ditch. One teenager was 18 and sentenced to death. They have been in prison since 1993.

Apparently they were accused of occult rituals, because they listened to "death metal."  Which makes perfect sense to me.  I mean DNA, finger prints, eyewitness accounts, you can keep all that, as everyone knows, nothing predicts guilt like the accused's taste in music.

The slayings of the three Cub Scouts struck fear deep in the heart of a community, and some people say that fear led to a rush to arrest and convict.

"It was hysteria. Everyone was concerned. Everyone started bringing their children in," said Ron Lax, who has worked the case as a private investigator for the defense since 1993.

"They were convinced there were monsters loose, devil worshipers, Satanists," he recalled. "It was like the community was relieved when the arrests were made because the big, bad boogeyman had been caught."

Is this a description of the mood in the town after the murders, or of the motivation of the right wing? I can't tell the difference.

Of course once police were able to get the devil's influence out of these teens they got a confession.

The convictions followed, in part, as a result of statements by Misskelley. The reliability of his words has long been called into question.

Misskelley, who is "borderline retarded," Lax said, "had a very difficult time keeping the story straight -- even with the help of police."

Misskelley's father, Jessie Misskelley Sr., maintained police forced his son to make the confession. "My son is innocent," he said.

As with all murders, the evidence appears to point to someone who knew the 8 year olds.

"The new DNA evidence is that one hair that was found in the ligature of the shoelaces that bound Michael Moore is consistent with the DNA of Terry Hobbs, who is the father of Stevie Branch," Lax told CNN.

Oh, and it turns out the devil might now have had such an active roll in this one after all.

Riordan said a team of seven forensic scientists has reviewed the autopsy results, photographs and trial testimony. As part of a 200-plus page filing, the experts concluded there was no evidence of sexual abuse or any type of satanic killing.

They also found that the injuries on the bodies of the boys -- which prosecutors called mutilation -- actually were caused by animals after the boys were killed.

Alex (Army of Dude) is in second place now with almost 30 percent of votes for Best Military Blog.

Barack Obama and John Edwards have adopted a risky campaign strategy: Portray Hillary Clinton as no different from President Bush. Yes, it's official: They have gone negative.
Likening Clinton (D., N.Y.) to Bush -- in particular criticizing her for secrecy about her years as first lady -- is a stretch that could backfire. For starters, Democratic voters might not buy the idea that Clinton shares qualities with Bush. This approach also reinforces Republican talking points, which would be a tactical error.

Moreover, if the past is a guide to the future, both Edwards (D., N.C.) and Obama (D., Ill.) had better clear up questions about their own pasts before railing on Clinton's.

History has shown us time and again that people in positions of power are quite capable of abusing the legal authority granted to them. If we could assume that our leaders and security personnel would always act in accordance with the highest principles, we would not need to supervise them. In the wake of Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, we are reminded that the need for such supervision is critical. The protection of society is in the hands of fallible human beings, and we find no grounds upon which we would grant to those human beings the discretion to exert physical abuse upon the prisoners in their charge.

THEREFORE, the Central Conference of American Rabbis urges that the President and the government of the United States resolve to:

Denounce and oppose the use of torture and other forms of prisoner coercion in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

Affirm the continued validity of the Geneva Conventions and the laws of war and the adherence of the United States to the guidelines to which it has committed itself through the ratification of such guidelines;

Demand from the Department of Justice (or other appropriate body) the full enforcement of United States laws that make torture illegal;

Uphold, obey, and enforce the Supreme Court ruling that it is unconstitutional to imprison anyone designated as an "enemy combatant" for months without access to lawyers or the right to challenge their detentions in court;

Reject the practice of "extraordinary rendition," at home and abroad, by which some prisoners are sent to countries that practice extreme torture for interrogation;

Allow every person in the custody of the U.S. military, military contractors or intelligence officials visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross, in accordance with U.S. obligations under international law, and

Create an independent commission to investigate and report on the detention and interrogation practices of U.S. military and intelligence agencies deployed in the global "war on terror."

The train is a half hour west of New Haven when the conductor, having finished her original rounds, reappears. She moves down the aisle, looks, stops between our seats, faces the person taking pictures. "Sir, in the interest of national security, we do not allow pictures to be taken of or from this train." He starts, "I......." but, without English, his response trails off into silence. The conductor, speaking louder, forcefully: "Sir, I will confiscate that camera if you don't put it away." Again, little response. "Sir, this is a security matter! We cannot allow pictures." She turns away abruptly and, as she moves down the aisle, calls over her shoulder, in a very loud voice, "Put. It. Away!" He packs his camera.

Within a minute after our arrival in New Haven, two armed police officers entered the car, approached my neighbor's seat. "Sir, we're removing you from this train." "I....;" "I......" "Sir, you have breached security regulations. We must remove you from this train." "I...," "I....." "Sir, we are not going to delay this train because of you. You will get off, or we will remove you physically." "I....."

While the blogs with connections have been strangely quiet on the subject of Pakistan, some of America's leading strategic thinkers have recently rushed to board flights to the region, meeting in places like Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, coincidence perhaps?

The USG Open Source Center translates an editorial in the Jang newspaper, Pakistan's largest Urdu daily, which is usually moderate and politically neutral. This piece, however, attacks the US presence in Iraq as an brutal occupation, aimed at stealing Iraq's resources and 'showering favors on Israel.' It also defends Iran (Pakistanis are mostly Sunni and have a rivalry with Iran). Jang owns the popular GEO satellite television network that broadcasts from Dubai and has been threatened by Gen. Musharraf. I take it that they are turning anti-American, partially out of disappointment because of US backing of Musharraf, and partially because they can attack the US as an indirect way of attacking Musharraf but without suffering the consequences. I repeat that this sort of strident language about the US had not been characteristic of Jang earlier, and it seems to me a sign of the radicalization of the Pakistani middle classes.

The United States seized the opportunity to take unjust action against its rivals, in particular Muslims, following the disruption of the balance of power, the establishment of a uni-polar system, and upon America becoming the sole superpower of the world. The phrase "the beginning of the crusade" was uttered by President Bush on the eve of the invasion of Afghanistan. Although an attempt was later made to explain that it was just a slip of the tongue, the fact is that the United States and its Western allies have made Islam their target......

Jeff Huber at-Largely this morning:

In order to regain its status as the respected leader of the world's nations, America must eradicate the neoconservative movement from its body politic, and the only '08 presidential candidates committed to that goal appear to be Democrat Dennis Kucinich and Republican Ron Paul. If you think the neoconservatives packed up shop subsequent to their Mesopotamia mistake, think again. The neocons not only didn't learn anything from Iraq, they're betting large that nobody else did either--and that's a bet they stand a good chance of winning.
...
The top tier candidates from both parties talk of new approaches to the Iraq problem, but none of them--with the possible exception of Barack Obama--offer anything realistic that's substantively different from "stay the course." And though Kucinich and Paul touch on the essential task that lies ahead in setting the course of U.S. foreign policy, the mainstream information gatekeepers continue to treat them like pipsqueaks.

Is it possible that, under the surface, all of America's national profile politicians have crawled into the neocons' pockets?
...
With the exception of significantly increasing America's defense spending, the neocons' dreams of U.S. global dominance have dashed themselves against the shoals of reality. Today, though we spend more than the rest of the world combined on defense, friends and enemies alike shun us. We have to kiss up to countries like Turkey and Pakistan while the greatest threats to our national security are backwater outfits like Iran and North Korea, all states whose economies and defense budgets are less than five percent of ours and none of whom would amount to a pimple on our posterior if we hadn't let the neocons persuade us to stick said posterior into the crack its in now. Moreover, our security, prosperity and principles are more in peril than they have been since the beginning of World War II, and as recent events in Pakistan illustrate, our efforts to promote political freedom abroad have been dismal failures.
...
If America were still a true republic, the neocons would have been ridden out of town two years ago at the latest; they don't have enough tar, feathers or rails in Washington D.C. to give those characters the kind of send off they deserve. But they're still around and reeking havoc. Dick Cheney still lurks in undisclosed locations in between appearances at GOP fundraising and warmongering functions. Cheney side buoys like David Addington continue to infest the White House. Backyard variety chicken hawks such as John Bolton, Fred Kagan, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and Newt Gingrich hang out in the Scholars and Fellows lounge of the influential neoconservative think tank American Enterprise Institute.