G.O.P. Hopefuls Differ on Response to Terror Attack - New York Times

TORTURE IS OK THEY SAY
If you watched Jon Stewart this week you saw him make fun of Mitt Romney's "Double Guantanamo" comment. However, as the debate by the 10 Republican presidential candidates at the University of South Carolina in Columbia shows, what these guys think is far from funny. It included arguments for "enhanced interrogation techniques", a euphemism for torture.

For the full debate transcript, click here.
(HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST)

EVEN DOJ STALWARTS REPULSED BY SPYING ON CITIZENS
Yesterday's Frontline on governmental internal spying was informative but rather ho-hum, especially considering that it was put together by someone with the stature of Hedrick Smith. That James Yoo was highly placed in the Bush Administration is understandable. That he is a lawyer is downright scary. But even Big Brother Boosters have to concede that the concerns, like those voiced in the program, come from all sectors of this society.
In that vein, at Tuesday's hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, former Deputy Attorney General James Comey provided new details about an internal Justice Department rebellion against the White House's warrantless surveillance program in 2004. In remarks that drew stunned looks from senators, Comey - no smelly workshirt ACLU liberal he - described an White House effort to circumvent him in seeking reauthorization for the secret eavesdropping program while Comey was serving as acting attorney general.

READ THE NEW YORK TIMES STORY ABOUT THE INCIDENT
READ THE NEW YORK TIMES STORY ABOUT COMEY
(LAW.COM)

Dick-George Tenn-Tom

DICK-GEORGE, TENN-TOM
Richard M. Nixon visited Mobile in 1971. He shook 100 feet of hands, lost a cuff-link, and shared a stage with his biggest political rival, Governor George Wallace. "Dick-George, Tenn-Tom" is a sardonic look at their rivalry, the creation of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, and the attempt on Wallace's life less than a year later. The film mentions the protest activities of some University of South Alabama students, one of whom was me.
(Suggested by Kyle Craig)

FRANCE'S NEW PRESIDENT'S ETHNIC ROOTS
By the time Hungary became a real democratic republic in 1989, Alattyan was a sleepy village of about 2,000 souls with little memory of its feudal past, and Nicolas Sarkozy was mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine, a deputy in the French National Assembly and a rising star in French politics with little interest in his feudal roots.

In "FRIEND OR FAUX"Olivier Roy says that Nicolas Sarkozy may not be what the French call a “libéral,” but he’s no neocon, either.
(NYTIMES)

GOOGLE GETS INTO DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE
In case you missed the news, Google just introduced another free life-changing service. Call (800) GOOG-411 and it will look up any business number for you, purely by voice, and connect you, for free.
(Suggested by David Nihart)

UNFLUENCE NOW!
You don't have to be a fan of C. Wright Mills' Power Elite or decry the idea of interlocking corporate directorates to enjoy this site. It lets you track who is giving money to your candidate.
(UNFLUENCE, unearthed by Kyle Craig)