What Happened To Transparency?

First President Obama flip-flopped on release of the torture pictures, which are likely to come out  anyway.  Now, the White House is blocking access to visitor records.  They are using the same argument BushCo used, that the White House doesn’t have to reveal who is coming through its gates who might also influence public policy.

Despite President Barack Obama’s pledge to introduce a new era of transparency to Washington, and despite two rulings by a federal judge that the records are public, the Secret Service has denied msnbc.com’s request for the names of all White House visitors from …

RIP Bob Bogle Of The Ventures

Bob Bogle was the co-founder and lead guitarist of one of the great instrumental bands of all time.  When he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of the band in 2008, the group was referred to as “the most successful instrumental combo in rock and roll history.” Among their hits were “Hawaii Five-O,” “Walk Don’t Run” and “Wipeout.”  Bogle was 75.

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Mastermind of 9/11 Lied Under Harsh Interrogation

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed told US officials he lied after being abused when facing “harsh interrogation” techniques.

“I make up stories,” Mohammed said, describing in broken English an interrogation probably administered by the CIA concerning the whereabouts of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. “Where is he? I don’t know. Then, he torture me,” Mohammed said of his interrogator. “Then I said, ‘Yes, he is in this area.’ “

Documents released Monday as a result of an ACLU suit also reveal Mohammed fingered people he did not know to be al Qaeda members to avoid further abuse. Many of …

Why Is David Letterman Held To A Different Standard?

We’ve already seen that when Jay Leno told a similar joke to David Letterman’s it was virtually ignored. And why didn’t this skit get the level of attention that David Letterman’s joke did?  On “Saturday Night Live” last September, the premise was that New York Times reporters were trying to find out of Todd Palin was having sex with his daughters.  Of course, the joke was aimed at the Times, but the level of outrage doesn’t come close to the Letterman flap.

“What about the husband?” asked a Times reporter during a mock assignment meeting for the paper. …

Another Letterman Apology

Viewers of Monday’s  “Late Show” will see David Letterman apologize again for his joke about Sarah Palin’s daughter.

On Monday’s edition of “Late Show,” Letterman explains that the risque joke thought by some to have targeted Palin’s underage daughter, Willow, was actually intended for 18-year-old daughter Bristol. The name of the daughter wasn’t mentioned in the joke, which was part of Letterman’s monologue on last Monday’s show. “It’s not your fault that it was misunderstood,” he tells his audience.

“It’s my fault.” And he says he’ll try to do better.

Will this finally silence his critics?…

On Monday’s Radio Show…

• Is it all Obama’s fault? Alan responds to Republican efforts to blame the president for the election mess in Iran.

• Does Dick Cheney want the U.S. to be attacked? Alan weighs in on CIA chief Leon Panetta’s controversial comments about the former VP.

• PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk sits down with Alan to discuss her latest book, The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights.…

Are We Supposed To Get Upset Every Time Obama Travels?

Drudge headlines that Obama’s trip to Chicago costs $236,000, linking to a Chicago Tribune story. The Tribune goes on to note that this leaves out associated costs such as Secret Service protection, motorcades and helicopter transport.  Only after the big headline about how much the trip costs and a few other paragraphs did the story indicate that the Obamas have taken only one recreational trip to Chicago in five months in office, and that expensive as that trip was, it was half the distance that George W. Bush regularly traveled to his ranch in Crawford, TX, where he spent …

SC Republican Apologizes For Comparing Michelle Obama To A Gorilla

South Carolina GOP activist Rusty DePass (right, with W.) offered a non-apology apology after posting on Facebook that Michelle Obama is related to a gorilla.

The exchange occurred after Trey Walker, an advisor to S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster, posted an innocuous Facebook update about this morning’s escape of a Western Lowlands Gorilla from Columbia’s Riverbanks Zoo.

Walker’s harmless update, however was followed by a highly-questionable comment from longtime SCGOP activist and former State Senate candidate, Rusty DePass.

“I’m sure it’s just one of Michelle’s ancestors — probably harmless,” DePass wrote.

Busted by South Carolina …

Ari Fleischer Says Bush Gets Credit For Iran

One minute the right wing is blaming Barack Obama for what’s happening in Iran. The next, they’re giving George W. Bush credit for what’s going on there.  Today’s Washington Post (via Think Progress) has spinmeister Ari Fleischer being the first out of the box to claim that Iran’s reform movement is the result of Bush’s “tough policies,” and offering the same bon mots for what’s happening in Lebanon. So, let me get this straight: George W. Bush caused the reformers to come out and protest in Iraq, but Obama caused Ahmadinejad to power grab at the same exact moment?…

One Ayatollah Declares Ahmadinejad’s Election Illegitimate

Grand Ayatollah Yusef Sanei believes the Iranian election that is keeping Ahmadinejad in power was a fraud.  Andrew Sullivan picked up the story.

There are strong rumors that his house and office are surrounded by the police and his website is filtered. He had previously issued a fatwa, against rigging of the elections in any form or shape, calling it a mortal sin.

Sanei has spoken out in the past in favor of women’s rights and against Islam having nuclear weapons. A liberal Ayatollah? Who knew?…

GOP Blaming Obama For Iranian Election Results

Former Pentagon advisor Richard Perle says Obama is to blame for Ahmadinejad’s power grab, and Center for Security Policy head Frank Gaffney says Iranian election results are because “they have been emboldened by our weakness.” And you can tell which politicians are interested in taking on Obama in 2012 by how strident their rhetoric is.  Mitt Romney claimed on ABC’s “This Week” that the fraudulent Iranian election was proof that Obama’s policies aren’t working. (h/t Think Progress).

It’s very clear that the president’s policies of going around the world and apologizing for America aren’t working. … Look, just sweet …