King on Holder: 'You wonder which side they're on'  —  A “furious” Rep. Peter King, the hawkish, maverick Long Island Republican, blasted a “disgraceful” Eric Holder for opening an investigation of CIA interrogators and chided his own party for what he described as a weak response to the move in an interview just now with POLITICO.

CIA Documents Provide Little Cover for Cheney Claims  —  Former Vice President Dick Cheney (Associated Press)  —  For months, former Vice President Dick Cheney has said that two documents prepared by the CIA, one from 2004 and the other from 2005, would refute critics of the Bush administration's torture program.

Obama Increases 2010 Deficit Forecast 19% to $1.50 Trillion  —  Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) — U.S. unemployment will surge to 10 percent this year and the budget deficit will widen to $1.5 trillion next year, reflecting a “deeper recession” than previously expected, White House budget chief Peter Orszag said.

Comparing Obama to ‘Hitler,’ Grassley constituent says he'd ‘take a gun to Washington’ if crowd supported him.  —  Earlier this month, police detained a man at a health care town hall meeting held by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) because he was carrying a sign declaring “Death to Obama” and “Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids.”

Angry right boos John McCain for stating that Obama ‘respects the Constitution of the United States.’  —  Today in a town hall forum in Arizona, an elderly woman asked Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) whether President Obama knows “that we still live under a Constitution.”

‘Peak Oil’ Is a Waste of Energy  —  REMEMBER “peak oil”?  It's the theory that geological scarcity will at some point make it impossible for global petroleum production to avoid falling, heralding the end of the oil age and, potentially, economic catastrophe.

Nemazee Is Arrested in $74 Million Citibank Fraud  —  Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) — Hassan Nemazee, chairman of Nemazee Capital Corp. and a fundraiser for President Obama and Hillary Clinton, was arrested on charges that he tricked Citigroup Inc. into lending him as much as $74 million using phony documents.

Coburn tells weeping victim of broken health care system that government isn't the solution.  —  Yesterday CNN's Rick Sanchez aired a segment from a health care town hall where a weeping constituent explained to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) that her husband's health insurer refuses to cover his treatment for a traumatic brain injury.

Bingaman says health care a ‘human right’ — and he could support passing reform via budget reconciliation  —  U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman called access to “decent affordable health care” a “human right” at a town hall meeting in Albuquerque yesterday  —  He also said that while he still hopes …

Calm, but Moved to Be Heard on Health Care  —  MONTEZUMA, Ga. — Until Thursday evening, nothing in Bob Collier's 62 years had stirred in him the slightest desire to take a stand — about anything — in public.  —  He skipped the antiwar protests of his college years, took a job …

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Political Terrorism In The Heartland - Inside the Quincy Tea Party Cell  —  Recently, Founding Bloggers was tipped off to the existence of a regional “political terrorist” cell calling itself the Quincy Tea Party.  —  When we learned that this group of Tea Party fundamentalists …

Will There Be Outrage?  — By: Jonah Goldberg  —  I haven't read the IG report yet, I've just seen a few write ups and excerpts around here and other places.  Without getting into the substance of the controversy, I'm doubting that there will be a lot of popular outrage over any of the allegations of abuse.

Giuliani, Seeing Opening, Mulls a Governor Bid  —  ALBANY — Nineteen months after ending his disastrous run for the presidency, Rudolph W. Giuliani is clearing a path for a possible race for governor in 2010, believing public anger at an ineffectual Albany and unease over the economy …

Were the bailouts a good idea?  —  Following the renomination of Bernanke, it is worth revisiting this question.  Here is a recent report:  —  With the FTSE World Banks index up 130 per cent since its lows of early March, the paper losses that governments in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany are sitting on have also shrunk.

Cons cash in on stimulus money  —  Federal economic stimulus cash was handed out to cons behind bars in Bay State prisons after a bureaucratic snafu resulted in $250 checks being sent to some inmates - and now red-faced feds want it back.  —  “Taxpayers already believe the inmates are running …

Bachmann: Prayer and fasting will help defeat health care reform  —  On Wednesday Rep. Michele Bachmann was part of a star-studded “teletownhall” meeting to discuss health-care reform.  The event, billed “Keeping Faith with the Unborn,” was sponsored by the Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion advocacy group.

Torture-slaying trial, Day 8: Cobbins guilty; jurors to consider death penalty  —  The jury will now consider the death penalty in the Channon Christian, Chris Newsom torture slayings.  —  KNOXVILLE - Jurors this morning convicted Letalvis Cobbins of first-degree murder in the torture-slaying …

STEELE REDISCOVERS HIS OPPOSITION TO MEDICARE.... I really don't understand how Michael Steele is in a position to head a major political party.  —  Yesterday, the confused RNC chairman wrote an op-ed insisting that Democrats are trying to undermine Medicare.

Every Critic a Racist  —  During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama's supporters promised that his election would allow America to “transcend race.”  Among the headlines:  —  The Boston Globe: “Obama shows an ability to transcend race”  —  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Obama's success suggests we can transcend race”

Rhetoric Fails to Sway Voters on Health  —  Jonathan Weisman reports on the health-care debate.  —  In the rhetorical battle over health care, the forces backing President Barack Obama's overhaul have spent years polling and using focus groups to find the precise language that would win over voters …

Sen. Grassley On Health Care: “I Don't Think It's Going To Be Possible To Work It Out With The Administration” … ALL OVER THE BALL PARK  —  During a conference call with Iowa reporters, Sen. Chuck Grassley was asked: … Grassley's response is almost incomprehensible: … You read that right.

Figures.  Local Top Dem Involved in St. Louis BOMBING  —  Democratic strategist and bomber— Milton H.  “Skip” Ohlsen III.  (P-D)  —  What a shock.  A local top Democratic strategist was involved in a bombing last year that seriously injured a St. Louis attorney.  —  The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported:

Applause, boos greet lawmaker - Page 2  —  Another speaker commended him for his stance, but said he was concerned that if Pelosi was privy to everything he was saying, “she might not let you back in chambers.”  —  Griffith laughed and said, “If she doesn't like it, I've got a gift certificate to the mental health center.”

House GOP eyes Sanford's future  —  Lawmakers will discuss impeachment at beach meeting  —  House Republicans will discuss whether to impeach Gov. Mark Sanford when they meet in Myrtle Beach this weekend.  —  Lawmakers, once reluctant to discuss removing Sanford, will weigh …

‘DESECRATING’ 9/11?.... As the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, the White House has designated Sept. 11, 2009 as a “National Day of Service.”  It seems like an appropriate way to honor the tragedy.  —  But not to everyone.  Matthew Vadum has a piece in the far-right American Spectator …

Foreign GPs who commute to Britain: £100-an-hour Poles and Lithuanians fly in for shifts our doctors won't do  —  The huge extent to which the NHS needs foreign doctors to treat patients out of hours is revealed today.  —  A third of primary care trusts are flying in GPs from as far away as Lithuania …

Obama's pet peeves  —  It was one of those nonstop days: President Barack Obama was flying back to Washington from Los Angeles to meet President Mahmoud Abbas, then he was scheduled to tape an interview for “The Colbert Report” and sit down for his regular briefing with advisers.