“We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani,” said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. “His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that’s why I did not refer the case” for prosecution.

Warning! Reading excerpts of Bill Bennett’s interview with Dick Cheney might induce vomiting.

By a nearly 2-to-1 ratio, people preferred government spending to create jobs over tax cuts to give Americans more money to spend. Large majorities endorsed many details in the plan, with 89% saying they like the idea of creating jobs through increasing production of renewable energy and making public buildings more energy efficient.

Leon Panetta and. . . extraordinary rendition?

A military judge found that teenager Mohamed Jawad has been tortured and that his status an an enemy combatant is in error. Yet the government is appealing this decision. What is Holder’s opinion? Will he repudiate and investigate torture an other war crimes? Inquiring minds want to know.

This should be the only really contentious one. Go to CSPAN3 or the Committee Webcast to see it.

Note, in a bit of timing jujitsu, Biden and Hillary are giving their farewell speeches on the floor of the Senate at 10 and 11, meaning CSPAN2 will be covering those speeches and not this hearing, meaning (in turn) that this hearing won’t be available to most Americans watching on teevee.

Nothing like cozying up and making nice bipartisan sweet music: President-elect Barack Obama sat down with Vice President-elect Joe Biden and Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, to debrief them on their just-ended official trip to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. In remarks in the photo-op that followed, the men sang the praises of bipartisanship.

• UN headquarters shelled in Gaza City.
• But hey, at least they apologized.
• BART cop in jail.
• Kudlow on Obama dinner — Nooners was there, too.
• If I see the b-word one more time…
• Federal judge orders WH emails to be retained.
• An honest mistake?
• Some good news about Afghanistan?
• A health care stimulus.
• Obama’s national approval = Bush’s approval with GOP.

Amid our massive challenges, we face an opportunity to get things right in ameliorating current economic crisis while helping to strengthen the economy indefinitely into the future and help solve some of our quite serious and pressing problems. We must strive to have the stimulus package not look to short-term consumption adrenaline but be based on W4 solutions. Here is an example of a win-win-win-win option for truly changing the game for the better for America and all Americans.

The Bush Administration, 0-for-8