War Criminal  —  After reading the full investigative piece in the NYT today on how this administration decided on breaking America's historic ban on torture and then pursued a long, corrupting policy of ensuring that the interpretation of the law was politicized to keep torture alive, it is hard to disagree with Marty Lederman:

Craig Reaction to Court Ruling  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. - Idaho Senator Larry Craig issued the following statement in reaction to today's ruling by the State of Minnesota District Court Fourth Judicial District allowing the guilty plea to stand:  —  "I am extremely disappointed with the ruling issued today.

Obama Dropped Flag Pin in War Statement  —  Obama Stops Wearing Flag Pin, Says He'll Show Patriotism Through Ideas  —  An eagle-eyed reporter for the ABC affiliate in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, noticed something missing from Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama's, D-Ill., lapels.

A liberal's lament: The NRA might be right after all  —  This term, the Supreme Court may finally take up the Voldemort Amendment, the part of the Bill of Rights that shall not be named by liberals.  For more than 200 years, progressives and polite people have avoided acknowledging that following …

FOX News Poll: Nearly 1 in 5 Democrats Say World Will Be Better Off if U.S. Loses War  —  NEW YORK — Nearly one out of every five Democrats thinks the world will be better off if America loses the war in Iraq, according to the FOX News Opinion Dynamics Poll released Thursday.

My Christian daughter says I'm going to hell  —  Hi,  —  I am the father of a 13-year-old daughter whose mother has been taking her to an evangelical Christian church her whole life.  Her mother's family is entirely Christian.  I am not a Christian, and in fact think that organized religion …

COULTER COMES OUT AGAINST WOMEN VOTING.  —  Most of the time I ignore aging would-be pin-up Ann Coulter, but this week she came out with a whopper that could be as much of a gift to the Democratic Party as MoveOn.org's advertisement on Gen. Petraeus was for the G.O.P. More of a gift, even.

Elizabeth Edwards attacks Rush on draft  —  An Air America producer just sent over some transcript from an interview their Richard Greene (not our Richard Greene) conducted with Elizabeth Edwards, in which she questioned Rush Limbaugh's Vietnam exemption:

Name that party—New Orleans corruption  —  USA Today: … You can read the entire story and not find the party identification of those who have been charged.  However, most public official in New Orleans have historically been Democrats.  The embedded corruption of cities like New Orleans …

Student takes his C to federal court  —  Judge dismisses suit against UMass  —  In his lawsuit, Brian Marquis contended the university violated his civil rights and contractual rights.  (STEPHEN ROSE FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE)  —  Plenty of college students grumble when they get a mediocre grade and feel that they deserved better.

National Guard Troops Denied Benefits After Longest Deployment Of Iraq War  —  Rhonda Erskine, Online Content Producer  —  MINNEAPOLIS, MN (NBC) — When they came home from Iraq, 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard had been deployed longer than any other ground combat unit.

Questionable Contracts  —  In April last year, Housing Secretary Alphonso Jackson traveled to Dallas to deliver a speech to a group of minority real estate executives.  The event should have been pretty routine stuff.  But Jackson — and these are his words — shot off his mouth by describing …