It gets worse..................

United States interrogators killed nearly four dozen detainees during or after their interrogations, according a report published by a human rights researcher based on a Human Rights First report and followup investigations. In all, 98 detainees have died while in US hands. Thirty-four homicides have been identified, with at least eight detainees — and as many as 12 — having been tortured to death, according to a 2006 Human Rights First report that underwrites the researcher’s posting. The causes of 48 more deaths remain uncertain...Link

Specter stands alone..................

Arlen Specter infuriated Senate Republicans when he bolted from their party last week. Now he’s alienated just about everybody in the Senate Democratic caucus, too. Since declaring himself a Democrat last Tuesday, Specter has defied Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and the White House on virtually everything that’s come down the pike: the budget, mortgage reform, the Al Franken-Norm Coleman race, even President Barack Obama’s appointment of Dawn Johnsen to head the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel...Link

What about the Torture memo authors?.....

Bush administration attorneys who wrote memos authorizing torture should not be prosecuted, a Justice Department report will recommend according to sources close to an investigation. “The report by the Office of Professional Responsibility, an internal ethics unit within the Justice Department, is also likely to ask that state bar associations consider possible disciplinary action, including reprimands or even disbarment, for some of the lawyers involved in writing the legal opinions, the officials said,” reported the New York Times. “The conclusions of the 220-page draft report are not final and have not yet been approved by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. The officials said it is possible the final report might be subject to revision, but they did not expect major alterations in its main findings or recommendations.”...Link

High Time for Marijuana Debate.............

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that California should study other nations' experiences in legalizing and taxing marijuana, although he is not supporting the idea. He said it's time to debate proposals such as a bill introduced in the state Legislature earlier this year that would treat marijuana like alcohol. At a news conference about public safety funding, the governor was asked whether it's time to legalize marijuana in light of a new Field Poll that said 56 percent of registered voters support legalizing and taxing marijuana to raise revenues. "I think it's not time for that, but I think it's time for debate," Schwarzenegger said. "All those ideas of creating extra revenues, I'm always for an open debate on it. We ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana. What effect did it have on those countries? Are they happy with the decision? Or are they, for instance in Austria, unhappy? They rolled back some of the decisions that were made in European countries...link

Recklessness in Gaza.....................

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – A U.N. inquiry accused Israel on Tuesday of gross negligence and recklessness in attacks on U.N. property in the Gaza strip during fighting between the Jewish state and Palestinian militants in January. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who appointed the four-person inquiry board in February, said he would seek compensation for damage put at more than $11 million but would not follow the panel's call for further investigations....Link

One creepy dude.........

HR 1207 Now Up To 124 Co-sponsors!.........

Title: To amend title 31, United States Code, to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported, and for other purposes.

More Dick...............

In shocking testimony made by the Pentagon’s top auditor on Monday, the Defense Department revealed that a former unit of the company where Vice President Cheney was CEO is under investigation for allegedly billing for unallowable costs, accepting bribes, falsifying time cards and overbilling. The onetime unit of Halliburton, KBR, is now an independent company. Halliburton formally broke off ties with KBR in April 2007...Link